Challenge -
Done by Sealgirl for Neil G
Vignettes for 3 of his pictures - links take you to the picture itself.
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Reunion
http://www.gadsby.demon.co.uk/D&DWebMenu/pages/NEW_HANK_4.html
There was only one person in the Realm who would try to sneak up on him. Only one person could get that close.
Though he couldn’t see her, he knew that she was there. He’d learned and honed his skills during his time in the wild, and he knew someone was out there; close enough to watch him, yet far enough away to so as he wouldn’t notice. There had been a time when that had been true, before the split, but it wasn’t true anymore. He would have been dead a thousand time over if it had been. Too many Orcs still followed him, and too many spies.
But more than the knowledge from his skills as a Ranger, he could still feel her presence, even after all these years out in the wilds of the Realm. His memory of her was still clear; the love he’d felt, the pain and the loss that they had shared. He still wore the bracelet she’d made for him. He could never forget her.
Though years had passed, every day he wondered about her. What would she look like? Would she have changed as much as he had? He knew one day one of them would return, and he’d always hoped it would be her, more than any of the others.
He stared at the trees, waiting for an uneven movement, or the whisper of a muffled breath. But there was nothing.
Hide-and-seek was not a game he enjoyed; since she was obviously here for a reason, and he decided he wanted to know sooner, rather than later.
The Ranger looked straight ahead, imagining he could see her standing by the tree, even though he could see nothing but the plants. She was there. He knew she was.
He knew.
‘Hello, Diana.’
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Two By Three By One
http://www.gadsby.demon.co.uk/D&DWebMenu/pages/DD1_S12_32a.html
Presto watches as Sheila runs to Hank. She needs him; it’s obvious. She is desperate, and so she turns to the Ranger.
How could he treat her like that? Couldn’t he see how she felt?
Presto grips the Wand tightly; angry, jealous, ashamed. If someone as pretty as Sheila… someone as compassionate as Sheila… someone as wonderful as Sheila cared so much about him, he wouldn’t keep pushing her away.
No one else would have ignored the signs; no one but Hank, that is. She was always beside him. She was always asking his advice and supporting his decisions. If there was any danger, or she or Bobby were in any trouble, Hank was always the one she turned to.
Presto can’t stop watching them; he seems to be compelled. Sheila is staring up at the Ranger, her fist clenched as she pleads her case. Hank is looking out over the river, impassively staring at the castle beyond. It was a moment of decision for both of them. Sheila feels that Hank owes her the favour, and Hank obviously knows it. It is only those two people, together. And just for a few seconds nothing and no one else matter. It’s just them. Their relationship. Their friendship. Their love.
Hank is just about to throw another chance of getting home away, and only because Sheila asks him to. Presto knows what Hank is going to say as, for all his ambivalence, Hank just can’t say no.
At that moment, he hates them; both of them. He hates all of them. He hates Sheila for being in love with a boy that love doesn’t seem to touch. He hates Hank for returning the Thief’s passion and attention with indifference masked by the loneliness of leadership.
And he hates himself, for watching.
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Bad Company
http://www.gadsby.demon.co.uk/D&DWebMenu/pages/group_2c1.html
The Ogre was catching up with them. How had he let this happen? Twice in the same day was just careless!
‘Everybody scatter!’ Hank shouted. ‘Don’t let him gain ground!’
Presto had the right idea, Diana was already leading them out. It was Bobby that was the problem; why did he always have to do this? Ever since they’d met that baby dragon, the Barbarian had been getting worse! He was difficult to rein in under usual circumstances, but he was getting almost impossible to control.
‘Bobby!’ squeaked Sheila, as she stopped to turn round. ‘Eric, don’t leave him!’
‘I’m trying!’ snapped the Cavalier, though Hank suspected he added something else, less polite, under his breath. Eric’s arms were locked under the Barbarian’s armpits, and he was pulling with all his might. But Bobby wanted a chance to use the Club, and nothing was gonna stop him!
The Ogre was almost on top of them.
Presto had looked back, the Wand in his hand, and he had that familiar, anxious look on his face. The Wand not a good weapon to rely on in the heat of a battle, Hank knew exactly what the Magician was thinking at that moment. It was the same every time they had a face off with some big, bad monster.
Hank stopped, watching at the Ogre kept stomping closer and he realised they would have to stay. Tang the Dragon was right in front of it, and already squaring up for a hopeless fight, and doing a remarkable impression of Scrappy-doo.
Inside, there was a cold, resigned feeling in the Ranger. That first day, when they’d first arrived in the Realm, he’d had the exact same feeling. He had sensed it then. He sighed.
I knew that little dragon would get us into trouble!