theunsinkablesappho

Prompt - Factor [noun]: one that actively contributes to the production of a result

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There was something she was missing. Rana studied the connections she had established, but the whole of it was not adding up. There was a factor she had not found or accounted for. None of the parties in this conspiracy she was unraveling were acting the way she would have expected. Nor did they seem to be motivated by the standard reasons. Greed, jealousy, envy, power, even revenge. Those were all to be expected. But they were all shockingly absent here. A cohesive conspiracy of seemingly random people, all acting on unknown motives. Just what was happening in her city?

Prompt - Irk [verb]: to be irritating, wearisome, or vexing to

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Leyre de Riva was deliberately trying to irk her. That was the only sensible explanation. Neve closed her eyes and rubbed her fingertips hard into her temples. It was not enough to drive away the rising pain in her head. Nor did it stop the grating, discordant, tortured screams of lute strings being plucked from filling her small apartment. There was nowhere to hide. The shy mumbling about impressing Maevaris was clearly a lie. Or de Riva was delusional. She would tolerate it, because Silva had asked her to “help the kid out.” She was such a sucker for Silva.