It’s time for Adventure

She didn’t want to be doing this, who would?  Standing on a moving train with a ray gun pointed at a young boy’s temple, it more than looked bad.  She didn’t have a choice though, she had to get out of there alive.

Irene sold flowers outside of the great detective’s offices.  He never saw her when he passed her, never paid her any mind at all.  She was in the perfect position to be paid as a spy, and spy she did.  She reported on who entered, who exited and how often the detective left his office out of the back way.  She kept a ledger hidden under her skirts, next to where she held her purse and her dainty yet effective ray gun.  Any woman making her living on the streets needed some protection, protection and a means of income.  Selling flowers only gained her so much, but with the addition of the fee she earned for keeping a keen eye on 221-B Baker street kept her fed with a roof over her head and few coppers left over for her ray gun.

She didn’t need much more than that, so why did she get greedy when he asked her to follow him?

It all started so innocuous, her employer told her that tomorrow the detective would be leaving in disguise and meeting his companion on a train.  She needed to follow him and when they got to their final destination she was to send a telex indicating where the detective and his companion were staying.

Everything would have gone well had it been that simple.  It took two train transfers for her to continue to follow the two men, one time she was sure she was made and pretended to be selling flowers on the station platform to throw off the scent.  The great detective wasn’t the only one who was a master of disguise and the quick change.  Her overcoat was reversible and she could go from respectable traveler to low down flower girl in a moment’s notice. She kept a plethora of accessories in her handbag for just that reason.

She was sure she had done well and would follow the two men to their destination until she was confronted on the third train.  His cane creased the center of her newspaper and lowered it till he could see her face.  ”I notice everything, what on earth makes you think I wouldn’t notice you?”  Her eyes flitted up to lock eyes with him.  He looked very cross and as she knew from observing him in the past, flirting with him  wouldn’t let her escape this situation.

What choice did she have?  When the newsboy came down the isle again selling papers and candy she grabbed him and pressed her ray gun to him as fast as she could.  “Stay back, I just want out of here.”

“We’re in a moving train,”  His companion blurted out, “There isn’t exactly a side door.”

Irene wrinkled her nose.  “Isn’t there?”  She slowly backed up the isle with the kid in tow, her gaze never leaving his blue eyes.

“Who sent you?”  He asked her, following her but keeping a good ten feet away.

She giggled, “Oh you ought to know that, he is you nemesis, isn’t he?” She shoved the kid into his arms, “It’s a Pity Mr. Wayne, I was looking forward to this little holiday of ours.”  She winked and blew a kiss before ducking out the door to between the cars.

By the time he got out there she was hiding on the roof of the next car, she heard him speak to his companion.  “The desperation, she must have jumped from the train.  Dick, we can only hope she survived, as for you and I, I fear we will need to change our course once again.  We will switch trains and head to switzerland next.”

I cross a lot of fandoms on this one which is odd, since I normally don’t meddle in other people’s sandboxes.

Thankful Thursday: LIZ!

Nothing can beat the Queen of the Trolls, an asian inspired steampunk assassin and a dragon dressed as Captain HammerA good friend of mine, Liz, writes a blog called A Bowl of Stew(art) and every week on Thursday she posts about someone she is thankful for.  I have even been featured there as someone she is thankful.  I always look forward to this post every week, it’s a fun way to see into her life and the different people she meets that make life fantastic.  As I like to focus on the AWESOME, I decided it was only fitting to steal this custom from her.  So of course my first official “Thankful Thursday” should feature Liz.

I first met Liz when I decided to start my first NaNoWriMo back in 2010 (was it only two years ago?  Feels like longer).  She was (and still is) the organizer of the Wolfeville Wrimos in Nova Scotia.  Thanks to that experience and the huge feeling of being welcome and invited into this group that Liz provided me with, a lot about my life changed.  I met many other great people through that group and got involved in a lot of activities and local events.  It actually made much sadder to leave Nova Scotia because I would be leaving Liz and all of those great people.

Liz runs more than just the NaNoWriMo group, she runs “Best Word” which is the local writing group that meets all year round.  There are two regular meetings a month, first is a writing challenge meeting where we write and work on a theme for the month.  The second is a share meeting where we share what we’ve written and compete for a prize (an old book that is dry and boring but we add to it with writing and doodles).

Liz is also a youth pastor so we have had many a discussion on theology and been able to talk about a lot of things that many people I know just won’t discuss.  She has an open mind and a loving heart that helps when discussing something as polarizing as religion.  I’ve visited her church a few times, got to hear her preach and went down with the kids and participated in the activities she plans for them.  When I see someone doing what I consider is their calling, it impresses me and makes me feel good.  I love watching Liz at work.

Of course she wins my heart when she loves my dragon as much as I doLiz is a lover of Dragons and of course loves Rory.  She wrote about Farwin, the dragon in her NaNoWriMo novel (and who I just love).  She squees over dragon items just as I do and has even made dragon inspired crafts (love the tiles she painted at ClayGround).

Liz loves board games, sadly I lived a touch too far to set up board game nights with her.  She is a knitter and makes cute little crafts and is often found with knitting needles in hand, and perhaps one behind her ear.  She loves local music and can be found supporting local artists.  She can also be found at the weekly Farmer’s Market buying local food.  She is a browncoat and an all around geek, I remember when she found out I had not only seen Firefly but also considered myself a browncoat she danced (she does that a lot) because she had someone to talk about her fandom with.

This past year, even though I had moved out of the province, I kept contact with my friends and planned to return for HalCon, we had a blast of course and you can see at the top of this post how Liz and I battled a Dalek.  Not even a Dalek can defeat the Queen of the Trolls!  (She was cosplaying as a character from Mark Oakley’s comic Thieves’ and Kings) We had so much fun we were talking about our costumes for the following year before the con was even over.

After HalCon I stayed over for a writing group meeting and then returned later in the month for a write all night event.  While I got less writing done thanks to the travel, returning for the event was well worth it because I got to see my friends again and I really didn’t want to leave.

INo one can eat a strawberry like Liz can... maybe Kaylee from firefly‘m thankful to Liz for sparking my writing, for making me feel at home in Nova Scotia, for being a great friend and a fantastic geek.  I’m thankful that even though I have left Nova Scotia I still have her in my life and always will.  She makes me smile and happy that there are people like her on this earth.  (Sorry if this sounds sappy to you, this is what Thankful Thursday is all about, me being sappy)

Nutty Bites 11: November

What’s awesome in the month of November
NaNoWrimo pwn’d my soul
HalCon – My Flickr set
Write Ins
The Zoo! Oaklawn Farm Zoo in Aylesford Nova Scotia and Video
FredX

What I’m Listening to?
No new podcasts, having trouble listening to everything I’m subscribed to

I heard it on twitter
Honey Badger Vampire

What I’m watching
too much TV for someone who doesn’t have a TV signal. Let’s talk about what’s irking me on Dexter? No spoilers.

The music you’ve heard is NaNoWriMo by John Anealio

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