Tag Archive | giraffecall: result

Frog Pancakes

Mar21

To [personal profile] kelkyag‘s commissioned prompt, after Big, Bad Witch

“So.” Eva stared at the boy over her orange juice for a moment. “Pancakes, little kid thing?”

“Are they in the shapes of dinosaurs?”

She smirked. “I only do that for kids that are still shorter than my knees. They’re safe, normal round things.”

“Will they turn me into a frog?”

“I don’t know anything that can do that, legends aside… so probably not.”

“Then I guess I’m probably not too old for pancakes.” Was he flirting with her?

“Good,” she answered while she tried to figure that one out. “Because they taste horrible the second day and there’s way too many for me to eat on my own right now.” She passed him a plate and a glass of orange juice. “So. You thought I was a witch?”

“You still haven’t said if you are or not. And sometimes your family says stuff, you know.”

“I’m sure they do; everyone’s family says stuff. I just have a really big family.”

“Mmn.” He stuffed his mouth full of pancakes for a minute, eating like every teenage boy she’d ever seen, as if he hadn’t eaten in weeks.

When she thought he might be able to breathe again, she added, “what sort of stuff, in this case?”

“Hunh? Oh, your family. Just… ‘Aunt Asta died, Aunt Eva’s The Aunt now.'” He dropped the caps in melodramatically. “If you don’t get a boyfriend, Beryl, you’re going to end up The Next Aunt.” He shook his head. “Like it’s a thing.”

“For us, it kind of is,” she admitted, gambling on honesty. “Sometimes we have more than one in a generation, but yeah.”

“So you really are a witch?” He looked down at the pancakes thoughtfully. “At least they’re not gingerbread.”

“You’re not running screaming in terror?”

He grinned at her, another one of those expressions she was pretty sure made Beryl go “:X” “I could feel it, you know? In my toes. I was just waiting for you to decide to tell me.”

Older Witches (LJ)

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/304427.html. You can comment here or there.

Silent Song

Mar20

To Friendly Anon’s commissioned prompt and @Inventrix’s request, the second half of a continuation of Porter Needs a Girlfriend (LJ), after Siren Song (LJ).

Porter fell.

He’d been pretty sure he was going to, but knowing you were going to and suddenly falling were different things.

He flailed, kicking his legs and shouting. The floor seemed a long way down. Why were the levels so far apart in this school? What if he broke something…

He landed while he was still worrying, both feet hitting the floor by some freak chance, and stumbled backwards until he fell into something.

He was… on a soft carpet, surrounded by bookshelves. In the Library, then? He slapped both hands over his mouth. He’d been shouting in the Library! He was going to catch hell for sure!

What was worse… he’d fallen into the Library. In the middle of the Library. If someone didn’t find him, he was going to end up late for dinner. Late for Timora’s mystery dinner date with hopefully-a-Ninth-Cohort.

And, really, to be pragmatic, he could be trapped in here forever, or until he found a door or a Door that got him out. Priorities.

A sign appeared in front of his nose. Please remember to remain quiet in the Library. The font was frilly, and the little sign was bordered with little purple flowers.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I just…”

The sign vanished, and another appeared. Please refrain from lewd activity in the Library.

“Wait, what?” he asked in a hurried hiss. “I…” He was leaning against something, wasn’t he? He twisted to look behind him. “…Oh. Sorry.” The statue in whose embrace he’d been cuddled looked as embarrassed as Porter felt. “You should get her some clothes. Look, um,” the signs were from the Librarian, right? “Um… sa’Librarian?” That might work… please? “I didn’t mean to drop in like this, but I’m a little lost…”

A third sign appeared. Please refrain from becoming lost in the Library.

“I’m trying, I really am, but there was this Siren, so I dove overboard, and overboard happened to be here…” He flailed. “I open Doors, you see. But this place doesn’t come with a decent floor plan.”

The next sign that appeared was hand-written, still florid but without the decorations. “You open… Doors. Show me. This way.” And then a sign with an arrow.

“I, uh…” His dinner was getting further and further away. “Yes… ma’am? Sa’Librarian. What do you want me to show you?” He wandered in the direction of the arrow, avoiding the eyes of the statue. “Hunh. History. I’ve never found this section before.”

A sign appeared: a flower-wreathed stop sign. Porter stopped obediently, hoping that, somehow, this would lead to dinner. Somehow.

He was standing in front of a section of blank wall, about the size of a doorway, something he’d never before seen in the Library. The arrow appeared again, pointing at the wall.

“You want me to open this? All right, I can do that. I hope,” he added in a mutter. “But do you know what’s on the other side?”

The arrow simply pointed again and, sighing, Porter opened a Door and stepped through.

Next: Iridium Hole, LJ

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/303624.html. You can comment here or there.

Reality, a story of the Black House for the March Giraffe Call (@rix_Scaedu)

Mar20

From rix_scaedu‘s prompt. This comes directly in order with the rest of the Black House story (see tag), right after Orientation (LJ).

Content warnings: no sexual content, but definite d/s.

The girl who had been Yaminah, On-Time-Chime, who was now Pretty oro’Gregori, had heard stories, all through school, of her new Keeper.

She had heard about the Kraken, about his tentacles, about the way that he had, his first year of school, held off three older attackers and ended up walking away from Hell Night having almost killed someone three years ahead of him in school. She’d heard second-hand stories, stories Damaris had told Ackerly. “This is how a Kept is treated. This is how my Keeper’s Keeper treated her.” She’d heard the way the teachers said his name – half anger, half awe.

Nothing had prepared her, any more than any situation that her power had gotten her in had, any more than being Kept by Ackerly had, for the reality of being in his house, in his possession – or in his arms.

He was gentle, for one, as inexorable as his hold was, stroking her back, comforting her. “It has to be frightening,” he murmured, when the sobs had calmed enough that she could hear him, “to have a power that takes you over like that. To be out of control of your own life.”

“Sometimes?” she admitted weakly. “Sometimes it’s useful. Sometimes I end up knowing things, getting things I wouldn’t, otherwise. But I miss my children.” She slapped her hands over her mouth, mortified, and peeked at him, only to find him smiling.

“I don’t blame you. I miss mine, too.” He smoothed her hair gently. “And your power thinks you will be safe here?” He set her down on the carpet. “Come. Let’s get to the bedroom.”

She waited until he stood, then followed his heels down the hallway. “I wonder,” he mused, “what it is your power wants me to protect you from?”

Next: First Day of Work (LJ)

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/303541.html. You can comment here or there.

Graduation Plans

Mar19

For Friendly Anon’s prompt.

Addergoole has a landing page here.

This story comes after Love and Hospitality (LJ)

Followed by Good Bones

“It’s like my whole life is here. In boxes.” Nydia stared at the luggage rack full of things, as Luke loaded them into the back of the school SUV, next to Wren’s stack of boxes.

“I know the feeling.” The older girl patted her arm. “I’ve got everything all set up; we’ll be okay. Lady Maureen helped me find us a nice apartment, so that’s waiting for us. I bought beds but nothing else; we can pick that all out together… or find someone to pick it out for us.” She winked at Nydia cheerfully.

Nydia, for her part, was even more overwhelmed by her friend. “You got that all taken care of?”

“I had time on my hands, and my Mentor and yours to help,” Wren assured her. “Remember, we want to be planners!”

“I know, but… wow, Wren.”

“Don’t worry, you’ll have plenty to do, too.” She held up a thick sheaf of paper. “I have contacts from Lady Maureen and DJ for us to get in touch with, storefronts for us to look at, and three houses for us to consider. Aaand….” She held up a second set of papers. “Doms to interview.”

Nydia squirmed. “Wreeeeen, in front of Luuuke,” she whispered.

“Not in front of Luke,” the PE teacher agreed, as he came around the SUV. “Except that I’ve met most of those young men already, and those I haven’t, your Mentors have.”

“What?” Nydia squeaked. “You…”

Luke smiled gently at her. “You two were very good students. I want to be sure you’re safe out in the world, too.” He patted her shoulder. “I can’t be there to watch over you every minute, out there. This is the best I can do.”

“…Oh.” Nydia looked at the boxes in the back of the car, and at the piled lists Wren was holding, and then back at Luke. The future felt a little bit safer. “Thank you.”

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/302633.html. You can comment here or there.

Human Town

Mar18

For [personal profile] anke‘s commissioned continuation of Parent-Teacher Conference (LJ) and Humanity (LJ). Have no fears, there is one more section in the queue to write!

Dragons next Door has a landing page here.

“So, little sister…” Jimmy’s crests did a fun ripple thing, like doing the wave, and his jaw dropped for a second in the way dragons mimicked human smiles, “My favorite little sister.”

“Jin says that!” she told him gleefully. “I’m your only little sister, too!”

“You’re right,” he laughed. “Well, while we’re up here, best-only-little-sister, what do you want to see?”

“EVERYTHING,” Juniper giggled. “How far can you take me?”

“I have a little while,” he answered, and swooooped down almost to the road level before climbing back upwards, wings flapping mightily. “Let’s look at Smokey Knoll. It’s always fun to look at your home from the sky.”

“Eeeee!” she squealed happily, and held on Very Tightly, like she’d promised, as Jimmy swooped and twirled in the air, almost like he was dancing with her.

“What’s it like, where dragons live” she called. The houses behind them looked like one boring grey roof after another, all so very similar, roof, roof, roof, red tiles! She wanted to know who lived in the place with the red tiles.

Jimmy didn’t answer for a minute. She wasn’t sure he’d heard her, but his crests were laying down flat. Something wrong? She’d asked it the wrong way?

“You’ve seen where we live,” he called back to her, his crests popping up brightly. “You’re over there all the time.”

“But…” Her question turned quickly into an eeeeeeeeeee as he swooped again. “Jimmy!” she called exasperatedly.

“I don’t remember where we came from very well,” he answered, falling into a nice level flight again. “Look, here, you can see where Human Town ends and Smokey Knoll begins.”

“Human town?” She peered down at the roofs, and the tall hedge around the Mulberry family’s house. “I’ve never heard anyone say that before.”

Jimmy’s crests wiggled again. “It’s what a lot of the other races call the city and the burbs, the places that the humans live in. Like, you know, how there’s Tiny Town downtown?”

“But humans live in Smokey Knoll, too,” she pointed out, confused. “Us. The Mulberry family. The Sanjays.”

“Look, there’s the Harpy place,” Jimmy called. He was ignoring her a lot today. “Watch out, incoming harpy chick!”

Giggling, Juniper ducked, covering her face with one hands. Little harpies were an airborne threat until they got used to their wings. And Jimmy… Jummy wasn’t telling her something.

Maybe Jin would tell her. Or maybe she could ask the nice guy at the bus stop.

Next: An Understanding (LJ)

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/301977.html. You can comment here or there.

Big Bad Witch

Mar18

For [personal profile] clare_dragonfly‘s Prompt.

Evangaline modern-era. After Unexpected Guest, Followed Me Home (LJ), and In the Cards (LJ)

Pancakes in hand, Eva knocked on the door to her Florida room and paused to listen.

A startled jumping sound was followed quickly by some hasty blanket-noises, and then, cautiously, “yeah?”

“It’s Eva,” she called, amused. “I brought breakfast. I can bring it in, or you can come eat in the kitchen with me.”

“I… uh. Could you bring it in?”

“Coming in,” she agreed, trying not to laugh. She swung the door open, and set the tray down on the low coffee table, before plopping herself into the old wicker chair. “Did you sleep well?”

“I… yeah.” He sounded a bit startled by that. “Did you… hex me or something?”

“I thought we talked about the witch thing.”

“You said you didn’t look like a witch. And you really don’t. But this house… everyone says it’s the witch’s house. Always has been.”

“And they say you shouldn’t go inside?”

“They say kids who do, never come out.”

Eva pursed her lips. “There is the off chance,” she allowed, “that one of my ancestors liked to scare small children. But, if it’s who I’m thinking of, those small children are grandparents or great-grandparents now, and that Aunt is long gone.” Although it might do to check the parts of the basement that had dirt floors.

“You still haven’t said you’re not a witch.”

“I haven’t,” she agreed. “But I’m not the sort that eats little children, either.”

The glance he gave her was half wounded dignity and half what she was pretty sure Beryl had meant by “Interesting :x,” though she would have just called it “steamy.” “I’m not a little kid, either,” he pointed out.

“No,” she agreed, and sipped her orange juice. “You’re clearly not.”

Next: http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/304427.html

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/301572.html. You can comment here or there.

Voices, a story of Bug Invasion for the March Giraffe Call.

Mar17

For [personal profile] ysabetwordsmith‘s Prompt.

After All in Your Head and Out of Their Minds.

All round, hosts were rejecting their symbiotes. The Earth was rejecting the Bugs. The faeries were taunting the invaders, the ghosts were haunting them; even the Things were fighting off the aliens. Nobody wanted them there anymore. Nobody wanted a creature in its head. Nobody wanted the bugs on their planet.

Nobody, it seemed, except Josh.

^*^They are rej^*^ecting their riders,*^* his symbiote whispered in his mind. ^*^They are kil^*^ling them.^*^ The simple statement came with layers of meaning: We didn’t know they could do that. No race has ever rejected us before. Are you going to reject me? Are you going to kill me.

“They are,” Josh muttered. He was staring at the fence penning them in, holding the hosts close to one another. “They’ve never been alone. They don’t know what it’s like to be left alone with the voices.”

^*^I am a voice,^*^ the symbiote pointed out quietly. ^*^And you do not mind me?^*^

“I don’t mind you. Look, we could get out this way.”

^*^Out? Why Out? This is where the Home is.^*^ The concept for Home in the symbiote’s mind seemed to consist in part of the-family-I-keep-around-me and in part the-place-where-I-sleep.

“Home is… humans have a saying, okay? ‘Home is where the heart is.’ I don’t like this place and, besides, the bugs are losing. Eventually, the humans are going to swarm this place. And they’re already figuring out forced separations.”

^*^I do not want^*^*^ to be sep^*^arated.^*^

“Me neither, buddy. You’re the only voice in here that makes sense.” And, besides, since the symbiote had taken up residence, the other voices had gotten a lot quieter. “And you don’t think I’m crazy.”

^*^You make more sense than most hu^*^mans.^*^ The symbiote fell quiet for a moment. ^*^Not here. Down there. There the fence is thin^*^ner.^*^

“Got it.” Humming to himself, Josh went about making his escape.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/301189.html. You can comment here or there.

Navigating Lannamer, a drabble of RIn & Girey for the Giraffe Call

Mar17

For Rix_scaedu‘s Prompt.

Reiassan has a landing page here.

After “Under Scrutiny”.


Girey followed Rin out into the hallways of the labyrinthine mess her people called an Imperial Palace. “Do you ever loose people in here?”

“All the time. Usually strangers; children learn young to navigate by the mosaics on the floor.” She pointed at the thin green border and thicker red line on the patterns under their feet. “See? This is how I know I’m in the right wing.”

“You follow the floors.” He shook his head, but noted the floors nonetheless.

“We follow the floors.” Despite – or maybe because of – their earlier argument, she was cheerful, smiling at him, dragging her fingers along the stone walls. “And the walls, and if all else fails, the ceilings.”

“The ceilings. You…” He fell silent as, coming on an X-shaped intersection, they could hear another conversation.

“One of my agents swears he saw the Bitrani prince in the market in Ossulund, with a Callenian woman. Are you certain?”

“We executed the Bitrani King in the main square in Arinoss. We jailed every courtier her had and executed those who showed skill with the sira. We’ve taken their support base.”

“But left them their prince.”

Girey hadn’t realized he was grinding his teeth until Rin set her hand on his wrist, just over the bracelet she’d put there. It was one thing to know it, another to hear the elimination of his people discussed like dealing with an infestation.

“If their prince is a captive of a Callenian woman, he’s hardly a threat anymore, is he?” the first voice laughed, as they rounded the corner. “Not in… Lady.” The speaker bowed low, his layered qitari brushing the ground. “Princess Arinyanca.”

“Uncle Esnees.” Rin’s voice was icy. “And I’m sure you haven’t yet met my companion, Girey.”

Next: Sun-on-the-Water (LJ)

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/301055.html. You can comment here or there.

Siren Song

Mar16

To Friendly Anon’s commissioned prompt and @Inventrix’s request, the first half of a continuation of Porter Needs a Girlfriend (LJ).

Other than 4500 words on Addergoole-proper, this is all I’ve written in days. It feels weird. O_O Yeah. I’ve been THAT sick.

It wasn’t that Porter minded his friends’ “help” in getting him a girlfriend. After all, he knew that he’d need to get a girlfriend, or at least someone cooperative in baby-making, sometime in his four years at Addergoole. Possibly twice, even.

It was just that they – although he suspected Timora, from the amused, wicked looks she was giving him – kept picking such imposing girls, girls that didn’t seem to smile much, girls that, in some cases, didn’t really seem to even like guys.

He was pretty sure that Timora was trying to mess with his head, he just didn’t know why.

He was also hopeful, because it looked like these dinner dates were working their way down through the Cohorts, which meant, if he was going to have a “surprise” date tonight, it would probably be a Ninth Cohort. And, aside from Timora, none of the Ninth Cohorts he’d met were really at all scary.

“Hey, Kitty, Kitty.” Too late, Porter looked up, realizing that, lost in thought and hurrying to get home for the theoretical Ninth Cohort Dinner Date, he hadn’t been paying attention.

Lots of people called him Kitty. Only one person did it in that unctuous tone of voice, like she was grooming his name.

“Tess.” And because she and her crewmate were never far apart, “Lucian.”

“Hey, Kitty.” Lucian leaned against the wall behind Porter. “Have you had a chance to think about our invitation?”

“Your…” He looked between the two of them, Tess’s green eyes boring into him, Lucian’s close-winged pose deceptively closed, making him look harmless. “Oh,” he smiled, and choked out a little laugh. “I thought that was a joke. I mean, I already have a crew…” And even if Sylvia runs everything, I trust her.

“Ah, but we could really use your power, pretty kitty.”

“So you want me for my doors, not my drawers.” In a way, he was relieved. Tess was a very frightening woman when she wanted something, and Lucian was little better.

Like that laugh. He chuckled throatily behind Porter. “We wouldn’t mind both, would we, Tess?”

Eep. Feeling like he was being eaten with their eyes, he cast around for the quickest Door surface. There was under his feet – but that could have unpleasant consequences. You never knew how far away the floor would be, for one, and it was hard to close the door after yourself.

“Mmm. There’s not much I’d mind with him,” Tess agreed. A quick glance told porter that the scales running down both sides of her neck were shifting color, from “safe” white-and-green to deep red. Her voice was taking on that funny tone to it, like she had a reverb going, and Porter knew what that meant.

“No,thank you.” Sailors of legend had dived over the sides of ships to get to sirens. Porter dived through the floor to escape this one.

He pulled the door upwards, grabbed the handle that was created when he did that, and swung down onto the third floor by the handle, yanking the door shut with his weight.

And then, of course, the doorknob vanished.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/300341.html. You can comment here or there.

Detente

Mar11

For Rix_Scaedu‘s commissioned continuation of Damn List (LJ).

Addergoole has a landing page here.

I should really get around to figuring out what Ahouva’s Changes are.

Basalt sat down under the shade of an apple tree, at the edge of a beautiful little orchard, and patted the ground next to him. “So, that list. Let’s talk about it, okay?”

Ahouva sat down where he indicated, smoothing her skirt under her. A little dirt would come out in the wash, and she didn’t want to make him any unhappier. “Okay?” She wished she could just burn it. She wished he’d never ordered her to write the stupid thing.

“Let’s start with that last one.”

She winced, and pulled her knees to her chest. “I’m sorry! It’s…” It wasn’t fair, forcing her to be honest like that. She could do so much better if he let her keep things to herself.

“It’s fear. It’s a natural emotion, but it’s not exactly a fun one. And I can’t blame you for not liking it.” He took her notebook from her and looked at that last item again. “‘I don’t like being scared of my Keeper.’ I wouldn’t, either, Ahouva.”

She peeked up at him. He didn’t look angry. Yet. “I can’t imagine you scared of anything.”

“I was scared when I was Kept. I wasn’t scared of Brydan, but I was scared of not having any control over anything. I get angry when I’m scared, though.”

She nodded, gulping a little bit. “I just get worried.” That was almost true, at least. She could remember, Before, getting angry about it. But that was another world.

“I don’t blame you. So…. how can I help you not be scared?”

“You could order me not to?” she offered in a tiny voice. The don’t-feel-this-way orders were the worst. But it would stop the problem, right?

“No, honey.” He was frowning, but it was gentle somehow. “I mean, why do I frighten you?”

“Oh.” She quailed, but the truth bubbled out. “Because you’re scary!” When he didn’t yell at her or even frown, she hurried on. “You’re big and you’re stronger than anyone I know and I have no idea what you’re going to do or when this kid-gloves thing is going to be over and Basalt, I don’t know what you want!”

As soon as it had been said, she regretted it, slapping both hands over her mouth and flinching back. But he, he was smiling.

“Okay, that’s fair. I’m kind of big and rock-headed, I know that. Hunh. If I promise that I will tell you if you are doing something wrong, and give you a chance to fix it, before grumbling, will that help?”

She moved her hands away from her mouth, peeking at him. “You’d do that?”

“Honey, if it will help you relax, I’d promise a lot more than that.” He patted her shoulder. “I don’t like making you scared either.”

She relaxed a little, feeling as if she’d managed another hurdle. “Okay. Okay… yes? Yes, please?”

“I promise,” he smiled. “I’ll tell you and give you a chance to fix it if you’re doing something wrong, before I get angry with you. Okay?”

She blinked at him, feeling as if a giant weight was lifted off of her chest. “No secret mistakes? No tests?”

“None. I’m not bright enough for that.” He offered her an arm and, relieved, she cuddled into it, pressing against him, thinking her new master might be a lot brighter than he thought he was.

She relaxed, there, snuggled against his warmth for a bit, thinking maybe he’d stop there. And for the nicest five minutes she’d had in weeks, maybe months, he did. And then…

“So, the rest of the list.”

“Um?” She peeked up at him. “I’m fine.”

“I know you don’t like talking about it. Can you tell me why?”

“Because you don’t like it,” she answered quietly. “You’re always frowning.”

“Oh.” He frowned, and then, catching himself, made a gruesome grimace, and then another, before settling on something like a smile. Catching sight of her expression – she couldn’t tell whether to laugh or be terrified – the smile turned real. “That’s the face I make when I’m thinking, Ahouva, that’s all. And you make me think, a lot.” He pressed a finger to her lips. “That’s a good thing.”

She nodded, blushing. “So…” she offered, as he moved his finger away, “you aren’t angry when you do that”?

“No,” he shook his head. “No, not at all. I’m trying to figure out how to get to a place where we’re both happy.”

“Oh.” She blinked at him. “You could tell me what you want. That would make me happy.”

He laughed. “I want you to be my girlfriend, Ahouva. I don’t want you to just do what I want all the time.”

“Then let me go.” She slapped her hands over her mouth, but it was too late, the words were already out. And he… She peeked over her hands. He was smiling. Grinning.

“Atta girl,” he laughed. “That’s my Ahouva back. C’mon, let it out.”

Let it out was a very vague order, so, since he was smiling, and since he’d promised to warn her before punishing her, she poked him in the chest. “If you want me to act like myself, you can’t order it. Ordering is all about being a good pet. Being an obedient Kept. Ordering me to think about myself is counter-productive and it’s confusing.”

He looked startled, but he didn’t tell her to stop, so she didn’t.

“If you want me to be myself, Basalt, stop worrying about being a good Owner and just be a good person around me. You want to date your Kept… date me. Or something. Talk to me like a person and not a project. I’m not a broken window.” She wrinkled her nose, as her brain caught up with her mouth. “Or just Keep me,” she added, flinching a little bit, “but not like… ordering me to be honest. It sucks.”

He blinked. “Brydan…” He shook his head. “Right. That was different. And you… all right, Ahouva. I’ll try. May I kiss you?”

That seemed like a nice start. “Can I stop letting it out?” she countered, feeling more like herself than she had in a long time.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/298440.html. You can comment here or there.