Alder's Grove

To Raka Metz's request on Facebook in response to my December Drabbles call.

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Mid-Year 6 of the Addergoole School


"No! No, I'm not going to... let go of me!" A flash of lightning ripped through the hallway; the lights flickered and burnt out, leaving only the dim "Hell Night" red emergency lights.

"I think you should leave him alone." The lights flickered but did not turn back on, as a second voice - one that bore a strong resemblance to the first - chimed in.

"She might seem nice now, but she's not stable, and it's not a healthy situation." The third speaker released his quarry, however, and stepped back until he was silhouetted against one of the red lights. "Rory, I'm just saying..."

"Do you think I don't know all that?" The boy - Rory - backed up another few steps. "What's more, do you think it matters? Really? Of course she's unstable. Wouldn't you be, after what she went through?"

"I'm just trying to help..."

"Don't." This time, the two boys standing there spoke at the same time.

A third voice chimed in, right on their heels - feminine, but sounding much the same. "I'd listen to what they said."

The upperclassman sighed. "I don't want to see anyone get hurt."

The lightning flashed from three sets of fingers. "Maybe you ought to back off, then."

"Backing off... but I'd fix those lights before Luke gets here." With a much-put-upon sound, the upperclassman - Nikolai - took his leave. If the Aelfgar-get wanted to stay in bad situations, he wasn't going to take on a whole family of electrical madmen to help them.

Rory muttered up a light and stared at the two other Sixth Cohorts. "Thanks. Now, um..."

"Um, indeed." Arnbjorg looked up at the lights overhead and muttered a Working. "I think you just blew a fuse."

"Just?"

"It could be a lot worse..." she glanced at the third of them, their half-brother (or at least they all assumed.) Leo was staring at the light fixture, grinning. "Right. So, if it's a fuse, we just need to Idu our way to a fuse box and hope we beat Luke there."

"Too late." On the plus side, at least the gym teacher sounded amused.

This story is in response to Guesty's request for "more sexy/romantic Fridmar" in my December Drabbles post here (and here).

It follows directly after Fridmar and Love and And Then There's You.

Damn the Daeva, but it didn't let go once it had something in its teeth. Agmund had, in the end, had to make promises to get Mikhaíl to leave.

As if Agmund was the only one who needed in his life some companionship. As if Mikhaíl was not staring woefully like a dog who could not have its bone. But no, it was into Agmund's life that there would be meddling.
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To Sky's request to this call for Addergoole prompts.

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Between Years 19 and 20 of the Addergoole School

Luke's voice still wasn't up to par, but he had gone to the wedding, of course. His Student had invited him - and she and Hayden deserved this, more than Luke had words for, even when his voice was properly working.

When he came back, Mike was waiting for him. "I've been thinking."

It had been the years for it. Regine had been meddling more than normal; she had pushed them to meddle more than normal. What had resulted was a cluster fuck that, if they were lucky, the students affected would eventually forgive them for.

"Me, too. I've got an idea."
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To rix_scaedu's request to this call for Addergoole prompts.



The thing that students didn't understand, Maureen mused, and then, in her mind, corrected herself. One of the things students didn't understand is that a two-year-old was still plenty aware enough to notice things, and a three-year-old even more so.

One of the things two- and three-year-olds noticed was when some of their peers left the school, and others didn't. They noticed when Adorlee and Aceline's mother came to visit, and Harvey and Miliana's mother didn't. They noticed gifts and new clothes and special attention paid - and it gave them a standard against to measure the attention their own parents gave them.

Shiva's three had packed up their belongings and cheerfully hopped into a car with their mother. Mea's four had done the same. Mabina's had never lived in the creche; Eriko and Callista took their children and fled.

Ivette's children and Xaviera's older two watched this with interest, never asking why they weren't going, what was going to happen. And then Anwell came for Ivette's Lidah, and then Adrian for her son (his son) Oliver, and that left of that year Harvey and Miliana.
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To wyld_dandelyon's request to this call for Addergoole prompts.

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Early Fall, Year 6 of the Addergoole School

"Shhhh - the twins are finally sleeping!" Mabina slipped out of Kailani and Conrad's room and closed the door very, very carefully. Vlad whispered a Working at the door as it shut.

"That ought to keep our noises out and let us know if they're making noise." He touched the door, lightly, with his fingers, as if apologizing to his children.

"Cool." 'Lisha hopped down from her stool and grabbed a tray of appetizers. "Time for the party? I invited a few new people..."

Kailani twisted her lips. "People?"

"Friends?" The girl paused, hands on hips, to look at Kai. "You know, people that we actually like."
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To @Dahob's request to this call for Addergoole prompts.

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Christmas, Year 11 of the Addergoole School

Lee wasn't any good at this Keeping stuff, but he was trying hard.

He'd gotten Altaira by accident, really by accident, trying to keep her out of the hands of Silas, who wasn't as bad as he could be but was a lot worst than he ought to be. Once he'd had her... he'd found he kind of liked having someone around. So he was trying to do this Keeping thing right, and, he hoped, only screwing it up most of the time.

But today was Christmas, and he really liked Christmas. He really liked presents. So he'd filled the space under the tree - a real tree! Tall enough that it hit the ceiling - with presents. Not all of them were for Altaira - about half were for his other friends, and five were for the baby that wouldn't be born for another six months - but there were a lot for her.

He was out of bed before, in theory, the sun somewhere out there was above the horizon, re-arranging the presents, cooking - actually cooking; if there was one thing he'd learned in Addergoole, it was how to cook - a hearty breakfast casserole, something he remembered from childhood. Maybe he could get Altaira to eat.

He was already dishing it onto plates and making himself a pot of coffee when she woke. "Lee? What are you doing?"

He grinned at her and hurried over with a glass of orange juice. "Merry Christmas!"

He watched her take it all in - the tree, the presents, the breakfast, the juice. And then, miracles-do-happen, he watched her smile. "Merry Christmas, Lee."