rhubarb, pistachio and butter pecan with sprinkles
Story: Timeless { backstory | index }
Title: Roses For Wolfgang
Rating: G
Challenge: Rhubarb ‘My Treat’ #27: stop and smell the roses (the black ops team in their spare time), Pistachio #19: meditation/prayer, Butter Pecan #22: fragrant
Toppings/Extras: sprinkles
Wordcount: 1,214
Summary: Wolfgang Sidone is a reliable friend and comrade-even after his death.
Notes: The end of this was Wolfgang’s single role in Timeless. Now look at him! Marina’s Treat again! Bet this wasn’t what you were expecting from the prompt.
Robyn didn’t know why they still called it a graveyard. Neville Spire Graveyard-and all of the other graveyards all over Britannia-were not yards any more, and neither were there graves. Sighing, Robyn strode up to the desk, trying not to fiddle too much with the large bunch of flowers she was carrying in one hand. She smiled weakly at the bespectacled man behind the tall, blanket-covered desk.
“Wolfgang Sidone,” she said. “2981.”
“Ooh, it’s been a while since I’ve seen you,” the man said, dragging his fingers across the touch-screen embedded into the surface of the desk.
“You remember me?”
“No offence, girl, but who could forget you?” He grinned up at her. “That’s booth three, then, OK?”
“Thanks,” Robyn said politely and turned away from him, striding down the corridor until she reached a black door with a silver three stuck to it. She touched the pad and it slid open. Inside were a few chairs facing a blank wall with a small protruding ledge and a hole in it. As she watched, there was the whirr of machinery-and a few minutes later, a glass box appeared in the space in the wall.
Pushing all of the other chairs to one side of the room, Robyn drew up one of the black-leather seats and shuffled close to the glass box, opening the front with a key that she always kept with her. Inside was a small silver urn and the skeletal remains of last visit’s roses. Guiltily, Robyn swiped them away, unwinding a cream-coloured scarf from her neck.
“Sorry it’s been a while, Wolf,” she said sheepishly. “We’ve been so busy lately. But hey, I got you some more flowers… and the real deal, too. Do you know how expensive live flowers are these days? You’d better appreciate it.”
Reverently, she laid down the roses inside of the glass box. Then she ran a finger down the front of the urn. It had his name engraved on it and the silhouettes of two dogs. Perhaps wolves, though Wolfgang had always been more like a big friendly dog than a wolf. Robyn snatched her hand away and twined her fingers together.
“So, what’s new? I don’t know, it’s the same old stuff really… Newson is a bastard… etcetera… oh, I think Brad might have a girlfriend. Crazy, eh? I’ll let you know how that one goes. He’s being all secretive about it. The one time I don’t want him to shut his big mouth and he’s giving nothing away.
“Victor’s… well, he’s getting there, you know? He says the occasional couple of words here and there. He’s a sweet kid… wait, I’m not meant to call him that… um, he’s sweet. I think he misses you.
“Taisy… you know how I said when she first joined that she’s annoying?” Robyn laughed a little. “Well, she’s not really. Actually she’s adorable. Maybe I was just being weird because of the whole… ‘being your replacement’ thing…” Robyn’s gaze dropped to her hands. “She’s a total div but she’s nice. She’s kind of the little sister. You would’ve liked her because… you’re the big brother. You were the big brother.”
Usually she felt stupid when she was talking to inanimate objects but talking to Wolfgang never changed. He’d just become a lot quieter. Perhaps there was something in the walls; her voice didn’t echo back hollowly, it seemed to be absorbed completely into the air.
“Ugh. I still really miss you, Wolf.” She leaned her elbow onto the ledge and gazed at the flowers she had left for him. The sweet, pungent scent was filling the small space of the visiting room. “I like Brad but you can’t really talk about feelings with him. Taisy never knew you and Victor is… well, you know him.” She cracked a wistful grin. “He’s so funny, though.”
A pause.
“I can’t really stay that long,” Robyn said eventually. “Your brother comes to visit you sometimes, right? The kids are still adorable. Shane is… what, six now? I haven’t seen them in a while.” She pulled a face. “They’re not really my family.”
Closing the box and locking it again, she stood up. She wrapped her scarf around her neck, flinging her cord of blonde hair over one shoulder and pulling her coat tighter around herself. Winter had come early and it was a particularly frigid day; a thick overcoat-grey-brown canvas on the outside, white fluff on the inside-was wrapped around her, and her green leggings disappeared into black polished boots, still bright as the days when they had served her in the army.
“Anyway, I’ll see you later,” she murmured, glancing over the gleaming urn one more time before stepping out of the room.
-----
Bradley Dekeynel skipped into the visiting room and waited patiently for the small glass box to pop out of the side wall. Scuttling forwards, he slammed a simply massive bouquet of roses down onto the ledge with a shower of dislodged petals and grinned at the urn, his reflection slightly distorted on the neatly polished silverware.
“Wolf! I come bearing gifts,” he announced. Bradley wasn’t shy about talking to himself-but of course, he wasn’t talking to himself at all. He was talking to Wolfgang. He sat down on a seat and shuffled it closer to the ledge. “Yeah, I know I’m a little earlier than usual. What do I want? Oh, you cheeky bastard.”
Bradley believed that you could never know a friend too well.
“Alright, I’ll admit it. I need a favour. But I swear it’s not very difficult.”
Conspiratorially, he leaned forwards, dropping his voice. He tapped the damp paper wrapped around the roses.
“Robyn pulled a gun on Newson when he started beating on Victor. Classic! I wish I could’ve seen the look on his face. Though seriously, all time low for Newson. Torturing Victor is just…” Bradley’s smiled faded a little and then strengthened. “Well, Robyn said she told him to go fuck himself, so she’s pretty much won the year. Oh, doesn’t love make people brave? It’s beautiful, really it is.”
As he spoke, he pulled a loop of string from around his neck. On it dangled two keys-he used one of them to open Wolfgang’s box. He cleared out the last lot of withered roses and swept it into the nearby bin, being careful not to disturb the toys left inside by Wolfgang’s nephews. Before placing the roses inside the glass case besides the urn, Bradley reached into it and pulled out a small envelope.
“All I need you to do, chum, is keep hold this for a while. Two tickets to Valetta via the Satellite 2 line. They’ll be here to pick it up sooner or later. Could you do that for me?”
Bradley almost seemed to listen for a moment.
“Newson’s going to be tracking down their every move, y’see,” he said. “Him and Merritt. They’ll know everything they buy, everywhere they go. As far as Newson knows, me and Taze are innocent as… I dunno, something innocent. Anyway, that’s why me and Taisy had to get a hold of a way out for them, espionage style. What are friends for, eh?
“Just keep a hold of those tickets. Thanks!”
Title: Roses For Wolfgang
Rating: G
Challenge: Rhubarb ‘My Treat’ #27: stop and smell the roses (the black ops team in their spare time), Pistachio #19: meditation/prayer, Butter Pecan #22: fragrant
Toppings/Extras: sprinkles
Wordcount: 1,214
Summary: Wolfgang Sidone is a reliable friend and comrade-even after his death.
Notes: The end of this was Wolfgang’s single role in Timeless. Now look at him! Marina’s Treat again! Bet this wasn’t what you were expecting from the prompt.
Robyn didn’t know why they still called it a graveyard. Neville Spire Graveyard-and all of the other graveyards all over Britannia-were not yards any more, and neither were there graves. Sighing, Robyn strode up to the desk, trying not to fiddle too much with the large bunch of flowers she was carrying in one hand. She smiled weakly at the bespectacled man behind the tall, blanket-covered desk.
“Wolfgang Sidone,” she said. “2981.”
“Ooh, it’s been a while since I’ve seen you,” the man said, dragging his fingers across the touch-screen embedded into the surface of the desk.
“You remember me?”
“No offence, girl, but who could forget you?” He grinned up at her. “That’s booth three, then, OK?”
“Thanks,” Robyn said politely and turned away from him, striding down the corridor until she reached a black door with a silver three stuck to it. She touched the pad and it slid open. Inside were a few chairs facing a blank wall with a small protruding ledge and a hole in it. As she watched, there was the whirr of machinery-and a few minutes later, a glass box appeared in the space in the wall.
Pushing all of the other chairs to one side of the room, Robyn drew up one of the black-leather seats and shuffled close to the glass box, opening the front with a key that she always kept with her. Inside was a small silver urn and the skeletal remains of last visit’s roses. Guiltily, Robyn swiped them away, unwinding a cream-coloured scarf from her neck.
“Sorry it’s been a while, Wolf,” she said sheepishly. “We’ve been so busy lately. But hey, I got you some more flowers… and the real deal, too. Do you know how expensive live flowers are these days? You’d better appreciate it.”
Reverently, she laid down the roses inside of the glass box. Then she ran a finger down the front of the urn. It had his name engraved on it and the silhouettes of two dogs. Perhaps wolves, though Wolfgang had always been more like a big friendly dog than a wolf. Robyn snatched her hand away and twined her fingers together.
“So, what’s new? I don’t know, it’s the same old stuff really… Newson is a bastard… etcetera… oh, I think Brad might have a girlfriend. Crazy, eh? I’ll let you know how that one goes. He’s being all secretive about it. The one time I don’t want him to shut his big mouth and he’s giving nothing away.
“Victor’s… well, he’s getting there, you know? He says the occasional couple of words here and there. He’s a sweet kid… wait, I’m not meant to call him that… um, he’s sweet. I think he misses you.
“Taisy… you know how I said when she first joined that she’s annoying?” Robyn laughed a little. “Well, she’s not really. Actually she’s adorable. Maybe I was just being weird because of the whole… ‘being your replacement’ thing…” Robyn’s gaze dropped to her hands. “She’s a total div but she’s nice. She’s kind of the little sister. You would’ve liked her because… you’re the big brother. You were the big brother.”
Usually she felt stupid when she was talking to inanimate objects but talking to Wolfgang never changed. He’d just become a lot quieter. Perhaps there was something in the walls; her voice didn’t echo back hollowly, it seemed to be absorbed completely into the air.
“Ugh. I still really miss you, Wolf.” She leaned her elbow onto the ledge and gazed at the flowers she had left for him. The sweet, pungent scent was filling the small space of the visiting room. “I like Brad but you can’t really talk about feelings with him. Taisy never knew you and Victor is… well, you know him.” She cracked a wistful grin. “He’s so funny, though.”
A pause.
“I can’t really stay that long,” Robyn said eventually. “Your brother comes to visit you sometimes, right? The kids are still adorable. Shane is… what, six now? I haven’t seen them in a while.” She pulled a face. “They’re not really my family.”
Closing the box and locking it again, she stood up. She wrapped her scarf around her neck, flinging her cord of blonde hair over one shoulder and pulling her coat tighter around herself. Winter had come early and it was a particularly frigid day; a thick overcoat-grey-brown canvas on the outside, white fluff on the inside-was wrapped around her, and her green leggings disappeared into black polished boots, still bright as the days when they had served her in the army.
“Anyway, I’ll see you later,” she murmured, glancing over the gleaming urn one more time before stepping out of the room.
-----
Bradley Dekeynel skipped into the visiting room and waited patiently for the small glass box to pop out of the side wall. Scuttling forwards, he slammed a simply massive bouquet of roses down onto the ledge with a shower of dislodged petals and grinned at the urn, his reflection slightly distorted on the neatly polished silverware.
“Wolf! I come bearing gifts,” he announced. Bradley wasn’t shy about talking to himself-but of course, he wasn’t talking to himself at all. He was talking to Wolfgang. He sat down on a seat and shuffled it closer to the ledge. “Yeah, I know I’m a little earlier than usual. What do I want? Oh, you cheeky bastard.”
Bradley believed that you could never know a friend too well.
“Alright, I’ll admit it. I need a favour. But I swear it’s not very difficult.”
Conspiratorially, he leaned forwards, dropping his voice. He tapped the damp paper wrapped around the roses.
“Robyn pulled a gun on Newson when he started beating on Victor. Classic! I wish I could’ve seen the look on his face. Though seriously, all time low for Newson. Torturing Victor is just…” Bradley’s smiled faded a little and then strengthened. “Well, Robyn said she told him to go fuck himself, so she’s pretty much won the year. Oh, doesn’t love make people brave? It’s beautiful, really it is.”
As he spoke, he pulled a loop of string from around his neck. On it dangled two keys-he used one of them to open Wolfgang’s box. He cleared out the last lot of withered roses and swept it into the nearby bin, being careful not to disturb the toys left inside by Wolfgang’s nephews. Before placing the roses inside the glass case besides the urn, Bradley reached into it and pulled out a small envelope.
“All I need you to do, chum, is keep hold this for a while. Two tickets to Valetta via the Satellite 2 line. They’ll be here to pick it up sooner or later. Could you do that for me?”
Bradley almost seemed to listen for a moment.
“Newson’s going to be tracking down their every move, y’see,” he said. “Him and Merritt. They’ll know everything they buy, everywhere they go. As far as Newson knows, me and Taze are innocent as… I dunno, something innocent. Anyway, that’s why me and Taisy had to get a hold of a way out for them, espionage style. What are friends for, eh?
“Just keep a hold of those tickets. Thanks!”