Abecedarian Game Drabble, 3/9: GHI
The folx in my profic writers' group and I play the Abecedarian Game: any three consecutive letters can serve as prompt inspiration, and "running the letters" means answering nine prompt sets in abecedarian order (the final set is either a YZ or YZA one, depending upon preference). My group tends to select a specific dictionary from which we all pull prompts. Below, you'll find the third of nine little stories using words that I took from Phrontistery's Dictionary of Unusual Words.
My third three prompts, gymnosophy, heresiology, and ivorine, inspired the ficlet, A Brief Study of Brothers
A Brief Study of Brothers (G; Bill, Charlie, implied dragons, implied past Charlie/Tonks; 350): Bill pays Charlie a visit during mating season.
"Why Charles Weasley, I didn't know you were an adherent of gymnosophy!"
Charlie, who was standing, legs apart and arms outstretched without a stitch on, laughed. "Just making sure the spell gets rid of all the dragon shit, my brother. Hand me that bundle?"
"You really did look quite peaceful and contemplative. If not for the odd smell, I'd've thought you were meditating or something."
"Yeah, well, we were moving Angus the 'Kind'-"
"Angus!" Bill exclaimed.
"-from one enclosure to another, one farther from the females, and he took umbrage. Shat all over the corridor and us. Thank Merlin for Bubble-Head Charms!"
"Aw, why deny Angus his fun? Isn't it standard procedure not to interfere in the mating process? I remember that from Draper's."
"Ha!" exclaimed Charlie, pulling something long and ivorine from his pocket. "I knew you took Draper's Dragonology!"
"Just to study! You weren't reading it as I recall."
"I was, er, studying something-"
"Someone-"
"-else at the time," Charlie concluded, handing Bill the object. "And poring over Draper's would be considered an act of heresiology by the Preserve's new director. Look at that."
"The 'something' was Tonks?"
"Focus, Bill."
"It's a . . . bone?" he asked.
"Yes. Notice the awful crack running along its length?"
"Oh, ew!" Bill dropped the bone.
Charlie caught it. "That's right, it is a dragon's baculum! And the poor bastard wishes that he'd been penned farther away from Maeve the Mad. Would've saved his biggest bit, it would."
"Angus is all right, isn't he? Bill asked. "He's always been one of my favourites."
"He's fine, and he'll remain so as long as he doesn't worry the females. Follow me," instructed Charlie, walking towards the pens. "You see, despite Draper's outmoded ideas about dragon keeping, keeping too many dragons in one place isn't actually natural, so to prevent unnecessary death and dismemberment, we've got to monitor their breeding behaviour."
"Speaking of that," Bill said, "how's your love life?"
Charlie shook his head. "I knew you couldn't handle them. You've got it on the brain!"
"Handle what? And what do I have on the brain?"
"Sex. The dragons' pheromones, they affect people, too."
"But I don't want to fuck a dragon!"
"That's good, my brother, because you don't have a baculum!"
My third three prompts, gymnosophy, heresiology, and ivorine, inspired the ficlet, A Brief Study of Brothers
A Brief Study of Brothers (G; Bill, Charlie, implied dragons, implied past Charlie/Tonks; 350): Bill pays Charlie a visit during mating season.
"Why Charles Weasley, I didn't know you were an adherent of gymnosophy!"
Charlie, who was standing, legs apart and arms outstretched without a stitch on, laughed. "Just making sure the spell gets rid of all the dragon shit, my brother. Hand me that bundle?"
"You really did look quite peaceful and contemplative. If not for the odd smell, I'd've thought you were meditating or something."
"Yeah, well, we were moving Angus the 'Kind'-"
"Angus!" Bill exclaimed.
"-from one enclosure to another, one farther from the females, and he took umbrage. Shat all over the corridor and us. Thank Merlin for Bubble-Head Charms!"
"Aw, why deny Angus his fun? Isn't it standard procedure not to interfere in the mating process? I remember that from Draper's."
"Ha!" exclaimed Charlie, pulling something long and ivorine from his pocket. "I knew you took Draper's Dragonology!"
"Just to study! You weren't reading it as I recall."
"I was, er, studying something-"
"Someone-"
"-else at the time," Charlie concluded, handing Bill the object. "And poring over Draper's would be considered an act of heresiology by the Preserve's new director. Look at that."
"The 'something' was Tonks?"
"Focus, Bill."
"It's a . . . bone?" he asked.
"Yes. Notice the awful crack running along its length?"
"Oh, ew!" Bill dropped the bone.
Charlie caught it. "That's right, it is a dragon's baculum! And the poor bastard wishes that he'd been penned farther away from Maeve the Mad. Would've saved his biggest bit, it would."
"Angus is all right, isn't he? Bill asked. "He's always been one of my favourites."
"He's fine, and he'll remain so as long as he doesn't worry the females. Follow me," instructed Charlie, walking towards the pens. "You see, despite Draper's outmoded ideas about dragon keeping, keeping too many dragons in one place isn't actually natural, so to prevent unnecessary death and dismemberment, we've got to monitor their breeding behaviour."
"Speaking of that," Bill said, "how's your love life?"
Charlie shook his head. "I knew you couldn't handle them. You've got it on the brain!"
"Handle what? And what do I have on the brain?"
"Sex. The dragons' pheromones, they affect people, too."
"But I don't want to fuck a dragon!"
"That's good, my brother, because you don't have a baculum!"