Thanks to Ekaterina Ermolaeva for
permission to use her wonderful image, “Black Lizard”!
Drknst sat in the open window,
reading his favorite book of Horstian love poems. He didn’t understand them, of
course, but he sounded out the characters as if they were Gafowan, and once in
awhile there was even a recognizable word in there. He sometimes dreamed of the
Horstian female who had given him the small, red-skinned book, many sun turns ago. The things she
could do with her ventral antennae…
Drknst slowly clicked his
hindclaws against the stone sill, keeping time with the poetry he spoke under
his breath. His black chitinous plates warmed in the sun, and his eye glowed
red with sleepy pleasure. His spring horns and shoulder spurs had finally
stopped itching, and he felt relaxed for the first time since the Thaw. His
mane fell down his back to the top of his tail, which swept back and forth
along the stone wall beneath the window. He felt a rush of pleasure from the
scratch of chitin on stone and thought it was probably time to find a mate for
the summer.
“Drknst!” called one of the yound
warriors. “Come spar with us!” Drknst heard the raucous laughter as the others
egged on his challenger. He rolled his eyes and pretended not to hear.
The others took up the cry. “Drknst!
Drknst!”
He sighed heavily and eyed his
newly sharpened kalak blade resting against the wall. Their chest plates were
hardly strong enough to withstand a blunted blade, much less a warrior’s
killing kalak. But the Thaw spurred their battle urges, and any warrior in
residence was fair game. Especially a quiet, reading warrior. They thought him
weak, despite what he taught them on the training fields. Despite the stories
the other warriors told. It did not do for one to boast of one’s own prowess in
battle.
“Drknst!” cried his challenger. “Are
you coming down? Or must I come and carry your kalak for you, old one?” More laughter.
Drknst snorted.
“Let me just finish this chapter,”
he called down. Sounding out the Horstian poem, he paid no attention to the young chuk’s
reply.
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Dogs in house
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Houdini
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Time writing:
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15 minutes, interrupted
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November word
count:
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26,440
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Prompt: Just let me finish this chapter…
ReplyDeleteJialluna tapped one clawed toe against the stone windowsill and turned the page. He could hear the littles gallivanting below, which meant Kona had let them out of their lessons early and Jialluna would be expected downstairs soon. He swivelled his ears and pressed them tight against his neck, muting the worst of their squeals.
Time writing: ~10 min
Nice tight intro! Great ear detail!
DeleteOh,they are going to surprised when he finally comes down, aren't they? Nice description, if sometimes a little dense with unusual words. I like how we both picked up on the tapping toe.
ReplyDelete