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rainbowfic2012-02-16 12:59 am
shadowsong26) wrote in rainbowfic2012-02-16 12:59 am
Nacre #14
Name: shadowsong26
Story: And Miles to Go Before I Sleep
'Verse: Feredar
Colors: Nacre #14. Safe
Supplies and Materials: pastels (my current gen card N5 fragile), oils
Word Count: 560
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Mel Artwick, Prince Isshiri
Warnings: None
Notes: Constructive criticism welcome, as always.
He'd waited too long.
He'd first heard the rumors of an Islander ship as a means of escape for slaves weeks ago, then wasted so much time to confirm it. He'd finally felt sure enough that it wasn't a trap to tell Isshiri and get him on board with the plan. Then another ten days of waiting--and it had started raining again, and the guards were still pushing Isshiri too damn hard, and Isshiri was wilting.
Mel was afraid he was dying. Isshiri kept insisting that it wasn't entirely that bad, not yet. He said that, if he could manage to get someplace warm and dry soon, for at least a week or two, he'd stabilize enough to be more than a pale, wobbly shadow of himself. But Isshiri seemed barely to notice disaster--the only thing Mel had ever heard him get really, truly upset about was getting his prosthetic taken away and replaced by one that didn’t fit right and gave him splinters, and if he was as casual has he seemed about his collar, then death couldn't be much--
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Focus. At least he was thriving in the rain. He could get Isshiri out, as soon as the guard was distracted enough, even if Isshiri couldn't manage his part.
He opened his eyes. "How're you holdin' up?" he asked, quietly.
"Been better," Isshiri replied, a little shortly.
Mel nodded. "Be ready," he said, half under his breath.
Isshiri jerked his head up. "Today?" he asked, lips barely moving. The water-mage nodded, with a tight little smile.
I'll get you someplace warm and dry where you can recover, and then if you really are that Isshiri, not just sharin' his name, then you can get your people to help and end this for good, and free all the others. …And you won't die. Please don’t die. Mel closed his eyes again and shut out his thoughts, trying to maintain a calm facade, only opening them when the guard dragged him out and deactivated his collar so he could work.
The hours stretched on, however, with no opportunity. Isshiri kept looking at him--first impatient, then beginning to despair. I promise you, Isshiri, I'll get you out. Just hold on a few more hours...
Just after noon, after they'd sorted through a large cart that was full of almost nothing but contraband, Mel caught Isshiri's eye and nodded slightly. The boy shifted to the position Mel wanted him in for the breakout. He slipped a little in the mud and nearly went down. Mel scrambled over, as if to catch him, then pulled on the soggy ground--there was a moment of horrible weightless tension as the rain and mud around him fought such a large-scale change, then Isshiri managed to snap the heat-bubble into place around the two of them for protection as Mel froze everything else within reach.
"Come on!" Mel said when they were done, tugging on his arm. "We have to move now!"
"R-right," Isshiri said, blinking and shaking his head. "S'cold..."
"Running will warm you up. Come on." Don't fade on me now, I need you to stay with me, I can't do this alone.
With Isshiri stumbling along behind him, Mel cut a path through the ice and led the way out of Feredar.
Story: And Miles to Go Before I Sleep
'Verse: Feredar
Colors: Nacre #14. Safe
Supplies and Materials: pastels (my current gen card N5 fragile), oils
Word Count: 560
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Mel Artwick, Prince Isshiri
Warnings: None
Notes: Constructive criticism welcome, as always.
He'd waited too long.
He'd first heard the rumors of an Islander ship as a means of escape for slaves weeks ago, then wasted so much time to confirm it. He'd finally felt sure enough that it wasn't a trap to tell Isshiri and get him on board with the plan. Then another ten days of waiting--and it had started raining again, and the guards were still pushing Isshiri too damn hard, and Isshiri was wilting.
Mel was afraid he was dying. Isshiri kept insisting that it wasn't entirely that bad, not yet. He said that, if he could manage to get someplace warm and dry soon, for at least a week or two, he'd stabilize enough to be more than a pale, wobbly shadow of himself. But Isshiri seemed barely to notice disaster--the only thing Mel had ever heard him get really, truly upset about was getting his prosthetic taken away and replaced by one that didn’t fit right and gave him splinters, and if he was as casual has he seemed about his collar, then death couldn't be much--
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Focus. At least he was thriving in the rain. He could get Isshiri out, as soon as the guard was distracted enough, even if Isshiri couldn't manage his part.
He opened his eyes. "How're you holdin' up?" he asked, quietly.
"Been better," Isshiri replied, a little shortly.
Mel nodded. "Be ready," he said, half under his breath.
Isshiri jerked his head up. "Today?" he asked, lips barely moving. The water-mage nodded, with a tight little smile.
I'll get you someplace warm and dry where you can recover, and then if you really are that Isshiri, not just sharin' his name, then you can get your people to help and end this for good, and free all the others. …And you won't die. Please don’t die. Mel closed his eyes again and shut out his thoughts, trying to maintain a calm facade, only opening them when the guard dragged him out and deactivated his collar so he could work.
The hours stretched on, however, with no opportunity. Isshiri kept looking at him--first impatient, then beginning to despair. I promise you, Isshiri, I'll get you out. Just hold on a few more hours...
Just after noon, after they'd sorted through a large cart that was full of almost nothing but contraband, Mel caught Isshiri's eye and nodded slightly. The boy shifted to the position Mel wanted him in for the breakout. He slipped a little in the mud and nearly went down. Mel scrambled over, as if to catch him, then pulled on the soggy ground--there was a moment of horrible weightless tension as the rain and mud around him fought such a large-scale change, then Isshiri managed to snap the heat-bubble into place around the two of them for protection as Mel froze everything else within reach.
"Come on!" Mel said when they were done, tugging on his arm. "We have to move now!"
"R-right," Isshiri said, blinking and shaking his head. "S'cold..."
"Running will warm you up. Come on." Don't fade on me now, I need you to stay with me, I can't do this alone.
With Isshiri stumbling along behind him, Mel cut a path through the ice and led the way out of Feredar.
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