I'm sorry I can't attribute this beautiful prompt!
Jasmine Blade could not see the
tattoo stretched from her nape to her tailbone, but she felt its presence with every waking
breath. She dropped her silk kimono robe to the floor and waded into the
steaming pool of the lava baths. She ignored the stares, the fingers hiding
muttered chatter among the others. She closed her eyes and sighed as the water
soothed away the aches of long rides, camping on hard ground, and battle after battle
waged—her body the battleground and prize all in one.
As she sank into the water, the
colors drained from her back and swirled in the water around her. The others
gasped and scrambled gracelessly out of the pool. When the dragon began to take
shape in the steam rising from the pool, everyone ran from the bath house in panic, leaving
her in accustomed solitude. The dragon wrapped its lithe form around Jasmine
Blade and she leaned against it in contentment, eyes still closed. when she left the water, there was no
one to see how the dragon disappeared from the steam and reappeared in brilliant
color across her back. When she emerged from the bath house, she was demurely draped
in her robe once again.
Old Auntie Mei waited in Jasmine
Blade’s room for her return. She dressed and painted Jasmine Blade without
comment. There was no sign of the dragon when she was done.
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Dogs in house:
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Houdini, Brindle
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Music:
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Dishwasher rhythm
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Time writing:
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15 minutes
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March word count:
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15113
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Prompt: Dragon tattoo
ReplyDeleteKylee raised her arms, eyes closed, and waited. The sleeves of her diaphanous robe slid slowly down to her shoulders, tickling. Waves crashed in the distance in front of her, and the faint cries of seabirds returning to their nightly roost echoed off the cliffs behind. She squished sand with her bare toes and wondered if she would even notice when the dragon came.
And then it did. The night air filled with a presence that was so heavy she wondered briefly if she could continue to breathe. It was not heat, precisely, for it was somehow beyond physical sensation. It swirled around her, and she squeezed her eyes tighter shut. Looking would show nothing, and ruin the magic--or so they said.
Something tickled along her back. Kylee's next breath drew in the thick, dragon air. This she could not breathe. She felt as if she was falling, and soon knew she could not be awake. She floated, bobbing in a sea of warmth, with no up or down. Time stretched.
*
"It's over," Jaina said, leaning down and touching a cold hand to Kylee's shoulder. Kylee sat up and brushed sand out of her hair. The sun was up. The shore looked far more prosaic now than it had in the magic of last night. She turned her head to look over her shoulder, simultaneously realising she would not be able to see it. She met Jaina's eyes instead. Jaina's wrinkled face creased in a grin. "It blessed you, my dear. Welcome. You are one of us now."
I love this! The ocean, the dragon appearing, and someone else - her joining a group! Who are they? I want to know more!
DeleteI really like your character! And the idea behind the tatoo!
ReplyDelete