Thursday, February 23, 2012

Z is for Zen


The beautiful blonde woman sat cross legged on the grass in the garden, her hair tumbling down her back to the grass. She looked very peaceful and zen as she sat there, her eyes closed and her hands resting on her knees. She wore a simple linen dress that did nothing to hide her beauty, as well as a baby sling strapped so the infant was nestled against her chest.
Rolf leered at her from the edge of the grass. “She’s gorgeous,” he said. “I want her.”
Beside him, Lal nodded, but looked nervous. “What are you, mad? There are battle sylphs all over the Valley.”
“Not right here or right now,” Rolf said with a belch and a scratch of his gut. “Besides, there’s nothing wrong with appreciating a beautiful lady. I’ll just go an’ make my acquaintance with her.”
“But she’s got a baby with her,” Lal protested. “She’s got to have someone already.”
“Nah, Gabralina’s single. Everyone knows that. She’s babysittin’.” Rolf smoothed back his greasy hair and hitched up his pants. “Watch an’ learn, boy. I’ll have her eatin’ out of my hand.”
Dubious, Lal watched as his friend sauntered over towards Gabralina. She blinked up at him as his shadow fell across her. 
“Can I help you?”
“Hey, gorgeous,” he leered. “How about we go an’ get naked so we can get to know each other better?”
Gabralina recoiled. “I...uh, no, thank you.”
His grin widened. His teeth were hideous. “Come on, sweetheart, spend some time with a real man.” 
He bent over her and the sling strapped to her chest exploded. Miniature black battler tentacles flailed out of every gap in the fabric, battering at the man, while hate as strong as a bit of dandelion fluff washed over him. 
Howling, Rolf ran for his life, Lal chasing after him and wailing. The sound of a raspberry followed them both.
Gabralina stared after them and then looked down at the baby battle sylph. “Aww, Razz, you’re so clever,” she cooed. “Such a good baby, yes you are! Yes you are!”
Razz blinked up at his babysitter sleepily, blew a faint raspberry in reply, and jammed his tentacles into his mouth. Sucking on them and happy, he went back to sleep, ready as always for battle.

8 comments:

  1. Sorry to see it end, but what a way to end it.
    I loved it! And he's got a name!
    Seriously, you could write a series of shorts following Razz out of infancy and in to childhood. Can you see him as a 'terrible two'? Oops. This idea may cause problems. How fast do sylphs grow? How is he going to learn to speak or change shape? And what would you do with a baby battle sylph if he gets out of hand? Time out? Soooo many questions. :-)

    Thanks for the alphabet! And thanks for creating the free e-read, selling the novella, and doing the cover. I can't wait to see it.

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  2. EEEE!!!! What a perfect name for Baby B! And I love that Gabralina is the one babysitting him, I bet she loves him.

    This turn of phrase: "hate as strong as a bit of dandelion fluff" is just absolutely wonderful and very perfectly encompasses who Razz is. I love it :)

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  3. Aww...we have a name - Razz - which suits him perfectly, (although I'll still think of him as Baby B) ;)

    @Amy - Yes, the "dandelion fluff" phrase was very imaginative and neatly summed up both Razz's age and his 'powers'.

    I bet their face were a picture when the baby sling sprouted black tentacles!!

    Thank you very much, LJ, for all of these wonderful alphabet snippets. They have really brightened up these gloomy mornings and emphasised, if further evidence was required, just how talented an author you are.

    It must be difficult to write such short snippets as opposed to novels but I'm very grateful for your patience. I can't wait for the ebook, novella and cover art. You're amazing!

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  4. Hi --

    Thanks so much for sharing your extraordinary talent. I absolutely loved these short stories, and am in awe of your storytelling. I hope you'll continue to write in this Universe.

    Z was perfect and I love the baby battler, Razz.

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  5. Woo Hoo! Gotta love little Razz. Thanks L.J. for that sweet finale with the Baby Battler, it was adorable! Can't wait for more from our favorite Sylph world author not to mention all those tantalizing hints of other worlds to come as well! I'm up for them all. ;)

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  6. So, I am embarrassingly late on this one, but I LOVED it. And I want to see more of Razz.

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  7. I'm glad everyone liked these so much. It makes the work worthwhile. :)

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