Well, if you're going to continue your prompts, I guess I'll continue my responses :)
Sweet The two horsemen walked out onto the broad, long gallery behind the auditorium. With the show on it was pleasantly deserted and they could enjoy the thick pile of the carpet clinging to their shoes, the faintly sweet scent of air freshener, and the sheer feeling of space around them. The gallery had several staircases leading both up and down from it, but the grandest was in the middle and descended three floors directly to the bar, where two bartenders were working briskly trying to keep cocktail glasses full enough in front of an elfin lady. She had a pixie-shaped face, eyes large enough to make a chihuahua jealous, slightly pointy ears that were only just hidden by bowl-cropped blond hair, and skin the colour of the skin you get on milk after boiling it. She looked up, saw the pair, and waved. "She's had her skin bleached," said Pestilence as they started their descent. "She looks good." "Leprotic," said Famine approvingly. "I used to love seeing girls like her. It's been about a hundred years since I could do that without having to go abroad." "I'll do you a couple for Christmas," said Pestilence. "I've got new strains of antibiotic-resistants that I've not tried out yet." Famine punched Pestilence's arm. "Bro, you're a bro." "Thanks dad," said Pestilence. "Did I get that right?" "No, but it's the thought that counts," said Famine. They reached the bar, and the elfin lady stood up to hug them. Surprisingly her arms seemed to reach around both of them together, and there was a hint of something scaly about her skin where it touched theirs. "Jenny!" said Pestilence, genuine warmth infusing his voice. "It's been ages since I saw you last. Where was it - somewhere in the Home Counties?" "Cornwall, silly," said Jenny. She giggled, and it echoed around the room, starting off girlish and becoming, after bouncing off the walls, monstrous. "Dozmary pool." "What are you drinking, sirs?" asked one of the barmen. His namebadge read "Bill". "White wine spritzer for me," said Famine. "Pest'll have whatever you've got in the ullage bucket, and... Jenny?" "Just keep them coming, boys," said Jenny. "Ullage bucket?" muttered Bill. "Under the bar," muttered Ben. "Cheap for us, stick a 50% surcharge on it. If we don't get rid of them soon we'll never get to the storerooms before the show finishes." "Did you eat the Lady of the Lake?" asked Pestilence. He sat on the stool next to Jenny and reached for the bowl of peanuts on the bar. Famine somehow got there first though, and the bowl was suddenly empty. "I was the Lady of the Lake," said Jenny sweetly. "I just don't get the star billing that I used to." "Fam, was that really necessary? Sis?" Jenny arched an eyebrow and Pestilence shrugged. "I'm trying to learn his language," he said. "Sometimes I think he just makes stuff up to confuse me." Famine pushed a bowl of fudge towards Pestilence. "You can have the sweets," he said. "No-one's sis here, fam, unless these guys have really layered on the disguises." He gestured at the barmen. "Rumbled?" asked Ben. Bill shook his head. "Not by these guys," he said. "I think we can leave the bar to them. Amirite?" Famine grinned. "Teapot!"
2 comments:
Well, if you're going to continue your prompts, I guess I'll continue my responses :)
Sweet
The two horsemen walked out onto the broad, long gallery behind the auditorium. With the show on it was pleasantly deserted and they could enjoy the thick pile of the carpet clinging to their shoes, the faintly sweet scent of air freshener, and the sheer feeling of space around them. The gallery had several staircases leading both up and down from it, but the grandest was in the middle and descended three floors directly to the bar, where two bartenders were working briskly trying to keep cocktail glasses full enough in front of an elfin lady. She had a pixie-shaped face, eyes large enough to make a chihuahua jealous, slightly pointy ears that were only just hidden by bowl-cropped blond hair, and skin the colour of the skin you get on milk after boiling it. She looked up, saw the pair, and waved.
"She's had her skin bleached," said Pestilence as they started their descent. "She looks good."
"Leprotic," said Famine approvingly. "I used to love seeing girls like her. It's been about a hundred years since I could do that without having to go abroad."
"I'll do you a couple for Christmas," said Pestilence. "I've got new strains of antibiotic-resistants that I've not tried out yet."
Famine punched Pestilence's arm. "Bro, you're a bro."
"Thanks dad," said Pestilence. "Did I get that right?"
"No, but it's the thought that counts," said Famine.
They reached the bar, and the elfin lady stood up to hug them. Surprisingly her arms seemed to reach around both of them together, and there was a hint of something scaly about her skin where it touched theirs.
"Jenny!" said Pestilence, genuine warmth infusing his voice. "It's been ages since I saw you last. Where was it - somewhere in the Home Counties?"
"Cornwall, silly," said Jenny. She giggled, and it echoed around the room, starting off girlish and becoming, after bouncing off the walls, monstrous. "Dozmary pool."
"What are you drinking, sirs?" asked one of the barmen. His namebadge read "Bill".
"White wine spritzer for me," said Famine. "Pest'll have whatever you've got in the ullage bucket, and... Jenny?"
"Just keep them coming, boys," said Jenny.
"Ullage bucket?" muttered Bill.
"Under the bar," muttered Ben. "Cheap for us, stick a 50% surcharge on it. If we don't get rid of them soon we'll never get to the storerooms before the show finishes."
"Did you eat the Lady of the Lake?" asked Pestilence. He sat on the stool next to Jenny and reached for the bowl of peanuts on the bar. Famine somehow got there first though, and the bowl was suddenly empty.
"I was the Lady of the Lake," said Jenny sweetly. "I just don't get the star billing that I used to."
"Fam, was that really necessary? Sis?"
Jenny arched an eyebrow and Pestilence shrugged. "I'm trying to learn his language," he said. "Sometimes I think he just makes stuff up to confuse me."
Famine pushed a bowl of fudge towards Pestilence. "You can have the sweets," he said. "No-one's sis here, fam, unless these guys have really layered on the disguises." He gestured at the barmen.
"Rumbled?" asked Ben.
Bill shook his head. "Not by these guys," he said. "I think we can leave the bar to them. Amirite?"
Famine grinned. "Teapot!"
Greg - I was fairly certain that 'No, but it's the thought that counts' was going to be my favorite part of this. But then Ben and Bill showed up.
This whole thing is glorious. It's like it's an early Christmas present or something very, very similar :)
Post a Comment