(no subject)
Rocky Road #29 Out in the Cold with Hot Fudge and Whipped Cream
Story : knights
Rating : PG (mild violence)
Timeframe : 1249
Word Count : 1426
Sethan is getting too soft. Here's a taste of his creepier self again.
A fat drop of icy rain struck the back of Kairn’s neck, and he shuddered as it rolled over his skin and slid beneath his collar. He shifted a bit, his boots making soft squelching noises as he pried them from the sodden ground only to set them right back down in the same muck.
Sethan, grinning like a fool, though water dripped from the tip of every dark curl on his head, pried open the mouth of rather a large burlap sack and stuffed it into Kairn’s outstretched hands.
Something putrid wafted out of the open sack, and Kairn wrinkled his nose. “Where did you get this from?” He lifted the thing to peer inside, but a hand closed over his own, forcing him to a halt.
“The kitchen,” said Sethan, letting go again. He swiped a foot across the ground, nudging brush and brambles out of his way. “What does it matter?”
“It smells like something’s died in there.”
“So quit holding it so close to your nose,” Sethan, bent to dig among the undergrowth, called over his shoulder.
With a sigh, Kairn crumpled the bag shut and let his hands fall. “What are you looking for now?” he said as Sethan continued to poke about in the brush.
“This,” said Sethan, righting himself, a sturdy branch in his fist, each of its thick prongs nearly as long as his arms. He thrust the thing at Kairn, the motion causing his cloak to wave about his hips, a momentary gleam of silver coming to light at his belt.
Kairn eyed Sethan’s find with one brow raised. “A stick?”
“To flush them out of their burrow.”
Kairn frowned. “And you’re sure they’ll head this way?”
“I will take care of that,” said Sethan, propping the branch against his shoulder. “You just stay here with your sack and get ready to catch them when they do.” Kairn gave the smelly burlap a grimace as Sethan stalked off into the trees.
Kairn wriggled his toes inside his boots, a feeble attempt to fight the numbness the cold and wet had brought on. A low rumble rose up from his middle despite the stench that still eminated from the burlap sack in his hands. He sighed and shuffled in place. At least the rain had stopped.
Without the patter of drops on foliage, the woods were silent. Kairn strained to pick out so much as a rustle in the leaves, waiting for the moment when some racket would burst forth and he’d be called to do his job; hold the bag and grab whatever it was that came running towards him. Apparently the thing wasn’t especially scared of Sethan or his stick, or he’d have seen or heard something by now.
Kairn sighed and slowly stretched one arm and then the other. For all he knew, Sethan had gone back home and left him to freeze. He frowned and tried not to think about that, as he gave each leg a stretch.
There was the snap of a branch from behind, and Kairn jumped to attention, scanning the trees for any sign of movement. No breeze stirred the air, but the stench of the bag suddenly assaulted his senses with renewed force, and Kairn wondered why, in all the places he could have looked, Sethan couldn’t find a bag that didn’t reek.
Another snap, and the air grew heavy. All the hairs along the back of his neck stood on end, all notions of reprimanding Sethan for his taste in tools fled his mind. There was a rapid fire of breaking branches and rustling leaves, a pounding, thunderous tread, crashing and splashing through the wood . Kairn whirled around, the sack held open in his trembling grasp.
Two slender saplings nearest to him parted, their trunks bowed under the force of the enormous, furry head. The beast opened its jaws to bare fangs the length of Kairn’s hand, and let out an earsplitting roar.
The sack fell from Kairn’s hands and he ground it into the mud as he turned and ran. Twigs and leaves crunched beneath him and spray from the puddles lapped at his shins. There was a horrendous crunch and Kairn cast a terrified glance over his shoulder to find that the beast had snapped one of the trunks and laid one massive paw in the muddy clearing.
Kairn reached the far edge and threw out a hand to the nearest tree as his boots slipped and slid in the mud. A flash of something silver caught his eye and the creature let out another howl. As he clawed the bark, flailing at the branches, Sethan’s voice joined the beast’s with a string of curses.
His hand found a low lying limb and Kairn hauled himself up into the tree. Leaves shook all around him as he fought to secure a spot among the boughs with numb and trembling hands and boots covered in mud.
Below, the monster dove onto the discarded sack, blood oozing from a shallow wound in its shaggy shoulder. Kairn held his breath, shaking in his perch, while it dipped its giant snout into the rumpled burlap. Along the far end of the clearing, Sethan stooped to retrieve his dagger. He cast a quick glance to the tree where Kairn cowered, and the corner of his lips gave a twitch. At least a dozen cries of warning, shock, and outrage welled up and, just as swiftly, died in his throat as he watched his friend creep, dagger in hand, towards the monster hunched at the center of the clearing.
The thing raised its head, the dark stain of blood on its snout, as Sethan drew near. Slowly, it turned to face him. Another curse escaping his lips, Sethan made a grab for the beast’s leg with his free hand. It snorted as he cupped his hand over its ankle.
Sethan’s face grew strained and the creature’s leg trembled. His grip tightened on the leg, and he gave a grunt, the beast fell back on its haunches.
It roared again and swung a paw at Sethan, who struck back with the knife. He muttered something, most of which was lost to Kairn, though he managed to pick out more than a few curses among the rest, and the air about him flickered. The thing’s voice grew weak, and the claws that waved at Sethan drooped.
Sethan held on, shaking with the effort, but soon the beast collapsed the rest of the way to the ground. He stood a moment, panting, as the great mass of muscle and fur lay shuddering in the mud. He turned his head up to look just as Kairn dared to lower himself from the tree.
“Well, that hardly went according to plan,” said Sethan, as Kairn picked his way through the mud to stand beside him.
“I’ll say.”
His eyes on the fallen beast, Sethan slowly shook his head. “Thought I could take one down with a knife.”
“Well,” said Kairn, only half hearing him over the pounding of his own heart. “Wait, what?”
Sethan shrugged. “I thought it would be easier to kill one.”
Kairn’s jaw dropped. “This,” he jabbed a finger in the direction of the monster, “is what we were after?”
“Of course.”
Kairn looked from his friend to the beast and back again, stammering incoherently. “What happened to the… the harmless things…” he managed at last. “You know, the ones you were going to chase out of their burrows with a stick? What happened to prey that was supposed to fit in the sack?”
Sethan half swallowed a laugh, his shoulders quivering as the slightest trace of it snuck from his lips. “The what?” he said, turning to grin at Kairn.
“What the hell was in that bag anyway?” Kairn grabbed the muddy sack and up ended the thing. A lump of something chewed and bloody, wrapped in cheesecloth fell to the mud with a sickening splat. “You used me!” he said, throwing the sack on top of it. “You made bait of me!”
“Well, yes,” said Sethan as Kairn returned to sputtering. “But you’re not hurt, are you?”
Kairn let out a string of curses at his friend, half of which he doubted he’d ever had occasion to use before. Sethan just grinned back at him. Kairn gave the sack a kick in his direction and turned back towards the road.
“Where are you going?” said Sethan.
“Home,” Kairn shot over his shoulder.
“But the specimen-”
“Put it in the damn sack.”
Story : knights
Rating : PG (mild violence)
Timeframe : 1249
Word Count : 1426
Sethan is getting too soft. Here's a taste of his creepier self again.
A fat drop of icy rain struck the back of Kairn’s neck, and he shuddered as it rolled over his skin and slid beneath his collar. He shifted a bit, his boots making soft squelching noises as he pried them from the sodden ground only to set them right back down in the same muck.
Sethan, grinning like a fool, though water dripped from the tip of every dark curl on his head, pried open the mouth of rather a large burlap sack and stuffed it into Kairn’s outstretched hands.
Something putrid wafted out of the open sack, and Kairn wrinkled his nose. “Where did you get this from?” He lifted the thing to peer inside, but a hand closed over his own, forcing him to a halt.
“The kitchen,” said Sethan, letting go again. He swiped a foot across the ground, nudging brush and brambles out of his way. “What does it matter?”
“It smells like something’s died in there.”
“So quit holding it so close to your nose,” Sethan, bent to dig among the undergrowth, called over his shoulder.
With a sigh, Kairn crumpled the bag shut and let his hands fall. “What are you looking for now?” he said as Sethan continued to poke about in the brush.
“This,” said Sethan, righting himself, a sturdy branch in his fist, each of its thick prongs nearly as long as his arms. He thrust the thing at Kairn, the motion causing his cloak to wave about his hips, a momentary gleam of silver coming to light at his belt.
Kairn eyed Sethan’s find with one brow raised. “A stick?”
“To flush them out of their burrow.”
Kairn frowned. “And you’re sure they’ll head this way?”
“I will take care of that,” said Sethan, propping the branch against his shoulder. “You just stay here with your sack and get ready to catch them when they do.” Kairn gave the smelly burlap a grimace as Sethan stalked off into the trees.
Kairn wriggled his toes inside his boots, a feeble attempt to fight the numbness the cold and wet had brought on. A low rumble rose up from his middle despite the stench that still eminated from the burlap sack in his hands. He sighed and shuffled in place. At least the rain had stopped.
Without the patter of drops on foliage, the woods were silent. Kairn strained to pick out so much as a rustle in the leaves, waiting for the moment when some racket would burst forth and he’d be called to do his job; hold the bag and grab whatever it was that came running towards him. Apparently the thing wasn’t especially scared of Sethan or his stick, or he’d have seen or heard something by now.
Kairn sighed and slowly stretched one arm and then the other. For all he knew, Sethan had gone back home and left him to freeze. He frowned and tried not to think about that, as he gave each leg a stretch.
There was the snap of a branch from behind, and Kairn jumped to attention, scanning the trees for any sign of movement. No breeze stirred the air, but the stench of the bag suddenly assaulted his senses with renewed force, and Kairn wondered why, in all the places he could have looked, Sethan couldn’t find a bag that didn’t reek.
Another snap, and the air grew heavy. All the hairs along the back of his neck stood on end, all notions of reprimanding Sethan for his taste in tools fled his mind. There was a rapid fire of breaking branches and rustling leaves, a pounding, thunderous tread, crashing and splashing through the wood . Kairn whirled around, the sack held open in his trembling grasp.
Two slender saplings nearest to him parted, their trunks bowed under the force of the enormous, furry head. The beast opened its jaws to bare fangs the length of Kairn’s hand, and let out an earsplitting roar.
The sack fell from Kairn’s hands and he ground it into the mud as he turned and ran. Twigs and leaves crunched beneath him and spray from the puddles lapped at his shins. There was a horrendous crunch and Kairn cast a terrified glance over his shoulder to find that the beast had snapped one of the trunks and laid one massive paw in the muddy clearing.
Kairn reached the far edge and threw out a hand to the nearest tree as his boots slipped and slid in the mud. A flash of something silver caught his eye and the creature let out another howl. As he clawed the bark, flailing at the branches, Sethan’s voice joined the beast’s with a string of curses.
His hand found a low lying limb and Kairn hauled himself up into the tree. Leaves shook all around him as he fought to secure a spot among the boughs with numb and trembling hands and boots covered in mud.
Below, the monster dove onto the discarded sack, blood oozing from a shallow wound in its shaggy shoulder. Kairn held his breath, shaking in his perch, while it dipped its giant snout into the rumpled burlap. Along the far end of the clearing, Sethan stooped to retrieve his dagger. He cast a quick glance to the tree where Kairn cowered, and the corner of his lips gave a twitch. At least a dozen cries of warning, shock, and outrage welled up and, just as swiftly, died in his throat as he watched his friend creep, dagger in hand, towards the monster hunched at the center of the clearing.
The thing raised its head, the dark stain of blood on its snout, as Sethan drew near. Slowly, it turned to face him. Another curse escaping his lips, Sethan made a grab for the beast’s leg with his free hand. It snorted as he cupped his hand over its ankle.
Sethan’s face grew strained and the creature’s leg trembled. His grip tightened on the leg, and he gave a grunt, the beast fell back on its haunches.
It roared again and swung a paw at Sethan, who struck back with the knife. He muttered something, most of which was lost to Kairn, though he managed to pick out more than a few curses among the rest, and the air about him flickered. The thing’s voice grew weak, and the claws that waved at Sethan drooped.
Sethan held on, shaking with the effort, but soon the beast collapsed the rest of the way to the ground. He stood a moment, panting, as the great mass of muscle and fur lay shuddering in the mud. He turned his head up to look just as Kairn dared to lower himself from the tree.
“Well, that hardly went according to plan,” said Sethan, as Kairn picked his way through the mud to stand beside him.
“I’ll say.”
His eyes on the fallen beast, Sethan slowly shook his head. “Thought I could take one down with a knife.”
“Well,” said Kairn, only half hearing him over the pounding of his own heart. “Wait, what?”
Sethan shrugged. “I thought it would be easier to kill one.”
Kairn’s jaw dropped. “This,” he jabbed a finger in the direction of the monster, “is what we were after?”
“Of course.”
Kairn looked from his friend to the beast and back again, stammering incoherently. “What happened to the… the harmless things…” he managed at last. “You know, the ones you were going to chase out of their burrows with a stick? What happened to prey that was supposed to fit in the sack?”
Sethan half swallowed a laugh, his shoulders quivering as the slightest trace of it snuck from his lips. “The what?” he said, turning to grin at Kairn.
“What the hell was in that bag anyway?” Kairn grabbed the muddy sack and up ended the thing. A lump of something chewed and bloody, wrapped in cheesecloth fell to the mud with a sickening splat. “You used me!” he said, throwing the sack on top of it. “You made bait of me!”
“Well, yes,” said Sethan as Kairn returned to sputtering. “But you’re not hurt, are you?”
Kairn let out a string of curses at his friend, half of which he doubted he’d ever had occasion to use before. Sethan just grinned back at him. Kairn gave the sack a kick in his direction and turned back towards the road.
“Where are you going?” said Sethan.
“Home,” Kairn shot over his shoulder.
“But the specimen-”
“Put it in the damn sack.”