peaches & cream 3. dandelion // wedding cake 5. best man
TITLE: A Beneficial Weed.
AUTHOR: Shrimp
CHALLENGE: peaches and cream. wedding cake (flavor of the month). pocky chain.
WORD COUNT: 1,110
RATING: PG
NOTES: Pocky chain on the character of Reynard explaining his past and such.
“He’s awfully small. You think there’s something wrong with him?” Michel questioned his wife as he stared at their children playing together. They had three boys: Geoffrey, Leon, and Reynard.
“He’s just young,” Gabrielle stated of Reynard. “He’ll catch up.”
“The other two were never that small,” he insisted, worried about his son’s place on the farm.
“He doesn’t need to be big. He’s smart.” Michel rolled his eyes at his wife.
“Fat lot of a good being smart is. I need someone who can work the field, keep the animals in line not sit around reading books and… thinking.”
***
“Come on you bastard pig,” Reynard mumbled as he pushed all of his young weight against the back of the hog. It snorted passively and stayed its ground. “Come on. Get into the pen…”
“Eh, Rey, need a lil’ help?” Geoffrey called from where he was hefting slop for the animals. “I can do that, yeah?”
“No!” He insisted, his cheek pressed against the pig’s skin as he tried to force it where it needed to be. “I can do it! I can!” Geoffrey shrugged. Reynard was only six but he was already as stubborn as the rest of them.
***
“Who’d I see you talking to when you should’ve been doing your chores, boy?” Michel asked gruffly. Reynard swallowed what was in his mouth and shrugged very slightly.
“I had to talk to him,” he started. “He’s the prince. Prince Addison.” Michel slammed his hands down on the table with a laugh. Reynard jumped.
“If you’re gonna make stories up you better make them believable at least. Finish your dinner in the corner,” the father instructed. Dutifully Reynard got up and went to the corner with his soup. His eyes stung with tears of frustration. He was telling the truth.
***
Reynard closed his eyes and stretched into a more comfortable position on the grass. The sun had warmed the meadows and as he laid there he could almost forget that he had chores to do.
“I think you’re my best friend,” the boy beside him said abruptly. Reynard looked at him with squinted eyes. “I mean,” Addison lifted himself up onto his elbow, “you’re my only friend so it isn’t a big competiton.”
“You’re mine too if it makes you feel better.” At nine it was a strange thing to realize: he had one friend and it was the prince.
***
Reynard looked over at the sound of snoring. Addison had fallen asleep on top of his homework again. He smiled and turned back to his own books. It was late and the oil in his lamp would only last a few hours longer. When it went out he would stop studying and go to sleep but not before then. He didn’t begrudge Addison’s lackadaisical attitude towards school. The only reason Reynard was here was because of his friend. But if Addison didn’t do well he could just go back to being a prince. Reynard wouldn’t be going back. Only forward.
***
“Don’t you want to say goodbye to your family before we leave? You know, never to return and all that,” Addison asked, throwing on the horrible misquotation of the oath they had taken for added effect. Reynard looked at him. More than ten years of friendship and he still couldn’t really be mad at Addison for his lip. He supposed that was for the best.
“I said goodbye when I left for school.”
“That’s enough for you?”
“Never to return,” he said with a shrug. Addison looked at him seriously for a moment before smiling.
“Sounds all right by me.”
***
“I can’t believe you did that,” Reynard yelled. He paced the length of the room they were staying in. In the corner Addison lounged in a chair, watching his friend with slightly amused features. “I just can’t believe it!”
“Well, did you like her? Like really like her. Like courtly love and romance, fly her colors while we travel like her,” Addison questioned. Reynard stopped and seemed to think it over.
“No,” he responded with a sigh of frustration and resignation. “But I still can’t believe you.”
“Really? Seems just like me.” Reynard sat on the bed.
“It really does.”
***
Sometimes Reynard felt bad that he had named his horse Horse. He felt guilty that he hadn’t had enough imagination to name it something interesting, or had enough patience to name it something that described its character. He ran a brush over its back in soothing circles as he smoothed its hide. It was a good and loyal steed. It deserved to be called something other than the curt and obvious “Horse”. Then he would realize that it was probably a sign of insanity that he cared so much about something that mattered so little. Sometimes life was just lonely.
***
“I wish you would stop,” Reynard said in a tone that underscored how much he wished it. Bliss paused momentarily in her exercise.
“Why?” She asked, pinning the knight under her gaze. “Does it bother you?” He watched the color in her eyes shift and felt her words drape over him like heavy velvet. He knew she did it on purpose. She said things to him differently than she said them to Addison. She simply liked to bother him. He figured that out quick enough.
“No, it’s just… distracting.” Bliss smiled.
“It’s supposed to be.” She said before continuing dancing.
***
“You’re very close-minded,” Bliss huffed, her hands on her hips as she stared down at Reynard. He kept his eyes on the arrowheads he was sharpening and said nothing. “You second guess everything,” the young woman continued tensely. When he didn’t respond she made an aggravated noise and turned sharply and called over her shoulder, “You’re obnoxious!”
He looked up as she stomped off, smiling to himself as he continued with his task. He didn’t understand why but getting Bliss agitated had become a great source of pleasure to him. It wasn’t as if there was anything better to do.
***
“I don’t think we should let her do that,” Reynard whispered to Addison as Bliss sat on a table in the middle of the pub surrounded by men.
“Why? She’s just telling fortunes. It’s good for her to have her own money.”
“We’re taking advantage of her.”
“No we’re not. Whenever she buys us anything it’s out of her own free will. She’s generous.” Addison leaned back in his seat to enjoy his beer. “Besides, I think she likes the attention.”
“I don’t like it,” Reynard said under his breath. Addison raised an eyebrow for elaboration. “Nevermind. Want another round?”
AUTHOR: Shrimp
CHALLENGE: peaches and cream. wedding cake (flavor of the month). pocky chain.
WORD COUNT: 1,110
RATING: PG
NOTES: Pocky chain on the character of Reynard explaining his past and such.
“He’s awfully small. You think there’s something wrong with him?” Michel questioned his wife as he stared at their children playing together. They had three boys: Geoffrey, Leon, and Reynard.
“He’s just young,” Gabrielle stated of Reynard. “He’ll catch up.”
“The other two were never that small,” he insisted, worried about his son’s place on the farm.
“He doesn’t need to be big. He’s smart.” Michel rolled his eyes at his wife.
“Fat lot of a good being smart is. I need someone who can work the field, keep the animals in line not sit around reading books and… thinking.”
***
“Come on you bastard pig,” Reynard mumbled as he pushed all of his young weight against the back of the hog. It snorted passively and stayed its ground. “Come on. Get into the pen…”
“Eh, Rey, need a lil’ help?” Geoffrey called from where he was hefting slop for the animals. “I can do that, yeah?”
“No!” He insisted, his cheek pressed against the pig’s skin as he tried to force it where it needed to be. “I can do it! I can!” Geoffrey shrugged. Reynard was only six but he was already as stubborn as the rest of them.
***
“Who’d I see you talking to when you should’ve been doing your chores, boy?” Michel asked gruffly. Reynard swallowed what was in his mouth and shrugged very slightly.
“I had to talk to him,” he started. “He’s the prince. Prince Addison.” Michel slammed his hands down on the table with a laugh. Reynard jumped.
“If you’re gonna make stories up you better make them believable at least. Finish your dinner in the corner,” the father instructed. Dutifully Reynard got up and went to the corner with his soup. His eyes stung with tears of frustration. He was telling the truth.
***
Reynard closed his eyes and stretched into a more comfortable position on the grass. The sun had warmed the meadows and as he laid there he could almost forget that he had chores to do.
“I think you’re my best friend,” the boy beside him said abruptly. Reynard looked at him with squinted eyes. “I mean,” Addison lifted himself up onto his elbow, “you’re my only friend so it isn’t a big competiton.”
“You’re mine too if it makes you feel better.” At nine it was a strange thing to realize: he had one friend and it was the prince.
***
Reynard looked over at the sound of snoring. Addison had fallen asleep on top of his homework again. He smiled and turned back to his own books. It was late and the oil in his lamp would only last a few hours longer. When it went out he would stop studying and go to sleep but not before then. He didn’t begrudge Addison’s lackadaisical attitude towards school. The only reason Reynard was here was because of his friend. But if Addison didn’t do well he could just go back to being a prince. Reynard wouldn’t be going back. Only forward.
***
“Don’t you want to say goodbye to your family before we leave? You know, never to return and all that,” Addison asked, throwing on the horrible misquotation of the oath they had taken for added effect. Reynard looked at him. More than ten years of friendship and he still couldn’t really be mad at Addison for his lip. He supposed that was for the best.
“I said goodbye when I left for school.”
“That’s enough for you?”
“Never to return,” he said with a shrug. Addison looked at him seriously for a moment before smiling.
“Sounds all right by me.”
***
“I can’t believe you did that,” Reynard yelled. He paced the length of the room they were staying in. In the corner Addison lounged in a chair, watching his friend with slightly amused features. “I just can’t believe it!”
“Well, did you like her? Like really like her. Like courtly love and romance, fly her colors while we travel like her,” Addison questioned. Reynard stopped and seemed to think it over.
“No,” he responded with a sigh of frustration and resignation. “But I still can’t believe you.”
“Really? Seems just like me.” Reynard sat on the bed.
“It really does.”
***
Sometimes Reynard felt bad that he had named his horse Horse. He felt guilty that he hadn’t had enough imagination to name it something interesting, or had enough patience to name it something that described its character. He ran a brush over its back in soothing circles as he smoothed its hide. It was a good and loyal steed. It deserved to be called something other than the curt and obvious “Horse”. Then he would realize that it was probably a sign of insanity that he cared so much about something that mattered so little. Sometimes life was just lonely.
***
“I wish you would stop,” Reynard said in a tone that underscored how much he wished it. Bliss paused momentarily in her exercise.
“Why?” She asked, pinning the knight under her gaze. “Does it bother you?” He watched the color in her eyes shift and felt her words drape over him like heavy velvet. He knew she did it on purpose. She said things to him differently than she said them to Addison. She simply liked to bother him. He figured that out quick enough.
“No, it’s just… distracting.” Bliss smiled.
“It’s supposed to be.” She said before continuing dancing.
***
“You’re very close-minded,” Bliss huffed, her hands on her hips as she stared down at Reynard. He kept his eyes on the arrowheads he was sharpening and said nothing. “You second guess everything,” the young woman continued tensely. When he didn’t respond she made an aggravated noise and turned sharply and called over her shoulder, “You’re obnoxious!”
He looked up as she stomped off, smiling to himself as he continued with his task. He didn’t understand why but getting Bliss agitated had become a great source of pleasure to him. It wasn’t as if there was anything better to do.
***
“I don’t think we should let her do that,” Reynard whispered to Addison as Bliss sat on a table in the middle of the pub surrounded by men.
“Why? She’s just telling fortunes. It’s good for her to have her own money.”
“We’re taking advantage of her.”
“No we’re not. Whenever she buys us anything it’s out of her own free will. She’s generous.” Addison leaned back in his seat to enjoy his beer. “Besides, I think she likes the attention.”
“I don’t like it,” Reynard said under his breath. Addison raised an eyebrow for elaboration. “Nevermind. Want another round?”