White Plume Moths
By Traci of the Wild Magic…
Will Stanton smiled silently to himself and sat back against the tree. It was
Saturday and he had nothing to do. And he liked it that way. Days like these were best
spent on the quiet banks of the Thames, gazing into the water and doing nothing. That
was exactly what he was doing now. I love days like this, he thought. He sighed lazily
and closed his eyes....
But his quiet void was suddenly shattered by a small, falling object coming in
contact with his head.
"Ow!" Will said, rubbing his head. He picked up the offending object and studied
it. It was a small book.
A paperback.
Lucky, he thought, or it would've hurt more.
It looked like a fantasy novel to Will, going by the very battered front cover. The
illustration showed two children around Will's age and a younger one together in a very
dusty-looking room. The youngest of the three was pointing to a map on the floor. Even
the title was that of a fantasy; "Over Sea, Under Stone."
Strange, thought Will, what's this doing in a tree?
He peered up into the branches to find the origin of the falling book and promptly
got smacked in the face with a falling notebook.
"Ow, what's this?" he said, picking it up. The cover of the notebook was plain
black, and many of its pages were covered in writing. "Where'd this come from?"
"Hey, sorry about that," said a voice form above him. A girl with curly,
strawberry blonde hair dropped out of the tree to land in front of him. She stood up,
pulled some leaves from her hair and then smiled at Will.
"Yeah, we didn't mean for them to hit you, really," came another voice from the
tree. Another girl, but with auburn hair this time, dropped down beside the first girl and
stood up.
"Are… are these yours?" Will asked uncertainly. He held up the book.
The auburn haired girl quickly snatched the book from Will and stuffed it in her
pocket. She said quickly, "Oh, the book's not important…just forget about the book…"
She looked as though she had done something she didn't want to be caught at. She and
the strawberry blonde exchanged glances, but Will didn't notice.
"And what's this? You writing a novel or something?" Will asked, holding up the
black notebook.
"…sorta…" said the auburn haired girl.
"This…" said the strawberry blonde said in a very good parody of reverence,
"This is our masterpiece, our 'Little Black Notebook of Names.'"
"A treasure house of knowledge," said the other girl, "…or at least stuff worth
mentioning."
Will looked interested. "Worth mentioning? What kind of stuff is 'worth
mentioning'?"
The two girls glanced at each other before the auburn-haired one said hesitantly,
"Well, we have… uh… some stories in here, but we can't…. shouldn't…. um, Saph?"
she looked at the other girls.
"Don't call me Saph," said the other, irritated. Then she turned to Will and said
mischievously, "We have some interesting words that we've collected over the years.
WE try to use them as often as possible. Here Ack, let me read them. I like reading
them."
The other girls handed her the notebook and said, "Fine, as long as you stop
calling me Ack all the time."
"I will as long as you stop calling me Saph."
"Fine, just read them."
"Ok."
Will looked from one girl to the other. They were either crazy, hyper, or just
plain weird. Or all of the above, Will didn't know.
"Ah," said the strawberry blonde, "Here's a good page…"
Will listened as she listed some of the words on that page.
The girl started with, "Megalodactylous, Thanatoid, Omophagia, Lycanthropy,
that's one of my favorites… ahem… Lapidocolous, Myrtophobia, my all time favorite-
Antidisestablishmentarianism, and Ack's all time favorite- Facinorous." She shut the
notebook and looked at Will. "How's that?" she said proudly.
Will was no longer looking interested. "Those were… interesting…"
"Thanks," said both of the girls.
There was a brief pause… then…
"Well," said the strawberry blonde, "We have to go… you see… we're… um…
not exactly supposed to be here." She winked at Will.
"Uh, yeah," said Will, "I'll see you around then."
"You have no idea," said the auburn haired girl quietly.
The two girls started walking away down the river. Then the strawberry Blonde
turned around and called, "See you, Will!!!!"
They were almost around the bend of the river when something occurred to Will.
He hadn't mentioned his name, but one of the girls had called him by it. How did they
know?
As he raised his arm to call after them, his arm brushed a clump of long grass
growing beside him.
Then from within the grass came what seemed to be a multitude of moths. White
Plume Moths, he thought, What was that old saying again? He couldn't remember.
For a time the hundreds of tiny moths fluttered around him, never settling. He
watched them as one by one they slowly settled back into the grass. Then he blinked
suddenly.
Will Stanton smiled silently to himself and sat back against the tree. It was
Saturday and he had nothing to do. And he liked it that way. Days like these were best
spent on the quiet banks of the Thames, gazing into the water and doing nothing. That
was exactly what he was doing now. I love days like this, he thought. He sighed lazily
and closed his eyes....
~Finis~
Disclaimer:: I don't own Will Stanton, though I'll take him if Susan Cooper wants
to get rid of him. Saph belongs to me. Ack belongs to Alana. The Little Black
Notebook of Names belongs to me. Susan Cooper owns the Moths.
A/N:: This stupid story came from a dream I had a long time ago. I've been
meaning to write this for a long time. But I didn't have time until now. I'd like to shout
out to SMRT624 and Sherry, who have given me inspiration in this story and
others…(read 'em!! Please!)
The words in the Little Black notebook are real words. I'm not going to tell you
what they mean. But you can find them on page 146 of the book "In Cold Blood," by
Truman Capote. It's a scary book, and DO NOT bring it to school! The will label you as
the school bombing type of kid. But it does get people to leave you alone while writing
fanfiction in Geometry.
Well, I'm going to go annoy Alana by writing on Chapter 5 of Two Girls, the
Drews, and a Professor. She hasn't finished chapter four so she gets mad when I write on
chapter 5. heheheh… Ta ta!!
~Traci of the Wild Magic
Wild Magic Motto: "Why be difficult? Put a little effort in and be Impossible!!"
(It's a bumper sticker I saw.)
By Traci of the Wild Magic…
Will Stanton smiled silently to himself and sat back against the tree. It was
Saturday and he had nothing to do. And he liked it that way. Days like these were best
spent on the quiet banks of the Thames, gazing into the water and doing nothing. That
was exactly what he was doing now. I love days like this, he thought. He sighed lazily
and closed his eyes....
But his quiet void was suddenly shattered by a small, falling object coming in
contact with his head.
"Ow!" Will said, rubbing his head. He picked up the offending object and studied
it. It was a small book.
A paperback.
Lucky, he thought, or it would've hurt more.
It looked like a fantasy novel to Will, going by the very battered front cover. The
illustration showed two children around Will's age and a younger one together in a very
dusty-looking room. The youngest of the three was pointing to a map on the floor. Even
the title was that of a fantasy; "Over Sea, Under Stone."
Strange, thought Will, what's this doing in a tree?
He peered up into the branches to find the origin of the falling book and promptly
got smacked in the face with a falling notebook.
"Ow, what's this?" he said, picking it up. The cover of the notebook was plain
black, and many of its pages were covered in writing. "Where'd this come from?"
"Hey, sorry about that," said a voice form above him. A girl with curly,
strawberry blonde hair dropped out of the tree to land in front of him. She stood up,
pulled some leaves from her hair and then smiled at Will.
"Yeah, we didn't mean for them to hit you, really," came another voice from the
tree. Another girl, but with auburn hair this time, dropped down beside the first girl and
stood up.
"Are… are these yours?" Will asked uncertainly. He held up the book.
The auburn haired girl quickly snatched the book from Will and stuffed it in her
pocket. She said quickly, "Oh, the book's not important…just forget about the book…"
She looked as though she had done something she didn't want to be caught at. She and
the strawberry blonde exchanged glances, but Will didn't notice.
"And what's this? You writing a novel or something?" Will asked, holding up the
black notebook.
"…sorta…" said the auburn haired girl.
"This…" said the strawberry blonde said in a very good parody of reverence,
"This is our masterpiece, our 'Little Black Notebook of Names.'"
"A treasure house of knowledge," said the other girl, "…or at least stuff worth
mentioning."
Will looked interested. "Worth mentioning? What kind of stuff is 'worth
mentioning'?"
The two girls glanced at each other before the auburn-haired one said hesitantly,
"Well, we have… uh… some stories in here, but we can't…. shouldn't…. um, Saph?"
she looked at the other girls.
"Don't call me Saph," said the other, irritated. Then she turned to Will and said
mischievously, "We have some interesting words that we've collected over the years.
WE try to use them as often as possible. Here Ack, let me read them. I like reading
them."
The other girls handed her the notebook and said, "Fine, as long as you stop
calling me Ack all the time."
"I will as long as you stop calling me Saph."
"Fine, just read them."
"Ok."
Will looked from one girl to the other. They were either crazy, hyper, or just
plain weird. Or all of the above, Will didn't know.
"Ah," said the strawberry blonde, "Here's a good page…"
Will listened as she listed some of the words on that page.
The girl started with, "Megalodactylous, Thanatoid, Omophagia, Lycanthropy,
that's one of my favorites… ahem… Lapidocolous, Myrtophobia, my all time favorite-
Antidisestablishmentarianism, and Ack's all time favorite- Facinorous." She shut the
notebook and looked at Will. "How's that?" she said proudly.
Will was no longer looking interested. "Those were… interesting…"
"Thanks," said both of the girls.
There was a brief pause… then…
"Well," said the strawberry blonde, "We have to go… you see… we're… um…
not exactly supposed to be here." She winked at Will.
"Uh, yeah," said Will, "I'll see you around then."
"You have no idea," said the auburn haired girl quietly.
The two girls started walking away down the river. Then the strawberry Blonde
turned around and called, "See you, Will!!!!"
They were almost around the bend of the river when something occurred to Will.
He hadn't mentioned his name, but one of the girls had called him by it. How did they
know?
As he raised his arm to call after them, his arm brushed a clump of long grass
growing beside him.
Then from within the grass came what seemed to be a multitude of moths. White
Plume Moths, he thought, What was that old saying again? He couldn't remember.
For a time the hundreds of tiny moths fluttered around him, never settling. He
watched them as one by one they slowly settled back into the grass. Then he blinked
suddenly.
Will Stanton smiled silently to himself and sat back against the tree. It was
Saturday and he had nothing to do. And he liked it that way. Days like these were best
spent on the quiet banks of the Thames, gazing into the water and doing nothing. That
was exactly what he was doing now. I love days like this, he thought. He sighed lazily
and closed his eyes....
~Finis~
Disclaimer:: I don't own Will Stanton, though I'll take him if Susan Cooper wants
to get rid of him. Saph belongs to me. Ack belongs to Alana. The Little Black
Notebook of Names belongs to me. Susan Cooper owns the Moths.
A/N:: This stupid story came from a dream I had a long time ago. I've been
meaning to write this for a long time. But I didn't have time until now. I'd like to shout
out to SMRT624 and Sherry, who have given me inspiration in this story and
others…(read 'em!! Please!)
The words in the Little Black notebook are real words. I'm not going to tell you
what they mean. But you can find them on page 146 of the book "In Cold Blood," by
Truman Capote. It's a scary book, and DO NOT bring it to school! The will label you as
the school bombing type of kid. But it does get people to leave you alone while writing
fanfiction in Geometry.
Well, I'm going to go annoy Alana by writing on Chapter 5 of Two Girls, the
Drews, and a Professor. She hasn't finished chapter four so she gets mad when I write on
chapter 5. heheheh… Ta ta!!
~Traci of the Wild Magic
Wild Magic Motto: "Why be difficult? Put a little effort in and be Impossible!!"
(It's a bumper sticker I saw.)
