kalloway @kalloway@fedibird.com

I somehow managed to write 33 little stories over the weekend towards my #WritingMonth goal of 100. Quite a few of these fit in single posts, etc. so it's not a high word count. But it is a lot of little things out of my mind and my notes and that's good!

(I don't know if I'll change my goal or not.)

Vicki first saw the fox on the first day of August. The sun was down but the world was still hot.

Smart fox, she thought, when it didn't run out in front of her car. She didn't really like her job, but of course she still went.

The fox was there the next night, too. Hunting, Vicki thought. It was there almost every night...

The last day of August, she stopped her car and opened the passenger door.

"Where are we going?" she asked when the fox didn't hesitate before hopping in.

She closed the door...

It wouldn't be to work, she knew.

#MastoPrompt

"Are you hungry?" Neil asked, curious. "Or is there anything else you need?"

"I'm fine."

"This is new to me," Neil admitted as he fidgeted with the sheets. "You probably guessed. I don't think I did a very good job making the bed."

"Making the bed is overrated. As long as you're comfortable, you're doing it right."

"You're right..."

Neil wasn't entirely sure what to do. He'd made it to university without ever having an under-the-bed before. Now he had one and it even had a monster!

Carefully, he reached for the bed skirt...

"So, um..."

#wss366

(Nov 2, listen, JK Haru)

Yeah, Haru knew that the crowd wasn't there to listen to her sing, but she was having fun anyway. She'd get a good price for herself when she got off the stage, judging by the eyes on her.

And Sumo was there, too, clapping along like he always did. He'd at least drive up any bidding war and Haru wasn't going to complain about that.

She was going to have a good night and make a lot of money!

When she finished the last song, she smiled.

"Who wants to go upstairs with me?" she asked, as if she didn't already know.

#FanPrompt

(Nov 1, lost, Speed Racer)

Speed wasn't at all surprised to see the familiar yellow and black of the Shooting Star blaze past him in the last set of curves. Honestly, he'd been surprised to have kept the lead for as long as he had. The Mach 5 hadn't liked the course and he hadn't either. But he knew what adjustments could be made and one lost race wasn't much of a setback.

He'd just have to win the next one; Racer X could enjoy the view of his tailpipes instead.

But that was two weeks away. Until then, he'd put in the work he needed to.

#FanPrompt

Frost put her hair up in a tight bun and then pulled on a warm knit hat that matched the rest of her attire. She'd found that hats and socks made all the difference as far as keeping warm went.

Her tower was a little drafty... Well, it was a lot drafty. She'd been working on insulating it and sealing all the cracks and holes she found, but it was an endless task and she had other work to do, too.

It was a spacious tower, though, and the rent was cheap. That alone kept Frost happily where she was.

Time to stoke the fire.

And knit.

(WSS 9/4/24 Tower)

Allie thrust her hand into the fire and pulled out a fat fistful of flame.

This, she poured into a jar she'd prepared in advance. At the bottom were the thirty-two other ingredients. She'd only needed the flame...

Her skin was unmarked, except for some soot, and as Allie screwed the lid onto the jar, she said the few words she needed to.

With that, it was done. She set the burning jar beneath the new moon and smiled. One month and she'd have a new heart, burning bright and without hurt.

Allie wiped the soot from her hand.

(MicroPrompt 8/7/24 Heart)

Doug raised his hand and Professor Blackshroud winced.

"Doug?" they rasped.

"Do all the scales need to come from the same basilisk?" he asked quickly. "Does the spell work better if they do? Does it matter which part of the basilisk they come from? Are the scales gathered humanely? Do the-"

"Doug," Professor Blackshroud rasped, interrupting. "Doug, come with me, I have someone for you to meet."

The rest of the class was silent as Doug left the room.

And that's why you can buy Doug's Free-Range Humane Basilisk Scales anywhere today...

#MastoPrompt

Darby pushed aside the curtain to reveal a clear, bright morning. It had snowed again, and there was no sign of Darrel.

With a sigh, Darby first made coffee and then cast a simple spell to find where Darrel had ended up this time. Hopefully he'd not been buried again; it was too cold to dig him up.

He found Darrel an hour later, half in a snow drift, still incredibly dead and reeking of bad decisions.

Darby hauled him out and got him on his feet, brushing off both apologies and snowflakes.

It was a new day, they could try again.

(WSS 10/31/24 Drift)

Dusty worked quickly and quietly, one enchanted pick after another, prodding and twisting and finally clicking the last bit into place while also snapping a troublesome seal...

"There we go," he said as he stepped aside. It was not his business what was behind the locked door.

"Thank you," his employer said in a dark, rumbling voice while also turning the door's knob. "You will be compensated well for your work."

Not too well, Dusty thought, or it would cause other problems, but-

-but he also knew not to refuse a dragon.

(MastoPrompt 10/31/24 Twist)

"Soft," Teofila said as she gently stroked the tiny, fluffy feathers at the base of one of Miha's wings.

"I suppose," Miha replied. She'd been halfway through getting dressed but then Teofila had intervened and she was back on the bed.

Miha wasn't complaining about that.

Teofila's fingers roamed down her spine, on skin instead of fluff.

"Teofila..."

"Soft," Teofila repeated and Miha was sure she could feel Teofila's smile.

"I suppose," Miha said quietly.

Softer than she thought she could be... But, for Teofila, well...

(MicroPrompt 8/6/24 Wings)