Drabble #244: Prickly

[redwolf]

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

Prickly

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

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Comments

Scarab

[redwolf]

Word count: 500

Sarah was not long back from handing off the latest wished away to be assessed by the infirmary. The child was small for his age, exhibited signs of ongoing malnutrition and he had a long list of healed injuries to go with the fresh bruises he was sporting. An older sister had made the wish and, unlike Sarah’s instant regret, she was a budding narcissist who wanted her parents undivided attention.

The summons had interrupted Sarah’s dinner, so once she was done with the handover, she headed to the dining hall. It was between designated meal times, but there were pastries, fruit and cold cuts available at all hours. Sarah filled her plate and, spotting Bishop reading at one of the few occupied tables, she joined him.

“You just came in from Above?” Bishop noted that Sarah was still wearing her Goblin Queen armour.

Sarah snorted and, pulling a pastry apart, popped a small piece into her mouth. “She was a little snot.” She had been called over a toy dispute and had appeared in a child’s bedroom looking suitably regal and terrifying.

What she didn’t expect were the bugs. She’d seen many neglected homes that were crawling with cockroaches, but these were different. They didn’t scuttle as much as amble.

Sarah may not have even noticed them if one hadn’t flown in the open window and the sheer size of the thing nearly broke her composure. Fortunately, one of the goblins, in possession of both a chameleonesque tongue and a taste for bugs, eliminated the problem.

“Do you have any idea what a big scarab that looks like it’s made of bamboo is?” Sarah shuddered at the size of the things. They were large enough walking around, but flying made them seem enormous.

“Sounds like Christmas Beetles, they’re seasonal and harmless,” Bishop answered as he sipped his tea.

Sarah looked up in confusion. “Why would they be called that when beetles are only active in the warmer months?”

Bishop raised an eyebrow. “The wish was in the southern hemisphere, wasn’t it?”

Sarah groaned in annoyance. “Christmas in Summer is so alien.”

“Didn’t you work for NGOs?” Bishop asked.

“Yeah, but I was working in administration. The roles were office based and they were all in the northern hemisphere.” Sarah shrugged. “I’ve been to a lot of places in the southern hemisphere both with Jareth and as Goblin Queen, but they were brief visits. I’ve certainly never experienced the disconnect of a southern Christmas.”

The thought of having a barbecue lunch on a beach for Christmas was equal parts fascinating and disturbing. Sarah’s expectations of a white Christmas did not gel with sand.

The Christmas season always brought a flurry of wishes and when Sarah offered her dreams, the girl couldn’t grab the crystal quickly enough. Alas, she would soon find her dream of being an only child soon shattered by the reality of her parents, so self obsessed they hadn’t noticed their daughter had been torturing her little brother.