literature

April Saints Day (RP Excerpt)

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Literature Text

When: April 30, 1894
Where: Shri Panch Mandir

 


Tris shaded her eyes in the midday sunlight and looked out across the river. She couldn’t be more than five minutes early… but if La Lumiere was on her way, she was hidden in the twelve o’clock traffic. With a resigned sigh, Tris set the basket down on the stones and walked to the edge of the dock. Carefully, she used her cane to lower herself down to sit, hanging her legs over the side.

Her lunch appointment— no… her lunch date with Darshil had been cut a little short, a messenger pulling him away to deal with some of the mandir’s springtime maintenance. Tris knew full well how much work it was to maintain an estate garden— let alone a small forest— especially since Darshil did not have the benefit of a large dedicated staff to keep things orderly for him, but she was still reluctant to see him go. The hour or so they’d managed to steal away under the trees sharing a basket of garden salad hummus and spicy pita bread was a blissful reprieve from an otherwise busy week, and Tris already caught herself counting the days until their next dandiya lesson.

She ducked her head to hide a foolish grin, and kicked her heel against the pier. It was still so hard for her to believe… she didn’t want to spoil it. There was still an anxious voice in her head that warned her not to fly too close to the flame. To climb too high. But after a morning like that… all the giddiness she’d suppressed came bubbling back to the surface. It made her want to run and laugh and tease and spend the whole day out in the sun.

Realistically, she only had an hour or two to do any of those things, but she planned to make them count.

 


Tristine, as it turned out, didn’t need to worry.

At precisely twelve twenty, the sleek black hull and glittering gold letters of La Lumiere separated herself from the rabble and glided towards her across the water. Perched easily atop  her stern, Marron O’Taite lifted an arm in greeting, and pulled up in front of her on the dock, a typically carefree smile brightening his sun-dappled cheeks. “Hey-la, Tris! You’re a ray of light, t’day. Good business at the Mandir?”

 


The light only beamed brighter at the question. “Quite good! I’d be content to sit here for another hour.” She folded her arm and leaned on one elbow, tipping precariously far over the water. An eyebrow quirked. “But I’m willing to be convinced. What does la Lumiere have to offer me today?”

 


“Err— puhaha! She’s got soft cushions and uh, good company? Maybe that sounds a little forward, though.”

 


“Darshil’s got a whole box of cushions.”

 


“Alright. Well, I guess I’ll just head off t’me next appointment, then—”

 


“Wh- Wait hey!”

Tris gave a bit of an awkward, but effective, roll onto her side to pull her legs back up and scramble to her feet. She snatched up her picnic basket and cane and scowled down at Marron before accepting a helping hand into the bed of the gondola.

“I don’t know how you stay in business,” she grumbled.

 


An unadulterated grin split Marron’s lips, crinkled in his eyes, and wrinkled his nose. “The secret is, ye’ve already paid to reserve me,” he whispered, then burst into wild laughter.

“So! Where we goin t’day?”



You can read the full RP HERE!


You can read the full RP here.
-Warning for some strong language.

A week or so after A Game of Hearts, Tris decides to follow up with a friend and start a conversation she's pretty sure neither of them will enjoy.

Length
Short

Word Count
4,821 Words

Characters

Marron (Leunbrund)
Tristine (Art-Zealot)

RP Summary/Tags

-the Love Boat
-April Fools Strikes Twice
-Don't stop believing
-Hold onto that fee-HEEELING.

:iconsybal-heim:
© 2018 - 2024 Art-Zealot
Comments6
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Amazie-Star's avatar
XD Ok, these two are a treat, as always. :heart: