Word: Rime

 

rime

\ RAHYM \  , noun;

1. A coating of tiny, white, granular ice particles, caused by the rapid freezing of water droplets.

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            It was cold.  Very cold.  The frost the night before had left the ground white.  The grass looked like the art students had gotten to it with white spray paint.  The walkways all had a layer of rime on it, the small ice crystals bunched together so tightly it could almost be mistaken for a solid sheet of ice.  A few students walked down the nearly frozen paths, thin white clouds emerging from their mouths and noses as they tried to keep warm with thick layers of clothing, hot drinks, or walking in tightly packed groups.  All of them though, had to be outside due to classes, and not one of them enjoyed it.  Especially since it was only 8 o’clock in the morning.  There was only one small group of students that was outside without having to go to class.

            “Damn it.  Still no snow.”  Said Mark, one of those oddball students.

            “I could’ve told you that.”  Kevin said bitterly.

            “Well excuse me if it looked like snow from up there.”  Mark said, pointing in the general direction of his fifth floor dorm room. 

            “Come on, there’s no snow, so let’s just go back in.”  Sue, the final member of the little trio, said, her arms held tightly against her body, trying to get as much warmth from the limbs as she could.

            “Seriously man.  I don’t know why you even bother.”  Kevin said.  Mark had gotten both of them up way too early for either of their liking when he had seen the layer of white frost on the ground.  Both of them just wanted to get in out of the cold.  Sue was having a very vivid daydream about a large cup of hot chocolate as well.

            “Oh, there will be snow.  I can feel it.  Besides, nature owes us for last year.”  Mark said, standing there as if the snow didn’t bother him as much as it actually did.  He looked up into the sky and pointed at the looming clouds.  “You hear me!  You owe us big time!”  He shouted, waving his finger to the sky as if he was scolding a child.  His friends just rolled their eyes, too cold to bother doing anything else.  Kevin was seriously considering dragging his friend inside by the ear, but the cold kept him from even taking his hands out of the pockets they had been stuffed into.

            “Why do you even want it to snow so badly?”  Sue asked, “I mean, all it is is water when you get right down to it.  Do you really want to deal with clothes that are both cold and wet?” 

Mark turned sharply in her direction, his eyes locked on hers intensely.  He stormed over to her, leaning in closer than he probably should have.  In any other circumstance, Sue would have backed away.  Now she was just trying to will his body heat over to her.

            “How could you say something like that?”  He said, his words throwing pale clouds in her face, “Snow is the best part of winter.  It’s the only part that makes it worth it.  If winter didn’t have snow, we’d all be living in Florida right now.”  Mark’s defense of snow continued for the better part of five minutes.  Kevin had heard most of it before, but Sue hadn’t known them that long, so she had no idea about how much Mark loved snow.  It was actually quite disturbing in her opinion.

            When he was finally done with his tirade, Mark stomped away and knelt down, running his fingers over the frozen ground.  He muttered to himself about being teased and tormented.  While the other two did have to admit it was kind of funny, it also gave them the chance they needed.  They inched their way towards the doors to the dorm, slowly at first so that Mark wouldn’t notice right away.  Once they felt they had passed outside his line of sight, they turned almost in unison and made a mad dash for the doors and the promise of central heating they held.  By the time Mark stood up, they were already headed up the stairs to their respective rooms. 

            “God damn it guys.”  Mark said to his long absent friends.  He slumped his shoulders and gave up.  He sulked all the way back to his room and collapsed on the bed.  He looked out the window at the cloudy sky, thinking that tomorrow was another day, and another chance.

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Yup, it's winter all right.  Hope everyone's managing to stay warm.  Yeah, I got nothing else, so here's a random picture!

Word: Fob

fob

\ FOB \  , noun;

1. A short chain, usually with a medallion or similar ornament, worn hanging from a pocket.

2. A small pocket just below the waistline in trousers for a watch, keys, change, etc.

verb:

1. To cheat someone by substituting something spurious or inferior.

2. To put (someone) off by deception or trickery.

*********************************

“It's late.” Henry said, looking at his pocket watch.

“I told you. It's always late.” Adam replied, rolling his eyes.

“Yes, you did. But still, I can always hope.”

“Why do you insist on taking an airship? Walkers are more reliable.” Adam said, referring to the large mechanical devices used for land transport. They tended to look like a lumbering beast rather than a reliable method of transport though.

“And they're also slower. Besides, I like the view.” Henry said, shutting his watch and placing it back in his pocket. The small gold chain hung loose from the end, instead of clipped to his shirt as was usually done.

“Not when you consider the time. Airships are always late. Walkers are always on time. It makes up for their slower speed.”

“That depends entirely on how late the airship is. Right now, it's not even five minutes late. If it arrives soon, then it will still be quite a bit faster than those lumbering metal brutes.”

Adam sighed and shifted his backpack. It was a clumsy looking thing, made of a patchwork of leather and metal. It was also quite a bit heavier than it looked, and hefting it around everywhere made his back hurt more than he liked to admit. Henry watched his friend struggle with the thing, but said nothing of it. The two of them simply waited for their chosen method of transport to arrive.

After a few more minutes of waiting, it did. The large Zeppelin slowly descended into the airfield, it's many propellers kicking up dust and dirt as it did. Henry looked quite happy with this. Adam just looked annoyed.

“See, only ten minutes late. That means it will still arrive at the capitol a good hour or so before even the fastest Walker.” He said triumphantly.

“Yes, I know. Let's just leave it and get on the damn thing.” Adam said, trudging up the the lowering ramp to admit passengers onto the airship. They were stopped briefly by a man taking tickets for the journey, but the two flashed their tickets, and were given no real trouble before boarding.

It didn't take long for all the passengers to arrive and board the large vehicle, and it was soon lifting off into the air. The sound of the smoothly oiled gears could be heard as the propellers picked up speed, lifting the massive balloon higher into the air. Henry listened to the clockwork with great appreciation.

“Ah now that is a fine sound, isn't it? You don't get this kind of music with a Walker, now do you?”

“No, I suppose not.” Adam said. He did have to agree. The large land vehicles did tend to have more of a stuttering thump to them, rather than an airships constant hum. Henry went over to a small, round window and looked down at the ground growing smaller as the ship rose higher.

“And how can you argue with the view?” He asked

“Heights always make me nervous.” Adam said. That wasn't quite true. It was falling from a great height that bothered him, even when he knew he had a device that would allow him to survive the fall. Being held aloft in an airship was, for him, only slightly different than being on the ground.

The trip was well underway, and the two men went on mingled with some of the other passengers. Adam found himself a group of pretty young girls to try and woo, while Henry busied himself talking shop with a group of older gentlemen who were apparently builders of some kind. Both were quite happy with the groups they had chosen to associate with, and the trip was quite pleasant.

That is, until a shot from a pistol rang out among the crowd. Some of the passengers screamed as a group of ten rough looking men pulled weapons from their clothes, brandishing them at anyone who got close. A guardsmen that had been brought along for safety advanced on them quickly, but the hijackers were ready. One of them pointed a large, thick gun at the guard, and pulled the trigger. A dull thump sound came from it, and a flurry of small needles shot out, peppering the guard, who promptly fell.

“Anyone else?” Said the shooter. Nobody else moved. “Good. Now then, this airship now belongs to me and mine, as do any valuables you might have. My men here will come around and you are to put everything of even the smallest value in their bags. If you do, you can be fairly sure that you'll live. If not, your chances are much lower. Trying to resist puts you in an early grave.”

Most of the passengers were obviously terrified, shaking like leaves as the crooks went around. Henry and Adam nodded to each other, and moved slowly to the back wall, farther away from the criminals. Henry took out his watch and flipped a small notch on the bottom open, revealing a hidden hole. Into this, he plugged a thin wire from his belt, and let the chain dangle away from his hand. Adam slid a few of the thin metal panels on his own belt aside, revealing a number of buttons, switches and dials. He pressed one of the larger buttons, and three thin metal tubes shot up from the back of the belt into his backpack. Then they both simply waited.

When a robber approached the duo, they made no moves to indicate their intent. The masked robber went up to Henry first, and immediately eyed the gold watch in his hands. He held out a bag and waited for Henry to put something inside. Henry didn't move.

“Alright, let's get that thing in the bag.” The robber said.

“No, I don't think I will.” Henry said. “I am rather fond of this watch.”

“Oh a wise guy, eh? Well, let's see how you do after I've run you through.” The robber said, taking out a small, thin knife. He reached to grab the watch by the chain, using the knife to scare Henry into letting it go.

“I wouldn't touch that if I were you.” Henry said. The robber payed no heed to the warning, and grabbed the thin chain. Suddenly, he let out a horrid scream, and his body fell, twitching. “I warned you.” Said Henry. The scream caught the attention of the other robbers. Without any word from their boss, the eight remaining grunts rushed at the two men.

Henry flipped open the watch and pressed the joint the hands were attached to. The chain suddenly lengthened greatly, more than tripling in length. He closed the watch and began spinning the chain around, the faint hum and crackle of the powerful electric current running through it reaching only his ears.

Adam hit a button on his belt, and three long metal arms shot out of the backpack, one on each side on him, and one arching over his head. Each of the arms had several joints, and ended in a large, unpleasant looking spike. When they saw this, the robbers slowed, now much more wary of their targets, being unsure of what these weapons were capable of.

It was all the two needed. Henry lashed out with his chain, using it like an electrified whip, catching the robbers by the wrist or ankle, causing them to collapse almost immediately. Adam used the controls on his belt to maneuver the arms to slash and thrust at any who dared approach him. Many were cut down, but more stayed away. For those, he simply pressed a button and the point on one of the arms opened, the thud of an air cannon ringing out, firing a metal net at the hapless robbers.

It took all of five minutes for the two of them to deal with the robbers. Now there was only one left: The boss. By now, he was not favoring his chances very highly. But, this one would not be taken nearly as easily as his men. He leveled his gun hastily at the two and fired. Adam's mechanical arms were able to block all but a few of the incoming needles, the rest being those that had scattered too much to do any damage at the range they were at.

Now it was Henry's turn to rush in, swinging his chain at the criminal. The man tried to avoid it, but was unable to do so completely. The chain caught him by the ankle, delivering it's powerful current into the criminal's body. Henry retracted the chain back to its original length and unplugged it, sliding it back into his pocket as Adam retracted the metal arms.

“And that's why I prefer airships. They're much more entertaining.” He said smiling as the rest of the passengers looked on in wonderment.

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New genre, go!  This time, it's steampunk.  At least, it's supposed to be steampunk.  It's kind of hard to do that particular genre in writing, since it's such a visual style.  If your wondering, this is a bit about the genre.  Yeah, it's kind of visual, and really hard to do with such a short story.  Oh well, I did my best.  Hope you all like it anyway.  

Word: dovetail

 

dovetail

\ DUHV-teyl \  , verb;

1. To join or fit together compactly or harmoniously.

2. In carpentry, a joint formed of one or more such tenons fitting tightly within corresponding mortises.

3. To join or fit together by means of a carpentry dovetail or dovetails.

noun:

1. In carpentry, a tenon broader at its end than at its base; pin.

*****************

      The hammer came down on the piece of wood with a resounding thud. The slab of wood stayed exactly where it was. Jeff groaned at yet another of his failures. This one was particularly embarrassing, since it was little more than an elaborate tracing job. And yet, the wood stubbornly refused to fit into it's slot, a testament to the fact that he had managed to cut it wrong, even while the cutting lines had been clearly marked out in thick black marker.

       The high school woodworking class Jeff was currently in had been assigned to make a simple piece of furniture using basic, beginner level dovetail joints. The instructor had even given them a hand by clearly marking where to cut each piece of wood in order to make them fit together correctly. When Jeff had finished cutting, he thought he had gotten it right for once. But, now that he was actually fitting the two pieces of wood together, he found otherwise.

      He cast a quick glance around the class to see how other students were doing. It made him feel a bit better to see that he was not alone in his failure. In fact, most of the class had messed something up in cutting their own pieces of wood. There were only a few people who had managed to get the joint to work, and those were the people who somehow managed to get everything to work, so it was no real surprise that they cut these joints correctly as well.

      He sighed and began looking over the two pieces of what was supposed to be a small bookshelf for a desk in order to find where the problem was. Maybe he could fix it with some clever use of a file and sandpaper. It should be too hard to find the problem. After all, there were only two large notches on each piece that he was currently working with, and the marker lines were still visible since he hadn't painted anything yet.

      He examined the lines to see where any bumps were. Unfortunately, his eyes weren't able to see where the deviation was, so he would need to use a straight-edge to look it over. And it just s happened that there was one very big obstacle currently preventing him from getting at one of the communal rulers that were provided for the entire class to use.

      His name was Jerry, and he had issues. Issues that he liked to take out on smaller, weaker guys. And since they guy was six feet tall and weighed 190 lbs, that was just about everyone in school with the exception of a few of the guys on the football and wrestling teams. And he was standing right in front of the equipment Jeff needed, and was clearly not intending to move. It was as if he was daring anyone to come up and get something from the small table behind him.

      Jeff cast a quick glance around for the instructor, who might be able to get Jerry to move, but he was currently busy helping one of the students with their project, and was not paying any attention to anything else.

      If Jeff wanted a ruler, he could either wait for someone else to be desperate enough for a ruler, pencil, or glue to attract the attention of the bully, or be the martyr himself and try to get the ruler he needed, hoping for someone to come to his rescue when he did. Looking around, it looked like nobody was going to take the stand first, so it was likely he would have to be the one to bare the brunt of whatever punishment Jerry had in store for his victim. It probably wouldn't be immediate, since Jerry wasn't dumb enough to actually do anything in class. But, Jeff could expect something during lunch, or after school.

      Maybe he could avoid Jerry this time though. All he needed was a straight-edge after all. While a ruler would be best, he could use one of his pens, or even a sheet of paper if he folded it right. He got a small pen out of his bag and set it on one of the grooves in one of his pieces of wood. He soon found the round surface of the pen was not up to the task. He would need the flat, thin surface of a ruler to help find the imperfections in his work. He looked around to find the teacher had moved on, yet was still helping another student, and not paying attention to much else. The other students were also suddenly very intent on their own work. He was on his own with this.

      He clenched his teeth and stood up, walking purposefully towards the table with the measuring and writing equipment on it. He hoped he looked confident enough that Jerry wouldn't do too much to him. He wasn't keeping his hopes up about that though. He approached the table from where Jerry wasn't but the big guy stepped in front. Jeff tried to move around the larger boy, but Jerry always moved in such a way as to block his advance. Jeff looked up at the larger boy, to see his face pinned up in a wicked sneer.

      “U-um, excuse me, but can you please move?” Jeff asked, hoping to hide his nervousness.

      “Oh, I'm sorry, were you trying to get something?” Jerry asked in mock ignorance.

      “Just really quick, then I'll be out of your way.” Jeff said, hoping that would make Jerry more willing to let him by.

       “Well then, here you go.” Jerry said, stepping aside, holding his hands out in a gesture of presentation. Jeff looked at him warily as he approached the table. Suddenly, his foot caught on something, and he stumbled into the table. He was able to brace himself by grabbing the edges, so he wasn't hurt, but he was red with embarrassment. He was sure that the sound of him hitting the table got the attention of most of the class.

      “Oops.” Jerry said, snickering to himself, “You'd better watch yourself. Don't want to trip anymore, right?”

      Jeff knew what had happened. Jerry had stuck his foot out at the last moment and gave his a quick nudge, tripping him. Nobody had seen this happen though, and so there was no point in calling attention to it. All that would do would earn the ire of the bully, and ensure that Jeff went home with a few bruises. Instead of saying anything, he just grabbed one of the smaller, thinner rulers from the table and headed back to his station, making sure that he gave Jerry a wide berth as he did.

      When he was back, he resumed working on the wood, making note of the many imperfections the notches on his joints had. He risked a glance up at Jerry, who hadn't moved from where he was. The bully was looking very intently at him, a nasty smirk on his face. Jeff gulped quietly and looked back to his work.

With the help of the ruler, he soon had the dovetailed pieces of wood fit together as snugly as he possibly could. It wasn't even very long before the whole thing was fully assembled. He suddenly felt a large, rough hand on his shoulder. He turned around and saw Jerry looking over his shoulder, the same sneer still locked on his face.

      “Nice thing you got there.” He said, “Better be careful though, it looks like it might break if it isn't handled right.” With that, he left, heading to where he had set up his things at the beginning of class, leaving Jeff to huddle a bit too protectively around his now mostly complete shelf.

*****************

In case your wondering, a dovetail joint is one of these guys.  Also, just a heads up, since next week is Thanksgiving, I'll be spending a good portion of the week with family, and more specifically highly energetic younger cousins.  This means I may or may not get the chance to write a story next week.  I'll try to get a story up early in the week, or during any lulls that may occur, but no promises.  Just in case:  Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. 

Word: Glean

glean
GLEEN, verb
1. To learn, discover, or find out, usually little by little or slowly.
2. To gather (grain or the like) after the reapers or regular gatherers.
3. To gather slowly and laboriously, bit by bit.
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     "The intrepid heroes made their way in the deep, dark forest, wary of any danger that might be lurking around any tree or rock, undaunted by the..."
     "Dude, why are you narrating like that?"  Td asked, stepping over a fallen branch.
     "Because it helps set the mood."  Phil said.  He had actually started narrating the small group's actions simply because he had always wanted to narrate something, and this seemed as good a time as any.
    "No, it doesn't."  Ted said, "It just gets on the rest of our nerves."
     "How do you know?  I bet everyone else is fine with it."
     "No we're not."  Jessica, the lone girl among them said.  "Trust me, we're not.  Now quit the voice over or I'll shoot you."  She said, waiving an arrow at Phil.
     "Please don't."  Said Dan,  "I'm running out of healing, and we kinds of need him you know."  None of the group would argue with that.  Phil was the only mage in the group, and for the task at hand, they did indeed need him.
     The group consisted of five people.  The larger boys, Ted and Greg, stood at the front as warriors, each carrying a sword and shield.  Jessica stood behind them as a kind of ranger, having both a bow and arrows, and a smaller, thinner sword at her waist.  Dan had to put up with them all as the healer of the group.  Phil rounded out the group as the mage.  They had been grouped together to cover all the basics in combat.
     "You guys are just jealous of my narrative skills."  Phil said, still very proud of his self perceived skills as a narrator.
     "What skills?"  Ted asked, grinning.
     "The skills that allow me to perfectly set the tone of our adventure here."  Phil said matter of factly.  The others just rolled their eyes.  He had been going on for a good ten minutes, most of which was the group just walking in the woods.  And even then, he wasn't very good.  At least, not nearly as good as he thought he was.  The rest just figured it would probably be best to let him get it out of his system, but when he didn't stop, it was time to get him to stop.
     "Trust me, you're not."  Ted replied.  Phil opened his mouth to respond, but was cut short.
     "Would you two just be quiet for a bit?"  Greg said, his much deeper voice running over the other two.  "Nobody wants to hear you guys going on about this.  Besides, we're supposed to be roleplaying here."  Nobody responded, each knowing that there wasn't much they could say to refute that.
     The group was part of a summer camp that specialized in LARP games, putting on elaborate stories and settings for the players.  Players were supposed to enter into roles of their characters, even going as far as to create back stories and character profiles for themselves.  Until Phil started narrating, they had been doing fairly well for the amateurs they were.  His sudden need to do a voice over out loud had broken the mood completely though.  None of the staff were around when he started, so nothing had come of it so far.
     "Ok, fine.  I'll stop."  Phil said, obviously disappointed.  The other four muttered their approval of his statement.  The rest of their treck was done in silence. since they were supposed to be keeping quiet so as not to alert any lurking foes. They all knew there weren't any around, since all those playing the enemies would be waiting around important areas.  Yet, they still put up with it, acting like they could be jumped at any moment.
     It only took them a few minutes to find what they were looking for:  a small pillar like platform with a small black object on it.  The group approached it slowly, looking carefully around at the woods around them.  They could potentially be jumped here, since this was a location of significance to the story.
     "Well, here it is; the second orb."  Said Jessica, trying tp act as much in character as she could.  Considering the 'orb' was nothing but a plastic vending machine egg that had been painted black, it was harder than she let on.
     "Well then, let's grab it and go."  Said Ted, already moving towards the pillar.  They had been tasked with gathering an unknown number of pieces of information that would help them advance the story.  Other groups were looking in different areas for other clues, all stored in eggs like the one in front of them.  It was a slow, tedious process, but at least the staff had tried to keep it interesting with the story and little tasks to do for each one.
     "Hold on,"  Greg said, grabbing Ted's shoulder, "it's probably enchanted.  We should be careful."
     "The let the mage look at it."  Ted said, gently pushing Phil towards the pillar.
     "What would you all do without me?"  Phil said, acting as haughty as he could after he had recovered his balance.  He went over to the pillar and placed his hands around it.  He looked it over and soon found what he was looking for:  a small envelop with the letter I.M. written on it.
     "Identify Magic."  He said, taking the envelope, reading the note that was written on it.
     "Well?  What is it?"  Dan asked.
     "There's a weight enchantment on the pillar.  We need to find something that's about the same weight and replace the orb with it, otherwise we'll be attacked, and probably killed, by monsters."  He put the note back in the envelope, returning it the way he had found it for the next group to pass by.
     "Great.  More monsters."  Greg said.  They had been attacked like that for the last one when they couldn't meet the conditions to safely get their prize.  It hadn't ended well, and resulted in Dan using most of the healing spells he could use before 'resting' for half an hour.
     "So, any ideas on how much it weighs?"  Dan asked, looking at Phil.  He didn't know, as there hadn't been any indication of that on the note.  He shook his head violently to show his lack of knowledge.
     "I say we take the damn thing and kill everything that comes at us."  Jessica said, already setting one of the large, bulky arrows to her bow.
     "That's what you said the last time, and look what happened."  Greg said.
     "What?  We're all alive, aren't we?"  She said.
     "Alright, let's just get this over with."  Ted said, taking the 'orb' and immediately begining to swing his sword wildly around him, hoping to catch any ambushers as they came out.  Sure enough, three people dressed as monsters jumped out of the woods and growled, advancing on the group.  Jessica let her arrow  fly as soon as she saw them, only taking a little time to aim  The arrow hit one of them in the face.
     "Ow."  The attacker said, pausing to nurse the no doubt bruised skin on his face.  He soon regained his composure, falling to the ground and laying motionless.  She would probably get chewed out later, but for now it was all taken in stride.  This group of monsters was probably being played by other campers who had 'died' and beed reborn as monsters, since they moved a lot slower and more clumsily that the last group, which was probably the staff in the suits.  As such, the remaining two were easily dispatched.  One fell to a combined attack by the two warriors, and the last was done in by a 'spell' from Phil (a small foam ball that had been declared to be a fireball.)
     "Well, that was easier than I thought."  Dan said, glad he didn't have to waste any more of his precious heals for this one.
     "Well of course it was."  Ted said proudly, "Nothing's too hard for yours truly.  Now, let' see what we have here."  He pulled open the egg, taking one of the slips of paper inside before shutting the egg and putting it back.  The group huddled around him, all of them reading the small piece of information on it.
     "Well then, let's get to it."  Greg said.
     "Indeed."  Phil said happily, "For honor!  For glory!  For small bits of information!"  The rest of them rolled their eyes, all silently hoping he wouldn't resumse his narration.
************************
     So yeah, we don't have an internet connection right now were I live, so this entire thing was typed up on a tiny smartphone keyboard.  I really hope  I don't have to do this again.  It sucks, and it' really hard to edit things here becuase theres no flashing line cursor thing to tell me where the editing would occur, so it's kind of hit or miss in that regard.  Hopefully it all came out alright.  So yeah, I hope your all having a better time with this than I did.