Today I wanted to do a freewriting prompt that wasn’t related to East Arcadia or any of the other worlds I typically write in. This past week was my first week of class, and I’ve spent a fair amount of that time picking out the project I would use for my noveling class. I have a fair amount of them, you see, so I wanted to make sure I chose something without spice. Most of my classmates don’t read smut, so I don’t want to bombard them with trigger warnings.
That got me thinking that the majority of my work is romance based fantasy. Each and every fantasy story I have has an element of romance that is either part of the main plot, or is the most important sub plot that carries the story. This week I decided to stretch my range a bit, and focus on friendship and not romance.
The prompt is a visual prompt, and I’ve included the picture for reference. The idea is to “Create a fantasy story that begins with this scene.” Without further ado, I give you 'Finally'.
Iridescent clouds floated across the glow of the twin moons as Tiana gazed up at the sky. Her hackles rose as movement reached her ears, and she scented the air. The comforting scent of her familiar allowed her to relax as the human perched on the wall next to her.
“Isn’t the sky stunning tonight?” She sighed happily, glancing up at her human.
“You know I can’t understand you if you’re in that form.” Glory peered down at her through long lashes. Her braid swished over her back, and Tiana’s eyes tracked it, the urge to bat the hair swelling in her.
“Fine, I’ll use my ‘inside voice’ then.” Tiana huffed. “Tonight is the night, Glory. The twin moons only overlap once every fifty years, so we won’t have another chance. Are you ready?” Her tail flicked behind her, excited energy humming through her body.
“I’m ready. Everything has been gathered, too. Are you sure you want to do this?”
How many times would her human ask her this? It was risky, sure. Any magical ritual like this came with risks, but she was willing to pay them. Tiana’s whiskers twitched as the thoughts bounced around her head, and she ached to stretch her limbs into something bigger. Stronger. To walk on two legs again. She’d been a cat for so long she’d nearly forgotten what it was like to be human.
“Positive. Even if the curse can’t be lifted completely, at least I will still be able to have human form when the moons crest the sky.” Her claws flexed with the thought as she tried to recall the feeling of fingers. This form was nimble and vicious, all sharp teeth and claws and agility. It had been fun at first, even as she’d missed her time as a human. But after more than a century, she was ready.
“Then we should go. The moons will be fully aligned soon, and we need to get started.” Glory pushed off the wall, glancing over her shoulder at the cat as she waited. Tiana followed, loping off ahead of her familiar as her excitement built.
The simple ritual felt almost too easy, but she’d been studying it for years. Blood from a fresh kill while the sun was at its peak—Tiana had hated that part. For a long time, she’d had to hunt her own food, but since Glory found her, she’d grown used to the human providing her meals. She’d always found hunting to be a nuisance. Messy. And she never could get past the taste. The dead bird was her contribution; the rest had been set up by the human.
Moon water, charged by the light of 3 successive full moons. Fire from the wood of a birch tree. Soil from the place of her birth. Her breath and that of her familiar’s combined. The soil was scattered counterclockwise around the fire, moon water poured over her head, and the blood painted on her paws, chest, and cheeks. They would face each other and speak the words, then Tiana would finally be human again. If only until the sun rose.
Thanks for reading! I would love to hear your thoughts on this snippet of Tiana’s life. Feel free to leave me a comment below, or hop in the subscriber chat and start a thread to share your thoughts. Share and subscribe for weekly posts like this one, and I hope you’ll consider subscribing to read the long form content that goes out twice a month. Until next update!
xo
Grace
Cute! It gives Luna from Sailor Moon meets Swan Princess.