one hundred moments || a challenge

[shortstop]

10. we are the wild
featuring;; fallowstride and perch
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Tail flicking lazily, Perch peered down into the bustling world that existed far beneath the apartment she occupied. Despite being the proud owner of a pair of wings, Perch had no desire to fly out there. She was cozy laying on the windowsill. But from somewhere close came a restless energy, and Perch's eyes widened just a bit as she caught sight of a feline figure. It wasn't often that other cats found their way up to the roof of one of the city's high rise buildings. Perch's curiosity was piqued.
"Hey!" she called down from her windowsill. "Did you just move in? I don't remember seeing you before."
The brown cat stopped, one paw hanging in the air as they turned to look up at Perch.
"Move in? I'm just passing through. Sorry!" they called back.
"Passing through by crossing a roof?" Perch asked, skeptical. "You don't exactly look like a guy that can fly between buildings."
Curious enough that she wanted to know more, Perch stretched before flying down to the roof where the brown cat was still standing.
"I'm just trying to get my bearings," the brown cat explained, raising an eyebrow as Perch landed heavily.
"Are you lost?" Perch asked. "Maybe I can help you? I'm Perch, by the way."
"Fallowstride," replied the brown cat. "And I'm not really lost; thank you for the offer, though."
"That's a strange name," Perch said bluntly, head tilted. "Your owner has strange taste."
"I have no owner," Fallowstride hummed. "It's just me."
"You just live out here?!" Perch asked, stunned. Fallowstride nodded.
"Yup! I'm a wild cat," he explained. "I go wherever I want to and do what I need to survive. It's kind of nice, honestly."
"That sounds super difficult," Perch hummed. "I'd rather stay with my person and live comfortably."
"To each their own," Fallowstride said with a small smile. "Anyway, I think I know where I'm at now. Thanks for the conversation. It's been a while since I've bumped into anyone."
Perch frowned.
"Wait; how are you gonna get down?" she asked, skeptical. "How did you even get up here?"
Fallowstride threw Perch a grin.
"Us wild cats have our ways."
With that, he walked across the roof and disappeared over the edge. Perch ran over there, stunned.
"Hey wait!"
The only thing she could see was a gutter pipe that led back down to the ground. Fallowstride was gone.

[shortstop]

11. "look me in the eye. say it to my face."
featuring;; pipitwhisker and emberstrike
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"Pipitwhisker: you can lead a hunting patrol this evening. Emberstrike: go with him."
Pipitwhisker's fur bristled as Emberstrike nodded at the instruction. Angrily, the younger warrior pushed himself up into a standing position, his tail stirring up dust as he flung it around himself. Pipitwhisker stormed towards the exit of the camp, ignoring Emberstrike trailing behind him. As he pushed his way through the brush, the thorns that tugged at his fur managed to drag the frustration right out of him. He turned around and looked Emberstrike dead in the eye.
"Why is it that nobody thinks I can do these things by myself?" Pipitwhisker hissed, slamming a paw on the soft ground. "I always have to have some kind of keeper sent out with me. Does nobody in this clan trust me?"
Emberstrike only replied by steadily meeting Pipitwhisker's wild gaze. This only made the young warrior angrier, and he let out a growl of rage.
"Say it to my face!" Pipitwhisker demanded. "Tell me the truth! That nobody thinks I'm capable."
The noise startled a bird out of a tree somewhere above them. There was a long period of silence between the two cats before Emberstrike sat down and spoke.
"Foxstar has almost lost you once, and she'll be damned if she lets that happen again."
Pipitwhisker tensed, angry expression faltering just for a second as Emberstrike continued.
"You don't mean to be, but often you're a danger to yourself. That's why someone always accompanies you."
Pipitwhisker's claws dug into the ground, and he turned his head away.
"Then let me prove to you that I'm not a problem anymore. Please."
A light breeze tugged at Pipitwhisker's fur, as if pulling him away from Emberstrike.
"Alright."
Pipitwhisker's gaze snapped back towards Emberstrike. The older warrior's face showed only tense worry.
"I'll let you go on your own, but you have to promise me that you'll tell Foxstar that we went together. And I won't ever be too far away, just to be safe."
"That works!" Pipitwhisker agreed with an excited nod. "Thanks, Emberstrike."
"Please be careful," Emberstrike replied with a sigh.
"I will. Promise."

[shortstop]

12. crawl
featuring;; kiev, scott, and nika
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"Honestly? I didn't even know we had a crawl space," Scott said with a frown. "It certainly wasn't mentioned in the lease."
"Well; we do," Kiev replied. "And we need to get under there. Replacing the battery for this WiFi...thing is gonna be way cheaper than calling a guy out to do it. Plus I really don't wanna call the landlord about it."
"Alright; fair. I'm not going down there, though," Scott replied quickly. "That's way too dark and scary."
"You have to. We both do. This is kind of a two-guy job," Kiev shot back. "One guy fiddles with the battery box...thing, the other handles the tools and the new battery. I literally cannot do this by myself."
"We have other roommates," Scott pointed out. Kiev gave him a look.
"Oh right. Lemme just called Aehyz and Arin out of work to come help me do this on mine and your days off," Kiev replied, voice dripping with sarcasm so thick that Scott almost took a step back.
"Fine. Fine, damn you."
Kiev grinned, an expression that Scott was sure the other wolf meant as something cocky, but really appeared to be greatly relieved.
"You got all the stuff?" Kiev asked. Scott nodded, somewhat reluctantly.
"Yeah. Let's just get this over with."
Scott gulped as Kiev shunted the grate that blocked the entrance to the crawl space out of the way. Both wolves poked their heads into the darkness. From somewhere distant, the WiFi box beeped, begging to have its battery replaced.
"I hate you so much right now," Scott murmured.
"Love you too. Come on!"
Kiev clicked on his flashlight, dropped onto his belly, and crawled inside. Scott followed closely, not willing to be alone in such a dark and terrifying place. They followed the beeping noise right to the battery box. Scott lay there shuddering as KIev assessed the situation.
"You got a flathead screwdriver in there?" Kiev asked, laying the flashlight on the floor.
"Yeah, hold on."
Scott dug one out and handed it over, eyes darting around. The fur on the back of his neck was standing up, and he was sure that they were being watched. He didn't like being under here one bit, and audibly let out a sigh of relief when he heard the sound of the battery box cover coming off.
"Alright; hand me the battery, please."
"Yeah yeah, let's just get the hell outta here," Scott grumbled, shoving the battery into Kiev's hand.
Kiev turned back to finish up and Scott glanced back at the exit. It looked so far away from here. The feeling that they were being watched was still very much there, and as Scott turned back to see if Kiev was almost done he froze.
"What the hell is that?"
"What's what?" Kiev asked, screwing the cover of the battery box back on before turning his head. "That little set of lights over there?"
"Bro that's eyes."
"What even...?" Kiev asked, dropping the old battery on the ground. The eyes moved closer.
"Oh hell no, let's get out of here."
"Dude, go!" Kiev hissed, pushing Scott towards the exit. The two golden eyes now moved towards them at an unnatural speed as the two wolves scrambled in the dirt and the wet to get out of the crawl space. Kiev and Scott burst out into the light, and Kiev slammed the grate back into place.
"I hate that, what was that?!" Kiev cried, eyes wide.
"I told you this was a bad idea," Scott protested, keeping a good distance between himself and the house. "We have some kind of monster living under our house. We really, really need to move."
"We can't break the lease," Kiev said with a shake of his head. "We only just signed it a couple months ago. Let's just never go back down there."
"I think I'm gonna sleep in my car tonight," Scott replied, still shaking.

[shortstop]

13. bones
featuring;; ness and bersaglio
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Technically speaking, Bersaglio wasn't actually Ness' grandmother. She was the old lady that owned the other half of the island. But Bersaglio had become close friends with Ness' parents years ago, and had watched the young Kalon grow up. Ness loved her surrogate grandmother as closely as she loved her own family, so when the little Kalon was invited over to Bersaglio's orchard for the day, she happily obliged.
Ness carried her backpack down the dirt path, her pace quickening the closer to Bersaglio's house that she got. When she arrived, Ness didn't even bother knocking on the door. She ran straight past the house and into the sprawling apple orchard, knowing that she was more likely to find Bersaglio there. Her hunch was correct, and she found the older Kalon sitting under a tree.
"Nana Bersaglio! I made it!" Ness called, grinning as Bersaglio turned and gave her a smile.
"Ah! Glad you could make it," Bersaglio said as she pushed herself to her feet. "We have something very important to take care of today."
"What is it?!" Ness asked, rocking back and forth excitedly.
"Bones! Bones, my dear," Bersaglio replied happily. "Today we are going to excavate some bones."
Ness' excitement only grew at the explanation, but then her brow furrowed.
"I didn't bring anything to dig with," she said with a frown.
"You can borrow some of my tools," Bersaglio assured her. "Come on!"
Down to the beach the two went, eventually finding themselves facing the cliff that separated the beach from the more grassy area of the island. Sure enough, Ness could see something that looked a lot different than the rest of the rock.
"Oh wow; is that a big fossil?" Ness asked, pointing. Bersaglio nodded.
"I've been trying to free it from the rock for days, but you have to be so delicate with these things," she explained, the frustration obvious on her face. "That's why I was hoping you could help me. With the two of us working, we can probably make some good progress today."
"Let's do it!" Ness said happily, dropping her bag into the soft sand of the beach and trotting happily over to the fossil. The thing was massive, easily larger than both Ness and Bersaglio combined. Ness eagerly took the small brush that Bersaglio handed her.
"You need to do your best to brush all the bones clean so I know how to dig around them," Bersaglio instructed, and Ness nodded seriously before getting to work.
The two worked together for hours, and Ness was having a blast. She felt very important as she cleaned the bones, and as they excavated the creature, Bersaglio was able to begin to identify it and tell Ness a myriad of facts and scientific theories. Ness' head buzzed with words that she didn't know how to spell. She was so distracted that only Bersaglio noticed when the clouds rolled in.
"We'd better finish for the day," Bersaglio called to Ness. "Let's get this covered against the rain."
Ness hopped down from where she had balanced herself on the rock and followed Bersaglio over to a tarp.
"I've been fastening this over the fossil when the weather gets bad," Bersaglio explained. "I can do it myself if you need a break, dear."
"I can still help!" Ness promised. "Does it just connect to those pins you set up?"
"That's right. Let's get to it!"
The wind picked up quickly, violently tugging the tarp around. Ness struggled to hold on, little knuckles turning white as she did her best to keep a grip on it. They walked it over to the fossil and Ness secured it to the lowest peg. Then the wind picked up further and the tarp was torn from Ness' grasp. Ness was knocked over from the force of it, falling heavily onto her back in the sand. She sat up quickly, getting ready to help again, but instead was amazed at Bersaglio tackling the entire tarp by herself.
Bersaglio moved faster than the erratic movements of the tarp, as if somehow in all of her wisdom she had learned to predict the movements. Her own aging bones flexed with a surprising youth as she easily managed to hook up the tarp. She wasn't even breaking a sweat when she returned to where Ness was sitting, extending a hand to help the little Kalon to her feet.
"Excellent work," Bersaglio said with a grin. "Come now; let's go and make ourselves some tea while we wait out the storm."
"Ok!" Ness' response came quickly. She retrieved her bag and ran to catch up, throwing back one last glance at the rocky cliff face before walking away. How cool it was to witness something older than she could even imagine.

[shortstop]

14. equinox
featuring;; hakim and tori
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"Hey; does your birthday fall on the fall equinox?"
"What? Oh, yeah. I guess it does some years," Hakim replied, head tilted slightly. "Why do you ask?"
"It gave me an idea to do something nice for you," Tori hummed in reply, resting his head on Hakim's shoulder as they sat together n the roof of their apartment building.
"Ah, you don't have to do that-" Hakim faltered in their response, ears going back just slightly. "-It's really not a big deal."
"I think it could be fun," Tori said. "You deserve nice things."
A grin slid its way across Tori's face, and Hakim held back a sigh. The sly look was a sure sign that Tori was hatching some kind of plan. Hakim wasn't sure that they were ready for it.
-----
"-ey. Hey, wake up."
Hakim blinked slowly awake, fining Tori sitting straddled on top of their hips.
"Hey, kid? It's three o'clock in the morning. Why are you up?" Hakim mumbled as they glanced at the clock.
"Because it's your birthday?" Tori replied bluntly. It was too early in the morning for Hakim to determine whether the grumpy look on Tori's face was genuine disappointment or just his usual resting expression. Deciding not to risk it, Hakim pushed themself up into a sitting position.
"Should I get dressed?" they asked, and Tori nodded eagerly.
"Yeah! We only have an hour so just throw on whatever," Tori explained as he slid off of the bed.
Hakim shuffled awkwardly into a t-shirt and jeans as Tori waited impatiently.
"We have twelve different activities to do," Tori said excitedly. "One for each hour of the day. I tried to pick stuff that you'd really enjoy, but we gotta set out as soon as possible."
-----
"Ok, I'm not gonna lie; I wasn't expecting to end up at a Walmart," Hakim said, staring out of the car window. Tori chuckled.
"I know it's not super exciting, but it was one of the only places that I knew would be open so early," Tori explained as he shut the car off. "Your first activity is to pick out whichever hoodie you want and I'll buy it for you."
"For real?" Hakim asked, suddenly very awake. "That's the sweetest thing, dude. Thank you, seriously."
"Don't use up all your 'thank yous' just yet," Tori laughed. "We still have eleven other things to do."
"Wait, what?"
-----
Wrapped snugly in their new hoodie, Hakim stared down at the sizable waffle on the table in front of them.
"How long have you known that Waffle House is my favorite?" Hakim asked, slightly sheepish. "I don't remember telling you."
"It's always your first suggestion when we eat out," Tori replied with a shrug. "Your waffle is gonna get cold soon though; you'd better get started on it."
"Ah, right!"
-----
As the day moved along, more and more of Tori's plan for the day came to light. Hakim was stunned into an elated silence at all of the things the two of them got to do. At five and six o'clock, they dropped off huge amounts of donations at two separate charities. At seven, eight, and nine, they hiked in three of their local parks. They were able to talk about all kinds of things, and Hakim caught Tori smiling much more than usual. From ten o'clock until twelve, they went home and tried to beat each other at some of Hakim's favorite video games. At one o'clock, Tori moved them out onto the roof of the apartment building, where they cloud watched for a while as the sky grew darker.
"Two hours left," Tori hummed, brow furrowing as another cloud passed lazily overhead. "To be honest, I didn't have any ideas for what to do until three. We can do what you like for the rest of it."
"This is kinda nice, honestly," Hakim replied softly. "And that one looks kinda like a mouse."
"We can stay until the stars come out then," Tori replied, moving to lay his head on Hakim's chest. "And I see a dog in that one."
"Thank you for today, again," Hakim said, and Tori smiled.
"Yeah, man. You deserved it."

[shortstop]

15. eclipsed
featuring;; flintshadow and marshweed
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It was difficult, not being envious of Marshweed's success. For every act that Marshweed performed exceptionally, the clan seemed to crowd around her, their praises echoing through the MoorClan camp. When Flintshadow did the same, he was lucky to get a tail brushing against his shoulder and a smile from another warrior. Flintshadow wanted to support his friend, but damn it; why did it have to be so hard?
It happened again that afternoon. As Flintshadow finished patching up one of the dens, Marshweed came striding back into came. A massive crow - almost the length of Marshweed herself - hung limply from her fangs, its feet dragging sadly across the ground. Blood dripped in large clumps from Marshweed's forehead, but she was grinning ear to ear as she dumped the crow on the ground. The clan immediately rushed her. Flintshadow watched from a distance as the praise commenced, offering Marshweed a smile as she glanced in his direction.
When the hubbub finally cleared, Flintshadow was already moving on to his next task. But Marshweed stopped him, stepping in front of his path to trap him in conversation.
"Hey! I heard you got yelled at again this morning," Marshweed tease, earning a sheepish look from Flintshadow. "Are you doing ok? I know Foxstar can be pretty tough to listen to."
"Eh, it's nothing new," Flintshadow replied with a flick of his tail. "Congrats on the crow, by the way."
"Thanks!" Marshweed said happily. "It was nothing on that rabbit you got the other day, though."
Flintshadow's pleasant expression faltered just a tad, and he knew that Marshweed noticed it because she gave a suggestion immediately.
"Let's do the morning hunt together tomorrow. It'll be fun, promise."
"Alright," Flintshadow replied softly.
-----
Flintshadow had to walk with his legs spread wide in order to drag the squirrel he had caught back to camp. Marshweed walked beside him with her head held high, talking excitedly about the morning's hunting. The rest of the clan was milling about the camp, but before Flintshadow could get his kill to the food pile, Marshweed spoke up loudly.
"Are you gonna be able to drag that squirrel across the camp?" Marshweed asked, loud enough to be heard by literally everyone.
Several heads turned to face the two cats, and Flintshadow felt his ears go back just a bit. He was suddenly met by a sea of praise, with several of his clan mates fawning over the catch. As Flintshadow thanked his friends and answered questions, he couldn't help but notice Marshweed smiling at him fondly. A flood of gratitude washed over Flintshadow.
It was nice to feel seen.

[shortstop]

16. thunder in their eyes
featuring;; ari and leonie
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There were a lot of reasons that Ari loved Leonie. She could spend the rest of her life listing them, rambling about her wife's wonderful qualities. As Ari walked into the kitchen, one of these many reasons was strewn across the table in front of her.
"This one is really fighting you, huh?" Ari asked, pulling out a chair and sitting at the table across from where Leonie was pacing.
Leonie turned back to face the sea of papers between them and let out a growl.
"The designer said that the library 'cries out for a balcony', whatever the heck that means," Leonie sighed. "I told him I'd do my best, but with the way the rooms are set out, I dunno if the walls will bear the weight."
Ari hummed, watching her wife closely. Leonie often had to compete with designers to bring a building to life. She met these challenges like a raging bull. The designers would wave their wild visions in front of her face, raving about how revolutionary and unique they were. Leonie would then run at them head first, knocking the designers down a few pegs by pointing out the structural problems. Then the two would dance around each other until they finally found compromise. Leonie usually came out on top, and Ari loved to watch it happen.
The best part of this performance - in Ari's opinion at least - was the moment when Leonie figured out exactly what she needed to say to fix the problem. Leonie got this spark in her eye, as though she were about to dash the designers' schemes in one fell swoop. And yet somehow, the Kalon managed to remain (mostly) respectful. It was an art that Ari could only dream of learning.
Leonie whipped out a calculator, and Ari kept her gaze steady as Leonie frantically entered numbers. Then Leonie grinned, a powerful look that had silenced many a contractor.
"I have to go make a phone call."
"Go easy on them."
"Not a chance."

[shortstop]

17. frailties
featuring;; glenn, charlie, and aspen (belonging to DewFromJupiter)
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It was easier to just ignore it. Glenn's back had ached for weeks now, over time making sitting in his workshop chair more and more difficult. Bending over to see the small clock parts on his desk hurt, but ignoring it was better than wasting the doctor's time. And so it remained that way until Charlie came to visit and found Glenn laying face down on the ground.
"I know I'm not supposed to disrespect elders or whatever," Charlie grunted as they pulled Glenn to his feet. "But you're an idiot. Go see the damn doctor."
Glenn's gaze held steady, with only the smoke from Charlie's cigarette breaking their eye contact. Charlie blew a large cloud of smoke from their nose and then spoke.
"I mean it," they grunted. "I came here to check in and root through your hoard for rugs. I don't wanna find you on your face again on my way out."
Glenn narrowed his eyes, then sighed, then grunted out a response before grabbing his things and pushing his way out of the door.
"Fine."
He'd heard news of a new doctor setting up a practice in the village, so without a better plan, Glenn decided to go there. He slammed the door of his small truck shut and drove away, ignoring Charlie waving cheesily from the doorway.
Dr. Thatch's office brought new life to the old corner store. Glenn pulled the truck into a space and got out, not worried about silly things like appointments. A bell chimed charmingly as Glenn pushed open the door. There was no receptionist; perhaps the doctor hadn't gotten around to hiring one yet? Instead, a clipboard and pen sat dutifully upon the desk. Glenn squinted to sign his name, then took a seat in one of the surprisingly new chairs.
The only one in the office, Glenn sat stiffly with his hands in his lap, eyes narrowed as he read the various posters and notices that neatly covered the walls. He was in the middle of reading about the newest flu shot when the door to the back opened and a woman stepped out. She was followed by who Glenn assumed to be Dr. Thatch, judging by the combination of lab coat and stethoscope.
"I've got you in the books for a recheck in a week, Mrs. H," the doctor said cheerily. "See you then!"
As the woman left the office, Glenn and the doctor locked eyes.
"Ah! Do you have an appointment?" Dr. Thatch asked, head tilted just slightly.
"No," replied Glenn in his usual gruff tone. The doctor seemed unfazed, picking up the clipboard and skimming over it before offering a smile.
"Well then! Mr. Evans. Step into my office."
Glenn stood quickly and followed the doctor, more than eager to get this over with. Dr. Thatch shut the door behind them and gestured for Glenn to sit in the chair.
"So tell me, Mr. Evans. What's your date of birth?"
"Sixth of October, 1941."
"And you're here about your back?"
"Yes."
"Hm."
There was a moment of silence as Dr. Thatch got his notes together. Glenn still sat stiffly as he waited, not afraid of what he was going to hear but apprehensive about the changes to his life that would come with it.
"I have a hunch as to what this could be, but I'd recommend a series of x-rays," the doctor eventually said. "The pain, is it concentrated in your lower back?"
"Yes," Glenn replied.
"I see," the doctor hummed. "And does it sometimes stiffen, making movement difficult and painful?"
"Yes," Glenn repeated.
"Alright. I think x-rays are the best course of action for now, so I'll write you a referral," Dr. Thatch said with a smile. "I appreciate you coming in! It's nice to see another local face."
"The pleasure's all mine," Glenn grunted as he slid out of the chair. He took the referral paper and squinted hard to read it. He'd have to drive out of town to get the x-rays.
"There's no rush to get them done," Dr. Thatch offered. "Certainly, leaving it longer may lead to more lasting damage, and I do recommend that you get them done as soon as possible, but I know how hard it can be to make time to go to the city."
Glenn raised an eyebrow, shocked at the compassion. Doctors were usually much worse than this.
"Thanks," Glenn replied simply.
"Call me when you get them," Dr. Thatch requested as he let Glenn out of the exam room. "I'll see you then!"
Glenn nodded and walked back to his truck. As he opened the door, he pulled out his cell phone and held it next to the referral. Typing in the numbers, he sighed.
"Hello? Yes, I'd like to set up an appointment for some x-rays."

[shortstop]

18. a space between
featuring;; jaidev and elmer (owned by conradical)
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Jaidev was used to having an empty stall next to him at the local farmers' market. So when he strolled up with his dog and his cart full of goods, he paused for a second to take in the details of the full stall that now stood next to his. It looked to be someone else selling fresh produce. Jaidev took in all the vibrant colours as he set up his own display, carefully arranging everything just how he liked it. The final thing in his cart was a crate filled with various small, flowering plants. Jaidev carried it over to its usual position and froze.
In the space between the two stalls, where his small flowers usually sat proudly out in the open, the new market resident had erected their own display for a rather fancy selection of jams.
Jaidev clicked his tongue, a little disappointed but not upset. After all, he'd been using this spot uncontested for months. But it felt different having his flowers on the left of the stall instead of the right. His dog, Duke, settled himself under the cart as Jaidev finished up. The Kalon went to sit, and almost jumped out of his skin when he turned and found someone staring at him.
"Oh! Sorry, didn't see you there," Jaidev said as politely as he could, unsure how the other Kalon had appeared so quietly.
"No worries," the Kalon replied, and Jaidev couldn't help but notice the head of wheat that hung lazily from his mouth. "It's nice to meet my stall neighbor. I'm Elmer."
"Jaidev, and this is Duke," Jaidev replied with a smile as he gestured to his dog. "Good luck with sales today."
"Same to you," Elmer hummed as he turned and walked away.
-----
Jaidev arrived at the stall earlier in the morning. He set up his stall once more, but again found Elmer's jams in that prime position. Frowning, Jaidev stared down at his small plants. Having moved them to the other side, they hadn't sold as well as they usually did. By contrat, Elmer had sold almost all of his jams. Resigned to placing them on the right again, Jaidev gave the same pleasantries to Elmer and then their day began.
This same routine continued for almost a month. Sometimes Jaidev got there early enough to set out his flowers. Sometimes he could see the sun reflecting off of Elmer's jam jars before he even made it into the market. Despite the growing friendship between the two, there was something of a rivalry that was also blossoming. This light tension drove Jaidev to try a little harder at his stall, to be just a little nicer to the customers. He watched Elmer and he learned.
Elmer was knowledgeable about all of the plants that he sold. This was refreshing for Jaidev, who was used to other sellers giving not-too-great information about the care of the plants they sold. Elmer also knew a lot about pelts and mushrooms, a knowledge base that was a little foreign to Jaidev. They had many great conversations, but the nature of their friendship was to switch to something deeper, more complex, on the crisp fall morning.
"Hey," Elmer said with a hand raised in greeting. "I'm feeling competitive today."
Jaidev raised an eyebrow.
"How so?" he asked, clicking his tongue at that oh-so-intrusive jam display.
"I'm just saying, I bet I can sell more apples today than you."
"Oh yeah?" Jaidev asked, a cool smile sliding across his face. "I wouldn't be so sure."
Elmer grinned.
"Guess we'll find out."

[shortstop]

19. the moon is dead
featuring;; si'ir and kaoz
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Si'ir shouldered her coat as she locked up the shop, clicking her tongue at the sad state of the plant on display in the window. She was sure she'd watered it. Perhaps her age was finally catching up with her.
The lock slid into place, and a voice broke through the darkness of the street.
"Oracle! A moment of your time."
Si'ir paused, hand hovering over the door handle.
"Please."
That was...unexpected.
"I've already closed up for the night, Kaoz," Si'ir said flatly, turning to face the demon. "You'll have to come back tomorrow."
Kaoz clenched his jaw under the hood of his cloak, but Si'ir knew that the leader of the Hells would never dare argue with her. She hated being an asset.
"But I need you to gaze into the Grey," Kaoz pleaded. Si'ir was too tired to resist a sigh.
"Kaoz. If I had to open my shop for every sibling squabble that people came to me with, I would never leave," she replied.
"But Zereniti banished Bali from the mortal plane."
The keys fell from Si'ir's hand.
"To the Grey? Zereniti can't even get in to the Grey. How-?"
Kaoz picked up her keys, a remarkably kind gesture from the lord of sin. It made Si'ir uncomfortable.
"I know not," Kaoz replied. "That's why I need your help."
Si'ir took the keys from him and unlocked the door.
"Inside; quickly. We may not have much time before Zereniti hides all trace of what she did."
They rushed to the back of the shop and Si'ir muttered some words, filling the room with a dull purple light. In the center stood a large crystal, older than even the ground her shop was built on. She touched it, then invited Kaoz to sit at a table off to the side. The crystals embedded in Si'ir's body started to glow and crackle. She ignored Kaoz's fidgeting as she gazed into the Grey.
"Bali is alive," she said slowly, relieved. "But she's trapped. It seems as though Anodyne is refusing to allow her to leave."
"But she is safe?" Kaoz asked, and Si'ir nodded.
"Yes. Anodyne is making her tend the gardens. The goddess of nature is currently pruning the roses."
Kaoz proceeded to yell some not very nice things. Si'ir removed her hand from the crystal and glared.
"That is as much as I can help you," Si'ir stated, taking a step back.
"Forbruker must hear about this," Kaoz growled as he stood from the table. Si'ir shook her head.
"Don't you remember, my dear?" she asked, almost sadly. "A new moon is approaching. Forbruker will soon slumber, and even you won't be able to awaken him."
"Damn the moon!" Kaoz hissed. "Damn the Heavens and damn the Grey. I'll take care of this myself."
Si'ir didn't flinch as he stormed out, slamming the door behind him.