hello, darkness, my old friend!!
10-24-2021, 06:01 PM
(This post was last modified: 10-24-2021, 06:06 PM by Wendigo I. Edited 1 time in total.)
As he was wont to do, Wendigo was having a hay day. The mountainside had been overrun with tiny glowing bug things. They were fascinating, zippy little things with a nose for adventure. At least that’s how he saw them. They always knew the best places to gather. So far today they’d found him a dead raccoon, a cave full of crystals, and -AND - this was the best part, an open lava flow! He hadn’t seen one of those in ages. Many an hour was spent throwing things in after that; first out of nostalgia he’d thrown in his favorite things for old times sake. Toads, mice, you know, the classics. Then he moved on to novel things. Special things he’d been saving for the day the lava returned. With the fireflies flying all around Wendigo had, after some time, exhausted his collection save for one last item.
The last item was something he loved with all of his heart. It was a toy from when he was quite small. A simple thing, the toy was nothing but a fox pelt attached by its nose to a giant pine one. By rolling the pine cone one could make the fox flip and twist and seemingly ‘play’. As a tiny tot Wendigo had loved the thing and it showed. The pelt was sparsely furred now and missing a foot, and the pine cone was little more than a core. What seeds it had left were hanging on for dear life. All it all it was old, it was a mess, and he didn’t play with it anymore which was why it was time to send it off properly.
To the fireflies who he now considered friends and who he’d been talking to the whole time he’d been throwing things in, he said, “I’ve saved the best for last gentlemen! This,” he held up the toy and spun a slow circle so all could see, “is Mister Boppy Fox. Mister Boppy Fox will be retiring in fire today after a long and lustrous career as my best bud.” Wendigo picked up the scruff (or the skin, rather, as there wasn’t much fur left there) of the fox and puppeted the ‘jolly’ little fellow as close to the lava as he could get without burning his paws. He set it down long enough to say, “Alright my dear friend! A merry roasting to you!” and then with a swift swing of his paw he kicked the toy towards the lava. It flipped through the air once, twice, through a cloud of blue fireflies, and then landed in the lava with a solid splash. In an instant it was engulfed in flames. For a brief moment there was the stink of burning hair, and then it was all gone. The toy, the stink, all traces.
That done Wendigo turned back to the bulk of the firefly cloud with a beaming smile. It was hard to say exactly what they were feeling but it seemed to Wendigo that they approved of his show. "What next, fellas? That's all I've got, I'm out so it's your turn." Whenever he looked at them he got the feeling they wanted him to follow and he'd done that for awhile, but the draw of the lava had been too much for him until now. Now he was ready to go wherever they directed. And direct they did. As he watched the cloud parted down the middle and dozens of fireflies raced down the middle away from him. With a gleeful smile he took off after them; racing down the parted crowd and crowding up behind the ones flying away. He was going to stick nice and close to them. Wendigo couldn't risk them getting away and leaving him behind. He would be so terribly bored and he couldn't bear the thought!
He followed at a casual trot as the fireflies slowed and began to take their time with the journey. They'd been whispering on and off the whole time he'd been with them but he had no idea what they were saying. Honestly he wasn't sure what they were doing. Did they not want to play? Or maybe they were just real casual spirits having a jolly little trip. It did look like they were having fun. Zipping around, doing tricks, it looked like, and chasing one another. Seeing how much fun they were having, Wendigo wanted to join in, but indecision stymied him. There were just too many of them to choose from! And they all looked like so much fun. Some were bobbing, others flipping, doing loops in the air, and more still were already in chasing matches of their own and it was so tempting to step in and help the chasee or - psych - help the chaser make the catch. Too many options!! This was so hard. Perhaps a quick little game of eeney, meeny, miny, moe? Or was that too heartless, too clinical? I mean this would possibly determine how much fun he had, wouldn't it? Of course, if he got bored with one he could always play with another. There was nothing stopping him from switching firefly partners mid game. Oh, but see, he couldn't do that to a friend, could he? So many options! Really, this was quite terrible, this was the worst, he'd never be able to make a decision.
Options were Wendigo's fatal weakness. He was easily overwhelmed with them. With so many fireflies to choose from he was mired in indecision. Stuck as he was, all Wendigo could do was follow along. He trotted in the middle of the cloud as it skimmed over the ground towards a destination unknown. Others perhaps would have been trepidatious to be led by mystical and possibly malicious entities, but not Wendigo. He knew no fear, only joy, and was excited to see what his new friends had in store.
But now, to pick who to play with on the journey...that was the question. It was so hard, he didn't know what to do. Perhaps he did know fear after all: the fear of missing out. Wendigo couldn't bear the thought of it. That, to him, and boredom, were the real boogeymen; the stuff of nightmares. He could think of nothing worse than say, being stuck in a meeting all day. Or settling for the second best firefly.
WC: 1,071
"Speech"
The last item was something he loved with all of his heart. It was a toy from when he was quite small. A simple thing, the toy was nothing but a fox pelt attached by its nose to a giant pine one. By rolling the pine cone one could make the fox flip and twist and seemingly ‘play’. As a tiny tot Wendigo had loved the thing and it showed. The pelt was sparsely furred now and missing a foot, and the pine cone was little more than a core. What seeds it had left were hanging on for dear life. All it all it was old, it was a mess, and he didn’t play with it anymore which was why it was time to send it off properly.
To the fireflies who he now considered friends and who he’d been talking to the whole time he’d been throwing things in, he said, “I’ve saved the best for last gentlemen! This,” he held up the toy and spun a slow circle so all could see, “is Mister Boppy Fox. Mister Boppy Fox will be retiring in fire today after a long and lustrous career as my best bud.” Wendigo picked up the scruff (or the skin, rather, as there wasn’t much fur left there) of the fox and puppeted the ‘jolly’ little fellow as close to the lava as he could get without burning his paws. He set it down long enough to say, “Alright my dear friend! A merry roasting to you!” and then with a swift swing of his paw he kicked the toy towards the lava. It flipped through the air once, twice, through a cloud of blue fireflies, and then landed in the lava with a solid splash. In an instant it was engulfed in flames. For a brief moment there was the stink of burning hair, and then it was all gone. The toy, the stink, all traces.
That done Wendigo turned back to the bulk of the firefly cloud with a beaming smile. It was hard to say exactly what they were feeling but it seemed to Wendigo that they approved of his show. "What next, fellas? That's all I've got, I'm out so it's your turn." Whenever he looked at them he got the feeling they wanted him to follow and he'd done that for awhile, but the draw of the lava had been too much for him until now. Now he was ready to go wherever they directed. And direct they did. As he watched the cloud parted down the middle and dozens of fireflies raced down the middle away from him. With a gleeful smile he took off after them; racing down the parted crowd and crowding up behind the ones flying away. He was going to stick nice and close to them. Wendigo couldn't risk them getting away and leaving him behind. He would be so terribly bored and he couldn't bear the thought!
He followed at a casual trot as the fireflies slowed and began to take their time with the journey. They'd been whispering on and off the whole time he'd been with them but he had no idea what they were saying. Honestly he wasn't sure what they were doing. Did they not want to play? Or maybe they were just real casual spirits having a jolly little trip. It did look like they were having fun. Zipping around, doing tricks, it looked like, and chasing one another. Seeing how much fun they were having, Wendigo wanted to join in, but indecision stymied him. There were just too many of them to choose from! And they all looked like so much fun. Some were bobbing, others flipping, doing loops in the air, and more still were already in chasing matches of their own and it was so tempting to step in and help the chasee or - psych - help the chaser make the catch. Too many options!! This was so hard. Perhaps a quick little game of eeney, meeny, miny, moe? Or was that too heartless, too clinical? I mean this would possibly determine how much fun he had, wouldn't it? Of course, if he got bored with one he could always play with another. There was nothing stopping him from switching firefly partners mid game. Oh, but see, he couldn't do that to a friend, could he? So many options! Really, this was quite terrible, this was the worst, he'd never be able to make a decision.
Options were Wendigo's fatal weakness. He was easily overwhelmed with them. With so many fireflies to choose from he was mired in indecision. Stuck as he was, all Wendigo could do was follow along. He trotted in the middle of the cloud as it skimmed over the ground towards a destination unknown. Others perhaps would have been trepidatious to be led by mystical and possibly malicious entities, but not Wendigo. He knew no fear, only joy, and was excited to see what his new friends had in store.
But now, to pick who to play with on the journey...that was the question. It was so hard, he didn't know what to do. Perhaps he did know fear after all: the fear of missing out. Wendigo couldn't bear the thought of it. That, to him, and boredom, were the real boogeymen; the stuff of nightmares. He could think of nothing worse than say, being stuck in a meeting all day. Or settling for the second best firefly.
WC: 1,071
10-25-2021, 02:45 PM
Wendigo
You dash this way and that, trying not to be left out of anything when thick fog suddenly rolls in, it's so dense you struggle to make out any of the fireflies anymore, the few you can see seem to scatter, rising higher and higher away from the mist. It's thick like smoke making it hard to breathe... Might be time to head home, play time is over.
Maybe you shouldn't have done that...
10-25-2021, 07:32 PM
Wendigo whirled in a circle as he tried to make out any fireflies that might remain at ground level. One, he'd take any one of them! "Guys?" His throat tightened and his thoughts flashed hopefully to fire. He coughed once and tried again. Slightly frantic, he called, "Guys! Wait for me! I'll find more things to burn I promise!" Oh no this was terrible! His mind began to conjure up all sorts of fun activities he just knew he was missing out on.
He couldn't take it. Wendigo picked a direction and took off running as fast as he could even though he couldn't see far. In that moment he feared nothing but being left behind. "Guys! FRIENDS!" He wheezed. "Come back!" He stopped suddenly in a spray of grit to look heavenwards. As a last resort he started jumping in the hopes of leaping high enough to peek over the fog. Surely the fireflies were just out of sight.
"Speech"
He couldn't take it. Wendigo picked a direction and took off running as fast as he could even though he couldn't see far. In that moment he feared nothing but being left behind. "Guys! FRIENDS!" He wheezed. "Come back!" He stopped suddenly in a spray of grit to look heavenwards. As a last resort he started jumping in the hopes of leaping high enough to peek over the fog. Surely the fireflies were just out of sight.
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