Haunted House 14: Breaking Fast

May12

First: A story featuring a male keeper and a female Kept.
Previous: Waking

🌳🏚🌳

They drank coffee together, smiling at each other and, at least in MĂ©lanie’s case, thinking of how many ways the day could go.  If he were like her earlier masters…. but he wasn’t.

She cleared her throat.  “If there are things in the kitchen, I could cook breakfast,” she offered.  “And then you can tell me what, specifically, you want me to do over the next couple days.  I imagine,” she chuckled, a little nervously, but trying to still sound casual, “that you don’t want me to clean up the yard.”

“No, sadly, not that.  I think she would like it better – but I think she understands the need for the mess, too.  If you want to make breakfast, I won’t argue. The ‘fridge runs – you know what a ‘fridge is?” Continue reading →

Table of Contents, 101 Apoc Nights

May11
  • 101 Apocalypse Nights, I
    This is my camp nano project.  Enjoy! The Lord of Penn’s Land  – the warlord, although he preferred to be called ...
  • 101 Apocalypse Nights, II
    Tisha shook her head and smiled a sort of long-suffering smile.  But the one with beer – a woman who ...
  • 101 Apocalypse Nights, III
    Around them, all over the campground, she could hear the noises of people doing the same: settling in for sleep ...
  • 101 Apocalypse Nights, IV
    The first thousand people to get to Tax Day were given tokens, 1-1000, and they would be the first in ...
  • 101 Apocalypse Nights, V
    They picked up the last of the mess from breakfast, tidied Candice’s camping space, and played a game with tag ...
  • 101 Apocalypse Nights, VI
    So there I was, making a deal with a fae and holding my breath while I did so.  Fifteen steel, ...
  • 101 Apocalypse Nights, VII
    “Of course it’s your turn,” the older of the pair coaxed, but the younger man wasn’t quite willing to believe ...
  • 101 Apocalypse Nights, VIII
    The man whose camp was on the other side of Candice’s who had brought jam and fresh berries for breakfast ...
  • 101 Apocalypse Nights, IX
    Now this wasn’t the easiest route –  certainly not by row boat. For one thing, you couldn’t see quite looking ...
  • 101 Apocalypse Nights, X
    The tale-teller returned, rolling his shoulders and smiling, with an amber bottle and six glasses that seemed to be ...
  • 101 Apocalypse Nights, XI
    When the stew, such as it was, was simmering away over Candice’s stew pot, they had collected two more people, ...
  • 101 Apocalypse Nights, XII
    They broke their fast the next morning as a group, none of them wanting to separate.  There was a small ...
  • 101 Apocalypse Nights, XIII
    The booing had stopped, and they had all had their share of food, eaten slowly and uncomfortably while they waited ...
  • 101 Apocalypse Nights, XIV
    “And you’re not done yet,” Candice pointed out.  “Sit for a spell, have something more to drink, and then finish ...
  • 101 Apocalypse Nights, XV
    He bowed to them all, and they applauded him quietly.  The line had been moving as they spoke, a little ...
  • Table of Contents, 101 Apoc Nights
     
  • 101 Apocalypse Nights, XVI
    Warning: a bit of horror.  He took another long sip of rum, he walked around their group twice, pacing, but nobody ...
  • 101 Apocalypse Nights, XVII
    The next morning found the warlord’s staff moving around with warm drinks and warm pastries.  Everyone had their share; the ...
  • 101 Apocalypse Nights, XVIII
    “Does this story go anywhere except ‘I found talking animals and they didn’t kill each other?’” “Well, eventually
”  The woman looked ...
  • 101 Apocalypse Nights, XIX
    I was beginning to feel as if this was a long walk to a short death, their tale-teller continued.  I ...
  • 101 Apoc Nights: the City of Glass Story Continued
    “Now, where was I?” Anastasia cleared her throat, and then she continued forth.   The roads were, of course, difficult to ...
  • 101 Apocalypse Nights, XX
    Anastasia bowed to her new friends, to everyone she had met along the way, all as if she may never ...

 

Mermay: Pedestal

May11

They had given her a plinth.

They collected the most interesting members of every family, and for them, she was very interesting indeed.

There were three of her distance cousins who also had plinths, but hers was the highest and the most decorated.  And if there was a chain, and she could not swim that far from her plinth, well, many others had chains as well, in this land.  It seemed to her, watching the land from her water-bound pedestal, that there were more people with chains than without. Continue reading →

Normal American

May10

For DaHob, a ficlet of Tír na Cali.  

🔒

“So
 you’re pretty normal?”

As far as come-on lines went, Barty had definitely heard worse.  He’d heard better a couple times, sure, but while he was okay-looking, he wasn’t usually the hottest guy in the bar and definitely wasn’t the richest in any room.

Maybe that’s why he hadn’t been careful.  Maybe it had been the way she clicked her hair over a bare shoulder.  Maybe it had been the way she smiled like he was very, very important to her.

Whatever it had been, it had gotten him in her bed, and that had been, well.  Barty wasn’t the sort to say things like “mind-blowing,” but
 his mind was pretty blown.

And now, now he was sitting on bleachers with fifty other Americans, wearing collars and sweats and all of them feeling a little uncomfortable.  

“The purpose of this mission is to acquaint Californian agents with American customs.  To that end, every one of you is going to have a house, a job, and several assignments.  You are going to have two weeks to settle in, and then you will be shadowed by Californian agents.  Do you understand?”

The woman speaking was tall, a valkyrie, and she looked deadly.  Standing to one side of her was the girl Barty had gone home with.

Looking at her, he had to admit he’d probably go home with her again.

Someone else’s hand rose.  Someone shouted out a question.

“Why should we help you?”

“Well.  Because the options are to take this service, which has a certain amount of leeway, or, considering the qualities for which you were acquired—”

So
 you’re pretty normal?

“–will likely end up being field work.”

Barty sighed.  Sometimes, he’d fantasized about being kidnapped by a beautiful Californian woman.  He looked down at his little book of assignments. He hadn’t imagined it would end up with him being an accountant.

At least they’d given him a promotion.

 

Weather in the Bear Empire

May10

First: Running in the Bear Empire
Previous: Rainclouds in the Bear Empire
Next: Arrows in the Bear Empire

Deline hadn’t had time or the right environment to make her protective shield very big; she had spent the energy she had on making it strong instead.  The line of force, a wobbling red-orange from inside, gave them just enough room to lie down, if they lay very close to each other. Standing up wouldn’t work, except in the one spot where the half-wall went all the way up to the ceiling joists; she had used the walls as two of her delimiters.

“What….”  Carrone ducked as the first hail hit the outside of the half-house and bounced off of their shelter.  “What?” he repeated. “What is this devil-begotten place that you call home, woman? The sky is throwing ice at us!  And we – we are in-” He looked around. “It’s a magical tent, isn’t it? That’s all it is.” Continue reading →

Cage Fight

May9

Content warning:

This is a mean story.  It involves slavery, torture, cage fighting to the death, murder, and some other violence.  And then some violence, just for good measure.  Also violence.  And kidnapping.

I also stole some twins’ names from Heinlein.  These are not Heinlein’s twins.

~*~ Continue reading →

The Portal Closed 4: The Other Side

May8

Previous: Searching for Answers

They spent hours looking at the papers before they had to go back to their childhoods, back to chores and schoolwork and things that, some days, seemed downright constraining.

Barbara’s mother, happy she was “taking some initiative” helped her put together a flyer for babysitting, and helped her post it at the Library – the proper downtown one, which had never been abandoned because, bright and shiny and brand-new, it didn’t tend to lose kids in its recesses.  It had no portals to other worlds.  Barbara had looked.

With three others posted  – grocery store, post office, and their church – Barbara returned home to some math homework that was only exciting if she thought about it in terms of national economies and some literature homework that was so stultifying she added in a 2-page book review of The Wealth of Nations.  Surely that counted as literature, didn’t it? Continue reading →

Hurt/Comfort: Minder

May7

Written to R.Coots’ prompt. Some bodily injury, but no serious violence and no real loss of consent. 

đŸ€•

Ravi wasn’t exactly running, but he was hurrying.  He had someplace to be. He really had to get there soon, or he was going to lose yet another blind date to his own stupidi-

The crack in the sidewalk grabbed his foot and sent him sprawling.  Last pair of nice pants – ruined. Palms of his hands – ruined. Face – banged.  Chances at this date – gone.

“Oh, shit.  Look at you.”

He didn’t recognize the voice, but there were hands on him, lifting him up.  “Come on. You’re an absolute mess.”

“Nuala?”  He did recognize the voice.  Blind date #2. He’d spilled sauce on both of them. Continue reading →