Application

[Silexion]

A short I wrote during my lunch at work.

No rush Wyv!

 

 

 

“Grass.” I smelled grass, freshly mown lawn, full green, mossy.

“Owww.” A dull ache throbbed in the back of my head, as I became aware of myself. It was not like waking from sleep. It was waking from death, or perhaps something not so profound.

I felt my arms, and a pressure on my chest and face. There was a scraping and a tickling in my nostrils, blades of grass. I turned my face to the side and forced my eyes open.

“Sunlight.” Sunlight on deep green velvet was all I could see through dilated pupils.

“Breath.” I drew in air and choked on congested fluid in my windpipe.

But I realized that I was not at all surprised by my consciousness; it was normal to have eyes, a nose, a head.

“Arms.” Stiff muscles brought my arms slowly inward and I pushed myself onto my side. It was then I heard him.

 

“Hahaha. Finally you wake. Well, when you lot fuck up; you really fuck up.”

“What?” Looking in the direction of the voice my eyes settled on a figure sitting about four meters away. Slowly my eyes focused, he was dressed in a robe and had a wrap around his head. Sitting at a small table next to a wall, he was pouring something into a small blue cup.

“Coffee?”

I was able to push myself up to sitting but no further. He came to me with the cup.

“Here, drink. You crazy fool, drink; you’ll feel better. Messing around with such powers, tsk, tsk…”

I drank. The taste was familiar and welcome and I finished the cup.

“Still addicted to caffeine? No doubt.”

I could feel the different parts of me join, and awareness return, at least some awareness.

“They are waiting for you.”

“Who? Could I have another cup?”

“Come. Have a seat. Ha, crazy fool, crazy fool.”

He filled my cup.

“Who is waiting for me?”

“In there.” He pointed to a door in the wall next to us. Above that door was a simple wooden sign. On that sign was painted a quill with a sweeping line drawn from the tip.

I finished my coffee and he swept me toward the door with the back of his hand.

“Go, crazy fool, go.”

I realized that there would be nothing further to learn from this old coffee maker, but I could use one more cup. He knew what I was thinking and shook his head.

“Go.”

 

I went to the door and pulled it open. The darkness looked thick and the smell of grass was replaced by the smell of wood smoke and fresh draught ale. I stepped into the darkness but my eyes quickly adjusted. There was someone working on a pile of papers at his side, several piles of papers. He finished some scribbling and looked up at me. He sat back in his chair considering me. His eyes were not inquiring; there was no question on his lips. But I knew him…

“You are almost a dragon.” I said.

“Hello Silexion, It has been awhile.” He replied dryly. “Is there something I can do for you?”

“I don’t know. The place is familiar, but different.”

“It is The Pen. A place of fun, fantasy, fear, fact…ugh, I’m freakin’ fed up with alliteration. You came here to fill a need.”

My blank stare didn’t phase him. He smiled and offered me a sheet of paper.

“An application, Silexion. Fill it out and you may find why you are here; in time.”

I took the application but I had one more question.

“Wyvern, can I get something to eat?”

He didn’t even look up.

“Christ Silexion! After what you’ve been through, all of us have been through!

Same old Silexion. Write.”

 

I turned my attention to the application. But only after I saw his lips curl, just a bit.

[Peredhil]

Silexion!

Peredhil shakes his head happily at seeing so many old SoB AM acquaintances show up.

 

Welcome indeed!

[Wyvern]

Wyvern grins slyly and desperatly tries to hide his malicious snickering as Silexion puts pen to paper and begins writing a new Pen application... The truth was that Silexion didn't have to write another application, as he had already applied previously and was even still listed in the member lists as an Initiate. Never the less, the reptilian Elder of Initiates was not about to tell him that... after all, he could instead take advantage of this misunderstanding for his own egoistic, greedy needs!

 

Silexion stares blankly at the sheet of paper in front of him for a long moment, before asking: "Hmmm... I forgot... what is a Pen application supposed to have in it again?"

 

Wyvern considers this question carefully for a moment, nonchalantly picking up Silexion's remaining cup of coffee and taking a long sip from it. Finally reaching a sinister conclusion on how he should respond, the overgrown lizard carelessly tosses the coffee cup aside and hisses:

 

"Well... it has to be a summary of 100 different creative positive qualities about the Elder of Initiates. After that, you'll also need to write 100 different creative negative qualities about the Almost-Secretary of Initiates..."

 

Wyvern snickers to himself sinisterly as Silexion cringes at the thought of the impossible task of finding 100 positive qualities for the overgrown lizard... The applicant sighs in relief at the second task, which seemed far more simple due to the Almost-Secretary of Initiates' exceedingly ugly physical traits.

 

Struggling to come up with even one positive quality of the Elder of Initiates, Silexion twirls his pen in his hand nervously as Wyvern suddenly interrupts his train of thought, exclaiming:

 

"Don't forget that after you finish, you also need to pay the Pen geld entry fee!"

 

"Entry fee...?" responds Silexion, raising a confused brow. "I haven't been here for some time now, but I certainly don't remember any fee for entering the guild."

 

Wyvern freezes in place and stutters for a moment, suddenly realizing that perhaps he had dragged his deception a bit too far. About to offer a lame excuse about how the new geld entry fee had come about due to Elder dwarves demanding higher wages and office door replacement fees, Wyvern starts to speak but is interrupted as Melba barges into the room weilding a Jechum-approved "Anti-Wyvern Mallet", rapidly clobbering Wyv over the head with it. Wavering and falling to the office floor, the overgrown lizard mumbles:

 

"ACCEPTED, of course..."

 

OOC: Welcome back to the Mighty Pen, Silexion! Your post certainly qualifies as an ACCEPTED application, though as I stated in the beginning of my response, once you've applied and become a Pen member there's no need to do so again. Once again, welcome back!