Drabble #117: Balance

[jalenstrix]

...we had a nice response to the drabble prompt of Drabble 116, with entries by redwolf and me (your intrepid drabble proposer jalenstrix), and commenting love by us both as well. Hurrah! Again special labyfic love to redwolf for adding entries for many previous drabble prompts. Very fun reads!





For this prompt, we continue with our one-word/phrase drabble roots:

Balance

What's in balance, out of balance, or needs to be balanced? Has someone lost their balance or perhaps is trying to regain it? Does something have a balance that needs to be paid? Tell us all about it. Labyfic-style, of course.

Proposer's note July 13: I only just realized we did this prompt pretty recently in February. My apologies! (I blame postpartum brain and sleep deprivation from triplets and a toddler.) At any rate, I'll try to actually pick a prompt we haven't done so recently before (or at all) for next time.



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 (August 5).

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.)

Comments

Disruption

[redwolf]

Word count: 500
Drabble:

Market day in Goblin City was always a cacophony of sound, a riot of colours and smells. People came from across the kingdom to sell and barter their wares, to trade gossip and exchange ideas. The chess set were Sarah’s escorts for the day.

Jareth had been correct about the castle’s goblins being enamoured with her after the recent assassination attempt and Rook was running interference. She was following Sarah and Bishop in wolf form with a large number of small goblins riding her like a fairground pony. Whenever one slid off her back, it would run ahead of the enormous wolf so she could flip it back into position with a quick nudge from her snout.

Sarah loved wandering the stalls to see what was in season. The crops destined for export she knew from trade negotiations, but the tiny family orchards and farms always brought in something interesting.

Bishop was at her side providing information on any unfamiliar produce and whether it had culinary uses, was edible or toxic to some or all races, or if it had craft, medicinal or magical applications.

Aside from the educational aspect of the markets, Sarah was working her way through the food stalls. She was almost bouncing in excitement when she spotted one of her favourites. An elf family from a village to the north of the Labyrinth were master bakers and confectioners and, as their product range was based on seasonal availability, it was always a surprise to see which treats they were selling.

A large selection of the delicacies were purchased and Sarah magicked most of them back to the castle. She would have loved to share them with Jareth, but he could sniff out dessert faster than a bloodhound and she had ways of managing a husband on a sugar high that were almost as delightful. Bishop thanked the stallholder and they continued on their way.

“I thought that was something between couples, but it’s a British thing, isn’t it?”

“What’s that, love?” Bishop passed her a sugar dusted cake.

“Love, darling, sweetheart.” Sarah closed her eyes, groaning as her taste buds rejoiced.

“It’s just polite.” Bishop moved her out of the path of a cart being pulled by a pair of goats. “But there’s also context.”

“Like when the three of you call each other more colourful names?” Sarah stepped over a fresh goat deposit.

“Very much so.” He flashed his sharp toothed grin.

Everyone looked up in response to a troll yelling at a stallholder, a rail thin man who looked frozen in fright.

Bishop caught Sarah’s elbow to halt her as Rook slipped swiftly past them. She reached the disturbance and stood as a human, her goblin riders swarming the troll to bother it out of the way. Rook wrapped her arms around the man, who clung to her like she was a lifeline, before they both vanished.

“What was that about? That poor man looked shell shocked.”

“That’s fairly close to the truth, love.”

[jalenstrix]

Word count: 454
Drabble:


Jareth looked positively pale, which was saying something, given his natural alabaster skin tone. “How did it get to this?”

“Look, I didn’t expect to be floating this balance at this point either.”

He shook his head, unidentifiable black crackles of nothingness falling off him like shadowy snow. “Magical balances aren’t the same as financial balances. There are consequences if you keep one around like this, Sarah.”

I flicked a spot of slithering void off my wrist. “Your understanding of mortal financial balances is weak.”

“And you’re changing the subject. A magical balance must be paid forthright.”

“Then talk to your mother. I thought she always boasted about her endless reserves. And didn’t we spend for a good cause?”

He drummed his fingers together, dislodging a drop of black ooze. “I doubt she can be prevailed upon in this case.”

“Why not? This whole thing was her idea.”

“Let me rephrase: prevailed upon without imposing her own draconian restrictions. Do you really want her dictating how we do things?”

I shivered involuntarily.

“Precisely. We have to pay this now ourselves and magic within our means going forward.” He shook off an oily tendril that had grabbed at him from behind.

I swatted away another one that reached for me from the wall. “I admit, these are worse than mortal debt collectors. Sucking away your soul is only figurative for the mortal ones.”

He snorted, stomping firmly on a shadowy thorn that had twisted up from the castle stones.

“Fine, so how do we generate the magic we owe them?”

He rubbed a hand across his forehead. “Something that generates excess magic spontaneously would be best, so we minimize the harm.”

A semi-terrible idea struck me. “Like the metric fuck-ton of wild magic the triplets give off regularly that interferes with you using your own magic?”

He blinked at me. “If we could actually collect it in one place….yes.”

“And this isn’t like us selling them off or anything, right? It’s just magic that gets dumped into the realm already, and they don’t actually use it themselves.”

“Yeeees…though we don’t know what else in the realm may be using it. Removing that could have its own nasty repercussions.”

I elbowed a spiny tentacle that whipped out from the wall. “I’ll take the nasty I don’t know over the nasty currently springing from the shadows trying to eat me.”

“You always were the brave one, weren’t you?”

“That’s me, Sarah the Brave. Shall we go siphon off our offspring’s excess to good purpose?”

“And never get ourselves into this predicament again. Yes, do let’s.”

“That’s my adaptable husband.”

He gave me a quick kiss, hot with promises for later. “Just one more service we offer.”