Did you walk into a door, and that's inspired the prompt? We have a new starter at work who does Jiu Jitsu and he came in with a black eye from it (he claims) a week ago :-D
Bruises “What’s changed,” said the Inspectral, his voice dull and heavy, “is that I have been able to refine my questions to you. What I want is intent. Can you get intent from the skulls?” The PFE looked at her hands in her lap. “It sounds to me like you’ve already got an idea of what the intent is,” she said. She met the Inspectral’s gaze, and half-smiled. “But yes, all magic is done with intent and there are residues of that that get left behind on the ritual objects used. The skulls may – should have – traces of intent.” “Can you find that? Now?” “Always in such a hurry, Harold. Anyone would think you were still among the living! Yes, yes; I’ll go and look at them now. I’ll be back with whatever answers I can get, so don’t go sending people to find me just because you’re bored with waiting or I’ll send them back with bruises.” “You can use the dog.” The PFE’s eyes opened wide and she rocked back in her chair; Collins noticed at that moment that she was sitting right on the edge of it as though nervous or eager to leave. “Timothy’s for me?” Her whole face seemed to darken as she frowned. “Har—” “I don’t want to prejudice what you find.” “Yes, but—” “Please. Find the intent on these objects.” The PFE stood up, her jaw working as she started and stopped several different sentences without ever managing to vocalise a word. She walked to the door of the office in strangulated silence still, opening it and whistling once to get Timothy’s attention. He bounded after her and through the door and it closed behind him with a soft click. “Adams,” said the Inspectral, and the tension drained out of the room as his cold, dry voice damped the atmosphere. “You are helping me. If the PFE comes back with what looks to be inevitable now we’re going to need Timothy for a bit longer. That means paperwork, and you need to learn how to fill this stuff out. Collins – sit over there and try not to disturb us.” Adams smiled and bounded out of her chair to the filing cabinets. “I can find Collins some paperwork to do as well,” she said as she hauled open a large drawer and started sorting through army-green hanging folders. “No,” said the Inspectral. “It’s inefficient but I want to able to respond quickly if we need to. Collins, find something to read.” Collins’s hand had gone to the ghostly officer’s book without him even thinking about it, so he took a moment to wonder if the ghost had known that this was coming.
Greg - yeah, I wouldn't trust that guy. I'd suspect a door. And no, I didn't, thank you. I think Miles maybe bruised himself somehow? I can't remember.
Yay, Timothy gets to hang around some more! And I, too, am curious about that book and the timing of Collins receiving it...
2 comments:
Did you walk into a door, and that's inspired the prompt? We have a new starter at work who does Jiu Jitsu and he came in with a black eye from it (he claims) a week ago :-D
Bruises
“What’s changed,” said the Inspectral, his voice dull and heavy, “is that I have been able to refine my questions to you. What I want is intent. Can you get intent from the skulls?”
The PFE looked at her hands in her lap. “It sounds to me like you’ve already got an idea of what the intent is,” she said. She met the Inspectral’s gaze, and half-smiled. “But yes, all magic is done with intent and there are residues of that that get left behind on the ritual objects used. The skulls may – should have – traces of intent.”
“Can you find that? Now?”
“Always in such a hurry, Harold. Anyone would think you were still among the living! Yes, yes; I’ll go and look at them now. I’ll be back with whatever answers I can get, so don’t go sending people to find me just because you’re bored with waiting or I’ll send them back with bruises.”
“You can use the dog.”
The PFE’s eyes opened wide and she rocked back in her chair; Collins noticed at that moment that she was sitting right on the edge of it as though nervous or eager to leave. “Timothy’s for me?” Her whole face seemed to darken as she frowned. “Har—”
“I don’t want to prejudice what you find.”
“Yes, but—”
“Please. Find the intent on these objects.”
The PFE stood up, her jaw working as she started and stopped several different sentences without ever managing to vocalise a word. She walked to the door of the office in strangulated silence still, opening it and whistling once to get Timothy’s attention. He bounded after her and through the door and it closed behind him with a soft click.
“Adams,” said the Inspectral, and the tension drained out of the room as his cold, dry voice damped the atmosphere. “You are helping me. If the PFE comes back with what looks to be inevitable now we’re going to need Timothy for a bit longer. That means paperwork, and you need to learn how to fill this stuff out. Collins – sit over there and try not to disturb us.”
Adams smiled and bounded out of her chair to the filing cabinets. “I can find Collins some paperwork to do as well,” she said as she hauled open a large drawer and started sorting through army-green hanging folders.
“No,” said the Inspectral. “It’s inefficient but I want to able to respond quickly if we need to. Collins, find something to read.”
Collins’s hand had gone to the ghostly officer’s book without him even thinking about it, so he took a moment to wonder if the ghost had known that this was coming.
Greg - yeah, I wouldn't trust that guy. I'd suspect a door. And no, I didn't, thank you. I think Miles maybe bruised himself somehow? I can't remember.
Yay, Timothy gets to hang around some more! And I, too, am curious about that book and the timing of Collins receiving it...
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