vignettes

[marycatelli]

This week's prompt is:
tense

Anyone can join, with a 50-word creative fiction vignette in the comments. Your vignette does not have to include the prompt term.

Comments

[marycatelli]

With a gasp of relief, Felix moved his leg and slumped against his sister.
"I still need to hold your leg in place for the other lock," said Autumn. He nodded, and tried, but Lucie and the other woman had to hold him in place.
The second chain came free.

[starshipcat.livejournal.com]

Nick considered the information. "So Biblical Hebrew is more like Russian than English?"

Mikhael Yehuda shook his head. "No, Russian has both tense and aspect, and the latter is in the form of aspectual pairs. In Biblical Hebrew, instead of having pairs of perfective and imperfective verbs like skazat'</> and govorit' which are conjugated for person and tense, you have a single verb that can be either completed or incomplete, depending on inflections."

Things like these made Nicky wonder why he'd wanted to actually learn the older form of the language, rather than merely committing the appropriate passages to memory. But he knew the answer -- because reciting them parrot-like would've left him tantalized by the similarity of the words to the modern form of the language, which he'd actually learned to speak with considerable fluency.

[starshipcat.livejournal.com]

(Trying again, with HTML fixed)

Nick considered the information. "So Biblical Hebrew is more like Russian than English?"

Mikhael Yehuda shook his head. "No, Russian has both tense and aspect, and the latter is in the form of aspectual pairs. In Biblical Hebrew, instead of having pairs of perfective and imperfective verbs like skazat' and govorit' which are conjugated for person and tense, you have a single verb that can be either completed or incomplete, depending on inflections."

Things like these made Nicky wonder why he'd wanted to actually learn the older form of the language, rather than merely committing the appropriate passages to memory. But he knew the answer -- because reciting them parrot-like would've left him tantalized by the similarity of the words to the modern form of the language, which he'd actually learned to speak with considerable fluency.

[marycatelli]

"Still, you know the story. Foresters forced young Jack Wayward to shoot at deer, and said he would forfeit his life if he failed. He was a master archer and did not. So they went to kill him, because they had said he would get gold if he succeeded."
Master Stephanos shook his head. "Unwise to create ill will like that. Their lord must not have loved them for it."
"Would not have loved them," said Grace. "Every tale I heard agreed that he killed them all to escape to the wildwood. Where he met Reynard Greenleaf. A Green Man."

[marycatelli]

"Hush, all of you," said Tom. "Come and watch the two of them in the garden."
Adam glared.
"Do be reasonable," said Ellen. "They will have to deal with his father, and the armies in her kingdom. They may be very glad of the snowstorms for the peace they grant."

[marycatelli]

Master Stephanos said something about hoping Mistress Jane had a good student.
"Oh, quite," said Mistress Jane. "She knows about bright magic and dark."
Lenore had not been prepared for Master Stephanos to stiffen at those words.
"Why don't you tell them, Lenore? If Master Stephanos had not the time."