I made a pretty substancial story in the last hour or so. Decided I should post it to the cause. Just a short story, although I'll probally made about 2 more chapters. Hope you like it.
A small green toad sat upon the precipice of a large winding rock, which seemed to reach out to the heavens in an outward spiral. It's small pimples shook with nervous quivering, as it balanced on the small enclosure. A torrential wall of water sprayed up from the sapphire bay, covering the toad, and with small "Glerewa!!" it as swept into the bay, never to be seen again.
Rock formations around the bay were known for their ferociously jagged edges, which would crash even the most sea worthy of vessels if a captain at helm steered in with haughty over confidence. This bay brought fisherman's small junks to their knees, so many steered away from these dangerous waters.
Waters that dwelled among this bay beat the basins and cliff edges as a blacksmith forges blades of steel in the hot fires of a coal bin. Leaping up from the azure seas like hunched gobbles, ready to swallow anything in reach. Each repetition rang in the air, occasionally sweeping in weaker rocks into the sea, as a final sacrifice to the waters pitiless anger. With every rock, the waters became more cruel in their intention and this cycle had gone on since creation began from Talad's hand. For years this terrible cycle had formed these waters into some of the most dangerous in all of Ylakium.
The skies overcast itself in asphalt grey, and the clouds overlooked the ocean with an oppressing standing. Thunder could be heard off into the sunset, and the winds began to sweep up with increasing activity. The sea grass on the warm dunes now swayed into a violent dance. The membranes of the tan stalks wrenched together into a mass of knotted branches, beating into each other, completely prone to the direction of the impeding winds.
A howl met the sand, and it brought sand into many small zephyr on the beach. The cyclones spun up and down the sandy strip, meeting the waters edge. Such as small acrobats, these windy pests made somersaults back and forth between the gentle dunes, and the incoming tide. A small shell began to levitate before being thrown into the pounding waters against it's will. With finality, these wind swept acrobats met the cliff edges, and dissipated as quickly as they had appeared.
Beyond the dunes, laughter could be heard, and a small Klyros boy began to talk.
"Come on! Don't be such a wimp!"
Then, another boy's voice could be heard, and the sweeping of the sand down the dunes as the two walked up the hillside lifted into the air, attacking their soft prominent faces.
"I am not! Look at the sky."
Both boys looked up to the skies, as the clouds spiraled together into small cones, meeting the water into water spouts off in the far distance.
"Oh come off it! They're like, half a mile away. They'll never reach here, now hurry up! I want to show you something."
The small boy wore tattered shorts, and a scarf around his neck made of soft wool material. It swayed into the wind, and at times he looked such as a wily rogue with a knee lifted in his traveling direction, bravely leading the way.
The second boy, meekly followed, occasionally toppling over his front side, with both hands to the sandy dune. His balance faltered with each repeated wind. Eventually, his knees buckled as he stood to face the wind. His foot met the bottom of a stalk of grass, and his balance returned.
"I said hurry up! Gosh, if you don't hurry we won't make it back before nightfall. You know what that means!" The boy made a threatening gesture, with his fingers out stretched like claws, both hands pressed to his cheeks in a mock impression of some feral animal.
Suddenly, smaller boy shuddered, before pressing once more up the hill. The two made it to the other side of the dune, before sitting down around a few jagged rocks near the waters edge. As the first sat, the second dug into a small satchel around his waist. He retrieved a small morsel of food he had been saving all day.
"Hey." the first boy held his wavering scarf back as it billowed in the wind, "I'm sorry. Really, I didn't mean to scare you. I just wanted to get here, I have something really special to show you. Can I have some of that Pteo fish?"
"Sure. It's ok, I guess. You know how many times Papa told us never to head out when the weather got this back. He's going to be awfully mad when he hears about this"
"Papa's never going to hear about this! You hear me? When we get back, we'll tell him we headed up to the tavern to see Brethyl, and get an ale.
"Oh. Alright." the second boy then broke off the tail end of his delicious greasy fish, and smiled softly. He looked off into the distance as the water spouts dropped down into the sea, bringing spray into the air in a dramatic, and powerful promenade. His eyes glazed over, and as he chewed his Pteo fish, his cheeks swelled then dissipated, while bits of scales stuck to his lips.
The first boy swallowed his half in a single glutinous gulp, and after burping he regarded the second Klyros youth and said, "Come. We don't have that much time."
Following example, the second Klyros then finished off the rest of his treat, stood up and followed the first as he journeyed off towards the cliff.
The two were brothers in a near village, typical klyros youth of a barmaid and a fisherman. Their whole lives, they had been trained to gather the fruit of the sea, and treat it with the utmost respect.
The first brave child dressed in the tattered scarf was Bleeo, and his energy beat unlike any other in the village. While the other youths dreamed of venturing out of the village, he alone had already decided his fate as the greatest pirate to sail the Ylakian sea. At age 5, when his lunch was stolen from him in the village square he tussled with a boy twice his age, and thrice his weight. Bleeo tore the poor child's crown from atop his head, forever shaming the boy.
Orlan was the second child, and unusually small for his age. His patience was revered, unlike his brother, and he kept a very reserved attitude no matter what the situation. He followed his father's teachings very closely, with strict practice. Both children held their father in high regard, but Orlan unlike his brother emulated his father with admiration.
Bleeo and Orlan walked upon the waters edge, venturing closer to the jagged bay. As they got closer Bleeo spoke, "Look there! In the cliff face! Come on, we're almost there."
Inside, the cave smelt of algae and rotting flesh. A few crabs sidestepped out from under the two's path. Rotting fish, brought in from the powerful current, now rested on the floor of the cave. Evidence of scavengers could be seen on the rock floor, as blood stains made swept paths towards the edges of the cave, and several fish lie mutilated from claws and beaks.
Both boys moved closer towards the back of the cave. Carefully, with dexterous grace, Bleeo jumped from rock to rock, towards a small enclosure inside the cave. He moved towards the small hole, then motioned to his brother with a spiraling arm. Orlan followed cue and moved towards his brother at the front of the enclosure.
"Ok, you go first."
"What!? What do you mean, 'You go first'? This is your plan, remember? You go first."
"Nah, you go first. Come on, don't be a baby."
The second regarded his brother with a frown, sighed and then kneeled on all fours, crawling into the small enclosure. At the end of the small hole, he could barely see a shimmering glint.
"Bleeo! There's something in here. It looks like it's glowing..."
"Really? That's interesting.", and with that the first brother kicked his sibling firmly in the rear, and Orlan suddenly slid forward, with gravitational intensity.
"What the- Hey! Ahhh!!!!"
Orlan swept down the chute, which was cumulated with water upon it's edges. Like a water slide, Orlan flew through the stone passage faster and faster, with water spraying in his eyes as he attempted with futility to make out his surroundings in the pitch cave. As he slid down the watery chute, small lights swept by. Glowing a lime green tint, the edges of the cave seemed to be covered in a glowing fungus. As he began to slow down, Orlan pressed his fingers on the edges of the smooth rock, peeling away some of the algae, then analyzing it closely.
Suddenly flying off the end of the chute into a small pond of water, Orlan was now deep below the cave. The walls of this enclosure was pocketed with jagged windows, and the whole section of the cave was illuminated with gray sunlight. Thrashing in the water, Orlan swiftly made his way through the water to edge of the pond, pulling himself out of the water and sitting on the perimeter.
After a few seconds, Bleeo swept down the slide, and splashed into the pond of water. The whole time down the slide he had been yelling in great amusement, rising as he neared the end of it's journey into the enclosed water. Bleeo then swam over to his brother, who wore a firm countenance of disapproval.
"Oh come on, you didn't like it?"
"Jerk."
"I've shown you my secret hiding spot, and you all you can do is complain?"
"So this where you come?" the small Klyros looked to his brother with an inquisitive glance.
Bleeo looked over with a calm reserved face, as he bobbed up and down in the water, "Yeah. This is where I come when I want to be alone. I hide all my treasure in here, and one day my collection will get so big that I'll have to find another cave!"
"Again with the pirate dreams? I thought you gave that up?" Orlan looked over, with a smirk, winking with one eye.
"What! I'll always be a pirate, through and through! I'll show you. One day I'll have my own crew, and my own ship. That'll be the day. And you know what? I won't give you permission to come aboard. I might even make you walk the plank.", Bleeo shouted
"How would I walk the plank if I don't even get ON to the ship?"
"Err, shut up."
And with that, Bleeo jumped out the water, and swept back his gills. He shook all over, shivering beads of salt spray.
"Watch it!" Shouted Orlan, wiping his eyes, "What is this stuff?"
Orlan brought a handful of glowing slime to his brother, who replied "I don't know. That's why you're here. I've been here a long time, and I've never seen this stuff before. But now the whole cave is filled with the junk. I was hoping you could tell me what it is."
Orlan shrugged, then adjusted his wet satchel over. Quickly, Bleeo noticed it's presence. Bleeo smiled, and looked to his younger brother revealing his sharp fangs.
"Oh no! You're not putting any of that gunk in here!"
"Come on! Just for a while, till we get back to the village. Then we can ask what the stuff is!"
"How're we gonna do that? Then dad will know we haven't been at the bar."
Bleeo looked at Orlan for a moment, then shrugged, "He won't know, because we won't show him."
"Are you sure?", replied Orlan, who then nervously shifted his weight.
"Would I lie?"
"Yes."
"Yeah, that's true. Well, I'm not now. C'mon get this stuff so we can get out of--"
As Bleeo spoke, the very ceiling of the cave dropped a large slag of rock into the small reservoir. A large thundering crash reverberated inside the room, shaking everything and everyone inside. The two boys opened their mouthes agape in horror, then scampered over to the far side of the chamber.
Orlan shouted, "What's happening?"
"I dunno! This has never happened. Come on! Let's get out of here."
And with that, the windows of the cave were abruptly snuffed closed as rock shook from the outside over the openings. The small room was now completely pitch, and all that could be heard was the thundering movement of rock, and the howling winds outside of the room.
The crashing of rock began to cease and settle. Glowing algae on the sides of wall pushed back the tide of darkness, and now the two boys adjusted their eyes so that they could see inside the small cave.
"We're trapped! How're we going to get out of here! We could die! This is all your fault!" screamed Orlan.
"Don't get your undershorts in a bunch, we're going to get out of here.", Bleeo said calmly. There's got to be an exit out of here. I know this cave like the back of my hand.
Carefully, the two made their way around the edges of the room, feeling up and down the walls for some sort of tunnel out. Making 5 or 6 rounds around, they finally looked at each other with disappointment realizing that there was no escape. Bleeo sat on the floor, and grabbed some nearby seaweed and grass that littered the floor around the edges of the water. Tightening his fists around the stalks, Bleeo shook the leaves free of water and moisture.
"You still have that flint?", Bleeo said.
"Yeah. You know you'll never be able to start a fire with that." Orlan then retrieved and handed the flint to his brother anyways, after Bleeo 'convinced' him by punching him in the arm.
After a few strikes of flint, the sparks disappeared into the matted mess of dried leaves and seaweed. Soon, embers began to glow a soft red, and abruptly the leaves caught fire.
"Hah! Told you!"
Orlan, proven wrong, held both his arms crossed, then spoke, "You'll only use up the air in here anyways.", before coughing with a hand over his pursed lips.
Bleeo sat the burning foliage together, and collected more from the floor, throwing it into the fire, until a substantial flame now burned next to the edge of the water. The flames made an orange tint through out the cave, making shadows in and around the crevices of the cave. At times, it seemed the darkness took malicious shapes and forms, which made Orlan a bit nervous, and he sat closer to the fire warming his hands.
"Got anymore food?", said Bleeo.
