Drabble 335

Finished on time at 6:56.

Araziel had dragged Blue out of the cottage, leaving Raven's mare squeezed into the kitchen. “I don't want to have to go looking for Raven,” Blue whined. “Can't we just accept that he's a big boy and needs to be able to take care of himself?”

“No, we cannot,” snapped Araziel.

“Well why can't we?” asked Blue.

“Because, between the drinking and the tantrums I'm really starting to believe that he isn't.” Had Raven been there he might have disagreed just to keep himself from having to sleep outside, but he did have to admit that she had a point.

Drabble 334

Finished on time at 6:43.

Only after Anansi had searched Raven for potential weapons did he finally released his grip and allowed Raven to turn to face him. “I'm sure there's a splendid reason why we're all the way out here, alone, without any of your soldiers witness right now,” said Raven, “but honestly Anansi, save it. I don't want to hear about why I should go rejoin the dark side.”

“Is that what you think? That it's just a simple matter of I'm the bad guy and Mary-Tzu is just a victim?” asked Anansi. “Do you really think that war is ever that simple?”

Drabble 333

 Finished late, strike 14.

Anansi continued to pull Raven through the woods, only stopping when they were far enough from anyone that nobody would have heard if he'd screamed, and while Anansi hadn't quite accomplished what might have been considered an example of police brutality Raven was sure that he'd be developing some impressive bruising when Anansi let him go. “A walk through the woods; how romantic,” Raven sneered, squirming in Anansi's grip even though he'd only hurt himself further. “It's always nice to be reminded just how charming you can be,” Anansi told him, stopping beside a large tree, pinning Raven against it.

Drabblle 332

Finished on time at 6:54.

After nearly a day of stumbling through the woods, the journey having taken far longer than it should have due to Blue getting them lost for several hours, Blue and Araziel arrived back at Raven's cottage to find it empty. “Maybe he's still out looking for the horse,” Blue suggested, sitting himself down on the settee.

“There's a half finished cup of tea on the side,” Araziel pointed out; “I don't get the impression that Raven usually leaves tea unfinished.”

“We just got back from finding the horse,” snapped Blue. “I don't want to have to go looking for Raven.”

Drabble 331

Finished on time at 6:48.

After a while Anansi pulled Raven aside, out of view of his soldiers, just behind the first couple of trees. It was the best opportunity Raven had been given so far to get away, and it would still likely require he knock Anansi out so that he and his soldiers didn't immediately come after him. Anansi seemed to know precisely what Raven was thinking, though, because he was walking just behind Raven with his arm gripped in such a way that he could twist it behind his back at a moment's notice, and break it if Raven really pushed him.

Drabble 330

Finished on time at 7:06.

They stopped on the outskirts of the woods to rest and Anansi dismounted, passing the reigns of his horse over to a servant. None of Anansi's men sat down, apparently too well trained for that. If they had done that might have given Raven a chance to slip away, gaining enough of a head-start while they reorganised themselves to find Mary-Tzu's camp before they found him and warn her. Anansi was watching him closely, too, eyes following Raven wherever he went and he still couldn't find any way to get away without being immediately recaptured and dragged back to Anansi.

Drabble 329

Finished on time at 7:05.

Raven walked miserably alongside Anansi's horse. He hadn't been offered a horse himself, and was struggling to keep up with the far larger strides of the creature. It didn't appear to be a problem for Anansi's men, who were clearly used to marching alongside cavalry. Raven had considered using that to fall back and make his escape, but Anansi was keeping a close eye on him and he was heavily outnumbered. Not only that but he still wasn't entirely sure where he was or how to get back home, and couldn't risk getting lost with a small army after him.

Drabble 328

Another one completed late. Strike 13.

Blue complained the entire time they were walking through the woods. Araziel might have sympathised, since she was also tired and wanted to lie down, but Blue's whining was beginning to get on her nerves. “I've half a mind to find a nice river to drown you in and just find my own way back,” she snapped, slapping Blue over the back of the head as he muttered curses under his breath. “Please, you'd never find your way out of here,” Blue spat.

“And you still can't tie your shoelaces,” Araziel retorted, leaving Blue to stamp along miserably behind her.

Drabble 327

This one was finished late, making this strike 12.

Blue had sat down by the edge of the path, having walked for barely more than an hour, complaining that his feet hurt. “We haven't even walked that far,” Araziel told him, trying to pull him to his feet. “Not that far?” Blue snapped. “We've been walking for... well, for... How long were we even in that place?”

“I have absolutely no idea,” replied Araziel.

“So what you're saying is that just about anything could have happened while we've been gone, and several years might have passed?” asked Blue.

“I really hope not, but I suppose it's possible,” Araziel answered.

Drabble 326

Finished on time at 6:56 but not uploaded.

Blue was sat in the grass looking dazed and confused when Araziel stepped back into Acellevin. It was night time, and they had come out in the middle of a forest, one which Araziel really hoped Blue recognised.”So, now what do we do?” she asked, kicking Blue after he ignored her to get his attention. He shrugged, still looking a little lost and confused, and said, “Go home, I suppose. Go home and try to forget about this whole thing.”

“You do know the way home, right?” asked Araziel. Blue looked around, shrugged again, and replied, “I'll figure it out.”

Drabble 325

Finished on time at 7:04 but not uploaded until way after, because I am basically just majorly incompetant.

Since Blue was still wasting time looking for the doorway rather than passing through it, and Aengus really could only hold it open for so long before it collapsed, he didn't think too much of him shoving Blue through it. Araziel stifled a laugh as she watched Blue tumble through the doorway and disappear, and used Blue's footprints to locate the doorway for herself. She had a little trouble convincing Raven's horse to follow her through, but with Araziel pulling the lead-rope and Aengus pushing her from behind she eventually passed through and followed Blue and Araziel back into Acellevin.

Drabble 324

Finished on time at 6:58 but not uploaded until later.

Aengus had finally found the location for the portal, or at least he said he had. He was stood there looking awful proud of himself, although Blue couldn't see anything there. “Well..?” inquired Aengus, uncomfortably.

“Well?” asked Blue, sharply.

“I've opened a doorway,” explained Aengus; “you can pass through it now.”

“Well I don't see anything,” snapped Blue.

“Well of course you don't see anything,” sighed Aengus. “Can you see magick? No? Well then you're just going to have to take my word for it. Now hurry up and go through, I can't hold the passage open forever, you know.”

Drabble 323

This one was a day late. I went to bed really, really early that night due to a migraine and developing tonsillitis to boot. So, strike 11. We will ignore that I could have just lied and pretended it just hadn't been uploaded like the others because I would rather not have you all think that I'm actually an honourable person.

“Weren't we supposed to be doing something?” asked Araziel. Aengus had finished dealing with the leprechaun and sent it on its way, and was now sat in the grass staring at the sky, not really doing anything. “Yeah, but I think the Author's dying. We'll have to wait and see what happens,” replied Blue.

“I somehow doubt that the Author is actually dying,” said Araziel.

“They probably are just being melodramatic,” Blue conceded, “but on the off chance that they're not, I really think we need to prepare ourselves for the eventuality that we will no longer have an Author.”

Drabble 322

Finished on time (sort of) at 7:04 but not uploaded.

“How long is this going to take?” snapped Blue. He was watching Aengus as he searched through the shrubbery, for what Blue had no idea. “There should be a sign around here somewhere, something to let me know that a doorway can be opened here,” Aengus murmured.

“Well it's taking too long,” spat Blue. “I'm starting to wonder whether you really can get us out of here.”

“I can,” hissed Aengus, “but I can't open a doorway just anywhere. It needs to be at a place where this world connects to yours, or we could end up just about anywhere."

Drabble 321

 Finished 6:50 but not uploaded.

Aengus had taken the leprechaun aside, apparently to have some very stern words. Blue was a little doubtful as to whether the leprechaun would listen to him, but he hadn't said anything about it as he'd dragged the leprechaun into the trees to talk. Araziel was busy trying to calm Raven's horse, and Blue had been left with nothing to do but stand around and wait. Eventually Aengus returned with a very grumpy looking leprechaun, which he promptly sent on its way. “I still think you should have let me beat it to a pulp,” spat Blue, glaring after it.

Drabble 320

This was finished on time at 7:00 exactly, but wasn't uploaded. And yes, I AM about to upload a bunch of these that were written and not posted.

“Where is our grossly incompetent Author?” asked Blue.

“I don't know, sleeping?” suggested Araziel. Blue snorted, a rather inelegant sound, and replied, “Our Author doesn't sleep.”

“Everybody sleeps, Blue,” argued Araziel, “otherwise they would die.”

“Maybe that's what happened to the Author?” said Blue. “We know they don't sleep. So maybe they died.”

“Would we even still be existing if the Author were dead?” asked Araziel.

“Hey, I am not in the mood to talk philosophy with you,” snapped Blue. “All I know is for some reason or another, our Author is not doing what they're suppose to be doing.”

Drabble 319

This was finished at 7:21, but then I went to sleep without uploading. It was slightly late anyway, so we'll call this strike 10.

Blue snook up behind the leprechaun, picked it up by the back of its jacket and shook it. Raven's horse immediately tried to bolt, but Araziel caught the rope and pulled her back. 'Right, elf' Blue reminded himself, 'inhuman strength'. “We need to have a talk,” he told the leprechaun. It squirmed and twisted in his grip, eventually managing to turn enough to get Blue's hand into its mouth and bite down. He dropped it, giving the leprechaun the chance to flee into the woods, but Aengus stepped out from behind a tree and caught it as it passed him.

Drabble 318

 Finished 7:01.

They found the leprechaun after what felt to Blue like a couple of hours of searching, though no time seemed to have passed in the forest. Blue was sure that their time there was going to have ruined his internal time keeping, but that was hardly a priority right them. The leprechaun was moving through the woods to some unknown location, pulling Raven's horse along by a rope, completely unaware of their presence, one of the easiest targets that Blue could have asked for. And Blue had no knife with which to sneak up behind him and slit his throat.

Drabble 317

 Finished 6:46.

Raven was awake and sulking when Anansi came to fetch him the next morning. The sun wasn't up yet, although it wasn't like Raven could see that from within the dungeons. He refused to look at Anansi, even as he unchained him from the wall and slipped an arm around his waist. “This will all be done with soon enough,” he said, softly, “and then everything can go back to normal. You should come back home, Ray; we've missed you.” Raven pushed Anansi away, removing his hand roughly from his back, and said, lifelessly, “No, it won't. Not for me.”

Drabble 316

Finished 7:01.

Aengus hadn't looked particularly impressed when, upon learning that he had seen a winged horse wandering about the woods, or rather being led through the woods by a leprechaun, anyway, Blue had demanded that they find it before they left. Araziel had considered declaring the horse a lost cause and demanding they go straight back home, but Blue had shot her a withering look before she had been able to say anything. “I don't like that leprechaun,” Blue had said resolutely as they had set off to find them. “I don't like it and I want to see it suffer.”

Drabble 315

Finished 6:46.

Blue and Araziel were just about ready to get out of there and never go back, and Araziel had already started pestering Aengus about how, precisely, they were going to do that. “Somebody needs to open a passageway between the worlds at a point where this world links to yours,” Aengus explained. “I can do that, if we can get to an appropriate location, but I can't guarantee that you'll never return here.”

“Just one more question, before we leave here,” said Blue, getting up and stretching his legs. “Have you seen a winged horse wandering about these woods anywhere?”

Drabble 314

Finished 7:12. Late, I know. I'm not sure whether this should count as a strike or not. Strike 9.5, maybe?

“Our Author still isn't getting much done, are they?” asked Blue.

“They didn't even send us any wine this time,” moaned Araziel, and Blue wasn't feeling brave enough to tell her that it was probably for her own good. Aengus was still sat away from them, clearly not used to having to deal with the Author's incompetence, and Blue was starting to feel a little sorry for him. “You know, the time will pass quicker if you join in on the conversation,” Blue shouted over, and Aengus grunted in acknowledgement but made no move to get up and join them.

Drabble 313

Finished 7:06. Yes, I was frantically rushing to get this written at the last minute, how could you tell?

“Where is out Author?” snapped Araziel. She was starting to get tired of all of these disappearance. Her yelling and angry muttering had even managed to frighten Aengus a little, and he had gone to sit some way along the path. “I think they were supposed to be doing this NaNoWriMo thing,” said Blue, who had sat down beneath a tree and was doodling in the dirt with a twig. “That is no excuse,” snapped Araziel, and down the path Aengus flinched. “Well, our Author never needed an excuse to slack off before,” said Blue, throwing his twig at Araziel.

Drabble 312

This was finished before 7:00 but couldn't be uploaded due to technical difficulties.

Raven continued to follow Anansi around while he made the last few necessary arrangements for the morning, keeping his head down and carefully taking in everything Anansi said. He kept quiet even as Anansi led him back to the dungeons for the night. He hadn't figured out a way to get the upper hand over Anansi yet, and it was making him nervous. “You're welcome to come home, you know,” Anansi said as he fastened the chains around Raven's wrists once again, “when all of this is over.”

“That's not my home,” Raven said sharply, refusing to look at Anansi.

Drabble 311

Finished 6:53.

Anansi turned to Raven, his head tilted to one side slightly, and said, “Why did you leave?”

“That isn't an answer, Anansi,” snapped Raven.

“Perhaps you should ask a better question then,” said Anansi. He tried to wrap an arm around Raven's back but Raven stepped away out of his reach. “Why did you stay?” he asked again. “Why didn't you leave with me?”

“It's a good job with good pay,” Anansi shrugged.

“And it doesn't bother you? Being His Majesty's attack dog?” spat Raven, a little more sharply than he'd intended.

“Why would it?” asked Anansi, remaining frustratingly calm.

Drabble 310

Finished 7:01.

Anansi was outside with his soldiers, going over their plans for the morning when they would set out for General Mary-Tzu's camp. Raven was following him, silently trying to judge how long it would take him to scale the manor walls and whether or not he could outrun Anansi. With so many guards and soldiers about the place he didn't particularly like his odds, but by that point he was nearly desperate enough to try it. “Just one question, while I still have the chance to ask it,” Raven said, tapping Anansi to get his attention; “Why did you stay?”

Drabble 309

 Finished 6:47.

Raven was desperately trying to pull his hair back, and having no such luck. “You should keep it down,” said Anansi, “it suits you better that way.”

“I'll make sure to keep that in mind,” Raven snapped. He managed to get most of his hair back off of his face and knotted the string. “I get the impression you don't care for me any more,” said Anansi.

“I wonder why that might be,” bit Raven, sarcastically.

“Yes, so do I,” replied Anansi, entirely sincere; “you've changed so much since I saw you last, it's like I hardly know you now.”

Drabble 308

Finished 6:59.

Araziel was managing to stay far calmer than Blue was. She pushed Blue back into a sitting position and approached Aengus cautiously. “Would I be correct in assuming that you could let us out?” she asked.

“It would be inadvisable to assume anything,” replied Aengus.

“Are we going to get any straight answers from you?” Araziel snapped.

“You might, if you ask some straight questions.”

“Can You Let Us Out Of Here?” Araziel ground out, emphasising every word.

“I might be able to, so long as other factors don't interfere.” This time it was Blue's turn to hold Araziel back.

Drabble 307

Finished 7:04.

Blue tried to run away again almost immediately, and Araziel was barely able to catch him before he did. “No, no, no!” he snapped. “I am not dealing with this. Not now, not today. I just want to go home and drink myself into a stupor.”

“Well that might be a little difficult,” Aengus told him, cheerily. “Mortals can't come and go from here as they wish – you needed somebody to bring you here, and you'll need somebody to let you out.” Blue took a moment to consider what he'd said, and concluded that he really didn't like that place.

Drabble 306

Finished 6:11.

Aengus was stood hmm'ing, obviously looking for some way out of answering the question. Araziel was starting to get impatient, and snapped, “Just get on and answer already!”

“Alright; I'm not going to get out of this one, am I?” said Aengus, rubbing the back of his neck with an open palm. “No, you're not, so quit stalling,” Araziel hissed. For a moment Aengus looked like he might just run away instead, but after a moment he just sighed and said, “I am a barghest, a member of the Unseelie court, and you are in the domain of the fae.”

Drabble 305

Finished 6:59. I really shouldn't be trying to do this at the same time as NaNoWriMo.

When Araziel had finally gotten Blue to calm down enough to actually have most of a conversation, they sat down beneath the largest tree that was nearby while Aengus remained standing a few paces away. “You still haven't told me what you are, or what this place is and what we're all doing here,” Araziel pointed out.

“No, I don't suppose I have,” replied Aengus.

“Then stop beating around the bush and just tell us already!” snapped Araziel.

“Tell you what?” asked Aengus.

“For the love of of all that is good, just tell us already exactly what you are!”

Drabble 304

Finished 4:06.

They found Blue cowering behind a tree, muttering to himself about elves and giant hounds, and Araziel thought they might actually have broken him. “Blue, would you please attempt to regain some coherency, just for one moment?” asked Araziel.

“Nope,” chimed Blue, smiling a little to widely for it not to be at least a little uncomfortable for him. Aengus crouched down in front of him, getting right up against his face, and said softly, almost singing, “Blue...” And then he slapped Blue across the face hard enough that the grin dropped from his face and he stopped his muttering.

Drabble 303

Finished 5:53.

Araziel and Aengus, whoever he was, followed the path along where Blue had run off. Somehow Aengus seemed to know where they were going, which with all Araziel had seen there was actually a little unnerving. “You still haven't told me what exactly you are,” said Araziel, when they had been walking long enough for her to relax. “Oh, haven't I?” replied Aengus, cheerily. “I have a great many shapes. This one's nearly a human but isn't quite. And I've another that's almost a dog, but it isn't quite. I don't suppose that answers your question, though, now does it?”

Drabble 302

Finished 6:45.

Araziel was still standing there frozen when the man approached her, holding out a hand for her to shake. When she did come back to her senses she was barely able to mumble out, “Who are you? What are you?” The man cocked his head to the side, looking far too dog-like to not make Araziel uncomfortable, and studied her carefully. “I go by many names,” he said after a moment, “but I suppose you can call me Aengus.” He was still holding out his hand for Araziel to shake, and she took it tentatively, never meeting his eyes.

Drabble 301

Finished 6:32.

When the giant dog that had seen fit to sit itself in their path got up and moved towards them, Blue's first instinct had been to hide behind Araziel. Of course, this would have been far easier if she hadn't already been hiding behind him. When the dog began to contort itself and shift its form into that of a man, that was when Blue had finally had enough. He turned on his heel, loudly proclaiming, “Nope, not happening,” and ran back the way they had come as quickly as he possibly could, leaving Araziel standing frozen in the path.

Drabble 300

 Finished 6:56. There are now 30,000 words of this. I have no idea how it happened.

“Seriously? Three hundred of these and we're still sitting around the woods? What is the Author doing?” asked Blue.

“I'd rather not know,” replied Araziel; “But at least they sent wine.” She held up the bottle for Blue to see, shaking it so he could tell how much was gone. “Oh, well that makes everything better,” spat Blue. He snatched the bottle away from Araziel but didn't drink any, and refused to give it her back when she asked. “And why,” said Blue, holding the bottle away from Araziel's reach, “am I the only one here without a drinking problem?”

Drabble 299

Finished 7:08. Yeah, yeah, I know, super late. I basically don't sleep which really doesn't help with this.

Raven was searching through Anansi's maps, looking for any point before General Mary-Tzu's camp where he could slip away from Anansi and get to Tzu in time to warn her. Anansi was stood behind him, a little too close, and playing with his hair. “What are you up to?” he asked, fiddling with the twine that held Raven's hair back. He untied the knot, allowing Raven's hair to fall over his face, much to the other man's annoyance. “What makes you think I'm up to something?” snapped Raven, pushing back his hair.

“Because you're always up to something,” replied Anansi.

Drabble 298

Finished 6:59.

It didn't take too long for Araziel to tire of waiting and demand they set off again. Blue grumbled the whole time, arguing they would be safer staying where they were until Raven finally got off his haunches and came looking for them, since he knew the woods so much better than they did. They continued like this, Blue grumbling and Araziel ignoring him, until a small detour around a tightly packed group of trees brought them face-to-face with a very large dog. Blue might even have said 'I told you so' of he hadn't been so terrified.

Drabble 297

Finished 6:36.

Out by the lake very little lived. Few birds would land there, and dogs that were walked past would refuse to approach the water's edge. However, when the local children walked past, a snout and a pair of eyes would pop out of the water, watching them go past. Once a young boy had approached the lake, when he'd been walking past alone, and was surprised when a sleek, beautiful horse slipped out of the water. He wouldn't tell anyone what he'd seen, though, for when he reached out to stroke the horse's nose he was pulled into the lake.

Drabble 296

Finished 5:59. The mouse pad on my laptop has almost completely gone and it's becoming a real pain.

Raven did his best to look around Anansi's office while he bustled about getting all of his maps and files out, but there really was nothing in there. It occurred to him that there had been a time not long ago when his cottage had looked very much the same, with bare walls and empty sides, and that thought made him uncomfortable. In a way he felt sorry for Anansi; he remembered what it had been like when he had nothing in his life but his work, and no matter what happened he wasn't willing to go back to that.

Drabble 295

Finished 6:30.

Anansi seemed to be in a better mood than he had been the night before, and far more relaxed. He was chatting away happily, completely unaware that Raven was paying little attention to him and a lot of attention to potential avenues of escape. “It'll be such a relief when that woman is finally dead and I can go back home,” said Anansi, and Raven nodded quietly and tried to estimate the distance between an open window and the ground. He was 50/50 on whether or not it would be worth the risk of a broken leg to jump out.

Drabble 294

 Finished 3:58.

In an old, decrepit house which had lain abandoned for many years their lived a brownie. Each day the brownie attempted to clean the house, or as much of the house as it could, but it was fighting a losing battle. With nobody in the house the dust gathered quickly, dirt built up over the floors and dead bugs would lie for days where they had dropped before the brownie would get to them. Despite this the house was home, and when the demolition team came in to tear the old house down the brownie couldn't bear to leave it.

Drabble 293

Finished 6:02.

After what felt to them like an eternity, though the sun still hadn't set and nothing had changed within the woods, not even a stirring of the wind, sitting around with nothing to do, Araziel finally turned to Blue and asked, “What gives? Usually we can't yet you to sit still long enough to get you dressed; you should be burning the whole forest down by now.”

“Honestly?” replied Blue; “I'm in actual, physical pain right now. I really should be burning the whole forest down. I really want to”

“Then why aren't you?” asked Araziel.

“No matches,” replied Blue.

Drabble 292

Finished 2:02. And now I need to go sleep so I can actually be functional in the morning.

Araziel had been doing her best to get a proper look around the woods, while Blue had been doing his best to stop her from wondering too far off. “This is ridiculous. Where is the Author?” she snapped.

“I don't know,” snapped Blue, guiding Araziel back to where they were supposed to be resting. “I think they have something on in the morning. They're probably actually sleeping for once.”

“Blue, what are you talking about? The Author can't have something on; they have no life.”

“Maybe they found one somewhere?” suggested Blue. “There must be lives going spare some place.”

Drabble 291

Finished 6:11.

It was something of a relief when Anansi finally came to let Raven out of the dungeon, even if he was the absolute last person Raven wanted to see right then. He took a moment to inspect Raven's wrists, tutting when he saw the bruises that had already formed. “You just don't learn, do you?” he said, running a thumb over the grazed skin of one wrist. “I am beginning to see that personal development may not be one of my strengths,” Raven acknowledged, and it was taking all of his restraint not to punch Anansi right in the face.

Drabble 290

Finished 5:23.

Araziel was sitting impatiently, tapping her foot on the ground and drumming her fingers on her knee. “Blue, can we please get moving again now? You've had plenty long enough to rest,” she said. Blue, who was sat against a tree rubbing his feet, argued, “I still haven't gotten all of the feeling back. And besides, I'm not sure that the Author even remembers that we're out here. We aren't exactly going to get very far if that's the case – what even happens if the Author forgets about us? Will we just have to sit here waiting until they remember?”

Drabble 289

Finished 4:08.

Blue and Araziel had been walking for longer than either of them cared to measure when Blue finally exclaimed, “That's it! We're sitting down and taking a break right now. If we walk any further I think my feet are going to drop off.”

“We aren't stopping now,” snapped Araziel. “These woods aren't that big; we should be out of here soon enough.”

“Araziel, I don't think time and space are working like they normally do right now, and I'm not sure we've even been walking in a straight line. We're sitting down to take a rest, and that's final.”

Drabble 288

Finished 6:26.

The selkie had been living on land for many years, in a beautiful cottage by the sea with a man whom she adored. As happy as she was there, though, still she longed for the sea. Each day she would awake and gaze out across the waves as her husband dressed for work. Eventually it would get the better of her, and one day the husband would come home to find his wife gone and her sealskin no longer where she had kept it, and he would know there was one more seal playing is the sea beside their cottage.

Drabble 287

This was finished on-time at 3:36 but couldn't be uploaded due to lack of internet connection.

It took a while for Blue to pull himself up out of the ditch, and during all that time Araziel was stood watching him from the path, not even bothering to help. “If you're going to keep pushing me into ditches, you could at least help get me out of the afterwards,” Blue snapped.

“Alternatively you could stop being so irritating and then I wouldn't need to push you into ditches, now would I?” suggested Araziel.

“Or, better yet, I continue to be irritating but you stop pushing me into ditches anyway because it isn't a nice thing to do.

Drabble 286

Finished 5:05.

At some point whilst they were walking through the woods Blue had began singing, and Araziel was becoming increasingly tempted to hit him. She had told him multiple times to shut up, but anybody who thought that might actually work clearly hadn't known Blue very long at all, and the problem with the woods being so quiet is it made Blue sound all the louder. After what felt like hours, but couldn't possibly have been nearly so long with so little change in the light, Araziel finally snapped and shoved Blue into a ditch at the side of the road.

Drabble 285

 Finished 4:19.

It took only a couple of hours in the dungeon for Raven to remember why they were used as a form of punishment. There was no way he could get comfortable enough to sleep while chained to the wall, even without the cold and the damp keeping him up, and there was absolutely nothing with which he could occupy himself throughout the night. He ended up spending half the night trying to get out of the chains, and spent the rest of the night trying desperately not to move so that he wouldn't aggravate the wounds he'd caused himself struggling.

Drabble 284

Finished 4:06.

Raven hated to give Anansi any sort of credit, but he'd done a pretty good job of setting up an actual dungeon in the basement of the manor house. He'd even gone so far as to have several chains attached to one of the walls, presumably so he couldn't just strangle a guard sent to check on him and escape. “You know, it still stands,” said Anansi as he fastened a chain around Raven's wrist; “you're more than welcome to spend the night with me.”

“And it still stands that I would rather choke on my own intestines,” spat Raven.

Drabble 283

Finished 3:27.

“Okay, that's it,” snapped Araziel; “if we sit here any longer I'll actually go mad. We can't get any more lost than we already are.” She stood up, gathered up her skirts and started walking before Blue had even had chance to move. “Don't leave me!” he whined, jogging to catch up with Araziel. “We don't even know where we're going,” Blue told her. He looked back to the small clearing where they'd been sitting but it had already disappeared from sight. “I don't care where we're going so long as it's away from here,” snapped Araziel, increasing her pace.

Drabble 282

Finished 3:25.

The barghest lay at the roadside, awaiting any cars that would pass through the narrow country roads. In times gone passed, when carriages had been pulled by horses, it had been far easier to stop them. All the barghest had needed to do was lay there and the horses would spook as they passed, but now the barghest often needed to run into the road just so the drivers would stop. So few even bothered to step out of their car where the barghest could get to them, and each year fewer and fewer people would disappear along those roads.

Drabble 281

Finished 3:38.

At the ruins of an an old castle far off in the Scottish countryside there lived a Boggart. Many years ago, when the castle had been vibrant and alive, the boggart had knocked on the doors and castle walls at night. It had soured the milk, hidden Her Ladyship's jewels, and chased away dozens of fine horses. But now the castle was empty and had fallen into disrepair, and there was no more mischief for the boggart to wreak. With no one left to torment and no more animals to frighten away, the boggart would gradually fade away to nothing.

Drabble 280

 Finished 3:43.

After Anansi had packed everything away and they'd both sat down to a late supper, Raven asked, as he picked at his food, “So now what?”

“Well,” replied Anansi, “now we get some sleep. We can finalise plans and start putting things into action in the morning. I hope you don't take this personally, by the way, but you'll be spending the night in the dungeons.”

“And what if I don't want to?”

“I'm not having you left unattended. If it bothers you that much you can always spend the night with me.”

“But those dungeons suddenly sound so inviting.”

Drabble 279

 Finished 3:58.

Around the cauldron stood the witches, watching as it boiled and bubbled. Eye of newt, toe of toad and a dozen or so other strange and fantastic ingredients floated in the cauldron, slowly melting into the murky water. One of the witches dipped a ladle into the cauldron, brought it to her lips and tasted the contents. She coughed and spluttered, spitting the hot liquid onto the cave floor. “What? What is it? What's wrong?” asked a second witch, as the first continued to spit onto the cave floor. The witch stopped spitting just long enough to reply; “Needs salt.”

Drabble 277 and 278

 Missed yesterday. That's... strike 9? I think? The aim is basically to keep it below 12 for the year (an average of one per month). Here's yesterday's, finished at 3:17 a day late.

“Do you have any idea what our Author is doing?” asked Araziel.

“No, why?” replied Blue. He had been drawing in the mud with a stick but was quickly finding that he couldn't get nearly the amount of detail he wanted on the entrails, so he was glad of something else to do; even if that something was talking to Araziel. “Well, it seems like we've been sat here an awfully long time... Just what are they doing?”

“If I knew that do you really think we'd still be sitting here?” asked Blue. “They've probably fallen asleep on the job.” 

And now tonight's, finished at 3:39.

It was getting late and Raven was pretty sure Anansi would need to retire soon – he never had been good with late nights – and Raven hoped to make his move soon. Anansi had sent for a servant to bring something to eat and was busy packing away all of his maps and files, giving Raven a chance to scout out what he could of the manor grounds from the window. “Whatever you're scheming, I wouldn't try it if I were you,” said Anansi, walking up behind him.

“What makes you thing I'm scheming?” asked Raven.

“You're always scheming,” replied Anansi.

  

Drabble 276

Finished 6:09.

Once every month or so, on the full moon, all of the monsters in town got together, in a graveyard near an old, seldom used church just on the outskirts. Each of them would be sure to bring something, either a leg or some fingers or a few ounces of blood, whatever little to could, to be shared out between them. No monster would ever be left hungry. It was through these meetings that the local monster population was sustain even in times of famine and poor hunting season, and the local human level was kept at a manageable level.

Drabble 275

Finished 7:05. Late, sorry, I know. My word processor is playing up, so this ended up needing an online word count tool.

"I feel a disturbance in the force..." Araziel said, sitting on the ground in the woods.
"Wait, we're making Starwars references now?" asked Blue. "I didn't think the Author likes Starwars."
"All the same, something feels off," said Araziel.
"I think the Author might be having computer problems again. That's usually what it is."
"What problems?" asked Araziel.
"It's something The Author gets; don't worry about it," said Blue. He was secretly revelling in knowing something that Araziel didn't, but he was pretty sure that if he said so Araziel would find something to smack him over the head with.

Drabble 274

Finished 1:39. It is now the first day of Halloween!!1! (Well, okay, technically the second, but remember the day doesn't change over until I've gone to sleep). I can't promise that EVERY entry this month will be Halloween themed, but there'll be a few. Also, this on was a pain. I had to find somewhere to cut out one word. Just the one :P

In a small, quiet town in a dark and rainy part of the country there was a hill. That hill was steep, without any proper path by which to get up. On top of that hill was a house; an old, rickety thing with creaking doors and walls that groaned and leaked whatever the weather. In that house lived a ghost. When people walked past the house on the hill the ghost would slam doors and rattle windows, loud enough to be heard at the bottom. People were afraid to go near there, but really the ghost was just lonely.

Drabble 273

Finished 00:51.

Araziel and Blue had taken to playing Noughts and crosses in the dirt, since neither of them knew where they were and attempting to up and leave would likely result in them both getting even more lost than they were already, if that were possible. “You know we can't just sit here forever, right?” asked Araziel.

“I disagree,” said Blue.

“At some point we're going to have to leave,” Araziel continued; “and we need to figure out how we're going to do that without knowing where we are, since I'd rather not die out here if I can help it.”

Drabble 272

Finished 5:11.

Although Anansi had eventually agreed to untie Raven, he still wasn't taking any chances with security. Two guards had been posted outside the door and another one was standing in the corner of the room, taking up as much space as he possibly could without taking up any space at all. Anansi was pouring over maps, throwing information at Raven so fast he could hardly keep up; where Mary-Tzu was camped, how many men she had with her, the rotation of her guards... With as much information as Anansi already had Raven wasn't entirely sure what he was needed for.

Drabble 271

Finished 2:48.

Raven didn't have long to think things through before Anansi demanded answer. He hadn't really thought at all, but was just trying to buy himself more time, when he said: “Alright; tell me what you want me to do.” Anansi moved closer to him, sitting on the edge of his desk right beside him and resting a hand on his cheek. “See? I knew you'd come around eventually,” he said, moving to ruffle Raven's hair. Raven would have slapped his hand away if he'd been able to, but as it was all he could do was sit there feeling ill.

Drabble 270

Finished 5:03.

Blue and Araziel had managed to find a small patch of woodland where the trees were a little less dense to sit down, but hadn't yet found there way back to a path or located any landmark that Blue recognised. They had been sitting there in awkward silence for a while when Blue finally spoke. “We are hopelessly lost, aren't we?” he said.

“Blue, I'm not even entirely certain we're in Acellevin any more,” replied Araziel.

“If we're not in Acellevin, then where are we?” asked Blue.

“I don't know,” Araziel answered, “but wherever this is, I don't like it.”

Drabble 269

 Finished 6:03.

Araziel had been following the rustling through the woods for about twenty minutes when she suddenly found a large weight pinning her down. “Get OFF me, you bloody great oaf!” she snapped, hitting Blue off the back of the head.

“Sorry, I thought you were the leprechaun,” Blue said. He rolled off of her and sat on the ground, rubbing the sore spot on the back of his head where Araziel had hit him. “Do I look like a leprechaun to you?” she spat as she climed to her feet, dusted off he skirt and hit Blue a second time.

Drabble 268

Finished 1:26.

A few servants came in throughout the day with water and to make sure that Raven wasn't up to anything, but he didn't see Anansi again until that evening. By that point he had most of a plan pieced together, but he had no idea how he was going to get the leprechaun there to instigate it all. He wasn't sure how long he would have to put things into action, but judging by the impatient tapping of Anansi's foot and his sharp: “I'm going to give you one last chance to change your mind,” it wouldn't be very long.

Drabble 267

Finished 21:33.

Raven was still sitting in Anansi's office, trying to figure out how he was supposed to get himself out of this mess. Since Blue and Araziel were likely still looking for his horse, he couldn't depend on one of them realising he was gone. Many years ago he might have considered appealing to Anansi's better nature, but he was old enough now that he knew that would be pointless; he'd have more chance of being rescued by the leprechaun. With that thought in mind he leaned back against his chair, as much as the bind would allow, and began plotting.

Drabble 266

Finished 22:57. So, I finished that little intermission, and then realised I didn't remember where I'd left off the storyline. I think it had something to do with the leprechaun? :P

General Mary-Tzu of the Mary-Sue army was still in Acellevin, still living in her tent in the woods. She'd brought enough servants and soldiers with her that she wouldn't need to worry about things like hunting for food, but even so being so far from home was starting to grow uncomfortable. Just as soon as her business in Acellevin had been finished and she'd dotted all the relevant 'i's she would be sure to pack her things and be away immediately, and leave more difficult tasks, such is the inevitable diplomatic fallout from her intended actions there, to somebody else.

Drabble 265

Finished 22:19.

It took less than a week for Blue to decide he'd had enough and forcibly drag Raven back inside. Araziel had been through most of his liquor cabinet, and was sitting at the table with the last glass of whiskey in her hands. “See? Look what you've done! I'm not even sure she knew what drinking is until she met you!” Blue screeched. Raven took one look at Araziel, looking bedraggled and staring forlornly into her glass. He shrugged, turned to Blue and said, “I'm sure she's fine.”

“Yes, and I'm sure that I'm the picture of sanity,” spat Blue.

Drabble 264

Finished 22:51.

Dear Author,

Look, I have no idea what this whole strike thing is over, but it's beginning to get on my nerves. Whatever Raven is asking for, please just let him have it. Or at least set a few things on fire for me so he'll have to do something besides sit around outside. This place isn't nearly as much fun when I can't torment Raven, and you really don't want me to get any more bored than I already am. I don't even care what you do or how you do it but just fix this already.

Signed,

Blue.

Drabble 263

Finished 23:38.

It was nearly nightfall when Raven finally came back inside, and Blue had taken it upon himself to actually act like a functioning adult for once in his life and was in the kitchen cooking dinner. “You do realise what's happening here, don't you?” asked Araziel as Raven sat down across from her.

“You got into my vodka?” suggested Raven.

“No – well, yes – but I mean that, all other factors controlled, that crazier you are acting, the saner Blue gets,” she said. “It's almost like insanity is a finite resource, and between you, you and Blue would use it all.”

Drabble 262

Finished 22:05.

Blue had quickly gotten bored of striking and gone back into the house, where Araziel had once again let herself into Raven's liquor cabinet. “Is there something we ought to speak about?” asked Blue, taking a near empty bottle from her hands.

“I don't think this land is very good for me,” said Araziel.

“I don't think this land is any good for anybody,” replied Blue.

“What are you talking about?” asked Araziel; “this is the sanest I've ever seen you.”

“I hardly count,” he said. “I mean, anything that's good for me is generally just bad as a whole.”

Drabble 261

Finished 21:32.

“Raven, what are we doing?” asked Blue. They had been sitting on the grass outside Raven's cottage, not really doing anything much, for several hours. “We're striking,” replied Raven.

“Well it feels like we're just sitting here doing nothing,” snapped Blue.

“That's how a strike works, Blue. We refuse to do anything until the Author gives in to my demands,” explained Raven.

“Well wouldn't it be easier to set everything on fire, just to spite them?” asked Blue.

“No.”

“Why not?” whined Blue.

“Because then everything would be on fire, and that would cause more problems for us than them.”

Drabble 260

Finished 22:36.

Dear Author,

I think that we can both agree that this has Gone Too Far. I'm astounded that my house is still standing after the havoc Blue's wrought these past few days; taking fire away from him has actually made things worse! Quite simply I do not know how you expect me to work with these conditions, but it certainly won't be continuing. If you cannot reign things in here I will have no choice but to go on strike.

I hope that you will consider all I've said here when deciding your next course of action.

Yours Faithfully,

Raven.

Drabble 259

Finished 22:34.

Dear Author,

Why did you take my fires? You took all of the fire away, and now there's nothing for me to do. I wasn't really going to set everything on fire. Well, not everything...

You know I can still destroy everything without setting it on fire, right? I have access to swords, there is magick here, there are lots of ways I can break things. I not saying I'm going to destroy the world just to spite you; only that if you don't want the world destroyed then you should really put the fire back on.

Unkind Regards,

Blue.

Drabble 258

 Finished 00:41.

Dear Author,

Whilst I appreciate the requirements of your position make the situation somewhat complicated, I really do feel that this whole thing has been allowed to get out of hand. Sit is nothing short of miraculous that so far, Blue has only been able to burn down the town and has not destroyed the entirety of Acellevin. Surely he doesn't need to reside here that much longer? You could, after all, accomplish your aims within Blue's homeland and not need to involve me at all. I only ask you consider this before allowing this to continue.

Yours Faithfully,

Raven.