Fill: Challenge #48 (Original)
May. 3rd, 2022 12:25 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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tenminutesadayI'm taking a couple of days off work and totally did not realize today was Monday and thus a challenge day. Sorry!
(This is original story I keep poking at. I think the "call to action" is fairly obvious.)
Kit stared at the man wrapped in her old dressing gown and favourite sweatpants, focusing on how ridiculous he looked to avoid thinking about what he represented. "No," she murmured. "No. I refuse."
"I really don't think you can."
"Oh, yes, I can!" she insisted, hopping to her feet and planting her fists on her hips. "This whole thing is entirely absurd. There is no such thing as magic. It's a dream for fairy tales and children's books."
Alex frowned, confused. "You saw me shift. How do you explain that? Or do you think this is a dream?"
Kit pinched her arm, hard, and winced. "It can't be," she whispered, burying her face in her hands. "It just can't."
"Why not?" Alex ducked to peer at her. "I don't understand why it's so hard to believe."
She looked up at him and shrugged. "Because I'm a science journalist. Science is my life. My world is built on observations and hypotheses and reproducible results. And now you're here, telling me it's all wrong."
He shook his head. "I"m not saying anything of the sort. I can't tell you a thing about science or magic."
Kit made up her mind. "Well," she declared, "I'm not having any of it. We'll figure out how to send you home, and that'll be the end of it."
Alex leant back against the counter and crossed his arms. "I don't think it'll be that simple."
"Why not?"
"You summoned me here and bound me with a complex contract. That's enormous power and skill -"
"That I don't even know how I did it."
Alex wagged a finger at her. "Someone's bound to notice."
Kit picked up her tea and took a long draught of the tepid drink before replying. "No one knows about you but me, and if we move quickly, you'll be gone and I can forget anything ever happened."
Alex nodded. "If you say so, lady."
"Don't call me 'lady'," she snapped.
(This is original story I keep poking at. I think the "call to action" is fairly obvious.)
Kit stared at the man wrapped in her old dressing gown and favourite sweatpants, focusing on how ridiculous he looked to avoid thinking about what he represented. "No," she murmured. "No. I refuse."
"I really don't think you can."
"Oh, yes, I can!" she insisted, hopping to her feet and planting her fists on her hips. "This whole thing is entirely absurd. There is no such thing as magic. It's a dream for fairy tales and children's books."
Alex frowned, confused. "You saw me shift. How do you explain that? Or do you think this is a dream?"
Kit pinched her arm, hard, and winced. "It can't be," she whispered, burying her face in her hands. "It just can't."
"Why not?" Alex ducked to peer at her. "I don't understand why it's so hard to believe."
She looked up at him and shrugged. "Because I'm a science journalist. Science is my life. My world is built on observations and hypotheses and reproducible results. And now you're here, telling me it's all wrong."
He shook his head. "I"m not saying anything of the sort. I can't tell you a thing about science or magic."
Kit made up her mind. "Well," she declared, "I'm not having any of it. We'll figure out how to send you home, and that'll be the end of it."
Alex leant back against the counter and crossed his arms. "I don't think it'll be that simple."
"Why not?"
"You summoned me here and bound me with a complex contract. That's enormous power and skill -"
"That I don't even know how I did it."
Alex wagged a finger at her. "Someone's bound to notice."
Kit picked up her tea and took a long draught of the tepid drink before replying. "No one knows about you but me, and if we move quickly, you'll be gone and I can forget anything ever happened."
Alex nodded. "If you say so, lady."
"Don't call me 'lady'," she snapped.