It was the witching hour.

There wasn’t a lot of light. Oil had to be conserved and anyway she was used to this much. The scratch of feather on paper drowned out the faint night sounds from outside, and if it hadn’t, it wouldn’t have mattered.

Her cheek nearly brushed the desk, the candle night-blinded her, the wooden chair, set up in a poor position, bruised her behind. She didn’t notice. She could no longer even register the oppressive sulfuric odours of alchemy that suffused her home and workshop. She was past caring about the sea of often dangerous junk that covered every available surface – except for her working desk, of course, which was exactly as clean and clutter-free as if it’d just been magicked into existence that very moment. Her eyes were baggy, but burning with a brighter light than you’d be likely to find at any other moment for this particular witch. She wrote and drew feverishly, covering each pristine page of a thick blank book with diagrams, tables and sketches at a hand-cramping pace. Her long hair was limp and oily. She hadn’t changed from her practical, thick, worn set of gathering overalls, covered with layers and layers of dirt.
Underneath, she was literally running on fumes, having augmented her concentration and stamina several steps beyond exhaustion through alchemical means. If it had been possible for her focus to wander, she might think of Reimu’s mothering, advising her against precisely this sort of overwork. That moment, however, her pupils were dilated, her heart pumping hard enough to put her through a marathon, her mind operating beyond consciousness. The black lines raced across the pages: size, colour, consistency, texture, position, reactivity to light, air, all painstakingly written down over many tries. But this was it. It was the culmination of nine days of nonstop research, gathering, reading, searching with inhuman single-mindedness, with no food and no real breaks. The last leg.


Her sample this time was a thumbnail-sized frog, coloured striking iridescent blue. It sat splayed on its back, neatly vivisected with its pinkish-purple insides in plain sight. Its organs, the biggest no larger than a grain of rice, lai

Mima you dick. Your cute student is crying like two feet away from you. Wake up and get a clue.

2000 years later, but I have to say that I really enjoy your writing isolex. Hope to see more from you.

And mima, please come back. We all miss you, expecially your student. Really.

Living in Eientei as a medic-in-training doesn't mean that you're limited to simply being a student there - since you are a Guardian, you have plenty of lessons and practical tests in between patrols with rabbits along the way. You need to be prepared at all times, since you may have to escort sick villagers to Eientei in the middle of the night.

Other times it's a simple escort mission involving Reisen and medicine delivery, like what you are doing for today.

"Alright, Erin. For today, you'll help Reisen sell medicine at the village. Today's going to be a busy day with this long list, so try your best and lend Reisen a hand, will you?"

"Got it."

"We'll do our best!" She exclaims, perhaps a little more chipper than usual.

You and Reisen hop off the verandah and put your shoes on.

"We'll be off now!" Reisen call out, waving to Kaguya and Eirin.

"Have a good trip!"

---

And so you're on your way to the village with Reisen selling her medicine. The routine is simple - she goes to a list of houses to renew people's medications, and stops by the market where she will sit down at her usual spot for selling regular medications. It's a bright sunny day and there are people buying medicines for headaches, fever or other small things.

After a while of door-to-door selling, you and Reisen take a break at the curb, where she treats you to a drink as thanks for accompanying her.

As you rest and wait for Reisen to return with your drink, a group of three kids around your age show up. You know them very well; they are among the bullies that like to gang up on you, because of your smaller stature. Of course, as they continue to mock you, you ignore their presence as you inspect your MP5A3. That would soon be interrupted by something bouncing off your helmet, which you assume is a rock.

"I'm talking to you, you dumbass!"

"What do you want?"

"Your outfit looks stupid, Murasaki."

"Yeah! You think you're cool with that grown-up outfit are

>>1989

>cross-board linking

You need a forward slash before the board name as well as after.

Latest main thread the time of posting is at: >>/underground/14411

Lewd stuff goes to: >>/at/36385

>>1992
No wonder I feel I am missing something. Thanks for the tip.

A nice and sweet short. Shorts like this have a cozy feel to them.

That was beautiful. Thank you.

Bittersweet, yet so heartwarming...

>>1961
Sorry, mate, but no dice. I was provoked into writing the first short, and goaded into the second one, and while I do provoke easily, that's as far as this line goes. There are other things waiting my time and pen. Keyboard. Whichever. And they've waited long.
My only regret is this flowered affection for dullahans under willows. Who's going to name Benben their favourite DDC now?
>>1960
>subtlety
That's funny. Always fancied myself more of an "on the nose" sort of wordsmith.

That was good.

Cant really offer much else.

>>1965
It's fine. I'm just glad people are appreciating the Banki. Cheers, bossu.

I don't care that I'm too late for a Christmas story, that was really good!

The underrated characters really are the best. Shame no Mystia though, but I can appreciate the best umbrella youkai around.

>>1944
<3

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFF-

The flat of my tongue licks the roof of my mouth. The meat didn't actually melt under my teeth back then, but I now had a craving for dragon that probably wouldn't be fulfilled. My method of cooking that kind of meat leaves it chewy. But it's still tender enough that it doesn't make your mouth sore. Mudo also had a way with seasonings that leaves the spice lingering in your mouth. It wasn't a hot spice, but a herbal spice that rises into your nose.

The dreams are becoming more vivid.

“So,” Lady Patchouli peers over her book at me across her table, “these are the books that might interest you the most.”

“Thank you, Lady Patchouli.” I take the book from Koakuma, who closes her eyes and smiles as she hands me several books. The pile isn't heavy, though there are easily over five hundred pages together.

“Seven hundred thirty three pages.” Lady Patchouli turns a page. “Of which, twenty eight are most relevant to your condition. If you'd like, I can have Koakuma show you.”

“Who is showing something here?”

I turn my head behind me as much as I can. “Milady Remilia! Excuse me for using the library in my spare time.” The words come as naturally as breathing.

“It's fine.” Lady Remilia sits to the left of Lady Patchouli. “The library is a place where everyone comes to learn. What they learn is their own business,” She eyes the books in my arms, “so as I'm a good mistress, I don't meddle in personal affairs.”

“Remi.”

“What is it, Patchy?”

Lady Patchouli remains silent, turning another page. Lady Remilia sighs while sliding down her chair. I walk to find a table somewhere else, with Koakuma following beside me.

“Meiling.” The mistress calls.

I pause, turning to her once again. “Yes, Milady?”

Lady Remilia doesn't face me. She doesn't speak for a moment, and I stand waiting for her to do so. And when she does:

“You are important to us. Remember that.”

----

Three months. Some time after three months, I lie back on my bed. Mudo has long since slept inside with me,

Magnificent. A really well written, bittersweet story, thank you for writing this.

That's okay... I just wanted to wash my eyes from the inside anyway...

That was great.

I didn't laugh that hard in a long time.

Absolutely amazing.
I demand more.

------------

The evening sun is beginning to set as two figures are walking into the forest. Near the edge of the trees, one looks back to the castle as a faint roar of frustration echoes about the grounds. "…Did you hear that?"

"I'm sure that one of the Merman are mad that their prize dabberblimps were lost." The blonde turns back and smiles at Harry as he follows after her. "They are rather aggrieved when they wander off to lay in the sun, after all. They have to let their sacks to dry out. If they're too soggy, they won't be able to float."

"…I'm sure that is all that it is." Harry shakes his head. "I'm rather sure it came from the castle."

"The merman is quite the ventriloquist."

"I'll take your word for it." Harry shakes his head and speeds up, catching back up to the girl. "So, where exactly are we taking your little friend, Luna?"

"Back home, of course. She did wander quite a long way."

"But how did you even find her in the first place?"

"Well, I was looking for records on the breeding habits of Moon Frogs when I was wandering around the Room of Requirement. Funnily enough, there was a lot of material on Moon Rabbits, but everyone knows that's pishposh."

"It is?"

"Of course it is. Everyone knows those ears are fake." Luna smiles and looks down. "So I found this little friend down here rolling about. It looked like it was teething, like it was trying to gnaw at my arms, so I figured I should help take it back!"

"But what does that have to do with the posters?"

"Well, I needed help bringing Sexy here back. That's why I asked." She smiles and pats the top of its head. "Isn't that right, Sexy?"

The round object in her lap turns up and shoots a glare at Luna. "I told you ten times already! My name is SEKI!"

"Such a sweet girl, isn't she?" Luna pats the disembodied head. "But as it was, I could hardly leave her here. Nearly Headless Nick was disappointed at the sight, saying that he was rather jealous."

"What a freak… You think that a ghost would be able to take care of that trivial thing!"

"…Aren't you just a disembodied head?"

"I'm a Rokurokubi, not some human. I'm a vicious man-eating monster!"

"Aww, don't say such things." Luna rubs the back of the head's head, right near the bow. "You're such a doll, so don't say things like that. You might give Harry a bad impression."

"I think she's already succeeding…" The head closes its eyes a bit as it gets rubbed, but the moment that Harry speaks it snaps them back open and glares at him. "So, erm… she lives in the forest? Is it wise to be going here at this time of day?"

"Well, not until we get lost. Once we don't know where we are, we'll be fine." Luna just smiles. "Besides, the Forbidden Forest does have a nice atmosphere. It helps the thestral's and their lovely coats."

"Hmpf. You don't need to take me back. I could fly there on my own! …If I could still. Stupid outside…" Harry looks down at the creature and it puffs up. "What? I can do it, to! If I just had my body, I could fly just fine."

"Don't lose your head, Sexy. You know how bad your temper is."

"DON'T LOSE MY… MY NAME IS…" The head lets out an anguished scream and shakes back and forth. "Just take me back home, please… I don't want to be with this madwoman anymore."

"So… What happened to your body in the first place?"

"I… err…" The head looks away as blood rushes to its cheeks. …From somewhere. "I do

After reading this, I'm not sure if I should drink more or less.

Good job.

Fighting scenes are one of the hardest things to translate to text, but it seems like you did a good work. I like it.

Descriptions are key and you have enough-but empty dialog lines are a pet peeve of mine. I'd say that they should be integrated to the story; at least with a short sentence explaining the tone and feelings that those words are trying to convey.