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rainbowfic2013-07-09 12:37 am
shadowsong26) wrote in rainbowfic2013-07-09 12:37 am
Crane White #3, Fire Opal #16, Fever Red #5
Name: shadowsong26
Story: Compromise
'Verse: Feredar
Colors: Crane White #3. Meet me on my vast veranda (Isshiri tells Telri about his family.), Fire Opal #16. And got no peace, Fever Red #5. jaundice
Supplies and Materials: paint-by-numbers (from Kat), bichromatic, frame, acrylic, feathers, fabric, pastels (my current gen + romance card G1 "taking a break"), glue ("There's a lot happening at work and you may feel overwhelmed and unable to keep up with it all...Although you don't want to talk about your problems in depth, at least broaching the subject with a few friends will help you feel better today.")
Word Count: 793
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Isshiri, Telri
Warnings: References to amputation, murder, and being raised by a sociopath, some internalized ableism, references to widespread prejudice against blood-mages
Notes: Constructive criticism welcome, as always.
"Isshiri?"
"Mm?" He was almost asleep, and he didn't bother opening his eyes. They'd found an actual house to sleep in tonight--well, a dilapidated toolshed--and he was basking in a sort of drowsy contentment, listening to a soft, early-spring rain dance on the roof above them.
"Why don't you want your family to meet me?"
So much for drowsy contentment.
"It's not that I don't," he started, half-sitting up, then stopped, unsure where to go from there.
"Then why don't we move towards the mountain border?" she asked. "Stay close to there until your sister comes through again. I'd like to meet her, you've told me such lovely things..."
Isshiri sat all the way up, and made a little light in his hand so they could talk properly. He didn't like darkness between them. "If it were safe--"
"Is it because of what I can do?" she cut him off, barely a whisper. Her hair was falling over her face, so he couldn't quite see her expression, but he could read the shame in her voice without any trouble at all.
"Telri..." he said, and reached for her. She didn't pull away. "I'm not ashamed of you," he said. "And I'm not afraid." So what if he had been at first? He could blame the concussion for that, and it was long past. "Not of you, anyway."
She did look up at that. "I don't need you to defend me."
"I know you don't," he said, and stopped. "I..." He stopped again, unsure how to explain it.
"Why can't I meet your family?" Telri asked again.
"Because my mother would find a way to separate us when she found out," he finally said. "If she had to kill you to do it."
She stared at him. "You're actually serious," she said, after a brief moment of silence.
Isshiri nodded. "And...Telri, I know you don't need me to defend you. Hell, it's the other way around most of the time, but...Mother isn't someone you can defend against."
"Isshiri--"
"The closest..." Isshiri cut her off, then stopped. He hadn't told her yet, about Ulore. He hadn't told anyone since...well, since he'd changed his mind in the last weeks of the siege and told Mel the whole story. Everyone else important to him knew, but...
"The closest anyone ever came," he said, voice shaking a little, "was when my uncle set me on fire. And that only delayed her plans for a few years."
"Your uncle?" Telri asked.
He nodded.
"Is that..." She trailed off. "Oh. Oh, I didn't..."
He smiled. "I don't talk about it, because I don't like to think about it. It was politics, and I'm as far out of it as I can be, being who I am." Even incomplete, I can't get away. Even Kirana can't get away from Mother and Mother's Plans. "Mother...she mostly lets me go my own way, but she would not approve of you, and...I know she's murdered at least three people, probably more, in order to get where she is. And she would not hesitate to murder you, and she's very, very good at making it look like an accident."
Telri was silent for a long moment. "It must have been awful."
Oh, no, please don't ask more about him. "Telri..."
"Growing up with her."
...oh. Relieved that that was what she meant, he shook his head. "Not...not really? Mother is...she's cold, and she knows what she wants and she makes it happen, but...she wanted us to grow up strong and capable and even happy. It's part of why she married my father, I think. Because she...she's in some ways a horrible person, but she wanted the best for us. She's a murderer, and she won't let my happiness get in the way of her larger plans, but...she wasn't a terrible mother. Not when I was little, at least."
Telri gave him the strangest look, then shook her head. "All right. But...Isshiri?"
"Yes?"
"I want you to promise me something."
"Of course."
"I don't want any children we have to be a secret."
Isshiri caught her hand and kissed it. "I promise," he said. "If we have children, or if Mother tries to make me marry someone else, we'll risk it and do our best to stay safe."
She smiled a little, in the shadows cast by his little flame, and pulled his hand up to her cheek. "Then I can live with this."
Isshiri felt her kiss his palm, soft and achingly sweet, and he wished, more than anything, he could give her what she wanted.
Story: Compromise
'Verse: Feredar
Colors: Crane White #3. Meet me on my vast veranda (Isshiri tells Telri about his family.), Fire Opal #16. And got no peace, Fever Red #5. jaundice
Supplies and Materials: paint-by-numbers (from Kat), bichromatic, frame, acrylic, feathers, fabric, pastels (my current gen + romance card G1 "taking a break"), glue ("There's a lot happening at work and you may feel overwhelmed and unable to keep up with it all...Although you don't want to talk about your problems in depth, at least broaching the subject with a few friends will help you feel better today.")
Word Count: 793
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Isshiri, Telri
Warnings: References to amputation, murder, and being raised by a sociopath, some internalized ableism, references to widespread prejudice against blood-mages
Notes: Constructive criticism welcome, as always.
"Isshiri?"
"Mm?" He was almost asleep, and he didn't bother opening his eyes. They'd found an actual house to sleep in tonight--well, a dilapidated toolshed--and he was basking in a sort of drowsy contentment, listening to a soft, early-spring rain dance on the roof above them.
"Why don't you want your family to meet me?"
So much for drowsy contentment.
"It's not that I don't," he started, half-sitting up, then stopped, unsure where to go from there.
"Then why don't we move towards the mountain border?" she asked. "Stay close to there until your sister comes through again. I'd like to meet her, you've told me such lovely things..."
Isshiri sat all the way up, and made a little light in his hand so they could talk properly. He didn't like darkness between them. "If it were safe--"
"Is it because of what I can do?" she cut him off, barely a whisper. Her hair was falling over her face, so he couldn't quite see her expression, but he could read the shame in her voice without any trouble at all.
"Telri..." he said, and reached for her. She didn't pull away. "I'm not ashamed of you," he said. "And I'm not afraid." So what if he had been at first? He could blame the concussion for that, and it was long past. "Not of you, anyway."
She did look up at that. "I don't need you to defend me."
"I know you don't," he said, and stopped. "I..." He stopped again, unsure how to explain it.
"Why can't I meet your family?" Telri asked again.
"Because my mother would find a way to separate us when she found out," he finally said. "If she had to kill you to do it."
She stared at him. "You're actually serious," she said, after a brief moment of silence.
Isshiri nodded. "And...Telri, I know you don't need me to defend you. Hell, it's the other way around most of the time, but...Mother isn't someone you can defend against."
"Isshiri--"
"The closest..." Isshiri cut her off, then stopped. He hadn't told her yet, about Ulore. He hadn't told anyone since...well, since he'd changed his mind in the last weeks of the siege and told Mel the whole story. Everyone else important to him knew, but...
"The closest anyone ever came," he said, voice shaking a little, "was when my uncle set me on fire. And that only delayed her plans for a few years."
"Your uncle?" Telri asked.
He nodded.
"Is that..." She trailed off. "Oh. Oh, I didn't..."
He smiled. "I don't talk about it, because I don't like to think about it. It was politics, and I'm as far out of it as I can be, being who I am." Even incomplete, I can't get away. Even Kirana can't get away from Mother and Mother's Plans. "Mother...she mostly lets me go my own way, but she would not approve of you, and...I know she's murdered at least three people, probably more, in order to get where she is. And she would not hesitate to murder you, and she's very, very good at making it look like an accident."
Telri was silent for a long moment. "It must have been awful."
Oh, no, please don't ask more about him. "Telri..."
"Growing up with her."
...oh. Relieved that that was what she meant, he shook his head. "Not...not really? Mother is...she's cold, and she knows what she wants and she makes it happen, but...she wanted us to grow up strong and capable and even happy. It's part of why she married my father, I think. Because she...she's in some ways a horrible person, but she wanted the best for us. She's a murderer, and she won't let my happiness get in the way of her larger plans, but...she wasn't a terrible mother. Not when I was little, at least."
Telri gave him the strangest look, then shook her head. "All right. But...Isshiri?"
"Yes?"
"I want you to promise me something."
"Of course."
"I don't want any children we have to be a secret."
Isshiri caught her hand and kissed it. "I promise," he said. "If we have children, or if Mother tries to make me marry someone else, we'll risk it and do our best to stay safe."
She smiled a little, in the shadows cast by his little flame, and pulled his hand up to her cheek. "Then I can live with this."
Isshiri felt her kiss his palm, soft and achingly sweet, and he wished, more than anything, he could give her what she wanted.
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Isshiri does love his mother. ...from a distance.
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Great writing, too -- you've got a lovely flow going on here.
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Everything Isshiri says about his mother's crimes is more or less common...not knowledge, because the three murders were never officially proved murders, let alone who had committed them, but common assumption, at least in the capital City of Glass. But it surprises Telri very much because that sort of thing Does Not Happen in Feredar. ...not as openly, at least.
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I admit I giggled a little when it was like "they finally found a dilapidated shed to sleep in" and then her first, most pressing question is WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO INTRODUCE ME TO YOUR PARENTS. Without any context for the story, it was like, you're having to hunt for sheds to sleep in and that's your biggest worry?
I do have a tiny crit, though it's more of a question:
"Mm?" he was almost asleep, and he didn't bother opening his eyes.
Should "he" be capitalized? I realize that being after a question mark in quotations doesn't necessitate capitalization -- I only make the suggestion because "Mm?" and "he was almost..." seem like two separate sentences.
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Telri's magnanimous because she's...used to keeping secrets for the safety of the people she loves. Blood magic is something that terrifies just about everything, to the point where, in its native nation, only seven families are allowed to practice it combatively, and she's Unthreaded/from another part of the world.
As for her most pressing question being about the introduction, she and Isshiri pretty much are just wandering aimlessly and exploring the world. Occasionally Isshiri will have to do some diplomacy or espionage, but they spend a lot of time in relatively uncharted areas of the continent, seeing what there is to see. And the combination of rain + shelter means Isshiri can't dodge the question as easily as he could under other circumstances--he hates getting wet.
You're probably right about the capitalization, it's just a habit from writing dialogue to not capitalize. Thanks for pointing it out!
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Isshiri...actually does manage to keep Telri a secret for the rest of her life. She dies when Roneli, their daughter, is about a year or two old--within three or four years of this conversation. By the time Roneli is born, though, Telri has a better understanding of some of the political issues at hand, so she doesn't bring up the promise to come forward then, more for Roneli's safety than her own.
If Telri had lived much longer, though, the whole story would have come out. There's probably an AU buried in there for me to play with, but I haven't found it yet. So.
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And I don't know why I'm worried about actual spoilers because the setup of this community is such that they usually don't matter, but now I feel super bad for Telri. D: Horror!
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She doesn't die because of Kesshare or anything, at least? She gets sick, and it's relatively fast, and Isshiri is with her the whole time. ...I'm not sure if that helps, but.
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