This is the first Animal Crossing fic I have ever attempted (not surprising since the game only came out two months ago). I have the basic plot in my mind, but I really don't know where I want to take it. Any ideas are welcome from reviewers.
Disclaimer: I don't own Animal Crossing. It belongs to those masterminds at Nintendo, such as its producer, Mr. Iwata. I own this plot, though, so no one can steal it from me (I hope).
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Island of Storms
By CassieLH
Chapter One: An Ill-Fated Tourney
THE SUN LENT its golden light to the beach-goers living in the miniscule town of Mati. Almost every inhabitant was there in the late afternoon, watching Henrietta the duck trying once more to catch a fish to rival the twenty-four inch sea bass Minsky the red squirrel caught only an hour before. All she managed to get from the ocean were the short red snappers that seemed to take a liking to her lure. Minsky stood by, laughing at the crazed antics of her friend.
"Gracious, Henrietta," the squirrel said before laughs, tail shaking back and forth in delight. "I don't believe you'll ever get a good fish. Do you want some help, dear?"
Chip the beaver who came by every Sunday to judge the fishing tourney, also was overcome with laughs as Henrietta surfaced yet another red snapper- this one a full twenty inches long. "Tch, tch." he said, shaking his head. "I think we'd better call it quits, old girl. You're not going to catch a bigger fish. Though, I wouldn't say no to some of those that you are pulling up. I have a certain liking of those snappers."
"No, I'll catch a bigger one!" the determined duck replied, growling through her beak as she pulled up an old boot. The gathered crowd let loose another wave of laughter, stifled unsuccessfully behind paws.
"Perhaps it's time we disperse." Old Tortimor, the mayor of Mati, said, stepping in front of the townies. "Give Henrietta a chance to catch some fish without the stress of all of us breathing down her neck."
Snouts lowered disappointedly; it had turned out to be a very good show. "Just one more fish?" the bear cub Martin asked. "This is the most fun I've been allowed to have in days!"
His mother placed a hand around his blue shoulder. "Come on, my son," Sniggar, the only animal in town who could match ages with the mayor, told him. "We do have some chores to do. I've been up late sewing again, and I need a little helper to deliver the clothes for me."
Martin's sad sigh was not heard by any, as a loud shout from Battam the otter smothered out everything, even Chip's excited declaration that the sea bass Henrietta had just brought him was twenty-five inches long. In startlement from the shout, the beaver ate the fish in a single bite.
"Everyone! Look at that!" the otter's brown paw was pointed out towards the sea, where a dark shape had appeared on the far horizon.
"Oh, my, what is it?" the sheep Vesta spoke up, shifting her scarf as she often did while nervous. "It looks like some horrible monster! And it's coming right this way! It will eat us for sure!"
There was no way to tell which way the shape was heading, and at the distance no one could tell quite what it did look like. However, her words drew panic into the villagers. Kiddie threw his snout up in the air and howled in fear, closing his eye with the brown patch. The koala Inez bowled the beagle over in an attempt to get off the coast. She was blocked by the powerful, brown wing of Artry.
Artry the eagle was the born leader of Mati. She craned her powerful neck skyward and screeched, a very deafening sound. The panicked animals stopped all motion, an awkward thing for the small mouse Carmen, who was busy climbing on Tak the cat's black shoulders to better see their new threat. "Now that you are calm," Artry said in her powerfully loud voice, "let's try to get through this logically."
"Yes," Mayor Tortimor seconded, "we do not know what this thing is. If it happens to be coming this way, we'll make peace with it. Artry, you have better eyesight than any of us" -at this point, the old turtle pawed his spectacles- "do you suppose you can try to figure out what in the world it is?"
The eagle nodded her golden head and stepped between the black bat Rimar and Battam. "I can try." she said. Her sharp eyes focused on the shape and narrowed. "I am not sure, Mayor Tortimor, but I think it is a ship, a very big one."
Chatter picked up again between the animals. Minsky joined Chip and Henrietta to listen to the travelling beaver's tales of ships he had seen before. Usually they contained friends of his, but sometimes they were pirate ships, holding pirates who liked to steal furniture and bells from innocent animals. Battam described what he could see of the ship to his dim-eyed friend Rimar.
"It is coming this way." Artry confirmed, still straining to keep the far-off ship in sight. "It should arrive around the evening time, if the wind stays as strong as it is. Their sails are full blown and they're coming in pretty quickly." Voices raged at her words, everyone discussing what they should do when the mysterious ship arrived.
"We should lock ourselves inside our houses!" Vesta declared, white wool shivering about her. "This ship is bringing trouble to the town, I just know it!"
There were a few murmurs of agreement. Rimar, who wasn't liking the sound of the ship from his friend otter's point of view, shouted loudly, "I think we should stay here and attack the ship when if it tries to take harbor at our dock!"
"Hold it, hold it!" Mayor Tortimor was able to speak again after Artry sounded her cry once more. "We are a town of peace. Attacking this ship would not be the true Mati thing to do. We can go home now, but tonight all of us will be at the dock to welcome this ship and offer lodging to its crew."
No one spoke, and no one left. The fishing tourney was forgotten by all as the afternoon was spent watching the shape grow bigger and bigger. The sun retreated, allowing the moon to surface in its wake to light the land with its dim glow. Faces become grim as the three great masts make their approach and little animals could be seen on the wooden surface.
One animal, one who looked almost like a turtle yet was not quite there, stood on the stern, cupping his hands to his yellow mouth to project his words to land. "Ahoy, there, me buckoes!" he called, giving a small bow that spilled a couple drops of water from his bald, bowl-like head, "I be the Kapp'n of this 'ere ship, the Wet Scoundrel. We be a-requestin' permission to take up dock 'ere in yer town fer the night."
Mayor Tortimor nodded to Artry. The great eagle opened her beak and shouted out the reply. "You are very welcome to stay here in Mati, but any weapons you possess must be left aboard your ship. The mayor of our town wishes no violence during your stay."
The ship continued its approach. The Kapp'n was able to lower his hands, a regular speaking voice would do for him now. "Aye, we agree with that, don't we, me mateys?" the heads of scruffy mammals and reptiles nodded back with "Arghs" of their own. "We only wish ter stay the night, and ask fer some 'elp. We be not pirates, and we don't own many weapons anyhow."
It didn't look as though the large ship would be able to dock at the small, wooden seven planked portion of a bridge that served as a dock for the two fishing boats owned by the townies. Somehow, though, the flat-bottomed ship built to dock in shallow waters managed to take a good spot. Within minutes, the Kapp'n and his crew of squirrels, pups, otters, and crocodiles were on land getting familiar with the inhabitants of Mati.
Martin and Sniggar were taking to an older otter who called himself Patch because of the black eye-patch he wore over his missing eye. "Hey, there, Mr. Patch," the young bear said, after his mother became friendly with the creature, "d'you know any good stories? I like to listen to stories, but I know all the ones Mama tells."
Kapp'n and the mayor joined them. "Aye, we know some stories. It be a story almost out o' a storybook that brings us 'ere. I'll be lettin' me matey Patch tell 'ee the story, though, I'm no good fer that sort."
The mayor ordered a fire built near the Wishing Well. The flames let smoke up into the sky as Patch began to tell the story.
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So there's the first chapter. Go ahead and review if you want. I'll post the next chapter sooner or later, regardless of if anyone reads it. Like I said, all ideas are welcome, I'll probably be needing them soon.
Disclaimer: I don't own Animal Crossing. It belongs to those masterminds at Nintendo, such as its producer, Mr. Iwata. I own this plot, though, so no one can steal it from me (I hope).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By CassieLH
Chapter One: An Ill-Fated Tourney
THE SUN LENT its golden light to the beach-goers living in the miniscule town of Mati. Almost every inhabitant was there in the late afternoon, watching Henrietta the duck trying once more to catch a fish to rival the twenty-four inch sea bass Minsky the red squirrel caught only an hour before. All she managed to get from the ocean were the short red snappers that seemed to take a liking to her lure. Minsky stood by, laughing at the crazed antics of her friend.
"Gracious, Henrietta," the squirrel said before laughs, tail shaking back and forth in delight. "I don't believe you'll ever get a good fish. Do you want some help, dear?"
Chip the beaver who came by every Sunday to judge the fishing tourney, also was overcome with laughs as Henrietta surfaced yet another red snapper- this one a full twenty inches long. "Tch, tch." he said, shaking his head. "I think we'd better call it quits, old girl. You're not going to catch a bigger fish. Though, I wouldn't say no to some of those that you are pulling up. I have a certain liking of those snappers."
"No, I'll catch a bigger one!" the determined duck replied, growling through her beak as she pulled up an old boot. The gathered crowd let loose another wave of laughter, stifled unsuccessfully behind paws.
"Perhaps it's time we disperse." Old Tortimor, the mayor of Mati, said, stepping in front of the townies. "Give Henrietta a chance to catch some fish without the stress of all of us breathing down her neck."
Snouts lowered disappointedly; it had turned out to be a very good show. "Just one more fish?" the bear cub Martin asked. "This is the most fun I've been allowed to have in days!"
His mother placed a hand around his blue shoulder. "Come on, my son," Sniggar, the only animal in town who could match ages with the mayor, told him. "We do have some chores to do. I've been up late sewing again, and I need a little helper to deliver the clothes for me."
Martin's sad sigh was not heard by any, as a loud shout from Battam the otter smothered out everything, even Chip's excited declaration that the sea bass Henrietta had just brought him was twenty-five inches long. In startlement from the shout, the beaver ate the fish in a single bite.
"Everyone! Look at that!" the otter's brown paw was pointed out towards the sea, where a dark shape had appeared on the far horizon.
"Oh, my, what is it?" the sheep Vesta spoke up, shifting her scarf as she often did while nervous. "It looks like some horrible monster! And it's coming right this way! It will eat us for sure!"
There was no way to tell which way the shape was heading, and at the distance no one could tell quite what it did look like. However, her words drew panic into the villagers. Kiddie threw his snout up in the air and howled in fear, closing his eye with the brown patch. The koala Inez bowled the beagle over in an attempt to get off the coast. She was blocked by the powerful, brown wing of Artry.
Artry the eagle was the born leader of Mati. She craned her powerful neck skyward and screeched, a very deafening sound. The panicked animals stopped all motion, an awkward thing for the small mouse Carmen, who was busy climbing on Tak the cat's black shoulders to better see their new threat. "Now that you are calm," Artry said in her powerfully loud voice, "let's try to get through this logically."
"Yes," Mayor Tortimor seconded, "we do not know what this thing is. If it happens to be coming this way, we'll make peace with it. Artry, you have better eyesight than any of us" -at this point, the old turtle pawed his spectacles- "do you suppose you can try to figure out what in the world it is?"
The eagle nodded her golden head and stepped between the black bat Rimar and Battam. "I can try." she said. Her sharp eyes focused on the shape and narrowed. "I am not sure, Mayor Tortimor, but I think it is a ship, a very big one."
Chatter picked up again between the animals. Minsky joined Chip and Henrietta to listen to the travelling beaver's tales of ships he had seen before. Usually they contained friends of his, but sometimes they were pirate ships, holding pirates who liked to steal furniture and bells from innocent animals. Battam described what he could see of the ship to his dim-eyed friend Rimar.
"It is coming this way." Artry confirmed, still straining to keep the far-off ship in sight. "It should arrive around the evening time, if the wind stays as strong as it is. Their sails are full blown and they're coming in pretty quickly." Voices raged at her words, everyone discussing what they should do when the mysterious ship arrived.
"We should lock ourselves inside our houses!" Vesta declared, white wool shivering about her. "This ship is bringing trouble to the town, I just know it!"
There were a few murmurs of agreement. Rimar, who wasn't liking the sound of the ship from his friend otter's point of view, shouted loudly, "I think we should stay here and attack the ship when if it tries to take harbor at our dock!"
"Hold it, hold it!" Mayor Tortimor was able to speak again after Artry sounded her cry once more. "We are a town of peace. Attacking this ship would not be the true Mati thing to do. We can go home now, but tonight all of us will be at the dock to welcome this ship and offer lodging to its crew."
No one spoke, and no one left. The fishing tourney was forgotten by all as the afternoon was spent watching the shape grow bigger and bigger. The sun retreated, allowing the moon to surface in its wake to light the land with its dim glow. Faces become grim as the three great masts make their approach and little animals could be seen on the wooden surface.
One animal, one who looked almost like a turtle yet was not quite there, stood on the stern, cupping his hands to his yellow mouth to project his words to land. "Ahoy, there, me buckoes!" he called, giving a small bow that spilled a couple drops of water from his bald, bowl-like head, "I be the Kapp'n of this 'ere ship, the Wet Scoundrel. We be a-requestin' permission to take up dock 'ere in yer town fer the night."
Mayor Tortimor nodded to Artry. The great eagle opened her beak and shouted out the reply. "You are very welcome to stay here in Mati, but any weapons you possess must be left aboard your ship. The mayor of our town wishes no violence during your stay."
The ship continued its approach. The Kapp'n was able to lower his hands, a regular speaking voice would do for him now. "Aye, we agree with that, don't we, me mateys?" the heads of scruffy mammals and reptiles nodded back with "Arghs" of their own. "We only wish ter stay the night, and ask fer some 'elp. We be not pirates, and we don't own many weapons anyhow."
It didn't look as though the large ship would be able to dock at the small, wooden seven planked portion of a bridge that served as a dock for the two fishing boats owned by the townies. Somehow, though, the flat-bottomed ship built to dock in shallow waters managed to take a good spot. Within minutes, the Kapp'n and his crew of squirrels, pups, otters, and crocodiles were on land getting familiar with the inhabitants of Mati.
Martin and Sniggar were taking to an older otter who called himself Patch because of the black eye-patch he wore over his missing eye. "Hey, there, Mr. Patch," the young bear said, after his mother became friendly with the creature, "d'you know any good stories? I like to listen to stories, but I know all the ones Mama tells."
Kapp'n and the mayor joined them. "Aye, we know some stories. It be a story almost out o' a storybook that brings us 'ere. I'll be lettin' me matey Patch tell 'ee the story, though, I'm no good fer that sort."
The mayor ordered a fire built near the Wishing Well. The flames let smoke up into the sky as Patch began to tell the story.
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So there's the first chapter. Go ahead and review if you want. I'll post the next chapter sooner or later, regardless of if anyone reads it. Like I said, all ideas are welcome, I'll probably be needing them soon.