Return of the Stump[CLOSED]

[Ruriska]

I'M NOOOOT OKAY!
Username: Ruriska
Prompt Response:

16. You feed the Stump a memory of when you were scared.

She couldn’t help herself.

Despite having decided she wouldn’t dredge up old memories or let the precious market ruin her experience, Illuminating returned to the maze. Or rather, where the maze had been. The scorched earth. A place where she had overridden her own instincts to please another, had returned again and again despite her fears.

What for? She wasn’t even sure. Nothing had come over it except a new distaste for certain insects and too many nightmares.

But Illuminating had always been drawn to introspection, to moving on. She’d had a bad few weeks, she was missing the sun, she was worried about the future, she regretted her part in it all. So she came to where the maze had been.

And she found the stump instead.

And the darkness.

It didn’t change her much, not as far as she could tell. But she could feel the weight of it, all the turmoil in her heart, the loneliness, the fear, the desire. She had chased the maze because it made her feel something exciting, it had made her feel wanted and needed. Oh how terrible she was.



The stump opened wide, hungry.

And so she offered those memories of fear that had been cluttering around her head.

So many to choose from.

When the sun disappeared, the maze, the dangerous trek from caves to swamp.

Fear, fear, fear.

She’d just arrived at the swamp, she wasn’t used to it yet. She didn’t understand how the ground could be so wet, so unstable. It was nothing like the earth, like rock. So she wasn’t expecting the sinkhole.

Suddenly up to her neck in mud, slowly sinking. Chest constricted, breathing laboured. A terrible way to die.

She was alone. Not even an animal companion. Nobody would notice her absence.

And she’d cried, thinking of how hard she’d worked to get here, how all she had wanted was the sun. The sun on her back and maybe a friend to rest beside. But now she would be consumed by the earth. The caves didn’t want her to leave. This was her destiny.

Without the vine, she would have died.

Without her determination, she would have perished.

But she’d found both.

But the fear lingered, now a piece of her soul.

She gave this to the stump and it ate well.

[Nashawryn]

I'M NOOOOT OKAY!
Username: Nashawryn
Prompt Response:

7. You feed the Stump your greatest ambition.

Sea of Tears stares at the blacked out doe and the hungry Stump. She'd been here the year before, with the scary maze and those flying blood fish. She'd even had one follow her home... She hoped this turned out much better because she actually liked the blacked out doe that helped burn the maze down. She felt anxious as she warped into a blacked out version of herself, eyes whited and large on her skull. She nodded her head at the hungry Stump, knowing exactly what she wanted to give it. She leaned in close to the wide open mouth hole and peeled her greatest ambition from her heart. "Here, Stump, you need this more than I do. My greatest ambition was to own all the fishes in the swamp. I'm sure it'll feed you better than it has my heart." She looked over at the blacked out doe and nodded once before turning away back to her own booth for the rest of the day.

[anemosagkelos]

EVERYTHING IS FINE.
Username: anemosagkelos
Prompt Response: You receive nothing but a haunting wail from within the Stump. "Probably the wind." Tricks coughs.

Magnolia had listened to the rules, of course, but she wasn't one to carry pebbles with her. It was instead fairly typical to have some type of teeth or bones tucked into her hair. She reached her nose into her waterfall of locks and plucked out a curved bone, dropping it into the stump.

She waited; a wail erupted from the stump.

"How unfortunate, I was planning to procure some blood for a solstice ritual, but if you say the spirits would rather have scales . . ." she sighed, "Thank you for the warning."

The doe started off, all the while talking to herself, "Do you think that means I have to let all the foxbuns go, then? They don't have scales, but no one said that fur wasn't wanted."

[anemosagkelos]

I'M NOOOOT OKAY!
Username: anemosagkelos
Prompt Response: You feed the Stump a memory of when you were embarrassed.

Artisan hadn't exactly made a conscious decision to attend the Winter Market. He was still reeling from a lifetime of memories turned to elusive curling smoke trails that he could never quite catch for long enough to remember much of anything. It made it hard to converse with kin who may have met him when he knew who he was, or had been, or at least why he was the way he was. Now, it was like being reborn and trying to tug out strings to find out anything about who he was or what he liked.

The stump, however, had been calling to him ever since kin had been told about it. The ideas of stumps giving out items, he'd wondered if he could at least use one of them to make something. But then, the stump he found, it seemed to want something from him.

The fog the past swirled and though he could not truly remember, the feeling as the world shifted . . . He was reminded of the loss, as he stood in front of the crowd of kin, and he wondered what he had done. He barely knew where he was, even as he saw the other kin similar to him, and fear mingled with embarrassment was all he could make sense of as Steals Fire told them all to flee.

He shook his head, a frown tugging at his mouth, as he began to back away. This had been a mistake. He'd only wanted a trinket, something familiar to craft into something new. Not these tantalizing but hurtful attempts to remember. He turned sharply, and quickly left the scene.

[anemosagkelos]

EVERYTHING IS FINE.
Username: anemosagkelos
Prompt Response: You receive a stick wrapped in webbing. Feathers stick to it. A fashionable headpiece perhaps?

Malevolent chomped on the stick, webbing and feathers be damned. She pounced forward and trotted happily towards the kin who watched with a bored, bordering on annoyed, look. The stick was spat out before the other doe's feet and the dragon grinned.

"Ah, yes, the famed stick," Maleficent spoke, bored and unenthused, "you should've been an eaglehound." She shook her head, one hoof kicking the stick forward. And, as if to prove her point, the dragon bounced after it. "Get a fierce dragon, they said, it'll scare all your enemies," she recalled; what a joke.

[Baneful]

I'M NOOOOT OKAY!
Username: Baneful
Prompt Response: Pending


Will wasn't sure what the big deal was about an old tree stump nor why so many kin were clustered around it. As he approached it, he was primarily curious, keen to see if this particular stump was connected in some fashion to the glowing tree that dominated the winter market this year. As he got closer, though, he felt a lingering dread on the edge of his consciousness. This was highly irregular, as Will hardly ever felt anything.

The kin who had been all around him mere minutes before were gone, and he was alone with the stump, wondering if he'd wandered into one of the hallucinatory realms that seemed to be everywhere this year. On guard immediately, he took a slow, cautious step towards it, his purple hackles bristling across his back.

Shadows flitted around him suddenly, shadowy kin all around the stump, stretching off into the swamp, far enough away that he couldn't quite get close to them or make out details but close enough that they made him wary of being rushed without warning.

"Feed the Stump." One of them spoke, and he gave them a puzzled look, unsure what they meant or what he could feed the toothy thing. He stared at it, its eyes meeting his own, its toothy maw demanding some unknown tribute from him.

Raising his gaze, he meant to ask the shadowy kin from before what he was supposed to surrender but was shocked into silence as he met the wide, pale eyes of a silhouetted version of himself instead. "You need to give something of yourself," it said, flippant and cruel. "Why don't you give it the name?"

"What name?" he asked, bristling, his teeth bared. Perhaps no one else in the swamp he liked less than himself.

"The name of the one you love most of all. You know there is magic at play here. This is just another facet of it. Give it up, Will. Tell everyone that though you pretend you love nothing so much as yourself, you still love them."

It was as if the thing had reached into his chest and taken hold of his heart with an icy set of fangs. It was a damn lie! He didn't love anyone any longer; love was a worthless weakness, left behind long ago on the bloody path he'd walked since. There was no room for love when your business was murder, and there was no room for even the slightest stumble along the way.

The shadowy thing moved nearer, and he tried to back away, only to find he was fixed in place. It laughed, and as it did, he realised that he was becoming less as it became more solid.

"Say it," it hissed, teasing. "Say it. Admit it. Feed the stump, Will."

"It's NOT TRUE," he yelled through gritted teeth. "I'm OVER IT."

"If you were over it, you could walk away; it wouldn't be so hungry. You wouldn't be held here." it laughed. "If you can't say it, I'll become you. I'll walk away from here and fix the life you've squandered."

He shook his head but felt the promise in the thing's words, his hooves turning darker and more transparent.

"FINE." he spat. "FINE."

"The ONE I LOVE MOST OF ALL," he growled. "Is STILL ... YOUR STORY ENDS. THERE. Are you happy?"

The stump slurps as though devouring a tasty morsel, and the shadowy version of him receded away in turn, releasing its hold on him and sending him reeling backwards with a scrabble of hooves on dirt. He didn't even wait to see if the thing had something else to say; he just tore away from the stump as fast as he could run, feeling distressed and sick at being forced to admit a truth he'd quietly always known but never allowed himself to confess.

12. You feed the Stump the name of the kin you care most about.

[lilacfishie]

I'M NOOOOT OKAY!
Username: lilacfishie
Prompt Response:

12. You feed the Stump the name of the kin you care most about.

She'd heard whispers about the return. It had been some time since she returned to the Winter Market clearing as well. Strange that they returned at the same time. Remember Death's brow furrowed when she heard the voice of Mischievous, solidifying the situation in the zikwa's mind. As if she were a puppet, vines on her limbs guiding her movements, she wandered in the direction of the familiar stump. After everything she'd heard about the drama last year, she was surprised there was any stump left at all. Typical, that something like this would endure.

When Remember Death passed into the space of the booth, she walked through the depiction of herself. The shadow seemed to envelope her and the only light in her form was the bright spots on her cheeks, undulating erratically, almost decoy eyes on her normally eyeless form. The zikwa's steps seemed heavier in this shape. More aggressive. The usually anxious doe, now all shadow and anger, huffed her way up to the maw that was the stump. It made no sound but somehow she knew it was there, knew it wanted her attention.

If her mouth could be seen, it would be a hard line as she stood before the open maw. The warbled and waning whispers reached the ears of this shadowed Remember Death and somehow the zikwa understood. Her ears pinned back and steam rolled from her snout as she exhaled angrily. "Not of blood, but a sister all the same. Grim Garden. Never to set hoof or snout in this spot of the Swamp," she rasped out, her own voice carried by fading whisper. The maw groaned and grumbled, apparently satisfied with the meal. Like a second in command receiving an order they had to obey, even if they didn't like it, the shadow zikwa tore her attention away from the maw and flicked her tail angrily. The agitated shape walked off, through the mists, and the normal zikwa on the other side was none the wiser she'd missed the stump entirely.

[doomsayer]

EVERYTHING IS FINE.
Username:
Prompt Response:

7. A massive spider uncurls itself from the hole in the Stump and jumps at you!

Just when Into The Evening decided to move around the Winter Market and brave the stares of other kin, the first thing she tries tosses a spider at her. Why did it have to be spiders!?!?!

She jumps around frantically trying to shake off the spider, but when she checks if it's still on her, the spider is nowhere to be found. Was it just her imagination?

[doomsayer]

EVERYTHING IS FINE.
Username:
Prompt Response:

4. A strange, misshapen and very dead fish slides out of the Stump. Tricks grimaces. "Maybe you could bring it to Sea of Tears?"

Into The Evening looks at the dead fish with horror. "I thought the stump was supposed to be okay? First it was the spider, and now a dead fish? How did it even get in there?!"

[doomsayer]

EVERYTHING IS FINE.
Username:
Prompt Response:

13. You receive something that looks like an acorn... but do acorns have faces?

Into The Evening figures she'll give the stump one last try or today. An acorn! That seems normal.

She turns it over with her hoof and finds an agonized face on the other side of the acorn. She doesn't bother to pick it up.

"Nope. You can keep that. I'm done!" She exclaims as she turns and leaves.

[lilacfishie]

EVERYTHING IS FINE.
Username: lilacfishie
Prompt Response:

7. A massive spider uncurls itself from the hole in the Stump and jumps at you!

Sparkling Sunrise had heard about this strange stump on various occasions, especially during Obelisk meetups closer to Winter Market. The young totoma had certainly heard very polarizing opinions about this strange acha and her stump. She'd never actually seen Mischievous and her stump, though. So, when she heard that Mischievous (or was it Tricks?) had returned and the stump somehow survived the strange maze fire from last year, she knew she had to check it out. From the stories about the maze, how could this stump and strange acha possibly be worse?

When the young totoma approached, her hackles rose as Mischievous darted between the mists. What...was happening here? She glanced at the, slightly singed, stump in the middle of the clearing. She looked closer as the acha pranced and stamped on it. Was it safe? The rumors about the weird factor were certainly right, but she'd never heard anything truly harmful coming from it. Regardless, it was something to investigate, and that was her motivation for just about everything.

With a pebble gently held in her mouth, Sparkling Sunrise cautiously approached the stump. Leaning her head over, she let go of the pebble and watched it tumble through the hole in the top. Her tail swished anxiously as the rustling and rolling of the pebble inside came to a stop. Her anxiety was not settled when a louder, bigger rustling took up the brief silence. Before she knew it, a strange black shape rolled out of the hole at the base of the stump. It came to a stop a few feet away and then stirred. It was when the legs unfurled that Sparkling Sunrise realized it was a massive spider.

Her squeal was half surprise and half fearful. She wasn't necessarily scared of spiders, but their erratic movements did unnerve her. Sparkling Sunrise took a few steps back and watched. The spider reoriented itself and turned towards her. When it reared back and lunged at her, she'd had enough. Heavy hoofbeats signaled her expeditious retreat.

[lilacfishie]

I'M NOOOOT OKAY!
Username: lilacfishie
Prompt Response:

13. You feed the Stump a memory of when you let someone down.

Deadly Nightshade was not in the mood for Winter Market. She was not in the mood for the crowds. She was not in the mood for the games. She was especially not in the mood for whatever nonsense was going on with the fully blooming tree in the middle? And the strange pockets of Other Places? And the bizarre light and shadow? It was all too much. Too much on top of too much for her. It had been a year and she wasn't sure how much she was ready for or how much she had healed. But, she had to make sure.

With great trepidation, the large doe approached the familiar area. She could hear the chipper (wasn't it usually happier than this?) voice of Mischievous, but she had to see it with her own eyes. The dark kimeti did not want to give away the storm of anxious energy brewing in her throat, so she walked slowly, observing the surroundings of this strange Winter Market. Eventually, she made it to the familiar clearing, and her neck twinged instinctually. When she saw it, though, she let go of a breath she didn't realize she was holding.

There was definitely something wrong about the situation here. Deadly Nightshade watched Mischievous flit through mist and shadow, her form changing and lurching. She kept glancing between the strange acha and the stump. To her surprise, the stump somehow survived the massive fire of the maze the year before. Many things survived the maze fire that surprised her, if she was honest. When there weren't many people frequenting the area, Deadly Nightshade approached. Her path was obstructed by mist, and before she stood before the regular, if a little singed, stump, she passed into shadow.

Deadly Nightshade's shadow self was not right. The white, wide eyes of this form evoked fear. Fear. The large shadow walked gently, anxiously. The tail even tucked near the hind legs. The ears, barely visible with the strange shadow outline, flicked erratically. The fearful, meek creature stood before the stump's maw. The chest heaved, the head trembled. Was that a whimper? Still, the whispers and wails told the not-kimeti what it needed. What it hungered for.

"I...believe," the shadow began, whispered voice trembling, "I have five children." A pause.

"I bore two. Sired the others. I have met few and know none truly." The shoulders of the shape sagged and trembled. An admission from deep within. "I make no claim to them and never have. I wonder, sometimes, what would have become of them if I had." The final words were choked, throttled out of a sobbing throat. The maw shuddered and settled, silent. The shadow took a few steps back before darting away, through the mists.

When Deadly Nightshade slipped back into sunlight, she stopped in her tracks, chest heaving. She glanced back at the stump, at the acha darting between this world and one of shadow. A chill ran up her spine that melted and sizzled into simmering anger. What was that?

[Dizzy_Kat]

I'M NOOOOT OKAY!
Username: Dizzy_Kat
Prompt Response: 16. You feed the Stump a memory of when you were scared.

Bite of Passage was slowly becoming acclimated to the pools of Other-space as the strange effects of the stolen light shifted and flowed around the swamp. Stepping through them at least was preferable to traveling through the obelisks to the dark buck. Maybe that was because he'd been marked? Or maybe that's just why he thought it was so. In the past year he'd slipped in and out of his own mind so many times that it was like he'd not actually existed in it at all prior to the Harbinger calling him down into the mist-shrouded caverns. It had terrified him at first but after freeing the light, stepping into a blurred fog and coming out with strange emotions or fuzzy memories hardly felt threatening at all anymore.

Even faced with the empty white eyes of the pleading doe as she melted back into the blackness he was barely fazed. He walked around the edge of the stump watching his body stand motionless as he, his shadow, paced the toothy void. His own name, given to him by the MotherFather (had it?) had come from a passage very similar to the one he saw before him. That one had demanded nothing but obedience. This one demanded his fear.

Fear he'd had. He'd felt it when the great orb was cracked, when he'd thought he'd been tricked again. Fear of his actions not being his own. Order and Control is what Never Idle had said the MotherFather wanted. That was all. Control over every creature that resided in the swamp. Bite of Passage snarled. He'd given up control of his actions his entire life all the while believing that he was doing what he wanted to do, and that it just so happened to be the same thing he was being told to do. It was enough. He leapt into the open stump, his body and his shadow merging into one and walking out of the fog on the other side.

[HuniPi]

I'M NOOOOT OKAY!
Username: HuniPi
Prompt Response:

You feed the Stump the name of the kin you care most about.

In all her years in the swamp, Dark Caster had never really attended any of the winter markets. She'd never felt the urge or need, content to simply keep to her usual haunts and the company she's always known. But after the Sun disappeared, after these strange pockets of darkness (that she had no connections with) appeared, something pushed the doe out to see how different the Swamp had become.

The charred remnants of a stump called out to her and she didn't know why. But she approached, heard the ghost of a whisper demand to know the name of the kin she most cared about? Normally she would have said her own name, but what came out was "Charm Star."

She blinked, horrified that she'd said the buck's name out loud. She hoped no one else was there to have heard her and quickly ran off.

[HuniPi]

I'M NOOOOT OKAY!
Username: HuniPi
Prompt Response:

You feed the Stump a memory of your family.

Heart and Home had only heard of the Stump from last year. She didn't have the chance (or time) to visit it but there was still time before the trek to the caves for her to take a quick look and- the shadows washed over her. Cold. Despair. Fear. Anger. Sorrow. Mourning. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

The kimeti doe shook her head clear, a look of terror flitting across her for the briefest of moments. Then the request for something else. A memory of her family?

Warm. Welcoming. Together in spirit if not in form.
Smiling children. Kind partners.
Laughter with, not laughter at.

Heart and Home was certain that's what she shared, that the happy vision was what she was giving.

But the void-doe, bright burning white eyes stared at her, into her and the memory Heart shared was something else...

They all leave. They will all leave. Her children. Her partners.
She can't stop them. She wants to, though. To hold them close. Hold them tight.
Closely guard them. Jealously keep them. They're hers.
But she will never act on these wants. Because her family means that much.
So much. Too much.