March Malt #1
Pineapple #26. Everything in its Place and FotD 2/28/11 - Cosset
with Hot Fudge and Malt
Story : knights & necromancers
Rating : PG
Timeframe : 1257
Word Count : 1073
Malt Prompt : PfaH - everything in its place : Reida : She will kill you for touching her ____
Word of the Day : Cosset - to treat as a pet
A very un-Reida-like Reida. The general circumstances are something I've come back to a bunch of times and always backed down from, but it's come back and insisted it belongs enough times that I figured I should go through with it.
Tarek’s room was quiet and dark and filled with softly stirring shadowy feline forms. Kairn stood stiffly in the doorway. He’d come fully prepared to find every surface in the room crawling with cats; what he hadn’t expected to find was a body in the bed.
Reida lifted her head from the pillows to fix him with a glare. “What do you want?”
“I, uh, Master Berwyk sent me to fetch some books,” said Kairn, quietly eyeing the contents of the nearest wall’s shelves for the titles he’d been given.
Her eyes narrowed sharply. “A little soon, don’t you think? He’s barely in the ground.”
Spotting one of the items from his list, he took a tentative step into the room. “I seem to remember someone raiding Ephram’s study before he was cold.”
A hand shot up from the mass of quilts and slumbering cats and aimed pinching thumb and fingers his way. “Ephram didn’t have an apprentice. Tarek’s things are mine.”
Kairn paused, his hand on the weathered spine of a hefty tome, as a tail swept down from the shelf below to brush the backs of his fingers. “Does that include the cats?” he said, with a nervous glance at the bright golden eyes that glowered down at him.
“Touch that book, bitch, and you’ll wake up to so many pincers tomorrow you won’t be able to sit for a week.” Kairn snatched his hand back and Reida’s tone softened. “Someone has to feed them, I suppose.” She propped herself on an elbow and cupped a hand over the nearest cat’s ear.
Kairn shuffled back a step from the shelves and, not sure what else to do with them, shoved his hands in his pockets. “So, what are you doing in his bed? I mean, that’s creepy even for you.”
Reida shrugged. “I like the smell.”
Kairn wrinkled his nose and gave her a look. “It smells… like cats.” He edged cautiously towards the bed.
Reida was stretched out lengthwise on the mattress, a faded and hole-riddled quilt thrown haphazardly across her middle and a half dozen cats curled into furry balls and lodged against various parts of her. She kept her gaze on the lanky brown tabby pressed to her chest while her hand worked gentle circles over the animal’s ear.
As he drew closer he could see the red in her eyes, the faint tracks of tears on her cheek, but he thought better than to make mention of them. As he settled on the edge of the bed, he said, “So, where do you plan on putting them all?”
“The books?” she said. “I’ve got plenty of shelf space.”
“The cats.”
Reida shrugged again. “They’re happy enough here. I’ll just come feed them.”
A long moment passed where the only sound was the low rumbling of the cat’s purr as it pressed its head into Reida’s palm.
“Reida?” Kairn said at last.
“Hmm?”
“Are you alright?”
She lifted her red-rimmed eyes and fixed him with a toothy grin that had never looked so fake. “That’s what this is really about, isn’t it? Poor Reida? Did you come here to offer me a shoulder? Or maybe a little something more?” she added, her eyes dipping down his front.
“N-no! I mean, it wasn’t, at least not until I saw you- It’s still not.” He squirmed about, swiveling his hips away from her so she was left with a view of his back. “There’s nothing wrong with it, you know,” he said. “Being sad, I mean. Tarek was good to all of us, but you two-”
“You know this cat,” she said, and when he turned back to look, her eyes were on the animal again. “His name’s Lucky. We found him not long after Tarek found me. He was a kitten then. He’d crammed himself so far into a drainpipe only his back end was sticking out and he was wailing so hard you’d think there were five of him up that pipe. Well, Tarek went and pulled out some spell that cracked that pipe wide open and pulled him out of there, and that was that, Lucky was one of us.
“Tarek was always doing things like that, picking up strays, helping everyone out of shit they got themselves into. Lucky.” She sniffed. “Should have called him Stupid. The number of times after that that Tarek pulled him out of- What?”
Kairn hadn’t realized until she looked up that he’d been staring, that he’d been dwelling on the thought that she related to this scruffy old cat. “W-what?” he echoed.
“I’d have been fine,” she snapped, as if she’d read the thought.
“Right,” said Kairn. “Whoring is a great life. I’m sorry,” he quickly amended as soon as she started to open her mouth, turning and ducking away from a blow that didn’t come. When he looked back, he could see fresh tears pooling in her eyes.
“I, uh, I won’t tell anyone you’re here,” he said. “But I will let Berwyk know you’ve got the books taken care of.”
“That’s a good little bitch,” she said, with a sneer, but he could see her blinking back the moisture from her eyes.
Kairn gave one of the furry bodies slumped beside him a pat as he rose to his feet. He would have offered Reida a hand, but he figured that might lead to not getting it back. He was nearly to the door when she stopped him.
“Kairn?”
“Yes?” He turned around, uncertain what to expect.
“Third shelf from the top, all the way on the left,” she said, with a nod at the wall. “Take it.”
Kairn followed her instructions, pulling a tall, slender book from the shelf. He laid it open across his palm and flipped through page after page of exquisitely detailed maps charting the length of the coast and the whole of the eastern sea. He turned with a questioning look to Reida, who simply shrugged.
“Tarek collected all kinds of crap,” she said. “It’s not something I have any use for.”
“Thank you,” he said, tucking the book under his arm.
Reida dragged the back of a fist across her eye. “Don’t mention it.”
Kairn offered her a half-smile as he turned back to the door. “I already told you I wouldn’t. But you know if you’d like to talk…” She responded with another vicious finger snapping gesture and Kairn sighed. “Right.”
with Hot Fudge and Malt
Story : knights & necromancers
Rating : PG
Timeframe : 1257
Word Count : 1073
Malt Prompt : PfaH - everything in its place : Reida : She will kill you for touching her ____
Word of the Day : Cosset - to treat as a pet
A very un-Reida-like Reida. The general circumstances are something I've come back to a bunch of times and always backed down from, but it's come back and insisted it belongs enough times that I figured I should go through with it.
Tarek’s room was quiet and dark and filled with softly stirring shadowy feline forms. Kairn stood stiffly in the doorway. He’d come fully prepared to find every surface in the room crawling with cats; what he hadn’t expected to find was a body in the bed.
Reida lifted her head from the pillows to fix him with a glare. “What do you want?”
“I, uh, Master Berwyk sent me to fetch some books,” said Kairn, quietly eyeing the contents of the nearest wall’s shelves for the titles he’d been given.
Her eyes narrowed sharply. “A little soon, don’t you think? He’s barely in the ground.”
Spotting one of the items from his list, he took a tentative step into the room. “I seem to remember someone raiding Ephram’s study before he was cold.”
A hand shot up from the mass of quilts and slumbering cats and aimed pinching thumb and fingers his way. “Ephram didn’t have an apprentice. Tarek’s things are mine.”
Kairn paused, his hand on the weathered spine of a hefty tome, as a tail swept down from the shelf below to brush the backs of his fingers. “Does that include the cats?” he said, with a nervous glance at the bright golden eyes that glowered down at him.
“Touch that book, bitch, and you’ll wake up to so many pincers tomorrow you won’t be able to sit for a week.” Kairn snatched his hand back and Reida’s tone softened. “Someone has to feed them, I suppose.” She propped herself on an elbow and cupped a hand over the nearest cat’s ear.
Kairn shuffled back a step from the shelves and, not sure what else to do with them, shoved his hands in his pockets. “So, what are you doing in his bed? I mean, that’s creepy even for you.”
Reida shrugged. “I like the smell.”
Kairn wrinkled his nose and gave her a look. “It smells… like cats.” He edged cautiously towards the bed.
Reida was stretched out lengthwise on the mattress, a faded and hole-riddled quilt thrown haphazardly across her middle and a half dozen cats curled into furry balls and lodged against various parts of her. She kept her gaze on the lanky brown tabby pressed to her chest while her hand worked gentle circles over the animal’s ear.
As he drew closer he could see the red in her eyes, the faint tracks of tears on her cheek, but he thought better than to make mention of them. As he settled on the edge of the bed, he said, “So, where do you plan on putting them all?”
“The books?” she said. “I’ve got plenty of shelf space.”
“The cats.”
Reida shrugged again. “They’re happy enough here. I’ll just come feed them.”
A long moment passed where the only sound was the low rumbling of the cat’s purr as it pressed its head into Reida’s palm.
“Reida?” Kairn said at last.
“Hmm?”
“Are you alright?”
She lifted her red-rimmed eyes and fixed him with a toothy grin that had never looked so fake. “That’s what this is really about, isn’t it? Poor Reida? Did you come here to offer me a shoulder? Or maybe a little something more?” she added, her eyes dipping down his front.
“N-no! I mean, it wasn’t, at least not until I saw you- It’s still not.” He squirmed about, swiveling his hips away from her so she was left with a view of his back. “There’s nothing wrong with it, you know,” he said. “Being sad, I mean. Tarek was good to all of us, but you two-”
“You know this cat,” she said, and when he turned back to look, her eyes were on the animal again. “His name’s Lucky. We found him not long after Tarek found me. He was a kitten then. He’d crammed himself so far into a drainpipe only his back end was sticking out and he was wailing so hard you’d think there were five of him up that pipe. Well, Tarek went and pulled out some spell that cracked that pipe wide open and pulled him out of there, and that was that, Lucky was one of us.
“Tarek was always doing things like that, picking up strays, helping everyone out of shit they got themselves into. Lucky.” She sniffed. “Should have called him Stupid. The number of times after that that Tarek pulled him out of- What?”
Kairn hadn’t realized until she looked up that he’d been staring, that he’d been dwelling on the thought that she related to this scruffy old cat. “W-what?” he echoed.
“I’d have been fine,” she snapped, as if she’d read the thought.
“Right,” said Kairn. “Whoring is a great life. I’m sorry,” he quickly amended as soon as she started to open her mouth, turning and ducking away from a blow that didn’t come. When he looked back, he could see fresh tears pooling in her eyes.
“I, uh, I won’t tell anyone you’re here,” he said. “But I will let Berwyk know you’ve got the books taken care of.”
“That’s a good little bitch,” she said, with a sneer, but he could see her blinking back the moisture from her eyes.
Kairn gave one of the furry bodies slumped beside him a pat as he rose to his feet. He would have offered Reida a hand, but he figured that might lead to not getting it back. He was nearly to the door when she stopped him.
“Kairn?”
“Yes?” He turned around, uncertain what to expect.
“Third shelf from the top, all the way on the left,” she said, with a nod at the wall. “Take it.”
Kairn followed her instructions, pulling a tall, slender book from the shelf. He laid it open across his palm and flipped through page after page of exquisitely detailed maps charting the length of the coast and the whole of the eastern sea. He turned with a questioning look to Reida, who simply shrugged.
“Tarek collected all kinds of crap,” she said. “It’s not something I have any use for.”
“Thank you,” he said, tucking the book under his arm.
Reida dragged the back of a fist across her eye. “Don’t mention it.”
Kairn offered her a half-smile as he turned back to the door. “I already told you I wouldn’t. But you know if you’d like to talk…” She responded with another vicious finger snapping gesture and Kairn sighed. “Right.”