First: A New World
Previous: The Hoija
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Kael didn’t need the potion to tell her what he was asking; what she did need was some way to tell her if she wanted to agree to his proposition.
“Maybe not tonight?” she offered, hoping that would go over as she meant it.
From the rueful look on his face, probably not.
“I just moved in here,” she tried. “And I don’t even know where everything is yet. In a week – next Yorday? – I’ll have drinks to offer you that aren’t potion reagents.” Continue reading
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He wasn’t quite sure what to do with that permission, but, after considering it, he decided to split his hour three ways and do the three things that Timaios had suggested.
Twenty minutes in the gym wasn’t much, but it was enough for him to feel a pleasant burn in his shoulders and chest. It was nice to not have to rush, to not be looking over his shoulder. He could be here. He had permission; his Owner had told him to do it. He could do anything here he wanted.
He spent the next twenty minutes lying on his back, down to his underwear (he had considered stripping naked and then, thinking of the number of people who worked for Timaios and decided not being naked was probably better). The sun was warm on his skin, and he wondered what his actual color looked like. Continue reading
Among the interesting things that we have discovered lately, there have been:
a mutation of the puffball creatures (the Vernal line) that explode.
They don’t exactly explode, technically, but the end result is something that destroys itself violently around maturity.
Sadly for us, that “around” means that some of them mange to breed before exploding.
It took us a month to get the problem contained.
In the meantime, in addition to the green dog-ponies, we found something that most closely resembles a very long-legged mountain lion, except it’s patterned mostly in pink and blue.
“Now remember, this is not going to be a cure-all, and it might do something you don’t expect. Be careful, and don’t get caught.”
“Thanks, Aunt Eva.” Chalcedony slid the little vial into a side pocket in her purse, ignoring the looks her brother was giving her from the passenger seat of her car. “Thanks for waiting, Stone.”
“Still better than the bus. What…?”
“Olivia. More to the point, Dan Williams.”
“… Chalce…?” Stone raised his eyebrows. She ignored him, or at least pretended to, as she got her car onto the road and headed towards school.
She wasn’t going to be able to ignore him forever. When she turned onto the main road, she cleared her throat and tried to answer.
“Olivia. She doesn’t have what we do. She just got here, she doesn’t have family, she doesn’t have -” Continue reading
After Addergoole West-Coast: a beginning.
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“Remember me?”
Rosmarina’s father had gone very still. “Yes,” he said slowly. It sounded like the words were being dragged from him. “Pontius. Of course I remember you. You… yes.”
The man held up both hands. “Peace. We grew up. I grew up. You want to fight about it, we can do that later, one we’ve got Rosmarina settled and have you and Muirenn and your family all set.”
“Dad?” Rosmarina tugged on her father’s sleeve. “What’s he mean?”
“It’s a school, starfish. You’ll stay at the school, remember?” Continue reading
So Chanter-Greenie asked for a continuation of Under Water, and it turned out I already had 500+ words written on that, so voila!
Aelia screamed. The secretary screamed some more. The man gasped, screamed, and spat up water all at once.
“Call an ambulance,” Aelia repeated. Her voice at least sounded like her voice. “I’m Aelia Hartman. I know I look – funny, sure – but this is the guy who just tried to drown me. I fought back. He’s breathing but I’m worried about him. Please call 911.”
The secretary, staring, pulled out her phone and dialed 911. Once she had gotten through the phone call – full of shaky words and not a small amount of gibbering – she looked at Aelia again. “Are you really-”
“Yeah, sorry. I don’t know what happened.” She poked the man in the chest. “You. Stay there. You need medical attention, and also, I think you’re a murderer.” Continue reading
Okay, this has been bugging me for a bit. Leander sort of magically gets collared on the drive. Oops!
So here’s his collaring scene. This happens in the middle-beginning of Chapter Five.
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Mr. MacDiarmad led him out of the garage and through a long hallway that seemed to be there for the sole purpose of being a hallway. That led out into a wide living room – leather and brown-tones, wood and wide windows opening on a generously large yard.
“First things first. If you would kneel?” Continue reading
The next morning found the warlord’s staff moving around with warm drinks and warm pastries. Everyone had their share; the children had enough to be over-full, and they all found themselves awake and aware as they stepped into the Warlord’s audience chamber, ready for the first tale of the morning.
The chamber was tall, as tall as five or six men on each other’s shoulders, and at one point the ceiling had been painted magnificently. The paint had chipped and peeled, but you could still, if you peered, see the scenes that had outlasted the end of the world. Continue reading
Addergoole, sometime after year 9
“I don’t, uh…” He wasn’t exactly uncomfortable, something more like amused and a little awkward. “I mean. That is. Girls…?”
The last time this had come up, he’d gotten punched. Not by the girl; by her brother.
This woman – this girl? This Valkyrie with the horns curling out of her head and eyes like shadows themselves, she just smiled at him. “Conveniently, I don’t do guys.” Continue reading