I took request drabbles in my LJ, and Dorian requested "Ban-centric, things that break." The trouble I run into trying to write drabbles for GB is that they all want to expand, so I end up going through about three or four drafts before I hit an idea that'll stay at word count. This time, I just pruned the hell out of an idea that fit the theme. Don't be surprised if an expanded version shows up at some point.

"What's this for?" Ban takes the violin from the tutor, but frowns at it. His grandmother frowns at him.

"You must learn control," she says, "discipline, though perhaps that's asking too much. I certainly don't hope for refinement, despite the instrument's noble history."

Ban knows better than to talk back, but his hand tightens, and the wood creaks faintly. The tutor squawks; triumph glints in his grandmother's fierce eyes. Ban's just proven her point.

He lets go; the tutor scrambles, but his grandmother is faster, catching it before it's fallen even an inch, holding it lightly.

Proving the point again.

~END~