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An Arresting Sunset

Charming loaded everything she’d need into her arm, stuck a banana into her skirt pocket, grabbed her smoothie with her free hand, and climbed to the roof. Once she’d arranged her things and unstrapped and unfolded her chair she stayed standing and waved outward to Old Johnny.

“Where’s Young Johnny…and New Johnny?” she yelled.

“NJ’s with his momma,” Old Johnny answered back. Young Johnny and Rancy hadn’t worked out well together, but they got along fine apart. “Don’t know what a holding up Johnny though. He a missing a beaut though.”

Charming turned to the west to admire the pink and orange confetti clouds peppering a line of high white thunder clouds not yet turned to rain in the distance. Luminous yellow rays blossomed outward showing where the sun hid behind the clouds for a little bit longer.

“That he is.”

“Eh?”

“I said, ‘That he is!'” Old Johnny nodded back over the distance. He returned to his pad.

“Charma!” Charming turned upward to the sound of her name. Nadia was working her way across rooftops to the closest she could reach to Charming’s roof. Charming did the same back to her. They got within a couple redi-mades of each other.

“I’d get closer, but I don’t want to cross Phûn’s,” called Nadia. She pointed off to her left.

“I know. I heard,” said Charming. “Have you seen him yet? Is he adorable?”

“I popped in long enough yesterday to drop off a bit of food and see that he had her black hair and his blue eyes.”

“Uh, oh. That’s not gonna be good around here.” They both laughed.

“We’ve got a few years before that’s a problem. Hey, I wanted to thank you for sending that touri by my place today. You working tomorrow?”

“Sunday. I’m in the Pit all day.” Charming made her best theatrical frown, and Nadia smiled back.

“I want to give you part of the tip she left.”

Charming threw up her hands like a wall. “No-no. I’m fine. You’ve sent folks my way too. It’s what we do.”

“Charma, I know that, but I also know that she tipped well.” Nadia’s voice sunk into a deeper register on the last word like she might describe how her latest boyfriend was hung. “I’m serious. I’m coming by.”

Charming shrugged. “Come by. We’ll talk.”

“Looks like we found Young Johnny.” Nadia chinned back over Charming’s shoulder. Charming noted an odd feeling about the direction since it wasn’t over to Old Johnny’s place it was back to hers. That odd feeling would linger then turn sour soon.

431 words on day 718

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Fugitive Pigment

It’s mirrored windows reflecting downtown [city name] City, the monastery rose skyward. An office building. Charming had expected to feel more comfortable inside than out, but the lobby ceiling lofted above her stretching everything in the space upward with it. Charming expected the furniture, the potted plants, and she would soon catch free of her mooring to the floor and tumble upward. She dropped Brother Gane’s hand once she realized she had it.

A floral but masculine scent she’d attributed to some cologne of Gane’s permeated the lobby. “Is that incense?”

“Hmmm?”

“That smell. Like a spicy melon or a maybe some sort of tree I’ve not seen.”

Gane ducked his head into his badge’s strap and paused a moment to smile. He slicked a finger lightly along his rust-stained grey braids and tested the smell with his own nose before offering his finger tip to Charming. “This?”

Her face must have contorted with obvious reluctance, because Gane withdrew his offer and tested the smell again. “It’s not that strong.”

“Give it.” Charming reached out for his hand. “Ack. That’s it all right. Gah! I think I can taste it now.”

“Alizarin Crimson. You’ll get used to it. You’ll have to if you’re staying here.”

204 words on day 716

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Haru-karu-kami-sami-san Himself

“Turn around. I’m dressed. Or at least close enough.” Jessica sat on the heated bench wrapped in a robe and covered with a blanket. Steam rose from her damp uncovered hair. “Can you make sure the soldier I took the sword from gets it back? I think her name is [something].”

Prince Carta turned. “Yes, [something]. She was a bit astonished when you took—”

“—pissed no doubt.” Carta grimaced. She knew he preferred to gloss her rougher edges, but she saw no point in misleading anyone with pretty words.

“Even so. She will not take it back now.”

“Shit! Have I ruined some other tradition here in fantasy land? Sullied her family blade made by Haru-karu-kami…sami…san himself and passed down through generations of [something]s after being touched by some crazy woman from Earth? Jesus, you people are twitchy.”

Carta sighed. One of the reasons Jessica enjoyed letting herself get angry around him was because she knew he could absorb it. His pretty words and polite demeanor could take whatever abuse she threw at him and diffuse it like [something poetic here]. Blah blah blah. Even when she baited him with phrases like ‘fantasy land’ and ‘Earth’ he could stay on focus. Though she suspected he was storing those bits away for another time and another conversation.

[snip: indirect dialogue about what a prince like him has time for]

“Now that the blade has slain a dragon, [something] will consider it a gift to you. She would not take such a gift back. In fact, should you see her again, she will most likely apologize for not giving it to you sooner.”

“So, I can’t give it back. ”

“No.”

“And I can’t pay her for it?”

“No.”

“Can I give her a gift in return?”

“You could have had you not slain a dragon with it first.”

“Can’t undo that.”

“No.”

“Is she a good soldier? Good at killing and stuff?”

“There’s more to it than that.”

“Is she good at the ‘more to it than that’ stuff too?”

“She’s under [someone else]. His troops are well respected.”

“Promote her then.”

“I cannot.”

“Then let me talk to [someone else]. I’ll gt him to do it.”

“He’s well-respected for a reason.”

Jessica huffed. And raised her eyebrows abrupted and expectantly.

“He’s well-respected for a reason, and that reason is that he would refuse on her behalf because he would know you were only trying to pay her for the gift.”

“It’s not a goddamn gift when you snatch it out of someone’s hand!”

Carta shrugged.

“Even still?” she asked.

“Even still,” he agreed.

Jessica walked to the ledge where the bath water smoothed over the side of the stone wall. Her robe trailed a damp path behind her. It steamed into the cold mountain air. She had an idea early, but made Carta wait before telling him.

“Since stealing is such a gift then tell [someone else] that I’ll just take [something]. She can be my bodyguard and…fantasyland translator.”

“Very well. Tandi tells me the troops are quitting the field, and I’d like to contact [someone else] before he departs. Is there anything else, Dame Matthews?”

Jessica tried not to be surprised at his easy acceptance of her demand. “That will be all. You are dissmissed.”

546 words on day 715