Ashun

I wanna post various arts I make on here to see myself grow throughout the years. This’ll mostly be personal stuff about ocs and whatnot, but I’ll probably dabble in a couple of fandoms here and there.

I am very open to constructive criticism to grow my skillset, so I’ll happily take some anytime! With that being said, my creative journey starts here

Some notes + text memes I made with my friends’ ocs!

She forces an accent because she thinks all humans sound like that. When she breaks down for the first time, her accent disappears. This is her being genuine.

Clem is on the autistic spectrum. She takes a minute to understand/notice others' expressions and social cues.

In a story I have in mind, Clem is gonna lose her coat one way or another. And when she does, she’ll get sick both physically and mentally. The ocean is her livelihood; she’ll die without it. She NEEDS it. The survival instinct in her brain causes her to lose all care for everything else. She just needs her coat.

One way she can lose it is by being tricked into someone “borrowing” her coat with a deal (think Ursula), except they never give it back to her.

If she’s separated from her coat for too long, she gradually turns into salt. If her salt is sprinkled into the ocean, it takes her a day or two to come back out as a human due to the three-life system. She has a limited time to find her coat.

Clem doesn't like sea creatures due to how she was treated by her peers growing up.

Text Memes

Clem: “This is our next plan!! *explains something dangerous*

Fire: “u know, that sounds like a really good idea, but maybe” *offers something safer*

Clem: “What? No no, that’s not a good idea! But maybe.. we can do this instead-” *repeats exactly what Fire said in different words*

Fire: “Wow, what a good plan!”

Clem: :D

Clem: “Erm what are u doing?”

Fire: *chopping wood and using hammers* “making a ship”

Clem: “How?”

Fire: “With wood?”

Clem: “Yeah, I know that! But how? Are u some kinda pirate?”

Fire: “No no, I’m building a ship to catch a bunch of fish in a net. That’s what u wanted right?”

Clem: “Hm I guess so”

Fire: “Wanna help me?”

Clem: “Ha! I was waiting for u to ask for my help! Don't worry, I’ll do all the hard work.” *proceeds to struggle*

Fire: *teaches Clem how to do it*

Clem: *successfully builds a small ship part* “YES- I did it all by myself!”

Fire: “Yup, u did it all by yourself”

Clem: “Okay- henchman number one, go that way! Henchman number two, go this way! Everyone else, go down the middle!”

Fire: *goes left*

Sleepy: *goes left*

Fire: “No ur henchman number two, u go right”

Sleepy: “I thought I was henchman number one?”

Fire: “No I am.”

Sleepy: “I could've sworn u were second”

Clem: “ugh- both of u can be henchman number one! Just pick someone to go right!”

Clem: “Henchman number two? Has anyone seen henchman number two?”

Sleepy: “Im right here”

Clem: “No ur henchman number three”

Sleepy: “three??”

Clem: “yeah Im looking for henchman number two”

Sleepy: “whats their name?”

Clem: “idk”

Fire: “Am I henchman number two?”

Clem: “no ur number four”

Fire: “four??”

Clem: *teaching Fire how to swim* “okay so u just jump in and do this”

Fire: “like this?” *drowns*

Clem: “no”

Clem: *finds a seashell and holds it up to her eye right* “Arr look at me Im Fire”

Fire: “Hi Fire Im Clem”

Clem: “no ur not”

Fire: “yes I am”

Clem: “no ur not >:[ ”

Fire: “yes I am” *horribly mimics Clem’s accent*

Clem: “That’s not even how u do it!”

*Cue Clem teaching Fire how to do her accent*

Clem: “Okay now try it again”

Fire: “Hi I’m Clem and I don’t know how to brush my hair.”

Clem: “That was so goo- HEY!”

Sleepy: “watch this” *makes a snowball*

Clem: “wait- how do u do that?”

Sleepy: “lemme teach u” *shows Clem how to make a snowball*

Clem: *makes one* “like this?”

Sleepy: “perfect now look over there”

Fire: *minding his business*

Sleepy: “if u hit him, I’ll give u a stack of fish”

Clem: “bet” *throws snowball*

Fire: *hits the back of his head* *turns around* “whelp” *makes a snowball*

Sleepy:”brace urself Clem”

*cue epic snowball fight and obviously Clem is the winner (she isn’t)*

Sleepy: “has anyone seen my backpack?”

Fire: “no did u check ur house”

Sleepy: “yeah its not there I cant find it”

Fire: “was there anything important in there?”

Sleepy: “not rlly but thats where I kept a lot of my gold”

Clem: *her pocket is suspiciously backpack shaped* “ahaha really? hope u find it”

Fire: “huh”

Sleepy: “what is it?”

Fire: “look over there”

*a seal staring at them*

Sleepy: “huh”

Fire: “it looks derpy”

Sleepy: “Yeah kinda like some wonky stuffed animal”

*seal angrily slaps tail against the wet sand*

Fire: “it probably flipped us off just now”

Clem: “WHO keeps cooking my fish?!”

Fire: “I do”

Clem: “WHY”

Fire: “so u can eat it?”

Clem: “I dont need it to be cooked! It ruins the texture”

Fire: “But eating raw fish isnt good for u”

Clem: “thats stupid! It’s the healthiest meal there is”

Fire: “let me rephrase, eating raw fish isnt good for humans”

Sweet Like Honey

A woman is being chased. She is determined to lead her pursuers away from her camp, her family. A particular face flashes in her mind. She.. hopes he won’t despise her too much for this.

Eventually, the monsters capture her, and she is afraid. They take her to the palace, make her kneel before their ruler, and she is afraid. 

“Stop!” she sobs. “Please- just let me go!”

“Oh dearie,” a sweet response. “Do not fret, I shall grant you freedom.”

The woman is struck with unforgiving pain and-

Honeycrisp blinks awake. She sits up, stiff and breathless despite the lack of lungs. The contents of her dream are quickly forgotten, but the feeling of dread is still there. How.. disappointing.

No matter, she gets up and leaves her bed to spend another delicious day working. Her unease gradually vanishes throughout the morning, and Honeycrisp is happy again. It’s so wonderful helping her queen get ready amongst the other maids.

They soon enter the dining room for morning brunch, and the queen shifts her gaze onto the young chocolate-covered apple. Honeycrisp’s smile widens at the attention. She’s determined to keep it on her.

Some claim that the queen only gives her full attention to those she cherishes the most. But that’s not true, is it? The queen loves all her candy people, her children, equally. Oh, how lucky they are to serve her. 

“I noticed your smile wasn’t bright this morning,” she comments. “Did something happen?”

“Oh, it was nothing of much importance, my queen,” Honeycrisp responds sweetly. “I merely dreamt something that startled me awake again-” the queen’s smile falters- “and it confused me. I hoped the mixture you granted me yesterday would be the one to cure me.”

“Hm, that is odd,” the other agrees. “This dream.. did it only confuse you?”

“Ah, not entirely,” Honeycrisp almost frowns, but the smile stretched upon her face doesn’t allow it. “I felt.. a sort of fear? Would that be possible, my queen?”

“It might,” she hums curiously. “We still have much to learn about this sickness, my sweet maid. But, I have a solution.” The queen raises her hand and beckons Honeycrisp to come closer. She does so eagerly, blinking up at the other with devoted eyes as her face is grabbed and examined.

“I will nourish you with a new remedy tonight,” her queen concludes after a short pause. “Just drink the entire bottle and I assure you, no dream shall startle you again.”

“Of course!” Honeycrisp beams, nearly bursting with joy. “My queen, I appreciate you more than words can say.”

“Thank you, dearie,” her beloved queen giggles, patting her cheek. “Now go on and do your chores.”

Honeycrisp nods happily and bows before leaving. 

The day proceeds to turn uneventful. Honeycrisp works and works until it gets dark. Soon, the time comes for her to drink her remedy. She settles into bed and lifts the bottle to drink. At the final drop, Honeycrisp finds herself feeling lightheaded. No, that’s.. that’s not right. Why-

Honeycrisp loses consciousness.

When she awakens, her body is lying on what seems to be grass. But the blades aren’t colorful or wobbly like the ones at home. They’re stiff and green, almost resembling spikes. 

Where.. is she?

Honeycrisp sits up to look around and- “Ahhhhugh!” She shrieks, abruptly standing up. She wildly shakes and wacks off all the non-gummy worms and ants chewing her fragile body. Thankfully, they were only nibbling on the chocolate parts, but Honeycrisp is still sickened. 

“This is a dream-” she wheezes, backing into a tree that’s not made out of taffy or licorice or or- “This isn’t real!”

She looks up at the sky, and the clouds don’t resemble cotton candy. The birds aren’t made of chocolate. The mountains don’t look like rock candy. Everything is wrong.

Notes on their first meeting as children:

The tale begins with Autumn relishing her new surroundings. All she’s ever known is her village in the Tundra, so all these new sights of the bustling kingdom are enticing to her.

The characters are slowly introduced through dialogue and description. In total, there is Autumn, her moms (aged in their 40s), her uncle (32), and her little brother (5) traveling as a group. One mom is called “mama” and the other is “mum”.

They’re on their way to the castle after settling down at an Inn the night before. It is to go see a grand performance that the King puts on each year to celebrate the day he earned his crown.

Now, some background is that this is mostly a human-dominated place, and speciesism still exists despite hybrids having rights. But it’s not bad enough for Autumn and her family to be afraid or hide their wings. As unfair as it is, avians are one of the more accepted hybrids in the kingdom. They have no reason to be afraid (or so they think).

Everyone arrives and the celebration begins.

This is when Autumn first sees Linx and immediately finds herself lost in her song. It makes the bird in her want to trill along, and she almost would have if it weren’t for her mum sending her a strict yet amused look. Autumn huffs but holds herself back to avoid embarrassing herself.

The celebration ends and Autumn’s family plans to go back to the inn to relax. Autumn disagrees and wants to explore further. Her moms argue at first, but thankfully, Autumn’s uncle agrees to chaperone her. Autumn admittedly becomes annoyed with this despite getting what she technically wanted.

As they walk around, they have an intriguing chat about her uncle’s adventures when he first began to travel at the age of 18. This prompts Autumn to beg her uncle to let her explore the marketplace on her own.

Her uncle is reluctant at first, but he sees himself in her. He remembers being just as eager to embrace independence and decides it wouldn’t hurt if he let her run around for an hour or two.

He gives her some money and allows her to wander off into the crowd with the promise to come back in one hour. Not wasting time, Autumn sends her uncle a huge grin and rushes off. Her speed allows her to weave throughout the marketplace, not without accidentally bumping into other people a few times, but hey, at least these mistakes are helping her learn how to be more swift, right?

Her uncle is unfortunately filled with too much anxiety to completely leave her be, so he follows Autumn around secretly to make sure she’s safe. Despite his efforts, Autumn does end up catching him and becomes immensely upset.

Her uncle explains his worry for her and comments on how her moms would kill him if they found out he was letting her walk around on her own. Autumn argues back, mentioning how he used to be a huge trouble-maker as a teenager and that she won’t be like that. She will be more careful than he ever was; she just wants to do things on her own.

Her uncle sighs and realizes that it would be better to let Autumn do what she wants safely and honestly rather than go behind everyone’s back and get into a dangerous situation no one will be able to get her out of.

Autumn makes him promise to leave her be tomorrow when they go out again. She’ll only forgive him then. With a small chuckle, her uncle finally agrees.

The next morning, Autumn is up and ready to start the day.

With the help of her uncle, she’s able to sneak away and finally explore on her own for the first time ever! Ahh, how exciting!

Autumn walks around, enjoying her time alone. But then, she spots something interesting. There’s a pathway that not a lot of people are taking due to a towering gate blocking the way. Seeing as there are no guards, Autumn assumes it mustn't belong to anyone important.

Feeling adventurous (and a little sneaky), Autumn sneaks through the crowd and gets to the other side of the gate by crawling through a narrow hole in the tall hedges.

She wanders for a bit before she hears something familiar. Is that.. singing?

Autumn comes across another gate. This one is shorter than the last, but the space between the bars is incredibly small. She can’t squeeze past it, so she climbs it and floats down with her wings. Finally, Autumn spots the origin of that singing.

A girl is sitting on the grass with her back facing Autumn. She has dark skin, cloudy green eyes, and frizzy, long black hair. She’s wearing the same outfit she wore while performing at the celebration, except it’s a bit ruffled compared to before.

Autumn grins, slowly approaching her. As she gets closer, she notices a rope on the ground that surrounds the girl. It makes her curious.

“Hello!" Autumn accidentally scares the life out of the girl when she speaks. The poor thing leaps off the ground, tripping on herself, and makes a choking sound when the rope pulls on her– Is.. Is that a collar? 

“Sorry!” Autumn blurts, just as surprised. “I didn’t mean to scare you.” Autumn quickly gets down on the ground to look over the girl and make sure she’s okay.

The girl takes a moment to calm down. She stares at Autumn with wide eyes. “You.. Who are you? What are you doing here?” She sounds afraid.

Autumn feels guilty. “Don’t be scared, I just heard your singing and–”

“You can’t be here! You have to go, please.”

The girl begins to hyperventilate and Autumn doesn’t know how to react. A part of her just wants to run away, but she knows she can’t leave the girl like this.

Autumn starts telling the girl a story out of instinct. It’s something her mother has read to her before whenever she felt particularly sad. The story is about a little girl who was born with a magical voice.

The girl slowly calms back down as Autumn continues the story.

“And.. And then what happens?” she whispers. Autumn smiles, “The girl sings to the stars and they sing back.”

The story ends, and the girl wipes her tears. Autumn takes this as an opportunity to ask for her name. The girl seems anxious and searches their surroundings. When nothing happens, she asks softly, “Why?”

“'Cause I wanna be friends,” Autumn answers honestly, “and your voice is super pretty. Kinda like the girl in the story.” The girl blinks owlishly at Autumn before nervously sighing. She seems to be battling with herself in her head. Then, a nearly inaudible, “Linx..”

“Huh?” Autumn asks, leaning closer. The girl takes in a shaky breath and exhales. “My name.. it’s Linx.”

“I’m Autumn, it’s nice to meet you!” 

Linx flinches at the volume, which makes Autumn feel bad again. She apologizes with a sheepish smile, and the two break into a conversation. Well, kinda. Autumn is the one who’s mostly talking, but hey, at least Linx seems to be listening.

At some point, Autumn asks about the leash to which Linx replies with, “It keeps me here so I can’t leave.”

Autumn pushes a bit because she wants to understand in what world is putting a leash on someone okay. Though she quickly withdraws when Linx visibly becomes stressed.

Autumn leaves it alone for now (she notices other things, like Linx’s frail hands and her exhausted expression).

Meanwhile, Linx is interested in Autumn’s background, specifically her wings. She wants to get a closer look at them, and Autumn allows her to, even draping one of them on Linx’s lap at some point.

Autumn is too lost in talking to notice the pained look in Linx’s gaze as she looks down at Autumn’s wings. Her back aches.

The conversation ends when Autumn notices how pink the sky has gotten. “Ah, I have to go! This was really fun, Linx.”

At first, Linx doesn’t seem happy with this news. But then, her expression hardens. “Autumn,” her voice is simultaneously strict and sad, “don’t come back.”

“Hmm.. I’ll think about it.” Autumn hums, grinning wide.

“No, seriously– please promise you won’t–”

“See you later, Linx, I’ll bring you something tasty tomorrow!”

As Linx watches Autumn leave, she feels her stomach twist with dread and hope. And if she sings to the stars that night, no one is there to hear it. 

Each following scene represents a day of Autumn visiting Linx. 

On the first day, Autumn brings a tasty snack to share as they talk in the yard, along with a big blanket and pillow she bought from the market.

Second day, Autumn teaches Linx how to play tag and hide & seek, even if the leash limits their fun.

Third day, Autumn talks about her passion for sewing and Linx shyly mentions having a passion for singing.

Fourth day, Linx tries to teach Autumn how to sing (spoiler alert: Autumn fails miserably and Linx laughs for the first time in front of Autumn. It’s small and fragile, but it still makes Autumn extremely happy).

Fifth day, Autumn brings a small sewing kit and a pair of clean socks. She tries to teach Linx how to sew and they end up making a basic cat plushie. Autumn leaves it with Linx.

Sixth day, Autumn visits with some new tasty food to share only to realize Linx isn’t in the field. Feeling brave, she ventures around the kingdom’s walls in search of Linx. She almost gets caught a few times, but is able to dress as a servant girl and sneak in. She overhears a few maids talking about Linx and asks them to lead her to Linx. She says it’s because she needs to bring Linx food, to which the maids give her directions to the cage room (Autumn feels sick at the thought of Linx being in a cage).

Linx is a mixture of shocked, happy, and afraid when Autumn appears. “What are you doing here? You’ll get in trouble,” Linx whispers harshly. Autumn just grins like an idiot, “Trouble’s my middle name!” Linx still feels extremely uncomfortable with Autumn being here, and yet she’s also never been so grateful.

Seventh day, Autumn sneaks to the cage room again and teaches Linx how to play Tic Tac Toe and other games along the lines of that.

On the eighth day, Autumn sneaks to the cage room again and finally confronts Linx about her situation and how it’s wrong. Linx is getting distressed and an argument starts when Autumn doesn’t back down. “The king cares for me!” Linx retorts. “Would you lock someone you care for in a cage?” Autumn counters. And so the fight continued. The day ends with both girls crying as Autumn leaves.

On the ninth day, Autumn doesn’t come. Linx has an episode of self-hate, believing that Autumn will never come back and that it’s all her fault. She should’ve just stayed quiet– should’ve just agreed with Autumn even though none of what she was saying is true. The king loves her– he raised her! She’s lucky to be with him, he protects her from the scary world. Autumn just doesn’t get it! But.. Linx wants nothing more than the friendly avian to be back.

Tenth day, Autumn comes back. Linx is still wallowing in pain, silent and curled against her cage’s bars. Her back is facing Autumn when she walks in. “Linx..?” Autumn whispers. Linx springs up and faces the door with wide eyes. Both girls look at each other, eyes red-rimmed. Autumn breaks the silence with a small sniffle, “I made you something.”

Autumn gives Linx handmade gloves she knitted. “To protect your hands,” she explains, gently helping Linx put them on. “It was my first time making gloves so they aren’t the best.”

“They..” Linx’s throat becomes heavy, “They’re perfect.”

“So.. you like them?” Autumn’s voice cracks. “I do,” Linx sobs. And the girls finally reconcile.

On the eleventh day, Autumn finds Linx back at the field. Thankfully the pillow, blanket, and plushie Linx had hidden never got found. They spend the day eating the food Autumn brought, yapping, and overall having fun.

Twelfth day comes and Autumn tells Linx how her trip is coming to an end soon and that she will have to go back home with her family in four days. Linx is immensely saddened by this but tries not to show it. Instead she asks about Autumn’s family and the avian happily yaps about them. She briefly complains that none of her cousins or siblings are close to her age, so she’s extremely happy to have met Linx. Linx relates to this but doesn’t bring it up.

On the thirteenth day, the girls talk about avians and Autumn’s wings. Linx almost reveals that she used to have wings too, but suddenly there’s sounds of someone coming. Autumn originally tries to hide but Linx just tells hers to go. There’s too many guards coming and Linx would die from dread if she and Autumn got caught. Autumn leaves with the promise to come back tomorrow.

Except she doesn’t.

She gets caught sneaking out of the tall hedges. The guard who finds her interrogates her sharply while dragging her outside. Autumn fearfully looks around, chirping loudly in hopes it will lead her uncle here. 

The guard retaliates with suspicion but before he can react harshly, her uncle comes to the rescue. He apologizes for Autumn’s mischief and attempts to pull her out of the guard’s grasp. The guard holds on tight, frightening Autumn as her feathers puff up from the anxiety. It’s not long before the rest of Autumn’s family responds to Autumn’s chirps by appearing.

The guard drops some racist comments which rightfully angers Autumn’s family, but they don’t act out. A small crowd starts to gather at the commotion.

Thankfully, a kind human steps in and calms the guard. He’s an old man with a seemingly respected background because the guard backs down.

As soon as the guard lets Autumn’s hand go, she runs to her mum and hugs her tight. Autumn’s mum instinctively attempts to cover Autumn with her wings while her mama focuses on calming her little brother who is crying in her arms.

“You’re lucky the king isn’t here to see this. He’d have your head,” The guard snarls, finally leaving.

The crowd slowly disperses except for the man who helped them.

He reveals the truth about why the guard acted so strict and why Autumn should never play around those bushes. He doesn’t know all the details, but explains that the king's supposed daughter lives there and that she is an avian who had her wings removed as a toddler.

Everyone is rightfully appalled, especially Autumn. She had no idea Linx was an avian who lost her wings. She feels nauseous. 

Autumn’s mama asks why he’s telling them this.

The old man says it’s because he’s pained by what happened to Linx, alongside a few other people. He can’t admit this too boldly because the king will have his head, but he trusts Autumn’s family because they’re avians. He doesn’t agree with speciesism, but the same can’t be said with a lot of other people living by the castle. 

“I suggest you leave the kingdom as soon as you can,” the old man stresses. “There’s the chance your daughter will be mentioned to the king. He doesn’t like those who get near his daughter without permission. Take her and leave.”

Once they’re at the inn, Autumn’s mum becomes angry. “What were you doing? Why were you alone? Who said you could sneak off and play in the bushes?”

She gets mad at the uncle as well, “You were supposed to keep an eye on her! Do you not care about her safety?”

Autumn’s little brother, who seems distressed by all the noise, makes Autumn's mum force herself to lower her voice. Autumn’s mama frowns, “Love please, I’m sure there’s a good explanation for all of this.”

Autumn admits to her family what she’s been doing and they react fearfully. “You what?” “Oh god Autumn, you foolish child!”

Autumn’s uncle is oddly quiet. Regret swarms his gaze, “I should’ve never let you be by yourself.”

“I– I’m sorry!” Autumn tears up. “But it– this isn’t fair! Linx is in trouble and we– we need to be there for her!”

“You’re right Autumn but–” 

Her uncle gets cut off by her mum, “And then what happens when you get caught? Will the king have your wings removed? You want to lose your wings, Autumn?!”

“No!” Autumn cries as her uncle pulls her into a hug. “I don’t want to!” Her wings press tightly against her back. “I just– I wanna help Linx! I wanna help her..”

“Shh.. I know I know..” Autumn’s uncle hushes, staring at her mum. Her mum goes silent, takes in a deep breath, and wipes her damp eyes. 

As Autumn’s uncle comforts her, her mum begins to pack everything. Meanwhile, her mama leaves the room to momentarily calm down alongside Autumn’s younger brother.

“Tell me about Linx,” Autumn’s uncle whispers. “Is she a nice girl?”

Autumn whispers good things. She worries for Linx because she seems to like the king, but he’s obviously hurting her. Autumn wants to help Linx run away– maybe they can bring her to their village?

Autumn’s uncle cringes, “We.. We can’t do that, Autumn. You need to understand the king will–”

“I don’t care,” Autumn retorts, pulling away from her uncle. “I need to see her again and I will–”

“No, we are leaving, Autumn,” her mum says strictly. “Pack your things.”

“No!” Autumn argues, “I have to see her again!”

“Then kiss your wings goodbye,” Autumn’s mum mutters under her breath, making Autumn tear up.

“But I promised–” she sobs, “I promised I’d come back tomorrow! I have to..”

Autumn’s mum ignores her, too busy stuffing everyone’s clothes into their travel bag. Autumn reaches out to stop her but her uncle gently holds her back.

“Please Autumn,” he pleads weakly, “it was a mistake coming here. This is no place for us.”

“But I promised.. I promised..” Autumn repeats, crying. Her words don’t change a thing.

Autumn reluctantly gives in and allows her family to pack. They leave in a couple of hours, wasting no time. When the guards come by that night, they are long gone.

And if Autumn silently cries herself to sleep each following night, no one comments on it.

Some dialogue for later:

“Why do you go every time the sky is pink?”

“Because my uncle is waiting for me and he won’t like it if I come late. I’ll get in trouble.”

Linx pales. “Then go- please go,” she nearly begs, “please don’t get in trouble.”

Now, Autumn hates getting in trouble but.. Linx’s reaction is a bit weird. She would’ve asked about it if she weren’t so short on time. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow!” Autumn promises.

Dreams of Gold

Clem was born in a world full of many mystical creatures and mythologies. Her family consists of selkies who prefer living deep in the ocean as seals. In their underwater community, she lived among merfolk, friendly whales, pods of colorful fish, and plenty of other sea creatures.

One of her fins grew abnormally, so she swam in a funky way, which resulted in a lot of her peers making fun of her as she grew up. While she had a decent family, they never defended her from the mean merfolk giggling or the selkies who’d mock her swimming.

Their main currency is seashells and clams, but the rarest is gold. Only the wealthiest wear it to dignify their place in the hierarchy. Regardless of what they looked or sounded like, they were never judged. So Clem made it her life goal to gather gold and become the richest selkie there is! Except, it’s nearly impossible to find a lot in the ocean.. So, Clem took it upon herself to shift into her human form for the first time at ten years old to search for gold on land.

Due to differences in culture, all Clem thought she really needed was her coat to fit in with the humans. But when the adults of the beachside town noticed her state, they were quick to clothe and watch over her.

“Where are your parents?”

“Are you lost?”

“Does your family live close by?”

They would ask and ask and ask. But Clem didn’t speak English, so she’d just stare up at them and nod. At night, she snuck back home in her seal form. From then on, she began visiting the town three times a week, wanting to understand the land better.

This routine lasted for seven years. Now, Clem is 17 and has a decent understanding of humans, including their language, accents, and culture. One day, she meets an old pirate. He and his crew are celebrating for stealing pounds of gold from an unworthy monarch. Clem is inspired by this and eagerly asks for more details. The pirate, soon revealed as captain, ends up offering a place in his crew. Except the problem is, the humans of her small town don’t want her to leave.

“You’re safe here,” they promise, “you belong with us and the sea.” But Clem thinks they’re just being dull. The whole point of her visiting the land is to gather gold! Silly, stupid humans. So Clem finds that super cool pirate in secret and agrees to join his crew. She officially leaves the beachside town and her home beneath the sea the next day.

Being a pirate is incredible! She’s learned how to steal, trick others, and many other sneaky skills. But now, at 18, Clem realizes she misses her home, especially that little town. When she brings it up, the old captain laughs. He tells her that she’s bound to his crew forever. Foolishly, Clem retaliates by jumping off the ship as a seal to run away. But she gets caught in a net by the very same ship she grew to enjoy. They’re rightfully shocked at this discovery, yet just as amused. They are eager to have a selkie in their possession.

Clem continues to be a pirate for another year, except she isn’t treated equally. They use her as bait to capture creatures, such as sirens, orcas, and more. They would also make Clem clean after everyone, like some maid. Ugh- how dare they treat her like this! Those fools will pay! For now, she just has to be nice to trick them.. And then the world will see how clever she is after she gets rid of them and becomes her own captain!

One fateful evening, the crew encounters something unusual. The waves harshly rock the ship back and forth, but there’s not a cloud in sight. From a distance, the crew spots a large body thrashing wildly against the water. Clem, with widened eyes, meets face to face with an enraged leviathan.

Needless to say, the ship was demolished. The entire crew swam for their lives but drowned in the process. Clem had an advantage- she tried to escape in her seal form. But a whirlpool caught and sank her down into the ocean’s depths. The last image she saw was the leviathan's face peering down at her with large, bared teeth that mimicked a smile.

As Clem passed out, she thought this was her end. A shameful death with her unfinished goals, cackling at her pathetic state. And yet, she finds herself waking up. She’s still a seal, but the water is calm. 

She.. She’s alive? 

A Delicate Sunrise

A yawn slips past Autumn’s mouth as she carefully treks up a smooth hill. Beside her, Linx walks close by, holding a picnic basket filled with breakfast. The sun peeks above the mountains, shining its morning light over them as their dogs, Brutus and Pepper, bounce forward.

“They seem excited,” she comments softly. 

Linx hums back, just as gently, “I’m pretty excited too.” 

Autumn looks to her side and meets those enchanting green hues. She isn’t sure why, but those words make her chest feel warm. 

“Me too,” she grins, nudging her small, feathered wing to brush Linx’s shoulder. “It’s so early, we’ll have the park all to ourselves.” 

Linx smiles, and Autumn captures the image in her head. It’s so lovely, she wishes she could encase it in a frame and hang it somewhere in their home. She continues sending glances the rest of the way to the park. It becomes so obvious, Linx breaks the silence with a snort, “And I thought I was the one who stares."

Autumn huffs out a fond laugh as they approach Pet Pet Park. She reaches forward and swings the gate open, allowing their dogs to sprint inside.

“Can you blame me?” she keeps the gate open for Linx, “I mean, I still can’t believe you’re here with me sometimes. It makes me wonder if our reunion was fate.”

“Perhaps..” Linx’s expression softens just a bit. She enters Pet Pet Park, and Autumn closes the gate behind them. They immediately find their pups digging around in the sandbox and rolling in it. The scene makes both women giggle. 

“Which blanket do you wanna set up on?” Autumn asks as she looks around. “Or maybe we can sit on the benches, or even by the pond.”

“Hm, let’s sit on the big one over there.” 

They settle on a baby blue picnic blanket, opening their basket and sharing a meal. Their dogs drop by a minute after to enjoy breakfast with them before running off and splashing into the pond. The two friends continue talking, mostly about mundane things. Gradually, the conversation turns into something more serious.

“How’s your back?” Autumn asks carefully, fiddling with her hands.

“It’s alright,” Linx reassures, “Just a bit sore from time to time, but it’s worth it. I can’t wait for my wings to grow out.”

“Yes, we’re gonna do so many fun things! Like float down hills together and preen them whenever they get too messy. It’s a bit annoying when you have to do it yourself, but as long as you fold them inward like this, they—” Autumn proceeds to ramble on and on about how to properly care for avian wings and techniques for floating at different speeds. She mentions her excitement again and.. Linx feels oh so utterly loved, it almost hurts. An involuntary shiver overtakes her body from fear that this is all just a dream. Misinterpreting the cause, Autumn embraces her friend’s back with a wing. “Are you cold?” she frowns. 

Linx opens her mouth to answer truthfully, but nothing comes out. “I am a bit chilly,” she mumbles instead. Her back aches, but she doesn’t bring attention to it. It might scare Autumn’s touch away.

“Oh dear..” Autumn whispers, tenderly tucking Linx further into her wing, “We should've brought a blanket.”

“Yeah..” Linx responds just as quietly. 

The birds begin to twitter a sweet song, and it isn’t long before Brutus and Pepper stop by to rest by their mothers’ legs. Autumn watches Linx slowly drift to sleep, admiring her mere presence. It’s enough to make something foreign tug at her chest. 

Some more info!

Lace spent her entire childhood in the spiritual realm among other familiars, training for the same goal: to protect their soul-bonded witch. These years consisted of mastering healing spells, studying spiritual texts, and taking courses on counseling. All of these components were necessary to make sure her future witch was safe, healthy, and happy.

Physical violence does her harm, but cannot kill her. Magic attacks, on the other hand, are much more effective at taking her life.

Lace can change form to technically whatever she wants as long as it's a mortal being. Doing so takes a lot of her energy, so she limits her use of this power to small creatures (though that doesn't stay true for long after her witch's death). Additionally, she can create small animated visions designed for expressive storytelling and nothing more.

After the death of her beloved witch, Lace gradually became touch-starved. Yet, she still refuses to get close to anyone. Her current goal will result in her death, so she does not wish to cause unnecessary pain, even if it means suffering herself.

Rather, she latches onto her witch's form and pretends the other is still alive and well. It helps numb the ache of reality, making life bearable enough to navigate.

Anyway, here's some art I did of Lace throughout her ages!

Lace and Nastya were inseparable.

On their 16th birthday, they met for the first time as familiar and witch. Lace, the lanky maned wolf, was quite nervous. However, Nastya, her beloved witch, was elated.

"My familiar has come!" She had cheered with such fervor that Lace couldn't resist swaying her tail.

The next two years were spent studying so much magic that Nastya's brain was on the brink of bursting. Thankfully, Lace was there, filling the boring silence with huffs and barks. It didn't take long at all before they grew utterly attached.

At eighteen years old, the magical duo left Nastya's coven to explore the world on their own. It was time for them to find their place in the world.

Lace had conditioned herself to be on high alert during their travels. She needed to be perfect, and doing so meant sticking close and keeping track of strangers’ behaviors.

As Nastya's familiar, it was her sworn duty to protect her by casting healing and defensive spells. When it came to emotional hardships, Lace was more than prepared to offer a listening ear and bountiful advice.

But this devotion came with certain difficulties.

Nastya, the ever-loving prankster, never knew her limit. She would often get herself in trouble left and right and needed Lace’s moral and spiritual support to avoid backlash.

"I'm just having a little fun," Nastya had argued, ignoring Lace's disappointed stare. "And besides, what better way to grow powerful than to practice amusing tricks?"

Lace loved Nastya and her light-hearted tendencies, she really did. But.. Things were starting to get out of hand. The familiar was growing more and more anxious each day, pleading to the gods that Nastya would not foolishly anger the wrong person.

In response, the gods laughed.

A monster, with its disgustingly rotting teeth, had swiped Nastya from Lace's desperate grasp and devoured her alive. Nastya had only meant to frighten them as a distraction for a harmless goal, but the creature lacked patience.

Lace could not move. Her mind was blank. All she could do in that moment was stare at the bloodied mess staining the monster’s mouth.

Suddenly, a horrid wail echoed throughout the cave, startling Lace. The cry was feral and grief-stricken, causing all the air to rush out of her lungs. It was when the beast ferociously swiped at her that Lace realized those sounds were coming from herself.

She hit the wall and, on impact, her back legs were torn out of place along with her jaw. The wailing croaked to a wet gargle moments later. Satisfied, the monster turned away, leaving Lace to rot after taking away her sun.

It took an entire month for Lace’s mangled body to become one again. (It could’ve taken less, but Lace couldn’t bear not to punish herself).

Unsure of how to mourn, Lace wandered the world as a maned wolf. Wild animals avoided her, aware of her spiritual background. Inevitably, she began to feel isolated. She had no one and craved connection. She craved Nastya.

And so, Lace became her.

She carefully constructed Nastya’s body, making sure no mistakes were made. Her voice, her face, her scent- everything had to be perfect. Once it was done, Lace shifted into her new form for the first time and broke down laughing with wet eyes. She did it!

The once sensible and calm Lace was forgotten; left in the past to rest beside Nastya’s soul. Embracing her new traits, Lace becomes a troublemaker. She makes messes, utilizes tricks, and frightens others for fun. She challenges those she meets and pushes them past their limits to test their patience (at least that’s what she told herself). The only part of her identity left was her name. It’s something Nastya would’ve wanted her to keep.

And this is how Lace, the ever-loving prankster, enters this story.

Not so fun fact:

When things get too hectic or Lace becomes overwhelmed, she hides away, warps into Nastya’s form, closes her eyes, and utters gentle words.

“You’re doing great, Lacie.”

“I’m here for you.”

“You’re safe.”

“I love you.”