Hmm, so is this prompt entirely random, or are there wild dogs round where you live at the moment? I can see you being concerned if there are.
Wild dogs "I don't think you could chase me into the Temple if you had a pack of wild dogs," said Tomasz. He tilted his head back and stared up into the sky. "I admire your fortitude Ernest, but I really need more time to pull myself together." "What do animals make of the Witnesses?" asked Lord Derby. He sounded almost absent, as though thinking about something else. "What animals?" Tomasz looked back down and made eye-contact with Ernest, who seemed to return to the present. "Any. You must have brought some with you when you colonised, surely?" "We brought none," said Tomasz. "Which I suppose should have been strange to us, but what did we know of this place? I think I came through thinking there were already things here. What I found was... a summer camp that we needed to put together ourselves. The only animals we have are the ones that were already here: the Byakhee and several kinds of large rat." "Do you eat them?" Samual looked disturbed. "We had to," said Tomasz. "Not a lot grows here. It's better where we've been cultivating, but there's still not a lot. Some of the rats taste ok. The Byakhee are poisonous. There's some mushrooms as well that are native to this place, they taste spicy and if you eat a lot you get hallucinations." "What do the Byakhee think of the Witnesses?" "They just fly over them," said Tomasz. "But the Byakhee are Servants of the King, so I don't think they'd care if they had to walk." "Are the rats Servants of the King as well?" Lord Derby made the effort to get the same intonation of the words as Tomasz had. "If they are we don't see it. I feel as well as I'm going to, I suppose. Let's go and see the doors of the Temple." "Have you met the King?" asked Samual as they walked into the shadow. Their eyes gradually adjusted to the gloom, and the lifelessness of the ground before the Temple struck them all. "No," said Tomasz. His tone was now curt, emotionless. "People who do, die." There was a pause, and then, "Do we really want to enter this Temple, milord?" asked Samual. "No," said Ernest. He sighed. "But I'm pretty certain I have no choice. I think the King has decided that he wants to meet me, and I think that Lady Grace would very much like to have me meet him too. I am hoping, but I'm not certain, that their intents are not aligned. Or maybe, not yet aligned." "What makes you so special?" asked Tomasz.
"You had fourteen Witnesses talk to you, if you spoke truthfully earlier. All from your past." Tomasz nodded. "I had thirteen talk to me. The second-to-last claimed to be from my future, the last one stayed as a pillar of stone. I have more than enough in my past to draw on -- my job is Investigator and I have arrested dozens of people for crimes they've committed. The aberrant behaviour here is meaningful, and with the tiny evidence I have to go on, I must guess that the King in Yellow has something in mind for me." They came to the end of the path and stood in front of enormous doors that reached three stories up. Set into them, one on each side, was a smaller, man-sized door. "And Lady Grace?" Tomasz had the tone of someone who knows they've lost the argument already but is determined to finish. "Doesn't know who I am, but wants to take me to the Temple anyway. I might not be special to her, but I think she's looking for a sacrifice." "She's Bulgarian," said Tomasz. He pointed to the smaller doors. "They open if you have a zbornat," he said. "I suppose you're going to find some other way in." "Not at all," said Lord Derby. He smiled for the first time since before the Witnesses. "We have the zbornat with us, her Ladyship just didn't ask the right questions about it."
Greg - my program consists of two 5 year olds, two 6 year olds, two 7 year olds, five 8 year olds, and one 11 year old. The 8 year olds are all boys and they essentially run around like a pack of wild dogs.
Ooh, at the temple at last. I am, somewhat... what's the word... hesitantly? looking forward to what comes next. Looking forward whilst feeling some trepidation? Sure, let's go with that.
3 comments:
Hmm, so is this prompt entirely random, or are there wild dogs round where you live at the moment? I can see you being concerned if there are.
Wild dogs
"I don't think you could chase me into the Temple if you had a pack of wild dogs," said Tomasz. He tilted his head back and stared up into the sky. "I admire your fortitude Ernest, but I really need more time to pull myself together."
"What do animals make of the Witnesses?" asked Lord Derby. He sounded almost absent, as though thinking about something else.
"What animals?" Tomasz looked back down and made eye-contact with Ernest, who seemed to return to the present.
"Any. You must have brought some with you when you colonised, surely?"
"We brought none," said Tomasz. "Which I suppose should have been strange to us, but what did we know of this place? I think I came through thinking there were already things here. What I found was... a summer camp that we needed to put together ourselves. The only animals we have are the ones that were already here: the Byakhee and several kinds of large rat."
"Do you eat them?" Samual looked disturbed.
"We had to," said Tomasz. "Not a lot grows here. It's better where we've been cultivating, but there's still not a lot. Some of the rats taste ok. The Byakhee are poisonous. There's some mushrooms as well that are native to this place, they taste spicy and if you eat a lot you get hallucinations."
"What do the Byakhee think of the Witnesses?"
"They just fly over them," said Tomasz. "But the Byakhee are Servants of the King, so I don't think they'd care if they had to walk."
"Are the rats Servants of the King as well?" Lord Derby made the effort to get the same intonation of the words as Tomasz had.
"If they are we don't see it. I feel as well as I'm going to, I suppose. Let's go and see the doors of the Temple."
"Have you met the King?" asked Samual as they walked into the shadow. Their eyes gradually adjusted to the gloom, and the lifelessness of the ground before the Temple struck them all.
"No," said Tomasz. His tone was now curt, emotionless. "People who do, die."
There was a pause, and then, "Do we really want to enter this Temple, milord?" asked Samual.
"No," said Ernest. He sighed. "But I'm pretty certain I have no choice. I think the King has decided that he wants to meet me, and I think that Lady Grace would very much like to have me meet him too. I am hoping, but I'm not certain, that their intents are not aligned. Or maybe, not yet aligned."
"What makes you so special?" asked Tomasz.
"You had fourteen Witnesses talk to you, if you spoke truthfully earlier. All from your past." Tomasz nodded. "I had thirteen talk to me. The second-to-last claimed to be from my future, the last one stayed as a pillar of stone. I have more than enough in my past to draw on -- my job is Investigator and I have arrested dozens of people for crimes they've committed. The aberrant behaviour here is meaningful, and with the tiny evidence I have to go on, I must guess that the King in Yellow has something in mind for me."
They came to the end of the path and stood in front of enormous doors that reached three stories up. Set into them, one on each side, was a smaller, man-sized door.
"And Lady Grace?" Tomasz had the tone of someone who knows they've lost the argument already but is determined to finish.
"Doesn't know who I am, but wants to take me to the Temple anyway. I might not be special to her, but I think she's looking for a sacrifice."
"She's Bulgarian," said Tomasz. He pointed to the smaller doors. "They open if you have a zbornat," he said. "I suppose you're going to find some other way in."
"Not at all," said Lord Derby. He smiled for the first time since before the Witnesses. "We have the zbornat with us, her Ladyship just didn't ask the right questions about it."
Greg - my program consists of two 5 year olds, two 6 year olds, two 7 year olds, five 8 year olds, and one 11 year old. The 8 year olds are all boys and they essentially run around like a pack of wild dogs.
Ooh, at the temple at last. I am, somewhat... what's the word... hesitantly? looking forward to what comes next. Looking forward whilst feeling some trepidation? Sure, let's go with that.
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