elizabeth_oswald

Chapter Two hundred eighty-eight

Two days later, Kaz, Li, Lianhua, Yingtao, Chi Yincang, Raff, Kyla, and Mei snuck out of Cliffcross under cover of darkness. Somehow, the journey to the mountain had become an event to which almost everyone had been invited. The soonest they were talking about leaving was in a week.

About half of Raff’s family, a good part of his guild, Princess Reina, Jinn, and even several mages were supposed to join them. Apparently this meant that a number of people had to come in order to cook an...

Lucky Rabbit Chapter Fifteen - Choices, Choices

While the best items in Gacha Love were found in dungeons - which were unlocked as you progressed through the game - there were usually books or smaller items to be found in most event locations. There were three such locations in Clara’s house, and while this was three years too early for the events, it was possible that at least some of those items would already be there.

The closest one was Chef’s diary, but however nice the man seemed to be, she didn’t think he�...

Chapter Two hundred eighty-seven

“You sure this is the right street, Blue?” Raff asked. The two of them were peering around a corner as if they were hunters stalking a binyi. No one wanted to confront one of the ice-lizards, especially not in their den, but they couldn’t be allowed to breed unchecked, or they could render an entire level unlivable.

Kaz nodded. He had his sense of direction, of course, but beyond that he now had a faint awareness of certain beings he’d met. Their presence wasn’t alway...

Chapter Two hundred eighty-six

Kaz wasn’t sure how much time passed before he became aware that he was lying on the ground, face up and arms spread wide. Li was stretched out beside him, her breath tickling his ear and the tip of her tail wrapped around one of his paws. When he opened his eyes, so did she, and they stared at each other.

<I knew you were all right,> Li said, <but Snen and Intong were worried.>

Kaz’s ear twitched, flicking her on the nose, and she sneezed. He chuffed a laugh and s...

Delay!

I hate making excuses, but I had a heck of a day, and then had to (got to) take the kiddo trick or treating. It's after midnight, and I only have 1500 words done on today's chapter. I will finish it, and get another one done for tomorrow (aka today), but I've got to get some sleep. Just letting you know I haven't run off and forgotten you. Please forgive me, and I'll get 286 done as soon as my brain is functional, and 287 before I go to bed tomorrow. I packed this week way too f...

Chapter Two hundred eighty-five

The next day, Snen and Intong carried Kaz outside of the city, with Li following close behind. Kaz then tried to remove the runes from the dantians of the twelve dragons, with mixed success. The ‘silence’ rune slipped away easily enough for all but the oldest dragon. ‘Insensate’ was next, and the one Kaz was most concerned about, because he had no idea how the dragons would respond to their new circumstances. That rune could only be removed from four of the dragons, however, and one t...

Chapter Two hundred eighty-four (Kyla)

Humans were strange. Some of those strangenesses were pleasant, such as cheese and bread, but others most certainly weren’t. The clothes Jinn had given Kyla, retrieved from the room of one of the puppies - puppies! - were among the unpleasant strangenesses. She had liked Lianhua’s robes, which were really only a slightly more cumbersome version of the clothing chiefs wore for ceremonies, but these were ridiculous. And they belong to a puppy. Kyla was almost certain ...

Chapter Two hundred eighty-three

Raff’s family hut was larger than many kobold dens. In fact, it sprawled across what would have been several streets in every other part of the city Kaz had seen. From above, he could tell that some other enormous buildings were nearby, also surrounded by high walls, but Raff’s was the largest, other than the palace itself. That was so huge Kaz thought even he might have become lost in it, so he was glad they had decided to stay with Raff instead. The large male was also correct ...

Lucky Rabbit Chapter Fourteen - Friendship 101

The next few days fell into an easy rhythm that seemed to help Thaniel calm down. Rather than following Lian around, fretting about Pandy, and sitting quietly with a book and worried eyes, he actually began to show signs of his usual adventurous, even mischievous self.

Every morning a maid woke the boys at eight for breakfast. Or rather, they woke Thaniel, because Lian’s eyes popped open as soon as the first rays of the sun passed between the curtains. One of the many in-game books Pa...

Chapter Two hundred eighty-two (Heishe) (END book 5)

At last - at very, very long last - Heishe felt hope. When the Elder left this world, Heishe and her siblings had promised him that they would maintain the balance, and so they had. For millennia, they watched, only occasionally having to step in. The mere knowledge of their existence was usually enough to prevent those who would otherwise have gone astray from doing so.

And then, just over a thousand years ago, everything went wrong. First, Rabbit disappeared. That wasn�...

Collective noun of dragons?

When Lianhua tells us aaaaalllll about dragons, (or at least a cut-off bit about dragons) what is the collective noun? I was going to go with flight, but thunder has also been suggested. What do you think?

Chapter Two hundred eighty-one

To Kaz’s mind, the greatest benefit of knowing all the runes was the ability to remove them one at a time. It was possible that Intong would panic at some point during the process, and Kaz wanted to make sure that he couldn’t do much damage if he attacked rather than fleeing.

With that in mind, Kaz urged everyone else to move away. This was made easier by the fact that almost everyone except his group had left. There were still a good number of the guards with matching armor, and Eu...

Chapter Two hundred eighty

The idea that humans might travel through the Gate wasn’t a new one to Kaz, not entirely. Lianhua had mentioned that some humans cultivated in order to become strong enough to try passing through, seeking the source of the monsters who appeared on the night of no moon.

Was Snen saying that they really could do that, and in fact, had no choice? But why? What made monsters come here, and powerful humans go there? Wherever ‘there’ was. Or did the Gate open to different planes, or wor...

Chapter Two hundred seventy-nine

Snen looked up as Kaz and Li approached, his yellow eyes bright. Bowing deeply, he said, “Thank you again, friend Kaz. Intong and I have finally been able to speak, and it isss-” His voice trailed off into a hiss and he simply shook his head, unable to finish.

<Intong!> Li said, stretching out her claws to land on Kaz’s back and shoulders. At the last moment, she remembered that she was too large and came to rest on the ground instead. Pretending she hadn’t almost fallen o...

Chapter Two hundred seventy-eight

The humans were not happy. When he arrived, Reina’s brother actually drew a mana-stick from a cylindrical sheath at his belt and cast some kind of spell at Mei. Kaz wiped it away with a flick of his fingers as his cousin dashed in, scooping up fuergar and the remnants of the crown. A moment later, the crown struck the ground, causing a beautiful chime to echo out over the stadium. Whatever the metal was, it would make an excellent dinner bell.

Prince Lucas attempted anot...

Vacations galore!

Okay, actually only one more vacation. This year. Hopefully there will be more next year, because the other option doesn't bode well for me.

I'll be gone from October 19-25, so there won't be any chapters posted on those days. BUT, unlike last time, I'll have my laptop, and there will certainly be some downtime. Best of all, I actually won't have internet, which means no distractions from writing other than a bored nine-year-old 😂 Hopefully, I'll come back with at least a few chapter...

Lucky Rabbit Chapter Thirteen - Probably Not A Demon

Thaniel looked uncertain for a moment, but Lian managed something that actually looked like a smile, and Thaniel brightened before hurrying away. As soon as the door clicked shut behind the little boy, Lian lifted Pandy so he could stare into her eyes.

“What are you?” he mumbled, turning her so he could look at her fluffy, blood-soaked rear end. It was quite rude, actually, and Pandy wished she dared kick him, but that was very definitely out of the question.

Releasing one han...

Chapter Two hundred seventy-seven

Li was all but dancing in place. <Do the rest!>

Kaz shook his head, watching the way Intong was stretching out his wings, looking at them in surprise, almost as if he’d never seen them before. That rune might have prevented him from speaking, but it also seemed to play a role in limiting his intelligence. The dragon was already looking around, eyes brighter and more interested than before.

When he saw Snen still bowing, he thrust his head into the xiyi’s chest, ...

Chapter Two hundred seventy-six

Overhead, the one-sided battle continued for a few more minutes, before Fengji flew away with his prize clutched in his claws. During that time and for several more minutes thereafter, none of the remaining humans moved, though they stared at Kaz through the rain of Jianying’s blood. The xiyi, all but Snen, were as dead as their master, and their dragons crouched, looking as lost and frightened as such large and deadly beasts possibly could.

Then, as the echo of Fengji’s fi...

Chapter Two hundred seventy-five

The ankle was all Li could reach from her hiding place, pressed down as she was by Jianying’s roar. She and Kaz were joined, but not the same, and while the other dragon couldn’t suppress her completely, she also couldn’t leap or fly.

It was enough. Ganring yelped, turning his focus from Kaz to Li, just for a moment, and Kaz turned, grabbing the xiyi’s wrist. Ganring was several inches taller than Kaz, and he had momentum on his side, so the knife continued downward, cr...

Chapter Two hundred seventy-four

Raising his hands, Kaz pictured a shield covering him, Snen, and the dragon on the ground. A barrage of attacks, physical, as well as both mana and ki-based, assaulted them from all sides, and he felt his ki drain away precipitously. Was this what it felt like when Bella tried to remain standing while the roar pressed her down? It was terrible, worse even than when he first heard Jianying roar in the hidden xiyi den.

But when arrows fell and spells sputtered, Kaz, Snen, an...

Chapter Two hundred seventy-three

Dragons flew overhead, each with a xiyi mounted on its back. They flew down, using claws, teeth, and occasional bursts of fiery breath to drive back the humans who were assaulting the few remaining xiyi on the ground.

The black-scaled xiyi was back on his feet, and he was no longer making any attempt to appear conciliatory or reasonable. His teeth were bared, claws stabbing at the air as he sent bolt after bolt of power into the crowd of warrior...

Lucky Rabbit Chapter Twelve - Turbulent Teatime

Pandy hopped backwards, but not fast enough. The kitten’s needle-like claws sank into her haunches as she turned to run.

-3 LF

-2 LF

-3 LF

Ouch! Those claws were sharper than she’d thought, and while she could kick Miss Cupcake away using her powerful back legs, she was afraid it would injure the cat badly. She’d allowed her rabbit instincts to make her turn away, so now she only had one response.

Balancing on her forepaws, Pandy kicked backwards as hard as...

Chapter Two hundred seventy-two

His eyes snapped open, but he wasn’t back. Not yet. He was close. Much closer than he had been when Heishe appeared. She was gone, now, but he knew what he had to do.

Reaching out, Kaz took hold of the ki surrounding him. He no longer feared drowning in it. It was him and he was it. But he wasn’t yet ready for this part of him to join the greater whole, and in order to stop that, he needed to rebuild his core, and then his body.

Quickly, he gathered in ki. Ruby, obsidian, sapp...

Chapter Two hundred seventy-one

The dark space was hot, and Kaz rolled. He spun around the smooth curve, chased by a golden ball, then a black one. Their paths crossed, and the spheres merged with him, tugging at his very essence before separating again, spinning, spinning through the red dust that coated everything.

The bowl tilted, and Kaz poured down through a spout, the surface shifting from smooth to rough, tearing at his fur, even though he knew he didn’t have fur. He had nothing, not in this place. No flesh c...

Chapter Two hundred seventy (Kyla)

Kyla pressed her back against the wall as she slipped around the inside of the stadium. This building was a cavern in and of itself. It would be huge even in the city of the Deep, but if she understood its purpose, no one even lived here. It was a building that only existed for entertainment, which was so strange. How did the humans ask questions, or pick the next howl?

Mei brushed against her leg, and she looked down, seeing that the fuergar hadn’t brought her anything ...

Chapter Two hundred sixty-nine

The passage was dark, steps folding back around themselves over and over as they rose. There were doors on every fourth landing, along with some evidence that the females they’d met weren’t the first humans to flee this way. Bloody handprints marked the wall near the first door, and the second door buckled inward, as if something large had struck it from the outside. That one wouldn’t open.

The third door was promisingly unmarked and undamaged, opening easily beneath Kyla’s gent...

Chapter Two hundred sixty-eight

Heishe didn’t slither through the city. Instead, she opened another of those water-filled tunnels through the earth and dove into it. Oddly, though Kaz and Li felt the pressure of fluid moving around them, they could breathe without difficulty. A glance at Kyla and Mei showed that while the young kobold and her fuergar looked more terrified than Kyla’s earlier words might have implied, they, too, seemed fine.

The world around Kaz seemed to show, showing only flickers o...

Lucky Rabbit Chapter Eleven - Crumbs and Claws

The inside of the house was as lovely as Pandy had expected, and she drank in the sight of the broad foyer, with three doors opening off of it, and a staircase sweeping up to the second level. The carpet beneath Thaniel’s feet was beginning to show wear, but it was meticulously clean and perfectly centered on the tiled floor. The banisters were equally worn by generations of hands gripping them as people made their way up and down, but they were also polished to a high shine.

Dalton t...

Chapter Two hundred sixty-seven

Kaz stared after them, barely aware of several dozen people nearby, doing the same thing. Then Jinn broke the paralysis by falling on her brother, crying loudly. The big male patted her on the back as she sobbed, but Kaz could see by the look on his face that he was in pain.

Quickly, Kaz crossed over to help, but found himself engulfed in an embrace as well, when Kyla leaped toward him and wrapped her arms around his waist. His first instinct was to pull away, but the little kobold’s ...