#fff51

okay @flashfictionfridayofficial​ i completely understand this is like 3 hrs late. my personal life hasnt been the best rn and i completely forgot about this. its completely alright if you cant make can exception but i still just want to get this one out for ppl to read anyway.

words: 639

tw: none

***

Of all the days of summer break for rain, it'd be today.

Everyone was cooped inside Kaede's apartment and in the living room. The large window was open just enough to let the fresh air blow through; it wasn't too cold or too hot. Still, Malachi had prepared lemonade for them to save themselves from the killer humidity.

"We could've been at the water park today..." Eve said. She was sitting at the dining table with Kiara and Ren playing an old card game. 'Numbers, colours and destroyed friendships' was what Kiara had told them.

For @flashfictionfridayofficial​ and this week’s prompt, I actually woke up with a storm this morning, and well, now it’s something for me to write.  Not much, but I’m not inclined for detail today.  I actually wrote something else, yesterday so I’m just shocked at that effort.  

Words:  Just over a hundred.

A/N: Here’s my fic for this week’s prompt, @flashfictionfridayofficial​!

Looks like this is going to turn into a weekly thing?? Who knows?

This is a character study featuring Cisco Ramon, exploring his powers and his inner conflict. 

Word Count: 773

TW: loud thundershowers, some angst

***

A mug landed on a surface of a table as someone set it down. He leaned back on his chair, finding several clouds gathering in the dark grey sky. It might be June, it didn't stop that rain finished it's business.

@flashfictionfridayofficial hope you like it!

"I'd make some joke about there being a big storm coming, but it's already here."

"Laugh at it, I guess," Hazel said worriedly, looking out at the pouring rain, "but will you be okay? You usually walk home from school, and the ground's going to be really muddy."

"I'm fine. I've walked home in worse." Ash joined her at the window. The storm did look to be getting really bad, definitely enough that the streets would be flooding a bit. Even what was visible of the road from inside the building seemed blurred and indistinct against the glass panes. "Or I could take a ride in your car. My siblings are out with my mom at some restaurant, so they definitely won't be back for a while."

Despite herself and the way the rain had already begun making her head pound, Hazel smiled. "My dad won't mind bringing you. Plus, your house is on the way to ours, so it's not a bother or anything!"

"Well, you've never been bothered by that. One of the good things about being friends with you." Ash smiled back. "Is your head okay? You said the sound of rain made it hurt..."

"I'll just put my headphones in and hopefully it'll go away." She started digging in her bag for the old pair. They were at the bottom, already tangled after a day of summer school. She got to work untangling them. "Anyway, did you like class today? I heard from some of your second-year classmates that you got to make a pie! Was it hard?"

"A little, but if I'm trying to get into culinary school pie is going to be one of the least of my worries." Fillets, macarons, a thousand other recipes- all of them were on the lesson plan for summer school. They had to keep getting better if they wanted to excel. "What about you? Did you have fun with remedial classes?"

The groan Hazel responded with was all the answer they needed.

"Come on. English classes aren't that bad. Once you get to story-writing it becomes a lot more interesting." They patted their younger friend on the head. "And once you get to fourth year apparently you'll be making video resumes, not looking over old books that make you want to cry. You'll be fine."

"That won't make it any easier to sit through." English classes- hell, just language in general, really- all of it was just so boring. Where were the concrete concepts? Where was the physical involvement? Where was the arithmetic and the calculation? "I don't need to know what an infinitive is to be an engineer, Ash! I really don't! God, and I wanted to sign up for math summer classes this year..."

"I'll tutor you next year if you fail again." Ash barely managed to avoid Hazel trying to whack them on the arm at that. "You'll get your math classes next summer. Don't worry."

"Do you promise?"

"Obviously I promise. How else am I supposed to keep getting your help with my math classes if I don't?" They pulled her closer, much more comfortable than she was hearing the storm. "Speaking of that, I brought the second-year's workbook. Do you want to fill it out? I'll trade for that cookbook you said you brought."

"Deal." Hazel pulled a thick book from her bag, dropping it in their lap. "This one had better have graphing equations. You were whining about hating doing that yesterday."

"You'll have to read and find out, I'm afraid. I've wiped every page of that workbook from my mind."

[Image Description: a dark blue banner, the line "#FFF51 Summer Storm" is written at the center in white letters. End Image Description.]

Once again, thanks to the wonderful people at the @flashfictionfridayofficial! Wonderful prompt!

I was torn on what to write here. My urban fantasy wip is set during summer so it'd have been perfect, but then I thought this would have been nicer.

Title: A Flash Encounter

Warnings: lots of thunders

"Remind me one more time why we are here?"

The world flashed before their eyes, the darkness rended apart for a moment, before everything turned blue again, the wild roar of thunder fading away.

"What did you say?"

"Why are we here!?"

"It's a summer storm, we can't miss this, you know that."

"Isn't there", another thunder, another gasp. "Isn't there another way?"

"I'm afraid not. Don't worry though, we are almost there."

The two travellers braved the rest of the storm in silence. The wind howled in their ears, their capes floating wildly, while they had their hands on their hats, clinging on them like moss on a rock.

They walked up the mountain path, the bushes and the trees kneeled over the strength of the storm, the living creatures falling silent, their voices drowned by the rain.

The black sky flashed murderous colors once in a while, but the two travellers didn't falter.

One step after the other, they kept walking.

"We reached the top."

A thunder clashed not too far from them, making them jump.

"That was scary. What did you say?"

"We are at the top!"

In the flash of another thunder, the eldest traveller saw his companion's eyes brimming with happiness, his face wet, he didn't know if out of tears or raindrops.

"We did it!"

"We did it!"

They ran over to each other, hugging. As their bodies touched each other, another thunder hit the earth but they didn't flinch.

"What do we do now?" asked the youngest one, his voice muffled by his companion's shoulder.

"We just have to wait."

They stayed there, embraced to one another, for much time. The storm roared and beat the earth in a wild rage during all that time, until the first ray of light pierced the black clouds.

The wind subsided, tamed into a tranquil whisper in the grass, while the rain, finally pacified, turned into a drizzle.

The two travellers looked at each other in the eyes, and gazed upon the sky.

Up there, in the gray clouds that were starting to disperse, a pair of eyes were watching them, brimming with curiosity. The creature was laying down on a cloud, its body giving off flashes of energy, little bolts darting off every second. It stayed there, motionless, while the two travellers fell down to their knees, offering a prayer.

Another ray of sunlight touched the grass, the clouds slowly drifting away, when the thunder creature opened its wings and flew away, not making a sound.

A thunder roared again, but the two travellers didn't flinch, when they stood up once again.

"That was quite an encounter, don't you think?"

"It was well worth this trip, despite everything. Now we know for sure that the Spirit is still present", he turned around, looking at the path they had just taken to reach the top. "Ready to go back home?"

I told myself I’d only do a short one this time but would you know it, I get going and it comes in at just over 900 words. Again.

I can only apologise. It’s very late here but I couldn’t help myself.

Anyway! Enjoy my offering for @flashfictionfridayofficial​ #FFF51 prompt. I really enjoyed writing it. This exercise has helped to solidify an idea I’ve been mulling over for a few months so I’m going to expand on what I’ve written here and see what happens....

 Chasing

Deira took another swig of coffee from her travel mug and put her hand back on the steering wheel. It wasn’t often she got to drive with the roof down and she was taking full advantage of the weather. She smirked to herself as she slalomed her way along a road that had no business calling itself an A-road. She caught the smell of scorched heath on the wind and her lip curled in anger. The blazing sunshine had brought others out too, but these people didn’t know how to respect the landscape. Her right foot pressed the accelerator. The wind whipped through her hair faster. She thought she heard something in her left ear.

“What?” she shouted over the rushing sound in her ears.

“Slow down, for the sake of the Almighty!” Alia yelled from the passenger seat. She was squinting against the air and hanging on to her seatbelt as Deira took another corner too fast.

“Can’t.”

“Can’t?”

“Won’t. Whatever.”

They were going so fast they couldn’t hear the song on the radio anymore, it was lost under the sounds of fracturing air and engine revs. Alia had always hated the way her friend drove but she was yet to pass her test so this was their only option to get to the middle of the moors in time. Sometimes she regretted their partnership; today was verging on one of those times.

Thunder and Lightning

For Flash Fic Friday. The Prompt Summer Storms. This is from life. We did live through the tornado that devasted Xenia Ohio in 1974. The pictures above are from that killer storm.

Summer Storms

Gathering like an oppressive weight when I was five, my brother 3.

Across the field, a funnel cloud, weaving it's way towards us.

A shout, a scream, my brother thrust into my mom's arms. My daddy lifting me. Run! Pressed into the floor board, my mom over us.

A quietness as time held it's breath. The only sounds, my parents prayers.

To outrun a twister as it wrecks life’s and property behind us. As we speed to the next town. Safety.

My daddy, tears running down his face as he tells my mom, Xenia is all but gone.

Arrowhead is gone.

Aftermath, moving back to Kentucky, from a house to a trailer. Crying as I say goodbye to my friends. A childhood ended early.

For Kentucky brought abuse, violence, fear.

So, we’ve got the lovely Dale and Anahita from “Water and Earth makes mud” (my “unnamed” wip about lesbian witches which I now have a name for) for this friday @flashfictionfridayofficial​

425 words:

Dale paced back and forth, her eyes never leaving the window.

“You can sit down, it isn’t a big deal,” Anahita frowned at the smaller girl, she clasped her hands in her lap politely.  She examined the cluttered living room intently.

Jars of dirt and rocks lined the shelves, there was a potted plant in the corner which was producing some sort of pinkish berry.  But the amount of books, Anahita figured that it would rival the library in the city.

“Shouldn’t you be out there?” Dale said, “collecting the rain?  Doing whatever you water witches do?”

Dale paused in front of the window, gripping the sill and glaring outside, “it’s going to ruin all my work!”

“Not all water witches collect stormwater,” Anahita explained patiently, “I gain power from the rivers.”

A hard gust of wind threw open the window a few feet away.  Dale swore loudly and rushed over, slamming it shut.

“Stupid wind, stupid storm, stupid house that doesn’t take storms well,” Dale grumbled, latching the window and wrapping a discarded scrap of string around it to keep it secure.

“Did you…” Anahita tugged at a strand of her hair anxiously, “did you make this house yourself?”

“No,” Dale said, brushing her hands off on her already dirty stained overalls, “I helped though.”

She hefted some of the books into a pile and sat down.

“Well,” Anahita chewed on her lower lip, not too fond about being stuck in a strangers house because of the storm, “it’s very… lovely.”

Dale snorted and laughed, “you don’t need to lie, I know it’s a mess.”

“Oh,” Anahita averted her eyes.

“No need to be so nervous, I won’t bury you in the dirt.  I can’t anyway, the rain messes everything up.  No offense,” Dale crossed her arms in front of her chest, shooting a pointed look out the window, as if the rain was a person.

“None taken, I go by rivers anyway.”

“Right,”

“Why are you so upset about the rain?  You were digging in the mud before, the rain just makes more mud.”

Dale pursed her lips, thinking about that for awhile, “I suppose, but it won’t be the right consistency.”

“Well I don’t think that it’ll be letting up anytime soon,” Anahita looked out the window behind Dale.

Dale sighed.  Anahita looked around, trying to think of anything that would make a good conversation.

Suddenly, Dale huffed and stood up, “I’m going to make some tea, would you like some?”

“Oh, sure, thank you.”