Happy Thanksgiving Eve to all y’all in the good ol’ USA. Happy news here on the blog–for me anyway. I won last week’s Thursday Threads. Yippee. The prompt was: *”You don’t scare me.*” Again, this is just a snippet that ties in with other things going on in the story but I don’t have a specific spot for it just yet. Trust me, I will when the time comes. That said, this scene is mostly self-explanatory.

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Aisling faced the dark entrance of the tunnel. Her frustration bubbled up and she spoke before she considered what might be hidden withing the shadows. “Come out of there.”

Something stirred in the void. “Who are you?” she demanded, while wondering if what might be the more apropos question. The feeling of being watched lessened and she imagined whatever was there retreating. Stepping closer that impenetrable darkness, she yelled, “You don’t scare me!”

Low, menacing laughter echoed back at her. She inhaled sharply and held her breath, listening, all her senses attuned to what might be happening there in the murky darkness. The words that followed held nothing but threat. “You should be.”

The words hung there almost as if they’d taken physical form. Still holding her breath, Aisling eased back suddenly craving the light that waited across the room. She put more distance between herself and the tunnel’s doorway. Leery of turning her back on the opening, she continued shuffling backwards without looking. And bumped into something solid, but not hard. Something warm. Muscled. That smiled of lilacs and sunlight and freshly mowed grass. She screamed anyway.

Ariel winced, his face screwing up as he tried to protect his eardrums. He just managed to get his hands up in defense as Aisling whirled and slapped at him. A part of his brain considering teaching her actual fighting skills. The rest of him was busy hiding his amusement.

Recognizing him, Aisling stopped flailing. “I’m not scared of you either.”
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So there, Ariel Daoine. Aisling isn’t afraid of you either. But maybe she should be… *bwahaha* Writers, do your writing with the prompt should it spark ideas. Readers, what are not afraid of that maybe you should be?