Kyle & Lucy — Chapter 3 [Rewrite] 🐱😈 · 4:19pm Feb 8th, 2023
“Be careful, sweetie. Don’t stand too close to it now.”
Well, that happened.
There I stood, a million and one thoughts floating through my head while I watched the crackling blazes surround this girl like she was nothing. Was I carrying trash the whole time? Did the fireplace come to life and snatch her away? Did Gram lose feeling in her arms? Any explanation would’ve been perfect for me, but I refused to even tiptoe around the idea that my sweet pug mama had lost her noodle. I thought, for what it’s worth, at least this girl didn’t get a chance to see an embarrassing photo of me on the mantle wearing one of Gram’s old wigs. I kept telling her to hide that, but she insisted it was “too cute to boot.”
Only the gentle crackles of the feasting fireplace filled the silence. Within the raging fires, a blackened casing swallowed the snoozing creature like a cocoon as she curled her petite, colorless body over the bed of logs.
“Demons live in the center of the earth, young cub,” Gram stated, taking the coal from me on her way out of the room. “They need a lot of heat in times like this.”
Demon?! I thought.
The charred shell began to flake apart, its dark bits blending with the embers littered on the hearth. Patches of the girl’s vibrant red skin poked out across her forehead. Thin cracks trailed down her side until the crinkled shield popped open like an egg. As its remains crumbled into ash, the demon stirred, kicking her legs out in a light stretch. Her hair—now a silky hot pink—fluffed itself into a quirky bob cut. Straightening her gray, purple-trimmed dress, she rubbed her crimson eyes before I finally caught her eye through the ball of flames. It wasn’t until I waved that she scrambled about among the logs, pulling out a small set of reading cards.
“Hello, and horrid evening,” she said hurriedly as the cards fizzled away in her hands one-by-one. “My name is Lucy Scaldor. Uh, volatile villainess, mistress of misery, and I am here to unleash—darn it! Um… fear me?”
“It’s wonderful to meet you, Lucy,” Gram replied, approaching us. “Would you care for a snack?”
“I did skip lunch. I was so eager to get out, I forgot to fill up. Do you have any hydra tongues?”
“Heh, I’m afraid not, hon.”
“Ember slugs? Maybe some vulture jerky?”
The pug presented the lump of coal, topped with a generous swirl of frosting. “How about a coal cake instead?”
“That sounds yummy!”
I had heard stories of all the dangerous and destructive things that demons were capable of, how horrifying or wicked they could get. They never for a moment sounded like my kind of crowd, but something was… different about this one. The way she gobbled her sooty snack with a silly grin and a flutter of her dainty wings made me feel anything but terrified. She was quite pleasant, if I’m honest.
“Mm!” the girl beamed, carelessly dragging the fire with her as she leapt from the chimney. “This is delicious! I love Al Dente’s Inferno, but this beats all their desserts!”
Gram tugged the blanket off her shoulder to smother the flames out, wrapping it over the bouncy creature. “Why thank you, sweetheart. Here, have a seat.”
Settling the demon on the sofa, Gram whipped a quick cup of tea.
“Where are my manners? I’m Priscilla—but you can call me Gram—and your knight in shaggy fur here is Kyle.”
“Happy to meet you both!” Lucy chimed, casually sipping the boiling drink.
“Are you okay?” I signed.
“Mm-hmm, better than ever, thanks! Why do you ask?”
Gram stroked her chin. “You know sign language?”
“A fair amount, I think. I learned a bit a few months ago. I got to know how to communicate with my victims after deafening them with shrieks, right? I love reading… it’s my weakness. That, and marshmallows!”
“Heh, I bet. So, what brings you here, young lady?”
“Kitty, apparently.”
“I found her in a river.” I nodded.
“Is that where I was? Crazy.”
“What happened?”
“Last thing I remember, I was with my sister Claire on the cliffs of Eve’s Drop. She sent me off with a pair of her lucky shoes. Cement.”
“Goodness.” Gram uttered.
“I know, right? I never took her for the fashionable type. Anyway, then I just felt this terrible burn all over, and then… I woke up here. Guess my shoes didn’t make the journey.”
Suddenly, a wooden hatch in the corner of the room flipped open with a loud bang, sending a mini swarm of roaches scattering about.
“Evening, mammals,” a squatty light-tanned mole in a dirty white lab coat emerged, adjusting his wide glasses. “What’s all the commotion?”
“We have a guest here,” Gram hummed, ruffling the girl’s hair. “Lucy, this is Milton, my housemate. Milton, Lucy.”
I’d always get lectured by that mole to be extra observant of things around me, so better late than never.
Milton A. Burrow: 40% intelligence, 60% paranoia. Constantly smelled of mud cakes and earthworm jam, spent most of his time downstairs, hated the sun with a burning passion, and had a nasty habit of spouting random nonsense when he’s in his moods.
“A guest?” his bushy grayed eyebrows raised. “This late?”
In terms of witnessing someone like Lucy around…
“Gosh all fiddlesticks! A bloody demon!”
I think he handled it well.
Nice job!
XD, might of made a better stinger at the end of chapter two, to place a tad bit more emphasis that she was tossed into the fireplace, nice descriptions here and a funny scene. I love characters connected to the flames and Lucy is really 🔥
Awww. The details of this chapter was so beautiful! I mean this world is really lovely, but the tiny details added here are so nice to read through.
Not much to say, except the pace is great and keeping the interactions very warm and with this nice flow.
Hee, awww the adorable sweetness of this is amazing! Gram is just truly warm and amazing, the photo bit melted my heart.
Was her sister trying to murder her? Lol, this is an adorable little Chappie! Nice to set up how welcoming the main characters are of each other, but also you didn't forget to add that some see differences and get paranoid over it. I mean it's our differences that make us each special, and that gives us our unique perspectives. Kyle is a humorous kitty, but seems to have this quiet kindness to his heart, and not just because he's mute. I like quiet types, they usually have the biggest hearts and sweetest personalities.
Lucy is very cute and sweet, I can sense naivete within her. But those characters are usually the most fun to follow around.
Great job, so far it's really cute. This will make a great YA novel one day I know it!
And no I ain't speed readin' , I just read three chapters and then went to posting thoughts. I wish I could flash read though.
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Heh, I see
I hope :3
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Give me another 15 to 20 min, I'll get through another 3 probably.
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Take your time ❤️
The mole is silly, but Gram is so sweet.