Tag Archive | character: austin

Attack on Cloverleaf, a ficlet for @inspectorCaracal

May13

Set in Austin’s first year of Doomsday.

They were on a field trip when Cloverleaf was attacked.

Miss Ascha had, after four weeks at school, agreed to take the new class down to the city to see the shops. Austin was sticking close to Sianna and Sweetbriar, because Sianna stuck close to Sweetbriar and Sweetbriar knew the city already.

Everything was okay – the city was a lot bigger than the place Austin had grown up in, but it still had open space and green. No fields, of course – nobody planted crops in the middle of population centers – but it made the walls feel less like a trap.

They were at a clothes shop, Sianna picking out shirts and Sweetbriar rolling her eyes at Austin, when the alarm sounded. Miss Ascha grabbed them, holding Sweetbriar with one hand and Austin with the other – like they would run off, well, all right, they probably would – and steered all eight of them towards what she called a shelter.

“But Miss Ascha,” Austin squirmed in her grip. “That’s a dragon!”

She paused and looked to the sky. “No, that’s a wyvern. See how it only has two legs?”

“Who’s going to fight it?” He didn’t squirm again, because if he squirmed, she’d make them all go underground.

“Well, probably sa’Doomsday and sa’Inazuma and the city guard, with some of the other teachers.” She shrugged her shoulders the way she did when she was giving in. “All right, all of you stay very close, and we’ll go where we can watch it.”

The watchtower on the main street was only a floor taller than everything else, but it was plenty tall enough for them to watch the battle. Miss Ascha spoke a long long long line of Workings, encasing the whole class in some sort of clear bubble.

Austin leaned as far out as Miss Ascha’s grip on the back of his kimono would allow, watching the way Professor Inaauma and Professor Doomsday – and the rest of them, of course – attacked the wyvern. It was like something out of a story, all broad gestures and shouted words, long streaks of lightning and rumbles where the walls themselves seemed to attack the wyvern.

Austin’s nose was pressed to the bubble and, next to him, so was Sweetbriar’s, Miss Ascha’s hand firm on the back of their uniforms. The wyvern went down, and they cheered until their throats were raw.

“I’m gonna be a samurai,” he told Sweetbriar.

“Damn right you are. And I’m gonna be a Valkyrie.”

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/939891.html. You can comment here or there.

The Catboy Samurai is getting an Adventure~

Oct25

I have planned for Nanowrimo, among other stories, a 5000-word piece on Austin, the catboy samurai, to which the existing pieces can be a prelude.

So tell me, what sort of shenanigans should Austin be getting into?

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/835647.html. You can comment here or there.

Character Description: The Samurai Catboy

Oct3

Okay!

Austin is Jenner’s grandson, which matters only for my notes.

He has sandy blonde hair, generally tousled and sun-bleached.

His face is shaped like this guy: https://p.gr-assets.com/540×540/fit/hostedimages/1379755857/164716.jpg but he’s a very smiley sort, always grinning.

His skin is sun-baked, darkly tanned. His eyes are light hazel.

He’s a short kid, he’ll eventually reach around 5’6″ tall, wiry, athletic.

He has cat ears – tawny yellow, like a ginger kitty, with white fuzz on the inside – whiskers, and a long kitty tail (long-furred, so like http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_j-BKTeYR_0s/THAKwRWRatI/AAAAAAAABFM/9hDIuhl0BZs/s1600/AT+katt+2IMG_8170.jpg )

He’s wearing a simple black kimono (http://meninkimono.tumblr.com/image/98442096726) with a white under kimono and a grey-black-and-white plaid obi (pardon if terms are off, it’s been a long time)

What am I missing?

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/820658.html. You can comment here or there.

Samurai have friends, a continuation of Doomsday for the Giraffe Call (@rix_Scaedu)

Sep25

This is written to Rix_Scaedu‘s commissioned continuation of the “Samurai” thread:
Gonna be a Samurai
Gonna Learn how to be a Samurai and
Being a Samurai Takes Work
If You Want to be a Samurai…
Gonna be a Samurai… Kitty?.

Fourth Year.
Austin was going to be cy’Lightning Blade, of course. That had been a foregone conclusion since he first met Professor Inazuma, and growing ears and a tail (siiiigh) just cemented what he’d already known.

“You should keep on studying farming with Professors Sweetflower and Lily, of course.” Principal Doomsday was taking care of Austin’s official move from cy’kidlings to cy’Lightning Blade, including the physical move from the kids’ dorm to the cy’Lightning house. “And don’t forget to make time for your friends. Remember – sa’Bulldozer, sa’Rainbow, sa’Lightning, sa’Vengeance and I were all in different cy’rees when we were in school, and we are still crew after all this time.”

His friends? Austin found himself blinking owlishly at the principal. “Sweetbriar’s probably going to go cy’Lightning Blade, too.”

The principal said nothing. Austin thought hard and fast. “Sianna. Sianna’s not – Sianna’s not a fighter, she’s a dancer.” Why hadn’t he ever been listening? “Sianna’s not going to go cy’Lightning Blade, is she?” She would probably go… cy’Lily? Or cy’Sweetflower. Who… were his secondary instructors for farming.

“Austin, were you listening?” Principal Doomsday leaned against the wall and huffed at him. “You’re not changing Mentors to be with Sianna. For one, then you wouldn’t be in a cy’ree with Sweetbriar. For another, you wouldn’t be happy as cy’Lily, in my opinion. And for a third, it’s a small school. You’ll still have plenty of time together.”

“But not sitting up all night talking…” Austin slapped a hand over his mouth. “I mean…” The words came out, unsurprisingly, muffled.

Principal Doomsday laughed. “You’re not the only one, I assure you. I told you, I was a student once myself. All of the staff were.”

“Not here though, right?” A change of subject, yay. Austin remembered to move his hands away from his mouth.

“No, long ago and not all that far away, in a place called Addergoole. I think your mother and your older siblings went there…?”

Not the nicest change of subject. “Um. Yeah. Yeah, that’s what Mom said. Somewhere underground? She never really wanted to talk about it.”

“Most Addergoole grads don’t. But we were all kids once. We remember.” The principal patted Austin’s shoulder. “You’ll still have time for your friends, and I’m sure Professor Leo – Professor Inazuma – isn’t going to say no to the occasional sleepover. Sianna’s a nice girl.”

“So’s Sweetbriar.” The words came out fast. Sweetbriar wasn’t nice, not really. She was sharp and prickly and sometimes temperamental, already deadly and altogether hard to read when she wanted to be.

And… and Principal Doomsday was smiling at him, no, grinning, why had he never noticed that minks had sharp teeth, help…

“Sweetbriar is an interesting girl. She’s a good friend, from what I can tell, and someone good to have your back in a fight. Of course, I’m biased.”

“Biased? Ma’am?” She was going cy’Lightning Blade, right, not cy’Doomsday? He didn’t want to lose both of his friends.

“She’s my granddaughter. One of several, of course – but she’s still my granddaughter.” The principal smiled again, and this time it seemed far less dangerous. “You have good taste in friends, Austin. You’re going to be fine.”

Want more words, or just really like this post? Drop some money in the tip jar!


(the tip jar is a kitty for reasons)

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/816093.html. You can comment here or there.