A New Flower, a story of Fae Apoc Apoc for the February Giraffe Call

For Friendly Anon's prompt.

Fae Apoc has a landing page here.

This comes after Leaving the City (LJ)
Tros had a feeling she wasn't the sort of girl you brought roses and
wine for, and besides, there wasn't any place around here to buy wine,
or roses.

So he settled for helping Nila with everything he could, scouting
ahead, scrounging for food, making sure when he brought down game, he
gutted it out of her daughter's line of sight.

It was puppy love, he knew. His Mentor had, more than once, accused him of that, scolding him for the attention it took from more serious matters.
( Read more... )

A New Flower, a story of Fae Apoc Apoc for the February Giraffe Call

For Friendly Anon’s prompt.

Fae Apoc has a landing page here.

This comes after Leaving the City (LJ)
Tros had a feeling she wasn’t the sort of girl you brought roses and
wine for, and besides, there wasn’t any place around here to buy wine,
or roses.

So he settled for helping Nila with everything he could, scouting
ahead, scrounging for food, making sure when he brought down game, he
gutted it out of her daughter’s line of sight.

It was puppy love, he knew. His Mentor had, more than once, accused him of that, scolding him for the attention it took from more serious matters.

But his Mentor was not here, and, it seemed to Tros, Nila was pretty much the most serious matter there was right now. She’d promised to heal him and keep him fed in return for his service; therefore, his service was the most important thing in his life for the ten days he’d pledged her.

Comfortably justified in his obsession, he spent his evening watch carving tokens from deer antler: a bunny for Susan, a small saber for Allan, and, for Nila…

That took more thought, and more time. Not wine and roses, certainly. He was unsure if, despite her two children, the girl had ever been romanced. She didn’t seem to look at him as a man, other than in that “another warrior to guard the camp” sort of way. If it hadn’t been for the kids, he would have guessed lesbian, or, like his former crewmate, just-not-interested.

The kids meant he might have a chance. So her carved her a flower, following the patterns of her ears and her markings, a Nila-flower from the remains of his kill.

Looking at it in the dim moonlight, he had to smile. That, that seemed like the perfect gift for this fucked-up new world of theirs.

Note: The views expressed by the narrator are his and his alone and are not necessarily endorsed by the writer

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/292620.html. You can comment here or there.

Mirrored from Alder's Grove Fiction.

Pantry, a story for the February Giraffe Call

For eseme's prompt.

"What do we have left?"

Henry stared at their pantry. The winter was nearly over, true, but not nearly enough, and nobody had expected that the blizzard - if blizzard it really was - would be so heavy, so long, or block any sort of travel so completely. They hadn't left their house in three weeks. He tried not to think too hard about the neighbors. He hadn't heard from the Kaperskis in over a week, and the last time he'd seen the Gentalis, they'd been begging yet another cup of rice off of them.

He hadn't thought of their family as being all that prepared, but it turned out shopping the sales and buying in bulk had more advantages than saving money. They'd eaten well for the first week, decently for the second week, and now...

"We have two bottles of wine, three kinds of rice, and a can of beans. And an onion that's starting to grow."
( Read more... )

Ciara: Wolf in the Hand, a story of #Addergoole Yr 9

After Wolf in the Circle (LJ).

Ciara was floating, for a moment, dreaming of a pasture full of bulls, angry bulls, stomping their feet and grumbling.

She came to in a rush of disorientation, to find Luke leaning over her, his wings spread wide like a canopy, sheltering her from view. "There you are," he murmured. "Clever girl. I got you stabilized, but you need to go to the doctor's."

She nodded, startled at how much energy that seemed to take. "Amadeus...?"

"He's standing right here, holding your purse." Luke looked worried. "Ciara..."

"I know. Tigers and tails." She nodded. "Muzzle him before I let go of the tail."
( Read more... )

On the Adriatic, a story of Fae Apoc Apoc for the February Giraffe Call (@Rix_Scaedu)

For rix_scaedu's prompt.

Fae Apoc has a landing page here

"Well."

January and Hugo stared off the bow of their boat at the sea in front of them. The Adriatic was churning wildly, the waves shaking their little craft. And, in the center of the sea, a hole seemed to be ripping open. When Hugo had called Jan up to the bow, the hole had been a half a meter wide. Now, it was three meters in diameter and growing. Worse, something... something was peeking through.

"I should get the others." His sister slipped back into the cabin, her tail swishing unhappily. He didn't blame her. They had been doing so well out here with their little operation, and this... whatever this was, this was going to interfere.
( Read more... )

Re-Engineered, for the Giraffe Call (@shutsumon)

For becka_sutton's prompt, after Engineered


"Hey, Liam, I think I figured something out."

Cara and Alex tensed. Ever since Jason had defected, the Boss had been miserable. It wasn't Namae Sauter's fault, but since she'd gotten Jason's workstation, she'd also gotten all of his blame.

(Nobody could actually do anything to Jason, short of a tac nuke, and they weren't entirely sure that would work, either. After his roses had eaten two recovery teams, they'd stopped trying).

Liam limped over to her desk, his cane thudding the deck angrily. "What do you have, Sauter?" he snarled.

"I think I've figured out the formula Jason was working on in his spare time. Not the roses - they're a mess - but the reverse-aging one?"
( Read more... )

Upcoming Giraffe Call Theme votes!

Poll #9784 Giraffe Themes!

This poll is closed.
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 12

View Respondents

What theme would you like for the March 17th Giraffe Call?

View Answers

Monsters
2 (16.7%)

Non-Human Cultures
5 (41.7%)

Celebrations and Special Occasions (Imaginary?)
5 (41.7%)

Origins and Creation
1 (8.3%)

wild animals
2 (16.7%)

incliment weather/Lion & Lamb/Storms
4 (33.3%)

Spring Cleaning
4 (33.3%)

Tricksters & Humor
4 (33.3%)

Music
2 (16.7%)

Beginnings
3 (25.0%)

Anything Mars
2 (16.7%)

Crochet and Crafts
3 (25.0%)

Stuff Already In Lyn's Queue (Finish-Up Month)
8 (66.7%)

What theme would you like for the April 14th Giraffe Call?

View Answers

Monsters
4 (36.4%)

Non-Human Cultures
3 (27.3%)

Celebrations and Special Occasions (Imaginary?)
6 (54.5%)

Origins and Creation
1 (9.1%)

wild animals
1 (9.1%)

Spring Cleaning
2 (18.2%)

Tricksters & Humor
4 (36.4%)

Beginnings
1 (9.1%)

Stuff Already In Lyn's Queue (Finish-Up Month)
5 (45.5%)

April Showers Bring May Flowers
1 (9.1%)

Death and Taxes
6 (54.5%)

Hidden, Secret, and Rediscovered Records?
5 (45.5%)

Throw names in the pot
1 (9.1%)

Love and Goddesses
2 (18.2%)

Any other ideas?

View Answers

Ticky?

View Answers

Ticky!
1 (10.0%)

No Tick?
1 (10.0%)

Mew!
3 (30.0%)

Miaw?
3 (30.0%)

What?
2 (20.0%)

If you don't have a DW account, please feel free to vote in the comments!

What You Need, a finale of Mr. Ting's Shop for the January Giraffe Call (@inventrix)

For @inventrix's commissioned continuation of Burning Summer Quest (LJ)
In Mr. Ting's (LJ)
Mrs. Gent's Lemonade (LJ) and Differences of Opinion (LJ) and The "A" Shelves (LJ)
Meeting Mr. Ting (LJ)and
About the Want (LJ)
Part 7-7.5 of 7.5

Mr. Ting was beginning to creep me out and, what was more, I was worried Mt. Jordan was going to blow any minute now. "We really need an AC unit," I put in, trying not to stare at the silver whatsits. Or the tin with the tentacle thing on it. "An air conditioner. We have a kid at home, and cats and rats..."
( Read more... )