justspillingcoldtea on DeviantArthttps://www.deviantart.com/justspillingcoldtea/art/Gonna-Hang-Like-a-Scarecrow-GG-Onslaught-1097921595justspillingcoldtea

Deviation Actions

Gonna Hang Like a Scarecrow ~ GG Onslaught

justspillingcoldtea

Published: Sep 12, 2024

791 Views

Description

“Come crucify the body

To the powerline poles.

<< On the boulevard tonight >>

Gonna hang like a scarecrow

And sing…”

Acorn Count: 19/911

Onslaught Bounty: Fight the Fire

Characters Depicted:

- Eclipse (MinTea-Leaves)

- Muirín “Myr” ((Written) twooost)

- Seelie Hollow (Mine)

- Whisper of Shadows ((Written) Grimsby Grove Deep One)

Word Count: 818

Collaboration Parts: MinTea-Leaves did the background on this piece!

~~~

We are vibing in the end of the Onslaught! I really appreciate everyone sticking through it, and to those who’ve been helping out along the way. Major thanks to my good ghostlights! Im so happy that we got here together.

So– please enjoy Seelie having a Great Time, with Nothing Going Wrong.

Be sure to check out Min’s companion piece!

~~~

There was one thing that Seelie couldn’t understand about others. ‘And they had tried– quite a lot.

But the idea that everyone else lived in… quiet worlds was beyond belief. Even before the Music (though that was a more distant memory with each passing day), it was still noisy, just unintelligible. At least the Music made some sense of madness.

(It had only gone quiet once– gone empty. They’d take the Music– they’d take almost anything– over that void.)

Still, some days, Seelie wished they could return to that grating white noise.

The roar of the displacer beast mixed with the rolling thrum of the fire– an overpowering beat. It was all Seelie could do not to be deafened by it.

It was all Seelie could do.

It was shocking it hadn’t happened sooner.

Had it been anyone else, Seelie would’ve missed it. Had Myr been any further away, hadn’t had the ridiculous lung capacity of a druid-heritage folk, they would’ve missed it.

“SEELIE!” Myr screamed, the words echoing in their head, the telepathy filling their mouth with the taste of sea foam.

Seelie whipped around, already half a step to start running to his side, before they froze. That wasn’t a hurt expression– his eyes weren’t clouded with pain as they fixed on Seelie, even as he yanked Sí to the ground.

Ah, Seelie thought to themself, looking up to see the tree coming down on them, of fucking course.

Seelie barely had time to cover their head before it all came crashing down.

…And, once again, Seelie was surrounded by starlight.

“OH– NOT AGAIN, YOU BUGGY PRICK!” Seelie screeched, going to yank Puck from his place at their side. “DON’T YOU–”

“‘Save your goddamn ass?” The stars growled, shifting around them (but not burning– not folding in on themselves). “Oh, I’m sorry– let me drop this tree on ‘ya– my mistake.”

Though the voice was far deeper than it should’ve been, rumbling through their bones– the irritation was unmistakably Eclipse.

Seelie blinked. “Ah– sorry, that’s my mistake. Please do continue with your rescue efforts.”

“Gee, thanks,” Eclipse’s voice huffed, pausing to hiss as something shifted again. “Just– hurry up with it?”

“...I don’t understand.”

Eclipse groaned. “You can’t get out, can you?”

They glanced around at the void of stars above them and the smouldering grass beneath them. “Uh….” Seelie clicked their tongue, brow furrowing.

“You’re under my arm,” Eclipse explained, the sound sharp, almost whistling through gritted teeth. “And either you’re moving, or my arm is– and you don’t want the latter.”

Again, something shifted with a rumbling crack, the thrum of the fire getting closer and louder.

“You’re the planner– what’s the damn plan?” Eclipse hissed, his voice cutting through the Music. They could faintly hear the cries of Myr and Sí, but they weren’t close enough– still drowned out by the orchestra.

There’d be no backing from them.

“Seelie–”

“Hold still,” Seelie said, reaching upward toward the void.

Eclipse’s draconic form was smoky along the edges, making it difficult to distinguish where his body ended and magic began. Seelie fumbled, trying to focus on finding their way through it, not about how they couldn’t see their elbows anymore.

“Come on…” Seelie hissed, shivering at the cold sweat running down their arms– the fire’s heat radiating above them.

“Come on.” They pawed through Eclipse’s form (and why couldn’t he have chosen a smaller dragon?), desperately hoping their claws would catch on bark.

It caught on marble instead.

Seelie blinked, staring up at the void.

The marble moved, pulling Seelie’s claws upward.

“Alright now…” the wind whispered, even as the blaze howled. The marble seemed to disappear under Seelie’s paws– the smooth texture replaced by rough bark.

“Oh, you are getting so many pets,” Seelie grinned.

“I’m what?!”

“I’d suggest you close your eyes,” Seelie chirped back to Eclipse as they dug their claws into the tree.

They squeezed their own eyes shut and shoved.

The bark sizzled beneath their paws, the texture of its grains becoming smaller and smaller before they crumbled and started falling between Seelie’s fingers. Seelie pushed even further into the tree, putting their entire weight behind it– first on their knees, then standing as the tree crumpled underneath the polymorph, cascading down into sand.

They didn’t stop until their paws clawed at thin air.

“HA!” Seelie whooped, pumping their fists in the air (still trying not to look at their half-there body, the rest still obscured by Eclipse’s void). Both were a little singed and splintered but safe.

Eclipse huffed but smiled, leaning to the side to let Seelie prop themself against him.

They reached over to grab his shoulder–

‘Before their eyes fell onto the sand caking their paws, the grains frozen to their fur.

“...Ah,” Seelie chirped, stumbling against the orchestra’s spiralling crescendo as they fell, face first, back into the void.

At least this one was quiet.

Image size

1250x1000px 1.75 MB