Trout's Landing.

Soon, the leading murloc thought as it rode the makeshift boat down the river. Soon they would arrive where the Dark Thing came from and grow stronger. Then they would lay claim to the waters without fear of flying things and fish that preyed upon them with ease! But not for long. They were small now and weak. But they would grow and become the rulers of the waters!

The murlocs paddled the best as their small arms would allow them to as they kept their boat, more a raft made from shellfish carapace held together by fishing line, from ramming into the stone walls on either side of them. Those that could still see kept their eyes upon the skies in search of any night birds that would see them as easy prey in their exodus.

Keeping their boat steady was also proving a challenge for the still young murlocs as they could only paddle so much before risking the attention of something bigger, and hungrier, from the dark water below them. As they went, those that could see saw flashes of blue streak past their boat as well as glowing blue lights deeper down below that only just made it to the surface through the murky river depths.

But that hunger could be exploited, the leading murloc thought. They didn't know how the Dark Thing would react to them arriving. But surely with tribute it would allow them to stay, it thought as several of the murlocs used the hunger of the fish below to lure them into nooses of fishing line. Causing the fish to splash and thrash as the life was strangled from them. Sometimes if it appeared as if they would cut the line, the murlocs would stab the fish with crude spears or bashing it with rocks to finish the job.

Some of them they could haul into their boat/raft, but more than a few hung lifeless along the side of their craft. Occasionally a splash would resonate near the carcasses, hinting that the dwellers below the water were taking the opportunity at a free meal without fear of being eaten in turn.

Which the murlocs used as well as they ran as many fishing nooses as they could to wrangle as many fish as they could fit into the boat. They had to as some of them had taken to feasting on the fishy carrion during their voyage down the river. Even the small crawfish fries were taking bits and pieces from the dead fish they had secured. Leaving little more than even the bones left.

Which the crafty murlocs used to give their spears an extra edge, turning them into crude tridents of bone and wood held together by fishing line while using the rest of the bones to decorate their small raft as their fishy bounty grew more and more as they went down the river.

Despite their clever and crafty nature, they did have to stop by the occasional muddy bank to patch up their raft, untangle line, or reapply dark mud that had washed away during their journey. While they were beached, they took the chance to take whatever they could from nearby, wood for weapons or tools, dirt and mud for camouflage or mortar, they even collected the sharp leaves. Carefully after one of them lost an arm from being careless.

The leaves were valuable to the murlocs as the vicious creatures used them for all they were worth, mashing them into the sides of their craft with mud and line and using the serrated edges to deter the more aggressive of the fish below from attacking the boat itself, or even putting them on the lines, allowing the fish they caught to bleed out and weaken before finally being finished off. With brief stops now and then being the only real delays they suffered, they made steady way towards the lair of the Dark Thing. Hoard of fishy offerings in tow.

Then they beheld the home of the Dark Thing.

With nothing but the pale orb, and a few glowing nodules from those blessed with the glowing lights, to see the pier with, the murlocs steadily made their way to the jutting wooden dock. Those few with working eyes cast them about in search of any threats, or even a sign of displeasure from the Dark Thing that their presence wasn't welcome.

Yet they felt nothing.

With no obvious signs of them being unwelcomed, they threw a mess of fishing line towards the pier to anchor them. More than a few missed their mark, either the throwers being too small and weak to get a good arc, or getting tangled mid-air. But at least a couple managed to find their mark, keeping their makeshift raft from being pulled further down the dark river.

With some struggling, the murlocs pulled themselves and their small crawfish fries free from the boat. From there they did their best to hoist their hauls from the raft and onto the pier, with the far more sturdier pier, they managed to heft their loads onto land. Though a fair few of it was pockmarked by bites either from the murlocs and their crawfish allies, or from things deeper in the water.

The murlocs hoped that the Dark Thing would overlook them in favor of the amount of fish they hauled in.

The leading murloc turned around and saw what was surely to be their new home, and base to launch raids against their weaker and dumber kin and others that thought to make the river their home. The center of the area was dominated by a tree larger than any of the murlocs had seen before! Though they were still young and hadn't been far or long since their spawning.

The area around the tree was clear save for strange effigies that clattered in the slight breeze that blew in. The pier was absent of any and all life. No strange lizard things were to be found. Which just made the murlocs all the more confident that they were blessed by the Dark Thing even more! For they could see and swim in the dark of night while the lizard things couldn't!

So with a commanding gurgle from the leading murloc, the others set about in claiming the pier as their own base of operations. The small murlocs heaved and scattered fish carcasses about. Some would dry when the sun rose or rot to call flies and other opportunistic things that would then be preyed upon by the crafty murlocs. They also hauled in what supplies they had and began to build or dig out hovels in the mud and muck that would house them and be a secure place for future spawnings of their kind.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

With everything more or less now on dry(ish) land, they went to haul in their craft. Only to find it broken into several pieces. Some shells retained buoyancy enough to float further down the river while others just sank to the bottom. Only those that had been tied by fishing line to the pier had remained as they either bobbed along the river current or was only just being held above the water.

The leading murloc turned to one of the others.

"Murgurlgl!"

The other murloc turned towards the leading murloc and gurgled a response of its own.

"Gurglemurglele!"

The two murlocs then proceeded to swat at one another with their slimy arms in frustration at what had befallen their craft. Their slimy arms making wet smacking noises that were faintly blocked out by the river running by them. After several frantic seconds of no clear winner, the murlocs separated and glared at one another before the leading murloc turned to the others and gurgled out a command.

"Murgglel!"

With the command issued, the murlocs returned to their work. The other murloc swatted a slimy appendage at the leading murloc before sprinting away to do its own work. The leading murloc swatted at the air for a moment and gurgled curses at the offending murloc before turning back to the task at hand.

They had much work to make the pier their home, base of operations, and proper place to appease the Dark Thing lest they end up like their kin before. Fishing line nooses were tangled, untangled, then tangled the right way before being set out to catch unsuspecting predators with already rotting fish carcasses to act as bait. Others were hung over the edge of the pier that would hopefully hook any fish that swam through.

With future food and housing secured, more or less, the leading murloc gurgled out a command and took a handful of the small murloc spawnlings to the place where dark mud met rich dirt. From there, they started to pile rocks. Which fell down. So they piled them again. Which they fell down again.

After gurgling in frustration and swatting at another couple of murlocs, they planted a sturdy(ish) piece of sunbaked driftwood in the center of the stones. Causing them to fall... again.

So they got TWO pieces of driftwood and fastened them together with fishing line and weeds from the river. Causing the rocks to hold! Sorta. With the pile of rocks secured, they set about creating a fitting offering place for the Dark Thing.

Fish bones, scales, bits of line, mud and muck, and river weeds and scum were thrown together to make a fitting effigy of their own for the Dark Thing! From there they placed offerings of fish and shiny rocks at the base of the shrine. With shrine and offerings secured, the murlocs returned to their work!

With hope, the offerings for the Dark Thing would allow them to grow stronger, which will allow them to raid their former kin and others along the river! Already the murlocs desired blood and vengeance against their former kin who cast them away! But they were still too little and the only reason they won last time was they had time and traps to combat their more developed kin.

But not for long. Soon it'll be they who will attack! Soon it will be their former kin who hide and shirk away from them! Soon they'll claim the waters for themselves and the Dark Thing, the leading murloc thought before being bumped by another carrying fish bones to the shrine. The two murlocs sized one another up before gurgling insults and challenges. Resulting in the two of them swatting at one another with slimy limbs.

-----

Jefferson Household.

It was so pretty, Sammy thought as she continued to watch the blue flame dance and twist for her like a personal ballet recital. It was mesmerizing, she thought as she reached out a finger and smiled as the flame danced across her flesh, sending a big of warmth through her and to her very core.

She smiled and turned to the rest of her room, turning her smile upside down as she realized just how childish she was. All around her room were posters of boybands and every shade of pink you could think of and then some. Stuffed animals with oversized eyes stared back at her like they were going to suck out her soul. Not to mention all the perfumes and other beauty products that she had that now smelled sickeningly sweet to her.

Is this how Jeb felt when he would come into her room, Sammy thought. Or her pa? Despite not being much younger than Jeb was, she couldn't help but feel self conscious now as she realized that they probably treated her like a spoiled child because she looked and acted like one.

At least she's started to change that. Already her blond hair was streaked with darker shades of blue or red. Her own makeup was also a tad on the darker side of pink than outright red. Even her own dresses were sheared of their more frilly aspects and darkened by dye and paint.

But it still didn't feel like enough, she thought as she glared at the rest of her stuff. She felt more like a little girl trying on her mom's bigger shoes instead of a proper woman. She growled in frustration and got up from her plushy pink chair and proceeded to ravage anything and everything in her room!

Posters were shredded and torn from the walls and ceiling, pink wallpaper was splashed with reds. Not even the stuffed animals and plushies were spared as she tore them apart and yanked out their stuffing in her fit of frustration! She smashed several of her porcelain figurines of princess riding unicorns and fairies, sending their shattered pieces flying.

Then she heaved a breath as she looked around at the state of her room. Or what was left of it. Everything was trashed, stuffing and fluff mixed with paint and dye. Posters and wallpaper hang limply or were strewn about the floor. Pieces of porcelain mixed with shattered bottles of bright pink and gold nail polish.

Yet despite the mess, she felt... better. She turned her head when she heard a knocking coming from her door and her father's voice came from the other side.

"Honey? Are you alright?"

"Yeah! I'm fine! Just dropped a couple things is all!" She replied, not entirely a lie.

"Are you alright? Do you need help?" Her father pressed.

"No! I've got it!" She called back.

"Well alright, holler if you need anythin'. Love you."

"Love you too pa." Sammy called out before turning her gaze back to the mess she made.

She had to take the Disney Princess route didn't she, she thought with a chuckle as she realized all she was missing was some bottles of booze, drugs, and a sex-tape. She cocked a brow and went over to a shelf and pulled the bottom drawer out, revealing a couple mason jars of shine and a bag of weed.

"Well now all I'm missin' is the sex-tape."

She snorted at the thought of Greg's face if she asked him that question. Even more so if she brought up filming it! She chuckled and went back to her seat and cracked open the mason jar while holding a makeshift blunt out for the balefire to light. She dragged on it as the blue flame lit the end of it.

As she exhaled, the smoke billowed out and seemed to fill the destroyed room. She started to cough and wave her hand around to clear it out when she peered through the smoke and saw her room! Or what appeared to be her room, she thought as she looked around.

Her stuffed animals and plushies were back. But they were stitched together and dyed darker colors with strange runes stitched into them. Some hung up on her ceiling by twine nooses while others sat in darkened corners with black button eyes and stitched frowns. The walls were little better, being covered in all sorts of scratchy glyphs and runes that went up and down along the darkened walls.

In the center of it all? Was her. She sat on her bed dressed in a darker punk style dress. Her hair was now a mix of dirty dishwater blond and blue highlights and gothic makeup. She even wore those high-top boots with stiletto heels covered in buckles and dark leather straps!

Before her was a ring of people in robes that she couldn't see the faces of, but within that ring sat a blackened iron brazier that flickered and danced with blue flame! Casting shadows across them all, lending an air of mystery to her darkened room. There was something to her right, something big, but she couldn't see it clearly through the gloom and smoke.

What she DID see, was her waving her hand in the air, and summoning a ball of baleflame into the palm of her hand with ease! The other her smiled and spoke to those ringed before her, but even as her lips moved, Sammy couldn't hear a sound. It was like watching a movie with the sound turned off.

As she tried to focus to try and hear what was being said, everything began to fade away as the smoke dissipated before her. She coughed and shook her head before glancing at her room. The glyphs and runes were gone, as were the stitched plushies, the ring of figures, and the other her.

She blinked and looked at the joint in her hand. The tip burned a faint blue color instead of red. She turned towards the blue flame and smirked.

"What else can you show me?"

The flame danced and twisted as she held out her joint and took another long drag before letting the thick smoke loose, giving her a better idea what her room, and her, might look like. She smiled as she took in the sight. This was a Sammy she was happy to be. Someone confident, someone beautiful, someone powerful.

She took another drag of her joint. She had alot of work to do if she wanted to be even close to what she saw in the smoke. But at least she got started, she thought with a chuckle as she glanced around as her torn room returned to her.