Nov 25 mini-nano

[neotoma]

for mini_nanowrimo

Because of a flight delay and the airport shuttle *never* arriving (I had to take a cab home, and oh boy I'd better get reimbursed for it), I'm a tiny bit late getting this up. Also, I jumped ahead in time more than a bit. There are at least five scenes between this one and yesterday's.

previous

Turnspit woke early in the morning and went to the larder. The room was at the one of the end the building, a snug space to have cold food and warm tea as the sun came up and after the sun went down. It had no real ovens, just the hot kettle, but it was stocked with cheese and dried fruit and loose tea, and there was a loaf of bread and a cruet of oil on the long table.

The water pump worked after a minute of hard priming, and he was able to fill the kettle. It would heat after the lid was closed, if there was enough water in it, so he left it to itself while he tried to find the teapot.

Sealchild stumbled in just as Turnspit was throwing tea leaves into the warmed pot. The big man was rubbing sleep away from his face, and didn't see Turnspit at first. When he did Sealchild froze, his hands comically disordering his grey-and-brown cowlicked hair.

Turnspit returned his gaze coolly.

Sealchild dropped his eyes and came into the larder. He sat at table and poured himself a glass of water.

"Lord Stormbringer sent for me yesterday. I went into her hall, and saw her gardens. She's very proud of them, and of her baby. The one who has 'lovely ox-eyes'."

Sealchild winced. "Ah…"

"Did you know she has several children, but only one is an aughisky? He was fathered by a Selkie trader. Since then, she's been collecting Selkie part-bloods – they're rare, Selkies don't travel much since the Before-time – she hasn't had a male half-blood until recently. A raider's gift, a few years ago, the Lord Stormbringer said, tall and broad and with the softest ox eyes."

Sealchild buried his face in his hands, and groaned.

"I'm just a tad concerned, you know. Because while I don't remember Ragonda at all well, I do know that you are married."

"Captain…"

"And adultery is a sin. One as bad as fornicating with another man." Turnspit poured himself a cup of tea, and blew on it to cool it. "Do we understand each other, Sealchild?"

The big man nodded. "Yes, Captain…"

"It's 'Honorable Dog', now."

Comments

[murasaki99.livejournal.com]

Do I detect some payback on Turnspit's part for hard words that happened some time before?

What happened to Sealchild's wife and kids??

And you *are* going to knit all these together into a nice full story, aren't you? :)

[neotoma.livejournal.com]

There's a lot of payback, and I hope to get to the point where Sealchild called Turnspit a catamite in public today or tomorrow.

Sealchild's kids are okay. His wife turned out to be a half-blood aughisky, and was turned out as Wilder. He hasn't seen her since.

Yes, I am going to try to knit them together. However, I am a Random Access Writer, so they come through out of order -- I've been extremely linear so far, and that's just *wierd*.

[murasaki99.livejournal.com]

I've done RAM writing before - some on Knight Music, but fortunately the random bits are later on, and the front-end stuff came out fairly linear. I probably shouldn't say that too loudly or the muses will have me writing back-to-front.

Just as long as you tie it all together sometime. *purrs*

I thought Sealchild and Turnspit were old comrades - and Turnspit sounded like his commanding officer, to boot. But culture shock certainly wouldn't help anyone, and people do say things under stress. Hopefully they'll work it out.

So if you're a part-blood Augisky and you get into the otherworld, your heritage crops out with a vengeance? If Sealchild's wife is off being Wild, that sounds like puberty. How long do Aughisky live? Are their kids a mix of Augisky and Selkie?

Oh and is Stormbringer's kid by Sealchild an Aughisky? :D

[hlglne.livejournal.com]

Hm! They knew each other from anotherwhere, and Sealchild had two offspring by the wilder when Turnspit was acquired from anotherwhere, so there is a time difference betweeen the two wheres?

Interesting that aughisky, selkie and humandog can interbreed. Makes me think of future species evolving.

[neotoma.livejournal.com]

Well, once you go under the hills to fairy-land, time goes a bit wonky.