Johnathan's Scene

So this time I'm going backwards in time. This is a partial scene from Johnathan's story before he met any of the others. (There was an assignment in my fiction course that Johnathan fit really well in).

“I don’t think you understand the situation, Johnny,” Aiden said seriously, but he could not mask his smirk.
“It’s Johnathan,” Johnathan responded through gritted teeth. He looked at his surroundings, noticing several pairs of eyes glowing at him through the darkness. He took a reluctant step back into the cement wall.
Aiden broke into a round of laughter, “You’re nowhere near as dangerous as you think you are.”
“Then kill me,” Johnathan said flatly, bracing himself against the wall.
Aiden contemplated his words, putting his hand under his chin in thought. “I think I have a better idea, I don’t want my new play thing to disappear just when we were getting started,” he mused. He jumped onto the cement wall to sit above Johnathan and to the left. “So young, so small, and so naïve. I’ll just let them play with you for a little while, leave you broken, and yet still alive.”
Johnathan didn’t respond. He would let Aiden believe what he wanted. In truth Johnathan was all of those things and he knew it. However, it was obvious that Aiden was underestimating him; all of them did—they always did, that is right before they lay dead on the ground. He clenched his hands into fists, his fingernails digging into his palms, drawing a modicum amount of blood. But it was just enough to make the spicy, sweet scent fill the air and make those surrounding him crazy to get a piece of him.
They charged, their barred fangs gleaming in the moonlight. Johnathan spared one quick glance at Aiden, who was smiling down at him maliciously, before drawing his dagger. This is for you brother, was his last thought before letting his body and reflexes completely take him over. The first vampire reached him a split-second later. But Johnathan didn’t give him a chance to attack; he kicked his leg out, landing it squarely into the vampire’s chest, forcing him to stumble backwards and into the others behind him. Johnathan then threw his dagger into one that was running at him full speed. The vampire disappeared into dust when the dagger connected with its heart.
There was no time to celebrate over killing the one; there were still plenty more to deal with before he could make his escape. He pulled a second dagger from his belt and barely ducked away from a set of claw-like fingernails that would have scratched out his eyes. He stabbed his dagger into the exposed chest of the vampire, sending ashes in every direction, momentarily blinding those close enough to touch him.
But one didn’t need the use of his eyes to attack. With awareness Johnathan wasn’t sure he had, he slipped through the ashes adding to their count with every vampire he killed. With a pang of regret he remembered smiling after his first kill, but now it just seemed foolish and heartless.
Aiden had stopped smiling at this point; instead he was speechless and captivated by Johnathan’s movements. He had even stood up to get a better view of the fight. Johnathan was good; Aiden had to give him that—very few grade schoolers would have been able to stand up to a vampire, let alone ten.
There were soon only two of Aiden’s vampires remaining. They stood just out of Johnathan’s reach, waiting for the dust to clear from the air before making their move; they wouldn’t make the same mistake as their brothers by getting to close to him. Their eyes appeared scared, but they would still attack him all the same because they knew if they didn’t Aiden would just make them suffer for weeks before finally killing them.
Johnathan surprised them by charging, before he had stuck close to the wall, making it impossible for any of them to sneak up behind him at attack his back. It was suddenly obvious that he had been already planning on his strategy before the fight had begun. But the realization had come too late; Johnathan drew another dagger hidden in his sock and threw the daggers at his last two opponents simultaneously. They were nothing more than a cloud of ashes a moment later.
He whirled back to face Aiden, looking at him wearily.

Brainstorm

I, too, have pictures to share! These are the new versions of two baddies in my game. I'm sure those of you who have played Demo 1 will be able to figure out who they are (although they look nothing like their previous incarnations). Aren't they cute? :D

Demo 2 is still coming. I've been learning Ruby, the programming language my game essentially runs on, so that maybe someday I can write my own scripts for the game and be able to sell it... like, for money, on the internet and stuff. If I can't get a second job, I'll need to find some way to survive, right?

I have also been putting together a master list of items for the game. One thing I dislike about how the program works is that there's no way for the player to sort their items. They will appear in the same order as I program them in, and there's no way for me to insert spaces into the list without moving everything, and since the program references everything by number, inserting items into the list simply won't work. Being the organization freak that I am, I really want everything to be orderly and logical, so that all the potions will be together in one group and the swords will be in another. So what I've done is set up an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of all my items, weapons, etc. and what order I want to put them in. Then, when I'm fairly certain I've created all the items I'm going to create, I can plug in the master list and go through the entire game and fix all the item references. This, of course, will take at least a week. The things I do for this project...

But in the meantime, you guys can help me brainstorm ideas for items, weapons, skills, and the like! That way, I can add more things to the master list now and save myself the trouble later on. If you have any ideas you want to give me, I'd love to hear them! Just so you know, there are twelve elements I use in my game: Fire, Water, Thunder, Earth, Growth (like plants and stuff), Ice, Light, Shadow, Wind, Poison, Gravity (also mass/space), and Time. Physically speaking, there are five attributes: Cut, Stab, Smash, Energy (raw magic power, has no element) and Limit (these skills have high costs and are useful mainly on bosses). It's usually best for skills and weapons to keep to one, MAYBE two attributes. If a Fire/Cut skill hits an enemy who absorbs Fire but is weak to Cut, for instance, the skill will do extra damage. The program goes with the attribute that would do the most damage, instead of averaging out like it probably should. So keeping things to one attribute makes everything a lot simpler. I also have tons of status effects, pretty much everything you'd see in your average RPG. I'm not opposed to adding some if you have any ideas for those, too.

Leave a comment if you have any ideas or questions! :)

No writing, but I have some drawings from class...

Perspective exercises, not really in order. These are up in my deviantArt gallery, too. I'd offer to bring the originals, buuuut the paper is 18x24 inches XD

Torn (Scene continued from what I brought two weeks ago)

“How is she?” Johnathan asked Seton as he sat on the couch cleaning one of his daggers. Seton wearily walked into the living room from the hall and sat on the couch rigidly.
“Recovering, I got to her just in time; Jackson nearly tore her throat out,” Seton said flatly, bordering on angrily. They sat in silence for a while; the grandfather clock ticking away the minutes until chiming when four o’clock in the morning rolled around.
“You should get some sleep, Seton,” Johnathan said quietly.
“I’m not tired,” Seton growled back at him. No, he might not have been tired, but he was definitely worried. He wanted to be lying next to her, making sure she was safe, but then he had to remember that he hadn’t—couldn’t forgive her for killing Mitch.
Johnathan shook his head at Seton’s stubbornness. “She’s in there suffering. Lying there in the cold, dark shivering.”
“I can’t take away her pain! I’m not a healer—that is why we have you, Will, and Peter.”
“The healing she needs we can’t provide and you know that.”
“As soon as she is fully recovered I want her out of here, Johnathan. I won’t see her again.”
“Quit lying to yourself. The second you saw she was in trouble you went after her.”
“Then I won’t do it again. Have you forgiven Aiden for killing your brother? For killing your best friends?”
Johnathan snorted, “I’m not in love with him. And I know that he isn’t good; he takes pleasure from hurting people, she doesn’t. Go, be with her.” Seton shook his head in frustration.
“No.” He turned away to stalk out the door and into the night, but froze when something moved in the shadows. “How long have you been listening in, Alastor?” Alastor’s silver eyes flashed briefly, reflecting off a piece of moonlight that had flittered into the room.
“Long enough,” he replied softly. Seton hissed at him lowly. “Oh, don’t even start with that, Seton. You still don’t want any of us going near her; you’re jealous that she could pick one of us over you. And I wouldn’t blame her either with the way you’ve treated her!”
Seton had Alastor by the collar in an instant and he slammed him back against the wall, his hold growing tighter as the seconds passed. But Alastor just stared at him, not fighting back, not trying to speak. Seton released him with a snarl.
“If you didn’t want to see her why didn’t you just tell her that we were going to take care of Jackson? You normally at least coordinate to avoid her,” Alastor said in disgust. Seton momentarily glanced away—guilt in his eyes for a mere second. But it was enough to have the blood in Alastor’s veins run cold. “You wanted her to be there—she—you…you used her as bait.” Seton’s glare became deadly and he took a step toward him once again, this time intending to harm.
“Seton,” Johnathan’s voice cut through the air like ice, “Look at me and tell me it isn’t true.” Seton turned to him, unable to hide the truth. Johnathan was on his feet a second later striding toward him. “How dare you use her like that. After all she’s done for you; after all she keeps doing for you—how could you throw her into that? She nearly died!”
“But she didn’t,” Seton said flatly. Johnathan shook his head in outrage—Seton never risked their lives to such an extreme and even when he did he’d let them know exactly what they were getting themselves into.
“You need to leave. Now,” Johnathan whispered menacingly. His fists clenched at his sides, a few blue sparks of electricity playing around his fingers.
Seton’s eyebrows rose in surprise; Johnathan had only threaten him once before and it had ended with Johnathan unconscious on the ground and it hadn’t been because of Seton. And for once he simply nodded, a lump forming in his throat in protest, but he kept it at bay. Without looking at either Johnathan or Alastor he strode to the front door, opened it silently, and left with the door closing softly in his wake.
Alastor and Johnathan watched the door long after Seton had left, expecting him to come striding back at any moment.
And then when he didn’t Alastor said, “I’m going to go check on her.” He made a move toward the stairs.
“No,” Johnathan said sharply. Alastor paused mid-step to turn and stare at him in wonder, a frown forming on his face. “It’s too early for you to be making passes at her. Not with Seton so close; not when she only knows and will only know that he saved her life.”
“Are you asking me to lie to her?” Alastor whispered in outrage.
“No, I’m telling you,” Johnathan looked toward the front door giving a slight nod to it, “He needs to get his petty little revenges out of his head before he can begin to realize that he has made a mistake. And she needs to believe that he cares for her, which we both know that he still does.”
“I don’t like this, Johnathan,” Alastor said through gritted teeth.
“Doesn’t matter. Just stay away from her.” With that said Johnathan quickly moved up the stairs and slipped into the room she was recovering in—it was the only way to guarantee that Alastor stayed out.
Alastor’s fangs unsheathed in anger and he snarled something unintelligible to the seemingly empty room before ascending the stairs and slamming into his own room.
***
Damian stepped out from the shadows after making sure they were out of sight. His hand clenched the glass of blood that he had retrieved from the kitchen not five minutes before. He understood what Johnathan was doing, but he also knew that whatever applied to Alastor applied to him as well. In fact it didn’t look like Johnathan was going to let any of them speak to her before she left; Johnathan would do exactly what Seton had demanded him to do. And Damian wasn’t even sure why.
He stared back down at his cup full of blood; no longer interested in consuming its contents his lip curled upward in disgust. He went to the kitchen and poured the down the sink and then ran cold water over it to wash away the rest of the blood. In his mind the water splashing against the sides of the sink began a kind of rhythm; one that he couldn’t stop or deny. He had to sing when beckoned or he would suffer.
But it was late and he couldn’t go singing inside while the others were asleep. And he especially didn’t want to disturb Amy, even if he wasn’t going to be able to see her any time soon. He automatically moved to the back door that led him to the outside, tracing the same path that he had gone over many times. He walked on the cold grass, noticing that he was bare foot, but didn’t stop to care. He stopped just as he reached the pond that looked dark, murky and foreboding in the moonlight. A plane suddenly flew overhead, screaming in his ears with his extra sensitive hearing. And then the song burst from his mouth involuntarily. It was one he recognized instantly—Billy Squire’s In the Dark. The music played for him projecting against the water, causing it to ripple. He couldn’t help, but start dancing—the moon as his audience, as he didn’t believe that anyone else was listening to him and hadn’t for a long time

The Legend of Pokti - Chapter Thirteen

 

Chapter Thirteen

Going Home

            “I hope that now, since Brukadorfuish has been banished, we can all live here together in peace for many, many, years,” Alden Kareem announced to the crowd.

            A loud cry of joy rang out.  Many of the people in the crowd were goblins.  They were filled with happiness that now they wouldn’t have to work for the Dark Queen ever again.  One of the goblins was Bruka’s little servant girl.  She was shouting and cheering just as loud as she could.

            News of the victory spread through Pokti quickly.  There was a big celebration that night, and just about everyone in Pokti came.  There was singing, dancing, eating, and talking.  Most of the women brought some type of cake, ice cream, cookies, salad, fruits, vegetables, fish, or Jell-O.  Other foods were brought too.

            After the party and all the celebrations were finally over, everyone camped out in Unicorn Valley.

            *     *     *

            In the morning, when Kyle and Kristy woke up, almost everybody else was awake.

            The thought of going home returned to Kyle’s mind.  He shared his thoughts with Kristy, and they decided that they should ask Alden Kareem about it after they ate.

            They had a wonderful breakfast with Mr. and Mrs. Potts and then began their search for the king.  They finally found him with Celeste standing next to his shining, shimmering, pool of water.

            Kyle cleared his throat nervously.  Alden Kareem lifted his head and turned his eyes towards Kyle.  “Um,” Kyle started, “we were wondering how we’re supposed to get home.”

            “Ah,” Alden Kareem said with a chuckle, “that will be easy.”

            “It will?” Kristy asked, suddenly relieved.

            “Yes, it will.  All I need to do is make a bubble like the one I sent your aunt through, and you just hop through.”

            “Okay!” Kyle said, happy that they could go home whenever they were ready.

            “When do you want to leave?” Alden Kareem asked.

            “After we say goodbye to everyone,” Kristy said, suddenly feeling kind of sad.

*     *     *

            Later that day, just after lunch, Kyle and Kristy stood next to Alden Kareem, ready to go.  They had said goodbye to all their friends, and all the new people they had met.  Everyone gathered around to say a final goodbye.

            Alden Kareem created a big, blue bubble about three feet away from where he was standing.

            “Why is it blue instead of pink?” Kyle wondered.

            “Because I’m sending you through a different portal than I sent your aunt through.”

            “Where are you sending us?” Kristy wanted to know.

            “To your aunt’s house.”

            “Then, where did you send her?” Kristy said, confused.

            “I sent her to the house of the Dark King, Blandorbush.”

            “Why didn’t you send her to her own house?” Kyle asked.

            “So I could seal the one in his house too.  That way, she cannot return to Pokti through that portal, and if the Dark King went to Earth to talk to Brukadorfuish, he wouldn’t be able to come back to Pokti to do whatever she wanted him to do.”

            “Are you going to seal our portal too?” Kyle asked, a little concerned.

            “Yes, I am.  But don’t worry, you can come back any time you’re at your aunt’s house.”

            “We can?” Kristy said excitedly, “How?”

            “You still have that key, don’t you?”

            “Yeah, it’s right here in my pocket,” Kristy said as she pulled it out and showed it to him.

            “Well, it will continue to unlock that door at your aunt’s house until it’s gone.”

            “Really?” Kristy said, with a huge smile on her face.

            “Yes, really.  Now, are you ready to go?”

            “We sure are, especially now that we know we can come back whenever we want.”

            “Well, go on, hop through the bubble,” Alden Kareem said, nudging the twins towards the big, shiny bubble.

            “Wait!” Kristy burst out.

            “What is it, my child?” Alden Kareem asked in a fatherly tone.

            “Where’s Spotty?”

            “Right here,” a voice called from the crowd.  Fiertia emerged from the middle of the crowd of people.  There, in her arms, was Spotty.

            “Oh, thank you,” Kristy said, as a huge smile appeared on her forlorn face.  “I thought we’d lost him.”

            “Mother says that when the rest of my family came for the party, he desperately wanted to come, so they brought him along.  He’s been running around all morning, and I just remembered about him a couple minutes ago. Here he is,” Fiertia said as Kristy took Spotty from her arms.

            “On second thought,” Kristy began hesitantly, “it might be better if you keep him. He loves it here. Besides, if we took him back, he'd be with my Aunt Bruka again. Will you take care of him for me?”

            “Of course I will.”

            Kristy gave Spotty a squeeze and then handed him back to Fiertia. She looked back at Kyle who gave her a sad smile telling her that she was doing the right thing. She turned back and gave Fiertia a hug. “I’m going to miss you,” she whispered, her eyes filling with tears.

            “I’m going to miss you too.  Come back soon for another visit,” Fiertia whispered back.

            “I will,” she whispered, “I will.”

            When the two finally stopped embracing, Kristy said meekly, “I’m ready now.” She wiped her eyes and held Kyle’s hand.

            “Goodbye!” they said together as they stepped through the bubble, and then they were gone.

            “I’m going to miss those two,” several people muttered.

*     *     *

            Kyle and Kristy were back at Aunt Bruka’s house in the room full of books.

            Kyle ran out of the room, followed shortly by Kristy.  They ran to their Aunt Bruka’s room.  The door was slightly ajar, so they went in.

            “What do you want?” Aunt Bruka asked coldly.

            “I was wondering when our parents are coming back,” Kyle asked.

            “In three days.”

            “Thanks,” he said, turning to walk out of the room. 

 Kristy followed him up the stairs to the room where he was staying.

            “Do you know what this means?” Kyle asked excitedly as soon as they reached the room, and the door was shut.

            “What what means?”

            “It means that time passes the same there as it does here.”

            “So,” Kristy said, waiting for more of an explanation.

            “So we can come to Aunt Bruka’s house for a week and then go to Pokti for a week, and only a week will have passed.  Also, we could go to Pokti next year and only one year will have passed.  The same people will still be there.  Hundreds of years can’t pass by in Pokti unless hundreds of years pass by here.”

            “Oh, that’s great.” Kristy said with false enthusiasm, still not really understanding Kyle’s point.

*     *     *

            At the end of the week when their parents came to get them, and they were driving home in the car, Kristy asked, “Can we stay at Aunt Bruka’s for another week next month?”

            “What for?” their mom said grinning, “I thought you didn’t like going to Aunt Bruka’s house.”

            “We didn’t,” Kyle answered truthfully.

            “Then why the sudden change of heart?”  When nobody answered, she continued, “Or did you just find out it’s not so bad after all?”

            Kyle and Kristy exchanged glances and smiled.