Drabble #105: Exhale
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labyfic...we had a bit more lively response to the drabble prompt of Drabble 104, with entries by the awesome
aliensamba and me (your intrepid drabble proposer jalenstrix), as well as some commenting love by me.For this prompt, we continue with our one-word/phrase drabble roots:
Exhale
Who's exhaling? Are they relieved, trying to control their temper, meditating, or something else entirely? Tell us all about it. Labyfic-style, of course.
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 (July 2).
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
2021-06-28 13:08 (UTC)Drabble:
Inhale. Exhale. Resist the urge to murder my exceedingly impossible Faerie Lord husband. And his mother.
Jareth’s face was currently imitating an iceberg — a gorgeous thing carved over the eons into craggy, ethereal beauty, lit by the sun to reveal chilling, spectacular depths. And pretty damned immovable. He drummed his fingers against his crossed arms. “It’s perfectly safe.”
“Says you.”
“And my mother. And the rest of my family.”
I snorted. “And I disagree. Sure, it’s a small chance Feanor could get sick from it, but that comes with a hefty downside. I don’t think it’s worth it.”
“An ascendance ceremony doesn’t happen every day, Sarah. This is a family event, and we should be present.”
“And we can be, via crystal, like we’ve been for countless other family events since this magical plague crap hit the ether. The visuals and audio come through just fine.”
“It’s not the same, and you know it.”
“Of course not. But it’s a hell of a lot safer.”
Little curls of frost wafted from Jareth, floating on the subarctic wind he was now emanating. “You can’t wrap him in a bubble forever.”
I flicked a bit of frost from my shoulder. “No, but I can wrap him in a nice protective shield once he’s a little bit older, and that’ll keep him safe from most of the crap we’ll encounter en route.”
“You place too much faith in those protective shields.”
“Maybe. But I sure as hell feel better now that I’ve got one. And so do you — no, don’t even bother to deny it. You didn’t dare leave our realm till you had one, and that’s the truth. And I want the same for our son. And that’s the end of it.”
“It’s unlike you not to see reason.”
“And what reason is that, pray tell? Just your say so!”
“And my family’s.”
“Whom I trust as far as I can throw. The same family that sends assassins after each other as hostess gifts.”
His lips twitched in tacit agreement. “Keeps things lively.”
“You’re impossible.”
“I’m right.”
“Exceedingly impossible.”
“Still right.”
“Oh, shut up.”
Something mischievous flashed behind his eyes. “Make me.”
I blinked at him.
He smiled, the edges of his teeth glinting. “Or I can keep up this pointless bickering until something better to do with my mouth occurs to you.”
Even after all these years, these abrupt Faerie mood changes still made my head spin. “So it’s all up to me?”
He was suddenly behind me, his breath hot in my ear. “How best to employ my mouth for the next several minutes? Certainly.”
I swallowed. “What if it takes longer than several minutes?”
“Even better.” He kissed down the side of my neck.
I closed my eyes. “I’m not backing down on traveling with Feanor, and no amount of sexytimes is going to change that.”
He nipped the hollow of my shoulder. “So you’d rather bicker after all?”
I shivered. “I didn’t say that.”
“Oh, good.”
no subject
2022-07-05 10:19 (UTC)no subject
2022-07-06 22:35 (UTC)Derivation
2022-07-05 10:20 (UTC)Drabble:
Despite the early hour after a trying day Jareth and Sarah were soon lost in each other's embrace. The sky was just starting to lighten by the time they finally disentangled themselves.
Sarah was leaning back on a mountain of pillows as she idly ran fingers through Jareth’s hair, smiling fondly at the man who was currently wrapped around her body. He had his head on her chest and their legs were tangled together, but when he’d earlier tried to roll aside, Sarah had held him firmly in place. Right now she needed his weight to ground her.
Running her fingers along Jareth’s arm and over his shoulder, Sarah cupped his cheek and looked into his mismatched eyes. He returned her smile with the satisfied expression of a man who had happily managed to reduce her to boneless incoherence several times over and stretched up to meet her gentle kiss.
“I take it your day was slightly less eventful than mine, my love.” Sarah sighed as Jareth ran his fingers lightly down her ribs.
“Marginally.” He drew idle patterns across Sarah’s stomach. “While there were no fatalities or immediate dismemberments, the verdict is still out on whether Lady Shey managed to successfully geld her husband.”
Sarah covered her mouth at the inelegant snort the description had startled out of her. “Her son was an obnoxious little shit and I do not regret his death, but I am sorry she lost the boy to her idiot husband’s poorly conceived ambition.” She shook her head with a sigh and ran a finger around the edge of Jareth’s ear, smiling as he shivered in response. “I would have been most displeased if they’d harmed you.”
“My avenging angel.” Jareth curled a possessive hand around her hip. “I might have foolishly mistaken that for an emotional human response rather than a threat if I hadn’t seen evidence of your magnificent performance. I wasn’t aware you had started studying defensive magic.”
“I haven’t.” Jareth’s eyes widened in surprise. ”He threatened our goblins. It’s my duty to protect them.”
Jareth grinned widely. “I suspect the entitled brats we’ve been suffering may start looking for a softer target, but there is a small downside to your actions.” Sarah raised an enquiring eyebrow. “The goblins are tougher than they seem and the moment that fool’s threats escalated beyond words, they would have torn him apart. If you hadn’t held them back, they would have reduced his corpse to a smear on the throne room floor in a matter of seconds. Now that you’ve protected them in such a spectacularly dramatic manner, they’re going to worship you more than they already do.”
“Should I be worried?” Sarah’s brows drew together in concern.
Jareth gave a shrug. “They can be quite inventive in their adulation when they wish to express their admiration and you made quite an impact.”
“They’re going to be clingy for a while, aren’t they?” Jareth huffed his agreement.
“They may not be the only ones, love.”
Re: Derivation
2022-07-11 19:18 (UTC)Re: Derivation
2022-07-11 19:39 (UTC)