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rainbowfic2016-09-24 03:54 pm
auguris) wrote in rainbowfic2016-09-24 03:54 pm
Blood Red 6, Candy Apple Red 16
Name: auguris
'verse: The Underground
Story: June 2010
Colors: Blood Red 6. garrote, Candy Apple Red 16. Sometimes you have to lie to protect the people we love.
Supplies and Styles: Canvas, Novelty Beads (https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/85/3a/da/853adab595fc6c3742422b502a4c6d31.jpg)
Word Count: 956
Rating: PG-13
Summary: In which Benjamin has trouble focussing on a lesson.
June 2010
"--and you should hold the wire for several minutes after they stop moving," Dani continued. She held piano wire around the training dummy's neck, the ends wrapped around her fingerless gloves. "Depending on what it is. Shapeshifters can go a solid five minutes without breathing."
Ben struggled to keep his attention on the lesson. He and twelve of his peers stood in a semi-circle around Dani, supposedly learning advanced threat neutralization techniques. Instead, his twitchy classmates held whispered conversations behind their hands.
Julia elbowed him lightly, grinning when he glanced at her. She had turned fifteen two days ago, making her the second youngest Solstice participant. He would turn fifteen at midnight, making him the very youngest Solstice reveler probably ever. Some of the older Hunters told him his birthdate was a bad omen, but he liked it; had he been born a day later, he would have to wait an entire year to earn his adulthood. And he wouldn't have class with Julia.
She was easily the most gorgeous Huntress in the compound. Skin like a sepia photo, huge amber eyes that he could get lost in and never find his way out; she smiled like she knew a secret and grinned like he deserved it. He'd seen her cry, once, when she slipped from the climbing bars and bruised her knee all the way to the bone. He'd carried her to their trainer -- Gretchen Mendoza, that year -- and she'd cried into his neck, hurt and scared and embarrassed. Since then she'd become a friend, and now... well, he wasn't sure. Being her friend was awesome and he didn't want to ruin that, but sometimes she looked at him a certain way and he wanted to do something huge and dramatic and loud.
"Is *anyone* paying attention?" Dani called out. Ben flushed and snapped his attention back to his sister. She met his gaze, frowning, then smirked. "I know you're all excited for Solstice, but ignoring your lessons won't make it come any faster." Laughter and apologies rippled through the class. "Hell with it, you're dismissed. If you run into any shifters tonight, your untimely deaths are on me."
Julia caught his elbow with hers as the rest of the class dispersed. "Have you finished your mask yet?"
"The paint is drying as we speak." Goddess, could he sound more like an idiot? He wished he had Dani's way with conversation. She could charm a room with a sentence. And she'd charmed her way into more than a few pairs of pants.
"So are you going to give me a hint or what?"
"A hint? About what?"
She leaned into him, her breasts pressing against his arm. "Gold and red," she said, before whispering a kiss on his cheek and taking off. Ben stood there, gaping, his brain a confused haze.
Dani clapped him on the back, breaking him out of -- of whatever spell Julia had put over him. "She's cute, huh? Kinda has a Keke Palmer thing going on."
"A what," Ben murmured. Gold and red. Her mask was gold and red. She wanted him to find her tonight.
"True Jackson? Nickelodeon? Am I the only one who actually uses the TV we own?"
"Yes," Ben said, finally turning to her. "I don't even know how to turn it on. Is there a button or something?"
Dani smacked his shoulder. "You're hilarious."
"Sorry about... earlier," he saw awkwardly, gesturing towards the training dummy. "I didn't mean to--"
"Nah, it's fine." She said it too quickly to mean it. "I had you until fashion CEO there distracted you."
"Fashion... what?"
"Television. Entertainment. Anything?"
"Aren't you too old to watch Nickelodeon?"
She made like she was going to smack him again and stopped at the last second. "I should be careful. Don't want to give you brain damage less than twelve hours before you're officially a grown-up."
Ben rocked on his heels. "Am I still getting pie?"
"Uh, yes? Birthdays equal pastries. For some weird reason you prefer *pie* over *cake*, so you get pie. Behave or it'll be meat pie."
"Ew. Um, do you think Soph will call? Or... something?" A card, email, *anything*. He hadn't heard from her once since she'd left last summer. It was almost a year, now.
Dani sighed. "Dunno, Benji. She was having trouble covering her phone bill last time we talked."
Ben shoved his hands in his pockets. "Is that true or are you just trying to make me feel better?"
"Can't be both?" Dani slung her arm around his shoulders. "Listen, she hasn't forgotten you. She asks after you all the time. She just has a lot more to worry about, now. The Family isn't paying her bills, and she didn't realize how many bills she was going to have. Waiting tables doesn't pay too far in the city."
The City. That was all Dani would say. Dallas? Houston? Was Soph even still in Texas? Lots of cities in America. And Mexico. And Canada. And all over the world. Maybe she was in England. She always liked those BBC shows.
He leaned into Dani. He wanted to believe her, but... he had the same cell number, the same email address. But she only every contacted Dani.
"Come on! You're finally going to be fifteen. You get to celebrate your first Solstice on your birthday. You can get your tattoo, drink, fuck, carry a gun, *and* an amazing pie all on the same day. Maybe a girlfriend, huh?" She nudged him.
"I... maybe? I know, I know, I just... last year was better. You and Soph made all these mini pies with different fillings, Mom grilled steaks... we were all here. Together."
Dani squeezed his shoulders. "Yeah. We were."
auguris'verse: The Underground
Story: June 2010
Colors: Blood Red 6. garrote, Candy Apple Red 16. Sometimes you have to lie to protect the people we love.
Supplies and Styles: Canvas, Novelty Beads (https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/85/3a/da/853adab595fc6c3742422b502a4c6d31.jpg)
Word Count: 956
Rating: PG-13
Summary: In which Benjamin has trouble focussing on a lesson.
June 2010
"--and you should hold the wire for several minutes after they stop moving," Dani continued. She held piano wire around the training dummy's neck, the ends wrapped around her fingerless gloves. "Depending on what it is. Shapeshifters can go a solid five minutes without breathing."
Ben struggled to keep his attention on the lesson. He and twelve of his peers stood in a semi-circle around Dani, supposedly learning advanced threat neutralization techniques. Instead, his twitchy classmates held whispered conversations behind their hands.
Julia elbowed him lightly, grinning when he glanced at her. She had turned fifteen two days ago, making her the second youngest Solstice participant. He would turn fifteen at midnight, making him the very youngest Solstice reveler probably ever. Some of the older Hunters told him his birthdate was a bad omen, but he liked it; had he been born a day later, he would have to wait an entire year to earn his adulthood. And he wouldn't have class with Julia.
She was easily the most gorgeous Huntress in the compound. Skin like a sepia photo, huge amber eyes that he could get lost in and never find his way out; she smiled like she knew a secret and grinned like he deserved it. He'd seen her cry, once, when she slipped from the climbing bars and bruised her knee all the way to the bone. He'd carried her to their trainer -- Gretchen Mendoza, that year -- and she'd cried into his neck, hurt and scared and embarrassed. Since then she'd become a friend, and now... well, he wasn't sure. Being her friend was awesome and he didn't want to ruin that, but sometimes she looked at him a certain way and he wanted to do something huge and dramatic and loud.
"Is *anyone* paying attention?" Dani called out. Ben flushed and snapped his attention back to his sister. She met his gaze, frowning, then smirked. "I know you're all excited for Solstice, but ignoring your lessons won't make it come any faster." Laughter and apologies rippled through the class. "Hell with it, you're dismissed. If you run into any shifters tonight, your untimely deaths are on me."
Julia caught his elbow with hers as the rest of the class dispersed. "Have you finished your mask yet?"
"The paint is drying as we speak." Goddess, could he sound more like an idiot? He wished he had Dani's way with conversation. She could charm a room with a sentence. And she'd charmed her way into more than a few pairs of pants.
"So are you going to give me a hint or what?"
"A hint? About what?"
She leaned into him, her breasts pressing against his arm. "Gold and red," she said, before whispering a kiss on his cheek and taking off. Ben stood there, gaping, his brain a confused haze.
Dani clapped him on the back, breaking him out of -- of whatever spell Julia had put over him. "She's cute, huh? Kinda has a Keke Palmer thing going on."
"A what," Ben murmured. Gold and red. Her mask was gold and red. She wanted him to find her tonight.
"True Jackson? Nickelodeon? Am I the only one who actually uses the TV we own?"
"Yes," Ben said, finally turning to her. "I don't even know how to turn it on. Is there a button or something?"
Dani smacked his shoulder. "You're hilarious."
"Sorry about... earlier," he saw awkwardly, gesturing towards the training dummy. "I didn't mean to--"
"Nah, it's fine." She said it too quickly to mean it. "I had you until fashion CEO there distracted you."
"Fashion... what?"
"Television. Entertainment. Anything?"
"Aren't you too old to watch Nickelodeon?"
She made like she was going to smack him again and stopped at the last second. "I should be careful. Don't want to give you brain damage less than twelve hours before you're officially a grown-up."
Ben rocked on his heels. "Am I still getting pie?"
"Uh, yes? Birthdays equal pastries. For some weird reason you prefer *pie* over *cake*, so you get pie. Behave or it'll be meat pie."
"Ew. Um, do you think Soph will call? Or... something?" A card, email, *anything*. He hadn't heard from her once since she'd left last summer. It was almost a year, now.
Dani sighed. "Dunno, Benji. She was having trouble covering her phone bill last time we talked."
Ben shoved his hands in his pockets. "Is that true or are you just trying to make me feel better?"
"Can't be both?" Dani slung her arm around his shoulders. "Listen, she hasn't forgotten you. She asks after you all the time. She just has a lot more to worry about, now. The Family isn't paying her bills, and she didn't realize how many bills she was going to have. Waiting tables doesn't pay too far in the city."
The City. That was all Dani would say. Dallas? Houston? Was Soph even still in Texas? Lots of cities in America. And Mexico. And Canada. And all over the world. Maybe she was in England. She always liked those BBC shows.
He leaned into Dani. He wanted to believe her, but... he had the same cell number, the same email address. But she only every contacted Dani.
"Come on! You're finally going to be fifteen. You get to celebrate your first Solstice on your birthday. You can get your tattoo, drink, fuck, carry a gun, *and* an amazing pie all on the same day. Maybe a girlfriend, huh?" She nudged him.
"I... maybe? I know, I know, I just... last year was better. You and Soph made all these mini pies with different fillings, Mom grilled steaks... we were all here. Together."
Dani squeezed his shoulders. "Yeah. We were."
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