Drabble #75: Cold

[jalenstrix]

...we had a quieter response to the drabble prompt of Drabble 74, with entries by the fantastic 3iggy and me (your intrepid drabble proposer jalenstrix). 3iggy and I also represented the labyfic collective with commenting love — huzzah!



For this prompt, we continue with our one-word drabble roots, with a word inspired by current temperatures where I am:

Cold

Is this literal, emotional, metaphysical, all three, or something else entirely? Tell. Us. About it. Labyfic-style.



Given our entries from recent months, let's continue with the 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
Drabble: $your_beautiful_drabble



I'll aim to get the next drabble challenge out on the first Friday of next month (Jan 4).

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

Skittled

[redwolf]

Word count: 500
Drabble:

Sarah limped into the Castle library, her face a mixture of pain and confusion.

“Are you okay, love?” Jareth crossed the room and scooped her into his arms. He deposited her gently on a chaise longue and rolled up the leg of her trousers to examine her injury.

“It’s nothing.” Sarah waved away his concern, fondly running her fingers through his hair. “Just a bruise.”

Jareth briefly leaned into her hand, closing his eyes as her fingernails gently scratched his scalp. “Let me take care of that for you.” He ran the palm of his hand over the warm spot on her shin where she knew a bruise would be forming.

Sarah gasped as warmth sunk into her leg, as it dissipated so did the pain of the bruise. “Thanks.” She pulled Jareth up and onto the chaise with her and graced him with a kiss.

“What happened?” Jareth wrapped his arms around Sarah.

Sarah’s brows furrowed. “Did you know the ornamental pond outside the library has frozen over?”

“Ah, you got caught up in their games didn’t you?” Jareth’s concern coloured his voice.

“Sort of.” Sarah snuggled back into Jareth’s arms. “The goblins were getting a little excited at the competition and one of them fell out of a tree.”

“It hit you?”

Sarah shook her head. “Bishop grabbed him before he hit the ground, but we didn’t realise it was two goblins. The second one let go of his friend and smacked into my legs.”

“Do I need to bog someone?”

Sarah shook her head, not terribly sure if he was kidding or not. “When he realised who he’d crashed into he screamed and ran away.” Jareth huffed a laugh. “What were the goblins doing on the pond? The little I saw before the goblin incident looked like bowling.”

Jareth pulled Sarah into his lap. “That’s a close enough description. It’s something like a cross between skittles and curling, but with goblins in the roles of both the skittles and the stone.”

“How do they score?” Sarah ran a finger down Jareth’s nose, gasping when he caught her finger in his teeth and ran his tongue over the tip.

“I don’t think a game has lasted long enough to determine that. If the stone hits the skittles, there’s a better than even chance of a fight breaking out. But if the stone doesn’t reach the end, then the skittles can get distracted and wander off.”

Sarah threaded her fingers through Jareth’s, lifting his hand to kiss his knuckles. “It sounds like it would only last a few minutes, why is there such a crowd?”

“Because everyone wants a turn and the game lasts until someone breaks the ice and everyone ends up in the water.” Sarah nodded in understanding at what was typical goblin behaviour. If anything was worth doing, it was worth doing to excess. “Deeper water and armour are a poor combination, which is why they are now only allowed to play it on the pond.”