Currently Untitled
Pairing: Nathan/Anna
Rating: Teen
Summary:Anna’s never been to New Orleans. What better way to spend her first night than at a lounge enjoying good food, good drinks, good music, and unexpected good company?
Life Swap AU for AU Yeah August.
Author’s Note: This is an AU based off the original story I’ve been working on. I’m no where close to publishing it (or even finishing the first draft), but I decided on a whim that this could be fun and I had a blast.If you want information: Nathan is my werewolf and you can read his current introduction here. (And here is his first introduction in my head, should you be interested.) Anna is a human, though writing this drabble helped me finalize a few things about her backstory that were previously hazy. You can find everything pertaining to this work under this tag and it’s also what I was working on when I participated in Camp Nano in April.
I think that’s all I have posted, so here you go!
She loved new cities. They held new smells, new mysteries, new creatures. In the last four of her adventures, she’d met creatures she’d only heard of and here, in the heart of New Orleans, she was hoping to do the same.
The air was musky, smelling of wet earth and marsh even though she was in the middle of the French Quarter, sitting outside a cafe and enjoying the sounds of a band as they played. The cafe — it really was a lounge with the smoky haze outside and the menu boasting beautifully mixed cocktails, but Anna had never been able to adapt the new language against what she grew up with, so because this lounge didn’t offer the company of young, single women with fluctuating morals, it was a cafe.
Funny how she could lose herself in thought when the world was standing right there for her perusal.
Tag: drabble.
Bar Hopping
For the Week 5 prompt: “A story set in London.”
“I wasn’t sure you were going to make it.”
It was hard, but Nathan kept the growl out of his throat. He didn’t like people sneaking up behind him and he especially didn’t like him doing it. And there was no mistaking who exactly he was, with the crisp Queen’s English being thrown in his ear.
(Granted, that slight chewing of his r was music to Nathan’s ear and he would love nothing more than to point out that the asshole’s West Country was showing. Would certainly knock him down a peg or two.)
“Good to see you too, Colin,” came his reply, turning just in time to see the pale complexion twist into a condescending grimace.
(And if Nathan allowed a little more of his New Orleans heritage to show in his slow drawl than normal, well, there wasn’t anything he could do about that.)
“Well,” tall, pale, and pointy snipped before yanking open the door, “shall we?”
“Might as well get this over with.”
Surprisingly, it was easy to settle in. Nathan was grateful to be inside – the rain just enhanced the smell – and it would be a while before he could have Howling Hops IPA on draft again. It almost made up for the shitty company. Too soon, they had their beers (Colin ordered Five Points and Nathan almost snorted into his glass), found a small, secluded seat, and sat.
The silence was welcoming.
It was also necessary. They were early; most of the patrons still inside were of the innocent variety. However, last call was in twenty minutes and soon, the tavern would slowly empty. Then the rest would come out of hiding and this blasted meeting would start. Until then, no use in getting unnecessary people involved. That was a lesson they didn’t need to repeat.
It wasn’t until they were a quarter into the second round that the silence was broken.
“I wanted to offer my gratitude for your assistance the last time you were here.”
Brown eyes flicked to hazel. Nathan snorted out a soft laugh before taking another swig. “That must have hurt.”
A flash of pearly teeth. “Just a bit.”
“It sucked and I’d rather never do anything like that again, but you’re welcome.”
“Hopefully you never will.”
“I’ll drink to that.”
They met each other’s gaze for a moment before clinking glasses and taking another draft. Honestly, Nathan didn’t understand why Colin took so long to warm up to people. As soon as you got past the first ten minutes of complete jackassery and got a few beers in him, the man loosened up. A bit. If you knew how to deal with him.
In reality, after a few beers, Nathan just had a bit more patience than normal.
Last call came and went, leaving the pair with their third round as they slowly caught up with the happenings on the other side of the pond. Twenty minutes after that saw the bar beginning to shut down, slowly signaling people to leave. Before long, the two were chuckling over their fourth round, all innocents were out of the bar and off the street, and then the party started to show up.
Judging from the less than welcoming expressions directed toward Nathan, it sure was going to be a long, annoying night.
***
“I feel like all you do is go from bar to bar.” Colin sat down with his cappuccino, stirring in the sprinkling of cinnamon sitting on top of the foam.
Nathan smiled at the sight while he tested his tea. While he normally enjoyed the cup of coffee in the morning, London had great tea. Especially after a night of drinking.
“You headed back to the States today?”
“Yeah,” he answered while looking out the window of the coffee shop. It was still early with little on the street. Most innocents were either still sleeping or just waking up. “I hadn’t planned to stay more than a day. Couldn’t chance staying longer in case that meeting went to shit.”
Colin nodded, glancing at Nathan for a moment before looking back at the coffee bar. “Good. I don’t want to have to babysit you for long.”
Nathan let out a soft laugh. “You staying for a bit?”
“Just a couple days. Found a hotel to hole up in until the storms start again, then heading out.”
“Anywhere particular?” he asked after taking a sip of his tea. He watched Colin’s eyes flit around before landing in his cup. After a couple moments of silence, he checked his watch. Time to head for the tram. “Well, if you ever make it across the pond, you have my number.”
He stood, looking at the table and his long-term friend. Friend. It had taken a long time to apply that name to the pale man, but there it was. “I hear Seattle is a nice place to visit in the winter.”
Colin looked up, his hazel eyes almost completely washed out. He’ll need to feed soon and the longer Nathan stayed, the longer that was delayed. “Take care, pup.”
“You, too.”
A New Beginning
It was a small flower.
Not the garden, though. The garden was huge, roving over acres of land until the start of the trees to the west. To the east was the house, where the dog lives. North is a lake, a lovely lake that’s fed by numerous streams that weave in and out of the garden. The southern edge, though, is simply a fence, then a street with the daily car exhaust, and then another fence, and after that fields of grass that were the home of so very large animals.
The dog was trained to help take care of those animals. Those animals were the reason for the property, after all. So very important to everything that stood within miles and miles of that one little flower.
It was a good flower with its strong green stem growing from the wonderfully rich soil.
Not as strong as the trees, though, ever impervious to the wind and rain. Their trunks are strong, rooted deep in the ground to claim their stance. No, the flower couldn’t compare to the trees, but that’s okay! It’s not a tree, so there’s no need to have a stem that strong.
…but it would be nice to have a stem as strong as the rose bush. The pretty lady likes that one; she comes out to smell the blooms in the spring. Sometimes, she even braves the thorns and snips off a bloom. Snips it! Without a care in the world! Of course, the rose bush is strong; it’s not even phased by the difference. One day.
It was a pretty flower. The man with the good, strong, callused hands told him that every time he passed.
At first, the flower wasn’t so sure. The soil was pretty, all rich and full of nutrients, the very reason the flower grew. And the lake was pretty, it’s still waters a perfect reflection of the bluest of skies. Even when the skies were overcast with clouds and rained down the purest water, the lake was still pretty.
However, the man was responsible for the garden. From the well-manicured grass to the blooming trees, it all flourished under his hands. So if the man with the good hands said the flower was pretty, then the flower was pretty.
The little flower learned to trust his judgment.
Oh! The man is coming! The flower preened at the thought of listening to him as he worked. He didn’t always talk to the flower, but after all the work the man put into the garden, the flower wanted to return the same effort. The dog was with the man, too, which wasn’t so rare. The dog loved the people, so the garden loved the dog.
What was new, however, was the little, furry thing that was running circles around the two. The flower wasn’t sure what to make of it. It looked like the dog, just…smaller. Not that small was a bad thing! The flower was small. It was still growing, so it wouldn’t always be this small. Maybe the little dog was the same way?
“Ah!” The booming voice of the man brought the flower out of its thoughts. “Now this pretty flower is special.”
The little flower swayed in happiness. Two noses brushed against it; one familiar and calm, the other new and erratic.
“I wasn’t sure I could get it to grow, but here it is blooming away in my garden.” The man’s voice turned. “You be sure to guard it as well as you guard the horses.”
The small dog snuffed, looking between the man and the flower. A small yip and then the party was moving on, leaving the flower to ponder what it knew, and what it didn’t.
Nikki Bradley 