Flash Fic

Some more flash fic, courtesy the warm and wonderful Bre.

First line prompts

* The entrance to the tunnel was his only way out

* There had been many theories about how she had been murdered

* The pen hadn’t been worth stealing

Tami’s Story

There had been many theories about how she had been murdered, but they were all wrong, and that was the most vexing thing of all. They even had the body and all the evidence they needed! But APPARENTLY it was more entertaining to wonder if she’d been mauled by a bear or a dog, or possibly even fallen under some sort of backhoe. Marks for creativity, but fucking F-minus for stupidity.

She haunted the werewolf, though. Oh, sure, he was big and scary when the moon came out, but the rest of the time he was an accountant and it turns out he was afraid of ghosts.

She flicked a finger across the back of his neck and giggled as he cringed away from the cool breath.

A BEAR, honestly!

Bre’s Story

The pen hadn’t been worth stealing. In the end, after all that effort and subterfuge, it was actually quite boring. There were indents on the top marking the nasty habit of him biting down on the pen when he had been in thought. The worn rubber around the grip, leaving ghosts of his fingers, echos of his thoughts dripping down through the ink; the brilliance sparking on the scraping of the tip onto the page.

She thought if she touched it, took it, used it, it would bring a part of him back.

But it didn’t…

Perry’s Story

(Using the proffered picture prompt because I’m a pretty snowflake)

Why sure, sure. C’mon down and sit by me a spell. Take a load off. You look like you’ve been travelling quite a while now.

Where’re you from? If you don’t mind an old codger askin’?

Orville? Ha! I knew you was from the west soon as I clapped eyes on ya. Sides, to be honest with ya, there’s been a lotta folks heading east since the Fallow hit. Lotta folks just packin’ up their things and heading as far east as they can get.

Skytop’s the last stop on the list before you reach the Barony. And there ain’t no one desperate enough to head out there.

Still, Skytop ain’t so bad, innit? I see the way you’re craning your neck to take it all in, boy. Don’t you worry, ain’t no shame in it at all. Damned top-heavy place takes all newcomers the same way.

You get why we had to build upward, don’t you? What with the Ravagers runnin’ around, killin’ and eating folk out on the valley floor and the Barony to the east of us and the Fallow approachin’ from the west, there just ain’t any room to spread out.

The old guard picked out this mountain top and built a small town atop it. But we kept getting more folks come streaming in and pretty soon, the town was just about bustin’ at the seams.

If it weren’t for them Kenkari mages that set up shop here, I dunno what we woulda done. You can still find their guild hall, round floor two hundred thirty-five or sommat.

They made a deal with the city masters, ages back. That they’d get sanctuary from the Mages Council that was chasin’ them down for heresy or some such, and in return? They’d spell Skytop so that we could attach buildings directly to the stone face of the mountain.

That’s when we started buildin’ up instead of sideways.

What’s that?

Ah hells. Lookit me, nattering away like an old coot while you look just about dead on your feet. Been walking a hell of a long way, and you could probably use a place to set your pack down and rest your legs a mite.

Why don’t you try Cora’s place? It’s not far, just a few levels up. Here, give me a sec to get these old rustbucket legs workin’ again and I’ll take you up my own self. She’s a friend…sort of. I might be able to get you a decent price for a few night’s stay while you get your feet under ya.

Still, ain’t no better place than Skytop if you’re lookin’ for a fresh start. The lower levels can get a bit seedy at times, but tis all just part and parcel of leavin’ your past behind and living life anew.

Why, if you manage to find a niche to call your own here in Skytop, there ain’t no reason at all that you can’t make a name for yourself and work up the levels, ya hear?

Skytop’s givin’ you the chance for a fresh start, youngster. Ain’t no reason why you can’t leave your past troubles behind you and become just about anything your mechanical heart can imagine.

Anything at all.

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