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labyfic2019-06-07 09:50 am
jalenstrix) wrote in labyfic2019-06-07 09:50 am
Entry tags:
Drabble #81: Breathless
...we had a quieter response to the drabble prompt of Drabble 80, with an entry by me (your intrepid drabble proposer
jalenstrix) and greetings from the incredible idunn.For this prompt, we continue with our one-word drabble roots, relying on a word with so many possibilities:
Breathless
Who’s breathless? About what, pray tell? And do tell us all 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 (July 5).
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.)
no subject
Author’s note: Inspired by a recent re-reading of Madeleine L’Engle’s “A Swiftly Tilting Planet”.
Words completely failed me as I looked out at the galaxies sweeping by us, astride an honest-to-goodness unicorn. I then forgot to breathe and promptly gasped in a gulp of air that tasted of moonbeams and snow, and that really, really shouldn’t have been available in space, let alone tasting of impossible things.
Jareth’s amusement rumbled against my back, warm as the sun and deep as the earth.
The rat bastard. I knew he was getting a kick out of my shock. But there was just too much to see in this moment to care.
Just be. Be a part of the great dance in this moment. The mental voice was as silvery as our ride’s skin.
The unicorn was wise. I would listen to the unicorn. I could save my words for Jareth for when we got back home.
“Quite sensible of you,” murmured Jareth in my ear.
My entire body zinged to attention. Damn that man. “Oh, shut up.”
His laughter caressed down my spine like newly fallen snow.
~~~
When we finally returned home, safely deposited in our own time and space by the kindly unicorn, I sat down hard smack dab on Jareth’s throne and stared up at him.
He arched one of those patrician eyebrows back at me, leaning comfortably with one shoulder against the wall.
I crossed my arms, still struggling to breathe evenly.
He just smiled.
Alrighty then. “What the hell was that?”
“A present. It is in fact your birthday, is it not?”
My mouth opened and closed a few times on its own before I got control of it. “I thought you could reorder time. Not call impossible creatures into being to take people impossible places in impossible ways.”
“You give me too much credit. I simply called in a favor.”
“A favor. From a space-traveling unicorn.”
He shrugged. “Gaudior owed me for a little hatchling debacle of his a few decades ago. You’d be surprised at the variety of beings who struggle with their infants.”
I blinked at him for a few moments. “But the rest...the great dance of the universe, that way of moving through space and time and size — Jareth, we were the size of nebulae one moment and the size of mitochondria the next.”
“I didn’t need to make that up, my dear. Haven’t you read Madeleine L’Engle? She let out a lot of secrets in those books of hers.”
I blinked at him again, digging in my memories for what I remembered of those books. I’d definitely have to re-read them. “So you did all that just for my birthday present? It seems...excessive.”
His smile was like a flash of lightning. “Do you recall your request?”
I sighed, as my words surfaced in my mind. “I said ‘surprise me’. That I didn’t want to be bored.”
“Well?”
“Success on both fronts. Also, you’re insufferable. I honestly don’t know why I maintain our friendship.”
“Never bored, Sarah. Either of us.”
“True, that.”
no subject
no subject
Stripes
Drabble:
Sarah walked into the studio, delighted as always by the natural light that flooded the room. “I just saw the weirdest looking dog.” It had been heading into the training rooms as she was leaving. The strange animal had locked eyes with her, nodded in greeting and continued on its way. She’d startled for a moment and the flood of adrenaline to her system had caused the Labyrinth to reach out and soothe her, assuring her that the creature belonged and that it was not a threat.
“Are there striped dogs Underground?” Sarah finally noticed that the occupants of the room were looking at her with the mild interest of someone who’d just been asked to pass the salt. Jareth and Rook were sitting cross legged on the floor with sketch pads in their laps and a messy tumble of charcoal pieces between them. She blushed furiously and turned her eyes to the floor when she realised they’d been sketching Bishop, who was reclining naked on a mound of silk cushions.
“That would be either Sabina or Walken. They’ve just returned from Above.” Jareth returned to his sketch as he answered and Sarah was mesmerised by the way he drew the charcoal across the paper in simple strokes. Despite the medium, he was spotless, unlike Rook who was decidedly not.
“They’re on the home team.” Rook added with a grin. They had all found Sarah’s categorisation of the guardians differing duties endearing.
Pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration as she warred with herself between avoiding looking at Bishop and curiosity at seeing the sketches in progress, she sighed and made a decision. If nobody else was concerned about casual nudity, she would need to get over her embarrassment before the goblins decided her flaming red cheeks would make for a suitable waypoint in their evening chicken races.
“They’re thylacines, love,” Bishop answered her question and was quickly admonished by both Jareth and Rook to stop moving.
Looking up Sarah noticed that Bishop managed to look just as elegant naked as he did clothed. He was more compact than Jareth, but they shared the same lean strength and very attractive rear ends. She had a brief creative derailment to ponder that the pair would make a nicely contrasting composition of dark and light, before shaking it off as puzzlement over her query took precedence. She frowned, wracking her brain as she tried to find an association for the unfamiliar word, before dredging up both Australian and marsupial. “Aren’t they extinct?”
“For almost a century.” Rook’s tone carried the disdain she felt over that occurrence and the threat that if she managed to get her hands on anyone responsible, she would take great delight in slowly disassembling them.
Sarah couldn’t be too upset at the thought of retribution over a species being driven to extinction, but it must cause problems Above if the guardians transformed in public. Which then raised the question of why anyone would choose an extinct animal.
Re: Stripes
Re: Stripes