Writing Prompt #4: Wonder

The feeling nestled under her breastbone like a small bird, alive and restless, as her feet sank into soft loam, leaving footprints behind.

Her senses were sharper; insects and small creatures fled at her approach, their skittering clear as the sound of her own steps. She felt more real than she ever had, just a slip of a girl moving silently through the trees. Just another shadow at dusk. Her mother had always dissuaded her (half-heartedly) from exploring past the periphery of the great forest their cottage nestled against, but at the end of the day they were too much alike. Her mother knew that her daughters were proud and stubborn and dreadfully curious, so she let them run free.

Rosie had run to the sea, but Ada was drawn to the forest.

The forest really belonged to her mother anyway, so why would there be anything to fear? The sharp scent of fir and early frost dominated over the sweet scent of decay. Autumn was giving way to winter. The soft things were dying, leaving space for the hardy, sharp things to emerge. Things like her, she thought, as that small bird in her ribcage ruffled its feathers and sang.

She had once asked her mother who had named the Witchwood and why; her mother had replied that that had always been its name as far back as anyone could remember, though no witch or hag had ever lived there. No, there wouldn’t have been, Ada thought, as night fell and still she continued on. Because it had been waiting.

Waiting for her. 

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Am I taking inspiration for these from established characters I already use for my own ttrpg games? Yes. But when you’re working full-time, freelancing, and also taking another writing class because you didn’t expect that you’d get really busy… you take inspiration where you can get it.

Plus, can I really help loving my favourite character’s daughters? In the campaign I’m running right now they’re only twelve, but I like thinking about them and what their stories are going to be someday. Rosie will grow up to be a swashbuckling pirate just like her father, and Ada will end up a proper storybook witch-hag in a cottage of her own. Not quite like her mama, but still such a satisfying direction.

They’re absolute sweeties and also terrors to behold hahaha.

That’s all for me this today! Please like, comment, and share if you enjoy what you’ve read. 

Above all, be kind to one another. 

Love, Charlotte