Tag Archive | perk: donor

Dragons Next Door: The Dragons Next Door beginning

This is: This week’s donor perk story. It’s also a test beginning for something I’ve been working on – a self-standing, separate Dragons Next Door story. I think the first paragraph comes off a bit juvenile, but here it is.

The dragons next door moved in on the first day of school.

This left Juniper with a bit of a dilemma. On the one hand, she was looking forward to a new year of school. Her new teacher, Miss Milligan, had come into the classroom the last day before summer vacation, along with the other third grade teacher, Mr. Howard. Everyone else had wanted Mr. Howard; he was cool, with sunglasses and jokes from TV. Juniper had been intrigued by Miss Milligan’s storybook, and her long, flowing skirt, old-fashioned and pretty, like Juniper’s mother’s, and her silly hat. When the letter had come from the school, Juniper had danced down the driveway, clutching the letter. She was going to get the wonderful teacher!

And then the morning of the first day of school came, and there on the grass, just over the short stone wall her father had built (the last neighbors had been ogres, and not the best at yard-work), there were dragons! Not just one dragon, but a whole family, four of them, the adults brightly colored, the smaller ones duller-shaded, like grass and water. Dragons!

She hopped over to the wall before her father could stop her, peering over, waving. “Hello!” It was always important to be polite. Her mother had taught her that.

“Juniper!” Just as her father hurried over, the biggest of the dragons looked up. It opened its mouth up, bigger, bigger. Its fangs were longer than Juniper’s arm! It moved its head closer to the fence, slithering on the ground. Its tongue was the same pink as its underbelly scales, forked, like a snake’s. Even its nostrils were huge.

“Hello.” Solemnly, it offered up one claw to Juniper. Very carefully, she took the claw in both her hands and shook.

“Welcome to the neighborhood.”

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/380754.html. You can comment here or there.

Icon Flash: Courting, a story of the Aunt Family [donor perk]

Continuing flash series! I’m going to write one flash for every Icon I have, over 4 LJ accounts, 1 DW, and a whole bunch of not-currently-in-use, until I get bored or run out of icons.

Today’s icon:

Beryl and That Damn Cat/Radar

Icon & Art by Djinni

The Aunt Family has a landing page here See Boy Trouble for an earlier piece about the cat and the necklace.

Beryl’s cat didn’t approve of her new boyfriend, but her necklace did.

This was not a problem she’d imagined herself in, a few short months ago. Then again, she hadn’t really imagined herself en-boyfriended at all, much less also en-catted and en-jewelled with a talking specimen of all three.

At least the boyfriend couldn’t hear the cat or the necklace – yet – and didn’t appear to think it strange that Radar didn’t like him. He had brought treats – a catnip mouse, a small fish, chicken livers – to ply the cat with, along with games and cookies for Beryl’s siblings and flowers for her mother.

“Are you courting me or them?” she teased, as they left the house for their fourth date. She tried to make it sound like a joke, although she wasn’t entirely certain she felt joke-y about it.

“Well…”

That wasn’t helping at all. Only the voice of the necklace-Joseph, the necklace in her pocket and the voice whispering in her ear, reassured her.

::He knows the family. He’s heard of the family, at least. He knows he’s on shaky ground. Be nice to him. Being a man in this family isn’t easy.::

He couldn’t be a man in the family at all, if Beryl was going to be the Aunt. But that was another problem, and one Joseph seemed gleeful about. Right now, her problem was the boy, the flowers he’d brought her mother, and the kiss she wanted from his lips.

“I want your family to like me.” He leaned across his truck slowly, one hand inching up her thigh. “I don’t think flowers will bribe you, though. I think I’ll have to work harder for you.”

::He can stay:: Joseph was pleased; for once, Beryl agreed completely.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/365374.html. You can comment here or there. comment count unavailable

Dinner, a drabble of Space Accountant (Donor Perk)

And a new art of Genique from [personal profile] anke! See full image here!

“Dinner?” Basimontin offered. He was standing in the doorway of the closet that was serving as Genique’s temporary office, leaning, actually, possibly posing.

“Dinner?” She blinked at the stack of data pads. “Yes, dinner. Let me just get this data to First Mate Clyd, and I’ll be with you.”

“Clyd’s already at dinner. Here,” he tossed her a key. “Lock it up and report it to her tomorrow.”

“But she said…”

“Did she say she wanted it done today?”

“She…” Genique shook her head. “Just that she wanted me to handle it before she sent me to the Pit.”

“And you’ve been working since breakfast?” He shook his head. “You’re either crazy or really dedicated.”

“Or want to figure out the system so I don’t end up working here until my grandchildren are dead.” She was being shorter with him than the poor boy deserved. She rubbed her eyes. “Does that dinner come with something caffeinated?”

“There’s coffee, but will you sleep?”

“Who’s sleeping? I’m not done yet.”

“You are. Come on, dinner. I’ll buy you a beer.” He took her arm to guide her, then, embarrassed, dropped it like it was on fire. “Sorry, ah…”

“No harm, no foul.” She locked up the office, tucking the pad she’d used for notes inside her jumpsuit. “Maybe you can help me figure out how this place works.”

He tilted his head and studied her. “The official stuff or the unofficial?”

“Both.” For the first time in hours, Genique smiled. “You’re pirates, after all.”

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/315277.html. You can comment here or there.