Your support makes Blue Moon possible (Patreon)
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2009
Unnamed beginning of novel
Chapter 1: A woodsman and a smoke
Black Forest, Germany 1986
Vic was chopping wood when he heard it. The din of a massive explosion or crash reached his ear as something off in the forest kicked up a tremendous dust cloud that washed over him. Covering his eyes he turned in its direction and saw there was now a clear tree line where there had once been a dense section of forest. Heading over to it he pushed back his bandanna from his forehead as his green eyes squinted to stare into the settling dust. He made out a small figure, no taller than two feet. Its eyes stared up at him, like embers in a dusty hearth. They were a red that glowed in the darkness around it, but he cold see it was obviously a small boy once he got closer. His small naked form trembled in the early morning as he stared around him in a daze. Vic approached, cautiously but heard a noise, like sails filled by a hurricane wind unfurling before filling and beating the air before it. Turning to check behind himself he heard the sound immediately before him. Whirling back to the boy, he saw now there was simply a deep furrow, three deep gashes in the earth where the boy had just stood and the sound of sails on wind moving further and further away.
New York City, 2011
Asa watched the man from across the bar with a growing interest. She noted the way his fingers traced along each glass that came his way, how his clothing hugged his body then went slack as though it were breathing. His eyes were a crimson color, she had assumed contacts at first but seeing how freely they moved about she doubted it now. Most of all she noted the long thin black cigarette between his fingers that gave off a vibrant green smoke, the plume rising and curling about the No smoking sign just above the bar as if in a mocking kiss between enemies. He didn't seem interested in anything around him, he just laughed at others jokes, smiled at people who approached, and absolutely refused to move his backside from his seat. Fingers curled as though contemplating, without the cigarette there it would have made him look like a profound young man deep in thought. Fingers caressing her bag briefly Asa stood and strode directly over to him.
The smell of Jasmine caught her as she neared, rich and heady it left her head swimming while he turned to glance at her. It was a side long glance, as though trying to survey something in the distance, measuring her up and staring through her with cool indifference before he turned. Mustering up confidence she smiled, a beauteous smile, a full one that she tried to make come off as easy but ultimately became a slight grimace."Flee" was the first and only word that came to her head but he leaned in and cocked his ear slightly toward her. "Speak up. "Came a simple, slow dulcet voice, it rippled into her ear and sent shivers down to he stomach before she spoke. "Can..I have a drag?" She asked, trying to seem cool, worldly even, taking the cigarette as he presented it. It changed hands after a near fumble, her fingers shaking as she brought it to her lips, before she could take a drag a hand was on her shoulder. "HEY!" A voice called, and a thumb flicked over the bartenders shoulder indicated the sign, "No Smoking" "Novice at this eh?" The red eyed man asked with a slight chuckle under his words. "You...you were smoking..I thought." His chuckle vanished then..as he looked to her. "Oh no" He simply replied, his voice sinking as his face did as well, it was an expression crossed between disbelief and misfortune. Asa was being shuffled out the door by a bouncer at this point, the man's rough hands and hard chest pressed to her back, the plow to her shuffling feet's resistance. She found herself outside now, and she felt fine, till she saw a woman slither past her, a six foot long tail trailing out from beneath a long black dress. "I guess, this would be a good time, to say welcome." Came a familiar dulcet voice. "So, how familiar are you with the term faux pas? Because I've just committed a major one. You see, I've infected you with my magic." The term infection was not lost on Asa, and her eyes following the scaly appendage which had just passed before her soon found themselves on the young man as she whipped around. "What! You drugged me! Oh my god! I'm going to be fired." She began, hand clutching her chest she heaved and wheezed trying to get the cinnamon and Jasmine flavor out of her mouth.
Chapter 2: The everlasting smile.
"First we need to familiarize you with some wizarding essentials, and so we go to Tao's." He said to her, a glint sparked in his eye as he spoke reminding her of a child headed to a toy store. They slipped into a small shop with a black door that seemed cluttered to the point of obscenity. Walls of items packed in shelves upon other items formed a maze through the store. The items were so tightly packed, light did not filter through. Far in the back after wading through what seemed like a pit with various items of a softer nature within it they saw the back counter. "Can I help you?" A voice asked, it was bubbly as though its owner felt joy out of just being able to ask. It belonged to a girl who's head poked out from among a group of items giving a macabre imitation of decapitation. She pulled back and stepped out to reveal a trim young woman with a slightly more appealing than average figure, her skin was a smooth alabaster color, her eyes a rich brown with a shape hinting at Asian ethnicity. Her mouth though was her most defining feature, her eyes forced into a constant squint by her smile, an indefatigable smile that revealed most of her gleaming white teeth. It was an attractive face, yet it glowed in an ethereal way from the wall of white her teeth formed, near constantly exposed. The smile seemed inhuman, yet not beastly, it added an attractiveness that took Asa aback.
"Once again, can I help you?" "One moment Ming" He replied. Asa leaned close to him and whispered. "Is she human?" Asa asked him under her breath. "I doubt it." He replied directly into Asa's mind. "She's some kind of construct...she's been here since before anyone can remember, Ming Tao, doesn't eat, doesn't sleep, her shop never closes....we think money keeps her alive somehow but no one has been brave enough to find out." Came the slow easy voice, low like a hushed secret was being shared. "Yes...I am..human" replied Ming with a lack of conviction in addition to mumbling something following the statement. "Oh one second." She said before stepping past them. "No trolls." She said simply, her voice was still pleasant and bubbly and her expression unchanging as the seemingly normal man who shook as he stood in the doorway stared to her. "Look lady..I'm not..." "No..trolls." Ming she adamantly replied cutting him off mid-sentence before he man lunged forward, it was a long lunge seemingly impossible gap and it was strangely possible he would have made it had the woman not rocked backwards pulling a long black weapon of sorts seemingly from somewhere beside her leg. Her right hand slipped back and her left hand gripped the barrel which gave a soft red gleam of various letters down its side and a red light erupted from the end with a thunderous crack. Once again there were three people in the store once again and a smoking spot on a shelf that was once a rather large man. Turning on her heel Ming once more faced the two, "Yes...so...you've come here for some beginner items, have you not?" She said, her smile having changed, slightly, it was one of speculative delight now. Asa wondered if the expression ever changed from some strange yet oddly genuine form of smile. "No" Came the simply answer from her companion. "Uh...um yes please." Asa began. "Well Pyri, you've finally got a companion eh?" Ming said as she began walking about the shop and filling a bag that neither could remember her picking up. Stepping from place to place she flowed through the rows rather than going about or moving to the gaps. "Yes Ming" "Wait your name is Pyri?" Asa asked, staring to the man who had never properly introduced himself. "Yes...well no, that's my nickname, my name is Pyriel (work on last name)" He replied. "You Miss Asa will do well to remember his name because he tries to avoid saying out too much." Ming added. "How'd you know my name?" Asa snapped, more in shock than offense. "You have it showing."
Chapter 1: A woodsman and a smoke
Black Forest, Germany 1986
Vic was chopping wood when he heard it. The din of a massive explosion or crash reached his ear as something off in the forest kicked up a tremendous dust cloud that washed over him. Covering his eyes he turned in its direction and saw there was now a clear tree line where there had once been a dense section of forest. Heading over to it he pushed back his bandanna from his forehead as his green eyes squinted to stare into the settling dust. He made out a small figure, no taller than two feet. Its eyes stared up at him, like embers in a dusty hearth. They were a red that glowed in the darkness around it, but he cold see it was obviously a small boy once he got closer. His small naked form trembled in the early morning as he stared around him in a daze. Vic approached, cautiously but heard a noise, like sails filled by a hurricane wind unfurling before filling and beating the air before it. Turning to check behind himself he heard the sound immediately before him. Whirling back to the boy, he saw now there was simply a deep furrow, three deep gashes in the earth where the boy had just stood and the sound of sails on wind moving further and further away.
New York City, 2011
Asa watched the man from across the bar with a growing interest. She noted the way his fingers traced along each glass that came his way, how his clothing hugged his body then went slack as though it were breathing. His eyes were a crimson color, she had assumed contacts at first but seeing how freely they moved about she doubted it now. Most of all she noted the long thin black cigarette between his fingers that gave off a vibrant green smoke, the plume rising and curling about the No smoking sign just above the bar as if in a mocking kiss between enemies. He didn't seem interested in anything around him, he just laughed at others jokes, smiled at people who approached, and absolutely refused to move his backside from his seat. Fingers curled as though contemplating, without the cigarette there it would have made him look like a profound young man deep in thought. Fingers caressing her bag briefly Asa stood and strode directly over to him.
The smell of Jasmine caught her as she neared, rich and heady it left her head swimming while he turned to glance at her. It was a side long glance, as though trying to survey something in the distance, measuring her up and staring through her with cool indifference before he turned. Mustering up confidence she smiled, a beauteous smile, a full one that she tried to make come off as easy but ultimately became a slight grimace."Flee" was the first and only word that came to her head but he leaned in and cocked his ear slightly toward her. "Speak up. "Came a simple, slow dulcet voice, it rippled into her ear and sent shivers down to he stomach before she spoke. "Can..I have a drag?" She asked, trying to seem cool, worldly even, taking the cigarette as he presented it. It changed hands after a near fumble, her fingers shaking as she brought it to her lips, before she could take a drag a hand was on her shoulder. "HEY!" A voice called, and a thumb flicked over the bartenders shoulder indicated the sign, "No Smoking" "Novice at this eh?" The red eyed man asked with a slight chuckle under his words. "You...you were smoking..I thought." His chuckle vanished then..as he looked to her. "Oh no" He simply replied, his voice sinking as his face did as well, it was an expression crossed between disbelief and misfortune. Asa was being shuffled out the door by a bouncer at this point, the man's rough hands and hard chest pressed to her back, the plow to her shuffling feet's resistance. She found herself outside now, and she felt fine, till she saw a woman slither past her, a six foot long tail trailing out from beneath a long black dress. "I guess, this would be a good time, to say welcome." Came a familiar dulcet voice. "So, how familiar are you with the term faux pas? Because I've just committed a major one. You see, I've infected you with my magic." The term infection was not lost on Asa, and her eyes following the scaly appendage which had just passed before her soon found themselves on the young man as she whipped around. "What! You drugged me! Oh my god! I'm going to be fired." She began, hand clutching her chest she heaved and wheezed trying to get the cinnamon and Jasmine flavor out of her mouth.
Chapter 2: The everlasting smile.
"First we need to familiarize you with some wizarding essentials, and so we go to Tao's." He said to her, a glint sparked in his eye as he spoke reminding her of a child headed to a toy store. They slipped into a small shop with a black door that seemed cluttered to the point of obscenity. Walls of items packed in shelves upon other items formed a maze through the store. The items were so tightly packed, light did not filter through. Far in the back after wading through what seemed like a pit with various items of a softer nature within it they saw the back counter. "Can I help you?" A voice asked, it was bubbly as though its owner felt joy out of just being able to ask. It belonged to a girl who's head poked out from among a group of items giving a macabre imitation of decapitation. She pulled back and stepped out to reveal a trim young woman with a slightly more appealing than average figure, her skin was a smooth alabaster color, her eyes a rich brown with a shape hinting at Asian ethnicity. Her mouth though was her most defining feature, her eyes forced into a constant squint by her smile, an indefatigable smile that revealed most of her gleaming white teeth. It was an attractive face, yet it glowed in an ethereal way from the wall of white her teeth formed, near constantly exposed. The smile seemed inhuman, yet not beastly, it added an attractiveness that took Asa aback.
"Once again, can I help you?" "One moment Ming" He replied. Asa leaned close to him and whispered. "Is she human?" Asa asked him under her breath. "I doubt it." He replied directly into Asa's mind. "She's some kind of construct...she's been here since before anyone can remember, Ming Tao, doesn't eat, doesn't sleep, her shop never closes....we think money keeps her alive somehow but no one has been brave enough to find out." Came the slow easy voice, low like a hushed secret was being shared. "Yes...I am..human" replied Ming with a lack of conviction in addition to mumbling something following the statement. "Oh one second." She said before stepping past them. "No trolls." She said simply, her voice was still pleasant and bubbly and her expression unchanging as the seemingly normal man who shook as he stood in the doorway stared to her. "Look lady..I'm not..." "No..trolls." Ming she adamantly replied cutting him off mid-sentence before he man lunged forward, it was a long lunge seemingly impossible gap and it was strangely possible he would have made it had the woman not rocked backwards pulling a long black weapon of sorts seemingly from somewhere beside her leg. Her right hand slipped back and her left hand gripped the barrel which gave a soft red gleam of various letters down its side and a red light erupted from the end with a thunderous crack. Once again there were three people in the store once again and a smoking spot on a shelf that was once a rather large man. Turning on her heel Ming once more faced the two, "Yes...so...you've come here for some beginner items, have you not?" She said, her smile having changed, slightly, it was one of speculative delight now. Asa wondered if the expression ever changed from some strange yet oddly genuine form of smile. "No" Came the simply answer from her companion. "Uh...um yes please." Asa began. "Well Pyri, you've finally got a companion eh?" Ming said as she began walking about the shop and filling a bag that neither could remember her picking up. Stepping from place to place she flowed through the rows rather than going about or moving to the gaps. "Yes Ming" "Wait your name is Pyri?" Asa asked, staring to the man who had never properly introduced himself. "Yes...well no, that's my nickname, my name is Pyriel (work on last name)" He replied. "You Miss Asa will do well to remember his name because he tries to avoid saying out too much." Ming added. "How'd you know my name?" Asa snapped, more in shock than offense. "You have it showing."