Category: The Curious Leaf

The Curious Leaf: Voyage to the Moon 002

moonmouse

Kya frowned at the moonscape stretching out as far as her eyes could see. It wouldn’t be fair if they had to leave now, not when they’d only just arrived. But like its earthly counterpart, the moon had its rules and regulations to keep it spinning straight and true.

“I’m afraid we didn’t bring anything with us,” she said, regret weighing down her voice. “We didn’t know we were supposed to bring anything.”

The mouse shook his paw at her. “What sort of guests arrive—uninvited I might add—without a gift for the host?”

Hearthorne strained against the force of her roots keeping her down in one place. Never before had she appreciated the ability to move even a single step to the side. But now that she no longer had any feet to step with, she would have to make do with what she had.

“What offering?” she asked again, her petals spread wide against the coming day.

Kya’s frown deepened a little. Hearthorne didn’t seem at all surprised to hear about the offering.

The mouse straightened, though his nose continued to quiver at them. “A wish or a dream is the usual fare.”

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The Curious Leaf: Voyage to the Moon 001

TCL Cover

For a girl who had been a flower only a short time ago, flying to the moon was still an impressive feat of the impossible.

The Curious Leaf sailed smoothly through the night, rocking gently with the air currents as it made its way up through the sky. The moon shone like a silver face that watched the world pass beneath it with a benign sort of interest.

Some believe the moon to be a person—usually a maiden, but not always—while others think it is a round object composed entirely of either rock or cheese. Of course, the moon isn’t precisely Scientific.

It is all of these things, yet none of them.

They were yet a ways out, having only just entered into the moon bay, but even from here, Kya could see the silvery white beams of wood that rose out of the waters like twin sentinels. This was the moon’s front door where the dapper walnut hull would gently knock by way of greeting and politely requesting permission to dock. The place was less a single thing like the moon, and more of a complexity of worlds woven seamlessly together, much like the ship’s compass-orrery.

Kya didn’t care about any of this—for plants rarely ever give thought to the Scientific or to the Fantastic. The moon might have been a jeweled onion, and it still would have been the most magnificent sight she’d ever seen in her three short seasons. As she drank in the moon, she had to admit that it had been well worth the trouble of going back to seed and convincing said seed to please let her out again.

The moon’s country glowed dimly into the fading night by the time The Curious Leaf washed upon its shores.

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The Curious Leaf Officially Launches

TCL Cover

Explore new worlds with Kya and Hearthorne!

You can either click the “Come Aboard” link above or here to be taken to the main page. It’s a little bare now, but I’ll be keeping careful record once content is up (next week!). The look of The Curious Leaf page is likely to change in the future, but the content will be the same.

The-Curious-Leaf-An-Adventure-in-Wishing-Curiosities-0-KindleThe Curious Leaf will follow the adventures of Kya and Hearthorne (introduced in their first short story: The Curious Leaf: An Adventure in Wishing. If you’re subscribed to Scribed, you can read it for free. I will also be adding it to our library later this week, so you’ll be able to read it for free here.)

Their first voyage will be to the moon where they meet a very special creature (and sample the finest moon cheese) that sets off a chain of events that will guide their journey onward.

Details of their exploits will be posted every Monday beginning on 18 May 2015. (barring the occasional dragon problem). If you’d like to keep up to date, subscribe to this blog (top, right column) and get the updates delivered to your in box.

You can also subscribe to the rss feed by clicking on the rss icon in the header.

Alternatively, you can sign up for my newsletter where I’ll be including a monthly roundup of links for each serial.