Hi everyone! This story requires a little bit of an explanation, so I'm going to jump right to it since these bold paragraphs are gonna be longer than usual:
The pairing for this story is Scomiche (Scott Hoying/Mitch Grassi) and is a Pentatonix fanfic. Kirstie will be paired with Jeremy.
It is a fantasy story that takes place in Nightshade Forest (dunno if any other forest is named that. Probably. I'm sticking with it though). The planet Nightshade Forest is located on is solely called Orbis (Latin for the word world) that is in a different dimension than ours, and is 89% forest and only 11% open land and water.
The Sound is a power that runs through the veins of talented musicians or singers that allows them to command objects, use the elements, read minds, and other things when they sing or play their instrument. Not all people on Orbis can use the Sound, as not all of them are singers or musicians. There is one woman on all of Orbis whom is rumored to be the most powerful Sound user in all of the land.
Note that Scott (he is the main character and whose 3rd person POV will be written in almost all of the chapters) speaks English, and everybody on Orbis can speak any language that might be found on our Earth (for instance, a person on Orbis might speak Spanish and English, or maybe they can just speak Italian. You'll learn why this is in later chapters).
Everything else you, the readers, are going to have to learn as the story progresses and Scott learns more and more about Orbis. Sorry! :)
Okay, that was all very long but very necessary. If y'all have any questions, feel free to leave them as a review or PM me. Also, this first chapter is short, but all of the rest of the chapters will gradually get longer.
Alright everyone, that's it from me for now. Happy reading!
All was silent in the clearing. It wasn't a particularly large one (though it was inhibited by a few rabbits, several rocks, and many fireflies), and was certainly not the largest in the forest, but it was sizable enough that two hooded figures could pace its circumference while keeping an appropriate distance between them.
Which is exactly what they were doing; walking in a slow circle, sizing each other up, their tongues quick and sharp and on the edge of speech. Both were wary of how powerful the other was. Both required something of the other.
And both would not go down without a fight, if it came to that.
Suddenly, the shorter of the pair paused. In front of it stood a flower, a small-looking thing, unnoticeable save the fact that its petals had yet to open. The cloaked figure who had stopped in its path reached out a hand and sang a quiet riff; in the next instance the flower was in full bloom and the center of the pistil glowed with a soft blue light.
The little flower-lantern was swiftly plucked from where it resided in the grass and held in the palm of a hand. It was then promptly twirled around and around thin fingers, so that the teal haze outlined the shape of the figure's bare knuckles.
"Nice. Waste your powers on a damn flower, of all things." Said a voice across the way. It was the other person in disguise, who waited only a second more before decidedly tossing her hood from her head. The woman revealed underneath was more of a girl, really, assumed to be a woman because of her unnatural height for her age (only fifteen, yet she seemed eighteen with her bust and leg length). Her hair was a cranberry red, curled to past her shoulders, and her small eyes glinted silver-grey in the moonlight.
Her opposition didn't pause in its movements. "Why do I have a feeling that I just did something you still can't do?" The flower was tossed. It landed in a bush three feet away, still pulsing with its strange colored light.
"I can do that." The girl scowled and crossed her arms in defiance. "I just need help is all."
"Yeah. From your mom."
"You-" She was very ready to fire a scorching insult, and the other being in the cloak knew this. However, she took in a deep breath and held her temper, reminding herself of the policy. If she allowed her anger to get the best of her, her mother's store would surely suffer for it. "What exactly did I make the two day journey over here for?"
"You know."
"Actually, I don't. Mom never tells me the needs of her clients." The redhead sniffed, clearly disliking this notion. The figure under the hood smiled faintly. "So, what's your fancy, stranger? You want a potion, enchantment, charmed object? None of them, all of them, it doesn't matter: anything will cost you."
Though the smirk of the other person went unseen, it did not stop them from doing it. "Your ever-so-merciful mother is giving me this favor for free."
An impressed whistle rang through the air. "Wow. You must be important." She cocked her head to the side, trying to assess this mystery. "Still, I need to know. What's your order?"
This choice took no time to debate. "I want blood."
"Then kill something. Like a rabbit."
"Hysterical." The figure opened its mouth (this also went unseen, as the hood covered its entire face) and sang one long, low note. There was a squeal to the left of the girl. She started at the noise, glancing over in shock. Laying in the grass was a rabbit, twitching violently as it's ears and back legs bent in a way they were not supposed to be bent. This went on for a couple moments more until the mammal's eyes closed and it became still.
Visibly shaken, the girl with grey eyes barely kept herself from stammering. "I didn't mean literally." It was dawning on her that this person might use their power on her...and she'd end up dead in the middle of a clearing with her legs twisted backwards over her head.
Not a pretty sight.
"Then you shouldn't have said it so testingly. You've got a lot to learn." The figure pointed at the still rabbit. "Not that kind of blood. I want new blood. I want somebody with the Sound in their veins. For the Sing Off."
She wanted badly to ask the cloaked person, so much shorter than her yet so much more powerful, why they needed somebody like that. After all, the biannual Sing Off was the most important event held in the woods.
"Can't you go find somebody yourself, all-powerful one?" The girl asked, attempting to keep some false bravo. "There are plenty of people in these parts with the Sound in them. Plenty."
A shake of a head was her answer. "I want somebody special. Different. Not from here. Not from anywhere close to here." The figure stared at her and said no more.
There was silence again.
Then realization struck the girl.
"You want me to go get them?" She asked incredulously. Already, she was stepping away, her gaze darting around the trees, seeking a way out. "Sorry, Miss, but I don't do that kind of stuff. My mom used to do it ages ago, and look where it got her. Locked up in a dungeon of her own creation an running a semi-illegal business." Another thought, a darker, more secretive one, gnawed at the edge of her brain. Forcibly she pushed it to the side (for she was aware that if the figure across from her sang a few special words in one of the oldest of languages, it could read her mind). "No can do."
"I spoke with your mother before you came tonight. She agreed to the terms that I set out." A lie. But the girl wasn't to be notified of that. "You're to leave at once."
"Are you kidding me?" She threw her hands in the air. Irritated, her next words escaped with a suspicious twang. "My mom agreed to give you, someone I don't even know, a free order and power over me?"
Another animalistic shriek sounded in the middle of the night, now to the right of the girl. It was another rabbit, screaming its protests as its small body writhed and fell to the ground. Her eyes widened as they flicked from it to the hooded figure. The song must've been sung so softly that even she, the daughter of the strongest Sound-wielder in the forest, couldn't hear it.
This made her body begin to shake in fear. This person was going to kill her if she didn't obey.
"F-Fine. I'll leave immediately." She twisted her hands together in front of her, a clear sign that she was nervous. "I'll bring a potion and a Power Seeker and everything. I'll bring you someone." And boy, was she afraid. The Sing Off was in a little less than a month. Bringing somebody foreign and not part of your tribe was against the rules and you could be disqualified for doing so. But the figure did not seem to care.
"Good. Now go. I expect nothing but the best."
The girl hesitated, peering at the being standing not twenty feet away. Her tone became ominous."You might think otherwise, but the kind of magic my mother and I use...there's always a price, Miss. So the boy or girl, man or woman I bring back, they might not fall into your arms right off the bat if you know what I mean. They will be strong, not puppets. They'll have free will. It'll take your guidance to make them go to you and do your bidding."
"Maybe you should bring a suggestion potion with you. Convince them to follow you and bring them to this clearing."
"We both know that isn't possible." She squinted once more. "Mind you, person who's powerful as shit, the person I bring can pop up anywhere. Literally anywhere. Possibly at the bottom of Lake Thetis."
"Make sure that doesn't happen."
"Of course. Oh, by the way, just one more warning; whomever I bring will have a tie to my mom. You remembered that, right? They are partially hers. As they always are. That's your price. Now, if you'll excuse me, stranger..."
She bowed, pulled her hood over her red locks, turned on her tail, and sprinted out of the clearing and into the dark trees. The figure waited a moment, just to make sure that she was gone, and then let a loose sigh escape along with the tension on its shoulders. Thank god that was over with. Being abrasive just wasn't in the hooded person's nature. For now, though, being a little rough was necessary.
It then ran over to the first fallen rabbit, stroked its ears once, and hummed a hymn. The tiny animal's eyes flickered and opened. It blinked up at the person innocently, making said person grin. The cloaked figure walked over and sung the same song to the other rabbit, whom did the same thing it's fellow hare had done; a quick, pure blinking of their eyes after being awakened. The two hopped to each other once they had tested their legs, sniffed the area, and as fast as a shooting arrow they plunged into the forest, out of sight.
They hadn't died, of course. Only put into a sleep like death. A trick of the Sound, meant to frighten the girl into doing the figure's bidding.
Sighing again, the powerful cloaked mystery gave the woods surrounding it a last sweeping glance. Satisfied and thinking of how it was to slip past the tribal guards, it raised its hands high to the moon and sang a range of words entirely in Italian.
Soon, the sound of the figure's voice warping and shuttering encased the space, followed by a faint click. It was gone, leaving not a trace that it had been there in the first place.
All was silent in the clearing. The grass rustled. The wind blew lazily. The flower, still caught in a bush, glowed blue.