Post by greenie on Dec 25, 2009 22:50:48 GMT 10
Title: Distraction
Rating: PG
Prompt: Stories
Summary: Little Goodwin makes herself useful at the kennel.
Nyler Jewel suddenly turned his back on his conversational partners and scanned the room. “Where’s Little gone?” he asked softly. Mattes and Osgyth swore from behind him.
“Keep quiet,” warned Mattes. “We’ll see if we can find her before the Sarge notices she’s gone.” He nodded his head towards the desk where Clary sat, her attention focused on paperwork and the occasional interruption by message runners. She hadn’t reacted well the other times she’d realised that her daughter had wandered off.
Jewel eyed Achoo. “Tomlan, do you have anything of hers on you? Achoo could probably find her quicker than we can.” Tom nodded and handed over the shawl he’d tucked under his coat. Jewel passed it to Beka and motioned for her to give it to Achoo. “Tom, you find some excuse to be at the desk with Clary, just check that Little isn’t over there clinging to her leg or sommat, and try to keep her calm if she realises she’s gone.”
“I’ll check the privies,” offered Osgyth. “Just in case she’s decided to go there without telling us.”
Jewel nodded. “That leaves you, Mattes. Could you check the scent hounds’ kennels? It’s where she was last time. Make sure you check the baskets carefully and make sure she’s not curled up in there with them again.” He saw Tom shake his head at him from the desk and knew that Little wasn’t there. Achoo now had Little’s scent, but was going in circles all over the room. That was the trouble with having to find someone who ran around all over the place.
Ersken slipped in beside Beka. “Beka, what’s Achoo doing? Has she gone silly again?”
Beka shook her head. “Don’t make a fuss about it, but she’s trying to find a certain four year-old,” she murmured.
“She’s in the healers’ room,” he answered. “She wandered over after they brought that cove with the broken arm in.”
Beka traded looks with Jewel, and all three of them walked over to the door to the healers’ room. Sure enough, Little Goodwin was in there, perched up on the bed beside the Dog that had been injured, and holding his hand.
“Once upon a time there was a little girl called Little, because she was the littlest one in the family. And she liked to do lots of fun things, like go sledding and making mud pies, and eating lots of sweets and yummy things. And she was even happier when it was Midwinter because she could do all of those and even more, like playing in the snow and it was lots of fun. And she was very, very happy. The End!” She beamed at him. “Is your arm better?”
“A little bit,” he told her. Beka grinned, knowing that any improvement would be due to the healer busily working on the other side of him.
“When I get hurt, my mama always kisses it better,” said Little. She looked at him thoughtfully and then frowned. “Except your mama isn’t here right now, so you can borrow mine if you want. She’s just out there.” She pointed towards the door and then saw the group of people standing there. “Hello!” she exclaimed, and waved. “I’m being helpful,” she told them and beamed.
“Helpful?” asked Jewel, hiding a smile.
She nodded enthusiastically. “I’m being a distraction! So he doesn’t notice all the nasty horrible things that the healer has to do. I’m telling him lots and lots of stories to distract him.”
They heard a commotion in the main room and turned to listen.
“Your mama wants to know where you are,” explained Ersken. Little gave a sigh of resignation and blew a kiss towards the injured arm. The Dog grinned, and then Ersken came to lift Little down when she held her arms out.
Little went skipping straight out to the main room. “I’m here, Mama! I’ve forgotten his name, but the Dog in there wants you. I said he could borrow you for kisses.”
The room erupted in laughter and Little frowned, her hands on her hips. “Not those sort of kisses!” she insisted. “The kissing better sort of kisses. Only Da’s allowed to give my mama kissy kisses. And same with those noisy cuddles when they take their clothes off, because they do more kisses then too.”
The laughter in the room increased.
“You’re a big girl now,” said Tom. “Why don’t you go and kiss his arm better yourself?”
“But I’m not a mama.”
“That doesn’t matter,” Mattes told her. “Just make it really slobbery to make up for it.”
Little nodded. “That makes sense,” she replied seriously, and skipped back to the healer’s room while Clary glared at Mattes.
“You’d be more helpful if you went and slobbered on him yourself,” she snapped.
Mattes just gave her a lazy grin. “Go and noisily cuddle yourself.”
Rating: PG
Prompt: Stories
Summary: Little Goodwin makes herself useful at the kennel.
Nyler Jewel suddenly turned his back on his conversational partners and scanned the room. “Where’s Little gone?” he asked softly. Mattes and Osgyth swore from behind him.
“Keep quiet,” warned Mattes. “We’ll see if we can find her before the Sarge notices she’s gone.” He nodded his head towards the desk where Clary sat, her attention focused on paperwork and the occasional interruption by message runners. She hadn’t reacted well the other times she’d realised that her daughter had wandered off.
Jewel eyed Achoo. “Tomlan, do you have anything of hers on you? Achoo could probably find her quicker than we can.” Tom nodded and handed over the shawl he’d tucked under his coat. Jewel passed it to Beka and motioned for her to give it to Achoo. “Tom, you find some excuse to be at the desk with Clary, just check that Little isn’t over there clinging to her leg or sommat, and try to keep her calm if she realises she’s gone.”
“I’ll check the privies,” offered Osgyth. “Just in case she’s decided to go there without telling us.”
Jewel nodded. “That leaves you, Mattes. Could you check the scent hounds’ kennels? It’s where she was last time. Make sure you check the baskets carefully and make sure she’s not curled up in there with them again.” He saw Tom shake his head at him from the desk and knew that Little wasn’t there. Achoo now had Little’s scent, but was going in circles all over the room. That was the trouble with having to find someone who ran around all over the place.
Ersken slipped in beside Beka. “Beka, what’s Achoo doing? Has she gone silly again?”
Beka shook her head. “Don’t make a fuss about it, but she’s trying to find a certain four year-old,” she murmured.
“She’s in the healers’ room,” he answered. “She wandered over after they brought that cove with the broken arm in.”
Beka traded looks with Jewel, and all three of them walked over to the door to the healers’ room. Sure enough, Little Goodwin was in there, perched up on the bed beside the Dog that had been injured, and holding his hand.
“Once upon a time there was a little girl called Little, because she was the littlest one in the family. And she liked to do lots of fun things, like go sledding and making mud pies, and eating lots of sweets and yummy things. And she was even happier when it was Midwinter because she could do all of those and even more, like playing in the snow and it was lots of fun. And she was very, very happy. The End!” She beamed at him. “Is your arm better?”
“A little bit,” he told her. Beka grinned, knowing that any improvement would be due to the healer busily working on the other side of him.
“When I get hurt, my mama always kisses it better,” said Little. She looked at him thoughtfully and then frowned. “Except your mama isn’t here right now, so you can borrow mine if you want. She’s just out there.” She pointed towards the door and then saw the group of people standing there. “Hello!” she exclaimed, and waved. “I’m being helpful,” she told them and beamed.
“Helpful?” asked Jewel, hiding a smile.
She nodded enthusiastically. “I’m being a distraction! So he doesn’t notice all the nasty horrible things that the healer has to do. I’m telling him lots and lots of stories to distract him.”
They heard a commotion in the main room and turned to listen.
“Your mama wants to know where you are,” explained Ersken. Little gave a sigh of resignation and blew a kiss towards the injured arm. The Dog grinned, and then Ersken came to lift Little down when she held her arms out.
Little went skipping straight out to the main room. “I’m here, Mama! I’ve forgotten his name, but the Dog in there wants you. I said he could borrow you for kisses.”
The room erupted in laughter and Little frowned, her hands on her hips. “Not those sort of kisses!” she insisted. “The kissing better sort of kisses. Only Da’s allowed to give my mama kissy kisses. And same with those noisy cuddles when they take their clothes off, because they do more kisses then too.”
The laughter in the room increased.
“You’re a big girl now,” said Tom. “Why don’t you go and kiss his arm better yourself?”
“But I’m not a mama.”
“That doesn’t matter,” Mattes told her. “Just make it really slobbery to make up for it.”
Little nodded. “That makes sense,” she replied seriously, and skipped back to the healer’s room while Clary glared at Mattes.
“You’d be more helpful if you went and slobbered on him yourself,” she snapped.
Mattes just gave her a lazy grin. “Go and noisily cuddle yourself.”