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April 2020 writing prompt 2 - Beyond the Meadow
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//and a mere 7 minutes later I have the second one, with a picture that closely matches Jamie to boot! Also, I have 1000 words on my doc which means this is my tenth short story!Jamie was getting close. They could tell it. They felt the ground, looking at the charred mark. If their guess was right, Kayla had The Crown. That was the only thing they could think of that would make such a mark.
They stretched, feeling the bruise along their back. As it turned out the portal to Avalon had been rather high up in the air, and had changed orientations. As such Jamie’s back and rear were an impressive shade of bruise.
Looking down they could see Kayla’s small steps, closely pursued by the knight’s large ones. This was getting interesting.
Basher2004 wrote: "//and a mere 7 minutes later I have the second one, with a picture that closely matches Jamie to boot! Also, I have 1000 words on my doc which means this is my tenth short story!Jamie was getting..."
:) It is getting interesting... :)
And yay for an enby main character.
ReturningThe ache in Adrien's shoulders was spreading to his hips. His eyes felt like the Sahara desert. But the scared kid inside him said mustn't relax, mustn't stop looking, can't take time for a nap or a drink— like if he took his eyes off the spot where David disappeared hours ago, things might change. The world might rotate out of true, or the ground open up. And then David would never—
He wouldn't think it. He rubbed at his eyelids and shifted his weight to his other foot.
It's getting dark. Clouds were gathering, and the last light of the day caught the flowers, making them glow with an inner light. It was lovely now, but in just a little while, the sun would drop below the horizon. And then standing out here would go from being stupid and boring to downright dangerous.
Really, he should be heading home now, to beat the nightfall. But his eyes didn't lift from that spot in the trees where David had run from him, eager, breaking free of Adrien's grasp—
He'd never thought he could hold David back. Not really. They said nothing could keep someone from answering the call so thinking his— friendship would do it had been the height of stupid ego. Right? He'd been telling himself that for hours.
A distant sound shook him from his mental merry-go-round. Something's coming. A shiver ran through him. Behind the trees, something growled, and the sound raised the hair on the back of his neck. Time to go home. Come back tomorrow in the daylight.
But a mix of hope and stubbornness kept him there.
The bushes across the clearing shivered. Leaves rustled. A bird that had been chirping annoyingly for the last hour fell suddenly silent. Then something moved, there in the shadows under the trees.
"David?" His voice wasn't as steady as he'd hoped. He flicked a look up at the sky. Enough light still lingered to keep the bloodsuckers at bay. "Davey, is that you?"
The brush crackled and shook again, then a dark shadow came forward into the light. Sleek black fur moved over a lean muscled body. Green eyes glowed, like the phosphorescence in a cave pool. A long, slim tail twitched back and forth slowly.
"David?"
The huge cat paced toward him, step by slow step. If this wasn't David— If his awkward, redheaded friend didn't lurk somewhere in that graceful, muscular body— Oh Goddess, I might be someone's dinner.
He couldn't see anything of David in that panther. It had to be a shifter. No cat like that was native to these woods. But as it moved closer, huge paws silent now in the grassy meadow, he couldn't help thinking he'd made a big mistake. Maybe a fatal one. Shifters didn't eat people, usually, not once they were settled and adapted, but anyone fool enough to be out after dark might be considered fair game.
"It's not dark!" He waved at the sky, like an idiot. "See? Bright sunshine. I'm just waiting for— you." That came out as a squeak, as the cat began circling him, eyes bright.
"David, if that's you, quit playing games. I've been waiting for hours."
The cat came closer. He could smell it now, the heavy, rank scent of musk and old meat. Nothing about it seemed familiar. He'd sworn he would know David in any form, feathers or fur, somehow his heart would recognize the boy he'd adored since they were fighting over the same crayon in first grade. The cat's heavy head swung his way and its gaze pinned him. His breath came short.
Suddenly, a smaller shape came exploding out of the bushes, all bristling fur and barks and shrill protest. The red wolf slammed into the panther, knocking it off balance. The panther whirled and pounced, pinning the smaller wolf down.
"David! Watch out!" Adrien bent and groped for a rock, a stick, anything to distract that huge cat from the yapping, furry, insane bundle of energy that was David. "Hey, cat, ugly fish-face!" Adrien threw a handful of twigs at the panther. They fell laughably short.
A ripple of energy passed over the tussling pair. Shapes blurred, fur went flat. Suddenly the two broke apart into a skinny redheaded infuriatingly-grinning boy and a tall, dark-haired woman. The woman rose to her feet, hands on her hips, ignoring her nakedness as she glared at Adrien. "Fish-face?"
David scrambled to his feet too, hands held out placatingly. "He didn't mean anything by it."
"Ugly?"
Adrien bit his lip. "Sorry?"
The woman held her glare a moment longer, then her expression melted into a grin. "You two deserve each other. You're both idiots. And you, boy that David claims, learn some manners. Unless you need me to teach you some?"
"He doesn't." David got in between them. "He's the polite one, usually. Really. He thought you were hurting me."
"Huh. Well, if that's the thanks I get for showing you back home, I'm off. Get that crunchy snack of a boyfriend inside before the bloodsuckers come out." A sudden pulse of magic rolled over her, and when it cleared, the panther stood there again. She shook herself, then leaped past Adrien, sending him spinning with a brush of her furry shoulder. Three more bounds, and she was gone.
Adrien pushed himself up from the ground where he'd landed, spitting out weeds. David hurried to bend over him. "Are you all right? She was just joking."
Adrien got to his feet, brushing off his ass and feeling stupid. But David's touch on his arm, and his big sincere blue eyes in that freckled face, helped some. The fact that he was standing there naked— Adrien dragged his eyes back up. No, that really didn't help. "So, a wolf, huh?" he said brightly.
David shouldn't have been that easy to distract, but he was clearly running on some kind of adrenaline high, because he said, "Yeah! Isn't it cool?"
"I figured you'd be a squirrel," Adrien said, because his heart was finally back in his chest where it belonged.
David smacked his arm. "Oh you of little faith. Although a squirrel could be fun, but no. Wolf. It's the best."
"Looked like that panther beat you."
"Well, duh. That's Marielle and she's like the top local shifter but she says—"
"Top? So your wolf isn't the best?"
David laughed. "Okay, second best. I can't wait to tell you." He glanced up at the sky. "But Marielle was right. We need to head back and fast. What on earth are you still doing out here?"
Waiting for you. Hoping it went safely. It usually did, of course. He'd been sure. Almost sure. But sometimes, what came back out of the woods was warped, or confused. And sometimes, nothing came back. "I was picking flowers for my mom," he said.
"What flowers?" David looked at Adrien's hands, then colored. "Oh, You're kidding."
"Yeah." Adrien sighed. Some things never changed. He'd once told David he was going to make a "joke" sign to hold up whenever he needed David to get a clue.
A cool breeze brushed over them, and the sky darkened. David shivered. "Whatever. Come on, Ad. We need to get you home. It's no time for humans to be out."
"Us pathetic humans. Unlike you amazing shifters?"
"Don't." David was suddenly close to him.
Adrien stared in his eyes to avoid looking at the rest of that wiry body close to his. He could smell a trace of sweat and crushed meadowsweet, and it made him dizzy.
"You're not pathetic. Just because we don't taste good to the bloodsuckers and you do, doesn't make us better." David rose on tiptoes and pressed a kiss to Adrien's lips.
Adrien blinked. Do that again. It was so fast he'd almost missed it. Something else occurred to him. "Marielle called me—"
Color rose in David's cheeks, clashing horribly with his copper hair, but he didn't look down. "My boyfriend. Yeah, that's what I told her. Is that… okay?"
"Yeah. It's really okay." Adrien reached for David, to see if they couldn't do even better at this kissing thing when the call of an owl made them both jump.
"Shit." David grabbed his hand. "We'd better run."
"I folded your clothes—" Adrien pointed.
"No time." David yanked him forward. "Come on, tasty boyfriend. Move it."
They dashed across the clearing toward the road, and home. And despite the threat of bloodsuckers, and the darkening sky, Adrien hung back just a little bit. Because the perfect way to end this crazy, life-changing day, was watching David running ahead of him, hand clasping his, barefoot, clumsy as ever, cursing every bramble and stone, and wonderfully, boyfriendily, naked.
***
Kaje wrote: "Basher2004 wrote: "//and a mere 7 minutes later I have the second one, with a picture that closely matches Jamie to boot! Also, I have 1000 words on my doc which means this is my tenth short story!..."Thanks! I don't actually have a plot for this, but I supposed I advanced it anyway?
LOL - you never know what your plot bunny is planning in your subconscious. I don't have plots going into my stories either.
⁄⁄⁄⁄ "I just love spring," Liam plucked an iridescent, yellow flower from the ground. He twirled it between his fingers, then placed it in Oliver's ebony hair. Oliver laughed and rolled his eyes at Liam's raised eyebrow. "The colors contrast too much, don't they-" Liam stood on his toes and gently kissed him- "yes, I do believe pink would better suit you."
Song wrote: "⁄⁄⁄⁄ "I just love spring," Liam plucked an iridescent, yellow flower from the ground. He twirled it between his fingers, then placed it in Oliver's ebony hair..."
<3 That's cute and sweet, thank you :)
Kaje wrote: "Song wrote: "⁄⁄⁄⁄ "I just love spring," Liam plucked an iridescent, yellow flower from the ground. He twirled it between his fingers, then placed it in Oliver's ebony hair..."
<3 That's cute an..."
Thank you 😄
I know I’m late and I’m deeply sorry. A Field of Saffron Flames
“It’s beautiful isn’t it?” Percy said as he turned his head towards the tall baby faced boy standing next to him. The boy he couldn’t believe was finally his boyfriend. Percy pulled his gaze over the trees and past the skyscraping mountains, “you can see for miles. Miles of never ending tranquility lit by saffron flames. Nature is truly the most beautiful sight this world has to offer.”
Briar steps towards his boyfriend, “do you know what’s more radiant and dazzling than any stretch of land or any flower?”
“What?” Percy tossed his head back as he chuckled.
“You,” Briar muttered into Percy's ear. “You are the most stunning and magnificent and… sexy sight to ever grace this planet.” Slowly he brought his hand to his boyfriend's face. Bringing himself towards Percy's mouth Briar lowered his hand down his boyfriend's back and let go a cold, wet handful of ice cubes down Percy's shirt.
Briar turned around quickly laughing hysterically as Percy raced after him.
The two raced through the meadow giggling. Percy caught up to Briar and grabbed his shoulder pulling his body towards himself. Both boys got caught in a tangle of flower stems and tumbled to the ground.
Percy looked down at his boyfriend with his apricot hair blowing in the wind and a smile as bright as the sun. Percy was wrong. This sweet, mesmerizing boy squirming under him is most definitely the most beautiful sight this world has to offer. Percy had not intended to utter these words, but they came out like a sudden breeze over a saffron field, “marry me.”
Briar smiled “what?”
“Marry me Briar Reid”
Briars face lit up as he realized what his lavender haired boyfriend had been asking. He brought his mouth to Percy's lips and pinned him to the ground. Between kisses Briar uttered in a elated tone “YES! Yes, yes, yes! Yes a million times over.” Briar kept his lips on Percys for a long and lingering kiss.
Abruptly he sat up “what about the church? What about our families? What will they think?” The joyful look on Briars face dissipated quickly. Percy leaned forward, running his fingers through his finacés hair, “who cares? We’re getting married and I’m going to scream it from the rooftops.” Percy's head fell, “only if... you’re okay with that, of course.”
Briars face lit up with all the brilliance of a dying star, “I love you Percy Eliott!” Briar jumped to his feet and threw his hands up as he screamed “I’M GETTING MARRIED!” Briar looked down at his fiance, lilac hair caught in a gentle breeze. He bent down and hugged Percy, “I love you. I LOVE YOU, I LOVE YOU, I LOVE YOU!”
He pulled Percy to his feet holding his hand as they ran through the flower field, “come on we have some screaming from the rooftops to do.” Percy had never seen Briar so happy.
Isaac wrote: "I know I’m late and I’m deeply sorry. A Field of Saffron Flames
“It’s beautiful isn’t it?” Percy said as he turned his head towards the tall baby faced boy standing next to him. The boy he couldn..."
That's really lovely and sweet - thanks for writing for us.
And you're always welcome to write for any prompt - they don't time out (although people may not see the really old ones.)
Give us your fiction for this picture - any length, from haiku to drabble to short story. Just keep it YA-friendly and with some LGBTQ content.
Fiction
Basher2004 : https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Kaje : https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Song : https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Isaac - https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...