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rainbowfic2023-08-14 01:08 am
wallwalker) wrote in rainbowfic2023-08-14 01:08 am
Fluorite 19
Author: Wallwalker
Story: Lost
'Verse: All's Fair in War and Confidence
Colors: Fluorite 19: Lost/Familiar Path
Supply: Modeling Clay (Polyam Shipping Day - Explore), Seed Beads
Word Count: 1128
Rating: General
Content notes: None.
Summary: A trip through a long, apparently featureless grassland was causing one of the squad's members to worry.
Notes: Same group as in Misplaced, they'll end up being side characters who haven't entered the main story yet.
Luisa was quiet as she heard her companions discussing their current situation. She had considered saying something when the conversation had begun to grow heated, but she'd decided against it. It was getting late, and someone had to deal with the food.
There had not been much to forage on the way there. Most of what they'd passed through was tall green grass, with little more than a few rocks to break up the monotony, and a few muddy spots from a recent storm. It was very pretty, she thought, in its own way. But that didn't make it any less empty.
She had busied herself with building a fire as soon as they'd finally made camp, just after sunset; Matteo had insisted they keep travelling as long as there was light. He seemed to be the only person who was fully comfortable there. Gemma in particular was fidgeting, looking very much like she had something to say; Luisa remembered her saying something about not liking the sky, especially when it was dark and cloudy. The stars helped a little, she'd said once. Michele had proven why he was in charge most of the time - he was supposed to be their commander, but things became much less formal when the four were alone together. But he was still good at directing them when they needed it, and he was the one who'd finally told them to stop once it was nearly dark, even though it seemed that Matteo would've kept on going, given the choice.
She was starting to wonder when they'd ever get out of the fields. She wasn't really worried yet, since they still had enough rations and she was pretty good at making stew, but if they couldn't find some sign of civilization soon, they'd be in trouble. She knew she wasn't the only one, although no one had said anything.
Luisa wasn't at all surprised when Gemma was the first to speak up about their situation. "Matteo," she had said once the fire was burning, apparently as calmly as she could manage, "we are lost."
The big man grinned at her, teeth bright behind his thick black beard. "Don't be so negative," he said, "we can't possibly be lost."
Behind her Luisa could see Michele move, reaching to steady Gemma with a gentle hand on her shoulder. Gemma got angry quickly, certainly more quickly than her squadmates; she liked to joke that it was because she was the smallest of the three, so the anger boiled over faster. Of the four of them, everyone knew she was the deadliest; there was a reason they called her the Storm-Hearted. She didn't usually get so angry at her squadmates, though. She must've been really worried.
"What are you talking about? We can't see the stars, and I can't figure out where we are on the map. There aren't any landmarks here, it's so flat -"
"Well, of course they are, they're plains!" Matteo's cheer was usually infectious; Luisa usually found herself laughing along with him. But it was being smothered by Gemma's anger and fear - and yes, she was afraid, she'd deny it over and over but she couldn't hide it from the people who really cared about her. Even Matteo had to be able to see it, she thought. "And we can't be lost, because we're exploring - what kind of sense does it make to say that an explorer is lost?"
Luisa pulled the food away from the fire, glancing up to see that Gemma was going red. "Matteo," she said quietly, "I don't think you should be joking right now,"
"I agree." It was the first thing Michele had said since the argument had started; he was not the sort to speak up over small things. Which meant he was worried too. Luisa wanted to reach up and comfort him, or comfort Gemma, or go over to Matteo and try to pull him aside to tell him he was trying to be funny when he shouldn't be. But she had to watch the food. If they were lost, they needed to be able to eat until they could get back to safety. "Matteo, are we lost or not?"
She saw Matteo's shoulders slump. "Sorry," he said, "I was... I should've stopped joking around. No, we're not lost."
"How do you know? There's nothing here!" Gemma stretched out her arm, regarding the expanses of green land around them. She still sounded slightly panicked, though Luisa could see that Michele had both hands on her shoulders. He wasn't going to try to hold her back - they all knew better than to try that - but Luisa knew that it kept Gemma calm.
"I spent a lot of time out here when I was growing up. It hasn't changed much." He probably would've been blushing, but his skin was too dark for Luisa to see it change from there. Almost as dark as his hair, though Luisa knew from experience it was much softer - but she stopped herself from thinking of anything like that. It wasn't the time. "We passed a boulder I recognized about twenty minutes back. Another few hours' travel tomorrow morning, we'll reach the road to Arazzi."
Gemma took a breath. "Right. Fine." She shook her head. "Okay."
"I'm sorry," Matteo said, more seriously. "I thought I'd told you."
"You probably did, I was just...." She shook her head. "It's so empty here. There's nothing but sky and grass and it's weird."
Luisa found herself nodding along. A few years ago she couldn't have imagined walking this far and not seeing a single building.
"Well," he said, "I promise you, we're not lost. And there's more here than you might expect, once you get the know the place." His smile came back, a bit more subdued that time. "If you ever do want to explore it, we can come back."
"I don't know," Gemma said, looking up again. "There's... a lot of sky here."
Luisa cleared her throat. "I could bring a tent," she said softly, "if it would help."
"As long as it's a big one," Gemma answered, apparently without thinking - then burst out laughing, along with Matteo. Michele was half-turned away, but Luisa could tell he was smiling a little bit too. He seemed happier now that they'd all been honest with each other; she remembered almost never seeing him smile.
Things calmed down a bit after that, and the four of them sat quietly, eating stew out of the stew pot as they prepared to set up what shelter they had. She might have to ask them to take Matteo up on his offer, she thought. It was nice to go exploring with the people she loved.
Story: Lost
'Verse: All's Fair in War and Confidence
Colors: Fluorite 19: Lost/Familiar Path
Supply: Modeling Clay (Polyam Shipping Day - Explore), Seed Beads
Word Count: 1128
Rating: General
Content notes: None.
Summary: A trip through a long, apparently featureless grassland was causing one of the squad's members to worry.
Notes: Same group as in Misplaced, they'll end up being side characters who haven't entered the main story yet.
Luisa was quiet as she heard her companions discussing their current situation. She had considered saying something when the conversation had begun to grow heated, but she'd decided against it. It was getting late, and someone had to deal with the food.
There had not been much to forage on the way there. Most of what they'd passed through was tall green grass, with little more than a few rocks to break up the monotony, and a few muddy spots from a recent storm. It was very pretty, she thought, in its own way. But that didn't make it any less empty.
She had busied herself with building a fire as soon as they'd finally made camp, just after sunset; Matteo had insisted they keep travelling as long as there was light. He seemed to be the only person who was fully comfortable there. Gemma in particular was fidgeting, looking very much like she had something to say; Luisa remembered her saying something about not liking the sky, especially when it was dark and cloudy. The stars helped a little, she'd said once. Michele had proven why he was in charge most of the time - he was supposed to be their commander, but things became much less formal when the four were alone together. But he was still good at directing them when they needed it, and he was the one who'd finally told them to stop once it was nearly dark, even though it seemed that Matteo would've kept on going, given the choice.
She was starting to wonder when they'd ever get out of the fields. She wasn't really worried yet, since they still had enough rations and she was pretty good at making stew, but if they couldn't find some sign of civilization soon, they'd be in trouble. She knew she wasn't the only one, although no one had said anything.
Luisa wasn't at all surprised when Gemma was the first to speak up about their situation. "Matteo," she had said once the fire was burning, apparently as calmly as she could manage, "we are lost."
The big man grinned at her, teeth bright behind his thick black beard. "Don't be so negative," he said, "we can't possibly be lost."
Behind her Luisa could see Michele move, reaching to steady Gemma with a gentle hand on her shoulder. Gemma got angry quickly, certainly more quickly than her squadmates; she liked to joke that it was because she was the smallest of the three, so the anger boiled over faster. Of the four of them, everyone knew she was the deadliest; there was a reason they called her the Storm-Hearted. She didn't usually get so angry at her squadmates, though. She must've been really worried.
"What are you talking about? We can't see the stars, and I can't figure out where we are on the map. There aren't any landmarks here, it's so flat -"
"Well, of course they are, they're plains!" Matteo's cheer was usually infectious; Luisa usually found herself laughing along with him. But it was being smothered by Gemma's anger and fear - and yes, she was afraid, she'd deny it over and over but she couldn't hide it from the people who really cared about her. Even Matteo had to be able to see it, she thought. "And we can't be lost, because we're exploring - what kind of sense does it make to say that an explorer is lost?"
Luisa pulled the food away from the fire, glancing up to see that Gemma was going red. "Matteo," she said quietly, "I don't think you should be joking right now,"
"I agree." It was the first thing Michele had said since the argument had started; he was not the sort to speak up over small things. Which meant he was worried too. Luisa wanted to reach up and comfort him, or comfort Gemma, or go over to Matteo and try to pull him aside to tell him he was trying to be funny when he shouldn't be. But she had to watch the food. If they were lost, they needed to be able to eat until they could get back to safety. "Matteo, are we lost or not?"
She saw Matteo's shoulders slump. "Sorry," he said, "I was... I should've stopped joking around. No, we're not lost."
"How do you know? There's nothing here!" Gemma stretched out her arm, regarding the expanses of green land around them. She still sounded slightly panicked, though Luisa could see that Michele had both hands on her shoulders. He wasn't going to try to hold her back - they all knew better than to try that - but Luisa knew that it kept Gemma calm.
"I spent a lot of time out here when I was growing up. It hasn't changed much." He probably would've been blushing, but his skin was too dark for Luisa to see it change from there. Almost as dark as his hair, though Luisa knew from experience it was much softer - but she stopped herself from thinking of anything like that. It wasn't the time. "We passed a boulder I recognized about twenty minutes back. Another few hours' travel tomorrow morning, we'll reach the road to Arazzi."
Gemma took a breath. "Right. Fine." She shook her head. "Okay."
"I'm sorry," Matteo said, more seriously. "I thought I'd told you."
"You probably did, I was just...." She shook her head. "It's so empty here. There's nothing but sky and grass and it's weird."
Luisa found herself nodding along. A few years ago she couldn't have imagined walking this far and not seeing a single building.
"Well," he said, "I promise you, we're not lost. And there's more here than you might expect, once you get the know the place." His smile came back, a bit more subdued that time. "If you ever do want to explore it, we can come back."
"I don't know," Gemma said, looking up again. "There's... a lot of sky here."
Luisa cleared her throat. "I could bring a tent," she said softly, "if it would help."
"As long as it's a big one," Gemma answered, apparently without thinking - then burst out laughing, along with Matteo. Michele was half-turned away, but Luisa could tell he was smiling a little bit too. He seemed happier now that they'd all been honest with each other; she remembered almost never seeing him smile.
Things calmed down a bit after that, and the four of them sat quietly, eating stew out of the stew pot as they prepared to set up what shelter they had. She might have to ask them to take Matteo up on his offer, she thought. It was nice to go exploring with the people she loved.
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Thank you, and yes, she's slightly agoraphobic. He's one of those people who plays things off with jokes and doesn't always know when not to do that.
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