Contest Results!

[Qaza]

The results are in!

Winners of the Costume Contest!

Female:

Shoeboxshoes - Roisana in a costume for Altair, from Assassin's Creed

Male:

Mikain - Screech Owl

Group:

Cressy and company - Wizard of Oz




Winners of the Story Contest!

Short:

The Aftermath
The ship was ruined, the Storm had wreaked havoc, the sails were ripped, and most of the forward castle was destroyed. It was a wonder that they'd all survived. There was something odd about that tempest… something magical, and dark about it. But it was gone now, that was in the past. He needed to work out how they'd sail to a port.

Vonatheus strolled downstairs, it was time to sleep, and for the night shift to begin.
He waved to Kira… But… she… wasn't right.
There was just… something strange about her, she looked a little too pale.
He dismissed the thought; she was probably just shaken up. He walked into his chambers, with the exception of a few broken windows, nothing had been damaged, just moved a bit. As he unbuttoned his shirt, he noticed it was severely bloodstained.
He quickly tore it open, looking for the source of the blood. It was his stomach, a massive piece of timber lodged in it. Surely he should be dead?
He looked in the mirror. He too was pale.
As he turned his head, he noticed he face was torn, skull visible.
He had died. They had all died.

Long:
MrWeasel, with Dahso as a VERY close runner-up! Find both the stories here!

Clutched in one green hand was a length of rusted jagged scrap metal, the pseudoblade caked in dried gore, the unwrapped handle cutting into the hand but the cut flesh did not bleed. Panting heavily the giant panicked forest troll looked around, milky green eyes darting around the diseased landscape of the Plaguelands. Shaking his head and growling at the voices arguing just out of earshot, catching snippets of voices telling him to do such horrible things. Clutching the blade close against his chest and holding the ratty blanket tight around his shoulders. The large troll cowers and shakes at the screeching of a Gargoyle flock, his mind made for him as he dashes for a dingy looking building on the edge of an abandoned village.

Stopping at the entrance of the house, the door hanging from one hinge, the skittish troll crouched down low to squint into the dark. Slowing pushing the door to the side with the blade he had to stoop very low to slide past the doorframe. Standing up, the tips of his long ears brushed through the cobwebs. Inside the house looked like a warzone, bones lay scattered across the floor and broken weapons were stuck in the wood or just laying on the ground.

A soft sound reached the large ears of the troll who stood up quickly, dropping the broken hilted axe, gripping his weapon close, scanning the area frantically. The sound came to him again, head darting to stare fearfully at the staircase. The third time the sound came the troll blinked in surprise, it sounded like a small child crying and whimpering softly. The troll looked longingly at the door but he found himself inching closer to the staircase.

Stopping at the stairs landing and squinting into the dark for a long time, eyes and ears straining but only hearing the soft whimpering coming from behind a closed door at the end of the hallway. Crouched so low his knuckles nearly dragged across the floor in the undisturbed dust, the troll peered into each open room, each bare of everything other than dust. Halting outside of the closed door, the troll crouched with blade clutched close to his chest, taking a deep steadying breath out of habit, idly thinking if his heart could beat it'd but ready to burst by now. Reaching out he pushes open the door which creaked loudly as it swung in. A gasp and squeak alerted the troll to the source of the whimpering in the corner.

Squinting in the dim light he could barely make out that there seemed to be a small grubby human girl huddled in the far corner, hands covering her head as she shook in fear, whimpering and sniffling pitifully. The troll just sat there in the entrance of the room silently, staring at the girl cowering away from him. A dreadfully long time passed, the troll unmoving and unblinking and the girl still panicking at the sight of the him. The troll suddenly blinks, head and ears lowering in an attempt to be less frightening as he squeezes through the small door, dropping the metal scrap to the floor.

Crawling over to the child he lays himself out so he was looking up at her curiously, the child peaking out then squeaking in surprise at the giant troll being so close to her. The trolls jaw works slowly, forcing out, "No...'fraid..no hurt...me 'fraid..." He gasps out, his voice strained and unused to Common. The troll slowly brings his body up to curl into a fetal position, still staring up at her, unblinking.

The girl slowly peaked out at the troll, watching him with eyes red and puffy from crying for a long period of time. After a long while she whispers out, "Who...are you? I'm Pamela... You have bunny ears..."

The troll frowns at her question, biting his lip in concentration. Working his mouth again he says softly, "J-jy...Jyoti...n-nice meet...Pam." Jyoti repeats their names silently, nodding slowly to himself, "Y-yes. Nice meet." he says again, the smallest of smiles creeping across the girls face, the expression mimiced by the giant troll.

"H-hello bunny-ears..."

~~

Sitting cross-legged in the room, Jyoti leaned forward, minus the tattered blanket. The blanket draped across the shoulders of the small girl as she pokes at the trolls back, then slowly pulls out a very long IV needle, tossing it onto a small pile of tubing and needles, "You must've been very sick to have this many pokey needles in you. I only got one when I had the measles when we were in the big city visiting Auntie. I was so itchy and hot I thought I was going to burn up then I would get so cold it feel like I was swimming in the river during fall time."

Jyoti shrugs his broad shoulders silently, looking down at his hands clasped in his lap. The girl continued to babble on in the way that small girls do, the troll merely nodding and grunting at points where her tone suggested he respond, the troll having very little understanding of Common but the girl seemed determined to pound it into him.

"I wish Auntie was here. She always brought sweets or a new scarf or wood toy or..." the girl trailed off suddenly, falling silent. The troll didn't notice a change until suddenly the girl was clutching at his arm, burying her face into his arm, starting a fresh bought of soft crying. Frowning, the troll cautiously lifted a hand large enough to crush the girls head and hesitantly started to stroke the girls hair like one might a pet. The two remained that way for a long time, the girl sobbing about dolls, dead men, her mean daddy, and a jumble of other things lost on the troll who merely sat there, stroking her hair.

~~

Gripping the newly wrapped handle of his improvised sword, the troll slunk out of the house, scanning the area cautiously. The troll started to make his way towards the razed town, only to be stopped by a small tug on his pants. Looking down in surprise, Pam latched herself onto his side, clinging to him possesively, "Don't go don't go don't go..." she muttered, burying her face into his side when he crouched down, gently stroking her hair

"Shh. Jyoti no long gone. Back quick. Look town." He points to the town but the girl didn't look, merely keeping her face burying into his side. The troll sighs deeply, sounding like blacksmith bellows, "Safe here. Stay. Back quick." The troll grinned wide, showing yellowing teeth, the girl nodding meekly. She gave the troll's arm a hug then scurried back into the house. Jyoti waited until he spotted a pair of eyes peering at him from between the slats of wood covering the windows on the second floor. Nodding the troll quietly skulks into the town.

After hours of searching the, for all intents and purposes, desolate town, Jyoti paused outside of the last house he hadn't searched. Pushing open the door and ducking he entered, scanning the house Jyoti snorted. The house was exactly what he expected, discarded broken weapons and shattered bones. But still the troll started his search of the house. The basement and first floor turned up nothing other than a still clothed skeleton pinned against the ceiling by a kitchen knife rusted beyond use to the troll.

Reaching the top of the stairs the troll paused, nostrils flaring, catching a faint scent of Pam, the troll growling softly in frustration the troll started his search of the rooms, all empty. At the last room that surprisingly had an intact door, he paused then pushed the door open with his fake sword. Baffled the troll looked at the empty room, the scent coming from that room. Squeezing his way in he spotted behind the open door, a lump of clothe. Scooping it up, it unfolded in his hand into a ragdoll, the doll small enough to fit into his palm.

"This is her doll she's always talking about." Jyoti muttered to himself in troll while smiling as he looked the small doll over. The trolls examination of the doll was cut short by a scream he recognized all to well, the troll jumping up in alarm, slamming his head against the ceiling, cracking the rotting wood. Unnoticing the troll rushes out of house.

Large two-toed feet slap against the cold hard ground as he charged for the house he has been sharing with the girl for months without leaving. The girls pleading cries suddenly matched by a cruel laughing and voice too distorted to understand. Skidding to a stop at the door he nearly dived into the small opening then scurrying up the stairs, snarling animalisticly, sword gripped tight in his hand. Shoving open the door of the room they shared Jyoti was shocked to see a full grown human male holding Pam off the ground by her hair, the girl crying and pleading with the man, small hands clutching at his wrist feebly.

"Daddy! No please! This hurts! Bunny-ears! Jyoti help!" The man just laughed at the girls pleas and backhanded the child. The loud slap snapping the troll out of his shock. With a loud warcry the troll lunged forward, swinging the blade horizontally at the mans back. Expecting the comforting jarring of metal hitting flesh, the troll's eyes went wide as the blade merely passed through the man as if he wasn't there. Time seemed to slow as Jyoti watched the blade pass through the man, the momentum carrying toward the girls middle, his mind screaming at him now. But as the blade was about to cleave the girl in two, the fake sword just passed through the girl as it had the man.

The momentum of the swing and lunge caused the troll to fall forward, crashing through the two people who weren't really there. Crashing headfirst into the wall, cracking the paneling, the troll jumped up to try again his attack but when he spun around there was nothing there. The man and Pam were gone. Head darting side to side, Jyoti called out for the girl, then ran out of the room as fast as he could, searching the entirety of the house.

Running outside where a sickly mist had rolled in, he looked around desperately, calling out for the girl, forgetting the dangers of shouting. The troll searched through the village for the second time that day. Frantically calling out and searching.

It was nearly dawn of the next day when Jyoti returned to the house, exhausted. His body felt much heavier than he ever remembered it as he crawled up the stairs, head and ears hanging low in shame and despair. Looking to the dust coating the floor as he made his way to the room, the troll suddenly noticed the only tracks he saw in the dust where his own. No sign of a man or child in the dust. Frowning worriedly he scurried to the room, looking intently at the tracks in the dust. Not one child sized footprint, only the trolls. Jyoti searched the rest of the house and sure enough there was only his.

"This doesn't make sense! We stayed in that room for months! Why isn't her tracks there with mine!?" Jyoti yammered at himself in troll, scratching at his head. Blinking in surprise he lowered his hand to look at the partially crushed doll in his palm, the troll hadn't let go of the doll in all his frantic searching, even his blade was lost somewhere, lodged into a wall in frustration. Bringing the doll close he breathed in deep, catching a whiff of the girls scent.

The troll fell to his knees then onto his side, curling up into a ball on the floor, holding the ragdoll close to himself. Eyes and teeth clenched shut, trying to ignore the voices that started whispering in his ears again, louder and more clear, hearing them taunting and telling him things. This time the voices were joined by a little girl's voice, pleading for him to save her and protect her from Daddy.

[xatumx]

Congratulations to the winners!