Drabble #184: Poison

[redwolf]

...we had a nice response to the drabble prompt of Drabble 183, with entries by apachefirecat and redwolf and comments by apachefirecat and redwolf

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

Poison

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

Volubility

[redwolf]

Word count: 500

Sarah had been pondering what to do about her most annoying advisor for a while. While it was tempting to bog him, there were likely family members who would not appreciate the lingering reminder of his punishment, so she shunted that idea to the back of her mind for the moment.

What she’d overheard matched her own experience with the man; he was knowledgeable, just insufferable. Getting any of that knowledge out of him tended to involve wading through a firehose of obsequiousness for an occasional nugget of useful information.

A ferret through the minutes of meetings he had attended with a diverse range of participants gave her further insight. His ramblings tended to be cut short when more men were involved. Sarah had initially assumed this to be misogyny on her advisor’s part, but as she worked through her evidence, it seemed that women were just too polite. While this was also a frustrating issue Above, she was in a position Underground that put both rank and magical ability to her advantage.

In all the meetings with women they were considerate in letting him speak, where the male dominated meetings cut him off. It seemed that he couldn’t abide a lull and had to fill it with noise.

With her behavioural observations in mind, Sarah hoped for a quicker meeting for a change. However, she wasn’t a fool and had briefed Bishop to transport her out of the room if it looked like her patience was running thin.

As expected, verbal diarrhoea had started the moment he’d had a chance to speak. She’d given him a full minute to vaguely float the concept of a point amidst his effluvia of praise for herself, the kingdom and she suspected he’d start naming ancestors and associates if she let him continue.

Sarah slapped her hand on the table, startling the man into silence. “Stop. Give me the bullet points.” She repressed a smile as he gaped in confusion at the unfamiliar Above business terminology. Sarah waved her hand magnanimously. “My time is valuable. Sum up your report in five short sentences.”

While there was a little stuttering in surprise, he did manage to accomplish Sarah’s demand.

“Thank you, that was most helpful.” Sarah held up a hand as the man puffed himself up to no doubt launch into an ode to her benevolence. It didn’t hurt her position that she allowed her magic to leak slightly and crackle along her fingers in a display that she privately thought was quite pretty, provided she didn’t try it near anything flammable.

“Moving forward, you will provide a similar written summary before all meetings.” Sarah ignored the quiet sighs of delight from several other people in the room who had been subjected to the man in the past. “I’m sure that summary will be enough to forestall many future meetings.”

Sarah held his gaze as he opened his mouth to complain. “I consider this meeting concluded and I thank you all for your time.”

Re: Volubility

[apachefirecat]

<3 She's definitely been learning! LOL

Re: Volubility

[redwolf]

I suspect she'll need to reinforce her edict to get it to sink in, but it does seem to have ended this meeting early 🦊🧡