[Fic] "Harvest: Island Dreams" -- original, Ekanu
Joining 15_minute_fic was clearly one of my better recent ideas, because look! I wrote something, and it's finished. I grant you, it's clearly part of a much longer story, but still. Writing is good.
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Harvest: Island Dreams
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"It's a vision quest," said Denifar. "I thought you knew about these things -- didn't you go on one when you were twelve or fifteen or something?"
"I did," Ekanu agreed, "but I went to listen to the spirits of my people. You don't believe in the spirits of these islands, so I do not understand why you want to spend a sixday alone on a miniature island without any food."
Denifar grinned around his spoon. "I don't really -- I'm going to smuggle some bread and jerky in my pockets, and Gwitha says there are probably a lot of handmade fishhooks left over from all the other people who've gotten sick of starving for religion. But traditionally the leader of a big building project is supposed to listen to the spirits and make sure they're not opposed to changing the shape of a valley or whatnot before anyone starts moving rocks. So I figured I might as well. It'll be a vacation."
Ekanu sighed. "No. If you're going to ask the spirits for guidance, do it properly. They most likely won't speak to you, no matter what you do, but that's no excuse for disrespect." She drummed her fingers against the smooth, dark wood of the Scholars' Table, spreading a handful of options in her mind. Perhaps... "Is this a solitary quest, or are you allowed company?"
"I have no idea," said Denifar. He turned to his right and called down the table, "Hey, Amhre, this vision quest thing Omaril and Gwitha want me to do -- can I bring Ekanu with me?"
A lanky, dark-haired young man looked up from conversation with a knot of friends and pulled an exaggerated sour face. "Sure, bring your friend. Just don't eat her!"
"...In any sense of the word," a round-faced woman added, sending the entire group into gales of laughter.
"Well, there you are," said Denifar, a flush riding up his neck and tinting his cheekbones. "You can come keep an eye on me. If you don't mind the gossip, that is."
"Oh, I think that's a small price to pay for a vacation," Ekanu told him, and laughed as his flush climbed higher.
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Inspired by the 2/23/09 15_minute_fic word #99: marooned
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This may or may not end up being an actual part of Harvest (otherwise known as 'that damn Ekanu story that refuses to stop growing and just settle down and end already'), but I do think it's something that happened during Ekanu and Denifar's stay on Na'eraelu, probably before Ekanu accompanied Denifar to Gohril Wyefuelo, but after they'd started having sex (and after the rest of the chapterhouse had noticed the shift in their relationship).
Oooh. Or wait, maybe I could rework this and have it be after they've started having tension and Ekanu's decided she needs to reconnect to her own religion and stuff, and she concludes that a sixday when she and Denifar can't avoid arguments by having sex, and also are forced into proximity by being stuck on a small island, would be useful for working through their conflict. I was stuck on how to get them out of the cold-shoulder-or-screaming-argument rut, and that might actually work... *ponders*
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Harvest: Island Dreams
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"It's a vision quest," said Denifar. "I thought you knew about these things -- didn't you go on one when you were twelve or fifteen or something?"
"I did," Ekanu agreed, "but I went to listen to the spirits of my people. You don't believe in the spirits of these islands, so I do not understand why you want to spend a sixday alone on a miniature island without any food."
Denifar grinned around his spoon. "I don't really -- I'm going to smuggle some bread and jerky in my pockets, and Gwitha says there are probably a lot of handmade fishhooks left over from all the other people who've gotten sick of starving for religion. But traditionally the leader of a big building project is supposed to listen to the spirits and make sure they're not opposed to changing the shape of a valley or whatnot before anyone starts moving rocks. So I figured I might as well. It'll be a vacation."
Ekanu sighed. "No. If you're going to ask the spirits for guidance, do it properly. They most likely won't speak to you, no matter what you do, but that's no excuse for disrespect." She drummed her fingers against the smooth, dark wood of the Scholars' Table, spreading a handful of options in her mind. Perhaps... "Is this a solitary quest, or are you allowed company?"
"I have no idea," said Denifar. He turned to his right and called down the table, "Hey, Amhre, this vision quest thing Omaril and Gwitha want me to do -- can I bring Ekanu with me?"
A lanky, dark-haired young man looked up from conversation with a knot of friends and pulled an exaggerated sour face. "Sure, bring your friend. Just don't eat her!"
"...In any sense of the word," a round-faced woman added, sending the entire group into gales of laughter.
"Well, there you are," said Denifar, a flush riding up his neck and tinting his cheekbones. "You can come keep an eye on me. If you don't mind the gossip, that is."
"Oh, I think that's a small price to pay for a vacation," Ekanu told him, and laughed as his flush climbed higher.
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Inspired by the 2/23/09 15_minute_fic word #99: marooned
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This may or may not end up being an actual part of Harvest (otherwise known as 'that damn Ekanu story that refuses to stop growing and just settle down and end already'), but I do think it's something that happened during Ekanu and Denifar's stay on Na'eraelu, probably before Ekanu accompanied Denifar to Gohril Wyefuelo, but after they'd started having sex (and after the rest of the chapterhouse had noticed the shift in their relationship).
Oooh. Or wait, maybe I could rework this and have it be after they've started having tension and Ekanu's decided she needs to reconnect to her own religion and stuff, and she concludes that a sixday when she and Denifar can't avoid arguments by having sex, and also are forced into proximity by being stuck on a small island, would be useful for working through their conflict. I was stuck on how to get them out of the cold-shoulder-or-screaming-argument rut, and that might actually work... *ponders*