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MFP #9 - Stone (prompt and discussion)

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Microfiction and poetry contest #9 – stone

This sturdy building material is hard and unforgiving, but not indestructible. Hitting two together may result in a spark. Maybe this spark will be the spark of inspiration leading to a story or poem?
Let's see what you'll write about stones.

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Core rules:

• At all times follow the Fundamental Rules of the Guild and the Moderation Policy for Forum Contests.
• After reading the above this should be obvious: No plagiarism and respect copyright laws.
• Your submission must be written by you and specifically for this contest.
• This is a place for original fiction, no fanfiction allowed.
• No explicit sex, but you may fade to black.
• No excessive violence or gore.
• Don’t forget to subscribe to this thread. You will receive updates on the contest and on the number of entries, and reminders about the deadline here. I will not PM them.
• The winner of this contest will be honoured in our Hall of Fame.

Contest rules:

• The prompt for this contest is stone.
• There will be a minimum word count of 5 and a maximum of 500
• Every literary or poetry style is permitted.
• Please PM @Calle the entries and give it as title MFP#9 - (Your Title).
• Your entry can be anonymous or carry your name. Let me know what you want in the PM. If you don't specify, your entry will be posted anonymously, but you may always claim your story during or at the end of the voting round.
• The deadline is August 24th, 9:00 CET, which is 8:00 server time (both times are in a.m.)

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Number of entries so far:

Paranormal Activities [SporkoBug and Calle]

"No shit," Ethan muttered with a side-eyed glance when Harriet said something was happening to her. Puberty ofmemopaths? He'd take her word for it. He too followed the others and he shrugged at her question.

"Dunno," he whispered. "Maybe one of them being a demon and the other a dragon has something to do with it." He checked his equipment as he walked before looking at Harriet again. "Don't know if you noticed, but most people in this agency are human and we tend to capture or kill things that aren't human. I was surprised the three of you were agents in the first place. Not saying I agree with what happened, but, you know, not exactly surprised about it either."

There was a growl, but when Ethan looked up Barrow had already shot something. Another of those lesser demons.

Nobody Will Believe It [SporkoBug and Calle]

"I... feel fine," Benjamin said as Ari asked if he was okay. Dia ruling out the fever was kind, but unnecessary as he could feel he didn't have a fever. He decided not to think about it at the time.

"Anyway," he said. "I'm down for escaping this place. I haven't been here for a long time, but this place is evil. The fact there are no visiting hours is a major red flag. The group sessions I visited have nothing to do with getting better and everything with admitting we're ill, that's all they want. And people disappearing is another major red flag. We need to get out before one of us will "disappear"."

A Trainers Ambition [SporkoBug and Calle]

Netherlu had a serious expression on his face as he looked back at Nygari when she leaned her head on his shoulder, but a smile broke through and he gave a small pat on her head to show it was okay.
He listened to Harry's question and followed his glance. "I hope she's nothing like Entei," he joked. "My son would be pleased with something warm or cozy, but how much of that passed to my grandchild... I don't know. Truth to be told, I didn't even know there was offspring." He laughed a bit and turned to Nygari. "Do you think you'll be getting any grandchildren?"

Michael nodded when Niccia spoke. "It's true," he chimed in when she mentioned humans didn't know about the offspring of legendary Pokémon. He hadn't known anything about it, and neither had his uncle, who moved around in scientific circles.
At Vatier's question Michael nodded and took his Pokédex. He didn't use it often, but it did have some interesting features like a notepad function, which could be used to write down rumours about Pokémon one wanted to investigate. "I can write it down," he said.

"Yes, let's go check out the new Mew," he said as he took Frosiiens hand so she could lead him to Mew and Kim. "That's the sad truth," he agreed. "I'd lose any respect I have as researcher if I'd write about this, because I have no evidence and no-one will believe this. Their loss, really. They'll never know how awesome you legendary Pokémon really are."

Harcu nodded. "Of course, we'll wait until after Star Fall," he said. "I don't foresee any trouble now and we're with enough to stop it if something does happen." He glanced to the other two to see if they agreed as well, but he expected they would.

The brothers didn't have a chance to say anything else, and they just shrugged at each other when she stormed off. Stormiar let Chifferi go, who chuckled as he floated around.
"Didn't change at all," he commented with a grin.

"Wha..." Mindy began as she was picked up by the unknown lady who had entered through the portal. "I-eh, sorry, what?" she stammered. She noticed Jirachi joined them.
"You're asking too many questions at once," Chifferi laughed. "Give her a moment. Mindy, this is Belle, one of my oldest friends! Belle, this is Mindy, a kind human who was invited. I don't know the full details, but I believe that human boy and Niccia are the reason we have these guests."

A Trainers Ambition [SporkoBug and Calle]

I had to look up Dionysus real quick as I'm not overly familiar with greek mythology. But yeah, I can see that XD

Paranormal Activities [SporkoBug and Calle]

Ethan stared at the horns and wings that emerged and the first thing that went to his head was that Ben probably would have noticed this about her way before he had. After she dropped to her knees he went to Harriet to help her get back on her feet. "Hey, we're a team, okay?" he said to her as he reached out to grab her arm. "No need to do stuff that will make you weak and an easy prey for those demons. We can handle them."

Morrison had watched it with narrowed eyes. Was this the normal power for this alien race? He had been briefed on her joining the agency, but no one had mentioned anything about this. He made a gesture to Barrow, who nodded back and started making his way to the exit. Once he reached the door, he gestured back it was safe to proceed.

---

Lily had been ready to turn everything off for the day when she noticed the glimpse of a halo and had stayed to watch with growing curiosity.
"Well, well," she whispered to herself. "Interesting..."
It looked like the show was over now, so she turned off everything, left the room and went to her bed.

A Trainers Ambition [SporkoBug and Calle]

Lytse moved a bit to Nygari's hand as he kept the flames on his back lit.
"You are stunning," Netherlu said. "You have to tell me where you found my feather."
"I didn't..." Lytse said. "Michael's father found it, and he gave it to Michael."
Netherlu bumped Nygari with his elbow. "Pretty cool, right?"

While Michael didn't understand exactly what Vatier meant with "tap into the wormholes to summon the Ultra Beasts", the important thing here was that his children were taken from him, and he needed help with that. He didn't doubt for a second. "We can help to get them back," he said, but then a hint of doubt entered as he realised he didn't even know if it was possible for them to get to those children. "Or try at least. If you can give us some directions. Where were they taken? Or do you perhaps know where they were taken to?"

Benny took the cup and took a careful sip from it. "This tastes good," he said as he sipped again. "Still prefer honey though."
"Then you will get the non-fermented kind," Andy told him before turning to Frosiien. "How long does this party last?"
From what he could see, the guests were leisurely walking around or chatting with the others, the two events seemed to have been forgotten already. He kept an eye on his nephew as well, but he seemed to be doing well. Caught up in something serious by the looks of it, but nothing that needed his intervention.

Harcu listened to the others as they listed the children they could send. He was relieved their father had agreed to their plan; he was certain it was for the best and Lecrero's guardian agreed. There was only one of his children that came to mind, the others were too young. "I'll send my Sawsbuck son," he said. "He's been training hard to get stronger and wants to help me. This will be a good moment for him to prove himself."

Chifferi had a happy look on his face. "I'm glad you're at the party! We had some things going on, but everything settled down again."
By now the brothers had joined them. "Belle," Stormiar greeted her. "I thought you were asleep. You look good."
The other agreed with their brother.

RPGC: Trophy Case

Winner of RPGC #35: There's no camp like...

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A camp for the night

The sun was on its way down as a man dressed in simple clothes made his way through a thick part of the forest. Simon had left the village in the morning and had been travelling the entire day. There should be a clearing ahead and if his memory served him where there was a good place to rest for the night at the edge of the forest.

The bard followed an animal track uphill and ducked to go under a thick branch. When he stood straight again, he had a good view of the area ahead. Instead of an empty field, he saw rows and rows of tents and the flags of their kingdom.

After a moment of hesitation, he went to the camp. The soldiers looked up as he approached and one of the lower officers came towards him.

"Civilians are not allowed," he told him.

Simon took in the camp as far as he could see it; the tents were put up in neat rows, but the soldiers seemed pretty laid back. "Are you at war?" he asked.

"No. Training exercise and equipment check."

"Ah…" Simon paused. "And… would you guys like some entertainment this evening?"

"Entertainment?"

He opened his cloak and showed the lute he always had with him. "I'm a traveling bard. I can tell some stories or sing some songs when it's time to eat."

The officer let out an amused sound. "And join us for the meal, I reckon."

"A meal and a dry place to sleep is what I ask in exchange for my services," Simon replied with a bow.

The officer promised to ask his superiors and asked Simon to leave the camp for now. Simon retreated to the hill he had stood before and sat down between the roots of the tree. He nibbled on some dry fruits he had purchased in the previous town and watched the camp below. It was possible he wouldn’t be allowed to enter, but if they felt he was far away enough, this was a suitable place for tonight. Wrapped in his cloak he shouldn’t be too cold during the night.

He heard people shouting orders and witnessed a group of soldiers doing marching exercises, but nothing seemed urgent. He noticed a soldier leave the camp and come in his direction. He remained seated and waited patiently for the soldier to reach him.

“My superior wants to know if your offer still stands.”

“Of course.”

“Then you are welcome to stay the night at our camp, bard. Fires are being lit; pots will boil soon. It’ll only be a simple soldiers stew.”

Simon got up and brushed off some twigs and leaves from his cloak. “My meals are rarely lavish.” He extended his hand. “My name is Simon.”

“Steve,” the soldier said in reply as he shook it. “Come, there’s a place at my fire.”

“Am I supposed to bring entertainment to the entire camp?”

“Only to south quarter.” As they walked to the tents, Steve explained the camp was always divided in four groups; each group had a commanding officer, who had a couple of lower officers under him. And then there was a camp commander who had his tent at the centre.

That evening Simon joined Steve and some of his fellow soldiers for a meal and told them a story. After that the south quarter gathered and he sang a couple of songs for them. He was allowed to sleep in the tent where the supplies were kept; the tent was there because it was a part of the camp, but because it was just a training exercise there were barely any supplies kept inside. It was much better than sleeping outside, and Simon praised Lady Luck this had been on his path.

Nobody Will Believe It [SporkoBug and Calle]

What... what was that? That wasn't his own voice. Benjamin looked around as Dia and Ari were discussing escape - a plan he agreed with - but there wasn't anyone in the room that wasn't supposed to be there. That voice had to come from somewhere. "Did any of you hear a voice that doesn't belong here?" he asked, just to make sure.

It didn't feel right, that voice. Seeing things others couldn't was normal to him. Hearing them, not so much. Maybe he had imagined it, or it had come from outside. Either option was good for him. He preferred not to think about other explanations for that voice he had heard.

Paranormal Activities [SporkoBug and Calle]

"Yeah, sure," Ethan replied and went to what used to be Gaia's room. He looked around when he entered it, there wasn't much there. The girl probably didn't own many things. It took him a bit, but he found the necklace Harriet had described. He examined the emerald for a moment before putting it in his pocket and leaving the room again.

As he joined the other two he stopped when he heard a faint scraping sound. Morrison gestured with a finger at his lips to be silent. The three didn't move but lifted their weapons. Something clawed at the doorpost of one of the rooms and a greenish insect-like head came out.
"Light," Morrison whispered.
"Got it," Barrow whispered back and he flashed a light. During the time the creature averted his eyes, Morrison had screwed on a silencer and shot a bullet through it's head.

As the body of the creature fell, Morrison went to the room Harriet had entered and he knocked on the open door. "Better hurry," he whispered. "Lesser demons are here, LD-5. If there's one, there's lots more."

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From the monitor Lily could see what was happening in the room, but she let it play out. The girls could comfort each other if they wanted, there was no need for her to intervene. And Steph did a fine job in calming Gaia down.

She stretched her arms. Time to go to bed, she'd deal with everything else in the morning.