All that may be beloved

“You’re back early.” Jareth smiled warmly as Sarah entered the music room. “Did you get any sketching done?”

Placing her sketchbook and pencils on a table, Sarah flopped into a chair and stared at the ceiling. She listened to Jareth tuning an instrument, not dissimilar to a guitar that had more strings than seemed practical, while she gathered her thoughts.

She’d initially rejected Jareth’s suggestion to sketch designs for the ceramics project she was planning due to her lacking drawing skills. However, once he explained that she didn’t need to create the perfect rendition of a flower or landscape, she just needed to take note of a pleasing shape or a particular combination of colours that would translate well to her project, she could see the potential.

“I was down at the river by the arch.” A great tangle of Wisteria had been trained across the river to provide small animals a way to safely access both sides. Sarah wasn’t certain if it was made up of multiple plants, grafts or was some Underground variant, but when it was in flower, it was a spectacular riot of multicoloured, pastel blossoms that dipped down into the water. The way some parts of the display contrasted or blended together had resulted in her devising several colour swatches.

“I didn’t expect to see otters.” They had been swimming in the river, but they kept hopping out to tumble together on the grass.

Jareth plucked a string and adjusted a tuning peg on his instrument. “Someone kept wishing them away. Over the years we’ve managed to gain a stable population.”

“They’re adorable.” Sarah smiled as she recalled the way the otters had been happily playing together on the bank. “After a while of watching them, one would break off and scamper over to greet me.” They stood up on their hind legs, stretching out a forepaw towards Sarah, and were delighted when she extended her finger to touch them. It felt like they were shaking hands and they eventually all greeted her before resuming play.

While she couldn’t capture the otters in all their glory, she found that their sleek curves gave her the inspiration for shapes that she could incorporate into her work.

“It sounds like you had a productive session.” Jareth set his guitar aside on a stand and selected a small mandolin.

“I am pleased with the sketches.”

Jareth raised an eyebrow in encouragement as he started tuning the mandolin.

It had been an idyllic scene until Sarah heard rustling from the Wisteria. She’d assumed it was an animal using the tree to cross, but the otters had all silently slipped into the water. A violent commotion under the Wisteria had the petals shaking loose to wash away in a scattered rainbow. “The otters slid out of the water again with their lunch. I expected them to eat fish, but they had caught something else.” The sound of the adorable creatures happily crunching fairies was something that would haunt her dreams.

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labyfic — drabble #229: flowing
Part of the Balance!verse