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rainbowfic2016-03-22 04:57 pm
auguris) wrote in rainbowfic2016-03-22 04:57 pm
Summertime Blues 13, Dirt Brown 1, Transparent 3
Name: auguris
'verse: The Underground
Story: September 1994
Colors: Summertime Blues 13. Lacrimae Rerum, Dirt Brown 1. Autumn, Transparent 3. Sylph
Supplies and Styles: Canvas, Seed Beads, Acrylic (price),
Word Count: 1888
Rating: R for language
Summary: Marisa ensures that her third child is a boy.
September, 1994
The address Marisa had received over the phone led her to what amounted to a road-side shack and a small deserted parking lot. If not for the blinking neon "Psychic" and "Tarot Readings" signs, she would have assumed no one was home.
Barbara raised her brows. "Gotta be honest, this is not what I was expecting."
"Hey, you gave me the number in the first place."
"Sure, but I've never... taken advantage of this particular contact." She shrugged. "You want us to come in with you or wait out here?"
Marisa took a deep breath. "Wait out here. Keep Sophia busy." She twisted in her seat to check on the baby. She had spent most of the ride asleep, but now she gazed at Marisa with her big blue-green eyes. Eyes like an oncoming storm.
"I'll be right back, sweetie. Be good for Auntie Barb."
Sophia smiled and gurgled. When she wasn't hungry, tired, or in need of a diaper change, she was happy as anything. Just liked the sound of her Mom's voice.
Marisa smiled softly, then turned back around. "If I'm not back in half, come in guns blazing."
"I have a switchblade."
Marisa knew she was joking but said, "there's a .45 in the glove compartment."
"Loaded?" Marisa nodded. "With kids in the car?"
"You've been gone too long. Things retaliate. They're safer with a gun in the car than not."
Barb sighed. "Fair enough. We'll be here."
Marisa grabbed her tote bag and made her way to the shack while Barb took Sophia to the mostly-dead grass field that surrounded the place. Sweat immediately gathered at her temple. Autumn had retreated in the face of Indian Summer, and Marisa's tank-top and jeans felt like too many layers after the car's a/c.
The weathered wooden door opened to a tiny front room, the air inside surprisingly cool. One of those table lamps with the multi-colored glass shade sat alone atop a small counter. The counter itself sat in front of an open doorway, chunky beads hanging in place of an actual door. Thick black curtains covered the two windows. The single shelf on the back wall held boxed tarot cards, a couple of small crystal balls, and a stack of Ouija boards.
As Marisa opened her mouth to call out, a strong breeze pushed her towards the back room. The beads swayed. She grabbed onto the counter and swiveled, but found herself still alone in the room. The breeze came again, from absolutely nowhere. Coffee and scrambled eggs swam in a pool of dread at the pit of her stomach. She almost left -- fuck it, raise an army of baby girls, grow the Lawson name into a tribe unto itself -- but she'd come this far. Her mother never gave up, neither would she.
Jaw set, she leaped the counter and shoved the beads aside, marching into the back room. A single candle stood in the middle of a small round table. One chair sat empty; on the other sat a hooded person, their hands folded in front of them. Waiting. Marisa steeled herself and sat, every muscle a taut piano wire.
The person pulled their hood back, revealing... Marisa couldn't tell. Long blond hair, sky-blue eyes, square jaw. Their clothes too bulky to discern a body shape. They smirked. "Marisa Lawson."
She started. "I... yes. And you are?"
"Alex." Great. They could be a woman with a deep voice or a man with a high voice. "I hope my sylph friends didn't scare you. Cheaper than hiring a corporeal assistant, you see."
"Right," Marisa murmured. Sylphs and similar creatures occupied a gray area the Family didn't discuss. As long as they kept to themselves, it was easier to focus on the clearly evil beasts of the world. "I was told to bring a gift." She pulled out a bottle of Paul Hobbs white. She had no idea if it was any good, but for sixty bucks it better be.
"Excellent," Alex hissed, pulling the bottle over and inspecting the label. "You know, I've always wanted to be one of those wine tasters. Someli-somethings. A professional booze drinker. Ha!" Alex tucked the bottle into their outfit, and it pretty much disappeared. No outline, nothing. Alex could have an AK-47 under there for all Marisa knew.
"On to business," Alex sung. "You want something."
Marisa swallowed. "I'm pregnant. I need it to be a boy."
"A Hunter boy-child? That's like the opposite of what I was expecting. You sure you want a boy-child? Don't you usually kill those ones off?"
No I don't gotdamn want a boy-child! "Unique circumstances. Do you... do you need to know?"
Alex waved their hand. "Nah. Just making sure I heard you right. How long have you been pregnant?"
"I'm not sure. Less than a month. I just missed my period."
Alex hummed and stood, their clothes adjusting into an androgynous lump. They leaned across the table and put their hand over Marisa's belly. She jumped, but held still. Alex bit their lip, then nodded. "Yup. Preggers." They sat back down. "I wish I could tell you it's a boy. I wish you could skip all this."
Marisa folded her arms. "Do you? Don't you get something out of this?"
"Besides neat expensive wine? No. I provide a service because... because it's my destiny. My duty. Whichever. But magic isn't cheap, and I don't pay the price for it outside of being fuck-all tired after a working. You want to twist fate around, things change on you. You gotta give something to get something. Law of conservation, like. A twist like this, you'll probably lose something important. Real important. Like something alive won't be anymore."
Shit. "Would it... I have two daughters. Seven and one. Would fate take one of them?"
Alex extended their hands across the table, palms up. "Place your hands in mine." Marisa complied. Alex closed their eyes, humming tonelessly. They immediately gasped, eyes wide, choking. Marisa hurried over, not sure what she could do to help. Alex nearly collapsed, hand gripping Marisa's forearm. They clutched their chest, their entire body shaking.
"No," Alex finally said. "Holy mother of Hades. No. Fate won't lay one spidery finger on those girls. Whoa."
Marisa let Alex pull together before sitting back down. "Is that good or bad?"
"Lady, I got nothin'. It just is." Alex shuddered. "Listen. Uh. I don't know exactly what will happen, but Fate -- I mean really real Fate, three sisters and strings and all that -- is spun real tight around your family. Messing with it is going to piss somebody off real, real bad."
Marisa leaned back. She only had Barb's word to go on -- and she trusted Barbara with her life, with the life of her children, but that didn't mean she was right. "How much can you see? Am I fated to raise dozens of little girls?"
Alex shrugged. "Dunno. Do know that the little one in there is meant to be one. Well, at least assigned female. Sometimes our bits and our brains don't match up." Alex grinned. "Take it that's not what you want to hear."
Marisa spoke carefully, "I wouldn't mind, I just... need a baby boy. A baby with boy bits, at least. What he does with his life after that is up to him. Once he's old enough to make that sort of decision, I mean."
"I like that answer." Alex scrubbed their face. "All right, then. Lie down on the couch. I need to prepare."
Marisa found the high-backed couch in the back corner of the room; had it been there when she entered? The candle-light didn't quite reach here. It didn't need to be magic, not the real kind. Just the sleight-of-hand kind. What stage magicians did to entertain kids.
She counted in her head; about ten minutes passed before Alex returned. "Let your friend know we might be awhile. Cute kid. Looks like her dad."
Marisa shot up. "How the fuck do you know--"
Alex raised their brows. "Witch, remember?" They stood still until Marisa relaxed. "I saw parts and pieces when I peeked at your fate strings. I don't judge, I just observe."
Alex pulled a chair over and set a couple of bags and a small stone bowl onto the seat. They sat cross-legged on the floor. "Ever meditate?"
"Yeah. Part of my training."
"Cool. Start doing that now. Close your eyes, try to relax, all that."
Marisa took a deep breath, held it, then let it out. She shut her eyes. She heard Alex blow the candle out. She willed her body to relax: first her toes, then her feet, then her ankles, slowly relaxing her body until she reached her shoulders, her neck. The couch seemed to open up to her and she sank into it, surrounded by smooth, plush fabric.
She dreamed. Dani and Sophia running in the lawn, shrieking and laughing. A toddler lumbered after them, little legs barely keeping him or her upright. She held a Long Island in her hand, cold as winter snow and half-consumed. The girls waved, she waved back. Something wet hit her thigh. She looked down. A large, bloody hole in her abdomen oozed black blood. She reached inside. Dozens of pomegranate seeds spilled out of her. One of the girls screamed. She stood, spreading seeds across the porch. Dark angry clouds billowed in the distance, approaching faster than a train, lighting and rain blasting from the sky. Marisa ran to the kids, fell, screamed--
--as she sat up, Alex's hands tight on her shoulders. She pushed the witch away and yanked her shirt up. No wound. No seeds.
"Easy," Alex murmured. They lit a candle and set it on the chair. "Easy, huntress, easy. You're awake. It's done."
Marisa heaved in air, gripping her belly. "Something went wrong."
"Nothing went wrong. You went swimming in your subconscious and found a nasty little nightmare, that's all. The deed is done. Your boy-child grows healthy inside you." Alex rubbed their face. "And I am freaking exhausted. I'd show you out, but I don't think I'll make it that far." They chuckled. "You're fine, Marisa Lawson. Everything is just fine."
"No, it isn't." Marisa stood, gripping the back of the couch until her legs felt steady. "I got what I wanted. I'll get what I deserve."
Alex leaned their head against the couch. "Don't be so pessimistic." They crawled onto the couch once Marisa moved away. "Everything must balance. That's not good or bad, it just is. Take care of those kids, okay? They're going to need you."
Marisa hugged herself. "For as long as I'm around." She paused at the doorway. "I... don't know if this is rude or not, but. Are you a woman or a man?"
Alex laughed. "I'm a witch."
Marisa stared, blinking rapidly, then laughed. "Fair enough." She left the shack on unsteady legs. The sun hung low in the sky. Barb waved at her from the grassy area. Sophia sat in her lap, clapping her hands against Barb's.
"You look tired." Barb stood, Sophia against her chest. "Hey, tell Mama who I am."
"Baba!" Sophia grinned huge. She reached for Marisa. "Mama!"
Marisa held Sophia to her chest, eyes closed. "Good job, baby girl."
auguris'verse: The Underground
Story: September 1994
Colors: Summertime Blues 13. Lacrimae Rerum, Dirt Brown 1. Autumn, Transparent 3. Sylph
Supplies and Styles: Canvas, Seed Beads, Acrylic (price),
Word Count: 1888
Rating: R for language
Summary: Marisa ensures that her third child is a boy.
September, 1994
The address Marisa had received over the phone led her to what amounted to a road-side shack and a small deserted parking lot. If not for the blinking neon "Psychic" and "Tarot Readings" signs, she would have assumed no one was home.
Barbara raised her brows. "Gotta be honest, this is not what I was expecting."
"Hey, you gave me the number in the first place."
"Sure, but I've never... taken advantage of this particular contact." She shrugged. "You want us to come in with you or wait out here?"
Marisa took a deep breath. "Wait out here. Keep Sophia busy." She twisted in her seat to check on the baby. She had spent most of the ride asleep, but now she gazed at Marisa with her big blue-green eyes. Eyes like an oncoming storm.
"I'll be right back, sweetie. Be good for Auntie Barb."
Sophia smiled and gurgled. When she wasn't hungry, tired, or in need of a diaper change, she was happy as anything. Just liked the sound of her Mom's voice.
Marisa smiled softly, then turned back around. "If I'm not back in half, come in guns blazing."
"I have a switchblade."
Marisa knew she was joking but said, "there's a .45 in the glove compartment."
"Loaded?" Marisa nodded. "With kids in the car?"
"You've been gone too long. Things retaliate. They're safer with a gun in the car than not."
Barb sighed. "Fair enough. We'll be here."
Marisa grabbed her tote bag and made her way to the shack while Barb took Sophia to the mostly-dead grass field that surrounded the place. Sweat immediately gathered at her temple. Autumn had retreated in the face of Indian Summer, and Marisa's tank-top and jeans felt like too many layers after the car's a/c.
The weathered wooden door opened to a tiny front room, the air inside surprisingly cool. One of those table lamps with the multi-colored glass shade sat alone atop a small counter. The counter itself sat in front of an open doorway, chunky beads hanging in place of an actual door. Thick black curtains covered the two windows. The single shelf on the back wall held boxed tarot cards, a couple of small crystal balls, and a stack of Ouija boards.
As Marisa opened her mouth to call out, a strong breeze pushed her towards the back room. The beads swayed. She grabbed onto the counter and swiveled, but found herself still alone in the room. The breeze came again, from absolutely nowhere. Coffee and scrambled eggs swam in a pool of dread at the pit of her stomach. She almost left -- fuck it, raise an army of baby girls, grow the Lawson name into a tribe unto itself -- but she'd come this far. Her mother never gave up, neither would she.
Jaw set, she leaped the counter and shoved the beads aside, marching into the back room. A single candle stood in the middle of a small round table. One chair sat empty; on the other sat a hooded person, their hands folded in front of them. Waiting. Marisa steeled herself and sat, every muscle a taut piano wire.
The person pulled their hood back, revealing... Marisa couldn't tell. Long blond hair, sky-blue eyes, square jaw. Their clothes too bulky to discern a body shape. They smirked. "Marisa Lawson."
She started. "I... yes. And you are?"
"Alex." Great. They could be a woman with a deep voice or a man with a high voice. "I hope my sylph friends didn't scare you. Cheaper than hiring a corporeal assistant, you see."
"Right," Marisa murmured. Sylphs and similar creatures occupied a gray area the Family didn't discuss. As long as they kept to themselves, it was easier to focus on the clearly evil beasts of the world. "I was told to bring a gift." She pulled out a bottle of Paul Hobbs white. She had no idea if it was any good, but for sixty bucks it better be.
"Excellent," Alex hissed, pulling the bottle over and inspecting the label. "You know, I've always wanted to be one of those wine tasters. Someli-somethings. A professional booze drinker. Ha!" Alex tucked the bottle into their outfit, and it pretty much disappeared. No outline, nothing. Alex could have an AK-47 under there for all Marisa knew.
"On to business," Alex sung. "You want something."
Marisa swallowed. "I'm pregnant. I need it to be a boy."
"A Hunter boy-child? That's like the opposite of what I was expecting. You sure you want a boy-child? Don't you usually kill those ones off?"
No I don't gotdamn want a boy-child! "Unique circumstances. Do you... do you need to know?"
Alex waved their hand. "Nah. Just making sure I heard you right. How long have you been pregnant?"
"I'm not sure. Less than a month. I just missed my period."
Alex hummed and stood, their clothes adjusting into an androgynous lump. They leaned across the table and put their hand over Marisa's belly. She jumped, but held still. Alex bit their lip, then nodded. "Yup. Preggers." They sat back down. "I wish I could tell you it's a boy. I wish you could skip all this."
Marisa folded her arms. "Do you? Don't you get something out of this?"
"Besides neat expensive wine? No. I provide a service because... because it's my destiny. My duty. Whichever. But magic isn't cheap, and I don't pay the price for it outside of being fuck-all tired after a working. You want to twist fate around, things change on you. You gotta give something to get something. Law of conservation, like. A twist like this, you'll probably lose something important. Real important. Like something alive won't be anymore."
Shit. "Would it... I have two daughters. Seven and one. Would fate take one of them?"
Alex extended their hands across the table, palms up. "Place your hands in mine." Marisa complied. Alex closed their eyes, humming tonelessly. They immediately gasped, eyes wide, choking. Marisa hurried over, not sure what she could do to help. Alex nearly collapsed, hand gripping Marisa's forearm. They clutched their chest, their entire body shaking.
"No," Alex finally said. "Holy mother of Hades. No. Fate won't lay one spidery finger on those girls. Whoa."
Marisa let Alex pull together before sitting back down. "Is that good or bad?"
"Lady, I got nothin'. It just is." Alex shuddered. "Listen. Uh. I don't know exactly what will happen, but Fate -- I mean really real Fate, three sisters and strings and all that -- is spun real tight around your family. Messing with it is going to piss somebody off real, real bad."
Marisa leaned back. She only had Barb's word to go on -- and she trusted Barbara with her life, with the life of her children, but that didn't mean she was right. "How much can you see? Am I fated to raise dozens of little girls?"
Alex shrugged. "Dunno. Do know that the little one in there is meant to be one. Well, at least assigned female. Sometimes our bits and our brains don't match up." Alex grinned. "Take it that's not what you want to hear."
Marisa spoke carefully, "I wouldn't mind, I just... need a baby boy. A baby with boy bits, at least. What he does with his life after that is up to him. Once he's old enough to make that sort of decision, I mean."
"I like that answer." Alex scrubbed their face. "All right, then. Lie down on the couch. I need to prepare."
Marisa found the high-backed couch in the back corner of the room; had it been there when she entered? The candle-light didn't quite reach here. It didn't need to be magic, not the real kind. Just the sleight-of-hand kind. What stage magicians did to entertain kids.
She counted in her head; about ten minutes passed before Alex returned. "Let your friend know we might be awhile. Cute kid. Looks like her dad."
Marisa shot up. "How the fuck do you know--"
Alex raised their brows. "Witch, remember?" They stood still until Marisa relaxed. "I saw parts and pieces when I peeked at your fate strings. I don't judge, I just observe."
Alex pulled a chair over and set a couple of bags and a small stone bowl onto the seat. They sat cross-legged on the floor. "Ever meditate?"
"Yeah. Part of my training."
"Cool. Start doing that now. Close your eyes, try to relax, all that."
Marisa took a deep breath, held it, then let it out. She shut her eyes. She heard Alex blow the candle out. She willed her body to relax: first her toes, then her feet, then her ankles, slowly relaxing her body until she reached her shoulders, her neck. The couch seemed to open up to her and she sank into it, surrounded by smooth, plush fabric.
She dreamed. Dani and Sophia running in the lawn, shrieking and laughing. A toddler lumbered after them, little legs barely keeping him or her upright. She held a Long Island in her hand, cold as winter snow and half-consumed. The girls waved, she waved back. Something wet hit her thigh. She looked down. A large, bloody hole in her abdomen oozed black blood. She reached inside. Dozens of pomegranate seeds spilled out of her. One of the girls screamed. She stood, spreading seeds across the porch. Dark angry clouds billowed in the distance, approaching faster than a train, lighting and rain blasting from the sky. Marisa ran to the kids, fell, screamed--
--as she sat up, Alex's hands tight on her shoulders. She pushed the witch away and yanked her shirt up. No wound. No seeds.
"Easy," Alex murmured. They lit a candle and set it on the chair. "Easy, huntress, easy. You're awake. It's done."
Marisa heaved in air, gripping her belly. "Something went wrong."
"Nothing went wrong. You went swimming in your subconscious and found a nasty little nightmare, that's all. The deed is done. Your boy-child grows healthy inside you." Alex rubbed their face. "And I am freaking exhausted. I'd show you out, but I don't think I'll make it that far." They chuckled. "You're fine, Marisa Lawson. Everything is just fine."
"No, it isn't." Marisa stood, gripping the back of the couch until her legs felt steady. "I got what I wanted. I'll get what I deserve."
Alex leaned their head against the couch. "Don't be so pessimistic." They crawled onto the couch once Marisa moved away. "Everything must balance. That's not good or bad, it just is. Take care of those kids, okay? They're going to need you."
Marisa hugged herself. "For as long as I'm around." She paused at the doorway. "I... don't know if this is rude or not, but. Are you a woman or a man?"
Alex laughed. "I'm a witch."
Marisa stared, blinking rapidly, then laughed. "Fair enough." She left the shack on unsteady legs. The sun hung low in the sky. Barb waved at her from the grassy area. Sophia sat in her lap, clapping her hands against Barb's.
"You look tired." Barb stood, Sophia against her chest. "Hey, tell Mama who I am."
"Baba!" Sophia grinned huge. She reached for Marisa. "Mama!"
Marisa held Sophia to her chest, eyes closed. "Good job, baby girl."