zortrana (zortrana) wrote in qaf_bunnies, @ 2008-06-02 23:26:00 |
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Current mood: | mischievous |
Entry tags: | fic response, fics |
Little Twink on the Prairie-Chapter One
Title: Little Twink on the Prairie
Author: zortrana
Author’s notes: This is a QAF/Little House on the Prairie books crossover, which is so v. v. wrong that it had to be done. This begins where “By the Shores of Silver
Warnings: This is fic is not yet rated, nor beta’ed.
Characters:
The
Craig: the fiddle-playing patriarch whose wanderlust has resulted in his long-suffering wife being dragged from pillar to post for the entirety of their marriage
Jennifer: the long-suffering wife
Justin: The Taylors’ son, who was born so premature in a little house in the Big Woods that he had to be put on the woodstove to be kept warm and alive. The unfortunate circumstances of his birth resulted in his being small for his age and leading his Pa to call him a “little half pint of cider half-drunk up” or “half-pint” for short (pun intended).
Molly: Justin’s little sister, an adorable strawberry blonde who may have to go blind for plot purposes
The Kinneys:
Jack: the town drunk
Joan: his god-fearing wife
Claire: a widower with two young hellions for sons; she bitterly serves as the town seamstress.
Brian Almanzo “Manly” Kinney, a hardworking homesteader and horseman
Mel Marcus Kinney, a fosterling taken in by the Kinneys to help with the work, Mel has a deep secret, kind of like that one Pony Express Rider on “The Young Riders”, but not quite the same, just sorta.
The Novotnys:
Vic: The cook and co-owner of the local hotel and restaurant “The Liberty House”
Debbie: His sister and the other co-owner
Michael: Debbie’s son and the best friend of “Manly” Kinney since they were both 14.
The Townsfolk:
Mr. Honeycutt: a wildcat from
Miss Peterson: The old maid schoolmarm
The Oleson twins (NO not those twins!) Nellie and Willie, the bane of the
Ben Bruckner: The town’s blacksmith and confirmed bachelor
Carl Horvath: The sheriff with an eye for the red-head slinging steaks and advice at the Liberty House.
Daphne Chanders: Half-pint’s soon-to-be-best-friend & confidant
Reverend Butterfield: Like everyone in his flock, he has a secret…
Other canon characters as needed.
DeSmet,
His blond hair shining in the bright prairie sunshine, Justin helped Pa load the last of the lumber and tar paper for their shanty into the wagon. Ma and Molly sat on the wagon seat, faces hidden deep in their bonnets. Justin leapt on top of the load while Pa climbed up next to Molly, picked up the reins, and clucked at the horses.
As they headed out of town, young Justin used the opportunity to take look at the growing town. Suddenly, he spied two beautiful chestnut horses hitched to a wagon in front of the feed store.
“Pa,” he exclaimed excitedly. “Look at those fine horses!”
“Those are the Kinney boys’ horses, half-pint. That older Kinney boy is supposed to be quite the horsemen and a real stud himself.”
“Craig!” Ma said, shocked.
As they headed out to the homestead site, Justin stared at the horses, even more intrigued.
It didn’t take more than a few hours to put up the shanty, and then it was time to plow the fields and a garden for Ma, and then it was time for the spring hay to be mowed. Justin liked helping Pa with the haying; trampling down the loads of hay on the wagon, and then resting on the load as Pa drove back to the homestead. Half-pint couldn’t help but notice that his ass was becoming nicely rounded from all the exercise. Molly had taken to calling him bubble butt-not within earshot of Ma of course! With all the work of a new homestead, Justin hadn’t been back into DeSmet at all.
Justin was trampling down the hay in the wagon, when just then, the mowing machine made a strange clattering sound! “Whoa there,” Pa yelled to Sam and David, the Christmas horses from the banks of Plum Creek. The horses stopped and Pa and Justin ran to look at the mower. Sure enough one of the teeth was broken. Pa retrieved the two parts and handed them to his half-pint.
“Justin, run into town and get this fixed at Bruckner’s Blacksmith. Get money from your Ma, and be quick about it. I can keep mowing after a fashion until you get back.”
Justin lit out toward the shanty, arriving breathlessly, his blond hair stuck to his scalp with sweat. “Ma! I got to head into town and get the mowing machine piece fixed!”
Molly looked up from where she was planting seeds. “Oh! Can I go too?” Molly loved being around people a lot more than little half-pint did and he had to admit he’d be glad for the company.
Ma considered Molly’s request and nodded, “If you can be ready as quick as he is, you can go with your brother.”
Excitedly, Molly and Justin splashed their faces with water and dusted off their clothes. Ma wrapped a nickel up in her handkerchief and tucked it into Justin’s pocket and the siblings were off on the mile-long walk into town. Molly chattered nonstop about what school would be like and the little bunnies they saw on the way and so on, but when the town loomed ahead, even she grew quiet and nervous. Bravely, Justin headed for the blacksmith shop, where he was greeted by a shirtless giant of a man with bulging muscles covered with a light sheen of sweat.
“Well,” the giant said gently, “what brings a pretty little girl and a hot little twink to my place of business?”
Justin’s mouth was dry and he couldn’t swallow, plus he was having some growth in the front of his pants. This was a sensation that was becoming more and more common and Justin really wanted to ask his Pa about it, but the time never seemed quite right.
Molly rolled her eyes. “Pa needs a mowing machine section fixed, please.”
“He’s broke one, has he?” the man, who had to be Mr. Bruckner, asked.
“Sure has,” Justin squeaked out, handing over the broken part.
“It’ll be just a few minutes; you young’uns can wait over there in the shade.”
Justin headed for the shade, hoping to cool his flushed face and get other body parts back to normal functioning.
“You are SO weird!” Molly observed. “What’s a ‘twink’ anyway?”
“A word you SHOULD not say in front of your Ma and Pa!” a familiar southern voice said behind them.
“Mr. Honeycutt!” the
Emmett pulled up an old barrel and shot the breeze with the children until Mr. Bruckner said that the mowing machine piece was ready. Justin was real glad for the distraction because his eyes kept straying back to the blacksmith at work, which would then cause that same problem in Justin’s pants.
Half-pint paid Mr. Bruckner and thanked him politely. His manners were just as nice as his sister, when he was able to speak that is.
Molly and Justin headed back, but Molly started getting tired. “Can’t we cut through the Big Slough instead of going all the way around?” She asked.
Justin looked at the tall grasses of the Big Slough with trepidation. “I reckon we can,” he said, “Pa didn’t say to stick to the road and he did say to be quick about it.” The siblings headed into the deep grass without further discussion.
Although Justin was sure he headed for where Pa was mowing as straight as an arrow flies, after a few moments he had a nervous feeling in the pit of his stomach. Or he was hungry. Sometimes it was hard to tell. He looked back at his sister and her face was pale and her eyes scared. She knew they were lost and were in for a whupping, if they ever were found.
Justin took her hand and headed out again, determinedly. The Big Slough was wetter here and the ground grasped at their shoes with a sucking sound. Justin had never been so scared or so hot. Just then he heard the sound of a mowing machine and he sped up and pulled Molly along to bright sunshine.
He stopped so suddenly that Molly crashed right into him. It wasn’t Pa they had found, but the horses he had seen in DeSmet that first day, plus two strangers. The Kinney boys’ horses, Pa had said, so this must be the Kinney boys.
The Kinney boys stopped their work and stared. The smaller boy, on the mowing machine, said “Well, look at you two prairie chickens coming out of the grass! What are you doing out here?”
“Looking for our Pa,” Justin replied, “have you seen him?”
“Who is your Pa?” The small dark-haired Kinney boy asked. “We haven’t seen anyone out here all day.”
“It’s Mr. Taylor, isn’t it?” The taller boy spoke up from the back of the wagon. “I can see him from up here. He’s over that way.” The boy pointed, still staring at half-pint.
Justin squinted up at the boy and the world spun and his pants got tighter again. This boy on the hay was the most beautiful sight Justin had ever seen! Even more beautiful than the horses hitched to the mower! The boy stared back and Justin felt rooted to the ground. Molly tugged at his sleeve impatiently, “Come on, we’ve got to get this part to Pa right now!”
Reluctantly, Justin turned and followed her toward Pa. But it felt like the taller Kinney boy’s eyes were burning a hole through the britches on his butt.
To be continued…