wired to the bone

Posted May 27, 2023, 2:04:24 PM UTC

"They say every adventurer has an element tied to them - I wonder if I get one. Fire could be epic. Sky sounds boring, but who knows. Man, I'm getting wired just from thinking about this stuff."

 

The worlds devoid of an ocean embracing them all over were so strange - beautiful, different, and inviting.

 

But Jolt never took into consideration the darker side of Luna - what could hide in the darkest, sharpest corners they couldn't see. As the shadows stretched over the city, it felt like the stone-like buildings came to life. Neon lights hummed violently against the bustling of the colorful nightlife - but it was not what pulled the young ocean dweller like a magnet.

 

The back alleys huffed heavily into their ears - like an injured dragon, sleeping away its pain. Cables and wires crisscrossed above the streets almost everywhere in the city, but it was different here. The concentration was higher, everything looking like it was tied in knots that hadn't been tended to in decades, horrendously tangled.

 

And when they wandered too close, the dragon awoke. A small bunch of black cords struck at Jolt like a bundle of pythons, wrapping around their forearm. As the panicked trickster tried to pull away, the cables only pulled back harder, squeezing their arm in their grip relentlessly. Realizing this, even if after a short wrestling match, Jolt froze - and in turn, so did the stringy beast with its dull fangs around their flesh. When they let themselves relax, the wires replied in kind. Slowly loosening around Jolt's arm, they uncoiled, and slithered back like limp vipers on strings.

 

From the darkness, the once slumbering dragon stared back at the young ocean dweller. Its body constructed from intertwined wiring alone, its eyes spit sparks from the cut ends of the power cables in their empty sockets. The cable creature's whole being pulsated in slow rhythm, like it was breathing with its threadlike skin, and with nothing more. The merrow's pale gaze scanned the being in quick, horror-drenched movements of their eyes.

 

And it whispered. Words and stories, songs and shanties, prayers and curses - all uttered in one breath that went on for an eternity. None made sense, had a start or an end, nor sounded like speech the longer it continued.

 

A sudden yell somewhere down the street nearby yanked Jolt out of the cable creature's contactless grasp. When they turned back to face the beast again

 

it was gone.

 

Silence remained, power currents crackling and humming in the chaos of cords and cables. Jolt held the copper ring at the end of their hair fast against their chest and turned. Invoking the spirit of their companion under their breath, they walked away as fast as they could.

 

Strangely, Hannu didn't answer for a few minutes. It was like the sea-tiger waited for an opportunity.

 

Waited, until the coast was clear.

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Comments

  • May 27, 2023, 2:20:37 PM UTC
    Excellent composition! Very exciting and dynamic, great work
  • May 27, 2023, 2:19:27 PM UTC
    Ho-ly shit. The description of the wire dragon was so cool!
    I felt so drawn into the moment reading this. Shoot, I rubbed my arms after I was done, they hurt a little.
    You're so good at creating a scene to get sucked into ;o;

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