previous part: https://jordynsaelor.com/2026/02/26/resource/
all parts: https://jordynsaelor.com/cant-catch-me-now/
***
The grass, trees, vines
and algae
left hardly any room
for rune drawing
so I ended up walking/crawling
with my mossy stick
along the treeline
until I found a patch of soil
with nothing growing on it.
I sat by it
then had to figure out
how to make a complicated rune
with a fat stick held in my arms
in a small space.
So
it’s totally
not my fault
that it turned out badly.
It’s because
I no longer had toes
or my mechanical arm
to draw my runes with.
It’s all just because
I drew
a line
slightly too shaky or a little too long
and it changed the activation
parameters
from a tap of a heel or nub or knee
into…well, I don’t even know what
because it exploded
before I could see
what I actually did wrong
but in retrospect
the only thing that makes sense
was that some inaccurate line I made
changed the activation parameters,
maybe to activate with the moss on the branch
or maybe with the touch of air,
but anyway
the thing
partway drawn for make a flare of light
exploded
in a flash of red
and I recoiled,
half-blinded,
near-deafened,
but unharmed
except
the grass caught on fire
and since everything grew so close together
it’s not my fault
the fire spread like a bad rash.
So I ditched my smoking stick
and went running
flopping
tripping
to the water
unsure if I should be grateful
to the sea deity
for making me know how to swim so I could escape
or
angry
for making me unable to do the runes properly in the first place.
***
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