Website update, now with ficbits!
TWO new pages up at Odin's Children, so go read!
There is also an update of the fiction page, the contents of which you can read below!
This is the first Odin's Children ficbit written, ever! This dates back to say, summer 06, when the story was first started. It's only now that I can show off the first two pages of what is an 110 page document and still growing- and that's not even counting the /other/ hundred plus pages that belong to the just-for-fun AUs. We have a monstrous amount of text written for this, and I'm looking forward to sharing. ^_^
Trailing through the guts of the post-modern white and glass architectural marvel that was the Beaulac International Airport, Epee was beginning to wonder if all international airports were virtually identical. The twists and turns might be a little different, the accent colors varied, and the language on the signs changed, but after the first ten, they all blurred together.
The baggage carousel was right about where he expected it to be, and spotting his luggage wasn’t exactly difficult. All of his worldly belongings fit neatly into a hiking frame backpack that had started life as an unholy neon goldenrod. These days, Epee likened it to a more comfortable rubber ducky shade. His mother had bought it for him way back when for the Cardiff to Cairo transition, and it’d served him well from there to Istanbul, Phnom Penh, Bangalore, Osaka, and Bangkok since. . . and to think he still had a Canadian passport. He patted his pockets to ensure said article was right where he left it, and slogged through immigrations. He’d learned how to have his papers arranged by now- and looking like the cute and harmless 16 year old he was never hurt anything.
Now, the only thing that /wasn’t/ routine came when he staggered out from the lines and last minute duty free shops to face the expectant crowd of people awaiting loved ones and business partners. Epee sighed. /Normally Mom would be here with me, and someone from her company would come out to meet us. . . or she’d be waiting for me with that same sign she’s been toting around for years. Not this time./
He shook his head and began scanning the crowd. /Someone’s got to be here- gotcha!/
In a pocket of free space, there was a single man standing holding a sign for one Gabriel Moreaux. Epee winced slightly. /Man. At least that’s not as bad as using my father’s last name. Which you’d better be polite about, idiot-/ And then he got a good look at who was /holding/ the sign. /Uhm. VERY polite./ At least he didn’t need to wonder why there was room to breathe over here. The man with the sign was tall, clad in a classic business suit that didn’t quite add up to a boardroom persona. He’d be hard-pressed to say if it was the lean impression of muscles and competence or the unnaturally dark skin and red-purple hair that really did it. /. . . That’s one hell of a home dye job. Is it me, or is that growing in darker purple? What the HELL?/
The man holding the sign shifted it to one hand and was beginning to look at him expectantly. Oh! /Stop staring, you idiot!/ Epee chastised himself, and plastered a friendly grin on. “Uhm. Hi! I’m Gabriel. I’m kind of guessing that you’re /not/ my Uncle Bakri.”
The strange man inclined his head. “Sabre. Doctor bin Jal sent me to receive you.”
It took Epee a moment to figure out he was actually being told the man’s name. “Sabre. . .? Oh!” He grinned, a little embarrassed. “Y’know, my mom calls me Epee.”
The stranger had already turned, the sign mysteriously disappeared, and was making headway through the crowd. Epee had to hustle forward a few steps to stay close before the crowd closed. “So, ah, where are we headed?”
“The subway entrance is this way. The doctor’s residence is three blocks from a station, if that is not inconvenient.” The odd purple eyes glanced pointedly at Epee’s towering yellow luggage.
It was hard to tell what the man was getting at exactly with his blank expression and flat eyes, but Epee took a stab in the dark and named it concern. He grinned gamely, shrugging easily under the straps. “Don’t worry about me. I’m used to this.”
“You travel often.”
It wasn’t quite a question, but hey, conversation was conversation. Epee spoke in between steps, careful to watch his balance on the stairs down. “Hoo yeah. Mom’s a traveling sales representative for Triquetra Technologies. She just got a little /too/ good- got promoted to global sales instead of regional, this time.” He grimaced. “She’s going to be all over the place now.” He was quick to look back up at Sabre as they approached the subway entrance, the man producing two passes to scan for their admittance. “Uhm- I’m grateful for Uncle Bakri offering to put me up; I really have no idea where I’d be otherwise!”
Directing them towards the proper platform, Sabre was silent for a long moment until they stood, waiting for the train. Epee had begun to give up hope for a response when the dark-skinned man spoke evenly. “You are his family; hosting you will not be an inconvenience. Dr. bin Jal often hosts visitors.”
Before Epee could respond, Sabre nodded in indication of the train that pulled up. “We will be taking this one.”
Epee found himself trundling after Sabre towards the nearest pair of open doors; the man didn’t wait, but Epee hadn’t really expected him to. Not long after Epee ducked inside, the doors whooshed closed. Epee gratefully dropped the burden of his luggage on to the cushioned seats nearest the door, then collapsed into the seat between his load and his guide. /Oof, the trains sure don’t wait long here. But it’s nice to get off my feet!/
The teenager considered the contents of the car while he recovered; this late at night, there weren’t that many people traveling. Their car was particularly empty; the only other rider on their end was a spiky-haired middle aged man nodding off. Epee blinked as he caught a flash of colors in the flickering light. /Blue and red spikes. . .? Man, maybe everyone in this city dyes their hair./
Epee grinned to himself, thinking of his own naturally bright red locks. /Guess I’m going to fit in for once!/
His inspection done, the teen turned his attention back to Sabre- only to find the older man was merely sitting stoically, obviously with absolutely no intention of continuing the conversation. /Man, talk about a tough audience. . ./
The silence dragged on, making him nervous. /I hate awkward silences./ Epee squirmed uneasily in his seat, attempting to come up with potential topics of conversation. It wasn’t exactly easy, given that he’d never even heard of the man who was sent as a representative of someone he’d never met. /Well, I guess that’s the common link, then. My uncle the doctor!/
“So,” he hazarded gamely, “You work with my Uncle?”
The purple eyes flicked his way briefly. “For him, yes.”
Epee waited expectantly; with an almost inaudible sigh, the man capitulated, adding, “He is also my host while I remain in Beaulac on business.”
That took Epee by surprise; he blinked at the man beside him with interest. /We’re going to be sharing the same place? Hoo boy, this is going to be interesting. . ./ “So you must know him pretty well, huh?” Epee babbled on happily, “What’s he like? I’ve never actually met him, even though he’s my father’s brother. We, ah, don’t see much of that side of the family, aside from my grandmother.”
Sabre regarded Epee levelly when he finally ran out of words; his tone was cool, maybe even cautionary when he finally spoke. “I doubt you will be seeing much more of him. Bin Jal is a busy man. The doctor is my sponsor, not an acquaintance.”
Epee winced, feeling like he’d been hit with a bucket of water. /Ooh, cold./ Sabre turned his attention deliberately away from the teenager, and Epee went silent, realizing he wasn’t going to get anything else out of the man for the rest of the ride.
The teenager sighed, taking up a more comfortable position leaning on his bag as he watched the city lights flash by outside the window.
/Man, I hope the rest of Beaulac is a little friendlier./
Epee is too genki to be believed, but that is why we love him. XD Also, check out Project Odin for a spotter's guide to the cast!
There is also an update of the fiction page, the contents of which you can read below!
This is the first Odin's Children ficbit written, ever! This dates back to say, summer 06, when the story was first started. It's only now that I can show off the first two pages of what is an 110 page document and still growing- and that's not even counting the /other/ hundred plus pages that belong to the just-for-fun AUs. We have a monstrous amount of text written for this, and I'm looking forward to sharing. ^_^
Trailing through the guts of the post-modern white and glass architectural marvel that was the Beaulac International Airport, Epee was beginning to wonder if all international airports were virtually identical. The twists and turns might be a little different, the accent colors varied, and the language on the signs changed, but after the first ten, they all blurred together.
The baggage carousel was right about where he expected it to be, and spotting his luggage wasn’t exactly difficult. All of his worldly belongings fit neatly into a hiking frame backpack that had started life as an unholy neon goldenrod. These days, Epee likened it to a more comfortable rubber ducky shade. His mother had bought it for him way back when for the Cardiff to Cairo transition, and it’d served him well from there to Istanbul, Phnom Penh, Bangalore, Osaka, and Bangkok since. . . and to think he still had a Canadian passport. He patted his pockets to ensure said article was right where he left it, and slogged through immigrations. He’d learned how to have his papers arranged by now- and looking like the cute and harmless 16 year old he was never hurt anything.
Now, the only thing that /wasn’t/ routine came when he staggered out from the lines and last minute duty free shops to face the expectant crowd of people awaiting loved ones and business partners. Epee sighed. /Normally Mom would be here with me, and someone from her company would come out to meet us. . . or she’d be waiting for me with that same sign she’s been toting around for years. Not this time./
He shook his head and began scanning the crowd. /Someone’s got to be here- gotcha!/
In a pocket of free space, there was a single man standing holding a sign for one Gabriel Moreaux. Epee winced slightly. /Man. At least that’s not as bad as using my father’s last name. Which you’d better be polite about, idiot-/ And then he got a good look at who was /holding/ the sign. /Uhm. VERY polite./ At least he didn’t need to wonder why there was room to breathe over here. The man with the sign was tall, clad in a classic business suit that didn’t quite add up to a boardroom persona. He’d be hard-pressed to say if it was the lean impression of muscles and competence or the unnaturally dark skin and red-purple hair that really did it. /. . . That’s one hell of a home dye job. Is it me, or is that growing in darker purple? What the HELL?/
The man holding the sign shifted it to one hand and was beginning to look at him expectantly. Oh! /Stop staring, you idiot!/ Epee chastised himself, and plastered a friendly grin on. “Uhm. Hi! I’m Gabriel. I’m kind of guessing that you’re /not/ my Uncle Bakri.”
The strange man inclined his head. “Sabre. Doctor bin Jal sent me to receive you.”
It took Epee a moment to figure out he was actually being told the man’s name. “Sabre. . .? Oh!” He grinned, a little embarrassed. “Y’know, my mom calls me Epee.”
The stranger had already turned, the sign mysteriously disappeared, and was making headway through the crowd. Epee had to hustle forward a few steps to stay close before the crowd closed. “So, ah, where are we headed?”
“The subway entrance is this way. The doctor’s residence is three blocks from a station, if that is not inconvenient.” The odd purple eyes glanced pointedly at Epee’s towering yellow luggage.
It was hard to tell what the man was getting at exactly with his blank expression and flat eyes, but Epee took a stab in the dark and named it concern. He grinned gamely, shrugging easily under the straps. “Don’t worry about me. I’m used to this.”
“You travel often.”
It wasn’t quite a question, but hey, conversation was conversation. Epee spoke in between steps, careful to watch his balance on the stairs down. “Hoo yeah. Mom’s a traveling sales representative for Triquetra Technologies. She just got a little /too/ good- got promoted to global sales instead of regional, this time.” He grimaced. “She’s going to be all over the place now.” He was quick to look back up at Sabre as they approached the subway entrance, the man producing two passes to scan for their admittance. “Uhm- I’m grateful for Uncle Bakri offering to put me up; I really have no idea where I’d be otherwise!”
Directing them towards the proper platform, Sabre was silent for a long moment until they stood, waiting for the train. Epee had begun to give up hope for a response when the dark-skinned man spoke evenly. “You are his family; hosting you will not be an inconvenience. Dr. bin Jal often hosts visitors.”
Before Epee could respond, Sabre nodded in indication of the train that pulled up. “We will be taking this one.”
Epee found himself trundling after Sabre towards the nearest pair of open doors; the man didn’t wait, but Epee hadn’t really expected him to. Not long after Epee ducked inside, the doors whooshed closed. Epee gratefully dropped the burden of his luggage on to the cushioned seats nearest the door, then collapsed into the seat between his load and his guide. /Oof, the trains sure don’t wait long here. But it’s nice to get off my feet!/
The teenager considered the contents of the car while he recovered; this late at night, there weren’t that many people traveling. Their car was particularly empty; the only other rider on their end was a spiky-haired middle aged man nodding off. Epee blinked as he caught a flash of colors in the flickering light. /Blue and red spikes. . .? Man, maybe everyone in this city dyes their hair./
Epee grinned to himself, thinking of his own naturally bright red locks. /Guess I’m going to fit in for once!/
His inspection done, the teen turned his attention back to Sabre- only to find the older man was merely sitting stoically, obviously with absolutely no intention of continuing the conversation. /Man, talk about a tough audience. . ./
The silence dragged on, making him nervous. /I hate awkward silences./ Epee squirmed uneasily in his seat, attempting to come up with potential topics of conversation. It wasn’t exactly easy, given that he’d never even heard of the man who was sent as a representative of someone he’d never met. /Well, I guess that’s the common link, then. My uncle the doctor!/
“So,” he hazarded gamely, “You work with my Uncle?”
The purple eyes flicked his way briefly. “For him, yes.”
Epee waited expectantly; with an almost inaudible sigh, the man capitulated, adding, “He is also my host while I remain in Beaulac on business.”
That took Epee by surprise; he blinked at the man beside him with interest. /We’re going to be sharing the same place? Hoo boy, this is going to be interesting. . ./ “So you must know him pretty well, huh?” Epee babbled on happily, “What’s he like? I’ve never actually met him, even though he’s my father’s brother. We, ah, don’t see much of that side of the family, aside from my grandmother.”
Sabre regarded Epee levelly when he finally ran out of words; his tone was cool, maybe even cautionary when he finally spoke. “I doubt you will be seeing much more of him. Bin Jal is a busy man. The doctor is my sponsor, not an acquaintance.”
Epee winced, feeling like he’d been hit with a bucket of water. /Ooh, cold./ Sabre turned his attention deliberately away from the teenager, and Epee went silent, realizing he wasn’t going to get anything else out of the man for the rest of the ride.
The teenager sighed, taking up a more comfortable position leaning on his bag as he watched the city lights flash by outside the window.
/Man, I hope the rest of Beaulac is a little friendlier./
Epee is too genki to be believed, but that is why we love him. XD Also, check out Project Odin for a spotter's guide to the cast!