Disclaimer: I do not own Ratchet and Clank or any of its characters. Made these while listening to "Old Town Road" too many times for it to be considered healthy.
Raindrops
XII
Drabble 1
The outlaw sat there, absentmindedly adjusting his brown cowboy hat. It didn't sit right between the two triangular ears, but it didn't stop him from having it. The light patter of rainwater echoed over the small space, easing the bar with a steady rhythm.
"What can I get for you, kind sir?"
The yellow-furred creature laughed. "You don't have to be so polite to me, pal."
The small robot smiled as he mimicked rolling his eyes. "I am programed to be the perfect bartender slash server. I must maintain the highest levels of professionalism. Now-" the robot put down the mug he had been wiping "-what can I get for you, Ratchet?"
The Lombax chuckled. "The usual, Clank. Whiskey on the rocks and a couple of biscuits if you have any."
Clank's hands moved, and as he reached under the counter to grab the whiskey bottle, his other hand scooped up a few ice cubes with the little ice shovel. A few clicks, a second of liquid hitting the glass…
The liquor glass slid a few inches towards Ratchet. The Lombax's fingers circled it, and Ratchet breathed in a sigh before he sipped at the drink.
"Does it ever get boring in here, pal?" he asked as he set the drink down.
Clank tilted his head in slight confusion as he set some hard biscuits in front of his friend. "I am content here."
Sincerity crossed the Lombax's face, and a concerned frown appeared on his mouth. "Well, you got a job and a roof over your head, but do you ever want a little excitement?" Ratchet nodded towards the saloon's regulars. "No offense to them, but they don't seem like the lively types."
Clank looked towards the regulars, a mimicked sigh coming from him as he studied the quiet group of older Cazars. "…Indeed. They are wonderful creatures, though they often keep to themselves." He picked up the mug and the towel and went back to wiping the mug clean. "I do not talk much with anyone other than stray visitors like yourself."
Silence settled between them as the Lombax ate his food. Ratchet nibbled on his biscuits and sipped at his whiskey, and Clank hummed as he wiped another glass clean.
Ratchet shook his head, then downed the rest of his whiskey. "Alright," he said as the regulars got up and left the saloon, "now that they're off, let's head out."
Clank looked to the Lombax, confused. "I beg your pardon?"
Ratchet shook his head again. "It isn't right for you to be cooped up in here all day, especially when you don't get to talk to people that much." He waved his arm, gesturing Clank to follow. "Come on, lemme take you out for a little bit. Change the pace and give you a little excitement."
The robot held up a finger. "I am against committing criminal activity, and I will not go if there is something illegal planned."
"Oh, no," Ratchet said as he held up his hands. "I wasn't planning on that. You've been good enough to me by letting me into this bar anyway. I was actually planning on taking you out on a ride. I dunno if you've got a horse, but there's an old road outside of town that's good for long walks. If you want to spend some time and have fun, then it's what I can do."
Clank paused for a moment. He glanced at the clock on the wall, then nodded toward his friend, a small smile on his face. "I can spare an hour. There are not many customers that come in around this time, so I may have some time to spend with a friend."
Ratchet smiled. "That works with me. Come on pal, let's go for a ride."
Drabble 2
The rain pattered down on the Veldin desert, blanketing the landscape and wetting the cracked sands on Veldin's surface. Water dribbled through the numerous fissures on the plateau, falling to the deeper levels of the planet and failing to heal the sun-scarred sands. Light thunder, with almost no lightning, rumbled overhead, a clap that vibrated through the air but didn't shake the earth as some of the thunders in Veldin's other storms tended to do…
The Lombax shifted on Aphelion, adjusting the pack and sleeping bag behind him. Pots and pans clanked together, noise echoing out onto the flat land and into the cloudy atmosphere. Rations, tucked away safely from the storm, crinkled under the tarp the Lombax had laid over the satchel. Underneath him, the robotic horse nickered and whinnied in complaint, but she made do with the Lombax's shifting.
Her hooves clopped against the ground as they walked the vast desert. The Lombax gazed out at the vast nothingness in front of him from under his black cowboy hat, the rims protecting his eyes from getting wet. His gloves thumbed the reins, uncomfortable now that they weren't tinkering on an invention.
He had been searching for days.
The long journey was coming close to its end, though it hadn't been an easy one to take in the first place. Days had been spent asking people where Kyzil Plateau was and how he could get there, the directions he had gotten so vague and confusing he felt as if he had crossed the entirety of Veldin except the one place he actually wanted to go to. After almost a month of searching for the Plateau, his patience had worn almost completely away.
This path however… A lot of hard-earned bolts had been spent to wrangle information on this route from the stubborn smuggler that toured the planet every now and again. He could still feel the frustration that had brewed in his veins when he had pressed the bolts a little too hard into the open palm of the smirking creature.
What he had been promised, the town atop the Kyzil Plateau, appeared in his vision. The thin outline of the town sharpened as he drew close, and as the rain began to lessen to a faint mist, the Lombax spurred Aphelion into a breakneck gallop.
The two of them tore into the town before the end of the hour. Aphelion heaved and panted as she pounded her metal hooves against the puddled ground, splashing through the emptied streets. The Lombax guided her to the saloon at the end of the row of buildings, green eyes blinking back the whipping winds and stray raindrops.
He was off Aphelion before she even stopped.
It was a quick and hurried rush to tie her reins to the stable and hook her up to a rest station. The Lombax took care of her as best he could before rushing around to the front of the saloon, the warm lights spilling out onto the street.
"Hey…" someone murmured inside. "Ain't that that Ratchet outlaw?"
As the doors swung open, the Lombax's eyes immediately locked on the robot bartender hanging little mug-shaped decorations and striped ornaments onto the pine tree at the other end of the bar.
Clank's expression changed. The miserable look that had been on it a second before washed away, and as his optics widened and a massive, surprised… elated smile grew on his mouthpiece.
Ratchet returned the smile, arms spreading open for a hug. "Merry Christmas, pal…"
I originally made that first one in... gosh, it came around in May. I didn't like it at the time, so I shelved it and decided to redo it later. Fast forward to now, where I wrote out a second drabble in the Western AU setting that feels a lot better to me. Why did I include both? There aren't that many AU drabbles in this, and since I want to show myself how I write in two different styles.
First style, (all styles learned from my Fiction class): Minimalism. The main style I write in, and something that focuses in on certain moments in characters' lives. I prefer it any day over the other style, though I've learned there are some kinds of stories that work a lot better in the other style. Second style, Maximalism. It's like a summary of life events, or something to that nature, where the pacing of the story can speed up due to numerous periods of time being covered in mere sentences. Problems occur when the two are mixed together and aren't balanced properly... then it can read like "start-then-stop" traffic.
I think Maximalism worked a lot better for the drabble I was trying to write, and the second drabble is one I'm more proud of. I guess that's one piece of wisdom I can impart through this chapter... different styles cause different stories.
The only other big news thing I have relating to this story is that this story now has a deadline as to when it will be finished. I want to participate in Marinette March 2020, and that means that I will need to finish one-two of my multichaptered stories before I start writing anything related to the month. I'll need the month of February to prep for it and write out all the stories (thirty one of them I think oof), and then I'll be able to publish what I have in March. I refuse to start more projects without finishing one, so this story will be ending on February 1st, or at the very latest, the end of the first week of February. Nine-ish weeks, seven-ish chapters left to write. If I miss a weekly post, then one week may have multiple, but this project will be done by that day. Feel free to bully me if I am not at Chapter 18 or 19 by January 30th.
Super long author's note, but one that is needed. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and as always, an enormous thank you to those that write me consistent reviews. I cannot, and I mean this every time I say it, thank you enough for all the love y'all give my stuff. Thank you thank you thank you, and I hope to see you all in the next chapter! :D
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