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Lilac in Spring, a character study of Radar and Lam, posted on Patreon

Sep27

Lilac in Spring

“Hey, stop that, stop that. You’re my mother, yes, I fully acknowledge that, but what are you doing, no, no, not inside the ear…”

The cat often known as Radar was in the habit of ignoring voices that spoke in English. It wouldn’t do for anyone – not even the human that theoretically could call him as familiar – to get used to him being tame. He was a cat, after all, no matter what machinations had folded him into that shape….

read on…

Before Kitten troubles and after Charming, Kitten Switch, and Boy Trouble

Aunt Family have a landing page here.

This story is free for all to read!

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/986546.html. You can comment here or there.

Lilac in Spring

Sep27

“Hey, stop that, stop that. You’re my mother, yes, I fully acknowledge that, but what are you doing, no, no, not inside the ear…”

The cat often known as Radar was in the habit of ignoring voices that spoke in English. It wouldn’t do for anyone – not even the human that theoretically could call him as familiar – to get used to him being tame. He was a cat, after all, no matter what machinations had folded him into that shape.

But something about this voice drew him back, when he had nearly walked past the room and out of the house. Continue reading →

Vermin Hunter, a story of Aunt Family, is up on Patreon

Sep25

Vermin Hunter


The bed was cozy and the woman beside her was warm. Annalise did not want to move. But outside, just at the edge of the property, something was stirring, something that did not belong. She yawned irritably and stretched, spine arching, paws padding against the blanket. If she was quick, if she was lucky, she could be back in before the human noticed she was gone.

read on…

For just $1, you can read all the Patreon stories!

This one follows another Aunt Family and another cat. There are most mysteries in the dark than Radar – or Annalise – talk about.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/985758.html. You can comment here or there.

Turn Left Story Two: That Damn Cat

Jan12

From the Turn Left meme here: http://aldersprig.livejournal.com/1005760.html; off of this story: http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/260041.html in the Beryl/Damn Cat sequence, an AU.

They had gotten the cats distributed, gotten everything sorted out, all but one angry Siamese cat. The big old tom had clawed, bitten, and, when the vet had mentioned fixing, he drawn blood on four different people.

“Some cats,” the vet mentioned, “you just have to put down. You can’t leave him wandering, not knowing what he might have…”

She went quiet, because the cat had gone completely still. He wasn’t looking at the vet; he was looking at Beryl. His eyes, she noticed, were blue.

“I think…” she said slowly “…as long as you don’t try to castrate him, he’ll behave just fine now.”

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/884583.html. You can comment here or there.

The Powers That Be, a continuation of Aunt Family (@kelkyag)

Dec12

First: Visiting the Family
Previous: Still in the Family

Rosaria found herself watching, much as she did with children, much as she had done as a child. She’d angered Evangaline, and she didn’t blame the girl at all for that. They did tend to meddle, the older women in the family. They spent so long being young, chafing under the meddling of those older than them, and then they were old, and found themselves meddling.

The truth was, they had, Rosaria and her peers, grown old with Asta as Aunt. They knew Evangaline was stronger, they knew she was different, and none of them knew what to do about that.

Watching Willard and Evangaline, Rosa was coming to another understanding.

“I’m proud of you.” Willard thumped a hand on Evangaline’s shoulder. “For what that’s worth.”

She grinned at him, a wide and open expression. “I’m pretty proud of me, too.”

“You’re not one that didn’t dodge the bullet, are you?” He smirked about it, the way nobody who lived in the family did – at least not where women Rosaria’s age could see. She remembered – she wondered if her peers remembered – being that age, and sniggering about things when their grannies were away.

“Oh, no.” Eva’s chin lifted. “I’ve known for a long time.”

“I wonder what Asta thought about that, mmm?” Willard’s eyes were twinkling. It had been years since Rosaria had seen him – but it had been decades since she’d seen him smile like that.

“Well, from what she told me…” Evangaline shifted, putting her weight evenly on both feet. “I think she was relieved. She always knew she was a place-holder, you know. She always knew she wasn’t the actual power of the family in her generation.”

Next: https://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/1274555.html

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/865037.html. You can comment here or there. comment count unavailable

Rumors about the Family, a story start for the Aunt Family

Dec10

I asked for Non-Addergoole Prompts here; this is to kiarrith‘s prompt.

The Aunt Family has a landing page here.

It was a whisper, not even a proper rumor, passed among the members of the family – mentioned as an overheard sort of thing in an e-mail, or drunkenly chuckled about in a party when the Powers That Be were busy being powerful elsewhere. Did you hear about the Aunt that got herself a cult?

Not even a proper Aunt, the rumors would continue. No sisters, a dead-end line. But that part, scandalous as it was, wasn’t nearly as shocking as the other part. And she’s being worshipped! Worshipped!

There were things you didn’t do, in the family. You didn’t trust men with power, you didn’t get pregnant if you were the Aunt, you didn’t bring men home – or women, or even cats – without running them by at least one Granny first. You didn’t show off your magic to outsiders, if you had any, or talk about it, if you didn’t.

And you certainly didn’t let people think you were a goddess.

But the rumors persisted. And, one day when her last child had left the nest, a woman named Stolen – a sensible, practical woman, a mother of four and already a grandmother of two, the sort who had put aside her tea leaves long, long ago – began making some discreet inquiries.

She had spent twenty-seven years working in insurance, and thus, in addition to being more cynical than most of her sisters, had a very well-honed skill with investigation, which she put to good use talking to relatives.

She might be a grandmother, but she was not yet, technically, a granny, and, besides, she was so down-to-earth that nobody really expected she’d be doing anything untoward. She was putting together a book of family legends, sure. It had been done before, but not recently. So people told her things.

And people outside of the family – they were easy. She might have put aside her tea leaves, she might have been solid and rational and dependable, but she was still what she was. People were easy.

It was thus that, two years into her youngest’s college life, Stolen found herself donning an all-covering blue robe and pulling the hood until it shaded her face.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/862984.html. You can comment here or there.

The Cat’s Paw, a story continuation of the Aunt Family

Dec4

I asked for Non-Addergoole Prompts here; this is to [profile] kiarrith‘s request for More Cat.

Aunt Family has a landing page here.

This comes after Family Secrets & Cat Secrets, which itself is after Cats & Grannies. and Cat’s in the Attic.

Beryl had the book now.

Radar found himself pacing, which was not common Radar behaviour, and possibly (he was no longer really certain) not really cat behaviour either. The family needed a strong, knowledgeable witch – Aunt, whatever – again. Eva did not want to be steered, which was good. But it meant that Radar was going to have to work sideways around things.

Radar was not good at working sideways, and he wasn’t really certain if it was the best idea. But, while he had been instilled with certain values, he had not been given precognizance, which he felt showed a lack of foresight on his creators’ parts. So he had to guess.

Guessing meant he’d put the most important book in the family’s history in the hands of a teenager – not even definitely the next Aunt, no matter what the family thought, although she was definitely already a witch – and hoped that she wouldn’t spill her soda on it or, possibly worse, spill the beans to all and sundry.

Beryl was proving good at keeping secrets so far. If he’d had fingers to cross, Radar would have crossed them.

Instead, he paced, while nearby, Beryl sat with the book, a laptop, a family dictionary, and a notebook open, taking precise notes on everything she read.

Finally, content that she was far too engrossed to notice him, Radar hopped up on the dresser and slid her cursed necklace over his own neck.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/859841.html. You can comment here or there.

Warm Visions and Warm Family, a ficlet of the Aunt Family

Dec2

I asked for Non-Addergoole Prompts here; this is to [personal profile] kelkyag‘s prompt.

The Aunt Family has a landing page here.

The day before Thanksgiving was, by family tradition, a day spent at the Aunt’s house, cleaning, prepping food, and getting everything ready for the feast the next day.

It was two things notably: It was a day where the family chose to ignore all gender distinctions, and work as if everyone was one, and it was a day in which the Aunt of the family was expected to sit back and not do any heavy lifting, metaphorically, metaphysically, or literally.

Eva was, thus, hiding out in her kitchen, with Beryl and Stone, who were ostensibly sorting the cocoas to help Beatrix & Janelle make cookies. But, since they were sorting cocoa – and since Everyone Knew either Beryl was going to be the next Aunt, or they were going to have to throw everything on its head and let Stone be an Uncle, they were making cocoa, and talking to their Aunt Eva about scrying.

“So, there’s a whole bunch of things going on.” Eva swirled her cocoa and finished the last of the milk, leaving a long ring of grit at the bottom. “The first is simply focusing the Sight in a convenient medium – the cocoa. The second is the feelings you’ve got about doing something. So.” She focused on the swirl, and smiled as she saw a cozy family scene around the big fireplace in her living room. “Cocoa tends to tell you warm, happy things. See?”

She passed the mug to the brother-and-sister team, and watched their faces light up as each of them sent their Sight into the grit. This was going to be a generation to watch, indeed.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/858048.html. You can comment here or there.

…Had a Great Fall, a story of the Aunt Family for Impossible Situations

Oct30

“It can’t be done.”

Asta looked at the pile of books, then at the broken lightbulb spread across the table. She looked back at the books, and then, finally, she looked at her cousin. “It has to be done, Maeve.”

“You know what the Humpty Dumpty rhyme really means.”

“I know.” Asta bit her lip. “Once something is done, it is done. Once someone is cursed, he is cursed. Once a vow is vowed, it is set in stone.”

“And yet…”

“And yet I need to break the vow, un-curse the curse. I need to put Humpty Dumpty back together again.”

“And what makes you think you can succeed where all the king’s horses and all his men could not?”

Asta lifted her chin. “Because I am the Aunt.”

written to [personal profile] kelkyag‘s prompt.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/841654.html. You can comment here or there.