Fic Snippet: Companionship

Romaine realises how important El’s companionship has become to him.

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El made pasta, store brought ingredients though she added a handful of fresh herbs to the mix. Romaine laid the table, poured the drinks, lit a tealight on the ceramic coaster for some added atmosphere.

It still felt odd in some ways, after being alone for so long, to have this level of companionship. It also felt, paradoxically, utterly normal. It had become usual and he didn’t want to think too hard about it ceasing to be so. It wasn’t like he was a stranger to finding himself cut out of people’s lives or needing to cut them out.

“Isn’t it good?” El asked, frowning. He looked up from his meal.

“It’s wonderful,” he said sincerely, gaining a smile from her. “I was just thinking. About how nice it is to share meals like this.”

“I enjoy it too,” she said.

He changed the subject and soon they were laughing and talking about anything and everything. What he and El had was special and he’d cherish it.

 

 

Flashback December: Hot Chocolate

For this month I’m featuring some older works newcomers haven’t seen and others might not remember. I’d love to see others share their past work; there’s nothing wrong with celebrating earlier creations any more than there is re-reading a favourite book or re-watching a film!

Merry Christmas to those celebrating today!

Romaine watched El whisk the powdered drinking chocolate into the saucepan full of hot milk, adding a pinch of cinnamon and another of nutmeg. When she was satisfied, she poured the mixture into the mugs, filling them about half-way. She added a generous amount of brandy, some marshmallows, topped the mugs with a ton of whipped cream – he now realised why she’d purchased four cans – and finished the whole thing off with chocolate sprinkles.

“Hot chocolate,” El said, beaming, offering him a mug.

“Well, somewhere under all that,” Romaine said, grateful for the long-handled spoon she passed to him.

Flashback December: Christmas is Coming

For this month I’m featuring some older works newcomers haven’t seen and others might not remember. I’d love to see others share their past work; there’s nothing wrong with celebrating earlier creations any more than there is re-reading a favourite book or re-watching a film!

This week I’m featuring a WRE ficlet with El’s take on decorating.

 

“Where did all this come from?” Romaine stared at the myriad cardboard and plastic boxes filling the living room. He’d helped El move house twice now and never seen any of these items.

“I store it at my parent’s house. They said now I have a proper house and not a small rental I have to keep it though.” El rolled her eyes at the imposition.

Romaine pointed out two boxes. “Those are both artificial trees.”

“Yes. And that’s a mini one in the box there.”

“You said you wanted to buy a real potted tree to put outside.”

El nodded. “Four trees. Don’t judge me. I warned you I like decorating for Yuletide.”

“It’s the fifteenth of November!”

Fic Snippet for NaNoWriMo from WiP: WRE

It’s NaNoWriMo and if you’re participating, good luck! For this month I’m posting snippets of things I’ve worked on during previous NaNoWriMos.

WiP: WRE

“Fancy a walk?” Romaine asked.

El nodded. “Want me to walk the wolf?”

“Would you? Thanks.”

Romaine went upstairs to get ready, El saying she needed to use the toilet, tie up her hair, and find a coat.

A few minutes later she came to meet him, pushing the door which he’d left ajar open. She was wearing a grey hoodie with little ear sewn onto the hood and the slogan “I am a cat” across the front. Romaine, now in wolf form, snorted at the hiding in plan sight pun and then used his nose to nudge the collar and lead he’d found from a bottom drawer and put on the coffee table.

El put the collar on and the slip lead, a green and white striped hoped cord with a leather stopper which she didn’t bother to adjust since he wouldn’t be pulling at her, and a large loop at the other end for her to hold.

“Keys?” she asked. Romaine whined, having forgot about that and gestured to the key box.

El picked up his keys and slid them into her pocket alongside her own, clipped to a loop on her jeans. She pulled the door behind them and locked up. On the way out, they met Mrs Cavanaugh.

“Oh hello,” Mrs Cavanaugh said.”This must be that beautiful dog. Can I pet him?”

Fic Snippet: Secrecy (WRE)

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This month’s theme is ‘gatekeeping’. Today’s piece is a snippet from my WiP, WRE looking at gatekeeping around the supernatural community and why they try to hide their existence from humans.

“I remember asking at dinner once, when I was a teenager, why we had to hide,” El said. “My father said it was for our safety. But afterwards my uncle took me out into the garden and told me more about the pact of secrecy. How the Council came together and the Wolves wanted peace. That our biology made us stronger. But how it also meant we would never outnumber the humans, unless enough vampires and wolves went on a rampage to force change upon people and that could not be allowed.”

Romaine nodded.

Fic Snippet: Bonding (WRE)

One evening at the call centre, El asks to see Romaine’s Wolf form and reciprocates by shifting into her Cat form.
All about WiP WRE 

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Romaine hit the AWAY FROM DESK button and went off to the changing room – the double entendre was not lost on him.

He stripped off his clothes and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath, held it for a count of three, let it out slowly, allowing the Wolf to take over.

The change was smooth enough, one knee creaking a bit, and he was sure his shoulders would benefit from this shift after he’d been sat at the desk so much this week. The twinge from the shrapnel was unmistakable but he didn’t grit his teeth. That only ever caused blood. He didn’t want to show El his wolf-form with blood dripping from his teeth like some fairytale predator.

He padded out into the hall and into the office. El had fetched the drinks and was sipping coffee. Her eyes widened and she put the mug down.

“Oh, Rommie. You’re gorgeous.” She moved to crouch down and stare into his eyes. “May I?” She gestured with one hand.

Fic snippet: An Invitation

A snippet from my supernatural drama WiP featuring shapeshifters and set in modern day UK, on the England-Wales border.

Romaine (Wolf) and El (Cat) are currently working at a supernatural helpline but Romaine was a field agent until taking leave after an incident, and El is biding time until her chance to make field agent.

An Invitation

El glowered as she typed. “My family is having a party,” she said. “Anniversary party for my great-aunt Madelana and her husband Grant. They’ve hired a room at a social club, a DJ, catering, full bar.”

“Sounds nice?” Romaine ventured uncertainly, twisting on his swivel chair to look at her. El was upset about some aspect of this party.

“It might have been, except my cousin Laura will be there,” El fumed. “Laura whom I hate, not Laura I like. Nor Lana from Texas. Laura the smug asshole.”

Romaine typed a few things into the database, updating some records. El’s extended family seemed impossible to keep track of but he was fairly certain he’d not heard of hated!Laura before. “Right.”

“If I show up alone she’ll make a snide comment. She’s engaged to some dumbass but he’s always too busy to come anywhere with her. He’s supposedly jetsetting around the world, saving illiterate llamas or building toys for endangered children or something.” El shook her head. “Flashes her engagement ring, talks about her So Important work in finances in fucking London, and how Findus is combating climate change by travelling the world in aeroplanes and helicopters.”

Despite the obvious hyperbole and sarcasm, Romaine had to ask. “Findus?”