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[Sikota Urinakano 876]

Just this once. I'm disappearing as soon as this contest is over,

Here are some stories I'm submitting for two different categories for said contest: http://kh13.com/forum/topic/68716-1st-kh13-talent-contest-todays-category-writing/?do=findComment&comment=1339860

 

KH13 Category:

 

 

Nekoro

 

 

Neko. That was me. Neko. Cat. I stayed low to the ground, prowling the tall grasses, stalking the mouse that would’ve been my prey. My foot broke a twig and the little rodent scurried away, out of reach.

 

“Sikota!” My mother called. Plump, neat brown feathers, I was the spitting image of her. Save for size and neatness.

 

I sighed and flapped my way back into the sky. I was Fukoro again. Owl. An owl who spent his time being what he wasn’t. “Yes?”

 

“Time to go to sleep. You can’t stay outside too late.”

 

I sighed again. It sometimes really stank being crepuscular. Can’t be out when it’s too dark. Can’t be out when it’s too bright. Dawn and dusk. I can only be out at dawn and dusk. “Yes, mother.” I veered over to our tree and perched on a branch. I was asleep in just a few moments.

 

As soon as day broke. I was awake. I immediately took off and began scanning the ground below me. I saw a black blur in a tree some distance away. I circled down to see a black cat walking strangely across a branch. Both her left legs, then both her right. I landed a short distance behind her.

 

“Fukoro...” she muttered.

 

“Neko.”

 

“Fukoro.”

 

"Neko.”

 

“No! I’m Fukoro!” she snapped, turning around. “Oh...”

 

I chuckled. “Pretending to be something you’re not? I know where you’re coming from. I myself was Neko just last night. Name’s Sikota.”

 

“I’m Kurai.” I had never been this close to a cat before. She was a little bigger than I was. Her fur was kinda like my down feathers, but a lot shorter and seemed easier to handle. What intrigued me the most was that her eyes were different colors. The left was blue, the other was purple.

 

“So about that Fukoro attempt.”

 

“What about it?” Kurai asked, looking away.

 

“You should splay your toes more,” I told her. “And bob your head a little too.” I walked across the branch to serve as an example.

 

“Let me try again.” Kurai repeated the motion with those corrections.

 

“Better!” I said.

 

She stopped and sat down. “So what else have you tried to be?”

 

“Sometimes Neko. Sometimes I’m being chased b one. A lot of the time it involves me walking. I’ve been Ryu on occasion.”

 

“Dragons don’t exist, Sikota,” Kurai said bluntly.

 

“That’s the fun part!” I exclaimed. “It doesn’t exist so I get make it how I want. Don’t tell me you’ve never been something fake.”

 

Kurai looked away again and curled her tail around herself, clearly embarrassed. “I... I may have once or twice.”

 

“Come on!” I said, flapping over to her side. “Let’s do it together!” I ran from our branch to the trunk and ran down headfirst a lot faster than I probably should have. I spread my wings to avoid falling on my flat face and landed softly on the ground. “Have you seen the weird birds that climb down like that?”

 

“Sikota, there’s a problem!” Kurai cried sheepishly.

 

“And what’s that?”

 

“I always have trouble coming down...”

 

I flew back up to the dark cat’s side. “Then why come up here?”

 

“Because...” Kurai was hesitant. “I like it up here. It’s safe.”

 

“Safe?”

 

“My family’s really mean to me sometimes.” She said softly.

 

“Come on, Kurai,” I assured her. “I’m an owl and what I just did isn’t supposed to happen. If I can do it, so can you.”

 

I repeated the action of running down the trunk and avoided using my wings and simply jumped. “That was close." I muttered to myself. "Come on Kurai! You can do it!”

 

“I don’t want to come down!” She snapped.

 

I sighed. “Fine. I’m going home. Come back here at sundown if you wanna hang out again!” I flew off back to the old tree where I was raised.

 

“You’re late.” My mother scolded after I landed.

 

“Sorry.” I told her. “I’ll just go to sleep.” I did just that, not moving an inch until twilight began. When it did, I was gone.

 

“Be sure to find something to eat!” My mother called.

 

“Will do!” I told her. It took me a while to recognize our tree until I saw the black blur in it. I heard something scurry in the branches above her. A squirrel. I grabbed the tasty rodent by the head and floated down to Kurai’s side.

 

“What’s that?” She asked.

 

“Food.” I could hear Kurai’s stomach growl. No huge feat for an owl but I noticed it nonetheless. I stuck the squirrel’s head in my beak and pulled hard. Its head eventually snapped off. After a few moments, I finished swallowing the rodent’s head. I offered the decapitated body to my feline companion. “You seem hungry.”

 

Kurai wrapped her tail around herself again. “K-kinda.” She accepted my offer and began nibbling on the corpse.

 

“So you haven’t been up here all day, have you, Kurai?”

 

She stopped eating. “M-Maybe.”

 

“And have you been Neko the entire time?”

 

“I’ve gotten better at Fukoro.” She replied a little more cheerfully. “I’m not gonna show you yet, but it’s going to be really good.

 

“I’ll take your word for it.” I said with a hint of sarcasm. After a while, the squirrel was finished and the sun was nearly set. “It’s getting dark, I should probably be getting home.”

 

“But Sikota!” Kurai whined.

 

“Yes?”

 

“I’m scared.”

 

“Scared?”

 

“It’s dark, Sikota!” She cried. “Darkness is scary. I don’t even know how to get down.”

 

“How far away do you live?” I asked her.

 

“Not too far. Just a little bit over there.” She looked toward the nearly set sun.

 

“Brace yourself.” Flapping my way into the air, I picked up the black cat and began flying toward her home.

 

“Sikota!” She screamed. “What are you doing?!”

 

“Taking you home.” I replied nonchalantly. “You’ve been playing Fukoro, Kurai, you should be enjoying this.”

 

“I’m not!” She cried back. “It’s scary!”

 

Whatever.” After a few moments, I approached the ground and lightly dropped her onto the grass.

 

“Oof!” Kurai landed on her side.

 

“Aren’t cats always supposed to land on their feet?” I asked circling above her.

 

“Aren’t owls supposed to be completely silent?” She shot back. “Yet your as talkative as they get.”

 

I chuckled and landed beside her. “Fair enough. See you tomorrow?”

 

The black cat nodded. “Yup. I’ll be up in our tree at sundown.”

 

“Right. See you then!” I took to the skies. It would be well past dark by the time I got back home. Oh well. I’ll be home on time after sunrise tomorrow and enjoy the evening with Kurai. She seemed like a nice Neko.

 

I spent every night with Kurai for the next few weeks. After meeting on our special branch in our special tree, we’d engage in one game after another. Someone would catch something to share with the other for dinner. A lot of the time we sat together and talked about all sorts of things. Sometimes I was Neko and she’d be Fukoro. Other times we were just ourselves. But no matter what, it was always Neko and Fukoro. When the sun was nearly set, I would carry her home and we would and we would say our goodbyes for the evening. One night she licked my face and giggled as she turned and left. At least for Fukoro, when you run your beak through another’s feathers, it’s either when you’re courting your potential mate or comforting your children. I didn’t know what to make of it.

 

We’d been meeting up for about two months by now. One day, she didn’t show up. I landed on our usual branch and waited. “Kurai?” I called. The sun was nearly set by the time I saw her moving slowly toward me, twilight at her back. “Kurai!” I flew over to her. “What happened?” I sounded a lot more worried than I should have. Or not.

 

“My family’s really mean to me sometimes.” She said softly. She was covered in dirt and scratches. She nestled herself under my wing. “I’m scared, Sikota.”

 

I leaned over and ran my beak through her fur not only to clean out the dirt, but just to be able to touch her. To comfort her. It reminded me of what my mother did for me when I was scared. But more so what my father did for her. I was beginning to think I like this Neko as more than a friend. “I’m here, Kurai.” I assured the terrified cat. "Always am, always will be."

 

 

 

Own Story:

 

 

A young man garbed in a dark cloak descended the spiral staircase. His shoes clicked against the cobblestone. The dungeon was dim, torchlit, and narrow. The cloaked figure navigated the corridors with an air of experience. "Elizabeth, where are you?" He whispered.

 

A hand reached out of the shadows and grabbed the boy, pulling him into the darkness. A hand covered his mouth. "Shh!" It was high-pitched shush: that of a girl's. "Don't worry, David, it's just me." She let him go.

 

David turned to see his rendezvous. She was also cloaked and hooded; though the white of her apparel wasn't the stealthiest. The young man removed his hood, revealing messy, light-brown hair and and eyes of full of charm and honesty. "And it's just me." He replied. "So you can take off that hood."

 

Elizabeth gave a small laugh and pulled down her hood as well. Her deep brown, almost black hair fell to her neck in graceful half-curls. Her dark grey eyes flickered orange in the torchlight. A silver circlet, a symbol of her royalty rested atop her head, almost invisible against the paleness of her skin. "Happy now?"

 

David nodded, running a hand through the princess's soft hair. "Yes. Yes I am."

 

Elizabeth looked away. "You're embarrassing..." She muttered.

 

"And yet you still send for me?" The young man asked. "If a peasant like me is spotted with you, these dungeons will soon become my home."

 

"I know... But I needed to see you. Every time I closed my eyes I'd see your face, hear your voice. If I could actually see and hear you, I thought I'd rest easier."

 

"More easily." David corrected. "You know I'd do anything for you, Elizabeth. You just need to keep in mind that I'm taking risks. Should the worst happen, I don't want you blaming yourself."

 

"I know..." Elizabeth repeated. "I don't get it!" She exclaimed with a sigh. "David, you're handsome, charming, eloquent. The only reason you aren't a noble is because you lack the blood!"

 

"And it is blood that is keeping us apart." David said sternly. "You need to understand that our love cannot last, for I lack the nobility."

 

"I can give you, nobility!" The young girl cried. Her face grew red and she averted her gaze. The star-crossed lovers had mentioned marriage on occasion; though Elizabeth's meekness often dismissed the possibility. "You... David..." The princess was often stern with her staff, but something about this young man made her so nervous. "You belong in a castle. The farms don't suit you."

 

"I'm a merchant." David again corrected.

 

"I don't care!" Elizabeth snapped. "You're too smart for all of that! Come back up with me. You can live with us. Teach me. Teach my sisters. You make me a better person, David!"

 

The merchant shushed her, pressing a hand to her mouth. He listened carefully. He heard the clanking of armor. "Find me at the shop tomorrow." He whispered. "I'll consider your offer." He removed his hand, giving her a light kiss. He pulled up his hood and ran off.

 

 

[Anonn0000 3,525]

I'm not close to you but I know Neko is and i think i'd worry about her if you were gone too long.

[Emrys 3,192]

YOU CAME BACK T.T

[Lady Aleister 1,677]

I'm not close to you but I know Neko is and i think i'd worry about her if you were gone too long.

 

We still talk to each other.

[Anonn0000 3,525]

We still talk to each other.

Alright. I was wondering about that, cuz i know you have difficult times around here sometimes, it seems...

 

I wish i could be there for you more but i can be soo sencitive about bullying and stuff ;-;

[MDSVeritas 299]

Both were super interesting, personal relationships are by far my favorite story theme and you're quite good at presenting them. The descriptions in your second story were particularly well done. It's good to see you around man, hopefully it ain't the last we see of you for too long.