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Lucille Fisher ([personal profile] novel_machinist) wrote in [community profile] rainbowfic2015-05-26 10:44 am

Literary / Octarine 7 - Quoth the Raven: The Delicate Apocalypse

Author: [personal profile] novel_machinist
Story: Quoth the Raven
Theme: Literary / Octarine
Word Count: 404
Summary: Follow Raven through the world she lives in.
Rating: PG
Warnings: Mentions of death
Notes: Over at Chuck Wendig's blog, “Terrible Minds” has Flash Fiction challenges. I pulled out this random title generator and rolled 5 different titles. Here's the first! If you like what you see, check out [personal profile] roost to catch my other original work. Mods, please add “story: Quoth the Raven” to the tags when you can!


Quoth the Raven: The Delicate Apocalypse

“I’m not sure what it is that I’m looking at.” The snow was crisp beneath my boots; the sound was proof that I needed every layer I’d piled on before we’d left.

In answer she shrugged.

My jaw clenched. It hurt to breathe and I didn’t want to be outside anymore. “You’re not helping me at all.”

Another shrug.

That would be the problem with the Snow Queen; she’s so fond of the frigid weather that she can’t understand why anyone else wouldn’t be. She’s also extremely fond of others and sometimes I think she’s honestly just lonely. I wouldn’t imagine that the wild is always the best companion. I can sympathize really, my people travel in groups for that very reason. However, it doesn’t mean that I’m excited to stand out here.

She seems aware that I’m only giving her Her Due and not truly there as a companion. But that’s not my nature. She should know that by now.

“You wouldn’t like it inside.” I switch tactics. “It’s not as bright, not as crisp. Hardly as shiny. There is a musty sort of smell as well; no one cleans their spaces properly.”

When the Snow Queen smiles it is never truly happy. A smile is what shows a being’s interior. When Evil smiles you can tell immediately that you need to duck and run out of there. Industry or Honesty, Night and Day, everything is given up in a smile. I realize then what it is that I am looking at.

The frost bites through the lines and the power goes away, the earth itself fades into darkness. It’s simplistic and quiet in that way that feels as though you could break it if you breathe too deeply. In remote areas of the world, peaceful slumbers will stretch out forever. She didn’t need me to identify a thing. All she wanted was a fellow witness.
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[personal profile] whitemage 2015-05-26 05:56 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, snap!

I like the feeling of emptiness conveyed, and the way you really captured "quiet Apocalypse."
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[personal profile] whitemage 2015-05-27 12:48 am (UTC)(link)
We all need those, I think.

It's kind of the positive/flip side of using characters for catharsis.

I'm excited to see more with Sister Raven. :) (And you should NPC her at LA! C'mon, I'm bringin' Crow....)
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[personal profile] delirio 2015-05-28 06:23 am (UTC)(link)
Holy crap this is GORGEOUS. Like, really beautiful and vivid the way snow is. <3

Also, I think I am the Snow Queen. ;____;
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[personal profile] finch 2015-05-28 08:37 am (UTC)(link)
I like the contrast between them, the Queen's silence and Raven's chatter, the warm/cold. Very nice.
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[personal profile] kay_brooke 2015-05-29 07:01 pm (UTC)(link)
The Snow Queen intrigues me a lot. I just really have a thing for quiet, impenetrable characters. Raven is good, too--she seems astute, and in a way she and the Snow Queen seem suited for each other.
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[personal profile] bookblather 2015-06-17 01:10 am (UTC)(link)
This... I like how peaceful it is. And how clear that it's not a good thing.