Drabble #68: Merry

[jalenstrix]

...we again had a quieter response to the drabble prompt of Drabble 67, with entries by me (your intrepid drabble proposer jalenstrix) and the terrific 3iggy, who also both represented with the commenting love.

Mwah! But, oh my larger drabbling labyfic collective, come back to ussssssssss! We miss you.



For this prompt, we continue with our one-word drabble roots, focusing on a word that can be associated with the month of May:

Merry

Oh, the merry month of May...do tell us exactly how and why it's so merry. All the merriment. All of it.





Given our entries from last month, let's up the limit for this month to 400 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 (June 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.)

Comments

[jalenstrix]

Word count: 391

“Here’s a health to the company…”

I knew the words so well by this point in the Renn Faire season, I could have sung them in my sleep. So I really can’t blame the ale for my sudden stutter when an all-too-familiar velvet voice picked up the next line: “...and one to my lass.” That voice continued blithely on as a finely-gloved hand touched its fingers to my ale glass. “Let’s drink and be merry all out of one glass.”

So what do you do when the Faerie villain-heartthrob of your teenage years appears next to you out of the blue at a Renn Faire and starts singing suggestive lyrics in your general direction?

Clearly, you join in that singing, because he has a damned fine voice. “Let’s drink and be merry, all grief to refrain. For we may or might never all meet here again.” Our voices twined in delightful counterpoint as the chorus wound to a close.

I turned to look at him, and he was just as breathtaking I remembered. Sunlight hair, patrician features, lean sculpted limbs, check. The period garb was new, but not too different from some of the things I’d seen him in before. Leather pants were definitely a check. I dragged my eyes up to his with some effort and tried for nonchalance. “Fancy meeting you here?”

His smile was devilry incarnate. “I did, so I am.”

I blinked at that. “You don’t write, you don’t call, and now you want to meet up so we can, uh...drink and be merry all out of one glass?”

He shrugged. “Is that a problem?”

“Well...we didn’t exactly part on the best of terms.”

Another shrug. “It’s been a decade. You invite all my subjects over on a regular basis.” He waved a hand to stop my stumbling apology. “I’m not here for recrimination. All grief to refrain, Sarah.”

“So you’re here to, what, patch things up between us?”

“It was a thought.” His fingers ran across the top of my hand. “We should get off on a better foot, don’t you think? I’ve always liked you, Sarah Williams.”

I swallowed hard at the shiver that ran through me at his touch. “Well, let’s just see how much I like you these days, shall we?”

His smile promised so many things. “Do very much let’s.”

[redwolf]

He turns up to sing with her in leather trousers and she has questions? Sarah needs to reset her priorities 🦊🧡

[3iggy]

😳 That’s certainly merry! Love it ❤️

[jalenstrix]

Hee, thank you!!

Plume

[redwolf]

Word count: 500
Drabble:

Sarah had been fascinated to see how ceramics were cast compared to being hand built or thrown and could see the value in being able to quickly make a series of identical items that still had a high production value, especially if they needed to be produced when the artist wasn’t available.

“What was going on in the garden when we met?” Sarah looked across at Bishop as he worked and watched Angel in her peripheral vision.

Angel tossed her head back with a laugh. “I want to knit a hat and Rook promised to show me the long tail cast on, but I hate circular needles and needed to cast onto regular needles before transferring to double pointed needles, but I don’t have long enough regular needles in the correct gauge. And I can see your eyes glazing over.” Sarah waved an apology as she stifled a smile. “Needless to say, I was a little frustrated.”

Pulling a small chunk off the remains of the clay she’d been working with earlier, Angel rolled it into a ball, then passed it to Sarah before starting another one. “Do you have any experience in working with clay?”

“There was a catastrophic attempt at throwing a pot that’s best not mentioned.” Sarah glanced at Bishop, who turned back to his glazing while politely refraining from laughing, and started to copy the way Angel was rolling the ball of clay. She followed her actions as she pressed her thumbs into the top, then took the proffered wooden tool and made the same indents, before finishing with a couple of small holes in the thumbprints. She giggled in delight at the tiny owl that sat in her hand. “He’s adorable.”

Angel sliced off several more chunks of clay remnants and laid them out for Sarah. “Do it again. A dozen should do nicely.” She wiped her hands off on her overalls and watched Sarah at work.

With her tongue poking out in concentration, Sarah made a second owl, before she realised what Angel had said. “They’ll do nicely for what?” She placed it down carefully and started on another.

“I’ll put them in with my foxes to bisque fire them.” Sarah raised an eyebrow in query as she worked the clay. “You’ve only been working with glazing so far?” Sarah nodded, rolling another ball of clay in her hands. “You’ve seen the little sample discs on each container?” Sarah nodded again. “They stay with the containers. When you need to experiment with finishes or test glazes before you finalise them, you’ll need your own blanks to use as a base. Those little owls are quick to make and a good size to use for glaze testing.”

“That’s really helpful. I was thinking of using some of the tiles I was working on this morning, but these will be better for testing the glazes I’ve been using on the pottery items.” With a wide smile, Sarah could picture rows of the tiny, colourfully glazed owls.