Dakota C. (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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fandomweekly2024-09-16 04:36 pm
dkta) wrote in fandomweekly2024-09-16 04:36 pm
Entry tags:
[#233] An Immortal's Fall Harvest (Alicianrone)
Theme Prompt: Curse
Title: An Immortal's Fall Harvest
Fandom: Alicianrone
Rating/Warnings: PG? Tobacco's mentioned once.
Bonus: Yes, pronouns adjusted
Word Count: 1000
Summary: The fall harvest has arrived, and Alicianrone was asked to deliver a powerful young girl's vegetables to a friend. She instead spends time ruminating on the circumstances that brought them both here, and the consequences of becoming eternal.
To be immortal is to be unchanging, yet it is not to be unchallenged. Your body may persevere or regenerate through all, even the most fatal of disintegrations, but no pain could match the reality of eternity: to forever see your world unfold before you, for each crease you see to be untenable and impermanent, to be forced into an infinite cycle of grief. It takes decades to understand death as a necessity, as all other paths lead to suffering, yet some youth fall into the trap before they can truly understand the consequences. They exchange their very nature for protection, status, love, or perhaps another motive. Nevertheless, this world calls them all witches.
Beyond walls of wood and stone, remote from any path, you may find one such witch: Teotoratta, abandoned then raised by monsters, found her promise whilst scavenging. Illiterate, and only just a tween, she craved the ability to communicate better with her pack. Once her first verbal thought had sprung across her mind, however, it was clear that she was given much, much more. With newfound pointy canine ears, sharpened teeth, and a bovine tail, she returned to her clan that night, and in turn they all gestured their servitude. She ruled them now, she could command them, and she'd soon be donned as the Beast Witch. Her ability meant that visitors were sparse and often other promised girls, as was today's visitor: an older teen with long flaxen hair, a lilac uniform, and a poppy-colored headband sporting cloth bunny ears. The fall harvest had arrived, and she—with her relatively recent aptitude for speed—had agreed to help distribute Teotoratta's various crops and goods to the rather small group who'd have them, but she seems quite lost in thought right now.
"Rone," Teotoratta shouts at her from the branch she'd perched on, "Rone!"
Alicianrone's eyes shift back into focus, as she swiftly shakes her head. "Ah, sorry," she replies ruefully, "my mind's started racing again."
"Aren't your feet supposed to do that?" Teotoratta replies with snark. "You're the Speed Witch, not the Anxiety Witch. Cut that out." The comment doesn't land with the witch, now very thoroughly frowning. "Come on, Teo, it's not that," she replies with discomfort, "I just remembered that my first anniversary's only a few days away. Of being a witch, that is."
Suddenly, Teotoratta's face brims with excitement. "Ooooooooh. Has it really been one year already? I can hardly keep track of these dates you other humans have! You have to teach me how sometime!" she says, oblivious to all previous attempts failing, as she could not read nor adjust to any system outside her natural sense of time. "Whatcha gonna do? Any big plans? Can I come along? Pleaaase?"
Alicianrone pauses. Witches do celebrate their anniversary of promise, don't they? Some give it a cutesy name, too, like Witchiversary. She supposed that everyone had separate upbringings, like Teo herself, who has only seen positives since her promise. Not that Teo knew her exact date, of course, arbitrarily picking the first day daffodils bloom and immediately dragging the nearby witch populace to her abode.
But Alicianrone could not say the same. She'd always been mocked for being slow on the uptake, and found her promise after being bumped around relentlessly by teachers and students alike. She asked for a faster, better organized brain, yet the promise in turn enhanced her body and reflexes, too.
It wasn't long before her father had figured out what had happened. He knew of promises and how those stories ended, having seen a past friend suffer deeply through stasis. His daughter, his only remaining family member, would never grow again. He drowned his sorrows under a veil of sternness and tobacco, growing distant by the day. Alicianrone filled the void he'd left behind with more and more busywork to help her community or newfangled friends, but nothing changed the nature of the curse of immortality. She wished she had been like Teotoratta, so free and steady as to be unharmed by eternity. No, she wished she knew better. She wished she knew better.
"Oiiii," Teotoratta gets down from the tree and snaps in her face. "Snap out of it. I'm sorry for asking to party, I forgot it's sensitive for you."
"A-ah, sorry!" she replies, putting on a wistful, slight smile. "I-It's just easy to get caught in a series of thoughts with this new brain of mine."
"Rone," Teotoratta interjects with worry, "you were about to cry! Surely there's something I can do, right?" Not half a second passes before her frown turns into an open, glowing smile. "Hey, I got it! How many more days until your big one?"
"Uh, I was hoping to spend the day with my dad."
"Okay! How about the day after, you can just come over and play- oh! Ooh!" A small, black-furred beast with red eyes had brushed up against her leg, carrying a basket holding many types of vegetables atop its fuzzy back. "Thanks, Rambo, I totally forgot!" She turned her attention to the two larger beasts watching nearby, each no larger than a bear cub. "Rumbo, Ronnie, you've raised a good kid." Teotoratta, too, will never grow up, but her environment and demeanor makes her good company for a deeply regretful Alicianrone. She makes the life of a witch seem carefree, almost trivial at times.
"Rone," she turns to her, "here. You can take one or two if you'd like. The rest go to the Forest Witch! Don't be gluttonous!"
"Oh," Alicianrone responds with a now-firm smile, I'll get there before I can think about it."
"Now be off! I don't want anything stalking you at night."
"I'll outrun them!" Alicianrone retorts, before turning heel and preparing to book it, but not before a final yell from Teotoratta. "Oiiiiii! Waaaait! If you run into Miu, tell her I said hi, okay? Oh, and 'screw you.'"
Alicianrone yells back "She works todaaaaaay!" before bolting to the Forest Witch's home.
Title: An Immortal's Fall Harvest
Fandom: Alicianrone
Rating/Warnings: PG? Tobacco's mentioned once.
Bonus: Yes, pronouns adjusted
Word Count: 1000
Summary: The fall harvest has arrived, and Alicianrone was asked to deliver a powerful young girl's vegetables to a friend. She instead spends time ruminating on the circumstances that brought them both here, and the consequences of becoming eternal.
To be immortal is to be unchanging, yet it is not to be unchallenged. Your body may persevere or regenerate through all, even the most fatal of disintegrations, but no pain could match the reality of eternity: to forever see your world unfold before you, for each crease you see to be untenable and impermanent, to be forced into an infinite cycle of grief. It takes decades to understand death as a necessity, as all other paths lead to suffering, yet some youth fall into the trap before they can truly understand the consequences. They exchange their very nature for protection, status, love, or perhaps another motive. Nevertheless, this world calls them all witches.
Beyond walls of wood and stone, remote from any path, you may find one such witch: Teotoratta, abandoned then raised by monsters, found her promise whilst scavenging. Illiterate, and only just a tween, she craved the ability to communicate better with her pack. Once her first verbal thought had sprung across her mind, however, it was clear that she was given much, much more. With newfound pointy canine ears, sharpened teeth, and a bovine tail, she returned to her clan that night, and in turn they all gestured their servitude. She ruled them now, she could command them, and she'd soon be donned as the Beast Witch. Her ability meant that visitors were sparse and often other promised girls, as was today's visitor: an older teen with long flaxen hair, a lilac uniform, and a poppy-colored headband sporting cloth bunny ears. The fall harvest had arrived, and she—with her relatively recent aptitude for speed—had agreed to help distribute Teotoratta's various crops and goods to the rather small group who'd have them, but she seems quite lost in thought right now.
"Rone," Teotoratta shouts at her from the branch she'd perched on, "Rone!"
Alicianrone's eyes shift back into focus, as she swiftly shakes her head. "Ah, sorry," she replies ruefully, "my mind's started racing again."
"Aren't your feet supposed to do that?" Teotoratta replies with snark. "You're the Speed Witch, not the Anxiety Witch. Cut that out." The comment doesn't land with the witch, now very thoroughly frowning. "Come on, Teo, it's not that," she replies with discomfort, "I just remembered that my first anniversary's only a few days away. Of being a witch, that is."
Suddenly, Teotoratta's face brims with excitement. "Ooooooooh. Has it really been one year already? I can hardly keep track of these dates you other humans have! You have to teach me how sometime!" she says, oblivious to all previous attempts failing, as she could not read nor adjust to any system outside her natural sense of time. "Whatcha gonna do? Any big plans? Can I come along? Pleaaase?"
Alicianrone pauses. Witches do celebrate their anniversary of promise, don't they? Some give it a cutesy name, too, like Witchiversary. She supposed that everyone had separate upbringings, like Teo herself, who has only seen positives since her promise. Not that Teo knew her exact date, of course, arbitrarily picking the first day daffodils bloom and immediately dragging the nearby witch populace to her abode.
But Alicianrone could not say the same. She'd always been mocked for being slow on the uptake, and found her promise after being bumped around relentlessly by teachers and students alike. She asked for a faster, better organized brain, yet the promise in turn enhanced her body and reflexes, too.
It wasn't long before her father had figured out what had happened. He knew of promises and how those stories ended, having seen a past friend suffer deeply through stasis. His daughter, his only remaining family member, would never grow again. He drowned his sorrows under a veil of sternness and tobacco, growing distant by the day. Alicianrone filled the void he'd left behind with more and more busywork to help her community or newfangled friends, but nothing changed the nature of the curse of immortality. She wished she had been like Teotoratta, so free and steady as to be unharmed by eternity. No, she wished she knew better. She wished she knew better.
"Oiiii," Teotoratta gets down from the tree and snaps in her face. "Snap out of it. I'm sorry for asking to party, I forgot it's sensitive for you."
"A-ah, sorry!" she replies, putting on a wistful, slight smile. "I-It's just easy to get caught in a series of thoughts with this new brain of mine."
"Rone," Teotoratta interjects with worry, "you were about to cry! Surely there's something I can do, right?" Not half a second passes before her frown turns into an open, glowing smile. "Hey, I got it! How many more days until your big one?"
"Uh, I was hoping to spend the day with my dad."
"Okay! How about the day after, you can just come over and play- oh! Ooh!" A small, black-furred beast with red eyes had brushed up against her leg, carrying a basket holding many types of vegetables atop its fuzzy back. "Thanks, Rambo, I totally forgot!" She turned her attention to the two larger beasts watching nearby, each no larger than a bear cub. "Rumbo, Ronnie, you've raised a good kid." Teotoratta, too, will never grow up, but her environment and demeanor makes her good company for a deeply regretful Alicianrone. She makes the life of a witch seem carefree, almost trivial at times.
"Rone," she turns to her, "here. You can take one or two if you'd like. The rest go to the Forest Witch! Don't be gluttonous!"
"Oh," Alicianrone responds with a now-firm smile, I'll get there before I can think about it."
"Now be off! I don't want anything stalking you at night."
"I'll outrun them!" Alicianrone retorts, before turning heel and preparing to book it, but not before a final yell from Teotoratta. "Oiiiiii! Waaaait! If you run into Miu, tell her I said hi, okay? Oh, and 'screw you.'"
Alicianrone yells back "She works todaaaaaay!" before bolting to the Forest Witch's home.
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Sorry if anyone saw me post this like, three different times! Submitting from mobile is a nightmare, turns out. Will very much keep it in mind going forward.
And while I'm commenting, I would like to add that as a college student, I heavily appreciate the due dates being on Monday night. So much easier. Will have to get into the groove of this, haven't written anything at all in a while (sharing a brain presents a large obstacle) and it was super enjoyable!
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