Prompt Ficlet the First

[amari_z]

lessy37 aksed for “pie.” I took the idea of pie figuratively rather than literally. Fandom is King Arthur (not really a surprise, I'm guessing).



Bors eyed the thing in his hand with bewilderment.

When the Romans had finally called a halt for food, Bors's mouth had watered in anticipation of the smell of roasting meat. But the Romans had not even bothered to light a fire, and Bors had no idea what to do with the lumpy objects the Romans had pulled from a dirty looking sack and passed around. Nor had the snarled Latin in response to the Sarmatian boys' questions illuminated matters. Now, they were all sitting huddled on the ground, weighing the strange things in their hands.

"I think it's a rock," a small, curly-headed boy said to the silent, tattooed boy beside him. He flicked the thing with his finger and winced, and then glowered in the direction of the Romans. "Maybe we should throw it at their fat Roman heads."

The other boy ignored him. After a moment, the quiet one pulled out his water skin and poured water over the object, and so came under the scrutiny of many sets of despondent eyes. Under their collective, horrified gaze, the boy then bit into the thing and chewed slowly. His expression did not change as he swallowed.

When he did not keel over dead, Bors turned his attention back to his own—he supposed it was food. His stomach grumbled and, resigned, he reached for his water skin.

He closed his eyes and inhaled, imagining the smells of his tribe's cooking fire, and then he braced himself and took a bite.