Light in Dawn

Holiday Bonus: A Quest For Inspiration

Firstly, Merry Christmas to you all. Or Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, or just happy holidays in general really.

Secondly: you may note that I haven't written in forever. After writing essay after essay for school, my creative writing department is a bit drained. So very logically I'm going to writing tips for help. The following is a collection of random un-related snippets written as a product of boredom and some degrees of fatigue. 

Really what I'm trying to say is that I hold no responsibilty for what happens here.

Here we go.

~~~

imagine the most serious character you know

now imagine them getting scared by the toaster going off as they walk by

(from Tumblr user evilpotato512)

The situation at Wington is dire. Julyan paced around the kitchen counter, involuntarily tightening his grasp on the butter knife in his hand. I know the three princes. Of them, one is ruthless; one is disloyal; one is impulsive. Now that the protests against the king is at its peak and the princes are rallying for support for the inner court...

He wished that he could do something. Perhaps slipping in the kingdom some time soon - but someone  had to keep watch of Andriana. Nellie just caught a cold and wrapped herself in layers of blankets, refusing to leave the room. Or let him go in, for that matter.

Ah, mental note to put a new tissue box outside the door after breakfast.

Emmeline, on the other hand passed out from three nights of total sleep deprivation. It was no easy task to shoot a new movie as the main role with a demanding director in the morning, only to be forced to deal with a famine in Krigale back home.

Julyan's frown grew deeper. Maybe I should go ask for a favour. As long as someone keeps watch of Andriana for a day - really, just one day would be enough. I will definitely be able to set up something to stabilise the situation. Ruila probably won't refuse my request if I ask. Maybe even Sie, or Zoa - 

POP!

Julyan jumped, like a piece of string stretched taut suddenly snapping.

His body reacted faster than his mind did. The butter knife left his hand and flew, sailing straight toward the source of sound. From the tips of his fingers five second-level charms sprung simultaneously.

A second later he froze, eyeing the object that he'd judged as an assailant.

It was the toaster.

His toast was ready.

He attacked his breakfast.

Julyan definitely needed a break.

Five minutes later, a sneezing Nellie fully enveloped in blankets would find her way to the kitchen to replenish her tissue supply, and instead find her brother cursing and scavenging the floor for some mysterious debris. She would raise her eyebrows suspiciously and notice the small mount of broken pieces, some of which were stabbing a piece of fresh-looking toast.

~~~

writing tip: if in doubt add more dragons. if not in doubt add more dragons. dragons dragons dragons. (from Tumblr user lavidapoliglota)

...

"Is that true?" Her ice-blue eyes gazed at him. "You're not lying to me?"

Julyan hesitated for a second and then sighed, defeated. "Yes I am. I didn't think you'd be so sharp, Andriana. That's expected - after all, you're a dragon-born."

"A dra-dragon-born? What do you mean?" Andriana instantly leaped away by three steps, indeed very out of character for the readers in doubt, her footsteps echoing in the empty gym. "Wait..."

"Yeah," Julyan nodded casually, thoughtful. "I'm sorry that I lied to you. Your kindred would be arriving soon and I thought I ought to at least inform you. You're the only surviver in a line of a rare dragon breed from the fantasy land where I came from, where dragons can take humanoid form, you see."

Andriana stared at him. 

"You were once a royal princess - by royal I really mean that your family happens to like hoarding crowns and generic items embodying royal status instead of books, which was a favourite hoarding item for dragons - and something disastrous happening when you were three and your entire family was exterminated. You went missing and everyone had been searching to you since."

"It doesn't make sense!" Andriana exclaimed, at she had never done in any of the previous chapters. "You must have made a mistake. I can't be a dragon. I mean, I don't have the urge to breathe fire, and I generally don't hoard anything, except for maybe limited edition paint brushes and colour pencils..."

"That's hoarding alright," her companion confirmed her suspicions, "see, it's in your blood."

~~

Encore (word or warning: really random):

Andriana rolled up her sleeves and checked for scales.

"I hate to interrupt the moment of self-discovery, Andriana, but I have to warn you," Julyan coughed, caught between amusement and apprehension, "You have maybe three minutes to embrace your inner dragon before your distant relatives arrive to pick you up."

He was wrong.

Neither of them caught sight of the flapping of wings that had been steadily approaching the school for the last fifteen minutes, enlarging from nothing but a tiny speck to... well, giant magnificent fire-breathing invincible legendary winged creatures. The swiftest dragons had been dispatched to welcome their very own lost princess. 

It wasn't until the first one - raven-headed with silver scales - swooped right down to the windows of the gym that the two finally noticed the dragons' presence. In a flash the enormous creature slimmed into an tall, broad-shouldered girl, who tripped in an unflattering manner as she landed and allowed her face to be buried under her unkempt black hair momentarily.

"Nice to meet you," the newcomer scowled.

Andriana turned to Julyan. "When you say 'pick me up', you mean that I'm to leave the Lucases and join them instead?"

Julyan's eyes widened in alarm, something that he would never do in the actual story. He shoved his hands inside the pockets of his jeans - even though he was probably meant to be wearing school uniform - and hurriedly withdrew stacks of cue cards overflowing the palm of his hand.

A few fell onto the ground in the process. Andriana bent over and caught sight of some words scrawled onto them (evidently not Julyan's writing because his is always flawlessly neat): Living With Dragons pro tip #101, A Guide to the Daily Lives of Mythical Creatures...

Pros of living with dragons:

-you wake up to see dragons

-you get to see sleeping dragons

-you get to poke sleeping dragons

-dragons

Cons of living with dragons:

-none???

Andriana snickered. "What are you even thinking, Julyan? It's dragons. I get to live with dragons. I am a dragon. There's literally nothing more I can wish for."

And the sound of multiple dragons crashing on the windows of the gym due to failed attempts to subtly eavesdrop concludes this catastrophic writing exercise.

~~

Please tell me about your thoughts on this. Really. I've had fun writing this and I'd like to know whether this is amusing or traumatising for you.