Drabble #126: Warmth
Monday, 3 April 2023 21:08![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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labyfic...we had a bit livelier response to the drabble prompt of Drabble 125, with entries by
redwolf and me (your intrepid drabble proposer jalenstrix), and comments by us both as well. Once again, special labyfic love to redwolf for adding entries and comments for many previous drabble prompts. Huzzah!For this prompt, we continue with our one-word/phrase drabble roots:
Warmth
Is this physical warmth or emotional? Who's feeling it (or not feeling it)? How? 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 Monday of next month (May 1).
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. Authors generally write for love.)
Warmth
2023-04-25 11:39 (UTC)Drabble:
Sarah had spent her morning sitting in on a meeting about civil infrastructure, followed by several hours of research in the public library and she had some ideas she wanted to run past Jareth. She had expected to find him in the training room, but it was deserted when she arrived.
As the training room equipment hadn’t been fully stored away, Sarah wondered if he was in the changing room, but she stood at the door of a spacious, well appointed room that had a distinct lack of people. Stepping further into the room, the glass along one wall revealed itself to be a large tiled room and a sauna. It was the sauna where she found the room’s occupants.
Jareth, Rook and Bishop were seated on benches along one side and three of the away team were on the other. Eero and Gan she recognised. She’d heard there was only one female member of the away team, so she assumed Cressida was the other person. What she did notice was that everyone in the sauna was completely naked.
Sarah sat down heavily on one of the benches in the centre of the room and ran her fingers through her hair. Leaving would feel a little like running away, so she decided to wait it out. The room was silent aside from the occasional hiss of steam.
A sudden movement caught her eye and the sauna’s occupants relocated to the tiled room, which turned out to be a communal shower with hidden fixtures.
Sarah could see that Rook’s tattoo has dissipated to make her entire arm look like an abstract pastel watercolour. Jareth and Rook also bore the early signs of what would likely be massive bruises, as well as sporting bite marks on calves and biceps. Bishop’s dark skin made it difficult to ascertain if he was similarly injured or just the sensible party.
She didn’t understand why sparring that resulted in significant soft tissue injury was something Jareth and his guardsmen viewed as stress relief, but provided everyone left the room with all relevant body parts intact, Sarah was happy to ignore their weird bonding rituals.
The three larger guardians finished their ablutions and silently returned to the sauna. It took another couple of minutes for the others to follow suit, and Sarah was surprised to note that Jareth and Rook’s injuries had vanished while she’d been distracted.
Jareth squeezed Bishop’s shoulder as he parted company to join Sarah, sitting beside her as he dried his hair. For a moment Sarah ignored the naked man at her side, but startled at a bark of laughter and looked up to see that Bishop was now half dressed. His loose trousers combined with the gold beads on his braids made him look like a djinn.
“So that’s the sauna.”
Jareth slung the towel around his shoulders. “It helps with muscle relaxation.”
“And everyone is naked?”
“It’s traditional.”
Sarah closed her eyes. Of course it was traditional. What was she thinking?
Re: Warmth
2023-04-25 19:23 (UTC)Re: Warmth
2023-04-25 19:51 (UTC)no subject
2023-04-25 19:22 (UTC)Jareth sighed in pleasure, letting himself sink a little further into the bubbling water. You could just see the line of his collarbone as it disappeared into the bubbles. It was a good line.
He noticed me looking, of course, and waggled his eyebrows.
I laughed softly and began to make my way over to him. All the kids were romping happily in shallower waters a little ways off. We had a moment.
He flicked a little water at me and flashed me more chest. “I’d forgotten there were these lovely warm spots in this spring. The Bog continually surprises with its little oases.”
I froze. “Ummm, honey? That warm spot may be due to our son. You may want to relocate.”
He closed his eyes briefly, and then moved past me faster than thought. I caught a fabulous glimpse of his backside, but alas, it was gone before I could do anything about it.
He grumbled softly a little ways away in decidedly chillier waters. “You’d think I’d know better about bodily fluids in bodies of water, having been monarch to goblins for countless ages.”
“You can be forgiven, I’m sure.”
“Oh? And who will be administering this forgiveness?”
I grinned. “Three guesses. But I might need persuading.”
“Happily, I’m excellent at persuasion.”
“Do tell.”
“I’d much rather show, my love.”
“Even better.”
no subject
2023-04-25 19:54 (UTC)no subject
2023-05-01 19:35 (UTC)