[spookies] two spooky stories to go!

The weather was cold and dry as it was almost winter in most parts of Capricon-13. All the trees big and small were facing some changes with their leaves turning bright and dark orange. The leaves slowly fell from the high branches creating a beautiful scene for all creatures to witness its beauty. Two Symprties both had purple on their bodies, were now searching the cold group through the fallen leaves to find two bags of goodies to make gold before the snowy season arrived. They did not encounter anything good for quite some time after the Brew Bash, it seemed the money was getting tight and they needed a break in the search. 

“ ARGGHH!! I can’t find anything good here! Do you have any luck on your side, Vira? “ The swamp girl asked her friend who was not far from her the question with an annoyed voice. Her webbed hands were covered in dirt and dust with no good forage to be seen. She dusted some off her hands while waiting for the answer.

“ Uhhhh…no, Lazuli! I feel like there are so many leaves that we couldn’t see what’s beneath them at all “ The white-purple ocean Symprites answered as she looked back at her friend, her head shaking sending her light pink and yellow sea dragon whiskers to move slowly with the motion. They both stayed there for another moment before deciding it was finally time to move to another place.

Their hooves paced through the forest, it made this crispy cracking sound as they made their way through the woods. The fog slowly crept in as they went deeper, the dried leaves path now turned into a hard store floor, and the atmosphere was getting creepier and creepier. Vira who seemed like was lost in her mind, quickly shook her friend’s shoulder.

“ You know what?! I think this is the best time for a scary story don’t you think? “ She asked with a determined voice, Lazuli looked puzzled back at her before answering the question. 

“ A scary story? Sure! I feel this place is giving the vibe to that too! “ The purple swamp giggled as she anticipated what her friend had in store. A scary story? Never heard of that in a while now. 

“ Well, I heard this one from someone that I knew a long time ago, let’s get cracking then “ And so, Vira started to tell the story as they journeyed into the unknown path ahead. 

“ The story is called: THE HEADLESS BYUN 

Once upon a time, there was a family with a mom, a dad, a baby, and then a little Byun! They all lived in a small house with woods and other houses surrounding their home. One day, the baby wanted to have an adventure in the thick and deep woods, so he sneaked out with his friends but little did he know that his Byun also followed him. The boys with their sticks imaging as swords, swing and swipe the lower branches to make their way into the deep woods. The little Byun followed with a steady pace, it sure that it was not lost as it followed the many footprints of the young Symprites, but wait! A giant yellow hollow fruit fell from the tree above right onto its tiny head, luckily the worms and bugs craved some holes large enough for it to see and breathe with the fruit on its head. The Byun was still determined, clearly this happy accident did not stop it from following the boys. Its tiny paws walked carefully on the wet forest floor, some part of the floor was dry and that was a bonus to the Byun. It glided with the fluffy wings when it was stuck in a tree or so, as it approached the noisy mess that the boys left behind, the creature met with a large bush that covered the fluffy body entirely, and the bush shook and shook when it tried to push the thick leaf out of its way. The creeping sound from a mysterious owner caught all of the kid's attention. The boy who was the owner of the Byun and also the leader of the group bravely walked towards the bush with the stick as his sharp sword, this lifted his confidence as much as possible. When suddenly… “

The ocean Symprite lowered her voice, this was more than enough to let Lazuli know what was going to happen next.

“ Oh let me guess, the byun with a giant fruit on its head jumps out of the bush and scares all the boys? “

She cut her off almost immediately with a little bit of hand motion to annoy her friend. 

“ That was the best part to do with the voice effect!! You’re ruining the vibe… “

The girls stared back at each other before laughing it off. Well, it looked like the story was not that scary.“ It did not sound that scary, though. It feels like it would be a better fit for a younger audience, you know, kids! “ The purple and blue swamp suggested. The ocean girl beside her nodded before adding. 

“ Maybe because I heard it a long time ago, and it could be that the story was toned down to be more kids-friendly. If it was for adults like us, there would definitely be some bloody mess! 

“ Totally! This takes me back to when I was younger, my mother used to tell me lots of bedtime stories just like this but a little more extreme. “

That sparked something inside Vira. Her eyes glowed with excitement.  

“ Well, could you tell me some of it then? Mine was not so scary after all, and this walk might take some time.  “

“ Sure! At least we have a little something to talk about “

The friends giggled before Lazuli turned into a storyteller as they walked, the fog was getting thick again and the surroundings were feeling colder. The creatures around them slowly stopped singing their voice as the deeper part of the woods was nearer.

“ This one is called: SCARY SCARECROW, I believe, let’s get on it!

On the cold day of the fall season, the trees turned their leaves to crispy orange as it left summer for quite some time then. There were two brothers, the older one was the fiercest and greatest hunter anyone had ever seen, and the other was a peaceful forager who was the best at finding the best goods that could bring their fortune for many moons to come. They lived in a big house up on the hill, the villagers in the town loved both of them and would give them some gold to either hunt or forage what they were looking for. They lived there alone as the two brothers, and their other family already passed or gone out of the house so it was a bit lonely for the two. Fortunately, they made it work, they had one another back and it made their bond stronger.

One faithful day, an old man knocked on their door, looking for the hunter brother. He was an aged Arctic with grey all over his body, he said he needed to find this rare creature as he handed the hunter a piece of paper. The thin and old paper had all the information that he needed. The elder one read and he nodded with confidence, he accepted the job with a smirk as he had hunted a larger creature before. The old man then tossed him a bag of gold, it was heavy, heavier than his usual hunting work. He said that if he could bring him the head of the prey he wanted in the next week, he would give him another bag just as much as that one. Greed was slowly creeping into the hunter’s mind, he smiled again before saying farewell to his new client. The younger one who was secretly listening to everything, came from the corner of the room and showed his concern for the stuff that his brother was getting it too. The older reassured and bragged with pride in his crest that he could succeed in less than the time the old had given. He also added this job could help them both in the harsh incoming winter.

The next morning when the sun shredded its first light on the top of every tree, the hunter left the house with his younger brother, they both carried supplies that could last them days in the woods. Even if the hunter said he would hunt alone, his brother wanted to tag alone just to make sure that he was fine and he also wanted to find some natural goods along the way. Days and nights passed the older still could not find any leads or footprints of the creature he was looking for, as if the creature was something that was not real, as if it was a spirit. He talked out his frustration at every dinner time round the campfire, anger consumed him, his iris was shaped, his claws kept out all the time and he slept with his weapons in his tent. The younger brother was worried about how his brother had changed, he tried to comfort him but it seemed like he could not reach through his brother's heart anymore. They both were surely tried from not enough sleep, uncomfortably sleeping in the tents for nights, getting bitten by bugs, and if getting out of there as fast as possible would be the best for both. 

Many days passed with no luck, on a freezing morning, also the last day of his given time, the two went out together before the hunter spotted a white pelt, the same description as stated in the old paper. Shivers sent down the brother's spines, it felt like they saw a spirit. The hunter’s hooves quickly made their way to the perfect spot, his brother was running behind him but still could catch up just a bit slower. The creature stood in an open field, its white fur was fluffy long and this was the first time the younger one laid his eyes on it. It had the appearance of a Veron but every part of its body was in pale white, like the light of the moon touched the cold snow. The whole screen was mystical and felt unreal for the forager. But there was something odd, there was a scarecrow behind when the Veron stood and a very thick milky mist circling around them. The scarecrow looked like it had seen many seasons, the clothing was torn and had holes in it and there was a bunch of dried leaves everywhere on its big straw hat. The younger did not have a good feeling about this at all, before he could say anything his brother finally finished setting up his bow and shot a sharp arrow as his kin yelled helplessly at what he saw.

The arrow swiftly stuck through the heart of the big creature, it cried loudly with pain striking from its heart, and the big body gracefully fell down into the cold dirt below, sending the fallen leaves around all of them to fly up and slowly going down with gravity. The younger one cried, his heart fell to his hooves, his eyes opened wide and he still could not stop his brother from going up to the creature lifeless’s body. The hunter grabbed a sharp knife from his pocket, as he was going to strike its throat to cut it as his client requested. But then…his ears heard a voice.

‘ Stop. ‘

It was short and cold as the weather around them. He started to breathe fog from his mouth and looked at where the voice came from, it was from the scarecrow. The older got annoyed, he believed this was some kind of curse or scary story to teach the kids not to do bad things. He took his knife as he walked toward the scarecrow, then its eyes gleamed with deep blue light, and a wisp glowed around it. The scene reflected in the younger one’s eye, he knew this was a really bad sign, he yelled at the top of his lungs for him to stop but his brother almost reached the voice owner, and mysteriously freezing ice grew from his hooves. It was so strong that it stopped his movement, the hunter panicked as he could not move, and the ice grew around his body. He screamed with true fear for the first time, he tried to strike his weapon, but his entire body was now covered in ice, stopping everything from moving and living. His body was like a statue, hard as stone and cold to the heart.

‘ That life was not yours to take but you did it anyhow, a greedy soul like you doesn’t deserve to get out of my forest ‘

As the last word from the scarecrow was spoken, the mist slowly evaporated, revealing many ice statues of many Symprties that looked like they were all stopped in a heartbeat. The forager could not believe what he saw and he believed it was time to leave, then he heard another voice.

‘  Learn this lesson, child. Tell them all what not to do and no soul shall be another statue in my graveyard ‘

He yelled with terror, his hard hooves ran away from the scene leaving his brother and everything behind, the mist was getting thicker again, chasing him out of the dark and deep woods. He safely made it to his house with sweat on his body. That night he could not sleep, he had nightmares of his brother and the scarecrow. When morning came, he heard a familiar knock on the door. It was the same old man who hired the hunter, his brother, the man asked if he had finished the job but all he got was the younger screaming back in his face before he calmed down and explained everything to the elder. The old Symprite narrowed his thick eyebrows, he said he heard about this ‘scary scarecrow myth’ a long time ago but did not believe any of it. He had always wanted the albino Veron’s head to be a decoration for his house but no matter how many hunters he sent and how much the reward was, he still could not get what he needed. He left with no remorse, thinking that it was a waste, and left the forager alone with his thoughts. Many moons later, the younger tried to spread the story of his brother and the scarecrow, some believed him and some were just like the old man who thought this was just another story to scare the kids. 

The snowy winter arrived with him alone in his house for the first time, some night he still had dreams about his brother suffering and the scream of the Veron as it took its last breath. Years later, he turned his house into a bookstore, he changed his career from a forager to a writer, and he wrote and read many books of legends before he passed peacefully in his sleep. He did find love after the opening of his new business, his children took over his business and this store was still standing with stories for anyone who wanted to learn more about the past. “

The story was done and followed by silence except for the sound of their steps. Then the ocean Symprite decided to break it.

“ Wow! That was kinda not kid-friendly?? “

“ Yeah, I figured just now..Hmmm maybe that’s why my mother read this when I was a bit older. “

Her face filled with realization. As now they were almost at the foraging spot, Luminary Lantern could be spotted by the trees and the moon was up high. The scene was beautiful, every Symprtie was preparing for the Lunisolar Festival.

“ Still, your story was so much better, I’ll beat you next time! “

“ Bring it on!! “

Two friends had a little friendly rivalry, they did this tiny bump into each other before they heard something..loud??

“ AHHHHHHHHHH!!!! “

That concerned the two, maybe it was someone who needed help?? Someone or some ghost??

“ Sounds like someone needs help! Maybe it could be something very spooky… “

“ W-WHAT!? Vira I think we check it out! J-J-Just to make sure that they’re safe of course!! “

While they were having this spooky conversation, Vira did not let this opportunity slide to make a scary face to scare her friend who half believed that it could be a ghost or something else. They ran and ran faster to the voice that was still screaming?? Until they met with a surprise..

by JubCHAI

It was Copper!! But he was not alone, in front of him there was a Festive Wish Chest that had a Byun inside, the Byun had a white sheet like a tiny spooky ghost. It was meowing at the brown Symprite, looked like it tried to scare him away! There was stuff lying around, scattering you could say that. The girls took some time to think while Copper was still frightened by the scene and the tiny creature. They pieced the puzzle together and came to the same conclusion. This box had some scratches as if it had opened many times, more like a storage box that had an owner, and they also owned this Byun. Copper who was looking for the treasure and forage, stumbled upon this chest that was heavier than a normal chest, so when he opened it, there was a surprise waiting for him! They laughed as they got the answer from him that confirmed their guess was right.

The Byun looked around all of the strangers before it ran into the forest. Leaving everything and everyone behind. This concerned all of them a little but they decided to leave it be and carefully put all the stuff back, hoping the owner would not notice?? As they finished the task, they had a little chat as Vira put her arm over Copper’s shoulder.

by Inuko

“ Soooo, Copper. Do you want to hear a story about a Headless Byun?! It sounds very fitting now “

“ A Headless Byun?? HUH!? Not again!! “

His voice sounded panicked, and this sent Lazuli another laugh, she was holding back her tears while Vira started to tell a story. The night went on as three friends shared an uplifting and spooky conversation. They all eventually found good forages, some chests, and many pouches of shells. As it was almost morning, the sun was coming up to greet every life below, they bid farewell before returning to their separate place. 

(for another 3k words!! some part of the stories were inspired by my friend’s work)