679 words | from the universe of The Stenotypist & the Dragonslayer
Prompt | Storms and thorns - @flashfictionfridayofficial
An writing! Would you believe! Little post-canon retelling of a pre-canon story, in which a baby dragonslayer has an Encounter.
»Tell me a story.«
»Hmmm? What?« It was a cozy evening, rain pouring down outside, and Braen was holding Vits in his arms and just about ready to drift off to sleep when Vits jumped the question at him.
»You know… you must have seen a lot. Out there in the forest. You always like telling me about it.«
»Hmmm… Well. A story. Right. Okay.« He paused, until the rain pattering down on the house reminded him…
»This was when I was like - nineteen? Still in training, of course. Just had started accompanying the real adult dragonslayers on their patrols.«
It had begun as a day like any other. The forests were still new and exciting to Braen, but he was too meek to even try to do anything stupid as he trundled along between the two dragonslayers who had been saddled with him. He remembered their names, of course, but they would mean nothing to Vits, so he didn’t bother.
The storm rolled in equally quick and unexpected. »I’d never seen anything like it. One minute, it was all bright and, you know, peaceful, and the next it might have been night. We were kind of protected from the wind between the trees, but… it wasn’t enough. And suddenly it was so quiet…
We were like half an hour from the city, but they determined we weren’t going to make it. So we sheltered in this little clearing, no tall trees, fairly safe from any that might fall, and then the rain started coming down. You probably would have been swept away, shorty.«
»Oh, you wish.«
Braen laughed and squeezed Vits before he continued. »I mean, the water was standing. And of course, lightning, so going back among the trees wasn’t an option, but sitting in water wasn’t exactly ideal either. And that was when I saw my first dragon.«
He knew he didn’t have to impress upon Vits the shock of it. Even with his training, even with the tales the dragonslayers spun for the recruits, he had not been prepared for the black hole appearing at the edge of the forest, its blank white eyes fixed on their little group. It was as soaked as they were, but even so it barely glistened in the low light, its skin swallowing all that was left of it.
They made for the forest, somewhere less exposed to the monster. Braen’s fingers itched to draw his sword, anything to put between himself and it, but he knew, even then, to wait for the command - and the way he was stumbling backwards, in hindsight, even a regular sword would have done more harm than good.
The dragon followed them, on foot, across the clearing, leisurely, as if it knew they couldn’t escape.
The eldest, leading the patrol, brought them to a small gully, enough to protect them from attacks from the side. It was flooded, of course, but the water, although rapid, wasn’t more than knee-deep.
»Kid.« Braen remembered his leader’s deep voice like it had been yesterday. »Back to the city. Run.«
There was no room to argue, although a part of him certainly wanted to; another, though, was glad, oh so glad, to get out of there.
He dashed through the gully. He’d underestimated the water, lost his footing more than once; but he was already soaked from the rain, and he managed to get through, raced through a forest creaking with the onslaught of wind and rain. Thorns tore at him, wet leaves slipped from under him; once his momentum sent him flying into a tree so hard he cracked his nose.
But he made it home, alive.
»And you weren’t scared to go back?« Vits asked, after a long pause.
Braen shrugged. He didn’t like it when Vits acted like he was some kind of hero. Everyone else was already doing that.
Vits rested his head back on his chest. »Well, I am kind of glad your first encounter wasn’t all that much better than mine.«
Braen chuckled, and held him close, listening to the rain.
Rules: use this quote generator & list as many quotes as you like using characters from your WIPs, then tag as many people as quotes you listed.
For The Stenotypist & the Dragonslayer!
Braenar, at a restaurant: You guys should get the orange soda, it's amazing.
Vitsorin: Okay
Waiter: Can I get you guys anything to drink?
Braenar: Orange soda, please!
Vitsorin: I'll have the strawberry soda.
Niu: Me too, strawberry soda.
Braenar:
Niu: Here’s a fun Christmas idea. We hang mistletoe, but instead of kissing, you have to FIGHT whoever else is under it.
Braenar: Niu no.
Vitsorin: Mistlefoe.
Braenar: Please stop encouraging them.
Braenar: You have to apologize to Niu
Vitsorin: Fine.
Vitsorin: 'Unfuck you' or whatever.
Braenar: How's the sexiest person here~?
Vitsorin: I don't know, how is he~?
Braenar, flustered: I-
Niu, from across the room: I'm doing great, thanks!
Vitsorin: Would you stab your best friend in the leg for 10 million gold?
Dunaë: You stab me, and then when my leg gets better, we buy a big-ass house.
Braenar: You can stab me too, then we'll have 20 million.
Dunaë: Good thinking.
Braenar: Dunaë, can I talk to you for a second?
Dunaë: Yeah, what’s up? Lemme guess. You and Vits are having problems and you want me to teach you how to kiss?
Braenar: What? No, stop that. I know how to kiss. I’ve read books.
Braenar: Duna, I'm sad.
Dunaë: *Holds out arms for a hug* It’s going to be okay.
Vitsorin: Niu, I'm sad.
Niu, nodding: mood.
Braenar: Is stabbing someone immoral?
Vitsorin: Not if they consent to it.
Niu: Depends who you’re stabbing.
Dunaë: YES?!?
Tagging the usual suspects, let me know if you ever get tired of it lol @stories-by-rie @gwens-fiction @fixaidea @kudzupocalypse @sharraus @tracle0 @bookish-actor @honeyscript
Prompts by @flashfictionfridayofficial - thanks and happy uh. Prompts-versary?
I’m very near the end of The Stenotypist & the Dragonslayer, so naturally that’s where my mind went :D I don’t think they’re actually fatal spoilers. But. They are set after the end of the story.
@adaparkwrites
If someone had told Niu just a year ago, or a month ago, that niu would return to the city to study medicine, just like nius parents always wanted, niu would have laughed in their face, loud and, as nius parents would have called it, rude.
But here Niu was, and nius classmates had taken niu in faster than niu had foreseen. Niu never would have admitted it, but the warm welcome was giving niu fuzzy feelings. Niu hadn’t had much opportunity to mingle with people of nius own age in the past few years.
„Hey, Niu, did you - what kind of plant even is that?” Nius classmate frowned at the bunch of leaves niu was slowly grinding into a paste, treating nius concoctions with more care than niu usually showed anything else. Niu smiled quietly to niuself. If only nius parents had waited and let niu choose, they might have been allowed to savour nius choice with niu.
The smile blossomed into a reckless grin as Niu looked up at nius classmate. Living in the woods sure had had its drawbacks, but niu had also learned a thing or two, and now, being taken in so kindly, niu saw no reason not to share. „It’s dawnflower - I think it cools burns more effectively, y’know? Here, you can recognize them by…”
Duna stood on the city wall and looked out into the forest. The afternoon sun shone low through the branches of the ancient trees, sprinkling the floor as well as the wall with light.
So here they were. This was it. The city was safe now; safer, perhaps, than it had ever been. No one knew where things might go from here, but Duna was inclined to be optimistic.
She looked across the intricate knots and weaves the twigs of the tree just before her formed - since this morning. She had done this, echoing the patterns and energy of the talisman Niu had carried; but this version was big enough, carried by a strong enough being, to ward for miles in either direction. Among the artfully grown twigs, the sunlight was shattered into even smaller rays.
She smiled, allowing herself to admire her own handiwork. Yes, the city was safe.
Her gaze travelled on, and her smile spread. There was a whole new world to explore out there.
Iniria stood in front of the tall window of the living room, looking out across the city. She wasn’t sure how much longer they would be able to afford to live here, now, but that was the least of her worries.
Everything she thought she fought for, everything she had stood for so proudly for the last decades had turned out to be nothing but smoke and mirrors.
So here she was, wondering how life would go on.
„Mom?”
Iniria stood and painted a smile on her face as her older daughter walked up to her. The little girl frowned, not fooled for a second. She was so perceptive - Iniria felt her smile turn more genuine with pride.
„Is everything alright?”
Iniria looked down on her, then put an arm around her shoulders. She was a good liar, but her daughter was a good observer, and for nothing in the world would she risk her trust, least of all in the difficult times to come. People would talk. Kids her age would pick up half-understood adult talk about what happened. Iniria would do what she could to protect her children from the fallout, but she knew better than to expect it to pass unnoticed.
„Not right now. But it will be.”
And here they were, before all the world, after everything that had happened. It wasn’t like Vits was glad for the events of the past weeks - as far as he was concerned, he never needed to set another foot into the forest, and he somewhat hoped Braen felt the same - but if nothing else, it had certainly sorted out his priorities. He no longer cared who might see, or what they might think.
It wasn’t their first time, not by a long shot. It wouldn’t be their last - no, that much was clear now.
But standing there, chest to chest, mouth to mouth, soul to soul, it might have been the only kiss they were ever allowed to share, and this time, he allowed himself to get lost in it.
505 words | The Stenotypist & the Dragonslayer (AU)
Prompt | Every time Vits undresses, Braen notices something new and adorable about their body. / Mermaid AU - OTP Fluff Generator
Did you think I was joking? I was not joking. This is pure undiluted fluff, enjoy. (Vits is based on a cleaner wrasse and Braen on a potato grouper, which is a real fish that actually exists. You’d have to be very enamoured to see constellations in it, though.)
“What are you staring at?” Vits asked when he threw a glance over his shoulder, the striking black and blue stripes of his tail twitching back and forth as he led the way across the seagrass bed. There was something almost defensive about his tone, uncharacteristic insecurity masked with disregard.
“You’re beautiful,” Braen replied quietly, before he could stop himself. He didn’t think he would ever tire watching the Vits’ confident movements, the way he carried himself like nothing in the world could hurt him.
Vits just snorted, but Braen didn’t miss the way his eyes lit up, despite his quickly turning away to hide it. “As if.”
Braen decided not to argue. What could he say he hadn’t said before?
When they arrived home, Vits causally threw his grey coat aside, letting it float down onto the sofa, and Braen couldn’t help but smile, knowing what came next when he started off like that.
Vits didn’t look at him when he slipped out of his tunic, while Braen didn’t took his eyes off of him for even a moment while he collected Vits’ coat and hung it next to his own.
Then he closed the distance between them. Vits swirled around, getting a hold of his collar, and started to undo the ties of his tunic. Braen was left to hold on to his hips to keep them from drifting apart, and admiring the yellow stripes down his scrawny shoulders, the gradient to the blue still hidden beneath his undershirt.
He was so beautiful, and the touch of his hands, even through the fabric, sent Braen’s pulse racing.
Finally, Vits paused to raise his head and look at Braen. He looked softer, now, more vulnerable. Braen gently cupped his cheek, wanting nothing more than to protect him from anything that could hurt him.
A small smile appeared on Vits’ lips; he grabbed his shoulders and leaned in for a kiss.
Braen melted, slipping his arms all the way around Vits, pulling him closer. It took him a moment to register one of Vits’ hands sliding downward until it reached the hem of his tunic. He grudgingly accepted the momentary interruption when Vits pulled it over his head.
For a second, they were split apart, just looking at each other near naked. Vits trailed a finger across Braen’s mottled grey shoulder. “They’re like stars,” he murmered.
Braen wasn’t sure he’d heard right, and chuckled awkwardly. “What?”
“Your spots,” Vits said, raising his voice to almost normal levels. “They’re like stars.” He looked down, avoiding Braen’s eyes.
Braen squeezed him, his entire heart flushing with joy. Vits never was poetic. Braen didn’t think he’d ever felt so honoured. He nuzzled the side of Vits’ head, prompting him to look up again, defiantly; his pale yellow cheeks had blushed a soft orange Braen had never seen before.
He beamed, and Vits awkwardly looked to the side. “Don’t laugh.”
“No - no! That was beautiful.” He leant in to kiss Vits’ cheek, still hot under his lips. “You’re beautiful.”
More fluff for these two. I imagine it’s a few months after they moved in together.
Braen thought he was melting.
It had been a long, hot day, and coming home from work it had been all he could do to peel off his sweaty clothes, pour himself a glass of water and drop onto the bed, pushing the blanket off. How Vits could sleep with a blanket these days was beyond him. At least the bedroom was facing north and retained some minimal amount of coolness, or so he told himself.
Before he could get enough of a grip on himself to go shower, he could hear the key click in the lock, and moments later Vits’ voice that still sparked an immediate smile.
“Hello!”
“Hey, love.” The promise of seeing Vits again after the day was enough to make him scramble out of bed and into the living room, where Vits grinned at him, then raised an eyebrow at his indecent state, but without saying something strode over to him, and kissed him on the lips.
Braen melted some more.
Vits traced a finger along his collarbone, and frowned when they broke apart. “Have you showered?”
“Not yet.”
Vits threw up his hands theatrically, taking a step back. “No wonder you keep complaining about the heat.”
“I was just about to.”
“Yes, yes, go. I picked up lemons, I’ll make you some cold lemonade in the meantime.”
“That’s sweet of you.” Braen could feel what was left of him liquefy.
Vits couldn’t hold back a small, flustered smile, though his voice remained dry. “Sure, you know me.”
Meet another dragonslayer, Vits making poor decisions, and a minor reveal about the Society...
An actual excerpt! From a long-form thing! Exciting times. Most of what I’ve written so far is pretty late in the story, so don’t get used to it :D This is approximately the latest point I feel comfortable sharing.
I decided to post both the original and a translation, so scroll down for English!
„Was machen Sie hier?”
Vits erstarrte, obwohl er sehr gut wusste, dass er nichts Unrechtes getan hatte. Die meisten zogen es vor, in der Stadt zu bleiben, zumal abends, aber Gesetz gab es da keins. Er wandte sich betont langsam nach der Stimme um.
Erst als er ihre Besitzerin sah, wurde ihm klar, dass er sie kannte. Sie ihn aber wohl nicht; es war Dunaë, eine der Drachentöterinnen. Ihre Augengläser glänzten im Abendrot. Er war immer davon ausgegangen, dass es sich dabei eher um eine magische Spielerei handelte als einen echten Sehbehelf. Sie trug ihr Schwert und sah ihn stirnrunzelnd an.
Er erwiderte ihren Blick ungerührt, obwohl er innerlich fluchte. Das hatte ihm gerade noch gefehlt. Aber wenn sie glaubte, ihm in die Quere kommen zu können, hatte sie sich geschnitten. „Warum fragen Sie? Was machen Sie hier?”
„Weil ich keine Lust habe, irgendwelchen Zivilisten aus der Patsche zu helfen.” Sie sagte es in sachlichem Ton. Ihr Blick wanderte in die Wälder. „Ich mache mich auf die Suche nach jemandem.” Sie tappte auf ihr Schwert, wie um zu betonen, wie viel besser als er sie dazu ausgestattet war.
Vits sprang das Herz in den Hals. Konnte sie… ? „Ah”, sagte er nur. „Was für ein Zufall. Ich auch.”
Ihre Stirn, die sich gerade geglättet hatte, warf wieder Falten. „Das ist keine gute Idee. Glauben Sie mir, wenn ich jemanden finde, bringe ich ihn zurück. Und jetzt muss ich wirklich los.” Sie klopfte erneut auf ihr Schwert; in ihren Augen blitzte der Schalk. „Die Gesellschaft kann das Schwert verfolgen, ich muss also weg hier, bevor jemand auf irgendwelche dummen Fragen kommt. Hat mich gefreut-”
„Die können die Schwerter verfolgen?” Vits hatte das Gefühl, die Erde würde unter ihm wegbrechen. Die Gesellschaft wusste, wo Braen war, und hatte sich dennoch geweigert, nach ihm aus zu schicken?! Er ließ die Vorsicht fahren. „Warum haben sie dann nicht Braenar nach Hause geholt?”
Dunaë legte den Kopf schief und betrachtete ihn wie ein seltsames Tier. Sie zögerte einen Moment lang, aber ehe Vits ungeduldig werden konnte, sagte sie langsam: „Sein Schwert ist wohl zerbrochen oder sonst wie zerstört. Was haben Sie für ein Interesse an Braen? Gehören Sie zur Familie?” Sie musterte ihn zweifelnd, und er wusste, was ihr durch den Kopf ging. Du siehst überhaupt nicht so aus.
„Nein”, erwiderte er leise. „Nein, ich gehör nicht zur Familie.”
~ [Translated with the help of DeepL translator] ~
"What are you doing here?"
Vits froze, although he knew very well that he had done nothing wrong. Most preferred to stay in the city, especially in the evenings, but there was no law. He turned towards the voice with demonstrative slowness.
It was only when he saw the other that he realized he knew her. But she probably didn't know him; it was Dunaë, one of the dragonslayers. Her eyeglasses shone in the sunset. He had always assumed that they were more of a magical gimmick than a real visual aid. She carried her sword and looked at him with a frown.
He returned her gaze unflinchingly, although he cursed internally. That was all he needed. But if she thought she could get in his way, she couldn’t be more wrong. "Why do you ask? What are you doing here?"
"Because I don't feel like bailing out any civilians." She said it in a matter-of-factly tone. Her gaze wandered into the woods. "I'm going in search of someone." She tapped on her sword, as if to emphasize how much better equipped she was than he.
Vits heart jumped to her throat. Could she...? "Ah", he just said. "What a coincidence. Me too."
Her forehead, which had just smoothed, was wrinkling again. "That’s not a good idea. Believe me, if I find someone, I'll bring them back. And now I really have to go." She tapped her sword again; mischievousness flashed in her eyes. "The Society can track the sword, so I must get out of here before someone comes up with any stupid questions. Pleasure to meet you-"
"They can track the swords?" Vits felt like the ground was falling from beneath his feet. The society knew where Braen was and still had refused to send out for him?! He threw caution to the winds. "Then why didn't they bring Braenar home?"
Dunaë tilted her head and looked at him like a strange animal. She hesitated for a moment, but before Vits could get impatient, she slowly said, "His sword is probably broken or otherwise destroyed. What is your interest in Braen? Are you family?" She looked at him doubtingly, and he knew what was going through her mind. You don't look like that at all.
linking arms with each other! For the prompt ask thing ✨
Thank you! It ended up being a tiny little thing but! Here it is! I was gonna write it in English but then I realized there was really no reason to. Then I was gonna add a translation but it turned out difficult for some reason.
Vits and Braen are having a PDA.
-
Es war immer noch ungewohnt, mit Braen gemeinsam spazieren zu gehen, als würde ihnen niemand irritierte - oder schlimmer, belustigte - Blicke nachwerfen.
Aber das machte Vits nur umso entschlossener, sich nichts anmerken zu lassen. Er hakte Braen unter, und Braen warf ihm einen kurzen, überraschten Blick zu, bevor er auf ihn hinabstrahlte.
