Drabble #177: Gigantic

[redwolf]

...we had a nice response to the drabble prompt of Drabble 176, with entries by apachefirecat and redwolf and comments by redwolf

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

Gigantic

Tell us all about it. Labyfic-style, of course.

Given our entries from recent months, let's continue with the suggested limit 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
$your_beautiful_drabble

I'll be running weekly challenges in the space around jalenstrix's monthly challenges.

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.)

Comments

Territory

[redwolf]

Word count: 500

Sarah had no trouble understanding why someone would wish a cassowary away to the goblins, but she did have to wonder about the circumstances of someone having one of the beasts as a pet and if they were entirely sane. While she couldn’t do anything about its previous accommodations and, as it was in fine health, its previous owner was off limits, she did have to find somewhere suitable for it to live Underground.

There were more than enough locations throughout the Kingdom that would fit the bill, but she had the added complication of the castle horde, who were enamoured with the giant, pretty chicken. The goblins' love of chickens was common knowledge, but their concept of play could never be mistaken for gentle and a cassowary was not a bird that would squawk and flutter away once it had reached its limits, as the numerous injuries that had been treated by the castle’s infirmary could attest.

Goblins were a robust species, but sooner or later one of them would push their luck too far in an attempt to win the affections of something best left alone and Sarah suspected that disembowelment might be a bit much for even a goblin’s hardy constitution to recover from.

There was much heated discussion with Jareth, the guardians and various castle advisors, but it ended up being Sarah’s initial Labyrinth run that offered them a viable solution. There was a small wooded region that would provide a suitable environment for a cassowary and the presence of the neighbouring firies would be more than enough to keep the castle horde at bay. Fortunately, the cassowary had managed to habituate itself to life outside of a cage and quickly became adept at foraging for local fruits that suited its diet. It then became a question of whether the two territorial species could tolerate each other's presence.

The few clashes that had occurred were happily less dramatic than the goblin related ones had been. It took the firies a little while to figure out that cassowaries were not terribly fond of attempts to remove their heads. They were also extremely skilled in disarticulating firies and flinging their body parts across a vast distance. Once both parties had sized each other up, they had come to an civil arrangement to share the territory using the favoured solution of pet cats and just ignored each other’s presence.

Sarah had hoped that the truce that had been brokered between the two parties would hold up once the breeding season arrived and that her childhood nemeses could preserve the amicable living arrangement with the murder chicken. In that regard they were lucky that their unexpected arrival had been male, as it took its brooding duties seriously and became a surprisingly good babysitter for the young firies.

When she’d moved Underground Sarah had not foreseen that she would be in the position of stopping things from killing goblins and firies, but life had a way of throwing you the unexpected.

Gift

[apachefirecat]

Word Count: 500



Sarah stood, blinking, unable to believe her eyes. Jareth's smile was slow and coy. He had always enjoyed toying with his wife, and she had not gazed at him in such a manner in such a long time. At least, it seemed like a long time, although he knew all too well that even Sarah's entire mortal lifetime was only a quick blink in the fabric of eternity. "Well," he asked, tossing his blonde head with rightful pride, "what do you think?"

"I..." Sarah stared at the giant, bare orb. "I've never seen one so big!" She had seen her husband do so much, countless incredible things. She knew his power knew hardly any boundaries, but this was beyond anything she would have thought of even his capabilities! "How do you handle a ball so big?" she asked, her dark head tilting to one side as her eyes swept up and down Jareth and the ball.

His smile grew, his fangs sparkling. It was all he could do not to laugh at her wonder. His Sarah had always been a beautiful creature, but she was at her loveliest when she was the most perplexed! "It's simple really," he said with a flick of his regal wrist, "but look closer, Sarah. Look closer and tell me what you see."

"I..." She stepped closer, her eyes narrowing as she tried to gaze into the very depths of the crystal ball taking up the majority of this, a room he had never shown her before. "I see nothing." She frowned, shaking her head. "It's empty!"

She knew, even as she spoke the words, that could not be true. There was always a reason behind every one of Jareth's crystal balls. She had seen them do everything from swiftly failing an entire army to taking her away on a night she'd always remember with bittersweet fondness. Honestly, the fact that he'd poisoned her in order to sweep her away into the ball should no longer bother her. She'd fought her way back to him through everything her own world had to offer.

Jareth's smile grew even wider as he waited patiently.

She had risked everything, betrayed everyone if one listened to her brother tell the story. Colors began swirling within the crystal ball. Sarah stepped closer, then gasped as she saw the image of her brother's face reflected. Toby was getting on in years. He looked so much older than she did now, as she no longer aged down here in the Labyrinth. She saw his wife embrace him, and then further in the depths of the crystal ball, as though he was still some distance away from her brother as they spoke, was her father.

"I cannot give you your world back, Sarah, not without losing you forever." Jareth's words were soft, gentle.

"I've made my decision."

"And I am forever grateful and eternally your slave. This is one way I can gift you to watch over them though. Happy anniversary, my darling!"



The End