Coming Soon: Dirtmouth Manor Misadventures

Got the first chapter done. I'll publish when I wake up tomorrow, because it's late and I spent most of the night getting it done.

Here's a very brief snippet. This is the most I could show without spoiling anything.

Hearth sat in the library, levitating a book as she focused on improving her control over her magic. Her antennae were curled forward, the heart-shaped, fuzzy tips glowed faintly with red light. Bookshelves were crammed against every wall, shelves filled with tomes, and a desk along with a couple of soft couches were in the middle of the room. Progress had been slow in the week since the confrontation with The Sun. Either she wouldn’t pick up an object at all or use too much force and send it hurtling towards the ceiling.

Now though, she grabbed and moved things about at will, and was more focused on ensuring she could do so without losing her grip. Levitating an item for extended periods of time was something she taught changeling grubs, a trick any child who grasped the basics of magic could learn, and while the technique was simple, it was effective.

Ghost popped up from the shadow beneath the writing desk in the middle of the room.

“Did you find him?” She asked and the small bug nodded. She looked at them sternly. “You didn’t interrupt him or something right?”

They shrugged. The book she was floating wavered in her grip. It was difficult for the mothling to divide her attention between her practice and the conversation.

“Ghost,” she chided. “You can’t just keep popping in unannounced, I know you’re worried about him and your sibling but what if Grimm was in the middle of something important or private?”

Ghost tilted their head to one side as they considered her words. In the week she’d known the bug, she quickly figured out that they went wherever they wished and did whatever they pleased. It was something of a pet peeve for her, used to everyone around having a routine, even if said routine was strict and uncompromising, it was familiar, a sense of normalcy within the fear-hunger-dread that permeated The Badlands Hive.

“At least make sure he’s not busy next time,” she pleaded. “And remember that some bugs like their privacy.”

Edit: It's out!