Drabbles for M
maderr's prizes. Or some of them anyway. ^^;
Court had been particularly trying that afternoon, between the Vidian Ambassador's constant attempts at extracting favors, to the Jovitian's unending rambling about every subject thinkable and then some, and now with the man from Cejar who had been letting him know for quite some time now how the trade arrangements between Woque and Cejar were all wrong and why Selan simply had to do something about it.
It made his head hurt. He loved his people, he really did, but sometimes they could be so very dense...
The Cejaran Ambassador cut off mid-sentence, blinking at something behind Selan's chair. Selan sat up a little, turning to catch sight of a small, white-haired figure wearing soft blue and white pajamas crossing the throne room and dragging a matching blue blanket behind him.
Selan smiled. Four months Arycian had been in the Celestial Palace and already it felt as though he'd always been there. The sight of him never failed to bring a smile to Selan's face, no matter what odd things the child got up to.
Arycian reached the foot of Selan's throne, lifting his arms into the air expectantly. By now familiar with the gesture, Selan reached down and pulled the boy into his lap where he promptly curled up, mumbling something indistinctly about a nap.
Selan smiled happily and added yet another reason why Arycian was wonderful to his growing list. His presence never failed to render Ambassadors speechless.
~ from The Green Planet
"And here I was beginning to think you never left the ship," Torhle said in amusement as Naefindan dragged him away from the docks and deeper into the area of town where the merchants displayed their wares.
"Almost never," Nae corrected cheerfully, ducking between two carts and maneuvering around a very large man. "Come on!"
"Where are we going?" Torhle asked, doing his best to keep up. It wasn't easy. Naefindan was as quick and agile winding his way through a marketplace as he was hurling himself through the rigging of the Azure. In anyone else such antics might be considered foolhardy or reckless. With Nae, it was just... normal.
Besides, he'd never seen Nae so much as stumble, much less fall. He'd asked Lanthus once and the first mate had confirmed it. No matter how many times Naefindan threw himself through the air, he never once missed his intended target.
And speaking of targets, Nae seemed to have found his for the man suddenly yanked him to one side, up toward a booth just as gaudy and colorful as all the rest. Torhle cast a casual glance over the goods, seeing nothing particularly worthy of Nae's interest, then blinked as his Captain and lover began holding them up against his head.
"Oh no," he protested, taking a step back, "You are not putting hair clips on me!"
"You always dress so plain," Naefindan told him, catching his wrist to prevent his escape. He always forgot just how strong Nae was until he did something like this.
"I like dressing plain," Torhle sulked. "I don't want to end up dressing like Lanthus."
Naefindan grinned. "You have better taste than Lan. Now hold still. I think this sapphire would look good with your dark hair."
Sighing, Torhle complied.
~ from The Azure
"Rahdi..." Shaji asked curiously, twisting around in the djinn's lap so he could see Rahdi's face, "Where did Atalaya get that crazy hat of his anyway?"
The man and hat in question were having a heated argument on the other side of the room that apparently had something to do with whether or not gryphons laid eggs, given that they were part mammal and part bird. So far, the hat appeared to be winning.
"I'm fairly certain he made it," Rahdi replied with a shrug, "But I was in my ring at the time. All I'm really sure of is that he didn't have it when we left the Hidden Land and just started wearing it one day."
"Why?" Shaji persisted. "Why would anyone want a hat that talked back? Or whatever it is that one does..."
Rahdi laughed. "It's also enchanted to always stay on his head no matter what the wind, and it keeps his hair from tangling. I think it may also have an enchantment on it similar to the one on his bag but he doesn't use the hat for storage very often..."
"So..." Shaji said doubtfully, "He enchanted it to do all that and accidentally made it sentient?"
Rahdi shook his head. "No, I'm pretty sure he meant to do that." He blinked. "Actually..." The djinn laughed. "He probably did it so he could win arguments with me! Two against one and all that."
Shaji blinked, then snickered. "Except the hat usually agrees with you," he observed.
Rahdi smirked. "Obviously, the hat is sensible and intelligent."
If Atalaya wondered why they were laughing so hard, he was too busy sulking over the fact that his hat had won yet another argument to ask.
~ from Arabian Days
Court had been particularly trying that afternoon, between the Vidian Ambassador's constant attempts at extracting favors, to the Jovitian's unending rambling about every subject thinkable and then some, and now with the man from Cejar who had been letting him know for quite some time now how the trade arrangements between Woque and Cejar were all wrong and why Selan simply had to do something about it.
It made his head hurt. He loved his people, he really did, but sometimes they could be so very dense...
The Cejaran Ambassador cut off mid-sentence, blinking at something behind Selan's chair. Selan sat up a little, turning to catch sight of a small, white-haired figure wearing soft blue and white pajamas crossing the throne room and dragging a matching blue blanket behind him.
Selan smiled. Four months Arycian had been in the Celestial Palace and already it felt as though he'd always been there. The sight of him never failed to bring a smile to Selan's face, no matter what odd things the child got up to.
Arycian reached the foot of Selan's throne, lifting his arms into the air expectantly. By now familiar with the gesture, Selan reached down and pulled the boy into his lap where he promptly curled up, mumbling something indistinctly about a nap.
Selan smiled happily and added yet another reason why Arycian was wonderful to his growing list. His presence never failed to render Ambassadors speechless.
~ from The Green Planet
"And here I was beginning to think you never left the ship," Torhle said in amusement as Naefindan dragged him away from the docks and deeper into the area of town where the merchants displayed their wares.
"Almost never," Nae corrected cheerfully, ducking between two carts and maneuvering around a very large man. "Come on!"
"Where are we going?" Torhle asked, doing his best to keep up. It wasn't easy. Naefindan was as quick and agile winding his way through a marketplace as he was hurling himself through the rigging of the Azure. In anyone else such antics might be considered foolhardy or reckless. With Nae, it was just... normal.
Besides, he'd never seen Nae so much as stumble, much less fall. He'd asked Lanthus once and the first mate had confirmed it. No matter how many times Naefindan threw himself through the air, he never once missed his intended target.
And speaking of targets, Nae seemed to have found his for the man suddenly yanked him to one side, up toward a booth just as gaudy and colorful as all the rest. Torhle cast a casual glance over the goods, seeing nothing particularly worthy of Nae's interest, then blinked as his Captain and lover began holding them up against his head.
"Oh no," he protested, taking a step back, "You are not putting hair clips on me!"
"You always dress so plain," Naefindan told him, catching his wrist to prevent his escape. He always forgot just how strong Nae was until he did something like this.
"I like dressing plain," Torhle sulked. "I don't want to end up dressing like Lanthus."
Naefindan grinned. "You have better taste than Lan. Now hold still. I think this sapphire would look good with your dark hair."
Sighing, Torhle complied.
~ from The Azure
"Rahdi..." Shaji asked curiously, twisting around in the djinn's lap so he could see Rahdi's face, "Where did Atalaya get that crazy hat of his anyway?"
The man and hat in question were having a heated argument on the other side of the room that apparently had something to do with whether or not gryphons laid eggs, given that they were part mammal and part bird. So far, the hat appeared to be winning.
"I'm fairly certain he made it," Rahdi replied with a shrug, "But I was in my ring at the time. All I'm really sure of is that he didn't have it when we left the Hidden Land and just started wearing it one day."
"Why?" Shaji persisted. "Why would anyone want a hat that talked back? Or whatever it is that one does..."
Rahdi laughed. "It's also enchanted to always stay on his head no matter what the wind, and it keeps his hair from tangling. I think it may also have an enchantment on it similar to the one on his bag but he doesn't use the hat for storage very often..."
"So..." Shaji said doubtfully, "He enchanted it to do all that and accidentally made it sentient?"
Rahdi shook his head. "No, I'm pretty sure he meant to do that." He blinked. "Actually..." The djinn laughed. "He probably did it so he could win arguments with me! Two against one and all that."
Shaji blinked, then snickered. "Except the hat usually agrees with you," he observed.
Rahdi smirked. "Obviously, the hat is sensible and intelligent."
If Atalaya wondered why they were laughing so hard, he was too busy sulking over the fact that his hat had won yet another argument to ask.
~ from Arabian Days