Post by on Apr 23, 2005 20:20:31 GMT -1
Some co writing I did with a friend a while back for relief from my heavy duty fanfic. (I know, reversal )
I have lots of stories and plot ideaas that aren't finished, including a really long spy story i wrote with another friend called INK. But this is high fantasy, and remains one of my favourite original writing pieces to date.
(huzzah for fairys and mermaids and such like)
Sorry about the quality of the writing, like I said, it was releif. I hope I normally write much better.
It was yet another grey day, the sky clotted with leaden clouds. Far below, traffic streamed like water through the twisting labyrinth of motorways that ran through the city. She caught a glimpse of an advertisement on the back of an autobus as it stopped at the lights. ‘Visit Blan Fantasium!’ was emblazoned across its steel side with a picture of a fairy grinning widely and fluttering a pair of holographic wings. The lights changed and the autobus moved off, disappearing immediately into the dense traffic.
‘643C!’ A voice said coldly. “Although I am aware the classroom windows are extremely appealing, I would be most honoured if you would give your attention to my humble Civilisation history lesson.’ 643C looked up sharply, catching sight of her pale freckled face in the window which reddened deeply as the class tittered. She stared at the teacher with her sharp green eyes, hiding the emotion in her voice. ‘Apologies Mr Long.’ He turned away disdainfully. Something about this one irritated him. She seemed to have more spirit than the others.
‘So, I suppose the window told you what year the last fantasy animal was removed from the wild? I should hope so; you’ll certainly need to know for the exam. In fact, I do believe that it will be your work for tonight. Yes, 3000 words on the extermination of fantasia, thanks to 643C’s inability to pay attention for a single hour.’ He flicked dust off his white coat smugly, smiling, and ignoring the collective groans enumerating from his students. 643C’s face remained expressionless.
“In 2034 there was a celebration of the extinction of wild fantasia. Some believe that some escaped and managed to escape and set up new civilisation beyond the…’
Mr Long’s voice cut through with razor sharpness, halting her. ‘Civilisation? You make it sound like these creatures are civilised, 643C. Remember these creatures are not capable of any higher thought. They are merely mammals; distorted leftovers of failed evolution. They cannot speak, or reason, or think, ergo they certainly can’t form their own civilisation.’ He smiled condescendingly. ‘Now class, if we would like to move on from 643C’s daydreams…’ He turned round and began writing on the whiteboard.
643C ambled slowly down the busy street, her rucksack slung over her bony shoulders. A group of girls from the Orphanage ran in front of her, giggling together. ‘Going to talk to the fairies, 643C?’ She looked down at her grey sneakers, her pale wispy hair falling over her face. They snorted with laughter, shoving her over roughly and running off again into the crowds.
She got up slowly, dusting off her faded uniform. The routine had been the same her entire life. She had soon learned not to try and reason with them. She walked through the town centre and past a plastic sign that read ‘Blan Fantasium’. Up front a fibreglass domed building rose against the dark horizon, the same letters blazoned across.
She walked round the building to the back, and slid her security pass into the bolted steel door. It ground open, revealing a dank office where the keeper sat slumped in a chair in front of a computer. A balding, pallid looking man, he spent most of his time sleeping. He opened one bleared eye as she walked past him. ‘Normal rounds 643C?’ She nodded meekly, slipping on an overall over her orphanage uniform. ‘The paths need sweeping and make sure there’s no litter.’ His eyes closed again as he slouched further into the synthetic leather. She sighed as she grabbed her mop and buckets and walked out into the fantasium gardens, a fresh breeze blowing into her face from the fans above. She was now inside the giant glass dome, artificial palm trees and grass surrounding cages containing every sort of fantasy creature ever discovered, all sealed in with anti-magic fibreglass. She swept rhythmically across the stone pathways, humming to herself.
The time drained away as 643C was lulled into the peacefulness she always found here. She found herself in front of her favourite part of the Fantasium, the mermaid tank. The tank was enormous, a cage with a fake beach leading down to a huge pool of water, cut away so you could watch the mermaids swim within. But they were hardly ever seen, they hid in the dark caverns of the tank, keeping to themselves. Mermaids had always been rare. In the Orphanage they had been taught there was only ever twenty or so, all easily captured during the purge of fantasy, all now imprisoned here. They were her favourite animals, so surrounded with mystery and magic. She washed the floor of the path steadily, but her eyes were kept on the wall of the tank, trying to pierce the murky green within. Every now and then she was certain she saw movement, a flicker of scales, but then it was gone. Entranced, she came closer and closer to the tank, pressing her face up against the cold glass.
There! She was sure that she had seen something that time! Her mop dropped to the floor as she craned her neck, trying to see through the swirling water. Suddenly, a hideous green face appeared in front of her, leering at her. She screamed and backed towards the wall. The face was attached to a roughly humanoid body, scaly and mottled. There was one major difference, though, where the legs should have been, there was a long fish like tail.
"A mermaid," she breathed to herself, One of the almost legendary fantasia. Her breathing slowed, and she started to move towards the tank, but at her approach, the mermaid's face contorted into what could only be described as a grin, before it flicked its glittering tail and disappeared into the murky water.
643C chided herself for acting so stupidly. She wished that it would come back, maybe she could try to talk to it. Then snorted at herself. Talk? Talk to the mermaids? They were dumb animals, stupid, random mutations, they couldn’t talk. What had Mr Long chided her about just today? Stupid, stupid day dreams involving talking mermaids and fairies.
But still, to actually see a mermaid…
She glanced at her watch. If she hurried, she could do her work in less than half an hour, which would leave her an hour and a half before her shift was over. Picking up her mop she practically ran out of the mermaid enclosure, not pausing to look back.
I have lots of stories and plot ideaas that aren't finished, including a really long spy story i wrote with another friend called INK. But this is high fantasy, and remains one of my favourite original writing pieces to date.
(huzzah for fairys and mermaids and such like)
Sorry about the quality of the writing, like I said, it was releif. I hope I normally write much better.
It was yet another grey day, the sky clotted with leaden clouds. Far below, traffic streamed like water through the twisting labyrinth of motorways that ran through the city. She caught a glimpse of an advertisement on the back of an autobus as it stopped at the lights. ‘Visit Blan Fantasium!’ was emblazoned across its steel side with a picture of a fairy grinning widely and fluttering a pair of holographic wings. The lights changed and the autobus moved off, disappearing immediately into the dense traffic.
‘643C!’ A voice said coldly. “Although I am aware the classroom windows are extremely appealing, I would be most honoured if you would give your attention to my humble Civilisation history lesson.’ 643C looked up sharply, catching sight of her pale freckled face in the window which reddened deeply as the class tittered. She stared at the teacher with her sharp green eyes, hiding the emotion in her voice. ‘Apologies Mr Long.’ He turned away disdainfully. Something about this one irritated him. She seemed to have more spirit than the others.
‘So, I suppose the window told you what year the last fantasy animal was removed from the wild? I should hope so; you’ll certainly need to know for the exam. In fact, I do believe that it will be your work for tonight. Yes, 3000 words on the extermination of fantasia, thanks to 643C’s inability to pay attention for a single hour.’ He flicked dust off his white coat smugly, smiling, and ignoring the collective groans enumerating from his students. 643C’s face remained expressionless.
“In 2034 there was a celebration of the extinction of wild fantasia. Some believe that some escaped and managed to escape and set up new civilisation beyond the…’
Mr Long’s voice cut through with razor sharpness, halting her. ‘Civilisation? You make it sound like these creatures are civilised, 643C. Remember these creatures are not capable of any higher thought. They are merely mammals; distorted leftovers of failed evolution. They cannot speak, or reason, or think, ergo they certainly can’t form their own civilisation.’ He smiled condescendingly. ‘Now class, if we would like to move on from 643C’s daydreams…’ He turned round and began writing on the whiteboard.
643C ambled slowly down the busy street, her rucksack slung over her bony shoulders. A group of girls from the Orphanage ran in front of her, giggling together. ‘Going to talk to the fairies, 643C?’ She looked down at her grey sneakers, her pale wispy hair falling over her face. They snorted with laughter, shoving her over roughly and running off again into the crowds.
She got up slowly, dusting off her faded uniform. The routine had been the same her entire life. She had soon learned not to try and reason with them. She walked through the town centre and past a plastic sign that read ‘Blan Fantasium’. Up front a fibreglass domed building rose against the dark horizon, the same letters blazoned across.
She walked round the building to the back, and slid her security pass into the bolted steel door. It ground open, revealing a dank office where the keeper sat slumped in a chair in front of a computer. A balding, pallid looking man, he spent most of his time sleeping. He opened one bleared eye as she walked past him. ‘Normal rounds 643C?’ She nodded meekly, slipping on an overall over her orphanage uniform. ‘The paths need sweeping and make sure there’s no litter.’ His eyes closed again as he slouched further into the synthetic leather. She sighed as she grabbed her mop and buckets and walked out into the fantasium gardens, a fresh breeze blowing into her face from the fans above. She was now inside the giant glass dome, artificial palm trees and grass surrounding cages containing every sort of fantasy creature ever discovered, all sealed in with anti-magic fibreglass. She swept rhythmically across the stone pathways, humming to herself.
The time drained away as 643C was lulled into the peacefulness she always found here. She found herself in front of her favourite part of the Fantasium, the mermaid tank. The tank was enormous, a cage with a fake beach leading down to a huge pool of water, cut away so you could watch the mermaids swim within. But they were hardly ever seen, they hid in the dark caverns of the tank, keeping to themselves. Mermaids had always been rare. In the Orphanage they had been taught there was only ever twenty or so, all easily captured during the purge of fantasy, all now imprisoned here. They were her favourite animals, so surrounded with mystery and magic. She washed the floor of the path steadily, but her eyes were kept on the wall of the tank, trying to pierce the murky green within. Every now and then she was certain she saw movement, a flicker of scales, but then it was gone. Entranced, she came closer and closer to the tank, pressing her face up against the cold glass.
There! She was sure that she had seen something that time! Her mop dropped to the floor as she craned her neck, trying to see through the swirling water. Suddenly, a hideous green face appeared in front of her, leering at her. She screamed and backed towards the wall. The face was attached to a roughly humanoid body, scaly and mottled. There was one major difference, though, where the legs should have been, there was a long fish like tail.
"A mermaid," she breathed to herself, One of the almost legendary fantasia. Her breathing slowed, and she started to move towards the tank, but at her approach, the mermaid's face contorted into what could only be described as a grin, before it flicked its glittering tail and disappeared into the murky water.
643C chided herself for acting so stupidly. She wished that it would come back, maybe she could try to talk to it. Then snorted at herself. Talk? Talk to the mermaids? They were dumb animals, stupid, random mutations, they couldn’t talk. What had Mr Long chided her about just today? Stupid, stupid day dreams involving talking mermaids and fairies.
But still, to actually see a mermaid…
She glanced at her watch. If she hurried, she could do her work in less than half an hour, which would leave her an hour and a half before her shift was over. Picking up her mop she practically ran out of the mermaid enclosure, not pausing to look back.