Nuisance
(Bloom: this is probably the longest chapter. Not sure, didn’t track number of words. Also, there’s only a handful of chapters left!)
Abigail ran until she could see the outskirts of the forest, the desert that separated it from Dead Bird Studios in the distance. Slowing to a walk, she spotted a nearby moss-covered boulder and took a seat to try and gather her thoughts. In just a few days her contract would be up. If she wanted to save her soul, she would have to keep bringing others to Snatcher. It's not fair! Abigail huffed, all I wanted was to see these woods, try to learn about it's history. Is that too much to ask?
With a sigh, she hopped off the boulder and made her way back toward Dead Bird Studios. Maybe after getting a good night's sleep she could focus better on what to do next...
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Walking past the entrance to the studios, she glanced in, only to see a gaggle of owls around something. Letting herself inside, she walked up to the lot of them “hey! What's going on?” she asked casually. There was a group gasp as the owls noticed her, before they all scattered with cries of “its her!” “Help!” and the occasional “hoot!”. It took a moment before she realized that all the owls had fled further into the studio, leaving her alone with what, or more precisely who, the owls had been so enraptured by.
“Conductor? You're alive?!” she was pleasantly surprised to see him, and he didn't look too bad for someone who was flung sky-high out of a forest. Sadly, Conductor didn't return her warm welcome. “Aye, no thanks ta yew. How could yew?! Leadin' innocents to their doom?! I trusted yew, I even let ye become an honorary bird!” Abigail tried to explain herself, but Conductor held up a wing to stop, “don' try ter explain yerself. Dat ghost already did. Now yew go back an tell dat peck-neck of a spook dat no bird is ever goin' ter be steppin foot in Subcon Forrrrest again!”
Abigail wanted to argue. She wanted to say this wasn't her fault, but she knew, deep down, that it was. If she had never went to Subcon, she wouldn't be in this situation. Feeling guilty and shameful, she turned on her heel and headed for the door. Conductor called after her, “An' yew are no longer an honorary bird, neither! So don' come back!”
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After the incident with the Conductor, she had gone back to Mafia town to try and get back to her old home...only to have to pull away from the docks to avoid the Mafia trying to attack. Apparently the boss still had it out for her. Feeling rejected, she went back to the only place that still seemed to welcome her: Subcon.
On the banks of the forest she stood, looking out over the ocean. What now? She pulled her contract out of her jacket I only have a few more days before this is up. She had never felt so trapped, so hopeless. She gave a shuddering sigh so is this it then? Do I just wait for the contract to end? I'm no longer welcome at Dead Bird or Mafia town, and I don't know anyone in Alpine or the Metro either...noticing the sun was setting, she rolled the contract back up and started to head off into the woods. She would spend the night here and in the morning collect her thoughts and make a plan. She soon found a decrepit and abandoned tree house, which she climbed into. Though old, it was still pretty stable, and she soon let exhaustion take her.
The problem with Subcon is that it is always night. So when Abigail woke, she had no idea what day or time it was anymore. Despair started to settle in, what does it matter what day it is? I can't bring anyone else to Snatcher. She took the contract out again, this pecking paper is going to be the end of me!
She absent-mindedy glanced at the contract again before something caught her eye. It wasn't a loophole that would save her, not even a bit of fine print she could tweak if she knew the ins-and-outs of law (which she didn't). It was simply an addendum, one that she had personally requested and forgot about. A ghost of a smile on her face, she left the tree house and headed for Snatcher's. Hopefully he would have calmed down by now.
She actually found the specter out in the forest, way up in the trees. She knew he could sense her, and waited for him to come down, which he did momentarily, holding a Subconite in his grasp. He placed the minion on the ground and it took off the moment its feet touched the earth, “thanks boss!”
Snatcher gave a small wave back before turning to Abigail, clasping his claws together in eagerness, “SO WHO DID YOU BRING ME THIS TIME?” Well, he seems to be in a good mood, Abigail thought, also noticing that his wounds had healed, hopefully this'll work...
“I brought myself.”
“GIVING UP? SUCH A SHAME.“
“Actually,” she said, holding up her contract, “you owe me a history lesson. Remember that addendum?”
Snatcher scowled, “THAT BIRD FRIEND OF YOURS DIDN'T COUNT.”
Feeling bold, Abigail countered. “actually, 'after the next delivery of a person or persons into the forest, the Snatcher will impart his knowledge of Subcon history to the contractor.'” she read off her contract. “You might have not gotten Conductor's soul, but I still delivered!” Snatcher glared at her and she triumphantly smirked back. She had him on this, and she knew it. It was all she had going for her, this whole thing happened because she wanted to get some history, and peck it all if these were her last days alive she was going to get what she was owed!
The ghost was the one to break the stare down with a laugh, “YOU'RE TRULY A NUISANCE, YOU KNOW THAT? BUT HEY, A DEAL'S A DEAL. FOLLOW ME.”
Abigail followed the shadow specter to his tree home. While Snatcher looked through a small bookcase, she took a seat on the futon. Picking a worn leather-bound book without a title, Snatcher floated over and took a seat in his chair. “I'M GOING TO READ TO YOU A LITTLE BIT FROM MY JOURNAL. KEEP IN MIND, THIS FOREST HAS BEEN MOSTLY QUIET FOR A VERY LONG TIME, SO THERE'S NOT MUCH TO TELL AFTER A CERTAIN POINT.” With that, Snatcher sat back, flipped open the book, and began to read:
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When I first laid eyes upon Subcon, all I saw was white. The blizzard that had wiped out the area had left its mark. Being a spirit with fire attributes, I was able to melt away the snow and frost.
At first it was only me and the forest, and I enjoyed the solitude. Then, slowly, other spirits started to appear. [As if on cue, a single dweller floated in to listen. Snatcher gave it a brief nod before continuing] Turns out that these were the souls of the children of Subcon, who had perished in the blizzard. Lost, confused and frightened, these masked dwellers started following me around.
It was also around this time that another being made themselves known: Moonjumper. [“Moonjumper?” Abigail asked. Snatcher sighed, “YEAH, AND LET ME TELL YOU, HE WAS A THORN IN MY SIDE FOR A LONG TIME!” Clearing his throat, he continued] It became obvious very early on that 'Moonjumper' was actually the prince of Subcon. He had also perished in the storm, but his will to live kept him around as another spirit. Just like I have fire magic, the prince had powers to: those of manipulation. Forcing others to do work against their will. [“Wait a minute!” Abigail called out, “you do the exact same thing!” “AH, BUT YOU'RE WRONG! I GAVE YOU A CHOICE, DIDN'T I?” “Some choice, sign or die,” she huffed. “YEAH, WELL, MOONJUMPER WOULDN'T HAVE GIVEN YOU ANY CHOICE AT ALL. ANYWAYS,” he went back to the story]
Well, Moonjumper wasn't too happy about me taking over, you see. Lucky for me, though, he was a wimp! Hardly any magical strength at all. Unless he could manipulate me, he wasn't going to win any battle for this place, and I'm too powerful to fall for his mind tricks. The Dwellers, however, are much easier to control. Again, luck was on my side that the little children's spirits knew better than to go near that creep. Yep, for the moment, it appeared as if Subcon would be mine with hardly a fuss.
What I didn't plan on, however, was that the queen would still be alive....more or less. Basically a mass of dark magic had warped the queen and caused the storm, but back then I didn't know that. [“You couldn't sense something like that?” “SUBCON BACK THEN WAS A MESS OF DARK ENERGY. THE AREA I HAD THAWED FOR THE DWELLERS AND MYSELF WAS THE ONLY PLACE WHERE THE MAGIC WAS SOMEWHAT STABLE.”] Imagine my surprise when Moonjumper and the queen launched an attack. Nearly destroyed my part of the forest. It turned out that the dead prince, weak as he was with magic, was a formidable strategist. He used the queen's powers to attack, and I could barely keep them at bay. This kept up for some time, they would attack and I'd hold them off, but I knew my power wouldn't last forever. Fighting them took energy, and I had no way to replenish it.
It was around that time when some fool wandered into my forest. I can't quite remember how he died, but once I consumed his soul I felt my powers restoring! I suddenly had a plan, but it would take time.
I gathered all the Dwellers and made them each an offer: join me and help me save my forest. Most of them agreed, some didn't, but that was fine. I had more then enough help, and with contracts signed and tidied away, I set to work making those lost souls new bodies.
[Again, as if on cue, a small gaggle of Subconites wandered in. “Are you telling her about us, Boss?” one asked. “Oh, I like this part” another added. “YEAH YEAH, HUSH. NOW, WHERE WAS I...” Snatcher continued as the small group sat on the ground around the futon]
With my new minions, the next part came easy. All they had to do was bring more souls to Subcon, and I would take care of the rest. It really only took a couple weeks to amass a suitable amount. I challenged the Moon creep to another battle, and he agreed, unaware of what I had planned.
That battle was one for the history books...too bad there aren't any! Structures were blasted, foliage frozen, but I still had the upper hand. I had become so powerful that I was able to obliterate the dead prince so hard he was sent into the Horizon, which is a type of realm between here and the stars above. [“So...he's still up there?” Abigail asked, pointing. Snatcher nodded, “UNFORTUNATLEY. ACTUALLY KILLING OFF A GHOST, EVEN A WEAK MAGIC USER LIKE HIM, WOULD TAKE TOO MUCH TIME AND ENERGY, SO THIS WAS THE BEST SOLUTION. EVEN NOW HE COULD GRAB A SOUL FROM THE HORIZON, AND USE ITS POWER TO RE-MANIFEST. THAT'S WHY MY MINIONS AND I ARE WELL AWARE OF EVERY SOUL THAT ENTERS MY FOREST.” With that, he went back to the book]
The only loose end left was the queen. Unfortunately, most of my power had been spent banishing Moonjumper, and by that time word had started to get around to stay away from my forest, so there was a drastic drop in the number of souls I could obtain. Turns out that wasn't going to be a problem. See, though the queen had a lot of magic, her mind had been twisted and warped into a fine point of insanity. So, without Moonjumper to control and command her, she couldn't do anything. But she was still unstable and had to be dealt with. I managed to trick her into setting up barriers around her manor, and that's where she remains, trapped in those icy halls.
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Snatcher closed the book, the Subconites got up and scampered out with the occasional, “thanks for the story, Boss!” called out, while the Dwellers floated out silently. Abigail sat there for a few moments, thinking about all that she had just heard. What an amazing story! It made sense why Snatcher took souls, it was in order to protect the forest-his home-and it's inhabitants from attack.
Snatcher floated back over to the bookcase, “I HOPE THAT HISTORY LESSON WAS WORTH IT,” he reached for another object before turning back to her. Abigail's peaceful demeanor quickly transformed into one of fear as she realized the ghost was holding a jar with a glowing golden ball of energy-her soul-trapped inside.
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Tagged by @thelildreamerblog
Name: Forrrrest
Nickname: is bunnybeee :)
Height: 10 hundred feet talll!!! I AM A DINO
Eye color: green like a bean
Hair color: brownish blackish
Language spoken: English and some Spanish
Nationality: American
Fav drink: Choco milkyy in my sippy :3
Fav season: FALL BECAUSE OF ALL THE LEAFS ARE BEAAUUTIFUL
Fav fruit: wata melon mmmmmm
Fav flower: the ones that cherry trees make
Fav scent: camp firee
Fav color: I really been liking red a lot lately I think... idk I likes them allll
Fav animal: EVERY DOG
Numbers of hours of sleep: sometimes 2 sometimes 16
Cats or dogs? this too hard and too mean
Number of blankets: in da summer 1 and in da winter 46
Dream trip: I jus. wan. go. BUILD A BEAR ARE YOU LISTENING KITTEN DO YOU SEEEES THIS I WAN BUILD A BEAR PEASE
Hobbies: snuggling, coloring, petting my kitty cats, dreaming about getting a puppy, snacking, watchin cartoonns, drawing, painting, all the art stuffs I guess
I tag: @smol-eevee @fluffydinosrawr @cowlicked-bedhead
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