Writing - Tamingthemuse challenge
Sep. 5th, 2010 02:01 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Title: Quiet
Fandom: Original
Prompt: #215 - As for those who disbelieved...
Warnings: None
Rating: PG
Summary: Jacob wonders if he truly is powerless against the obstacles in his path.
Word Count: 728
Notes: Same characters I used in Prompt #204.
It wasn’t like me to allow harsh words to trouble me, but I suppose every man has his Achilles’ heel. For me it was being called a nobody with all the power of a gnat in a hurricane. I don’t like being helpless, especially when people around me are hurting. Unable to sleep, I went outside to sit underneath the stars.
My thoughts shifted from problem to problem, mulling each one over carefully until frustration forced me to move on to the next. I’d come to the Deadlands to visit an old friend, purchase some art, and relax. The old friend had instead introduced me to Miranda which had led me to Sable and my current predicament. A small part of me cursed my need to be a hero as I looked skyward for answers. The stars told me nothing.
“Miranda said I would find you here.” Sable strolled toward me and sat down on the soft grass. The scent of roses filled my senses as she ran her fingers through her hair and shook her head. “A shower makes you feel refreshed, no?”
“No,” I answered honestly. “Not tonight.”
“What is wrong?”
I shrugged. “Nothing and everything. I’m accustomed to biting off more than I can chew, but it bothers me to think this time around I’ve involved two innocent people.”
“First,” Sable said holding up one finger, “Miranda is innocent; I am not. Secondly, you think too much.”
I chuckled and tugged on a blade of grass, plucking it from the ground and twirling it between my thumb and forefinger. “That is the curse of an intellectual. It’s never quiet in my head.”
“Not true.”
“No?”
She shook her head and smiled. “No. You are different when you make love. You are, how do you say, focused on your partner rather than the world outside. You make the woman feel…special, even when she has no right to feel so.” In the dim light of the moon, it was difficult to tell if she was blushing. I hoped she was if only because I was too.
“But you are special, Sable.” I reached out to cup her cheek in the palm of my hand, my fingertips pushing her hair behind her ear.
She nuzzled my hand and raised her dark eyes to mine. “As are you, Jacob, no matter what Eric says.” When I withdrew my hand and looked away, she leaned closer to me. “Why do you let his words trouble you?”
I turned my gaze back to the sky. “As for those who disbelieved, their deeds are like a mirage in a desert,” I replied.
“That sounds like Order rhetoric.”
“It is.”
She raised her eyebrows. “You were a bearer of Light?”
Laughter bubbled through me. “No, but my grandmother was, a very devout bearer at that.” I sighed and lay back on the ground, putting my hands behind my head. “She used to say that to try and encourage me to join the Order, particularly when I tried to correct the things around me I thought were wrong.”
“What does it mean?”
“To her it meant my intentions were never enough, that I was deceiving myself if I believed I could accomplish any true good in the world without the backing of the Order.”
“And that is what Eric said tonight.”
I nodded. “Exactly.”
Sable was silent for a few moments before lying down and turning onto her side to rest her head on my chest. “The Order of Light is not as pure as they pretend. You will save Miranda from death, I am sure of it.”
I brought my arm down to hug her closer to my body. The smell of roses invaded my senses again and I smiled. “Thank you, Sable.”
She shrugged one shoulder. “As you say, it is the least I could do.” Her body tensed for a moment as she paused to take a breath. “Why have you not made love to me again?”
I blinked. “I, uh, I wasn’t aware you wanted to,” I stammered.
“Did you want to?”
“Yes, but under the circumstances, I didn’t think it was an appropriate subject to bring up.”
She pushed herself up on one elbow and tilted her head back to kiss my chin. “I told you, you think too much.”
And once more Sable helped me quiet my mind.
Fandom: Original
Prompt: #215 - As for those who disbelieved...
Warnings: None
Rating: PG
Summary: Jacob wonders if he truly is powerless against the obstacles in his path.
Word Count: 728
Notes: Same characters I used in Prompt #204.
It wasn’t like me to allow harsh words to trouble me, but I suppose every man has his Achilles’ heel. For me it was being called a nobody with all the power of a gnat in a hurricane. I don’t like being helpless, especially when people around me are hurting. Unable to sleep, I went outside to sit underneath the stars.
My thoughts shifted from problem to problem, mulling each one over carefully until frustration forced me to move on to the next. I’d come to the Deadlands to visit an old friend, purchase some art, and relax. The old friend had instead introduced me to Miranda which had led me to Sable and my current predicament. A small part of me cursed my need to be a hero as I looked skyward for answers. The stars told me nothing.
“Miranda said I would find you here.” Sable strolled toward me and sat down on the soft grass. The scent of roses filled my senses as she ran her fingers through her hair and shook her head. “A shower makes you feel refreshed, no?”
“No,” I answered honestly. “Not tonight.”
“What is wrong?”
I shrugged. “Nothing and everything. I’m accustomed to biting off more than I can chew, but it bothers me to think this time around I’ve involved two innocent people.”
“First,” Sable said holding up one finger, “Miranda is innocent; I am not. Secondly, you think too much.”
I chuckled and tugged on a blade of grass, plucking it from the ground and twirling it between my thumb and forefinger. “That is the curse of an intellectual. It’s never quiet in my head.”
“Not true.”
“No?”
She shook her head and smiled. “No. You are different when you make love. You are, how do you say, focused on your partner rather than the world outside. You make the woman feel…special, even when she has no right to feel so.” In the dim light of the moon, it was difficult to tell if she was blushing. I hoped she was if only because I was too.
“But you are special, Sable.” I reached out to cup her cheek in the palm of my hand, my fingertips pushing her hair behind her ear.
She nuzzled my hand and raised her dark eyes to mine. “As are you, Jacob, no matter what Eric says.” When I withdrew my hand and looked away, she leaned closer to me. “Why do you let his words trouble you?”
I turned my gaze back to the sky. “As for those who disbelieved, their deeds are like a mirage in a desert,” I replied.
“That sounds like Order rhetoric.”
“It is.”
She raised her eyebrows. “You were a bearer of Light?”
Laughter bubbled through me. “No, but my grandmother was, a very devout bearer at that.” I sighed and lay back on the ground, putting my hands behind my head. “She used to say that to try and encourage me to join the Order, particularly when I tried to correct the things around me I thought were wrong.”
“What does it mean?”
“To her it meant my intentions were never enough, that I was deceiving myself if I believed I could accomplish any true good in the world without the backing of the Order.”
“And that is what Eric said tonight.”
I nodded. “Exactly.”
Sable was silent for a few moments before lying down and turning onto her side to rest her head on my chest. “The Order of Light is not as pure as they pretend. You will save Miranda from death, I am sure of it.”
I brought my arm down to hug her closer to my body. The smell of roses invaded my senses again and I smiled. “Thank you, Sable.”
She shrugged one shoulder. “As you say, it is the least I could do.” Her body tensed for a moment as she paused to take a breath. “Why have you not made love to me again?”
I blinked. “I, uh, I wasn’t aware you wanted to,” I stammered.
“Did you want to?”
“Yes, but under the circumstances, I didn’t think it was an appropriate subject to bring up.”
She pushed herself up on one elbow and tilted her head back to kiss my chin. “I told you, you think too much.”
And once more Sable helped me quiet my mind.