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rainbowfic2025-05-15 08:45 pm
thisbluespirit) wrote in rainbowfic2025-05-15 08:45 pm
Entry tags:
Vert #19 [Starfall]
Name: Something Fishy
Story: Starfall
Colors: Vert #19 (Rescue from a dragon)
Supplies and Styles: Thread
Word Count: 1871
Rating: G
Warnings: None.
Notes: Portcallan, 1313; Viyony Eseray, Nin Valerno, Leion Valerno. Follows on immediately from On the Trail and Trap for the Unwary.
Summary: Leion has been found.
Viyony steeled herself to move forward and see if it was Leion in the cellar or not, but before she could all thought of anything else was obliterated by the sheer stench rising from the opening. She spluttered and pressed her hand over her mouth and nose. It smelled like rotting fish.
"Who's there?" said a voice from below; one that had grown familiar enough to cause her heart to turn over in relief.
Viyony kept her hand to her nose. "Leion? Is that you? It's Viyony."
He emerged slowly from the opening, clambering up to join her the low space underneath the floor of the old house.
"How are you here?" he demanded. Even in this low light, she could see he was damp, with dirty smudges on his face—and he smelt indescribable. He squinted at her and then raised a small lightstone for illumination that made her blink. "Did you dream about me at last?"
She shuffled away from him. "Oh, you would say that. No! It wasn't dreams this time." He moved as if to come nearer and she held up a hand. "Leion—no, stay back! I'm sorry. You reek! It's vile."
"There's a fish shop at the end," said Leion. "I think some of their waste winds up down there. I've just been stuck wading about in fish guts and I don't want to know what else. I'm not happy about it either!"
"Oh," said Viyony. She backed away towards the trapdoor above that led up into the house and then stood, careful not to miss the opening and hit her head on the low ceiling. She pulled herself up and into the large cupboard under the stairs. "Leion. Stay down there just a bit longer. I need to tell you something before we leave, and I'm sorry, but if you come any closer I think I might throw up."
"You get used to it," said Leion darkly. "More or less. All right. Go on. And what are you doing here anyway? I'm intensely grateful, of course, but I don't understand."
"That's what I'm trying to tell you," she said, crouching by the edge of the trapdoor. "I wasn't the one who found you—it was someone else. But you mustn't shout at her. She's upset enough as it is."
Leion edged nearer to her, despite her instructions. "Whom exactly are we talking about?"
"Nin. She followed you," Viyony said. "She didn't mean to—and she did at least keep her head pretty admirably, once she realised something was wrong."
"What!?" Leion started forward, now immediately below her, framed by the square opening.
Viyony held out her hands. "I know, I know, but if she hadn't, you'd still be down there."
Leion fell quiet and sagged back onto the flagstones. "Shit. Curse it. Curse everything! You were right. I shouldn't let my niblings anywhere near my investigations, my office. None of it. I shouldn't live over the office—I should—I don't know. And what did she think she was doing, anyway?"
"Leion," said Viyony. "Worry about all that later—I left poor Nin waiting outside. Come on, let's go and let her know that you're all right." She paused and leant over the edge of the trapdoor. "You are all right, aren't you? How did you end up down there?"
Leion sighed. "Don't ask. And, yes. Aside from the stomach-turning stink and the humiliation, I'm fine. Nobody did anything except—wait." He abruptly vanished from her view.
"Leion!" she called. "What are you doing?"
"There's one thing I've got to know before we leave this cursed place." His voice sounded slightly muffled. He must have gone right to the other side of the space beneath. "Hang on."
Viyony heard several muted thumps and knocks. She rolled her eyes and then poked her head right down through the trapdoor to see what he was up to. "Leion, come on! Whatever it is, you can tell Tana about it or have a look later. We can't leave Nin out there by herself all this time, and it's probably not all that safe to stay here for too long, either."
Some more mystifying shuffling and thumping floated up to her. She sighed and, unwillingly, lowered herself back down into the space, since there appeared to be no reasoning with him.
"What are you doing?"
Leion waved at the panelled wall. "The other three sides are brick. And Chiulder—if it was him—couldn't have materialised out of nowhere to lower that cover on me. So there must be some sort of hidey-hole this side or I really am going mad."
"Can't you leave it to Tana?" said Viyony, just as Leion struck the nearest panel wildly in annoyance and it swung out, hitting him right in the face with the answer to his question. She stifled laughter. "Are you—are you hurt?"
He drew back, rubbing his nose. "I'll live. Sorry. But I had to know." He crawled inside the space and gave an unimpressed grunt. "Nothing to show for anything in here, but at least I know where he, or whoever it was, was hiding. The time we've been having lately, I was beginning to wonder if we really could rule out them appearing out of thin air. I'm glad to know we still can."
"Good—now can we go?
Leion gave a weary smile and nodded. He raised himself up as far as he could in the cramped space and headed towards her.
Viyony hastily pulled herself back up into the cupboard before he could get near her. "Just one thing—keep well away from me until we're outside and in the fresh air!"
Viyony led the way out of the house. As soon as they emerged into the street, Nin, who had been standing out of sight in an alley on the opposite side of the road, jumped, and then tore over to them.
"Uncle Leio!" she gasped, about to launch herself at him, before she immediately pulled back, her face twisted with comic revulsion. "Urgh! You smell awful!"
Leion grimaced. "Yes, yes. I was stuck in the cellar and apparently it gets a fair bit of waste from the local fish shop."
"Are you all right?" Nin lowered her voice, getting as near to him as she dared. "You vanished."
Leion nodded. "I'm fine. It wasn't much fun down there, though, so I won't say anything about you following me. I don't suppose your parents will be so restrained, though—and you can't blame them. You should have more sense by now!"
"I didn't mean to," said Nin. "I shouted and waved at you, over and over. You should have turned around!"
He reached out for her, but she widened her eyes in horror and took two hasty steps back. He lowered his head and sighed. "Sorry, starlet."
"What about the rabbity man?" she asked, with a quick look up at Viyony. "Was it his fault? I saw him sneaking out."
Leion's good humour vanished. "Oh, you did, did you? I hope you kept well out of his way."
"Of course! He didn't see me, I promise."
"Good." Leion hesitated for a moment, considering how much to tell her. "Yes, he was the one who shut me in there. Nothing but a spiteful trick—he doesn't like me much. Nin, promise me—never go anywhere near him. If you ever see him again, you run away, as fast as you can."
She frowned. "All right."
"Leion," said Viyony. "Nin ought to go home, and—oh, here's Tana!"
They all turned. Tana Veldiner was walking towards them down the street, closely followed by a man a little shorter than her. He looked vaguely familiar to Viyony, but she couldn't immediately place him.
"What is Tana doing here?" Leion turned towards Viyony.
"I sent for her," said Viyony. "Nin found me in the street and I thought I'd better. I like you, Leion, but I'm not tackling a whole gang of smugglers or whoever it might be to rescue you."
"Don't underestimate yourself," he murmured with a gleam in his eye. "Oh, well. I suppose it's only right Tana knows. Chiulder sent me a note by one of her messengers and she'll need to get to the bottom of how he managed that." He faced Viyony, meeting her gaze. "I didn't see him until he shut the trapdoor on me. I can't even swear it was him, to be honest—it was too quick to be sure of anything. He never spoke to me—I was only following what I thought were Tana's instructions. You do believe me?"
Viyony gave a nod. Leion had told her a few times already of the effect Chiulder's persuasive affinity could have on people, and had kept assuring her he couldn't be affected again. She didn't quite understand why that exercised him so much, but she recognised that it did. One day, he might finally explain to her what it was that Atino and Chiulder had done that still troubled him.
"Imai Eseray. Leion." Tana joined them outside the doorway of the house. "I heard you'd disappeared. I knew we couldn't be that lucky." She stopped then and turned away, choking. "Powers! Leion! You stink!"
Leion stepped back from the group, holding up his hands. "Yes. I know. Believe me, I'm not happy about it either. I must get cleaned up somehow—I can't walk all the way back to my office like this."
Nin attempted to stifle laughter, which burst out in a sudden, loud snort.
"I suppose you'd better take a dip in the sea," said Tana. "Wash properly when you get back to your place—and after that, come and see me and tell me what's been going on."
Viyony put out a hand towards Nin. "I'll take Nin home. I sent a message, but her family still may not know where she is."
"Thank you. Where can I find you later?" said Leion. "I'll need to thank you."
Viyony smiled. "At my aunt's as usual, but it isn't me you should thank—it's Nin."
Nin wrinkled her nose. "I don't know if you are allowed to thank me for something I definitely shouldn't have been doing."
"A tangled legal point," said Leion. "We'll put it to your grandmother next time we see her and see what she says. Nin, starlet, I mean it, though—thank you. I'll catch you at home as soon as I possibly can and help plead your case with your mother. You'll be all right with Imai Eseray in the meantime, won't you?"
"Oh, yes." Nin nodded. She raised her gaze upwards to Viyony. "We had better go. Imai Roddin will be wild as fire—and so will Mother and Father if we don't get home before they do."
Viyony agreed. She raised her hand in a quick wave to Leion, not really ready to leave him this swiftly after such a disturbing experience, downplay it as he might for Nin. His face relaxed into a small smile and he gave her a quick nod. She let that brief acknowledgement warm her, and led Nin away to meet her fate.
Story: Starfall
Colors: Vert #19 (Rescue from a dragon)
Supplies and Styles: Thread
Word Count: 1871
Rating: G
Warnings: None.
Notes: Portcallan, 1313; Viyony Eseray, Nin Valerno, Leion Valerno. Follows on immediately from On the Trail and Trap for the Unwary.
Summary: Leion has been found.
Viyony steeled herself to move forward and see if it was Leion in the cellar or not, but before she could all thought of anything else was obliterated by the sheer stench rising from the opening. She spluttered and pressed her hand over her mouth and nose. It smelled like rotting fish.
"Who's there?" said a voice from below; one that had grown familiar enough to cause her heart to turn over in relief.
Viyony kept her hand to her nose. "Leion? Is that you? It's Viyony."
He emerged slowly from the opening, clambering up to join her the low space underneath the floor of the old house.
"How are you here?" he demanded. Even in this low light, she could see he was damp, with dirty smudges on his face—and he smelt indescribable. He squinted at her and then raised a small lightstone for illumination that made her blink. "Did you dream about me at last?"
She shuffled away from him. "Oh, you would say that. No! It wasn't dreams this time." He moved as if to come nearer and she held up a hand. "Leion—no, stay back! I'm sorry. You reek! It's vile."
"There's a fish shop at the end," said Leion. "I think some of their waste winds up down there. I've just been stuck wading about in fish guts and I don't want to know what else. I'm not happy about it either!"
"Oh," said Viyony. She backed away towards the trapdoor above that led up into the house and then stood, careful not to miss the opening and hit her head on the low ceiling. She pulled herself up and into the large cupboard under the stairs. "Leion. Stay down there just a bit longer. I need to tell you something before we leave, and I'm sorry, but if you come any closer I think I might throw up."
"You get used to it," said Leion darkly. "More or less. All right. Go on. And what are you doing here anyway? I'm intensely grateful, of course, but I don't understand."
"That's what I'm trying to tell you," she said, crouching by the edge of the trapdoor. "I wasn't the one who found you—it was someone else. But you mustn't shout at her. She's upset enough as it is."
Leion edged nearer to her, despite her instructions. "Whom exactly are we talking about?"
"Nin. She followed you," Viyony said. "She didn't mean to—and she did at least keep her head pretty admirably, once she realised something was wrong."
"What!?" Leion started forward, now immediately below her, framed by the square opening.
Viyony held out her hands. "I know, I know, but if she hadn't, you'd still be down there."
Leion fell quiet and sagged back onto the flagstones. "Shit. Curse it. Curse everything! You were right. I shouldn't let my niblings anywhere near my investigations, my office. None of it. I shouldn't live over the office—I should—I don't know. And what did she think she was doing, anyway?"
"Leion," said Viyony. "Worry about all that later—I left poor Nin waiting outside. Come on, let's go and let her know that you're all right." She paused and leant over the edge of the trapdoor. "You are all right, aren't you? How did you end up down there?"
Leion sighed. "Don't ask. And, yes. Aside from the stomach-turning stink and the humiliation, I'm fine. Nobody did anything except—wait." He abruptly vanished from her view.
"Leion!" she called. "What are you doing?"
"There's one thing I've got to know before we leave this cursed place." His voice sounded slightly muffled. He must have gone right to the other side of the space beneath. "Hang on."
Viyony heard several muted thumps and knocks. She rolled her eyes and then poked her head right down through the trapdoor to see what he was up to. "Leion, come on! Whatever it is, you can tell Tana about it or have a look later. We can't leave Nin out there by herself all this time, and it's probably not all that safe to stay here for too long, either."
Some more mystifying shuffling and thumping floated up to her. She sighed and, unwillingly, lowered herself back down into the space, since there appeared to be no reasoning with him.
"What are you doing?"
Leion waved at the panelled wall. "The other three sides are brick. And Chiulder—if it was him—couldn't have materialised out of nowhere to lower that cover on me. So there must be some sort of hidey-hole this side or I really am going mad."
"Can't you leave it to Tana?" said Viyony, just as Leion struck the nearest panel wildly in annoyance and it swung out, hitting him right in the face with the answer to his question. She stifled laughter. "Are you—are you hurt?"
He drew back, rubbing his nose. "I'll live. Sorry. But I had to know." He crawled inside the space and gave an unimpressed grunt. "Nothing to show for anything in here, but at least I know where he, or whoever it was, was hiding. The time we've been having lately, I was beginning to wonder if we really could rule out them appearing out of thin air. I'm glad to know we still can."
"Good—now can we go?
Leion gave a weary smile and nodded. He raised himself up as far as he could in the cramped space and headed towards her.
Viyony hastily pulled herself back up into the cupboard before he could get near her. "Just one thing—keep well away from me until we're outside and in the fresh air!"
Viyony led the way out of the house. As soon as they emerged into the street, Nin, who had been standing out of sight in an alley on the opposite side of the road, jumped, and then tore over to them.
"Uncle Leio!" she gasped, about to launch herself at him, before she immediately pulled back, her face twisted with comic revulsion. "Urgh! You smell awful!"
Leion grimaced. "Yes, yes. I was stuck in the cellar and apparently it gets a fair bit of waste from the local fish shop."
"Are you all right?" Nin lowered her voice, getting as near to him as she dared. "You vanished."
Leion nodded. "I'm fine. It wasn't much fun down there, though, so I won't say anything about you following me. I don't suppose your parents will be so restrained, though—and you can't blame them. You should have more sense by now!"
"I didn't mean to," said Nin. "I shouted and waved at you, over and over. You should have turned around!"
He reached out for her, but she widened her eyes in horror and took two hasty steps back. He lowered his head and sighed. "Sorry, starlet."
"What about the rabbity man?" she asked, with a quick look up at Viyony. "Was it his fault? I saw him sneaking out."
Leion's good humour vanished. "Oh, you did, did you? I hope you kept well out of his way."
"Of course! He didn't see me, I promise."
"Good." Leion hesitated for a moment, considering how much to tell her. "Yes, he was the one who shut me in there. Nothing but a spiteful trick—he doesn't like me much. Nin, promise me—never go anywhere near him. If you ever see him again, you run away, as fast as you can."
She frowned. "All right."
"Leion," said Viyony. "Nin ought to go home, and—oh, here's Tana!"
They all turned. Tana Veldiner was walking towards them down the street, closely followed by a man a little shorter than her. He looked vaguely familiar to Viyony, but she couldn't immediately place him.
"What is Tana doing here?" Leion turned towards Viyony.
"I sent for her," said Viyony. "Nin found me in the street and I thought I'd better. I like you, Leion, but I'm not tackling a whole gang of smugglers or whoever it might be to rescue you."
"Don't underestimate yourself," he murmured with a gleam in his eye. "Oh, well. I suppose it's only right Tana knows. Chiulder sent me a note by one of her messengers and she'll need to get to the bottom of how he managed that." He faced Viyony, meeting her gaze. "I didn't see him until he shut the trapdoor on me. I can't even swear it was him, to be honest—it was too quick to be sure of anything. He never spoke to me—I was only following what I thought were Tana's instructions. You do believe me?"
Viyony gave a nod. Leion had told her a few times already of the effect Chiulder's persuasive affinity could have on people, and had kept assuring her he couldn't be affected again. She didn't quite understand why that exercised him so much, but she recognised that it did. One day, he might finally explain to her what it was that Atino and Chiulder had done that still troubled him.
"Imai Eseray. Leion." Tana joined them outside the doorway of the house. "I heard you'd disappeared. I knew we couldn't be that lucky." She stopped then and turned away, choking. "Powers! Leion! You stink!"
Leion stepped back from the group, holding up his hands. "Yes. I know. Believe me, I'm not happy about it either. I must get cleaned up somehow—I can't walk all the way back to my office like this."
Nin attempted to stifle laughter, which burst out in a sudden, loud snort.
"I suppose you'd better take a dip in the sea," said Tana. "Wash properly when you get back to your place—and after that, come and see me and tell me what's been going on."
Viyony put out a hand towards Nin. "I'll take Nin home. I sent a message, but her family still may not know where she is."
"Thank you. Where can I find you later?" said Leion. "I'll need to thank you."
Viyony smiled. "At my aunt's as usual, but it isn't me you should thank—it's Nin."
Nin wrinkled her nose. "I don't know if you are allowed to thank me for something I definitely shouldn't have been doing."
"A tangled legal point," said Leion. "We'll put it to your grandmother next time we see her and see what she says. Nin, starlet, I mean it, though—thank you. I'll catch you at home as soon as I possibly can and help plead your case with your mother. You'll be all right with Imai Eseray in the meantime, won't you?"
"Oh, yes." Nin nodded. She raised her gaze upwards to Viyony. "We had better go. Imai Roddin will be wild as fire—and so will Mother and Father if we don't get home before they do."
Viyony agreed. She raised her hand in a quick wave to Leion, not really ready to leave him this swiftly after such a disturbing experience, downplay it as he might for Nin. His face relaxed into a small smile and he gave her a quick nod. She let that brief acknowledgement warm her, and led Nin away to meet her fate.