Drabble #251: Rowdy
Monday, 23 February 2026 21:31![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jalenstrix in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
labyfic...we had a nice response to my last posted drabble prompt of Drabble 246, with delightful entries by
redwolf and me (jalenstrix), one your intrepid drabbler proposers, as well as commenting by us both. Huzzah!As always (always!!), special labyfic love to
redwolf for adding entries and comments for several previous drabble prompts. Onward, laby drabblers, onwards -- may our fabulous redwolf continue to lead us forth!For this prompt, we continue with our one-word/phrase drabble roots:
Rowdy
Who's feeling rowdy, and why? How exactly are they expressing that rowdiness? 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
$your_beautiful_drabble
I'll aim to get my next drabble challenge out on the last Monday of next month (Mar 23).
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.)
Circuit
2026-03-02 18:45 (UTC)Sarah parried Bishop’s attack and stepped back, holding up a hand. “I think I’m done for the day.” She felt like she was drowning in sweat and was concerned it would impact her grip on her weapon. “My reactions are slowing and that last round felt like a fluke.”
“Your muscle memory saved you. That’s what we’ve been working towards.” Bishop took her practice blade, returning it to a rack. When he turned back, he found that Sarah was sitting on the floor of the training room, watching as a pair of huge guardians used a wheeled scaffold to attach equipment to mounts in the ceiling.
Of the things she could identify, there were monkey bars, trapeze swings, hanging rings and a cargo net. She turned to Bishop as he sat beside her to watch the setup. “What are they doing? There’s not enough clearance for the boys to use anything dangling.” With a measuring glance at the installation in progress, she thought they may clear the floor, but it would be close.
Chuckling as he agreed with the comment, Bishop shook his head. “Once they set up around the perimeter of the room, they’ll bring in the mats, which will close the gap a little more.” Sarah nudged him with her shoulder. “Okay,” he laughed. “The foxes like to run aerial exercises every so often.”
Sarah turned at the sound of excited chatter and saw a group of small, slender women of various Above ethnicity that ranged from Japan through most of Asia, across India and down to Northern Africa. Ada and George, both in human form, fitted right in, although they were now taller than most of the foxes.
“How are they getting up there?” Sarah wasn’t sure if the equipment was out of their reach.
“Sometimes they have a rope climb to start.” Bishop pointed to the cargo net that hung a little lower. “Or they might use that as a starting point, but they’re incredibly agile and can easily make the leap to grab those rings.”
The moment the rolling scaffold cleared the course, the group was off, loudly calling to each other as they encountered each obstacle. As Bishop had noted, they started with a jump for the nearest ring and worked their way around the course. On completing a circuit, they changed things up. One of the foxes hung upside down from one of the trapeze bars and used it to swing the others across multiple pieces of equipment. Some scrambled across the cargo net and others crossed underneath the obstacle.
Ada and George were easily keeping up with the group, finding their own ways of changing the main route through the course. Sarah was impressed as they ran a circuit in parallel that was smooth enough to appear choreographed.
“I’ve seen them working together, but that was spectacular. If they’re this good now, they’re going to make a formidable team. I’d still prefer they had a childhood rather than being guardians in training.”
no subject
2026-03-13 17:49 (UTC)Rowdy
Sarah stood on the parapet of Jareth’s castle, boots planted wide, laughing down at the courtyard chaos. “Rowdier!” she shouted. “If you’re going to revolt, commit to it!”
A cabbage hit a gargoyle, who looked decidedly offended.
Jareth appeared beside her in the space between breaths. “You do realize,” he said dryly, “that I’m the ostensible target of this alleged palace revolt.”
Sarah grinned sideways at him. “You looked bored.”
“And how precisely could you ascertain such a thing before even setting eyes upon me?”
“Ah. You’re mad I didn’t come say hi first. I formally apologize. I was…in need.”
His body went into the easy stillness of a hunter. “Oh, do tell.”
“I needed to remember how to be the rowdy section.”
Jareth didn’t blink. “The rowdy section?”
Sarah smiled. “It’s loud. It’s the part of you that cheers too hard and laughs too big and doesn’t apologize for being sparkly and inconvenient.”
“Inconvenient?”
“To anyone who prefers you small.”
He arched an eyebrow. “And you’ve been small of late?”
She shrugged. “Measured. Responsible. Contained. But I forgot I can also be rowdy on purpose.” She gestured grandly at the chaos. “And thoroughly enjoy it.”
A glitter cannon misfired. Silver dust rained over the courtyard, coating cabbages and gargoyles alike.
Jareth watched her for a heartbeat. Then, he stepped closer and offered her a courtly bow, extending his hand with exaggerated elegance. “If you intend to lead a riot in my realm, Sarah, perhaps I might join you.”
She looked at him. “You want to join the palace revolt against yourself?”
“If you’ll have me.”
“You’re impossible, you know.”
“But at least I’m not bored.” His eyes glinted with something unreadable. “Come, my rowdy one….let’s start a riot.”
Her lips quirked up for a moment before she leaped onto the parapet edge, lifting her arms high to the night.
The goblins roared. Drums pounded. Cabbages flew. Someone set off another glitter cannon.
She laughed, loud and free and unapologetic. It rang off the stone towers and the goblins answered like a wave breaking against rock, louder, wilder, delighted to be led by someone who reveled in their glorious, rebellious chaos.
Jareth stood behind her, quiet and watchful as shadows. A slow smile unfurled, sharp and satisfied. “Oh yes,” he murmured, more to himself than to her, “there you are.”
Then, very deliberately, he stepped up beside her.
A flick of his fingers—and the drums deepened. The torches flared higher. The glitter in the air caught and refracted impossibly in ever-deepening fractal patterns. He leaned close enough that only she could hear him over the roar. “Let’s see where you lead, my rowdy one.”
She shot him a sideways grin — all teeth and triumph. “Let’s see how not bored you can be, Your Majesty.”
His laughter this time was unrestrained, cutting bright and wild through the chaos below — and the sound of it broke something open. The cacophony swelled, billowed, surged, bursting past its own limits.
“As you wish.”
no subject
2026-03-14 01:15 (UTC)no subject
2026-03-23 21:32 (UTC)Re: Circuit
2026-03-23 21:33 (UTC)Re: Circuit
2026-03-23 21:51 (UTC)