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Post by Toz76 on Jun 4, 2016 22:55:07 GMT -5
PROLOGUE
The alder tree was long due to be trimmed. Its branches hung over the fence into the patchy yard below. A sprinkler was on in the yard, spraying water everywhere in a futile attempt to bring grass to the bald patches. and obscuring the grey concrete wall behind, the only sign of the truth.
It was early summer, and the trees were showing their splendor. The maples were out in full force today, as well as the old rhodedendron over by the pine tree. The old shrub, which was so old and neglected it had become a tree, showered small leaves down upon the grass. Not far away, the white oaks and the black oaks were at in again, each trying to outdo the other.
The alder leaves, meanwhile, were far from perfect. Alder leaf mite, tent caterpillars, and genetics had blemished most of the leaves. The rest were deformed, discolored, or ripped in some way. But there was one leaf, just one, that was absolutely perfect.
It was finely formed, and just a bit smaller than average. It was a rich shade of green, with symmetrical veining all throughout its body. One almost expected it to breathe, so perfect was it.
The wind blew past it, whistling through the branches. It grabbed the leaf, pulling it free from the branches. The leaf floated through the air for a moment, carried by the wind, before floating down towards a puddle that the sprinkler had formed in the patchy grass. The leaf settled down gently, barely causing a ripple.
And opened her eyes.
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Post by Toz76 on Jun 4, 2016 23:19:18 GMT -5
CHAPTER 1: LIKE LEAVES IN THE WIND
Shenatte was an alder leaf.
Why she was alive doesn't matter. She had bigger problems. She was in a yard with no memory of who she was, and the sprinkler was on. And if you know anything about leaf culture, you know that water is not good for leaves.
"Oh my god!" Shenatte began hopping on her stem as fast as she could to avoid the sprinkler. It was one of those sprinkler nozzles that is screwed onto a hose. Shenatte climbed onto the hose and began trying to reason with it.
"Hosé! Please stop! I don't want to drown!"
Have you ever tried to reason with a water-spewing dragonsnake named Hosé who was in a bad mood because his girlfriend had dumped him and the director had called him into work on a Saturday? If you have, then you will not be even remotely surprised at Hosè's reaction, which involved flinging Shenatte into the air at high velocity.
"Holy stem!" Shenatte screamed as she flew threw the air.
Suddenly, she was not falling, but being carried by a leaf.
"Are you okay?"
Shenatte looked into her rescuer's gentle eyes. He was beautiful.
Bob looked into his rescuee's eyes. She was beautiful.
It was love at first sight for the leaves. They were inseperable. They flew to those sections of the yard where Hosè couldn't reach, and began a long and beautiful romance.
Until one day, Hosé disappeared and the sky began to darken...
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Post by Toz76 on Aug 14, 2016 1:28:24 GMT -5
CHAPTER 2: SCALING WALLS IS UTTERLY USELESS WHEN ONE OF YOUR PARTY CAN FLY, BUT EH
Before we continue, I need to explain "Leaf Powers". You see, leaves are all endowed with various supernatural powers. Bob's, as you've seen already, is flight. Shenatte hadn't discovered hers yet. Given that she's obviously been set up at the protagonist, though, it's probably amazingly powerful.
If a little bit of water hurts leaves, you would not believe what rain does. It negates leaf powers. Shenatte and Bob curled up together next to a raised concrete "sidewalk" next to the yard and tried to wait out the rain. It was no good.
The dirt and grass absorbed all the water and it began to flood the lawn, somehow. Shenatte and Bob where about to drown when someone grabbed them and pulled them up. It was a small leaf, an alder like them.
"Hi, I'm Sharky! My leaf power is I can scale walls, so I can climb this ledge and get you to safety!" He said, and the writers cringed.
"I'm Bob, and this is Shenatte."
"Cool."
At the top of the sidewalk, there was nothing but not flooding and a small chickentruck dealership. But it was safety. At least until a gust of wind grabbed Bob and blew him out towards the water. Sharkey grabbed Shenatte and gripped the ground so they wouldn't blow away, but it was too late for poor Bob. Before you could read one of these painfully short pre-reveal chapters, he was out of sight. He only survived because he landed on a stick floating in the flooded yard.
We'll get back to him soon, but at the moment Shenatte is distraught. "We need to go out there and rescue him!" She shrieked.
"I'm afraid not. It's too wet and windy to risk going out by boat, and I don't trust those chickentrucks in the water. We need a flying vehicle."
"Where will we get one of those?" Shenatte asked.
Sharkey smiled. "I know a guy..."
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Post by Toz76 on May 9, 2017 18:26:29 GMT -5
CHAPTER 3: THE SECOND BIGGEST PLOT TWIST IS THAT I STILL REMEMBER THIS EXISTS
Bob was doomed.
Even on the stick, there was no way he could survive for very long. The rain was really coming down now, and the middle of the yard had become a small, muddy pond, which was rapidly enlarging. Bob shut his eyes and clung to the stick, desperate not to fall in.
"You in trouble?" A voice asked.
Looking up, Bob saw exactly what he didn't expect to see. The stick he was on was perfectly safe, and a pinecone was holding a smaller stick, which she was using as an oar.
Yes, pinecones are alive in this universe too. It's in the script. Don't even question it.
"Hey, sexy leaf, how'd you get here?" the pinecone said. "I'm Sarah. I'll keep you safe until the storm passes, brother, don't you even worry 'bout it."
Bob relaxed, laying on the stick. He was separated from his wifey-fifey or some stupid pet name, but at least he was safe.
Suddenly, he heard a scream.
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Post by Toz76 on Aug 6, 2017 15:54:52 GMT -5
CHAPTER 4: THERE IS SO MUCH FORESHADOWING IN THIS CHAPTER YOU HAVE NO IDEA
The top of the sidewalk was supposed to be the town of Leafa, but the area had been evacuated due to flooding. Shenatte and Sharkey headed for the only building still open, the Chicken Truck dealership.
Chicken Trucks are truly bizarre creatures. They look like cheap plastic construction toys, but are actually live chickens. No, you're low budget!
The owner of the Chicken Truck dealership was a shady beech leaf named Gomo, who smelled like cigarette smoke for some reason. He doesn't come into the story until later though.
The real reason Sharkey had brought Shenatte here was because of a different leaf, an alder named Whalin. While most leaves had their stems at the bottom of their bodies and mouths and eyes above that, Whalin was a "whale leaf". His stem was on his back, he had a mouth where one of his eyes would have been, and he moved by "swimming" through the air rather than hopping. Whalin was an unscrupulous bounty hunter with no morals. He had an extremely powerful spaceship called the Century Hawk, which is not a vague star wars reference and definitely not just a lawn chair with no modifications. Look, props are expensive.
"What do you want." Whalin said in a disinterested tone.
"We want to hire you for a rescue mission." Sharkey said.
"I'm not free, you know." Whalin snapped, his green leaf face scowling.
"What do you want as payment?"
"I want a kingdom of loyal subjects who love me for me and who I can associate with as an equal while still asserting absolute dominance over."
Shanette and Sharkey shared a bemused look.
Whalin sighed. "But I'll settle for ten strips of bark."
The duo nodded, and the three companions settled into the cupholder I mean cockpit, and set off to find Bob.
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Aug 6, 2017 16:30:37 GMT -5
And people complain about my short chapters.
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