Fireproof and handle with care? These definitely sound like something is putting you in mind of a specific set of prompts. What is it at the new job that's causing all this concern? :)
Handle with care Fabian closed off the call and looked around; he'd deliberately walked a little to the left of his usual route home in the hopes of meeting Dread somewhere for a drink so he was on the outskirts of the city centre and probably a half-hour walk from home still. The river was off to the right now and the Metton bridge was probably the closest -- for a moment he remembered the Rust Elves being hauled out by the Civil Militia and shivered -- and he supposed that he had little choice. He had little taste for drinking alone and after an afternoon with Cass the idea of trying to make eye contact and flirt in a bar somewhere made him feel like he needed handling with care. Cass was superb at her job but he was very glad that was the only place he saw her. Then he had to quell an eruption of laughter as he suddenly pictured her in a bar somewhere, making forceful eye contact with some poor soul and insisting that they join her for a drink and flirt with her. The people nearby gave him curious looks, wondering why he had spontaneously started laughing, so he hurried away a little in the direction of the bridge. As he did he looked around, trying to pretend that he'd seen something humorous. On one side there were clothing shops with the usual bustle of foot-traffic, and on the other there was a coffee-shop, some kind of textiles place, and a broad alleyway with a white sign just inside it, attached to the wall a little above head-height. Temple of Remedna was written on the sign in the spidery letters favoured by the Spider-elves -- the Empire accommodated three different alphabets though Imperial Lettering was used in all official publications and documents. He wondered where he'd heard that name before, and was several steps beyond the alley before the memory arrived: Rystin had suggested he go there and ask around about types of magic. The idea of doing that was like a glass of cold-water thrown in his face and he almost hurried up to get away from the street. But even as he cringed inwardly at the idea of having to talk to strangers there was another thought in the back of his head that anything that would avoid him getting blamed for the Assessors's actions could be useful. "Look where you're going!" admonished a woman, nudging him to one side as she made her way past him. He muttered an apology, not sure that he'd really been in her way, and leant against a wall between two plate-glass shop windows while he thought. He knew he really didn't want to do this, but equally he really didn't want to be blamed by the Assessors. The warring emotions were about equally strong, and he was slightly surprised to find himself taking hesitant steps back towards the alley and the sign. He swallowed hard and decided that if he was going to do this then he wasn't going to let on how afraid he was. A moment ago he had felt like he needed handling with care; now he felt that he had to handle the whole situation with care.
2 comments:
Fireproof and handle with care? These definitely sound like something is putting you in mind of a specific set of prompts. What is it at the new job that's causing all this concern? :)
Handle with care
Fabian closed off the call and looked around; he'd deliberately walked a little to the left of his usual route home in the hopes of meeting Dread somewhere for a drink so he was on the outskirts of the city centre and probably a half-hour walk from home still. The river was off to the right now and the Metton bridge was probably the closest -- for a moment he remembered the Rust Elves being hauled out by the Civil Militia and shivered -- and he supposed that he had little choice. He had little taste for drinking alone and after an afternoon with Cass the idea of trying to make eye contact and flirt in a bar somewhere made him feel like he needed handling with care. Cass was superb at her job but he was very glad that was the only place he saw her. Then he had to quell an eruption of laughter as he suddenly pictured her in a bar somewhere, making forceful eye contact with some poor soul and insisting that they join her for a drink and flirt with her.
The people nearby gave him curious looks, wondering why he had spontaneously started laughing, so he hurried away a little in the direction of the bridge. As he did he looked around, trying to pretend that he'd seen something humorous. On one side there were clothing shops with the usual bustle of foot-traffic, and on the other there was a coffee-shop, some kind of textiles place, and a broad alleyway with a white sign just inside it, attached to the wall a little above head-height. Temple of Remedna was written on the sign in the spidery letters favoured by the Spider-elves -- the Empire accommodated three different alphabets though Imperial Lettering was used in all official publications and documents. He wondered where he'd heard that name before, and was several steps beyond the alley before the memory arrived: Rystin had suggested he go there and ask around about types of magic.
The idea of doing that was like a glass of cold-water thrown in his face and he almost hurried up to get away from the street. But even as he cringed inwardly at the idea of having to talk to strangers there was another thought in the back of his head that anything that would avoid him getting blamed for the Assessors's actions could be useful.
"Look where you're going!" admonished a woman, nudging him to one side as she made her way past him. He muttered an apology, not sure that he'd really been in her way, and leant against a wall between two plate-glass shop windows while he thought. He knew he really didn't want to do this, but equally he really didn't want to be blamed by the Assessors. The warring emotions were about equally strong, and he was slightly surprised to find himself taking hesitant steps back towards the alley and the sign. He swallowed hard and decided that if he was going to do this then he wasn't going to let on how afraid he was. A moment ago he had felt like he needed handling with care; now he felt that he had to handle the whole situation with care.
But still he felt terrified.
Greg - honestly can't remember the inspiration for this one, but it's been a long day and I can't remember much of anything at the moment.
Nice incorporation of the prompt. Curious to see how this goes.
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