NaNo :: Day 13 - 706 words, 19,119/50,000.
Day One. Day Eleven.
Day Two. Day Twelve.
Day Three.
Day Four.
Day Five.
Day Six.
Day Seven.
Day Eight.
Day Nine.
Day Ten.
“I’ll take that,” said Redd, “as a no, you haven’t called him back.”
“Nor will I ever,” Maria insisted. “I’m telling you, Redd; some of the things he does is bordering on abu-“
Something started to beep, though, and Maria paused mid-word to try to place the sound. It was more than just a beep, actually, building into a trilling of tones, rising and falling with musical intonations to catch one’s attention exactly as it had succeeded in doing. Maria looked to Redd to help identify it and saw that her sister’s face had gone as vibrant as her namesake colour. “I should get that,” she said, almost hurriedly, setting down her glass and heading back toward the living room with quick, padding steps.
Feeling an odd curiosity, Maria chugged what remained of her drink, bracing herself for its strength, and then felt at least a little bit better. She followed Redd with long, casual strides, slipping her hands into the back pockets of her jeans as she let the drinks warmth spread through her limbs.
A large wall of the room had lit up, and Redd was just sinking down onto her sofa in front of it. Across the wall, cast through the visual communications system and larger than life, was the image of Eeben Rynt at his desk, broad shoulders squared and strong in his starched military jacket. Maria had one similar to it, which barely saw the light of day except for when it was absolutely necessary. On Eeben’s face was a warm smile. Every so often, when the man actually smiled, it was such a kind expression, welcoming and almost boyish, which made it unexpected on his otherwise stern and powerful face. He looked faintly different, though, a very subtle difference that Maria observed carefully. It made her hang back a little in the doorway between the rooms. She liked to pride herself in being able to discern a great deal of information about a person from a single glance, that she didn’t get to where she was simply based on her work with a gun, and she’d seen a wide variety of things flash through Eeben’s eyes over the years. They ran the gamut from exhausted to energized, from gentle to downright homicidal. But she’d never, ever seen them dancing like this before, and she had no idea how to interpret them just yet.
“I hope,” he was in the middle of saying in greeting, “that I am not interrupting anything, Vice President.” That familiar, rough voice seemed a contradiction with how kind it sounded.
“Not at all, Captain,” said Redd, sitting very primly at the edge of the sofa, hands in her lap. “I just hope there isn’t anything the matter?” She drew it in a question, but Maria thought the concern in it sounded fake. It was put on for show, because she seemed to know that nothing was wrong at all.
It was done so well, too, that Maria mused that, were she taller and not a politician, Redd could have gone into acting. The only reason Maria could discern it was because she knew Redd so damn well.
Sure enough, Eeben shook his head, that strange smile blossoming again. “No, no,” he said, “nothing wrong. I just find myself with an unprecedented five free minutes on my hands and considered it a good use of them to see if you might be suffering the same problem.”
“I’m afraid,” said Redd with a laugh, “that this is a bit of a forced respite I’m having now. If I don’t make myself take a break, then I never will.”
It was at that moment that a startling thought occurred to Maria: they were flirting. Her boss and her sister were sitting there flirting with each other over vid screens. Her attentions shifted, feeling a feline head nudging her shin. Gratitude for the easy distraction swept over her, and she bent down to lift Katarina up into her arms. The cat let out a surprised, almost strangled squeak, but settled in quickly to purr once she realized what was going on. Maria held her close, scratching behind her ears comfortingly as she stepped out further into the living room.
In which I attempt to get the plot moving again and actually start to like the story once more. Because we get away from the girls and bring in a male, for the "Male Book"? Or simply because I bring the cat in?
HMMM. I'm going with cat. And I'll admit that Katarina is totally a combination of my two cats. Her personality is Baldur's, but that squeak when you pick her up is entirely Genghis.
...shut up, I love my incestuous gay cats.
Day Two. Day Twelve.
Day Three.
Day Four.
Day Five.
Day Six.
Day Seven.
Day Eight.
Day Nine.
Day Ten.
“I’ll take that,” said Redd, “as a no, you haven’t called him back.”
“Nor will I ever,” Maria insisted. “I’m telling you, Redd; some of the things he does is bordering on abu-“
Something started to beep, though, and Maria paused mid-word to try to place the sound. It was more than just a beep, actually, building into a trilling of tones, rising and falling with musical intonations to catch one’s attention exactly as it had succeeded in doing. Maria looked to Redd to help identify it and saw that her sister’s face had gone as vibrant as her namesake colour. “I should get that,” she said, almost hurriedly, setting down her glass and heading back toward the living room with quick, padding steps.
Feeling an odd curiosity, Maria chugged what remained of her drink, bracing herself for its strength, and then felt at least a little bit better. She followed Redd with long, casual strides, slipping her hands into the back pockets of her jeans as she let the drinks warmth spread through her limbs.
A large wall of the room had lit up, and Redd was just sinking down onto her sofa in front of it. Across the wall, cast through the visual communications system and larger than life, was the image of Eeben Rynt at his desk, broad shoulders squared and strong in his starched military jacket. Maria had one similar to it, which barely saw the light of day except for when it was absolutely necessary. On Eeben’s face was a warm smile. Every so often, when the man actually smiled, it was such a kind expression, welcoming and almost boyish, which made it unexpected on his otherwise stern and powerful face. He looked faintly different, though, a very subtle difference that Maria observed carefully. It made her hang back a little in the doorway between the rooms. She liked to pride herself in being able to discern a great deal of information about a person from a single glance, that she didn’t get to where she was simply based on her work with a gun, and she’d seen a wide variety of things flash through Eeben’s eyes over the years. They ran the gamut from exhausted to energized, from gentle to downright homicidal. But she’d never, ever seen them dancing like this before, and she had no idea how to interpret them just yet.
“I hope,” he was in the middle of saying in greeting, “that I am not interrupting anything, Vice President.” That familiar, rough voice seemed a contradiction with how kind it sounded.
“Not at all, Captain,” said Redd, sitting very primly at the edge of the sofa, hands in her lap. “I just hope there isn’t anything the matter?” She drew it in a question, but Maria thought the concern in it sounded fake. It was put on for show, because she seemed to know that nothing was wrong at all.
It was done so well, too, that Maria mused that, were she taller and not a politician, Redd could have gone into acting. The only reason Maria could discern it was because she knew Redd so damn well.
Sure enough, Eeben shook his head, that strange smile blossoming again. “No, no,” he said, “nothing wrong. I just find myself with an unprecedented five free minutes on my hands and considered it a good use of them to see if you might be suffering the same problem.”
“I’m afraid,” said Redd with a laugh, “that this is a bit of a forced respite I’m having now. If I don’t make myself take a break, then I never will.”
It was at that moment that a startling thought occurred to Maria: they were flirting. Her boss and her sister were sitting there flirting with each other over vid screens. Her attentions shifted, feeling a feline head nudging her shin. Gratitude for the easy distraction swept over her, and she bent down to lift Katarina up into her arms. The cat let out a surprised, almost strangled squeak, but settled in quickly to purr once she realized what was going on. Maria held her close, scratching behind her ears comfortingly as she stepped out further into the living room.
In which I attempt to get the plot moving again and actually start to like the story once more. Because we get away from the girls and bring in a male, for the "Male Book"? Or simply because I bring the cat in?
HMMM. I'm going with cat. And I'll admit that Katarina is totally a combination of my two cats. Her personality is Baldur's, but that squeak when you pick her up is entirely Genghis.
...shut up, I love my incestuous gay cats.