Ciao lovelies! Today's post is a story written by the incredibly talented Nightsong, my bestie and college roomie. So, I hope you all enjoy her amazing writing skills!
What Goes Bump in the Night
The cozy little suburb glowed with a warm yellow light, the
last few colors draining from the sky as stars began to peep out, twinkling
nervously as if they knew the summer sun would soon chase them away again. Soft
green leaves rustled as a tiny creature crept along the length of an oak
branch, its gaze intently focused on the open upper story window of the house
between the cusp of the suburb and the forest surrounding it. It was a tiny
cat-like form with pale green markings and a round bobbed tail that twitched
animatedly. Delicate, bottle-green moth wings folded along its back as it
wiggled forward on large, disproportion paws.
Cryptid’s whiskers and antennae trembled with fear and
excitement as he moved further along the branch, paws clumsily wrapping around
the rough bark, round yellow eyes watching the girl in the room before him. His
breath came in heaving excited gasps, tonight was the night! He knew it!
Peering into the girl’s room, he saw her sitting on her bed.
She was absorbed in a book, iPod playing beside her, facing slightly away from
the window. Frizzy copper hair obstructed her view just enough that she
wouldn’t notice Cryptid sneak in. Narrowing his eyes, he pulled his claws from
the tree bark one by one. He unfolded his wings, careful they didn’t catch the
light of the moon and cast a shadow that might announce his presence. He drew
in a deep breath. The wind picked up slightly, rustling the leaves, sounding
like the hushed whispers of an excited crowd, poised, waiting for the flag to drop.
With a tiny squeak of delight he dropped from the branches and fluttered down
towards the windowsill, soft paws silently scrabbling at it as he attempted to
land without stumbling. He was not successful.
Holding his breath, Cryptid peeked around the edge of the
window frame at the girl, making sure she hadn’t heard him. She was still
reading- good! Ever so slowly creeping one paw after another Cryptid slipped in
through the open window and dropped slightly to the floor, behind a stack of
books so that he was still hidden. Taking a steadying breath, Cryptid
remembered what his mother had taught him and flexed his stubby claws, forced
himself to keep his bobbed tail from wagging in anticipation, and poised to
leap. This was his chance, finally to be seen and as adult, not a dopey little
kit! He could hardly keep his whole body from wriggling excitedly. He would
show his mother and brother, he could do this!
Muscles tensing, Cryptid leapt upwards towards the top of
the book stack- but he didn’t jump quite high enough. Pulling with this front
paws, back ones clawing trying to get purchase, ears pinned back in fear, he
finally heaved himself up until he was standing upright on the stack. Well,
that hadn’t gone how he’d planned… but, he still had a chance to do this.
Fluffing up all his fur and spreading his tiny wings, he leapt forward onto the
floor, staring up at the bed and the girl sitting there, with wide eyes as he
bounced on stiff legs and let out a sputtery hiss. The girl didn’t look up,
bubblegum pop music drowning out Cryptid’s attempt at a fearsome snarl. Ears
beginning to droop, he gave another try, sounding more like the squeaking of a
desk drawer than anything else. Again, no response from the girl. Letting out a
tiny huff, Cryptid scrunched up his face, bounding about in a circle and
swatting his paws at the air, claws unsheathed as he let out a tiny yowl.
Suddenly, the girl lifted her head, setting her book aside
she stood. Cryptids breath caught in his throat, triumph surging through his pelt.
But before he could fully bask in its warm sensation, he watched with wide eyes
as the girl walked along the length of the room and out the door without so
much as a glance in his direction. Cryptid stared at the door as it closed
behind her, disappointment crashing into him like a gust of storm wind. A sharp
thud as the book the girl had been reading slipped off the edge of the bed and
crashed to the floor shook Cryptid from his dismay. With a breathless yelp he
whirled, claws scrabbling on the wooden floor as he flung himself, ears
flattened in terror at the loud noise, upwards and out the open window.
When Cryptid made the flight back home to his nest, and
slipped into the hollow tree he and his family called home. His mother was
waiting. She stood almost three times his hight, dark red eyes searching his
face as she hurried to him.
“Well? Did you pass?” Her whiskers twitched, as she stared
down at him. Cryptid’s head hung, his ears, whiskers and antennae all reaching
down towards the floor, as if desperately pleading for it to swallow him up so
he didn’t have to face his shame. “I see…” His mother gently touched her nose
to his head. “What was it this time?”
“I was too small… the girl didn’t notice me.” Cryptid’s
whisper was barely audible, his dejected misery making every word catch in his
throat as if it was trying to claw its way back down, desperate not to be
spoken.
There was a sudden thump, rustle of fur, and the sound of
claws scratching against bark as a large shape filled the entrance to the nest.
Dread filled Cryptid all the way to his paws as his brother, Storm, came in,
smug smile on his face as he stared down at Cryptid’s defeated form.
“Really? You failed again?” He sneered. “You know, I
achieved my first scare almost two seasons ago. At this rate, you’ll never be a
full member of the flock.” His brother stood, a massive black creature with
orange wings and markings that resembled the last remaining embers of a
campfire on the coldest night of fall. A sneer tugged at the corner of his
mouth as he stared down at Cryptid. “Come on, we both knew you couldn’t do it.
Even a toddler wouldn’t be afraid of you. You’re so small, and so clumsy. It’s
honestly quite impressive.” He flexed his wings in the small space, eyes
blazing with contempt. “ You can’t even glow!” As if to prove his point, Storm
purred in amusement as the markings along his body began to emanate a ghostly
light, like foxfire.
Cryptid was shaking with rage as he looked between the
disappointed eyes of his mother, to the scornful, sneering gaze of his brother.
Taking a step forward, he stretched his neck up as tall as he could, looked
into Storms eyes and whispered, voice trembling,
“Go eat snails!” He turned and darted out into the forest,
tears blurring his vision.
Frustration clawed at every hair on his pelt as Cryptid
paced back and forth on the rooftop of the girl’s home. He would never be an
adult, never be taken seriously, never haunt someone’s nightmares when he was
to busy having nightmares himself! To busy flinching at every loud noise,
hiding his face from every strange shadow, cowering in his nest whenever there
was a storm! How could he incite fear when he was so scared himself? Fighting
the urge to throw back his head and let out a wail, Cryptid flopped down on the
edge of the roof, letting his head hang over the edge.
After a few minutes, he felt a tiny bit of hope flare up in
his heart again as his mind began to form an idea. Determined, he dropped down
onto the girls window sill again, fur fluffed, wings spread, eyes scrunched up
in concentration. Letting out a yowl, he poured every ounce of concentration he
had into the pale green markings on his fur and wings. Digging his little claws
into the wooden ledge he gritted his teeth and strained to focus harder, every
muscle tense with the effort. He had to suppress a bounce of delight when a
soft green light faintly flickered from his body. However, just as quickly as
before, the joy was quenched when he finally took in the sight of the room and
realized that it was still empty. No one had seen his small glowing form or heard
his high pitched yowl.
A new wave of hopelessness swept over Cryptid and the faint
light from his markings vanished as his head began to lower once more. With a
sigh he flopped down, lying on the smooth wood of the windowsill, large paws
hanging off the edge. After a few moments, he suddenly saw something out of the
corner of his eyes that made his ears perk upright in interest. There on the
girls desk was some thick paper, thin wooden rods and tape. Eyes lighting up he
leapt to his paws and flew forward into the room clamping some of the rods in
his tiny jaws he swooped back out again and set them gently on the roof of the
home. Turning he once again flew back down and into the room, this time picking
up some of the stiff paper, his little fangs punching small holes in it as he
tried to maneuver it back out the window and up onto the roof. The tape was
even heavier but he managed to place it on the grit-covered roof tiles with the
rest of his supplies. Panting, Cryptid examined the paper and set to work,
using his claws to cut through it and shape it into the form he wanted. Fuzzy
sides heaving with the effort he hoisted the form up and attached it to the
rods, tape getting stuck in his fur in the process.
When his little project was done, Cryptid’s bobbed tail
began wiggling in excitement as he slipped into the structure and stood to his
full height feeling the paper puppets weight on his back. Taking one of its
wooden rods in his mouth, he peeped down over the edge of the roof. The girl
was laying in bed, eyes still open, but the lights were off. However a security
light attached to the side of the house would be all the light Cryptid needed.
Taking a deep breath he leapt, landing perfectly on the windowsill, his form
immediately backlit by the security light. On the girls wall was now projected
the shadow of a massive beast with wide jaws and bared teeth. As Cryptid tugged
on the wooden rods in his mouth he heard the girls horrified gasp, as she
watched the shadow on the wall rear its mighty head and open its mouth even
further. Her shrill scream pierced the night air and just as quickly as he’d
appeared, Cryptid vanished into the trees letting his paper creation flutter to
the ground as he hid behind a thick branch and watched as the girls parents came
bursting into her room, attempting to console their still shrieking child.
He did it! He’d successfully scared someone! Squeaking in
delight he swooped up into the air and flew towards home, ready to arrive back
as a full adult of the flock!
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