amaranthh (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
greenling) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
rainbowfic2013-07-15 01:43 am
greenling) wrote in rainbowfic2013-07-15 01:43 am
Entry tags:
Harvest Gold #14
Name: Greenling
Story: Currently untitled.
Colors: Harvest Gold #14 (south for the winter)
Supplies and Styles: None.
Word Count: 1,782
Rating: G. Maybe a mild swear word in there somewhere.
Warnings: None.
Summary: Seeing your family for the holidays can be awkward. For some people, the problem is less their family and more an impending sense of doom.
Comments, criticism, and questions are all appreciated.
Jaymie sat straight up- tried to stand, heart racing, vision blurred, but bounced back into his seat, which didn't help. One hand clawed for the thing holding him down, understanding a half second before he was conscious of it that it was a seatbelt- his nails dug into the armrest-
He stopped, wiping the sleep out of his eyes and trying to breathe evenly. His immediate memory was blank, as it usually was after one of the really bad dreams, but he knew where he was, and that the hazy emotions of anxiety and shock were coming from the girl beside him.
"Sorry. They said we'll be landing soon." She spoke softly and evenly; Jaymie found it impressive, if worrying, how good Wendy was at hiding those emotions. For more than one reason, he didn't say anything. The clouds outside were lit from underneath by the early morning sun, sending scattered beams into the cabin that lit up her hair like stained glass fibers. It made his eyes water, and he fumbled around for his sunglasses. He found them somewhere near his feet, his jacket apparently having slid off sometime in the past two hours and been replaced with a blanket.
"Uh, don't worry about it," he replied. He felt a lot better with them on, especially cooped up with so many people. Muffled yawns, typing, seats moving, the rustle of fabric from the inner lining of coats; he could hear something that sounded like a refreshment cart being pushed around. His stomach took the opportunity to remind him that he'd forgotten dinner, which reminded him of other things. "Did you get any sleep?"
She shrugged, busy shoving her things back into her backpack. "A little. Mostly I'm hungry. You should eat something yourself."
He smiled at that. "I'll be fine. Dad'll probably want to take us somewhere. He likes showing off places he finds."
"Oh." Her eyes got big and wide, turning towards him. "We could go to the diner with the chocolate chip waffles? The one where he knows the owner or something?"
"Which one-?"
Awkwardness hit him first; he'd had more than that to say, he could've sworn, or at least something less awkward to do than sit there silently. It wasn't something they talked much about, in the months since he'd been back. It wasn't something he knew how to handle, or knew who would know how to handle; hey, did I miss anything major in the last seven to twelve years of your life? Like you having a relationship with my parents I know nothing about? Any important birthdays?
She found an excuse to look away and shrugged again. "I don't know... my mother might've taken me. Any place is fine. Especially if it has waffles." She smiled, and he made himself smile back.
The overhead speakers crackled, giving the final announcement to buckle seatbelts before they headed down to the airport. Jaymie sighed, relaxing a little, looking out the window at the LA skyline.
Merry Christmas, he thought spitefully. Fake smiles and palm trees with colorful lights.
It was nearing eight in the morning by the time they got through the gate. Jaymie scanned the edges of the crowd for familiar faces; he wanted to get some caffeine, but he didn't want to keep his parents waiting any longer if they were already here. The flight from Portland had been scheduled for several hours ago, but the weather had been unusually foul for early December and they'd been delayed more than once. He'd insisted Wendy try to nap, but he was still tired, and he was dreading having to haul things around. Really, the place could have the common decency not to be crowded at this hour. The kid stuck close to him, her nose half in a book with a dragon on the cover.
"Jaymie!"
As if answering a prayer he hadn't voiced, he heard his father's voice from a table near the Starbucks he'd been eyeing. He waved, tapped Wendy on the shoulder and made a beeline for them.
"Hey!" His father grinned, hopping out of his seat and going for a hug the moment Jaymie put down his bag and jacket. "How was your flight?"
"No idea. I fell asleep before we got into the air." He wasn't sure how much of it was just being out of the airplane, but it was surprisingly nice to see them both- not that he didn't love his family and all, but it felt like a weight had been taken off his shoulders. Other than the literal one. Wendy put the book down just long enough to indulge her grandfather (nope, still weird) in a hug as well.
"I'm glad you two are bright-eyed and bushy-tailed," said his mother, nursing a coffee. While his father was practically bouncing, she was a little ragged; her hair was pulled back, and her coat was buttoned up to cover rumpled clothes. He guessed she'd had a hard day at work or something. "Do you want to grab a snack before we go?"
"Now, Jaymie," his father said, "you did remember when you were packing clothes that we just have the one car, right?"
"Oh, wow, I thought the plane just dropped them off at your house." He tossed a lock of hair over his shoulder and snorted. "I packed two suitcases. They'll fit. And I need some caffeine, but I think someone wanted waffles? I could stay up if I got waffles out of it."
"Waffles? After we drop things off at home, sure." His father looked between the three of them, settling on Wendy. "Was that your idea?"
She shrugged. "Waffles, pancakes, donuts cut in half with bacon shoved in them..."
Jaymie stuck his tongue out and made a face. "Uh, I'm gonna let you figure that out."
Leaving them to catch up, and not wanting to spend too much time sitting around, he headed over to the line to order. Someone was standing next to a table near the counter; Jaymie paused to see if he was in line, but the guy just flicked an ear and didn't look up. One nice thing about being back home was that just about nobody stared at him for walking around indoors with sunglasses on. He missed enjoying being the center of attention, and not just being the center of his own universe, but since he'd come back, things had been so complicated he felt like he hadn't had a chance to breathe.
He paused, wallet in hand. The barista stared at him expectantly, but he forced himself to stop and think about the situation he was in. After a moment of hesitation, he turned to look behind him.
This time, the guy looked up, giving Jaymie a good look at unsettling yellow eyes, and yeah, those had been big pointy black wolf ears sticking out of his head. Et cetera. Okay. So Jaymie wasn't hallucinating, but now he felt like a massive dick. Predictably, the barista chose that moment to cough. He paid for his drink and decided not to look at the guy again. It wasn't any of his business. There weren't that many places he could look and effectively pretend to be nonchalant, but hopefully he could just get his goddamn drink and get back to his relatively normal agenda and of course the guy was staring at him like Jaymie was a house made of straw and, before he could feel properly stupid for even thinking that joke, his father decided to join them.
"Hey, kiddo. Are you ready, or do you mind if we go ahead?" The wolf guy flicked one ear again, turning to look at Jaymie's dad. There was a mutual look of recognition.
Today was just not going to let this go.
"Hey, you're..." He pointed a long black nail.
"Hi!" Jaymie's dad extended his hand, giving the guy his best charming smile. "Yeah, Steve Elderton, I think we worked together last year? Randall something?"
"Yeah- yeah, you're, uh, the writer guy." They shook hands. Randall Something dropped the annoyed glare he had been giving Jaymie in favor of a more startled look. "Hey."
His dad patted him on the back. "Jaymie, this guy was the villain in a student thing I did some consulting for last year. Did I show you that?"
"Uh... that must be why he looked familiar." With luck, we might just get out of this alive. Jaymie glanced at the counter and grabbed his drink. "Yeah, I'm ready to go."
"Awesome," his dad replied, apparently not noticing this. "Randall, this is my son, Jaymie. My granddaughter and he are here for Christmas. Have you been doing alright?"
Randall stared at Jaymie for a long moment; Jaymie winced. He could see the guy putting the pieces together... but the wolfman just shrugged, sticking his hands in his pockets. He looked nervous. "Mostly. Got a flight out in about an hour."
"Hope it's an easy flight, then."
"Yeah. Merry Christmas."
They finally disengaged from the conversation and began to leave. Jaymie took a long drink of his caramel latte and started to walk away, but an iron grip closed onto his shoulder. He spilled a drop onto his hand and hissed.
That was the end of it. Jaymie's expression became a snarl of hungry, sleep-deprived frustration. He snatched his sunglasses off and glared daggers at the wolfman, showing the guy what he'd obviously thought he'd seen. It took several moments (to his credit, Jaymie thought), but his ears folded back and he dropped his stony look again, nervous. "What."
"I just-" he began to respond; Jaymie's dad had turned around, confused, and they both glanced towards him. He continued quickly and quietly: "Don't go near the court. Stay away from others."
"What?" Jaymie repeated.
"Is there something wrong?" his dad asked, eyebrow quirked.
Jaymie glanced toward him again; Wendy and his mother had left already. If he had to process this, he might as well do it over waffles. "Nah," he said easily, trying to keep the incredulity out of his voice. "Nothing important. Let's get out of here before my things end up on a different plane."
Randall let go of Jaymie's shoulder and let them go. Jaymie took another long drink of his coffee- while walking this time- striding as quickly as he could out of the store without actually sprinting. As he left, he caught a glimpse of himself in an overpolished table: he'd spilled a bit of coffee on the hem of his shirt, his hair was a mess, and the two holes of shining blue light where his eyes used to be were flickering in the early morning light.
He shivered a little and put his sunglasses back on. If this was how this day was going to start, he was going to take the first opportunity he had to lock himself in a room and not touch anything for at least twelve hours.
(Tiny edit: accidentally an entire sentence. Nothing important.)
Story: Currently untitled.
Colors: Harvest Gold #14 (south for the winter)
Supplies and Styles: None.
Word Count: 1,782
Rating: G. Maybe a mild swear word in there somewhere.
Warnings: None.
Summary: Seeing your family for the holidays can be awkward. For some people, the problem is less their family and more an impending sense of doom.
Comments, criticism, and questions are all appreciated.
Jaymie sat straight up- tried to stand, heart racing, vision blurred, but bounced back into his seat, which didn't help. One hand clawed for the thing holding him down, understanding a half second before he was conscious of it that it was a seatbelt- his nails dug into the armrest-
He stopped, wiping the sleep out of his eyes and trying to breathe evenly. His immediate memory was blank, as it usually was after one of the really bad dreams, but he knew where he was, and that the hazy emotions of anxiety and shock were coming from the girl beside him.
"Sorry. They said we'll be landing soon." She spoke softly and evenly; Jaymie found it impressive, if worrying, how good Wendy was at hiding those emotions. For more than one reason, he didn't say anything. The clouds outside were lit from underneath by the early morning sun, sending scattered beams into the cabin that lit up her hair like stained glass fibers. It made his eyes water, and he fumbled around for his sunglasses. He found them somewhere near his feet, his jacket apparently having slid off sometime in the past two hours and been replaced with a blanket.
"Uh, don't worry about it," he replied. He felt a lot better with them on, especially cooped up with so many people. Muffled yawns, typing, seats moving, the rustle of fabric from the inner lining of coats; he could hear something that sounded like a refreshment cart being pushed around. His stomach took the opportunity to remind him that he'd forgotten dinner, which reminded him of other things. "Did you get any sleep?"
She shrugged, busy shoving her things back into her backpack. "A little. Mostly I'm hungry. You should eat something yourself."
He smiled at that. "I'll be fine. Dad'll probably want to take us somewhere. He likes showing off places he finds."
"Oh." Her eyes got big and wide, turning towards him. "We could go to the diner with the chocolate chip waffles? The one where he knows the owner or something?"
"Which one-?"
Awkwardness hit him first; he'd had more than that to say, he could've sworn, or at least something less awkward to do than sit there silently. It wasn't something they talked much about, in the months since he'd been back. It wasn't something he knew how to handle, or knew who would know how to handle; hey, did I miss anything major in the last seven to twelve years of your life? Like you having a relationship with my parents I know nothing about? Any important birthdays?
She found an excuse to look away and shrugged again. "I don't know... my mother might've taken me. Any place is fine. Especially if it has waffles." She smiled, and he made himself smile back.
The overhead speakers crackled, giving the final announcement to buckle seatbelts before they headed down to the airport. Jaymie sighed, relaxing a little, looking out the window at the LA skyline.
Merry Christmas, he thought spitefully. Fake smiles and palm trees with colorful lights.
It was nearing eight in the morning by the time they got through the gate. Jaymie scanned the edges of the crowd for familiar faces; he wanted to get some caffeine, but he didn't want to keep his parents waiting any longer if they were already here. The flight from Portland had been scheduled for several hours ago, but the weather had been unusually foul for early December and they'd been delayed more than once. He'd insisted Wendy try to nap, but he was still tired, and he was dreading having to haul things around. Really, the place could have the common decency not to be crowded at this hour. The kid stuck close to him, her nose half in a book with a dragon on the cover.
"Jaymie!"
As if answering a prayer he hadn't voiced, he heard his father's voice from a table near the Starbucks he'd been eyeing. He waved, tapped Wendy on the shoulder and made a beeline for them.
"Hey!" His father grinned, hopping out of his seat and going for a hug the moment Jaymie put down his bag and jacket. "How was your flight?"
"No idea. I fell asleep before we got into the air." He wasn't sure how much of it was just being out of the airplane, but it was surprisingly nice to see them both- not that he didn't love his family and all, but it felt like a weight had been taken off his shoulders. Other than the literal one. Wendy put the book down just long enough to indulge her grandfather (nope, still weird) in a hug as well.
"I'm glad you two are bright-eyed and bushy-tailed," said his mother, nursing a coffee. While his father was practically bouncing, she was a little ragged; her hair was pulled back, and her coat was buttoned up to cover rumpled clothes. He guessed she'd had a hard day at work or something. "Do you want to grab a snack before we go?"
"Now, Jaymie," his father said, "you did remember when you were packing clothes that we just have the one car, right?"
"Oh, wow, I thought the plane just dropped them off at your house." He tossed a lock of hair over his shoulder and snorted. "I packed two suitcases. They'll fit. And I need some caffeine, but I think someone wanted waffles? I could stay up if I got waffles out of it."
"Waffles? After we drop things off at home, sure." His father looked between the three of them, settling on Wendy. "Was that your idea?"
She shrugged. "Waffles, pancakes, donuts cut in half with bacon shoved in them..."
Jaymie stuck his tongue out and made a face. "Uh, I'm gonna let you figure that out."
Leaving them to catch up, and not wanting to spend too much time sitting around, he headed over to the line to order. Someone was standing next to a table near the counter; Jaymie paused to see if he was in line, but the guy just flicked an ear and didn't look up. One nice thing about being back home was that just about nobody stared at him for walking around indoors with sunglasses on. He missed enjoying being the center of attention, and not just being the center of his own universe, but since he'd come back, things had been so complicated he felt like he hadn't had a chance to breathe.
He paused, wallet in hand. The barista stared at him expectantly, but he forced himself to stop and think about the situation he was in. After a moment of hesitation, he turned to look behind him.
This time, the guy looked up, giving Jaymie a good look at unsettling yellow eyes, and yeah, those had been big pointy black wolf ears sticking out of his head. Et cetera. Okay. So Jaymie wasn't hallucinating, but now he felt like a massive dick. Predictably, the barista chose that moment to cough. He paid for his drink and decided not to look at the guy again. It wasn't any of his business. There weren't that many places he could look and effectively pretend to be nonchalant, but hopefully he could just get his goddamn drink and get back to his relatively normal agenda and of course the guy was staring at him like Jaymie was a house made of straw and, before he could feel properly stupid for even thinking that joke, his father decided to join them.
"Hey, kiddo. Are you ready, or do you mind if we go ahead?" The wolf guy flicked one ear again, turning to look at Jaymie's dad. There was a mutual look of recognition.
Today was just not going to let this go.
"Hey, you're..." He pointed a long black nail.
"Hi!" Jaymie's dad extended his hand, giving the guy his best charming smile. "Yeah, Steve Elderton, I think we worked together last year? Randall something?"
"Yeah- yeah, you're, uh, the writer guy." They shook hands. Randall Something dropped the annoyed glare he had been giving Jaymie in favor of a more startled look. "Hey."
His dad patted him on the back. "Jaymie, this guy was the villain in a student thing I did some consulting for last year. Did I show you that?"
"Uh... that must be why he looked familiar." With luck, we might just get out of this alive. Jaymie glanced at the counter and grabbed his drink. "Yeah, I'm ready to go."
"Awesome," his dad replied, apparently not noticing this. "Randall, this is my son, Jaymie. My granddaughter and he are here for Christmas. Have you been doing alright?"
Randall stared at Jaymie for a long moment; Jaymie winced. He could see the guy putting the pieces together... but the wolfman just shrugged, sticking his hands in his pockets. He looked nervous. "Mostly. Got a flight out in about an hour."
"Hope it's an easy flight, then."
"Yeah. Merry Christmas."
They finally disengaged from the conversation and began to leave. Jaymie took a long drink of his caramel latte and started to walk away, but an iron grip closed onto his shoulder. He spilled a drop onto his hand and hissed.
That was the end of it. Jaymie's expression became a snarl of hungry, sleep-deprived frustration. He snatched his sunglasses off and glared daggers at the wolfman, showing the guy what he'd obviously thought he'd seen. It took several moments (to his credit, Jaymie thought), but his ears folded back and he dropped his stony look again, nervous. "What."
"I just-" he began to respond; Jaymie's dad had turned around, confused, and they both glanced towards him. He continued quickly and quietly: "Don't go near the court. Stay away from others."
"What?" Jaymie repeated.
"Is there something wrong?" his dad asked, eyebrow quirked.
Jaymie glanced toward him again; Wendy and his mother had left already. If he had to process this, he might as well do it over waffles. "Nah," he said easily, trying to keep the incredulity out of his voice. "Nothing important. Let's get out of here before my things end up on a different plane."
Randall let go of Jaymie's shoulder and let them go. Jaymie took another long drink of his coffee- while walking this time- striding as quickly as he could out of the store without actually sprinting. As he left, he caught a glimpse of himself in an overpolished table: he'd spilled a bit of coffee on the hem of his shirt, his hair was a mess, and the two holes of shining blue light where his eyes used to be were flickering in the early morning light.
He shivered a little and put his sunglasses back on. If this was how this day was going to start, he was going to take the first opportunity he had to lock himself in a room and not touch anything for at least twelve hours.
(Tiny edit: accidentally an entire sentence. Nothing important.)
no subject
Poor Jaymie. Hope he gets things resolved soon.
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
Thanks... I love that icon, as it combines two of my favorite things: cats and books! :)
no subject
no subject
no subject
I must say, you've got my attention. Jaymie seems like a wonderful protagonist, and that little note in the middle (nope, still weird) made me laugh ridiculously. And then there's this vague sense of menace at the end-- oh, yes, I'm really looking forward to your next installment.
no subject
Jaymie is really fun to write, and most things from his point of view tend to bend towards dramatic extremes. Glad I made you laugh.
no subject
Strangely, I read this as Jaymie hallucinating drug-style throughout all of this rather than any of it being literally true: wolf-randall? Hairy man blown out of proportion. Anxiety-child-feelings? Waking up from a nightmare and associating the thoughts with her. Glowing eyes reflection? Good old fashioned walls-are-melting.
That isn't to say that I'm not still intrigued! I quite like that your writing feels just ambiguous enough that one could interpret it that way! Looking forward to seeing where that warning goes!
(I'm also looking forward to seeing more relationship dynamics worked out. Wendy is Jaymie's child that he doesn't know much about?)
no subject
Yep. Jaymie disappeared several years back, reappeared several months ago with no memory of what happened, and wound up taking care of her by default through a series of convergent events. No surprise they're a little awkward around one another...
no subject
no subject
She's twelve-ish.
no subject
no subject