Bittersweet Candy Bowl

Hey all, I found this (wonderful, wonderful) place a few weeks ago, and have been LOVING everything about it. I’ve been lurking the forums and the ‘booru, and I must say this place is AWESOME.

Anyways, just the other day I was thinking that I needed to write something, like a story. And then one popped into my head, pretty randomly, about Larken. It’s weird, I just love that guy. Anyways, so I decided to actually follow through with my first short story in over a whole year I think, and I feel I must share it with you people (because none of my friends like what I do, mostly)

So this story is a complete fanfic, so if you like it, keep with it. It’ll be in 3 or 4 parts, partly because the way I wrote it dictated the breaks, and partly because I am apparently a huge tease. Please feel free to post any criticism or feedback, but just be civil about it (as usual).

PART 1:

[Keep in mind this was typed up at almost 3 in the morning, so I apologize for any errors beforehand. Enjoy!]

Larken walked down the street, a cup of Dr. Pop-Soda in his hands, deep in thought about nothing in particular. The shade from the city buildings provided a sharp contrast to the hot day’s sun. It was a nice day, but not many people were outside enjoying it.

Larken’s thoughts jumped from one topic to another as he walked, string into space ahead of him and taking a sip from his cup every few steps.

A scream filled the quiet city streets, and broke Larken’s train of thought. He looked where he thought he heard the scream from and saw an alley between two buildings to his left. After a second’s pause, he ran down it.

The alley opened up into an empty open-air parking lot in the middle of the block of buildings. Larken looked around for the source of the scream, but only saw a grey figure lying face down and motionless in the middle of the lot. As he drew closer, he could see that the figure was a young Korat, and wore an orange and yellow striped scarf, which was stained with dirt and blood.

“Mike!” Larken said as he bent over and flipped the still form onto its back. “Mike!” He shook the Korat, trying to wake him up. No response. He took what was left of his drink and splashed it on Mike’s face. The shock of the cold liquid made the cat twitch and moan. He half-opened his eyes slowly. “Mike!”

“…L…Larken…?”

“Mike, are you alright!?”

Mike raised a trembling arm and pointed at another alley to his side. “…Lu….cy….”

Larken’s expression changed from one of concern to a stern glare. Without another word, he jumped over Mike and sprinted down the alley. Within a few seconds, he emerged into another open parking lot, and saw Lucy against the opposite wall, cornered by a cat and two dogs much older than the young Khao Manee. With her white fur, he could see that Mike wasn’t the only one who had taken a few hits, and Lucy was obviously tired, but still defiant.

Larken looked around for a weapon, and quickly spied a large, club-like stick leaning against a trash can next to him. He grabbed it silently with both hands, took a deep breath, and started towards the thugs.

[Next chapter (or whatever you would call these) will be up tomorrow night, and maybe the rest the same night. Whatever time permits. ‘Night all!]

…..

Blarg, I have realized after writing this story that it is kinda just for me, and I shouldn’t have put it up here to begin with. Again, blarg. I’ll take it down once I get home. Sorry for wasting your time.

No, keep going please. I just had no idea what to say and wanted you to know that I was reading.

Alejandro needs a better hobby… Swing away Larken.

Kaxbe’s watching. He will obviously destroy your soul if this doesn’t turn out good.

Larken:

*tiptoe tiptoe tiptoe*
SMACK!
*blood drips slowly onto the concrete*

Now guess who he swung at?

Keep it coming!

No, keep it coming It’s a damn sight better than many i’ve seen on this forum.

I agree continue.

wow. Talk about a vote of confidence. Alright, fine! Though, rather busy ATM, so no promise on a schedule past this next one (which I hope will still be tonight. I wanna get them out as quick as possible too.)

[Chapter 2, the action chapter! Enjoy!]

He moved quickly, but just so much that he could still get close without the thugs hearing. As he snuck closer, he could make out what they were all saying:

“C’mon, girlie,” said the Black Labrador on the left, “give up and we won’t hurt you too bad.”

“Yeah,” said the Boxer on the right, “don’t be stupid like your boyfriend!”

“Go to hell!” snapped Lucy.

The Siamese cat in the middle chuckled. “I like the feisty ones. They’re always fun.”

“Hey, asshole,” came a voice from behind the cat. The smirk disappeared from his face, and he whipped around just in time to catch Larken’s club in his face with a sickening crack. He went limp, and fell to the ground with a thud.

Larken swung to the left, but the Lab blocked with his arms. The force made him stagger to the side, giving Larken time to bring his club down and sweep his legs out from under him. He fell to the ground, and Larken brought another swing down on the side of his face.

The Boxer charged at Larken, yelling. Larken swung at him, but he caught the large stick mid-swing. Larken hardly had time to brace himself before the massive canine crashed into him at full speed. It was all Larken could do to hold onto the stick and keep from crashing to the ground.

As Larken regained his focus, he noticed the Boxer was still holding onto his stick. He saw him grab the opposite end with his free hand, and he did the same as the dog tried to pull it out of his hands. Larken held on, and pulled back as hard as he could. When the dog tried to pull the stick again, Larken pushed it out and up, making it collide with the dog’s nose. The Boxer let go of the stick and reeled backwards, clutching at his bleeding nose.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spied the Siamese cat slowly getting back up on all fours, dazed and bleeding, but a quick strike to the back of the head sent him right back down.

Larken turned back to the Boxer, who was staring at him, one hand clutching his nose, the other a knife. It was Larken who charged this time, and he swung upwards as the Boxer jumped back. The dog lunged back at Larken, thrusting his knife at the boy’s chest. However, a quick movement brought Larken’s club crashing down on the thug’s arm, sending the kinfe skittering across the ground. Another quick movement brought the club smashing into the dog’s face, letting out another sickening crack, and sending him tumbling to the ground. Larken watched to make sure he didn’t move.

[Next chapter soon, likely tomorrow. And thanks for the urging; I was nervous that noone liked it. (Especially Kaxbe, considering Larken is his brain child)]

(positive reinforcment(because you need it apparently, now go feel needy))

I do right now. It’s kind of embarrassing.

its good just remind me who is Larken?

Larken doesn’t exist.

^That comming from the guy who makes a regular comic about him…^

And to answer the question hes the pure black cat with the blue collar with a bell

“Drop the stick, you sunnuva bitch!” Larken spun around to see the Black Lab back on his feet, one arm over the mouth of Lucy, the other holding a knife to her throat. Larken realized he had forgotten about the Lab after the Boxer tackled him. Lucy hadn’t given up without a fight, though, and she had a fresh imprint of a fist on her face to prove it. “Drop it or I swear, I’ll slit her f——- throat!”

Larken looked down at his stick, which was freshly specked with blood, and then back up. He threw it to the side. “What’s wrong, little doggie? You scared?” The answer was clear in the Lab’s eyes. “I would be too, if some kid half my size just beat the crap out of me and my friends,” Larken continued, his voice calm and flat.

“Shut up!” came the dog’s reply. “Or I swear I’ll, I’ll-“

“You won’t do anything.” Larken looked him in the eyes, and folded his arms. “You’re all bark and no bite.”

“I said shut up!!” the dog’s voice cracked on the third word.

“You don’t have many options here. What’s it gonna be?”

The dog looked around at his unconscious friends, and then back at the black cat. A look of desperation in his eyes, he shoved Lucy forcefully at Larken, and ran into the nearest alley. Larken caught Lucy as she stumbled forward, watching as the thg escaped, and held her as she steadied herself. He could feel the white cat trembling, and hear her staggered breathing.

“Hey…Lucy…” he said, as the girl pressed her face against his chest. “…Do you have a cell phone? I need to call the cops.” Lucy didn’t respond. “Okay, well I’m gonna go find a phone I can use. You should probably go wait with Mike.” With that, he let go of Lucy, making sure she could stand on her own, and walked out of the parking lot.

He crossed the street and went into a small deli. After he was done with their phone, he walked back to the lot where he had left Mike. He saw Lucy there, on the verge of crying, trying to shake him awake.

“I wouldn’t try to move him too much,” said Larken, making Lucy jump a little. “He probably broke something. Or…he could have a concussion…”

She jumped to her feet and started yelling at him. “Damn it, Larken! Could you not be an asshole for 2 whole minutes!? Every time I see you, you act like such a dick! It’s constant!! You could have everything you ever wanted, and you’d still just be a huge freakin’ JERK!”

The two stared at each other for a while, Lucy huffing in anger, and Larken wearing his usual disinterested expression. “Feel better?” he asked, after she calmed down a bit.

“…Yeah,” she said as the rest of her temper faded, and looked back down at Mike. “…Larken, do you think he’ll be okay?”

“Well, I’m not any kind of doctor, so…” He stopped himself as Lucy looked back up at him, the sadness back in her eyes. He sighed. “Yeah, he’ll be fine.”

Sirens appeared in the distance, and quickly started getting closer.

Lucy knelt back down beside the gray cat. Without looking back up, she said, “Thanks, Larken. For everything.”

“…Whatever,” he said quietly, and after a second, he walked out to the street to meet the various emergency vehicles that were blaring down the street.

The next few hours went quickly. Mike and Lucy were taken to the hospital, the police got Larken’s statement, and he answered all their questions. Eventually, they told him he was free to go, and he walked back home.

[More to come tonight, probably one more section]

The next day was a school day, and despite the events of the previous day, it went by like any other school day for Larken. However, at lunch, he was walking in the halls when he heard a familiar voice.

“Hey, Larken.”

He looked behind him to see Mike, bandaged in a few places, hobbling towards him on a single crutch. “Oh, hi Mike.” He kept walking, but slower so that Mike could catch up. “I thought you were in the hospital.”

“Yeah, but there were just a lot of bruises, and a few sprains, so nothing serious.” Larken simply grunted as a reply. “So, hey, I heard what you did yesterday, and I just wanted to thank you. I owe you big time.”

“It’s alright, Mike. I’m fine.”

“No, really. If there’s anything you need, just give the word.”

Larken stopped walking and faced Mike. “Listen, Mike, I really don’t-“ He stopped short as he saw a certain Tabby girl over Mike’s shoulder. He thought for a second, and then looked back at mike. “Get me a date with Amaya.”

“W-what??”

“To repay me. At least try to get me a date with Amaya.”

“But, a lot of girls don’t like me anymore, ever since Paulo learned about Sandy…”

“So they’re not hitting on you anymore, so what? They probably still like you.”

Mike pondered Larken’s statement as the warning bell rang. “Alright, fine. I’ll try. Tomorrow at lunch. No promises, though.” The boys exchanged farewells and hurried off to their respective classes.

For the rest of the day, Larken couldn’t stop thinking about Amaya. The next day, he was noticeably short on sleep. At lunch, Mike kept his word, and as Larken watched, he talked to Amaya. After a while, she ran off cheerily, and Mike hobbled over to Larken. “She said okay.”

Larken’s ears perked up. “She did?”

“Yeah. She said tomorrow after school. Here’s her address. He handed Larken a small piece of paper with writing on it.

Larken took the paper, bewildered. “What’d you tell her?”

“What, about you?” Larken nodded back. “Well, I said I owed you a favor, and you really wanted to go out with her.”

“You told her that??”

“Yeah, if I said anything else I might get mobbed for ‘cheating’ again.”

“Huh.” He looked back down at the small scrap of paper in his hand. “Alright, well I guess we’re even, then.”

“Yeah, sure. You’re welcome,” Mike said as he hobbled past the black cat, who simply stared at the paper.

For the rest of the day, he stared at the paper. Even after he memorized the address, he stared. The next day, school went by like a blur. All he could think about was Amaya, and what that night would be like. Before he knew it, he was ringing the doorbell of Amaya’s house.

Neither of them had a car, but they were both okay with walking. As they made their way to the movie theater, they talked. Once there, they saw a movie neither of them had seen. Afterwards, Larken used his key to get them into Coffee Juice, where they spent the next hour talking over hot drinks. After the sun went down, they walked to Larken’s house, where they watched movies into the night. The entire time, they laughed and enjoyed being with each other, and neither of them bothered to checked the time.

They finished watching one of Larken’s favorite foreign films, and Amaya got up to go to the bathroom. Larken waited for her, still laughing over the end of the movie, but even after a few minutes, she hadn’t come back. As he started to wonder where she was, he heard noises coming from his room above. He stood up and walked up the stairs and over to his door. He opened it, and found Amaya, her clothes discarded on the floor, lying on his bed. His ears shot up, and they felt like they would jump off his head.

Her eyes met his, and her lips, curved in a small smile, opened slightly as she said, “Ravage me, Larken.”

Suddenly something clicked in his mind. He blinked a couple times. “Wait, what?” Then, it dawned on him. “Oh, come on, not again! Dammit, nooooooooooo!”

————————————————————-

Larken’s eyes shot open. He stared into the darkness of his room as the dream played back in his head.

The fight, the date, it all seemed so real, he thought. Especially…

The last parts of his dream came rushing back to him. He clenched his eyes and balled his fists, and shook with frustration.

“FFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUU-“

END.

That was rather silly, but fun to write. I hope you guys enjoy(ed) it. Tell me what you thought about it (though I’ll probably be harsher on it than you guys).

Well, it being a dream explains why Larken was drinking soda, suddenly forgot how to use his fists, and somehow became shorter. Dream endings are cop-outs.

I feel like the transition from the alley fight to the school didn’t flow very well and the part that was the most well-written in my opinion was Larken’s “date” with Amaya.

But you got Larken’s character pretty good for the most part. I was wondering why he would help, or eve notice for that matter, a beaten up Mike. I was thinking it was so he could get Lucy and Larken together, but nope, it was so he could ask a favor from Mike. So you’ve got his jerky and selfish nature down.

Yeah, I saw those (most, anyways [where did you get Larken being short from? He’s taller than Lucy ,and the Boxer was much older than him]), and I saw it was kinda rushed, but the thing went from idea to short story in like 4 days total. So not bad I think.
And yes, I kind of hate myself for the dream ending, but… well, I have no good excuse for that. At least it was a way to hand wave all the fridge logic moments so I could actually write something. It felt good.