Balancing Act

Pulling a Thread
By Dialecticdreamer/Sarah Williams
Part 1 of 2
Word count (story only): 1002
[Morning of Sunday, 5 November of 2017]



:: Jules gets a moment in private with Jaliya. Their conversation sparks an idea. Part of the “Lodestar” arc, set in the Polychrome Heroics universe. ::



“You mean that some of the cats or kittens got inside, then back out again?” Jules’ voice rose in pitch, even as he let his head tap against the wall behind him.

“Nobody’s sure. Nobody’s seen enough of what’s going on at any one moment,” Jaliya admitted. “I know that they’re probably mostly like ordinary cats, but I… I want to protect them. They’re special.”
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Morning Mishap
By Dialecticdreamer/Sarah Williams
Part 1 of 1, complete
Word count (story only): 1106
[Morning of Sunday, 5 November of 2017]



:: On Sunday, Jules is running errands. He stops for brunch at Jaliya’s Kitchen, and runs into a problem that he could never have anticipated. Part of the “Lodestar” arc, set in the Polychrome Heroics universe. ::




Dull gray clouds hung perilously low over Jules’ head as he stepped off the bus at the stop nearest Jaliya’s Eatery. He preferred her original name for it, Jaliya’s Kitchen, but the quonset hut had the new phrase painted on it by the time it was assembled, even before the furniture and appliances were installed. Jules was trying to adapt, but it was slow going.

Midmorning on a Sunday was fairly quiet, with only around fifty people in the dining space, and perhaps a dozen staff. Jaliya spotted him as she brought out a tray full of cabbage rolls, then beckoned him over. Jules loped close to the serving line, then jogged to stand near the staff exit. “Is Blainn making deliveries for you? He was up and gone before Dad was even up. I’m a little worried that he’s overdoing it.”
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Suburban Wildlife
By Dialecticdreamer/Sarah Williams
Part 1 of 1, complete
Word count (story only): 1241
[November 2017]


:: Albert is exploring his backyard when he spots what seem to be a mother bird and babies in a tree. A little closer, he spots the cat features and immediately goes to find his grownup. Part of the Mercedes story arch, in the Polychrome Heroics universe. It takes place the same day as “Workday Weirdness” in the afternoon. Prompted by mama_kestrel and sponsored by her, with my deepest thanks. ::




The back yard was bigger than some pocket parks. The boy rode his tricycle along a long loop that ran from the long edge of the back patio, all the way out to meet the flowerbed in front of the cinder block fence, then looped back in an irregular waving route that bordered the side yard. Edible plants filled the spaces between the walkway and the wall on that side, with fruit trees espaliered along nearly every inch of the wall.

Along the familiar, repeating curves, the boy sped up, even when his knee whacked into the handlebar on one side or the other. Near the shady end of the patio, he stopped, watching a mama bird teaching the babies how to… He frowned, then shook his head. Instead of going closer, he deliberately rode the tricycle into the lush grass in the middle of the loop and, after much huffing and straining, got the tricycle back onto the pathway. He turned right, backtracking the rest of the way to the patio.
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