Writing Challenge ~ March 2015

[Britwitch]

WRITING CHALLENGE ~ MARCH 2015​

A new month and that means, time for a new challenge!
As always, massive thankyous to all those who participated in last month’s challenge!
And without further ado, here are your prompts for March. Enjoy!

https://40.media.tumblr.com/e631b79d07f246bcfd6b99df4288bc8a/tumblr_njsg12xS471tiyj7vo1_500.jpg

https://38.media.tumblr.com/e99aab848b426251e2842b6844c508c6/tumblr_ng89nfRLNv1rizz8go1_500.gif

https://40.media.tumblr.com/6097cf6786338aef0b8226c429408ecb/tumblr_njuv3nlFQi1r31v2no3_1280.jpg

https://41.media.tumblr.com/b8d58e0aa4339551138a46c6931446f7/tumblr_nkhww5OZqO1r9cegso1_540.jpg
​

You can involve the prompts themselves in your piece and make your link to the prompts as obvious or as subtle as you like or use them simply as inspiration for something else. You can use part of the prompts, just one aspect of the images, or use them in their entirety.

As there are several prompts you can of course chose to use all of them in one piece or write one for each…again, it’s your writing, your challenge. You write whatever you’re inspired to write!

The word limit for this challenge is 3,000 words and your submission can take whatever form you desire – poetry or prose, complete story or a vignette. Erotic or not, serious or light hearted, it’s whatever you want it to be!!

Post only your submissions in this thread, constructive comments and reviews are to be posted in the appropriately named – Comment and Review Thread
And please, if you do take the time to read? Please just take a few more minutes to leave a comment.

The deadline for this month’s challenge is Tuesday 31st March 2015, with April’s challenge hopefully going live in the following days.

Previous challenges and reviews can be found here.

Happy writing!

 

[TinyDuchess]

https://41.media.tumblr.com/b8d58e0aa4339551138a46c6931446f7/tumblr_nkhww5OZqO1r9cegso1_540.jpg

Pack up the pieces of my life
Shattered and scattered,
like fine bone or china crashed upon the floor.

Pick up the pieces of my heart
Splintered and flint-like
while shrouded in winter, awaiting a spark.

Carry me gently to a new home
Pull me from darkness
and make me your own.

Take me with you wherever you go
Such precious care, I've yet to know
Face lifted to sunlight, I've learned your name
Watcher, guardian, protector
all one and the same.

 

[marauder13]

Once More

https://40.media.tumblr.com/6097cf6786338aef0b8226c429408ecb/tumblr_njuv3nlFQi1r31v2no3_1280.jpg

Once More
Adrian & Adrianna Tale #3​

Adrianna blinked her eyes, the deep blue mirroring the empty sky above her as her raven coloured brows fought hard to connect to each other. Her gaze snapped down to her body, clad in a sheer white fabric that did nothing to hide those parts of her that were not sharing the same shade. Her heart beat hard and fast in her chest, forcing her lungs to work harder than normal to keep her oxygen supply up, all the while she tried hard to clear her mind enough to determine what was happening.

"Oh, fuck. Not again."

The water was smooth, the slightest waves marring the otherwise serene surface of the water that extended for as far as her eyesight could reach. The smell of the air carried the telltale tang of brine, and some deeper sense told her she had returned to a place that she thought was merely a dream.

"Not a dream, Adrianna, something far more important. Remember, you were wet with sea water when you awoke. That was not a figment of your imagination. It was the aftermath of your true awakening."

"Well, I have fucking awoken, as as near as I can tell, I can't fall asleep again. So, why am I fucking here?!!"

Adrianna dropped to her bottom, sitting cross legged as she normally would when she was being taught by Adrian, her mentor. She still found it hard to believe that the man was closer to 100 than 50 in age, yet he looked like he was yet to hit 40. As much as he irritated her so often, she did have a respect for the man, mainly because he put up with all of her shit, arguments, tantrums and emotional outbursts. She snorted and looked at the surface she was sitting on, and what else was about her.

She was on a raft made of bamboo, several layers from what she could make out, with a token 'tent' and a sail, both made of a combination of bamboo and the fabric that made up her dress. A small crate held some food, and a bottle of water.

"Well, at least I am not drowning this time. Exposure? Starvation? Madness perhaps?"

She turned when she heard the flapping of the sail, seeing it fill with a wind that she could not see or feel. She remembered one of the lessons Adrian imparted, one that allowed her to see outside the normal bounds. She could see the health of a living being, animal or plant, and she had grown used to being able to read a body in that way, rather than freaking out as she had done the first few times she had been shown. Adrian hinted that there were other ways the world could be seen, like she could with living things.

"Could I see the wind?"

Adrianna closed her eyes, calming herself quickly, again as Adrian had taught her. She thought through how she looked at a living being, and shifted her sight to open up the new vista of the health. She tried to think of flow of the wind, rather than the flow of blood that she was used to, to view the forces at play the same way she could see the interplay of the various functions of the body to find the problem, or to better recognize what was truly healthy. Confident that she had the process sorted, she opened her eyes.

"Awww... crap."

Her eyes beheld the same sights she had before trying. Nothing new had appeared before her eyes, showing her more of the truth of the universe that she had been given a taste of knowing. She took another deep breath, and tried again, knowing that the first time may not have worked, particularly trying it alone. But once more, she was disappointed at the lack of further clarity.

The energy within her drained away, her back bowed as she slumped in the aftermath of her first attempt to break free of her limited capabilities. "Others, like myself, will guide you, advise you and share wisdom and knowledge with you, but only you can walk the path that will make you stronger in the arcane arts. Only you can unlock the potential within you. There will come times when there will only be you, and you alone."

"Well, there is just me, and so far, no good. I have no fucking idea where I am, where I am going, what I am supposed to do or why I have to do it.' She stared at her belly. "Well, gut, you seem to know more than me, what should I expect?

"Oh, fuck this." She sat up straight again, closing her eyes and thought of other ways of getting the result she was after. Adrianna doggedly tried everything she could think of, multiple times, but after what felt like hours of failed attempts, her persistence finally gave out, and she collapsed into a deep sleep.

~||~​

The splash of water on her face snapped her awake, just in time to move her face away from another wave that was about to do the same. The sky was no longer clear blue, but full of bulbous, heavy dark gray masses that defied gravity with great malevolence. Deep, low and slow rumbles soon joined in filling the air, along with the briefest signs of light from deep within. But in the failing light, Adrianna saw land, almost the same distance away from her as the last time she was in the water.

"What? I get to swim again?"

A huge branching array of lightning leapt from one part of the cloud mass, stabbing outward to other masses, and for a few seconds, turned the near dark into brighter than daylight. Between Adrianna and the shore was rough, angry water full of sharp rocks and other equally savage looking protrusions.

"Ok, not swimming."

The raft lurched, caught by the current that was moving toward the shore. She grabbed the mast, holding it tightly as the bamboo craft pitched and rolled in the ever increasing turbulent water that was propelling it toward the shore line. The flashes of lightning illuminated the dangers ahead, each strobe adding further fuel to her growing fright of the barrier she was being dragged towards. The boom of thunder was being challenged by another equally terrifying noise; the heavy crash and sigh of the surf pounding the shore.

"Oh, God. What happens if I die here?"

Adrianna screamed as a loud groaning terminated with the sound, and feel, of bamboo being torn apart. Her grip of the mast tightened even further as the raft was spun and thrown about in the chaos. Fragments of bamboo bounced off her skin, water drenched her in failed attempts to pull her free of her anchor and the forces that were destroying her craft were unable to toss her off either.

"Adrian! Help me!"

The last pieces that held together finally failed against the onslaught, and Adrianna found herself floating in the air for moments before she slammed into the water, and the rocks just beneath. Pain exploded in her body as bones broke and her flesh stabbed by the jagged rocks. She swallowed sea water as she attempted to right herself and get to land before she drowned, or worse. Yet the water again lifted her violently, throwing her against the rocks again and again before dumping her in the sand, and retreating.

Adrianna laid on her back, sobbing in pain and terror. She did not have to call on her own ability to see her health to know she was seriously, even mortally, injured. She felt the pressure building in different parts of her body, knowing that she was bleeding internally. It was now a matter of time.

'No, it is not just a matter of time.'

"Wha...?" Adrianna croaked.

'You want to live?'

"Yesssssss."

'Then do as the old saying goes - Physician, heal thyself.'

"I... can't... not -"

'If you really want to live, then heal. Else, you die.'

Adrianna let her eyes close, then opened them to see how badly her body was actually damaged. She saw the crook of her left arm was torn open, and she was loosing blood from there faster than anywhere else, and that would kill her before anything else. She looked at it, seeing the damage to the pattern of her body's normal health, then she tried to make it as it was supposed to be. To her surprise, the damage started to lessen. With gritted teeth, Adrianna willed that part of her body to return to the healthy pattern. Slowly, as if fighting her decision, her arm was finally restored to full health, not showing any signs of ever being damaged. Through deep and painful breaths, Adrianna laughed with joy. One wound at a time, she removed the injuries from her body, restoring herself to full health.

'See, you can do it. If you really want to.'

"Who are you?"

'I am what makes you able to do this. When you are ready, we will meet. But you are not ready yet, not able to accept me. but your challenge is not over yet. To leave here, you must go inland. You will know what to do when you get there.'

"What is this? What is happening and why?"

Adrianna sat up, waiting for the soft voice to reply to her, but she heard nothing. Looking around, the sky was clear, the water calm and there was no flotsam to be seen anywhere.

"I hate this fucking place. I really do."

She walked to the edge of the forest, the lush wall of plant life seemed to be an impassable barrier, yet there was a well worn path before her that she hadn't seen before she got there.

"Probably wasn't there until I got here." She paused, took a deep breath then advanced with great determination. The air was heavy with humidity, pressing against her as if the plants were pushing it toward her. It took all her courage to keep moving through the dark, dank trail.

But it brought her to a cliff face, where three stone pedestals stood, each with a marble ball the size of a tennis ball sitting on it. The cliff face also had a depression just the size, and shape, to snugly take one of the balls.

"OK." She nodded. "Just one of these will do whatever is supposed to happen when placed in the spot over there. I also guess that if I get it wrong, then some bad shit will happen."

Adrianna looked closely at the balls, trying to see if there was anything different about them at all. The black veins were exactly the same, at least to her eyes, and the pedestals revealed nothing unique either. She growled, and reached for one then stopped. She had a deep sense of dread. Smiling, she tried the other two, only to get the same sense.

"Fuck! How can I tell which is the one I need to pick?"

She stomped around the clearing, aggravated by being alone and without any clue as to what to do. She opened her eyesight, and saw that nothing there, out of the obvious, was alive.

"He said that there are other sights, tied to other... crap... other... types of magic. Seeing the forces, reading minds, and other crap." She shook her head slightly. "I tried seeing the movement of the wind before, trying to see the forces at work. That failed. Yet, I managed to heal myself, which I never done before.

"All right. There is nothing here that is living that will help me. I wonder.. .can I do the same thing with non living things." Again, Adrianna attempted to shift her sight to see the 'health' of the rocks and stones, but failed once more. "What other things can we look at?" Adrianna paced the clearing as she thought about the problem. She came to a stop before the depression, her eyes growing wide, then she slowly turned to face the pedestals like they had just spoken.

"There were forces I was trying to find, just not the forces I was supposed to find." Her eyes closed, and Adrianna shifted her vision once more, then opened her eyes.

The world was awash with the ebb and flow of the building blocks of the universe, the very power that people like her manipulated to bring about their effects. That flow of power showed her the answer to her question.

The centre ball, and the one to her right, both glowed with an angry red that pulsed about them. She knew, just by the way the power flowed about them, and through them, that if she touched either of them, she would be killed. The magic would kill everything in her, down to the cell. But the final ball, it just gave off the appearance of hurting her.

A sly smile grew on her face as Adrianna picked up the ball, and sat it in the depression on the cliff face. The smile faded when nothing happened. She looked about, trying to see if anything had changed, yet nothing had.

A bellow of rage filled the air, and the clearing. It took on a life of its own, swirling about Adrianna pressing against her until she couldn't breathe, staying hard against her until she passed out.

~||~​

Adrian had spent his time sitting beside his student, patiently waiting while she was lead further along the path of wisdom, the epiphany playing out for her. He had sensed she was nearing the point of personal growth, and understanding, and he wanted to be there for her when it happened. He knew that there was nothing he could do to help her, but sitting beside her made him feel better, and it would also help her when she returned.

When her eyes snapped open, Adrian smiled warmly. He out out a hand to collect the wind blown strands and move them from her face.

"Well done. Not many succeed the first time they undertake such a test. It took me three times before I was able to understand what was needed of me. I have no idea what you experienced, and if you wish to speak of it, I will listen, but what happened was meant for you, and you alone."

"Where was I?"

"Here. And there. It is hard to explain without the proper basic knowledge. Think of it as another realm of existence. Yes, that will do for now." He looked at her, with his own natural sight. He could see that she had been successful, and had gained from the experience.

"When you're ready, I believe there are new lessons to be learned, because you can potentially do more now than you were before you left."

"Yes. Yes, I will be able to." Adrianna sat up, folding her legs beneath her. "I do have one question. Will I go back to that... realm again?"

"Yes. Many times. It is meant to bring you closer to the understanding that we all seek. Whenever there is something important for you to learn, you will learn it there."

"Oh, fuck. Not again."