His back it burns, blisters, aches,
The salve cools, seals, heals.
Her hands take the pain away.

His front bleeds, hurts, stings,
The stitches mend, close, scar.
Her whispers dull the agony.

He wakes in a daze,
She is still here.
His fingers curl around hers,
And a hand gives a squeeze.

They make it through together,
Just like they always do.
Grateful for each other,
Content with being two.

She thanks her mother
for her eyes
for her nose
for her posture

She thanks her mother
for her color
for her spirit
for her body

She thanks her mother
for her love
for her hugs
for her smiles

She thanks her mother
for her discipline
for her caring
for her life

Noel watched from Sir Arius and Kav from the branches of a nearby tree. No matter how many times she had tried to thank the knight who had saved her, he brushed it off as nothing. Still, to her it wasn’t nothing. She had been stuck in that genie lamp for over three hundred years. For him to save her from the bandits who had stolen her from her pond, and to simply release her without using any wishes for himself was unheard of among her kind. She had insisted on accompanying him as his private genie, but he had denied her offer—repeatedly.
    Now she had to resort to following Sir Arius and his traveling companion, Kav. Showing her gratitude secretly when they wren’t paying attention. When they needed food she would scare an animal toward them. When they needed water she would redirect and purify a nearby stream or river. And when they needed a safe place to stay for the night she would carve a cave out of a nearby rock or fell some trees in a convenient (yet sturdy) arrangement so as to provide cover. Whatever she could do to help without him realizing. Once he realized that something was her doing, he would refuse to have anything to do with it.
    Noel had also taken it upon herself to go ahead and remove dangers such as bandit ambushes, goblin swarms, and other unsavory creatures that lurked in these parts to prey on passersby.
    In these situations, she left one or both of her fish behind to look after Sir Arius and Kav, just in case they decided to change directions. The first time she’d done this, Sir Arius had known she was watching him. He told her that fish didn’t normally float. His claim had confused the genie, because fish floated everywhere in the pond she used to live in. Since then she had told Bubbles and Bub to stay out of sight when they followed him.
    She floated lightly over to the next tree and perched there, continuing to watch the knight and his traveling companion. She would help him as thanks for saving her. Whether he liked it or not.

“I need to borrow Jochem.” Becca said as she peered into Otto’s workshop.
Jochem blinked as he looked up from from the engine they were currently tinkering on (Otto’s most recent line of interest) and decided to say nothing. He would go where his bosses needed him and he would let him fight out where that was. Otto frowned. “Why? We’re working on something.”
“Because the conference is coming up and I convinced father to let me go in his stead this year. I need a trustworthy bodyguard, and I know you will look scary in a suit,” she finished looking at Jochem, “I was hoping you would come?”
Jochem shrugged. Conference sounded fun, if just for the sake of getting out for a bit, but working with Otto was equally appealing. He enjoyed the little man’s company.
He caught himself smiling at the strange compliment. It was just like Becca to say something like that. He wiped the grease off on his hands and began putting tools away while he listened to them argue over who he wold be spending the weekend with. He rolled his eyes. They could be so childish sometimes.

****

They were in an airship. Jochem hated flying. He had picked at this sleeve until it frayed. He was glad he had not put on his suit yet and felt himself mentally cringing at the thought of shredding his new and far too expensive (at least in his opinion) suit jacket.
Becca had won the argument and proceeded to drag him to the family tailor, who squawked in dismay at the time limit. He’s spent several very uncomfortable hours getting his measurements taken and the and other few as Becca and the tailor argued about the fabric and payment. He was concerned about what she would choose. He didn’t need fancy clothes and he was worried he would end up looking ridiculous.  They had eventually settled on a heavy dark charcoal fabric with deep red thread in it. It was plaid-not-plaid. Jochem wasn’t really sure what to call the pattern and it wasn’t something he would have chosen for himself, but he quietly admitted to himself that it did look good on him.
“Would you mind putting this in my hair?”
Becca’s voice interrupted his worrying. He knew she was giving him a distraction and he wasn’t sure if he liked that she knew him well enough to notice he was anxious or not.
Jochem sighed but held out his hand. She would otherwise find something else to pester him with. “You do realize I’ve never done this, so you can’t complain if it doesn’t look good.”
She passed him a gold and red ribbon. Jochem had no doubt that there were actually real gold threads in the piece of cloth. It was also surprisingly soft in his hands.
He gave a wry smile at doing Becca’s hair. His fingers were a little too thick and his blunt claws weren’t meant for such delicate work. They were the calloused and scarred and meant for working or fighting. Not something so domestic as braiding a woman’s hair.
He suddenly realized he liked Becca very much. More than he previously thought. She was a good friend, and once more she was his champion when Otto could not. She who helped her brother haul his sorry carcass back and helped heal his broken body after they found them, and she, who he now realized convinced their father to employ the strange creature Otto found in the sewer. He wasn’t sure where that bit of knowledge came from, but he suddenly could not imagine it not being true.
He felt tears well in his eyes and her irritably scrubbed them away. He was thankful Becca was not facing him.
“Thank you,” he said as he ran his finger down the ribbon he had woven in her hair, “Thank you for giving me a chance.”

The pale moon hung high in the sky, the orb reflected in the dark brown eyes watching it’s slow arc…. It was time. Vesna stood up from her cross-legged position, her legs shaking slightly. She had to do this. It was the only way to thank him properly, after she hadn’t even been able to say goodbye. The demon started through the woods at a slow pace, methodically sweeping her gaze across the ground as she looked for a good marker. It had to be perfect. Her friend deserved nothing less. She rejected stone after stone. Too dark. Too small. Too jagged, that wasn’t like him at all.

Finally, she found it. A granite stone a little larger than her head. It was almost perfectly round, and it’s surface was smooth and speckled with darker grey flecks. Just like his eyes, Vesna remembered. She bent down and picked up the rock as easily as if it was a feather. Then she kept walking, walking to their place. A small clearing in the center of the woods, a grassy circle dotted with colorful wildflowers. The moonlight shone down brightly upon the clearing, bleaching the long grass silver.

Vesna reached the center of the clearing and put down the stone, ever so gently, as if it was a child. She brushed a bit of dirt from it’s surface and then took a deep breath and knelt in front of it. She sat in silence for a long minute before breaking into a pained whisper.

“I- I hope this is okay. I know it’s not much. It’s not a proper grave, I know that much. B- but they wouldn’t have left any… remains to bury. Bones, maybe. But I can’t get them now. I’m not one of my flock anymore. They probably think I’m dead, after what they did to me.” Vesna’s hand reached up to gently touch a long scar across her left eye, then she dropped it, realizing she had turned the subject to herself. That wasn’t right.

“…sorry. I didn’t come to talk to you to complain. I came, well… to say thank you. Thank you for everything. For teaching me to read and write your lovely language. For showing me how to cook, even though I still think vegetables are kind of gross. For sharing sunsets and sunrises and embraces and kindness.” Tears started trickling down her pale cheeks. “I’m sorry I couldn’t save you. I’m sorry I was too late. I’m sorry for so, so many things. I tried… I tried so hard to do better after I met you.”

By now, the demon was sobbing. She continued her wordless crying for near an hour, before her tears finally started to slow, and she wiped her eyes with the heel of her hand. She sat in silence for an even longer time before she spoke again, her whisper filled with a million emotions. Pain, joy, regret, and sorrow, all overlaid with a deep gratitude.

“Thank you for being my friend.”

Rapunzel lay under the tree, gazing up at the sky with her Beau, Flynn. She hadn’t been out of the tower for so long, that she had forgotten what it was like to be in someone else’s company. She had forgotten what it was like to love, or be loved. She had even forgotten simple things like how soft the grass was beneath her paws, or what the entire sky looked like, as she had only ever been able to look at it outside a window facing one way.

For this, she was grateful. She knew she would forever be thankful to Flynn, for allowing her to experience all of these things. After all, if it weren’t for him, she would still be stuck in her tower, with no one to talk to except for the critters in the place.

She took a look at him. He was her hero. Her prince in shining armour. She honestly could not thank him enough, and she didn’t even know where to begin trying. She took his paw firmly in hers, not daring to let go for fear that she would lose him.

They stayed in silence, watching the sky. Rapunzel was looking at all of the constellations she had read about, but could never see from her tiny tower window. It was amazing how much was out in the world that she had missed. She was very content being in silence with Flynn, but she figured now would be a good time to express her gratefulness and thanks towards him.

She rolled over to look at him. “I-I’m…” she stuttered, trying to say ‘I’m thankful. For everything.’ Before she could get any further into her sentence, he looked at her knowingly and squeezed her paw gently. “I know”. With that, they turned back to the sky, thankful for each other’s presence in their life.

A bright red koi fish drifted past Sir Arius’ line of vision. He set down the blade he’d been polishing with a heavy sigh. “I know you’re there, genie. Come on out.”

A bush rustled nearby, and a fawn with a golden necklace sparkling around its neck trotted over to the circle of light cast by the fire. There was a poof, and the fawn was replaced by a girl surrounded by clouds of orange smoke. “How did Arius know Noel was here?”

He looked pointedly at the fish now drifting around Kav’s head. Noel gasped. “Bub!” she scolded. “I told you, no more floating today, you’re scaring poor Sir Arius. Now get back in here.” She unclasped the lamp glinting at her side and popped open the lid. A small bubble of water drifted out. The koi swam over rather forlornly and disappeared inside the lamp, which Noel promptly resealed and tied to her sash once more. “There,” she said with a smile. “Better?”

“Yes,” said Arius, “now would Noel please take her fish and her lamp and go find someone else to follow?” This was certainly not what he’d had in mind when he rescued the genie from her lamp. Why couldn’t she just be grateful for his help and move on? He didn’t need her following him around like a wispy orange shadow.

Noel’s face fell. “Can’t Noel stay for just a little while longer?”

Arius ran a hand through his hair. “Look, I’m sorry. It’s like I told you before—I’m a knight. My squire Kav and I go on quests together, dangerous ones. It’s what we do. Having another person along would only slow us down.”

“Noel has magic,” the genie insisted. “She can help Sir Arius—”

“There’s no need for that,” Arius said dismissively. “Kav and I can handle anything. We could wrestle a dragon with our bare hands if we had to! So thank you for the offer, but once more I will say goodbye.” He waved her away with his hand.

“Um, a-are you sure about that, Arius?” Kav piped up nervously. “I mean, it is magic. It could probably come in handy…some of the time…”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Arius scoffed. “Magic would make things far too easy.”

“But if Arius doesn’t let Noel help, she can’t show him her gratitude for freeing her.”

“I have no need of gestures of thanks.”

Her eyes were pleading. “What about Arius? Has he himself never been thankful for anything?”

This question took Arius aback. “Of course I’ve been thankful for things.”

“You have?” asked Kav skeptically.

Arius shot him a glare.

Noel sat on the log beside Kav and leaned toward Arius eagerly. “What sorts of things?”

Arius bristled. It wasn’t something he’d ever given much thought to. “I’m thankful for—for a lot of things. Like this sword, for example!” He brandished the battered old weapon proudly. It wasn’t much to look at, but it was the best he could afford and it had gotten him through a good number of scrapes. “And also the shirt on my back. Nice material, you know. And good ol’ Dart here.” He gave a nod to his horse.

Noel smiled and drew her knees up to her chin. “What else?”

“Well…there’s my hometown, too.” He smiled wistfully. “Oh, how I miss the sight of it some days. And my family—my mum and brother. I do wonder how they are.”

“Hey, what about me? Am I invisible now or something?” Kav folded his arms.

“Of course not,” Arius said hurriedly. “I’m thankful for you too, Kav. Wouldn’t have made it near this far without my faithful squire and friend.”

“You got that right,” he grumbled.

“What about dear Kav?” asked Noel. “Is he thankful for things, too?”

Kav blinked, then grinned sheepishly. “Well, sure! Fresh apple pie, a nice comfy place to sleep, a roof over my head, not being chased by monsters. Oh, and those delightful cream pastries.” He sighed.

Noel turned to Sir Arius imploringly. “So you see? You’re both grateful for things! How would you feel if you never had any way of expressing your gratitude for those things? Surely you can understand why Noel cannot simply leave Arius alone.”

Arius considered the genie a moment, then sighed. “Alright,” he said at last. “You can stay. But only for a week!”

She cheered and embraced Arius in a hug. “Oh thank you, thank you Sir Arius! I promise I’ll keep you safe.”

thewordeater - Ohh, poor Nicco. I could really get a sense of how their subdued anxiety was just the surface of a darker, deeper fear, which made it that much more powerful to see how quickly Mirror was able to soothe them — it’s clear that there’s a very strong, trusting bond between the two. I hope they’re able to stay like this, safe and warm in each other’s company. And ahh, the last line is so lovely and sweet!
[@failsafe] - This is such a pain-filled piece :( I think the hardest thing to see was how Harvest never quite admits, even in his thoughts, that he appreciated Winter and was grateful for his presence in his life. Harvest admits he misses his brother, but doesn’t cross that line into outright accepting that he might’ve not just trusted his brother, but loved him, too.
Loon - Ahh, what a fun scene! I love so many things — the way all their expressions speak volumes about their character, the subtle hint in the bully’s hand as to what caused this altercation, how you executed this mostly brown color scheme in a way that feels vibrant instead of monochromatic — there’s so much to appreciate here! I think my favorite thing, though, is how unperturbed Isra looks — she knows Amira’s got things (literally) in hand! ;)
Dracogryph - I had background music playing while I read this, aka a loud internal soundtrack of “AWWW!!” *^* Gladiolus is so sweet, oh my gosh. I think what made this extra touching is the formal language he uses. Formal language is often used to create distance, but because the sentiments Gladiolus is expressing are so sincere and passionate, the reserved language just made me think he was trying hard to stay composed when his feelings are so strong <3

Garjansverd - This piece gave a really great feel of the characters involved! I got a good sense of their shared history, and it made me want to learn more about them. :D
Vysal - What a sweet poem! I’m sure Raven is quite glad to have somebody there to patch him up after what sounds like some pretty rough injuries!
[@Espurr] - Aww, Chouko is very thoughtful. I’m sure her mothers are very thankful for all the things she brings to their lives, too!
Arintol - I can certainly understand why Noel feels so obligated to repay Sir Arius, as a freed genie! It’s very cute that she does her best to help, even if he doesn’t want her to. Hopefully someday he’ll accept her gratitude!
Watchdog - Aww, this was very cute! I really liked the dynamic between your trio, and Jochem seems like a super great character! I hope to see more of them in the future. :D
Miremel - Aww. ;; Poor Vesna. Saying goodbye to a loved one is never easy, but I think she did a good job of it. It sounds like her and her friend had quite the time together!
diaveborn - What a cute family! I like how the pictures kind of look like selfies, the way the ineki are positioned in them! :D
Jordii - What a sweet couple! I imagine after being isolated for so long, it must be a huge (positive) change for Rapunzel to have another in her life. I bet they’ll have all sorts of adventures together. :D
Schefflera - It’s always interesting to read about a newly carved ineki springing to life. I really liked the sense of comfort in this piece, overall. It must be nice to just kind of have all the time in the world like Signa, haha.
Cien - Aww, it’s super sweet that Ashur has found a place where he’s accepted, and that he’s so bent on protecting Yang’s forest like that. ;; Also, awesome artwork - I love the colors you used and the glowy/viney effects, especially!
Nouvella - This seems like a really fun little group of characters! :D Noel seems super sweet, and I really dig Arius, from what I’ve seen of him. I hope you write more about them in the future!

We’ve all had that one friend from a country where ‘a little spicy’ is basically a volcano in your mouth. Well, Shiva is that friend! Eryu is still not used to Shiva’s country, Yfrea, however he has been cooking there more than Shiva has. Shiva’s mother would always cook everything for him, so he is not quite used to it. In this little fast-paced comic, Shiva learns a few things from Eryu! (also wriggling fish are kinda spooky to Shiva…)

Red text is Shiva speaking, while orange text is Eryu. :)

Nikos walked along the tunnel, humming quietly to herself. The stone was cold against her paws, but she didn’t mind. She had always enjoyed how smooth it was, and always found herself wandering about for no reason at all except to have an excuse to feel it.

However, today, she had gone a little bit farther than usual. That’s okay! she thought to herself. It can’t be too far from here. With that, she turned back around, walking down the path that she had come from. But after a few minutes, she realized that none of the things she saw were familiar. Had she gotten lost?

Impossible! she thought. The path wasn’t that long, was it? Perhaps she had simply forgotten what the passages looked like. After all, she did tend to get a bit caught up in her music. However, as she continued to walk, she found herself growing more and more uneasy.

***

Half an hour had passed, and the ineki’s positive thoughts had turned to panic. What if I don’t make it back? Will I be stuck here, wandering through the caves forever? The stone that had once given Nikos a pleasant feeling now seemed hard and rough. Blindly rushing through the tunnels, Nikos looked around frantically for something, anything that was familiar.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, Nikos halted. Before her stood a wall of blue and gold flowers, with a small trail of vines running down the side of another entrance. I know this! Nikos gasped at the realization, and hurriedly darted through the tunnel.

Left, right, right, left, straight, right… Even though she knew them well from here, Nikos practically shouted the directions to herself. There was no way that she was getting lost again!

Stumbling into the small area that she claimed as her home, Nikos collapsed onto the ground, breathing in the familiar scent. I certainly won’t be doing that again! She grinned slightly, happy to finally be home.

And from that day on, Nikos kept her mind fully aware of where she was as she walked throughout the Cave, the stone soothing her paws once more.

Cav loves to wander the caves, and hear the stories of others, about the mighty dragons. Cav pretends that she’s one of them- mighty and fierce, a true dragon.
Backround image not mine

Khione, abandoned since carving, had always been alone. Loneliness was all she knew. Despite some interaction, she was timid and shy. She did not have much social skill, and she did not trust anyone. So when another wanderer came through her homeland, seemingly lost, she was hesitant to approach him. However, she realised he was lost and very, very far from home, so she approached him tentatively. After all, her homeland was full of snow and unbearable temperatures, so he would surely freeze without her help.

“D-Do you need directions?” She stammered, nervous at being in the presence of another being.

He smiled at her, putting her at ease. He seemed relieved someone else was out here as well. “Yes please”

Khione offered him directions to get out of here. She, of course, could not leave. She needed the cold temperatures so as to not melt, even though the cold made even her uncomfortable. She bid him goodbye and wished him luck on his journey home, then sadly started to make her way to her little cavern. He stopped her before she could get too far, and offered for her to come with him. He had great skills, and with his magic somehow warmed her heart, but also made it so that her body would not melt completely. She was in awe, and took him up on his offer. With that, they made their way back to his home, and she learnt a lot about him, including his name; Rocky.

With Rocky, not only did she learn a lot about him. She learnt lots of things about magic, including her own talents in controlling the elements and seasons; namely Winter. She also learnt about how to love and trust, all thanks to Rocky.