June 3, 2018
Well… half the year gone and I have no idea where it went. LOL I have some terrific news. My oldest kidlet, on his twenty-fifth birthday and fifth anniversary of dating his girlfriend, proposed and she said yes. I'll be welcoming a new daughter-in-law in the next year or so. She's already part of the family… the marriage will only make it official. Congratulations to both!
Good television viewing week. I started off with Endeavor and caught two episodes. Glad I was able to watch the opener for series three not long after the end of series two. That was kind of a cliffhanger.
Gotham went and changed all the rules again. I have so much love for this show. I truly think season four is its best yet. Everyone finally came into their roles and the cast and plotlines all meshed together in a brilliant fashion. I can't wait for season five. Seriously.
Caught two more episodes of Chicago Fire and Blindspot. I'm truly curious about where Roman is going with everything. I'm also hopeful he ends up not being a raging dickhole. Probably not much chance he won't be, but, yeah, here's hoping.
Also caught two episodes of Sense8 and Fearless. I'm getting into Sense8. It's not as hard to follow as I thought it would be. I'm excited to see where the rest of season one goes. Fearless is kind of relentless. I'm somewhat saddened the US person is such a raging bitch. Terrific actress though.
Krypton's first season is excellent. I have the finale to watch then it's wait, wait, wait for the next season. Argh!
I didn't get to finish Archangel on the app I was watching it on, so I'll have to find it on Netflix. I did finish up The Ghost Squad and, honestly, not a bad show. A little ambiguous, but quite enjoyable. I'm still working my way through the later seasons of Midsomer Murders and should be starting series twelve soon. On the rewatch front, I'm hitting The Sarah Conner Chronicles, Band of Brothers, and Strike Back's fourth season. I'm gearing up to watch the most recent season of Strike Back so I can be ready for season six when one of my favorite actors joins the cast.
Also caught another episode of Constantine and two more episodes of Classic Who. Mutant X has joined my lineup of shows I'm revisiting.
And that's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from A Fiery Yule, a holiday spirit short.
Here's the mini-blurb:
A holiday spirit, Spruce Lightfir, gives Dexter Diamond, a fire demon, the perfect place to lay low over the Yule holiday. Dexter craves some time alone, away from the demanding overseer of Dexter's peerage. When Quinne Quailer, a shaman, arrives for a sabbatical from the human world, Dexter is cranky about the intrusion… until Quinne's presence calms his fiery inner soul. Maybe the miracle of Yule can free Dexter from his life of servitude.
And a preview snippet…
Spruce Lightfir trudged through the dense terrain of the eternal woods. "Finally some downtime to enjoy." He used his walking stick to navigate a steep incline.
Halfway up, the tingling buzz on a summons coursed through his veins.
He paused, blowing out a harsh breath. "Dammit. Not now." He'd been assured of three days off.
He had a campsite all setup and waiting for him. A homey little cabin filled with bare necessities—coffee, sketch pads, and notebooks. Life on the spiritual plane had tons of benefits, but working the last five Yule holidays didn't count as one.
Glancing upward, he snarked. "It's supposed to be every other Yule, you lovesick fools." The powers that be never missed an opportunity to match lonely souls during the season.
Heaving a sigh, he started back down toward the cabin. The buzz under his skin would only get more intense if he didn't find out what the powers that be wanted. He didn't even have to go inside the tiny house. The notice hovered outside his door, shimmering and shaking in the early evening twilight.
He grabbed the parchment and shouldered inside the cabin. Shrugging out of his coat, he flung it on a rustic peg in the wall and propped his walking stick against the hewn wooden wall. Stoking the banked fire, he settled into a club chair and called forth a cup of strong coffee.
Unrolling the heavy paper, he quickly skimmed his new assignment file. Good heavenly spirits. Spruce considered his skill top-notch, but he didn't know if he could pull off getting a fire demon and a shaman together. Especially when neither candidate really wanted to change their status quo.
Quinne Quailer performed double duty as the leader of the North American spirit tribes and acted as their senior shaman. Spirit tribe members claimed some form of tribal ancestry or had a deep affinity for native culture. Quinne's leadership spurred growth in the ranks and the toll it took on her well-being weighed heavily. She needed a council and named a committee of elders to help with the day-to-day workload but her people continued to rely on her to make decisions they should now be making. The toll to her well-being weighed heavily on the downside.
Spruce shook his head. "Your light is burning out, Quinne. A candle lit from both ends expends itself too quickly." The healer needed time to heal herself.
Enzo Escada toiled under the direction of Lucien Darhk. Darhk's hold on Escada should have ended almost a decade ago. But Enzo's internal rage made him an extremely powerful fire demon.
Spruce tsked. "Damn. Talk about feeding a vicious cycle." Lucien used Escada almost exclusively for retribution rites. "Which means Enzo rarely has any kind of downtime to soothe his inner inferno." Not good.
Fire demons that wielded the kind of power Enzo did needed a balm to counteract the molten energy flowing through their souls. When they didn't find a soothing agent, most ended up burning out their lifespan at an early age.
Spruce nodded. "So, Quinne needs somewhere to reflect on how to move ahead, away from her current responsibilities and Enzo has to find the one thing to tame his unquenchable anger." He snorted. "I get the why…" The duo would balance each other.
Enzo's decades of servitude would give Quinne perspective on the significance of taking time to master her own fate. And Quinne's experience as a shaman should open Enzo's eyes to the importance of self-care.
Spruce shook his head again. "The how is going to be a killer." Neither of his charges wanted to be around people right now.
After a moment of consideration, Spruce snapped his fingers. The perfect place to send the couple materialized in his mind. Goodacre. Remote and isolated in the netherworld, outside influences would be null and void. The couple might need a nudge or two… or maybe not. Both were lonely souls in need of their perfect match.
Even if neither had any idea.
Celebrating Yule in a charming bed and breakfast could be just the thing Quinne and Enzo needed to get them on their necessary path. Providing assistance from the sidelines meant leaving his quiet sanctuary, but his creative juices flowed at the possible challenge. Confidence simmered under his earlier doubt. He could pull this off.
Rising, Spruce banked the fire. "Better get started. Setting the stage is going to be key with these two." Nothing would be left to chance.
I have so much fun writing the holiday spirit shorts. Coming up with holiday-themed names for the spirits is right near the top of the list.
That's it for this week.
Cheers!
Skye
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