Drabble #95: Adaptation
Friday, 7 August 2020 11:46![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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labyfic...we had a quieter response to the drabble prompt of Drabble 94, with an entry by me (your intrepid drabble proposer
jalenstrix). For this prompt, we continue with our one-word/phrase drabble roots:
Adaptation
Who's adapting? Adapting to what? Why and why now? What contortions (mental, physical, metaphysical, or otherwise) do they have to go through to make that adaptation? Tell us all about it labyfic-style!
Given our entries from recent months, let's continue with the suggested limit for this month of 500 words. Though remember that shorter pieces are most definitely welcome!
Your entry should take the following format, posted as a comment on this entry:
Word count: # of words
Drabble: $your_beautiful_drabble
I'll aim to get the next drabble challenge out on the first Friday of next month (September 4).
I'm also very happy to take suggestions if something in particular strikes your fancy -- comment on this post or PM me with your suggestions. You can see our current collected suggestions here.
Remember: Feedback is LOVE. So do reply to your fellow labyficcers' drabbles if so inclined. (Though be careful of concrit unless specifically okayed by the author beforehand.)
no subject
2020-08-28 19:40 (UTC)Drabble:
“What do we do about this?” I held Feanor up so Jareth could see what had happened and figure out a way to fix it. This had to be some kind of magical weirdness, maybe a curse.
Jareth blinked slowly at his son and then smiled. “Nothing.”
“What do you mean nothing? Do you not see your son’s feet? Or rather, what used to be his feet?” I waved both toddler-sized talons in Jareth’s direction for emphasis.
“I can see them quite well. They’re rather adorable actually.”
“They are not adorable. They are scaly clawed raptor toes where your son’s feet used to be.”
“Mmhmm. Peregrine falcon, if I’m not mistaken. Very adaptive for grabbing things in the nursery.”
I closed my eyes briefly and took a steadying breath.“What do you know that I don’t?”
“Tsk, that could fill libraries.”
“About this in particular, you insufferable man.”
He waved several fingers in front of Feanor, deftly dodging the tiny raptor claws. “You may recall my preferred animal shape. And the sort of feet that shape has.”
“I do.”
“Well then, there you are. Metamorphosis is heritable. He’s experimenting.”
“Uh huh. Great. Can he change back?”
“Eventually I’m sure.”
I set Feanor down and massaged my forehead as the tension slowly drained out of me. “And what do we do in the meantime? And what if he gets stuck?”
“Have a little faith in your son. Besides, having those feet for awhile won’t harm him.”
I dragged my hand over my face. “He’s only just figured out how to walk with human feet.”
“He’ll adapt. Won’t you, my fine lad?”
Feanor shrieked with delight and made an avian hop towards his father.
Jareth arched an eyebrow. “See?”
I bumped my head several times against Jareth’s shoulder. “One day, your Faerie smugness is going to bite you right in the a-s-s.”
“And what a day that shall be, likely right after Feanor learns to spell.”
“Heaven help us all then.”
“We’ll adapt. Where is your faith, my love?”
“I may have left it near my good sense when I married you.”
He kissed the top of my head as we watched Feanor hop to a desk, jump up, and grip the edge beautifully. “Feel better yet?”
“Maybe.”
“Is there anything else I might do to help you...relieve tension?” Fingers ghosted over the side of my neck, drifting along my collarbone.
“I’m sure you’ll think of something. You’re so adaptive.”
“Flattery will get you everywhere.”
“It better. I have some serious tension that needs relieving.”
“When’s this little lad’s nap?”
“Imminently, I hope.”
He brushed a courtly kiss across my knuckles that ended in a sharp bite. “Then I propose some tension relief imminently thereafter.”
Little jolts of excitement zinged beneath my skin. “Your plan is a good plan. Clearly why I married you. You have good plans.”
“The best plans.”
“Definitely the best plans.”
no subject
2022-09-20 08:32 (UTC)no subject
2022-10-03 18:50 (UTC)Inadvertent
2022-09-20 08:33 (UTC)Drabble:
When Jareth suggested dinner before attending the gig, Sarah had been expecting a restaurant, but had to admit that eating fish and chips from paper wrapped bundles was surprisingly delicious. She was quietly confident that she’d made the right decision in shooting down eel pies as a dinner suggestion, despite her companions' enthusiasm, as the thought turned her stomach.
Perhaps it was the company that made dinner so enjoyable. Rather than an unexpected husband, Rook’s partner Above turned out to be someone she worked with, and even if she did live with him, he appeared to have eyes only for Bishop. Grae was a tall Australian and with his dark hair and eyes he didn’t exactly fit her surfer stereotype, but his accent was still adorable. While Sarah had expected to learn about another part of Rook’s life, it turned out that Rook and Bishop worked together at the same place, but they were based in different countries. Even more surprising was the news that most of their guardsmen were also employed there.
The gig itself was a blast, but she privately thought that it was Jareth and Rook’s enjoyment of the show that really made it fun. Their enthusiasm was contagious as they all wound down at a nearby pub before heading home.
The visit to the pub would have been slightly less exciting if a shifty barman hadn’t mistakenly assumed Sarah was part of a hen’s night and spiked their round of drinks, but she was impressed at the quietly efficient way that Grae and her guardsmen worked together. They had seen the man’s behaviour and made a discreet call to local authorities to deal with the situation. Sarah grinned when she saw the bartender being escorted off the premises between two very serious looking men that she wouldn’t have looked twice at if they hadn’t been pointed out to her.
The incident would have provided a novel coda to the evening except Jareth’s curiosity had gotten the better of him when he decided to conduct an experiment in how date rape drugs impacted fae physiology and he was now more than a little tipsy.
As they headed to the nearest portal it became obvious that Jareth’s equilibrium was a little off. Sarah handed off Jareth wrangling duty to Rook after he almost sent them under a bus when a gaggle of giggling hens tottered past with a loud series of creatively lewd propositions they would be happy to deliver on if the call of the next pub wasn’t quite so strong.
The small guardsman was strong enough to keep him moving in the right direction and she knew how to channel his attention. Fortunately, they were not in a residential area as the neighbours may have been displeased to have their sleep interrupted by the singing. Bishop, on the other hand, was entwined with a very tactile Australian. Sarah shook her head and wondered how she’d ended up as the grown up on this little Above adventure.
Re: Inadvertent
2022-10-03 18:51 (UTC)Re: Inadvertent
2022-10-03 20:01 (UTC)