Tag Archive | giraffecall

Kitten Troubles, a story of the Aunt Family for the August Giraffe Call

For dahob‘s prompt

After Charming, Kitten Switch, and Boy Trouble

Aunt Family have a landing page here.

Beryl didn’t worry when Radar wandered off. He was a cat, for one, a tom cat (who would dare get a magical cat neutered? Besides, he knew better than to mark in the house), and he was a magical being on top of that.

When he’d been gone for a week, she started to get a bit concerned, and, although her necklace berated her for it, she started to miss him, too.

::He’ll be back when he’s ready,:: necklace-Joseph reassured her. ::He’ll come slinking back and slide into your life like he’d never left, like that boy.::

“Enough about the boy.” She wanted to glare at the necklace, but what good would that do. “Radar…”

“I have a problem.” Never was her cat’s ability to talk without moving his mouth more clear; he walked in with a kitten scruffed in his mouth, a siamese-looking kitten who was mewling unhappily. Behind him, a black cat Beryl recognized from Crazy Aunt Beatrix’s collection followed, yowling angrily at him.

“You stole a kitten?”

::I told you he was no good.::

“I did not steal her. I fathered her. And she has been getting in no end of trouble.”

“You’re a tom cat, isn’t that what you do?” She ignored Joseph’s inveigling, letting it fade to the buzzing of bees in her mind. The mother cat was harder to ignore. “Can you let her have her kitten back?”

“It’s too late for that.” This was a new voice, a lavender-and-tea voice, young, female, and very prissy. The kitten in Radar’s mouth was staring at her. “I’m here now.”

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/389887.html. You can comment here or there.

Coffee Break, a story of the Black House for the May Giraffe Call (@Rix_Scaedu)

From [personal profile] rix_scaedu‘s commissioned prompt. This comes directly in order with the rest of the Black House story (see tag), the same day as First Day of Work.

Content warnings: d/s and sexual content.

If her Master gave her a reference when her time with him was through, Pretty/Yaminah would have more than earned it. Being his executive assistant was an exhausting and exhaustive position, as much so, if not more, than any position she’d taken for him in his private rooms. Doing it backwards and in heels, the bones of her corset and the tightness of her skirt never letting her forget who she was, that almost made it easier. At least the armor and the prison of her suit kept her upright, never faltering, never flinching. She needed that.

Her Kraken, her Master, treasured her, and, even if she had not arrived in the same car as him, that was quickly apparent to all others in the office. That, of course, came with at least three flavors of jealousy from all sides: those who wanted to be in her Master’s bed (or had been), those who would not go that far but envied her the status it clearly gave her (without understanding, of course, what it took her to earn it) and wanted the Master’s eye for more professional pursuits, and those who envied her Master because he had her.

“Enjoy it while it lasts.” Lydia from Accounts Receivable was a lovely, svelte woman whose beauty was entirely covered by her poison attitude. “He gets bored quickly.”

And she would still be his, until her two years had passed. Yaminah smiled at Linda and thanked her for the advice.

“Does he put you up in that mansion of his, or is he pretending to be virtuous and paying for an apartment?” That was Greg in Legal, who was still very young and very eager. Yaminah leaned close to his ear, knowing that gave him full view of her cleavage.

“I will pretend you did not ask that question, and not tell Mr. Krake you’re asking about his personal life, how’s that?”

The bobbing of his Adam’s apple was something to behold. “Uh…”

“But I need help with this contract. Something smells fishy about it.”

“Fishy?” He found footing, and it was in a genteel smirk. “Is that the legal term?” Her cleavage was still at eye level though, both tempting him and reminding him that he’d overstepped. He looked over the contract, and found the fishiness she’d been worried about.

“It’s a pity he resorts to nepotism instead of hiring internally. Still, welcome to the company.” One look at Carrie in Marketing told Yaminah/Pretty why she wasn’t the Master’s assistant. She was prettier than Pretty, dressed much the same (although Pretty doubted there was steel surrounding her; she didn’t need it. Her spine was solid iron), even made up much the same, as if the Master had been taunting her by dressing his assistant, and perhaps he had.

“Thank you, ma’am.” Carrie, it was clear, was a control freak. “Please let me know if I can assist you in any manner.” The Master might enjoy taking a control freak to bed, but she served him better being unbroken, in the position she currently held.

She would have said, or thought, that dealing with people was even harder than being Mr. Krake’s assistant, except that dealing with people was why he had brought her on. So she smiled at everyone, sweetheart or jerk or miserable waste of space, and spent a few minutes socializing with every person she was sent to speak with.

Her employer, more than any before him, understood what she could do, and what she needed. He wouldn’t expect miracles until he’d given her the tools to perform them; the tool she needed most was to know people, so he made sure that she spent her first morning on the job getting to know as many of his employees as possible.

After her third time of being nearly directly called a slut and her fourth inappropriate touch, Yaminah/Pretty was getting a bit sick of knowing people. She kept it from her face while she walked back to Mr. Krake’s office, her chin high, her smile warm and friendly. Only when his door was closed did she allow herself to sag at all.

He took one look and knew. “I believe it’s time for a coffee break. Lock the door, Pretty Girl. I have no appointments for the next twenty minutes, is that correct?”

She glanced at his schedule for the look of the thing, although she already had today’s itinerary memorized. “Twenty-five, sir.” His office door locked with a double deadbolt. Nobody was getting in without breaking the door down. The windows, she had noted earlier, were curtained and mirrored as well. They were as private here as they were in his suite.

“Very good.” He nodded at her in approval. “Now kneel, lovely thing. “

The order was a shock to her system. She knelt, eyes half-closing chin up, throat with its tiny chain bared. “Sir?”

“This is your coffee break, Pretty Girl. This is, as well, my break. I’d say we’d both earned it, wouldn’t you?”

“Of course, sir.”

“Very, very good, Pretty. Take that jacket off, and the blouse. We’ll leave the rest on; this is just a break, after all.”

Her fingers fumbled on the first button, but by the third, she was moving smoothly again; she was Pretty again, and her goal in life was simply to please her master.

By the time she had the clothing off – he took shirt and jacket from her and draped them over a chair – he had his pants unbuttoned and down. “That’s my pretty girl. Hands at the small of your back. Perfect posture, my treasure, just like that.”

Just like that. She could do it, just like this, just like he wanted. “Yes, Master.”

“I love the way you sound when you say that. That’s my girl. Now, I believe you know what to do with this.”

She smiled, because he was smiling. “Yes, my Master. Of course I do.”

“Good girl. Show me.”

She did, putting her all in to it, keeping her posture perfect, her back straight, her hands clasped behind her back. He tasted, as he always did, clean, fresh, with the faintest suggestion of the sea. He smelled like himself, the sweetest scent she had ever known.

Her heels left small imprints in her ass, even through the skirt. The corset held her perfectly straight, and held her breath to small careful rhythms. The skirt held her knees close together, and the pose gave her no room to deal with the warmth between her legs. She had no concerns. He would give her release when he wanted her to have it.

She took him in, using every trick that he had taught her, and every trick she’d learned before him. She wanted his pleasure to be perfect. She wanted him to be perfectly pleased with her.

“That’s it. That’s it, lovely.” His groans were the reward she’d been asking for. “That’s it, yes. Yes. Perfect, Pretty.”

When he helped her to her feet, he was wearing a broader smile than she remembered seeing ever before. “You are truly a treasure, Pretty Girl.” His thumb brushed across her lip and chin, wiping off a small smear of his seed. “Did you enjoy your coffee break?”

The warmth between her legs was nearly unbearable. “Yes, Master.” And she was, as he’d known she’d be, relaxed and confident once again.

“Good girl. Go get us each a coffee, and we’ll talk about the Martinez meeting.”

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/389137.html. You can comment here or there.

August Giraffe Call: Fuzzy Adventures and Quests

The call for prompts is now OPEN!

I am now taking prompts on the themes of Fuzzy (and/or) Adventures & Quests. Leave one or many prompts, and I will write (over the next month) at least one microfic (150-500 words) to each prompter (prompts may be combined)

Prompts can be related to one of my extant settings (See my landing page-landing page) or they can be for something completely different.

Prompting is free! But Donations are always welcome.

If you have donated, I will write to one extra prompt of yours.

In addition, for each $5 you donate, I will write an additional 500 words to the prompt(s) of your choice.

If I get two new prompters or one new donator, I will write a setting piece (setting chosen by poll) explaining something about the prompts.

At $30 in donations, T & I will get take-out!

At $40 in donations, I will post an additional 1000-2000-word fic on the subject of the audience’s choice.

At $50, anyone who donated $7.50 or more will have a copy of “Alder by Post” mailed to them if they wish

At $70, I will write two extra 500-word continuations – chosen by prompters picked by random number generator

At $100, I will write three extra 500-word continuations – chosen by prompters picked by random number generator

At $130, I will record a podcast of an audience-choice story and post it for everyone to Listen to.

For more about the Rabbit Safari, click here

For more information on Giraffe Calls, see the landing page.


Donate below<

I also take payment by Dwolla

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/389027.html. You can comment here or there.

The Rabbit Safari

This Autumn’s goal for Giraffe Call monies is A Rabbit Safari!

Here’s a sheet. And a sheet with Theocracy.

My grandmother gave me those sheets when my parents built their house; I was 5. That makes them thirty-one years old. And they’re in bad shape, but I love them.

My mother recently brought down my childhood bed, which now lives in the upstairs as a guest bed. Before it was my childhood bed, it was my uncle’s bed. So I’d like something that reminds me of my childhood sheets on the bed. Enter Spoonflower, to have new pillowcases printed from the old pattern.

The goal for the room re-do is $250.

At $45, I’ll have fabric printed. I’ll post two pictures of the kittens being adorable in the guest room I’m trying to renovate.

When it reaches $70, I’ll get sheets to coordinate. I’ll post more kitten pictures. 😉

$100 lets me add pretty blankets and bunny pillows. I’ll post two more pictures of reader’s choice, anything house-related.

$125 gets me to a nice matching table lamp.

At this level, anyone who donated $20 or more can request a bunny sachet, tiny stuffed knit bunny, or another bunny-related solid item mailed, or an additional 500-word story which will involve a bunny in some manner.

An additional $125, bringing me to $250, I can put a rug over the hideous linoleum.

When I get there, I will post an additional 2500-word story which will in some way involve bunnies.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/388853.html. You can comment here or there.

Bowen’s Summer Continued

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.

Giraffe Call Upcoming!

I have been taking suggestions for this year’s Giraffe Call series – the Rabbit Safari.

The call will begin this Saturday, August 18th.

Current topic suggestions include:
Storms and droughts. x2
Lost or forgotten things. x3 Note: I have done “Lost and Found” once before
Fight ALL the oppressions!
Fuzzy? x3
Skins and furs
Legacies and fate
adventures and quests, possibly with furred people. X3

(x2 count things that people have said “Yes, that!” to)

What would YOU like the call to be about?

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/386603.html. You can comment here or there.

Beyond, a story of Bug Invasion for the June Giraffe Call

For [personal profile] ysabetwordsmith‘s continuation of Poison, a Bug Invasion story

The symbiotes had been talking about poison.

Paula couldn’t always hear everything; sometimes her symbiote shut her out. But this conversation just kept going on, so she could fill in the parts she missed easily enough.

%*&^ …and it tastes like the nectar… ^&*%

%*&^ …but it deteriorates their neural processes… ^&*%

%*&^ …the HomeLand sun never left one feeling this relaxed… ^&*%

%*&^ …too much can cause failure of the organs. It kills them. Look at this one; it is killing it. And it keeps drinking. Its symbiote should stop it. ^&*%

%*&^ No no no no no no no no, no no! ^&*%

%*&^ …It is poison for us as well? ^&*%

%*&^ Not poison. Pleasure. Sweet Pleasure. Pleasure that must keep going. ^&*%

%*&^ No no no no no no no no, no no! ^&*%

And so it went. Fallon’s symbiote was further gone than Fallon was, chittering angrily at anyone who got close. It, not Fallon, was going to be the one who tipped his body over the killing point.

“Addiction.” She wrested control of her body back from her symbiote – it was easier, the more sugar she ate. It got jittery. “Do you have addiction?”

Eli’s symbiote blinked Eli’s eyes at her. “We don’t have that word.”

“You wouldn’t. It isn’t a hive word, it’s an individual problem.”

“Is it why you eat poison?”

“We eat poison for pleasure. I have told you that already. It is why we don’t stop eating poison when it’s killing us.” Or gambling. Or shopping. Or hoarding.

“This addiction makes you… Keep doing pleasurable things?”

“Or things that are normally useful. Eating. Storing for winter.”

“Why do you have addiction?” Eli’s symbiote was becoming uncomfortable – its eyes were twitching – but so was Eli. His hands were jittering and his shoulders beginning to shudder. She recognized the symptoms – the subconscious found tiny ways to take over.

She couched her next words carefully. Eli had less control than many of them, and he was generally twitchier and more secretive. “I don’t know what happens that makes people more likely to be addicted. Nobody’s entirely certain. Some people think it’s upbringing, or neurochemicals, or some combination.”

“Nerochemicals…” The symbiote went off on a long string of the bug language. Paula’s brain-rider provided imperfect translation; all she could tell right now was that the bug was very upset.

Finally her bug took over.

%*&^ You are reading what she is saying incorrectly. ^&*%

%*&^ If their brains are different then they are buhdeparp… ^&*%

That word had no translation Paula could understand. Outside? Sideways? Beyond? Beyond what?

%*&^ You see that this is not true. They are within. Held to their families. They have no buhdeparp ^&*% Paula’s voice was very calm, very soothing, as her symbiote tried to convince Eli’s of… something. That their addicts weren’t beyond something?

%*&^ But they do not know. If they are truly different… ^&*%

%*&^ They are not. ^&*% This time, Paula could hear the bleed of thoughts. If they were, perhaps this would mean freedom.

Freedom? For their jailers?

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/383029.html. You can comment here or there.

The Empress who would be Goat-Wife, a story for the June Giraffe Call

For [personal profile] anke‘s continuation (won in the drawing in June) of The Goat-Bride.

This story is set in the early days of the Callennan life on Reiassan.

The book landed on the table with a meaty thump.

“This is not the way it will be.” The Emperor of the Callentate of North Reiassannon-land, Eszhettozh, son of Emanek, stared at his second eldest grand-daughter. “This is not the way it should be.”

“This is the way it has always been.” His grand-daughter stared back at him, her gaze as level, her voice as firm. She set her hand on the book of their people’s stories, as if to draw strength from the síra of a rock or tree.

“And this is not how it will be this time. You are my heir. Your mother and your sister and brother have died. You are the next child of my eldest daughter’s loins. This is the way it is.”

“Then allow my mother’s brother to inherit. I will go to the goats, to be their bride. Such is the way it has always been.”

The stared at each other, the grey-bearded Emperor and the long-braided young grand-daughter, alike in stubbornness, alike in calm.

This is the way it has always been, said the girl, knowing full well that the first Goat-Bride had argued, instead, this is the way it will be now.

This is the way the road goes now, said the Emperor, knowing full well that his throne had been built on tradition as well as on arms. And they glared at each other, knowing full well that both could not win.

“I will go to the goats.” []’s voice did not crack.

“Then who will be Empress in your stead? I will live long, but not even the mountains live forever.”

“My mother’s brother should be Emperor,” the stubborn girl repeated. “He is next in line.”

“The grandmothers will not stand for another male. They have declared it so.” Some forces even the Emperor of the Callentate must bow to, and the elder women of the Tribes (even if they were no longer Tribes) were a force the way the ocean and the rain and the mountains were forces. They could not be budged quickly, and to try was to waste energy better left on learning to traverse their whims.

The Emperor did not expect to find his own granddaughter such a stony force as well. “Your mother’s brother cannot become Emperor,” he repeated. “You are my heir, and cannot go to the goats.”

“I will be a Goat-wife. The gods have witnessed it.” [] did not stop her foot, but she nodded her head firmly. “The sword and the goat shall be my home and my family. Someone else must rule.”

“But you are my heir. You must take the throne.” Back and forth they would have kept going, neither more willing to bend than the rock they stood on, had not the youngest of the Emperor’s advisors stepped up.

“The Callentate has many children. Let the Emperor’s third child take the throne.”

“She is old,” dismissed the ancient man. “She will not rule long.”

“Then her third child, who is a girl. Let her rule.”

Emperor and grand-daughter goat-wife shared a look. “Your first child cannot inherit. Your first child’s first daughter cannot inherit. Let your third child’s third child take the throne.”

“So let it always be.” They had come to a place where they could smile, and they did so, like the sun lighting on the ocean.

And so it was, until the days came for change again. But that is a tale of another day.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/379267.html. You can comment here or there.

July Giraffe Call Summary

2012-07-14
Theme: Addergoole Summer Camp
9 stories written.
9 total prompters, 0 new
1 people donated a total of $20, 0 of which were new.
$0 of donations were left unclaimed.
Call: http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/370598.html

At the Zoo (LJ) Ayla, Ioanna, and Yngvi
Long Summer (LJ) Kendra
Summer Camp (LJ) Finnegan and Efrosin
The Ropes (LJ) Rozen!
A cy’Linden Summer (LJ) Jamian and Manira
Seeing Ghosts (LJ) Finnegan
Monster Camp (LJ) Finnegan and Efrosin
Three Summers (LJ) Agatha, Acacia, and Shadrach (as kids)
SummerTime Memories (LJ) – Jamian and Ty

We reached $20, which means two people may choose a 500-word continuation. The Random Numbers Say it’s…

[personal profile] eseme
and
[personal profile] imaginaryfiend!

Please collect your 500 words at the service desk!

[personal profile] anke and [personal profile] ysabetwordsmith, please collect your 500 words from June as well!

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/376619.html. You can comment here or there.

Summertime Memories

For [personal profile] eseme‘s prompt

Jamian and Ty are characters in Addergoole


Summer between Years 5 & 6 of the Addergoole School

“I’ve been thinking about the kids.”

Tya’s hands wandered over Jamian’s body as he spoke, the conversation so out of tune with what his hands were doing that Jamian thought, maybe, that his lover wasn’t really paying attention to either.

“Our kids?” he offered, trying not to say my kids.

“Our kids. us as kids. Growing up in this world.”

“Heavy thoughts.” He moved Ty’s hand up to his shoulder.

“I try once in a while, you know. And I was thinking about this summer camp Regine runs…”

“Ty, they’re still breastfeeding. They can’t walk or talk yet.”

“Well, not this summer, but they’ll grow up, you know. And Mies is almost old enough…”

“And Anise has Mies well in hand. Besides, is a Regine summer camp the best idea?”

“Well, I mean, it would be your decision, of course.” It was clear that grated on Ty, even without empathy. “But it didn’t do me any harm.”

“Ty… love, lover, you grew up with no idea of what the outside world was like.”

“And you grew up out there, and spend your childhood thinking you were a freak.”

“Well, I’m not exactly normal.”

“And it worries me, you going around thinking that, with our babies both the same as we are.”

“And it worries me you thinking half-breed is somehow inferior, around our half-breed babies.” Jamian propped himself up on an elbow, no longer feeling like being petted. “Ty, what’s this really about?”

Ty sighed. “I keep putting my foot in it about the kids, don’t I? I miss them, Jame’. I miss you.”

“You’re welcome to visit any time you want.”

“But it’s not… they were mine, and then they weren’t.” He sulked lightly. “You don’t even remember summer camp, do you?”

“Kinda? I mean, I went to camp a couple summers.”

“So did I. Same camp, Jame’. I remembered you the first time I saw you, here.”

Same camp… Jamian blinked at Ty. “That was… oh, wow, that was you. I had such a crush on him… uh. You!” He’d tried to forget that, all these years.

And it was the right thing to say. Ty grinned, his hands sliding down between Jamian’s legs. “You do remember. I’m glad.”

Jamian surrendered control once again. It seemed to make Ty happy, and it cost him nothing, here, in bed. As he ran his fingers through Ty’s curls, though, he remembered, faintly, the golden curls he’d tried for so long to forget.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/375653.html. You can comment here or there.