Spinning Isn't Safe
Setting: Mostly unknown, post-apocalyptic. Fantasy? Science Fiction? I don't know.
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"'What big teeth you have, grandma,'" I quoted as I looked at the rows of long nails sticking out of board that was clamped to a bench in the workshop.
Unfortunately, I saw neither the calculating look of the workshop's owner nor the wolfish grin that spread across her face before she replaced it with a sickeningly sweet simper, and said, "What a delightful child!" while patting my cheek fondly.
I stiffened. I wanted to grab the woman's hand and twist it in a lock, but my guardian placed her hand on my shoulder just then and leaned close to my ear as the woman wandered away, talking about her wares.
"You don't know how close you are to the mark, child."
I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks, but I knew better than to sass a guard of the yellow order.
"Look at how she walks, how she does her work."
I grudgingly returned my attention to the owner of the shop, but soon I was fascinated. She walked with nearly regimented precision and when she swung the wool comb down, I could see how she had trained with weapons before, and how she considered the comb as just another weapon.
My eyes widened as they moved around the room, noting the many combs and hackles, made of steel spikes resting in wood, the spindles, poking up like sharpened stakes, even the brushes, with teeth stiffer than anything I would let near my head.
"She is a textile master. Her order is highly sought after for their skills. It should come as no wonder that for an apprentice to be sent out on their journey, that they must have the fighting skills to keep themselves safe.
"Besides, you didn't think it would be easy to shear a wolf, did you?"
I tried to detect if my guardian was pulling my tail, but if she was, she kept her own counsel.
It was a small effort to not step back as the woman I now realized was a warrior walked back toward us, but it was still an effort I noted.
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Just over 350 words, but I'll accept that for now. Still trying to not be sick. I'm hoping that things are looking up (and that I don't cough myself out of sleep again tonight).