storypaint (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
storypaint) wrote2009-12-28 01:35 pm
storypaint) wrote2009-12-28 01:35 pm
Puzzle 030 Pavel's Journey (Pavel gen)
Title: Puzzle 030 Pavel's Journey
Fandom: Professor Layton
Length: 699 words
Prompt:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
layton_exchange: Any Layton npc(s), stuck in a desert, for ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
wildrock
Pairing: Pavel gen
Other: This entire story is a poor excuse for a pun.
Excerpt: Pavel's journey had taken him through Britain, across the Channel to France, where he'd admired the Eiffel Tower before getting lost in the streets of Paris for a record thirteen hours.
Pavel had a tendency to follow his whims. That was the mark of a true explorer, he thought. His instincts would lead him where he needed to go. And where did he need to go?
Everywhere. Nowhere. The places on the map that were marked "here there be Dragons" and "made in Surrey" and "map legend." Pavel had been looking for the legend of the map for ages. One of these, days, he was sure, he'd come across the carefully marked up ground, and follow the arrows to 50 mi = 1 inch, and discover what was there. It had to be neat, since it was a legend and all.
Pavel's journey had taken him through Britain, across the Channel to France, where he'd admired the Eiffel Tower before getting lost in the streets of Paris for a record thirteen hours, considering that he spoke bits of the language (unfortunately for Pavel, he thought that he was in Germany). From there it was a trek across the Swiss Alps (where his French skills were totally unappreciated), and then he turned south.
Eventually Pavel found himself in a place that seemed nearly impossible to map, but he was determined. He trudged on and contemplated naming it, pulling his hat lower on his head to protect from the heat.
"The World of Sand?" No, too obvious. "Sandlands" sounded like it was taken. "Dnas" was slightly more creative, but somewhat more difficult to pronounce. "So Hot That The Sand Should Have Turned to Glass" was a little unwieldy and long. So Pavel pondered.
He ran into a camel somewhere in the sand... lands (not a bad temporary name, but they were more one land than anything, he thought, and he wanted to name this place appropriately). He tried French, German, Spanish, Italian, and English before discovering that the camel spoke Camel, of course, which was a fact he would totally remember for the next time he met one. It chewed its cud at him and nudged his face. He grabbed its harness and asked it where its owner was, but the camel only plodded on to the next oasis and buried its face in the water.
Well, water was a good choice. Maybe he could name this place "Land of Life-giving Water?" No, no, there wasn't really enough of it to count. That would be like naming a dry sea or something. He filled his canteen, and then dipped in his hat, for good measure, before returning it to his head.
When he got up from the shoreline, the camel was waiting, and it told him in Camel that he should take the reins. Or at least, that's what he assumed its snort meant. He really needed to brush up on his Camel before returning to this sandy place. He climbed onto its back and watched the land flow past him. Something about the camel's large feet meant that it seemed to have a better go at the sand than Pavel had by himself. He appreciated this, even if the beast was a little bumpy in the middle.
They trudged on and on, sand in all directions except above. At some point, Pavel fell asleep, lulled by the rocking of the camel. He'd been exploring the sandy place for almost two weeks now, and it usually got too cold to sleep safely at night, so he needed the rest.
But when he woke up, his left cheek was pressed into the sand, and he could just barely see the fading footprints of the camel as it had walked on without him. Pavel was an easygoing guy, but the departure of the camel made him a little sad. He hadn't seen a friendly face, animal or otherwise, for quite some time.
"You deserted me," he said, frowning, getting to his feet, and brushing sand from his shirt. There was a lot of sand to brush and it took some time, but after that he followed the camel's shallow trail.
He'd think about naming this place after he got out, he decided. An explorer didn't name an undiscovered country until it had been fully discovered.
"Desert" was sounding like a good idea, though.
Fandom: Professor Layton
Length: 699 words
Prompt:
layton_exchange: Any Layton npc(s), stuck in a desert, for wildrockPairing: Pavel gen
Other: This entire story is a poor excuse for a pun.
Excerpt: Pavel's journey had taken him through Britain, across the Channel to France, where he'd admired the Eiffel Tower before getting lost in the streets of Paris for a record thirteen hours.
Pavel had a tendency to follow his whims. That was the mark of a true explorer, he thought. His instincts would lead him where he needed to go. And where did he need to go?
Everywhere. Nowhere. The places on the map that were marked "here there be Dragons" and "made in Surrey" and "map legend." Pavel had been looking for the legend of the map for ages. One of these, days, he was sure, he'd come across the carefully marked up ground, and follow the arrows to 50 mi = 1 inch, and discover what was there. It had to be neat, since it was a legend and all.
Pavel's journey had taken him through Britain, across the Channel to France, where he'd admired the Eiffel Tower before getting lost in the streets of Paris for a record thirteen hours, considering that he spoke bits of the language (unfortunately for Pavel, he thought that he was in Germany). From there it was a trek across the Swiss Alps (where his French skills were totally unappreciated), and then he turned south.
Eventually Pavel found himself in a place that seemed nearly impossible to map, but he was determined. He trudged on and contemplated naming it, pulling his hat lower on his head to protect from the heat.
"The World of Sand?" No, too obvious. "Sandlands" sounded like it was taken. "Dnas" was slightly more creative, but somewhat more difficult to pronounce. "So Hot That The Sand Should Have Turned to Glass" was a little unwieldy and long. So Pavel pondered.
He ran into a camel somewhere in the sand... lands (not a bad temporary name, but they were more one land than anything, he thought, and he wanted to name this place appropriately). He tried French, German, Spanish, Italian, and English before discovering that the camel spoke Camel, of course, which was a fact he would totally remember for the next time he met one. It chewed its cud at him and nudged his face. He grabbed its harness and asked it where its owner was, but the camel only plodded on to the next oasis and buried its face in the water.
Well, water was a good choice. Maybe he could name this place "Land of Life-giving Water?" No, no, there wasn't really enough of it to count. That would be like naming a dry sea or something. He filled his canteen, and then dipped in his hat, for good measure, before returning it to his head.
When he got up from the shoreline, the camel was waiting, and it told him in Camel that he should take the reins. Or at least, that's what he assumed its snort meant. He really needed to brush up on his Camel before returning to this sandy place. He climbed onto its back and watched the land flow past him. Something about the camel's large feet meant that it seemed to have a better go at the sand than Pavel had by himself. He appreciated this, even if the beast was a little bumpy in the middle.
They trudged on and on, sand in all directions except above. At some point, Pavel fell asleep, lulled by the rocking of the camel. He'd been exploring the sandy place for almost two weeks now, and it usually got too cold to sleep safely at night, so he needed the rest.
But when he woke up, his left cheek was pressed into the sand, and he could just barely see the fading footprints of the camel as it had walked on without him. Pavel was an easygoing guy, but the departure of the camel made him a little sad. He hadn't seen a friendly face, animal or otherwise, for quite some time.
"You deserted me," he said, frowning, getting to his feet, and brushing sand from his shirt. There was a lot of sand to brush and it took some time, but after that he followed the camel's shallow trail.
He'd think about naming this place after he got out, he decided. An explorer didn't name an undiscovered country until it had been fully discovered.
"Desert" was sounding like a good idea, though.