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rainbowfic2023-12-11 10:46 pm
shadowsong26) wrote in rainbowfic2023-12-11 10:46 pm
Vert #30
Name: shadowsong26
Story: the color of old ice
'Verse: Feredar
Colors: Vert #30. Stronger together than we are apart.
Supplies and Materials: graffiti (11 Years of Rainbowfic - Part 11), resin, glitter (An Inside Day),
Word Count: 1057
Rating: PG
Characters: Kes, Dallu
Warnings: Referenced war, brief discussion of internal Islander prejudices,
Notes: Constructive criticism welcome, as always. Title comes from the work of Lorna Dee Cervantes. Thought about using this for another Year of the OTP fill since I'm several months behind, lol; but none of the prompts I have next really fit, and then it occurred to me that I haven't done a whole lot with these two by themselves, so, here we are!
The world surrounding the Morning Glory was all the same dull, sullen slate-grey; the sky and sea more the color and weight and temperament that Kes would expect at the tail end of winter, not so late in the year.
At least it ain't raining, she thought, then winced, blowing a kiss to the waves to ward off ill luck. Not yet, anyway.
The coastline wasn't quite in sight yet--not even from the rigging, not in this weather, if she'd judged their route right--but they'd probably be at the rivermouth by tomorrow. To pick up another load of refugees and mages, smuggle them out of Feredar to the Islands. First steps on the road to safety.
This close to their goal, there was a quiet tension to the crew. It had been different, the first few trips, when no one knew exactly what to expect. Much sharper. Now, they all knew the danger, and the rewards, and were ready.
Kinda fit, she thought, with the weather. Heavy and weary; ready for the storm to break or the wind to chase the clouds away, but until then, just...ready.
She finished her circuit of the deck and spotted Dallu at the bow, one hand resting on the top of their figurehead for extra balance, face tilted up to the sky.
"Heya," she called, softly, from a few yards away. If he were too busy to talk, that wouldn't break his concentration; if he weren't, it'd be enough to call his attention.
"Kes," he said, just as soft and not a little fond, without turning to face her. "Things running smoothly on your end?"
"Yep," she said, taking the last few steps to join him. "Anything we need to watch for?"
His role was mostly to read the stars and the energy in the skies--she didn't quite understand it, something like how a compass worked, but more deliberate, and something he could refine--and to use that same power to unknot storms and chase them away.
"Hopefully not," he said. "This weather--doesn't exactly want to be a storm, but it could. I'm trying to keep it calm."
"Makes sense," she said. "Not chase it away?"
He shook his head. "I'm worried that might get us noticed."
"Huh." She considered that for a minute. "...yeah, good thought." It wasn't a guarantee, exactly, that a sudden shift in the weather would give them away, but things were so tense upriver, especially now King Amassa in the desert had formally declared war, that it was better not to risk it. "Gonna turn into actual rain?"
"Maybe." He made a face. "I hope not. I don't like this kind of rain, it's like...slush in the back alleys of the cities in Asendar."
"Depressing."
"Yeah."
They fell quiet for a moment then. It was like that for the two of them a lot, especially when Taz was off seeing to other things. They didn't need to say much to one another to be comfortable.
Like Kes with her sisters, most of the time. Well. Taz would get frustrated with too much silence way faster than either she or Lif did, but until she got bored, it was easy. Comfortable. And Dallu was like that.
She'd grown up with her sisters of course, but once Taz had seduced her pretty navigator--or he had seduced her, or they had seduced each other; Kes wasn't sure and was perfectly happy not knowing.
But once they'd been together, Dallu had fit seamlessly in beside them. The brother she hadn't had as a child. Joining their crew, doing his job, backing Taz with all the loyalty and love Kes could've asked for. Bringing her in to work the weather with him, too; her calling the winds to help direct things as he unwound that energy at the heart of any storm. Finding value in her being Unthreaded, in a way that too many people--not on this ship, but in the wider Clan and elsewhere--refused to do.
And now they had settled into something special--her sister, her brother, and her--and she couldn't imagine making these trips, fighting this war, if they weren't together. Taz charting their course forward, with Kes and Dallu always, always backing her--and each other--through the worst kinds of trouble.
Dallu opened his eyes--which meant the clouds were calm and behaving themselves for the moment--and turned to look at her, interrupting her thoughts. "Are you worried?" he asked.
She shook her head, then paused, then shrugged. "Not more'n usual, anyway," she said. "Just...well, like you said. The weather gettin' to me, I guess. Bleak thoughts."
He smiled a little. "It shouldn't be any different than our last trips." Then he frowned, sighed, blew a kiss to the waves to ward off ill luck.
She cracked a smile of her own. "Someday, you'll have to remind me what you do up North for that," she said. As much as he'd adapted to them--which, well, he lived on their ship, he had to--it was only fair that they adapt to him, too. Especially her and Taz.
His smile turned wry. "It involves spinning three times in place, which..." He tilted his head at the figurehead they were both clinging to.
"Yeah, probably not the best idea right now," she agreed, then paused. "...I don't think I say it enough, brother, but...I'm glad you came to Taz, you know? Glad we're in this together."
He bowed his head. "I'm glad, too," he said. "That she has you with her." Then he grinned at her again. "But you were right, about the weather making your thoughts bleak."
She rolled her eyes and punched his shoulder lightly. "Yeah, well. Sometimes it needs sayin' anyway." She gave him one more fond smile, then stepped back from the bow. "I'm gonna go pass the word to Taz. You know where to find me if the storm builds and you need help."
He nodded, and sketched her a little Asendar-style salute before turning his face back to the clouds.
She made her way back along the deck, a little calmer the way she always was after a moment with Dallu--even when she hadn't known she'd need it--and settled back into her role as her sister's second-in-command; as the three of them, together as always, guided the Morning Glory into river waters at the edge of the war.
Story: the color of old ice
'Verse: Feredar
Colors: Vert #30. Stronger together than we are apart.
Supplies and Materials: graffiti (11 Years of Rainbowfic - Part 11), resin, glitter (An Inside Day),
Word Count: 1057
Rating: PG
Characters: Kes, Dallu
Warnings: Referenced war, brief discussion of internal Islander prejudices,
Notes: Constructive criticism welcome, as always. Title comes from the work of Lorna Dee Cervantes. Thought about using this for another Year of the OTP fill since I'm several months behind, lol; but none of the prompts I have next really fit, and then it occurred to me that I haven't done a whole lot with these two by themselves, so, here we are!
The world surrounding the Morning Glory was all the same dull, sullen slate-grey; the sky and sea more the color and weight and temperament that Kes would expect at the tail end of winter, not so late in the year.
At least it ain't raining, she thought, then winced, blowing a kiss to the waves to ward off ill luck. Not yet, anyway.
The coastline wasn't quite in sight yet--not even from the rigging, not in this weather, if she'd judged their route right--but they'd probably be at the rivermouth by tomorrow. To pick up another load of refugees and mages, smuggle them out of Feredar to the Islands. First steps on the road to safety.
This close to their goal, there was a quiet tension to the crew. It had been different, the first few trips, when no one knew exactly what to expect. Much sharper. Now, they all knew the danger, and the rewards, and were ready.
Kinda fit, she thought, with the weather. Heavy and weary; ready for the storm to break or the wind to chase the clouds away, but until then, just...ready.
She finished her circuit of the deck and spotted Dallu at the bow, one hand resting on the top of their figurehead for extra balance, face tilted up to the sky.
"Heya," she called, softly, from a few yards away. If he were too busy to talk, that wouldn't break his concentration; if he weren't, it'd be enough to call his attention.
"Kes," he said, just as soft and not a little fond, without turning to face her. "Things running smoothly on your end?"
"Yep," she said, taking the last few steps to join him. "Anything we need to watch for?"
His role was mostly to read the stars and the energy in the skies--she didn't quite understand it, something like how a compass worked, but more deliberate, and something he could refine--and to use that same power to unknot storms and chase them away.
"Hopefully not," he said. "This weather--doesn't exactly want to be a storm, but it could. I'm trying to keep it calm."
"Makes sense," she said. "Not chase it away?"
He shook his head. "I'm worried that might get us noticed."
"Huh." She considered that for a minute. "...yeah, good thought." It wasn't a guarantee, exactly, that a sudden shift in the weather would give them away, but things were so tense upriver, especially now King Amassa in the desert had formally declared war, that it was better not to risk it. "Gonna turn into actual rain?"
"Maybe." He made a face. "I hope not. I don't like this kind of rain, it's like...slush in the back alleys of the cities in Asendar."
"Depressing."
"Yeah."
They fell quiet for a moment then. It was like that for the two of them a lot, especially when Taz was off seeing to other things. They didn't need to say much to one another to be comfortable.
Like Kes with her sisters, most of the time. Well. Taz would get frustrated with too much silence way faster than either she or Lif did, but until she got bored, it was easy. Comfortable. And Dallu was like that.
She'd grown up with her sisters of course, but once Taz had seduced her pretty navigator--or he had seduced her, or they had seduced each other; Kes wasn't sure and was perfectly happy not knowing.
But once they'd been together, Dallu had fit seamlessly in beside them. The brother she hadn't had as a child. Joining their crew, doing his job, backing Taz with all the loyalty and love Kes could've asked for. Bringing her in to work the weather with him, too; her calling the winds to help direct things as he unwound that energy at the heart of any storm. Finding value in her being Unthreaded, in a way that too many people--not on this ship, but in the wider Clan and elsewhere--refused to do.
And now they had settled into something special--her sister, her brother, and her--and she couldn't imagine making these trips, fighting this war, if they weren't together. Taz charting their course forward, with Kes and Dallu always, always backing her--and each other--through the worst kinds of trouble.
Dallu opened his eyes--which meant the clouds were calm and behaving themselves for the moment--and turned to look at her, interrupting her thoughts. "Are you worried?" he asked.
She shook her head, then paused, then shrugged. "Not more'n usual, anyway," she said. "Just...well, like you said. The weather gettin' to me, I guess. Bleak thoughts."
He smiled a little. "It shouldn't be any different than our last trips." Then he frowned, sighed, blew a kiss to the waves to ward off ill luck.
She cracked a smile of her own. "Someday, you'll have to remind me what you do up North for that," she said. As much as he'd adapted to them--which, well, he lived on their ship, he had to--it was only fair that they adapt to him, too. Especially her and Taz.
His smile turned wry. "It involves spinning three times in place, which..." He tilted his head at the figurehead they were both clinging to.
"Yeah, probably not the best idea right now," she agreed, then paused. "...I don't think I say it enough, brother, but...I'm glad you came to Taz, you know? Glad we're in this together."
He bowed his head. "I'm glad, too," he said. "That she has you with her." Then he grinned at her again. "But you were right, about the weather making your thoughts bleak."
She rolled her eyes and punched his shoulder lightly. "Yeah, well. Sometimes it needs sayin' anyway." She gave him one more fond smile, then stepped back from the bow. "I'm gonna go pass the word to Taz. You know where to find me if the storm builds and you need help."
He nodded, and sketched her a little Asendar-style salute before turning his face back to the clouds.
She made her way back along the deck, a little calmer the way she always was after a moment with Dallu--even when she hadn't known she'd need it--and settled back into her role as her sister's second-in-command; as the three of them, together as always, guided the Morning Glory into river waters at the edge of the war.
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Here's your novelty beads!
1. drunk
2. "As we travel on,/Love's what we'll remember." - What I Did For Love, A Chorus Line
3. https://i.pinimg.com/564x/2d/95/64/2d956448db8e2656d65e735606db85f5.jpg
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