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rainbowfic2023-12-10 09:34 pm
thisbluespirit) wrote in rainbowfic2023-12-10 09:34 pm
Entry tags:
Light Black #28 [Starfall]
Name: Snowed In
Story: Starfall
Colors: Light Black #28 (cry)
Supplies and Styles:
Word Count: 1625
Rating: PG
Warnings: None.
Notes: 1317, North Fort. Leaira Modelen, Marran Delver, Jaian Fyler, Anness. Carries on immediately from Winter in the Wastelands.
Summary: Leaira is trapped in the North Fort twenty years ago, and there doesn't seem to be any way out.
Words escaped her. Leaira held up her spoon, as if in self-defence, and then caught herself, realising how ridiculous she must look. She coughed again, and managed, “Please—give me back my soup!”
"This instant, imor," Captain Delver said, and reached over to pass the tray back to her. "Try to be more careful with it."
Leaira raised her head, but decided the jibe wasn't worth responding to. "Well?" she asked, sitting up straight. "You want to ask me how I came to be wondering about the Wastelands at a time like this?"
"You told me that," he said mildly. "First of all, what is your name?"
"Adeleaira Modelen."
"From Starfall?"
"Lighthaven originally," she said, dipping the spoon into the soup. She surveyed the result and ate it, making him wait until she had swallowed it to continue. "But, yes. I'm a librarian at Starfall Manor."
The captain raised his eyebrows. "A librarian?"
"Yes," said Leaira, her gaze narrowing. "We're all trained to walk the Paths if we have any affinity, in case of emergencies. I wound up in an emergency."
Captain Delver nodded. "I see. And do you have any proof I can show to Colonel Tirklian?"
"Oh," said Leaira, and put the spoon back down onto the tray. She stared back at him, her stomach clenching. She seemed to have so many blank spaces in her head. She could remember Starfall Manor and her library, but so many of the people she worked with weren't even faces in her mind, let alone names. There were rules about this sort of situation, and measures they took for emergencies – her thoughts darted sideways to the Governor falling, and the snow wolves. Then she breathed out. "Captain, where's my coat? Don't let them wash it! There are papers inside it – they'll prove I'm from Starfall!"
Marran didn't wait for her to finish the sentence before bounding up and hurrying away somewhere. Leaira shrugged and set to work on finishing the soup before he came back.
"They're fetching it for me," he said, when he did.
Leaira passed him the tray, and then held the cup of hot (unidentified) tea close against her. The soup had been thin enough that she didn't feel in any rush to start drinking it.
"I have to get back," she told him. "I left someone in danger on the other side."
Marran sat in the chair and then shifted it back into its previous position. "There's nothing any of us can do about that until this weather clears – and I'm afraid it isn't likely to any time soon."
Leaira stared down at the cup. She couldn't meet his gaze.
"Look," he said, leaning forward. "Adeleaira, you say your friend was injured on the Starfall side of the mountains, by the Paths?"
She nodded.
"Well, then, surely others from the Manor might go looking for them, mightn't they? And then there's the nature of the Paths. I don't entirely understand it, but you could still arrive back not long after you left even if you were stranded here for months, couldn't you? I promise I will get you up to the Boundary entrance as soon as I can. Don't lose heart in the meantime."
Leaira bit back a laugh, not wanting to have to try and explain what was funny about the situation. "It's more complicated than that," she said. "The Paths, I mean. It does make a difference the longer I stay—but you are right about other people being around at Starfall. I just don't know if—well." She gave a quick grimace. "Thank you."
He had a point. The Governor had a whole entourage who'd be sure to send someone out after him, and various people must have seen them go. Leaira decided that she must think of that and hope for the best. She had her own highly precarious position to deal with first.
"I must go now, I'm afraid," said Captain Delver, "and any decision about you is up to the Colonel. In the meantime, our medical officer will look after you. However, until the Colonel has seen you, you don't have the freedom of the fort or permission to leave, is that understood? It's for your safety as well as ours."
"I understand perfectly. Besides—where would I go?"
He hesitated, and then leant forward to give her arm an encouraging pat. "Don't worry. The Colonel isn't unreasonable. It's just that—well. Even aside from the usual procedures, things are very difficult right now. You do as Jaian says and either I'll come back or the Colonel will send to see you herself."
He stood, and then walked away, out of her line of sight.
Jaian decided soon afterwards that there didn't seem to be any particular reason to keep Leaira in the infirmary, and told her that the Captain had left orders for her to be taken up to the guest quarters where she must remain until he or the Colonel sent for her.
Leaira put on the clothes they'd lent her—a mismatched assortment, with uniform blue-grey trousers, light grey shirt, and large knitted jumper, which all more or less fit. She looked down at herself and stifled giggles. She'd never worn such clothes—or eaten such food. The lightkeeper's granddaughter was not used to inferior things. She shook her head at her reaction before setting about putting her hair clasp back in place, drawing the now-unruly curls out of her face.
Her memory was still playing her up. She could remember her childhood in Lighthaven, or a good deal of it, and picture the library at Starfall, but it was impossible to people the Manor in her mind. She frowned over it until her head started to ache, but only remembered, and that vaguely, some people, like Cam and Tannis—and Osmer, sitting in the corner of the library. There must have been so many others. She could only remember Governor Delver properly because he'd been right there with her when she'd gone into the Paths. But why she'd been up at Imor's Gate with him or what her reasons for mistrusting him were floated in and out of her head and slipped out of her hold if she tried to grasp them too hard.
"When you get up there, you're to rest," Jaian instructed. "In bed, if you will. I'll come up and check on you in a few hours. You've had a nasty shock and been half frozen out there, so keep warm and don't excite yourself."
Leaira nodded obediently.
"Soldier Anness will take you upstairs," Jaian added. She took Leaira over to the door out of the infirmary, where Anness was waiting. The soldier was a little older than Leaira; tall and solid, with olive-coloured skin and thick black hair pulled back from their face into a short tail at the back.
Anness gave Leaira a short, courtesy nod, and then led her out of the infirmary, down a short corridor and through a door that led through into a much longer corridor, footsteps echoing behind the two of them. The two of them passed through a sturdy wooden door at the end of it that led to one of the fort's four towers. Leaira expected Anness to take the stairs, but they instead carried on, through another door, this time into a long, empty corridor in the outer wall. It was unnervingly silent and most of the windows were shuttered close, the place lit by lightstone-sliver lamps on the walls. It took a few minutes to reach the other end, their footsteps making muted echoes on the floorboards. They passed through a second tower and out into an inner corridor, stopping at the first door, which proved to belong to the main guest chamber. Leaira shot an uncertain look at Anness, wondering if they'd deliberately brought them the longest possible way round, but the soldier wore only an expression of disinterest.
Leaira pushed open the door and found within a small sitting room with further doors for an inner chamber and washroom at the back, fitted out in what passed for comparative luxury in this place. There was a soft couch and low table on one side, and on the other a long cupboard with a set of shelves, a desk and chair, all of sturdy wood, polished and warm brown in colour. Poking her head inside the inner chamber revealed a large double bed with thick hangings to keep out the cold, a small dressing table and a long mirror on the wall. The windows, like those in the outer corridor, had their shutters closed and were lit by lightstone with a firestone-threaded hearth for heat.
"There's a bell if you need anything," said Anness. "Although you might have to try a few times. We don't have many staff left - they might be busy. But one of us'll be out keeping watch on the North corridor most of the time anyway, so you can always just give us a shout. Otherwise, you must wait here for the Captain or the Colonel."
Leaira turned. "So I'm told," she said. "Thank you."
Anness left, closing the door behind them with a surprisingly soft sound.
Leaira stood there, waiting for a few moments until it seemed that she had finally been left alone to try and process her situation. Then she backed into the smaller chamber where she sank down onto the bed. She tugged off her borrowed boots, already pressing in the wrong places, and let herself fall back onto the mattress. She couldn't quite think it through yet, though. She gave in, closed her eyes and lay there until she recovered sufficient strength to turn over and cry.
Story: Starfall
Colors: Light Black #28 (cry)
Supplies and Styles:
Word Count: 1625
Rating: PG
Warnings: None.
Notes: 1317, North Fort. Leaira Modelen, Marran Delver, Jaian Fyler, Anness. Carries on immediately from Winter in the Wastelands.
Summary: Leaira is trapped in the North Fort twenty years ago, and there doesn't seem to be any way out.
Words escaped her. Leaira held up her spoon, as if in self-defence, and then caught herself, realising how ridiculous she must look. She coughed again, and managed, “Please—give me back my soup!”
"This instant, imor," Captain Delver said, and reached over to pass the tray back to her. "Try to be more careful with it."
Leaira raised her head, but decided the jibe wasn't worth responding to. "Well?" she asked, sitting up straight. "You want to ask me how I came to be wondering about the Wastelands at a time like this?"
"You told me that," he said mildly. "First of all, what is your name?"
"Adeleaira Modelen."
"From Starfall?"
"Lighthaven originally," she said, dipping the spoon into the soup. She surveyed the result and ate it, making him wait until she had swallowed it to continue. "But, yes. I'm a librarian at Starfall Manor."
The captain raised his eyebrows. "A librarian?"
"Yes," said Leaira, her gaze narrowing. "We're all trained to walk the Paths if we have any affinity, in case of emergencies. I wound up in an emergency."
Captain Delver nodded. "I see. And do you have any proof I can show to Colonel Tirklian?"
"Oh," said Leaira, and put the spoon back down onto the tray. She stared back at him, her stomach clenching. She seemed to have so many blank spaces in her head. She could remember Starfall Manor and her library, but so many of the people she worked with weren't even faces in her mind, let alone names. There were rules about this sort of situation, and measures they took for emergencies – her thoughts darted sideways to the Governor falling, and the snow wolves. Then she breathed out. "Captain, where's my coat? Don't let them wash it! There are papers inside it – they'll prove I'm from Starfall!"
Marran didn't wait for her to finish the sentence before bounding up and hurrying away somewhere. Leaira shrugged and set to work on finishing the soup before he came back.
"They're fetching it for me," he said, when he did.
Leaira passed him the tray, and then held the cup of hot (unidentified) tea close against her. The soup had been thin enough that she didn't feel in any rush to start drinking it.
"I have to get back," she told him. "I left someone in danger on the other side."
Marran sat in the chair and then shifted it back into its previous position. "There's nothing any of us can do about that until this weather clears – and I'm afraid it isn't likely to any time soon."
Leaira stared down at the cup. She couldn't meet his gaze.
"Look," he said, leaning forward. "Adeleaira, you say your friend was injured on the Starfall side of the mountains, by the Paths?"
She nodded.
"Well, then, surely others from the Manor might go looking for them, mightn't they? And then there's the nature of the Paths. I don't entirely understand it, but you could still arrive back not long after you left even if you were stranded here for months, couldn't you? I promise I will get you up to the Boundary entrance as soon as I can. Don't lose heart in the meantime."
Leaira bit back a laugh, not wanting to have to try and explain what was funny about the situation. "It's more complicated than that," she said. "The Paths, I mean. It does make a difference the longer I stay—but you are right about other people being around at Starfall. I just don't know if—well." She gave a quick grimace. "Thank you."
He had a point. The Governor had a whole entourage who'd be sure to send someone out after him, and various people must have seen them go. Leaira decided that she must think of that and hope for the best. She had her own highly precarious position to deal with first.
"I must go now, I'm afraid," said Captain Delver, "and any decision about you is up to the Colonel. In the meantime, our medical officer will look after you. However, until the Colonel has seen you, you don't have the freedom of the fort or permission to leave, is that understood? It's for your safety as well as ours."
"I understand perfectly. Besides—where would I go?"
He hesitated, and then leant forward to give her arm an encouraging pat. "Don't worry. The Colonel isn't unreasonable. It's just that—well. Even aside from the usual procedures, things are very difficult right now. You do as Jaian says and either I'll come back or the Colonel will send to see you herself."
He stood, and then walked away, out of her line of sight.
Jaian decided soon afterwards that there didn't seem to be any particular reason to keep Leaira in the infirmary, and told her that the Captain had left orders for her to be taken up to the guest quarters where she must remain until he or the Colonel sent for her.
Leaira put on the clothes they'd lent her—a mismatched assortment, with uniform blue-grey trousers, light grey shirt, and large knitted jumper, which all more or less fit. She looked down at herself and stifled giggles. She'd never worn such clothes—or eaten such food. The lightkeeper's granddaughter was not used to inferior things. She shook her head at her reaction before setting about putting her hair clasp back in place, drawing the now-unruly curls out of her face.
Her memory was still playing her up. She could remember her childhood in Lighthaven, or a good deal of it, and picture the library at Starfall, but it was impossible to people the Manor in her mind. She frowned over it until her head started to ache, but only remembered, and that vaguely, some people, like Cam and Tannis—and Osmer, sitting in the corner of the library. There must have been so many others. She could only remember Governor Delver properly because he'd been right there with her when she'd gone into the Paths. But why she'd been up at Imor's Gate with him or what her reasons for mistrusting him were floated in and out of her head and slipped out of her hold if she tried to grasp them too hard.
"When you get up there, you're to rest," Jaian instructed. "In bed, if you will. I'll come up and check on you in a few hours. You've had a nasty shock and been half frozen out there, so keep warm and don't excite yourself."
Leaira nodded obediently.
"Soldier Anness will take you upstairs," Jaian added. She took Leaira over to the door out of the infirmary, where Anness was waiting. The soldier was a little older than Leaira; tall and solid, with olive-coloured skin and thick black hair pulled back from their face into a short tail at the back.
Anness gave Leaira a short, courtesy nod, and then led her out of the infirmary, down a short corridor and through a door that led through into a much longer corridor, footsteps echoing behind the two of them. The two of them passed through a sturdy wooden door at the end of it that led to one of the fort's four towers. Leaira expected Anness to take the stairs, but they instead carried on, through another door, this time into a long, empty corridor in the outer wall. It was unnervingly silent and most of the windows were shuttered close, the place lit by lightstone-sliver lamps on the walls. It took a few minutes to reach the other end, their footsteps making muted echoes on the floorboards. They passed through a second tower and out into an inner corridor, stopping at the first door, which proved to belong to the main guest chamber. Leaira shot an uncertain look at Anness, wondering if they'd deliberately brought them the longest possible way round, but the soldier wore only an expression of disinterest.
Leaira pushed open the door and found within a small sitting room with further doors for an inner chamber and washroom at the back, fitted out in what passed for comparative luxury in this place. There was a soft couch and low table on one side, and on the other a long cupboard with a set of shelves, a desk and chair, all of sturdy wood, polished and warm brown in colour. Poking her head inside the inner chamber revealed a large double bed with thick hangings to keep out the cold, a small dressing table and a long mirror on the wall. The windows, like those in the outer corridor, had their shutters closed and were lit by lightstone with a firestone-threaded hearth for heat.
"There's a bell if you need anything," said Anness. "Although you might have to try a few times. We don't have many staff left - they might be busy. But one of us'll be out keeping watch on the North corridor most of the time anyway, so you can always just give us a shout. Otherwise, you must wait here for the Captain or the Colonel."
Leaira turned. "So I'm told," she said. "Thank you."
Anness left, closing the door behind them with a surprisingly soft sound.
Leaira stood there, waiting for a few moments until it seemed that she had finally been left alone to try and process her situation. Then she backed into the smaller chamber where she sank down onto the bed. She tugged off her borrowed boots, already pressing in the wrong places, and let herself fall back onto the mattress. She couldn't quite think it through yet, though. She gave in, closed her eyes and lay there until she recovered sufficient strength to turn over and cry.
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