![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
There are dozens of other things I should be doing right now. For example, I could be writing my thoughts on my two jobs, or doing laundry, or - here's a good one - sleeping.
Instead, I wrote another bitty drabble. Good job, self. In other news, writing Eraqus is a definite departure from my usual style, but still fun. Funny how that works.
Per usual, this is untitled, unbeta'd, and written past midnight. Have at it, folks.
~~*~~
After years of markets and festivals, Eraqus had found that gatherings brought offworlders and offworlders brought news, a somewhat rare commodity that would have been all but nonexistent had he not regularly kept in touch with Yen Sid. News from Yen Sid was limited in scope, but specific and entirely accurate. News from the market, on the other hand, slanted itself slightly, lacked any degree of useful detail, and took the name of “gossip.” The problem with gossip was that it had been deemed inappropriate in front of an authority figure such as himself, and anyone spreading it would immediately change the topic whenever they saw him coming, a course of action that proved to be frustratingly inconducive to his search for information.
His efforts to circumvent the problem had lent themselves to a good deal of highly nonchalant eavesdropping. It had become quite simple for him to feign interest in one of the market’s many features – the fruit selection of a convenient apple cart, for example – and instead listen in great detail to the conversation happening across the way. It required a bit of sifting – gossip always did – but his ear was caught when the conversation turned to shadowy, unfamiliar creatures and the increased frequency of-
”Master!”
The conversation was immediately forgotten as his apprentice’s frightened cry reached his ears. He turned to see Aqua slowing to a stop before him, eyes wide and worried, having evidently run the distance here from wherever she had been at a dead sprint. The young child whose hand she had been holding pulled free and bolted for the stout woman behind the apple cart, attaching herself to the woman’s leg and sobbing hysterically into her skirts.
A child’s panic, Eraqus could understand. It was Aqua’s fear that set him on edge. She had proven herself steady and capable for her age; anything that had upset her to this degree promised to be worrying at best. “Aqua. What is it?” His tone was firm, offering stability.
“Monsters,” she gasped, still trying to catch her breath. “Out of town-” She pointed back where she’d come from, as if to illustrate. “Past the hill- they’re ch-chasing a boy.” She looked up at him, eyes still wide from exertion and the edges of panic, wordlessly begging him to do something. Around them, the crowd shifted and murmured uneasily, parents worriedly attempting to recall where and when they had last seen their sons, the unattached wondering about the monsters. Eraqus had very little time to head off both a panic and a threat.
He laid his hand reassuringly on Aqua’s shoulder – “Stay here.” – before turning and raising his voice slightly, the crowd stilling at his words. “Stay in town,” he addressed them, “and remain calm. I will return soon.”
The crowd parted silently as he turned left, heading in the direction Aqua had indicated. A child targeted by monsters – Heartless, if his suspicions were correct – had very little time left. It was of utmost importance that he arrive at the battle before the Heartless finished it.
Once he passed the main crush of people in the market, Eraqus leaned forward and broke into a sprint. He had no time to lose.
Instead, I wrote another bitty drabble. Good job, self. In other news, writing Eraqus is a definite departure from my usual style, but still fun. Funny how that works.
Per usual, this is untitled, unbeta'd, and written past midnight. Have at it, folks.
~~*~~
After years of markets and festivals, Eraqus had found that gatherings brought offworlders and offworlders brought news, a somewhat rare commodity that would have been all but nonexistent had he not regularly kept in touch with Yen Sid. News from Yen Sid was limited in scope, but specific and entirely accurate. News from the market, on the other hand, slanted itself slightly, lacked any degree of useful detail, and took the name of “gossip.” The problem with gossip was that it had been deemed inappropriate in front of an authority figure such as himself, and anyone spreading it would immediately change the topic whenever they saw him coming, a course of action that proved to be frustratingly inconducive to his search for information.
His efforts to circumvent the problem had lent themselves to a good deal of highly nonchalant eavesdropping. It had become quite simple for him to feign interest in one of the market’s many features – the fruit selection of a convenient apple cart, for example – and instead listen in great detail to the conversation happening across the way. It required a bit of sifting – gossip always did – but his ear was caught when the conversation turned to shadowy, unfamiliar creatures and the increased frequency of-
”Master!”
The conversation was immediately forgotten as his apprentice’s frightened cry reached his ears. He turned to see Aqua slowing to a stop before him, eyes wide and worried, having evidently run the distance here from wherever she had been at a dead sprint. The young child whose hand she had been holding pulled free and bolted for the stout woman behind the apple cart, attaching herself to the woman’s leg and sobbing hysterically into her skirts.
A child’s panic, Eraqus could understand. It was Aqua’s fear that set him on edge. She had proven herself steady and capable for her age; anything that had upset her to this degree promised to be worrying at best. “Aqua. What is it?” His tone was firm, offering stability.
“Monsters,” she gasped, still trying to catch her breath. “Out of town-” She pointed back where she’d come from, as if to illustrate. “Past the hill- they’re ch-chasing a boy.” She looked up at him, eyes still wide from exertion and the edges of panic, wordlessly begging him to do something. Around them, the crowd shifted and murmured uneasily, parents worriedly attempting to recall where and when they had last seen their sons, the unattached wondering about the monsters. Eraqus had very little time to head off both a panic and a threat.
He laid his hand reassuringly on Aqua’s shoulder – “Stay here.” – before turning and raising his voice slightly, the crowd stilling at his words. “Stay in town,” he addressed them, “and remain calm. I will return soon.”
The crowd parted silently as he turned left, heading in the direction Aqua had indicated. A child targeted by monsters – Heartless, if his suspicions were correct – had very little time left. It was of utmost importance that he arrive at the battle before the Heartless finished it.
Once he passed the main crush of people in the market, Eraqus leaned forward and broke into a sprint. He had no time to lose.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
From:
no subject
/WAITS EAGERLY FOR THE NEXT PIECE
also bitties are <3
From:
no subject
Maybe I'll find time while I'm waiting for my car to be done with the oil change, IDK
BUT YES hopefully it will be soon
And yes. Yes they are. ♥
From:
no subject
From:
no subject
From:
no subject
From:
no subject
From:
no subject