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Adjusting, a story of after-Addergoole

Aug19

A drabble: Phelen from Addergoole, once he’s in college

After Addergoole, college classwork wasn’t giving Phelen any trouble. Dorm life wasn’t bothering him, either, even with a roommate. He’d never had a room to himself at Addergoole for more than a few weeks, after all.

Dating, on the other hand…

“You don’t really understand girls at all, do you?”

It was Caroline, who he’d been more than a little fond of, and she was glaring at him in that exasperated way that he’d seen way too much of in the last six months.

He considered and discarded several unhelpful answers, all of them honest, including: I do have a daughter, you know.

“Girls here are different from at my last school.” That one was technically accurate, while giving entirely a different impression than the truth. Caroline wasn’t that different from Shiva or Magnolia, for instance, in personality. Just from the girls he’d Kept.

“Well, wherever you came from, take my advice – stop trying to control your dates’ lives. It’s not going to work, and you’re going to end up single and miserable for the rest of your life.”

Some girls like it. He looked hang-dog at her, the way that had sometimes worked on Caroline. “Thanks for the advice. I don’t suppose you’d give it another try?”

“No, no I don’t think I will. Good luck in your life, Phelen.”

“What’s that, number seven?” His roommate wasn’t the most sympathetic guy in the world.

“Five.”

“Man, you bring them home, you seal the deal, and you… blow it up a week later. What the hell?”

“I think,” that he needed a good Keptie. “I need another sort of girl.”

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/391449.html. You can comment here or there.

Bowen’s Summer Continued

Aug17

This is a continuation of The July Linkback Story by [personal profile] imaginaryfiend‘s request.
~
It wasn’t that far to Addergoole. It had seemed farther, on the way home, but then again, on the way home, he’d ridden in silence. Phelen and Rozen spent the ride cracking inappropriate jokes, Baram laughing along and sometimes grunting in a word or two. And, in something that was new, they talked to him, too. Included him.

Included him in everything except an explanation of what was going on. That, Rozen was keeping close to his chest. “You’ll see,” is all he’d say on that matter – and Bowen noted that, in their rather cramped motel room that night, they all made sure he slept in the middle.

If he’d wanted to get away, that wouldn’t really have stopped him. He was pretty sure they all knew it, too. He was tempted to prove it, to show them that’s Aggie’s little sheep bitch… but he decided to stay, to show them that he wasn’t afraid. He was cy’Fridmar, after all, like them.

And then they were driving back into the school where he’d been held captive for a year, and nothing could have stopped him from panicking and clawing at the door, wondering why it suddenly wouldn’t let him out. It was only when Rozen stopped the car that he realized what he’d been doing, and sat back in his seat, embarrassed.

Rozen and Baram said nothing. It was Phelen, a puddle of black shadows in the back seat, who just nodded, like he understood. “Breathe. And remember that it didn’t beat you. The school did its best to fuck you up, but in the end, you won.”

It was a nice pretend game, but Bowen knew the truth. His cheeks flushed. “It’s not like I got out on my own.”

“People don’t get out of being Kept on their own.” Rozen’s rumble sounded amused. “It’s the whole idea.”

What would you know? He wasn’t suicidal, so he didn’t snap at Rozen. Again, it was Phelen who nodded, like he was reading his mind. He might be, for all Bowen knew.

“Just because we didn’t get stuck under the collar doesn’t mean we don’t have some idea what it’s like. You did what you had to, and you survived.”

“But it’s good to remember who helps you out.” Rozen twisted to pin Bowen with a glance.

He found he was squirming. “I helped her with Aggie, didn’t I? I owed her, so I made it right.”

“You did?” Rozen turned back to the road, but Bowen thought he sounded surprised. “Hunh. Good for you. But did you ever say thank you?”

Bowen wasn’t the brightest bulb in the box, but the way Rozen sounded, he thought there was more going on here than his debt. “I don’t think I did,” he admitted. “Is that where we’re going? Why, I mean?”

“Yeah.” He grunted softly. “First stop on the trip, at least. You’re going to thank the girl for what she did.” He drove in silence for a while, through the wheatfields that had led to so much misery. “It took guts to do what she did. Most people wouldn’t go up against an upperclassmen, especially one with a powerful crew.”

Bowen hadn’t thought about it quite like that before. “I guess it did. Hunh.” He stared at the wheat. “Why would she do that?”

Next to him, Phelen laughed. “You’d have to ask her, but I can bet you I know the answer already.”

It was Baram who mumbled out an answer. “She thought it was right.”

Next:
What Was Right (LJ)

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/388514.html. You can comment here or there.

Countdown to Addergoole Year 9: Jovanna and Aeowyn

Aug17

52 19 Days To 52 Weeks

For the 52 days leading up to the 52 weeks of Addergoole: Year 9, I will be posting something Addergoole-related every day.

Today I present Jovanna and Aeowyn, best known so far as Ahouva’s friends.

Jovanna is a tall, slender girl with a dancer’s body, tight-muscled and lean, with hardly any chest to speak of; she camouflages this with ruffled shirts. She likes ruffles all around, tiered skirts and flounced hems and sleeves.

Her skin is deep brown, her hair long, curly, and prone to frizzing. Her eyes are silver-grey, and her makeup is well-done but often a bit heavy-handed. She’s a follower, socially, quiet unless spoken to and often a wall-flower.

Aeowyn is a leader to Jovanna’s follower, outgoing and sharp-tongued. Short, tiny, and blonde (Addergoole has a surplus of tiny blondes!) Her hair is shoulder-length and smooth platinum blonde; she has bright blue eyes and pale skin. She and Jovanna commiserate over their lack of noticeable chests.

She likes whatever’s in fashion for clothes, but prefers things that are boyish – pants rather than skirts, button-down shirts. Hats. Aeowyn loves hats.

Neither have innate powers determined yet. Jovanna’s Change is pika-related; Aeowyn’s is snake-related

They appear in the following stories:
Three-Way
Three-Way Continued
Kiss-Kisses

And Today, You can ask them any question you want!

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/388021.html. You can comment here or there.

Leaving the School, a drabble of Addergoole Year 7, for @Kissofjudas

Aug14

Addergoole, end of year 7.

Trigger warning: Pregnancy discussed & shown.

Phelen walked the halls of Addergoole alone.

He didn’t need to be alone; Shiva’s legacy in Addergoole was a close-knit crew that got along well with others, filling in for his own gaps in social networking.

But this was his last day as a Student in Addergoole, and it felt fitting to spend a moment here the way he’d first arrived – alone, no matter how many people were around him, wrapped in his trench-coat.

Alone. A Seventh Cohort, no longer skittering around nervous because they were new, but skittering and nervous nonetheless, slid past him. He was leaking shadows again, wasn’t he?

He pulled himself together. Leaving Addergoole was, as his Mentor liked to say, not only an ending, but a beginning. The school had grown comfortable for him (Having Kept had grown very comfortable for him). College, an apartment without his Crew, the greater world outside of the school – he’d never admit it to anyone, but he was as nervous about that as he had been about coming to Addergoole in the first place.

Considering how much worse, and better, than Addergoole had ended up being, he thought it was a perfectly justifiable concern. Four years ago, also, he hadn’t had three children to be concerned with.

“Phelen.” Kendra would have more than that to be concerned with, the way she was going. The heavily-pregnant mouse-girl nodded at him; she had another year to go, but looked as pensive as he felt.

If things had gone differently, she might have been his. He gave her his best not-a-creep smile. “Kendra. Number four, is it?”

“It is.” She held her hands protectively over her stomach. He might have to work on the not-a-creep thing. “Good luck, out there. Are you taking any of yours?”

“Not now, at least.” He wasn’t sure he could handle the real world and kids. “Their mothers all seem fairly attached.” In a year or two, he might try to talk Manira out of that. But not today.

“Good luck anyway.” Her smile was playful; he wondered when she’d learned that again. “I hear it’s a jungle out there.”

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/386513.html. You can comment here or there.

Countdown to Addergoole: Ciara and Amadeus

Aug13

52 23 Days To 52 Weeks

For the 52 days leading up to the 52 weeks of Addergoole: Year 9, I will be posting something Addergoole-related (almost) every day.

Today I bring you Ciara and Amadeus

Ciara is a clever and tough young lady, a tiny go-getter whose Change leaves her marbled and elven; Amadeus is a large wolfish guy twice her size, a predator by nature and inclination.

Ciara came to Addergoole thinking that is was a finishing school; Amadeus, in his fourth year of the school, knows exactly what it is. They’re both in over their heads, because neither saw the other one coming.

They have appeared in :
Wolf at the Door (LJ)
Wolf in the Circle (LJ)
Ciara: Wolf in the Hand
Pet Wolf (LJ) (Ciara)

And today, you can ask them anything.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/385664.html. You can comment here or there.

Countdown to Addergoole Yr9: Belfreja

Aug9

52 27 Days To 52 Weeks

For the 52 days leading up to the 52 weeks of Addergoole: Year 9, I will be posting something Addergoole-related (almost) every day.

This evening I present: Belfreja!
And a prototype of my Cast Page Character Summaries for perusal and suggestion:

Belfreja is a sweet, gorgeous woman, Masked or Unmasked; her Change gives her the ram horns that are both her parents’ legacy.

This tall, broad-shouldered girl, her Viking ancestors clear in her appearance, has a fondness for foreign languages, foreign food, and classic everything.

She has appeared in the story Mission to Paris, which is set several years after Addergoole Year 9.

I offer her up to your questions today!

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/384702.html. You can comment here or there.

Countdown to Addergoole Year 9: Meet Brydan!

Aug7

52 29 Days To 52 Weeks

For the 52 days leading up to the 52 weeks of Addergoole: Year 9, I will be posting something Addergoole-related (almost)every day.

Today I introduce Brydan!

Brydan is a vivacious strawberry blonde woman in denim short shorts and a pink tank top. Brydan is cheerful, friendly, a “sexual healer.” As if to highlight her lightness to her half-sister Ivette’s dark, Brydan has tiny, flightless golden-yellow feathered wings, and a tiny tail of matching feathers.

In her last year at Addergoole, she has remained sweet and cheerful throughout. She is often the cy’Linden other cy’Lindens send to talk to other cy’rees, because she is least likely to offend.

And today she’s here to answer your questions!

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/384407.html. You can comment here or there.

Countdown to Addergoole Year 9: Ask Me Anything!

Aug7

52 29 Days To 52 Weeks

For the 52 days leading up to the 52 weeks of Addergoole: Year 9, I will be posting something Addergoole-related (almost)every day.

Today: Ask me anything about Addergoole, faerie apocalypse, or the characters!

(if it’s too spoilerific, you may get a very silly answer)

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/384059.html. You can comment here or there.

Countdown to Addergoole Year 9: Character interaction meme!! Ship my chars!

Aug3

52 33 Days To 52 Weeks

For the 52 days leading up to the 52 weeks of Addergoole: Year 9, I will be posting something Addergoole-related every day.

Okay! I have a randomized list of 21 students, teachers, and Staff from Addergoole.

The students are currently from Cohorts 5 through 9; the staff and teachers are staff and teachers.

If you give me a pair of numbers (or 3 numbers, but no more than 4 numbers) and a situation, I will write at least 100 words of the situation.

For instance:

6 and 12 wake up in bed together. (“Eeep!” “Did you really say eep? Come on, relax. I’m not going to do anything horrrrid to you.”)

2 and 16, genderswapped (She batted her eyes, trying it on for size. Yes, this would work. And if the Professor didn’t like girls… well, somebody would).

Once a character has been used twice, I’ll sub them out for someone new.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/382875.html. You can comment here or there.

Countdown to Addergoole Year 9: Miryam!

Aug1

52 35 Days To 52 Weeks

For the 52 days leading up to the 52 weeks of Addergoole: Year 9, I will be posting something Addergoole-related (almost) every day.

This evening I present: Miryam!
And a prototype of my Cast Page Character Summaries for perusal and suggestion:

Miryam is a tiny, lovely fairy; Masked, she’s a petite, pixyish girl with long brown hair, warm cafe-au-lait skin, and startlingly green eyes. Unmasked, she’s even more petite and more pixieish, adding green wings and antennae.

Although she originated as a roleplay character, as did Cynara, she has yet to have her own story. In Year Nine, she is the hapless Ninth Cohort in a crew with such lovely people as Kendon, Ahouva’s Keeper.

I offer her up to your questions today!

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/381338.html. You can comment here or there.