For stryck‘s prompt

Finnegan is a character in Addergoole. Efrosin, who was meant to have more lines in this, is a character in Addergoole: Year Nine, coming in September.

Summer between years six and Seven of the Addergoole School (2001)

Summer Camp was, Finnegan decided, one of the best ideas he’d ever had.

When Doug had offered him the job last year, he’d needed something to do that wasn’t think about Allyse or their tiny baby daughter Bailey. Two months hip-deep in other people’s kids had done a good job of that.

This year, he came for the fun, and because he was good at it; he brought Efrosin, because the kid needed to clear his own head.

Camp Red Oak Hill might have a higher percentage of future Addergoole students attending it than any normal camp, but that was a fact known only to the staff and the parents; normal kids came here, too, and the children of fae who weren’t part of Regine’s master plan. It made for a wild, rambunctious mass of children, much like camps he remembered from his own earlier years.

And tonight, looking around the fire at fifty-seven kids, Finnegan felt a dreadful sense of responsibility. He was supposed to look after them. He was supposed to teach them.

He was supposed to send them home, knowing maybe fifteen of them would eventually end up in the halls of Addergoole.

He cleared his throat. “Tonight’s story isn’t quite a ghost story…”

He waited out the obligatory “awwws” and other complaints.

“It’s a monster story instead. You see, when I was coming here, I spoke to the old Indian…”

“The old Native American,” eight-year-old Talitha interrupted.

Two could play at that game. “The old Tuscarora who lives down at the bottom of the hill. And he told me of a monster who used to roam these parts.”

He dropped his voice. “She was a nightmare, they say, the kind of creature that could chill your blood. She ate little children’s hearts for breakfast, and for dinner, she had lady fingers, real lady fingers. Those she didn’t eat, she’d enslave.”

He was really getting into it. “And she was a terror, a real slave-driver. She made her captive work all day without anything at all to eat, and then at night, when she let them rest, she fed them cold bean mush over broccoli.“

Even Efrosin joined in on the collective “Ewwwwwwww.”

“She walked these very hills, living in a cabin up just past the fence-line, where the old stones still sit. And she would come down here, when this camp was first started, and she would steal. Little boys. And little girls, one by one.” He dropped his voice down to a faint whisper.

“What happened to her?” Yuriko was a little old to be getting into the stories this much, but she was leaning forward nearly off of her log. “Did the camp people stop her?”

“Now, that’s the thing. Some people say that she died a natural death. Some people say that her slaves rose up and killed her dead, and buried her body at the crossroads.

“But some people say she never died, and sometimes she walks the paths around the camp, looking for a way in, looking for children to steal.”

And if that didn’t give them nightmares…

“Some people say, she looks just like we do.”

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/371851.html. You can comment here or there.

For Lilfluff‘s prompt

Kendra and Ofir are characters in Addergoole

One week into Summer vacation after Year 5

Kendra had been home for nearly three weeks before anyone came to visit.

She had been settling in, having long conversations with her father and shorter, more uncomfortable conversations with her stepmother and her younger brother ‘Deus.

Her son Falke was still tiny, hungry all the time and cranky when he wasn’t hungry. “Just like your daddy,” she teased him, when nobody else was listening. The truth was, she didn’t mind. He didn’t take that much effort, and her stepmom and dad were more than willing to take most of the burden.

When the doorbell rang, Falke was finally settling down for a nap, so she slipped out the door before the noise could wake him up. “‘Deus is out… oh. Hi.” She swallowed a squeak. These weren’t her brother’s friends, or, at least, they hadn’t been when she left a year ago. “Kale, Nancy, Ashley, Hi. Brittany – are you pregnant? Oh, wow. Justin, you look… good.” Really good. “Hey, Jasmine. New hairdo. Um. How did you all get here?”

“Courtney’s mom let her borrow the van. We heard you were back, but you didn’t stop by.” Brittany’s hands were over her full stomach protectively. “So we thought, you know, maybe we’d stop by…”

“Oh! Hi.” She remembered how to smile after a moment. “Sorry, it’s just been…” Inside, Falke started wailing again. “Well, let’s just say, Brit, if you’re having a boy, I can pass you down a whole bunch of clothes in a month or two.”

She shared a grateful smile with the girl who she’d barely known before she left. At least with Brit pregnant, there would be less questions. Maybe she wouldn’t have to try to explain Ofir, or Jamian, or anything else over the last year.

“So, who’s the dad?” Trust Justin to ruin her plans. And the way he was looking at her, he was remembering that kiss before she left. Kendra flushed.

“Just some jerk.” She hunched her shoulders, thinking about it, thinking about the day he’d lost her. “We’re not together anymore.”

“Just like that?”

“Things were… complicated.” Things were always complicated at Addergoole. “But, ah, I’m home now.”

“Come on, let’s see the baby.” Jasmine pushed the door open. “and then you can tell us all about your year at school, and this jerk. And oh, my god, you would not believe what Terry did to Anna.”

Lock her in a closet? Sell her to his friends? Turn her into a toad? “This way, follow the screaming baby noises. What did he do?”

“Totally cheated on her with Amber. And then pretended it was all her fault.”

“Oh, that sounds… horrible. What did Anna do?” I’d get someone to do a tlacatl on him so he couldn’t get it up for weeks…

“Cried, mostly.”

“Oh, thats… awful.” She paused in the doorway to her room; Falke had settled down to little burbling noises. “Maybe I’ll talk to her.” Give her some pointers.

“And then Amber…” they were on again, and it all sounded so dire, until she thought about a collar locked around her neck. It was going to be a long summer, wasn’t it?

She caught Kale smiling at her, those blue eyes so sincere. But possibly a fun summer, too.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/371500.html. You can comment here or there.

For ankewehner‘s prompt

Yngvi (Vi), Aelgifu (Ayla) and Ioanna (Io) are characters in Addergoole

Summer between Years Six and Seven.

The zoo had seemed like a good idea for the three of them. Io’s oldest, Cecily, was just old enough to enjoy it, and Cecily was young enough to enjoy the stroller ride. It seemed safe, normal – a human thing to do.

They needed more human things to do; after another year underground, they needed to remember how to act normal. Io had been on a campaign of normalcy since they left for the summer, but after that incident at the beach, she thought maybe a smaller group of humanity might be safer. (For the humans, at least. Who knew Yngvi could punch that hard?)

And here they were, standing in front of the antelopes, Vi staring down the biggest bull. Even though they were all Masked, even though Vi’s face was human under the Mask, Io swore she could see his nostrils widening.

And then Ayla punched him in the arm. “Vi, it’s an animal. It’s an antelope.“

Ynvgi blushed, and dropped his head. Picturing his horns – long, curling horns, much like smaller versions of the Kudu antelope in front of them – Io thought they must almost be scraping the fence. “Sorry. I don’t know what got into me.”

“You don’t see me snorting at them.”

Yngvi frowned, looking distinctly uncomfortable. “I don’t know. Maybe if we met any jackalopes…”

Io snorted at the two of them. “Face if, Vi, every once in a while you act like a male. Even if you’re acting like a male bovid.”

“Wonderful. Now I’m a cow.” Vi rolled his eyes in molodramatic disdain. “Fine, let’s go on to the big cats. That shouldn’t cause a problem for any of us.”

Io squirmed, remembering the last time she encountered a mountain lion. “Ah, about that…”

Next time they were going to something safe. Like a cave.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/371126.html. You can comment here or there.