Fic: The Song Of Gaia (1/1)
Title: The Song Of Gaia (1/1)
Author: BradyGirl_12
Pairings/Characters: Steve/Diana, Clark/Bruce, Dick/Roy, Linda/Barbara
Genres: Challenge, Fluff, Slice-Of-Life
Rating: G
Claim: For the dcu_freeforall Challenge (Diana/Steve)
Prompt: T 16; P 46: Sunrise (Writer’s Choice)
Prompt Count: (6/15)
Warnings: None
Spoilers: None
Summary: Diana and Clark discuss their connection to the Earth, and invite their loved ones to take part in a ritual to honor Gaia on Earth Day.
Date Of Completion: April 20, 2009
Date Of Posting: April 21, 2009
Disclaimer: I don’t own ‘em, DC does, more’s the pity.
Word Count: 2249
Feedback welcome and appreciated.
Author’s Notes: Written in honor of Earth Day, and it fits my 2009 DCU Fic/Art Cast Of Thousands!!! Challenge. Man, am I having fun with that! :)
Feel the Earth,
Between your fingers,
The wind on your face,
The sun on your skin,
The fire in your heart.
This is
The Song Of Gaia.
Elysia
"Laurel Leaves
And Other
Amazonian Poems"
326 B.C.E.
Diana walked up to Clark, who was squatting in a small grove in Metropolis’ City Park, his cape draped over him gracefully. Clark never thought of himself as graceful, attributing that to people like her, or Bruce and Dick, but Diana saw a very real grace in her old friend.
He was sifting the earth through his fingers of a hand that was both strong and gentle, a hand capable of lifting great weight or tearing things apart with barely any exertion, or typing a story with eager joy, yet the hand she saw was a farmer’s hand.
Clark’s appreciation of the land had been ingrained in him since a very young age on the Kent farm, and he truly loved the Earth and all its growing things. He was never happier than when puttering around a garden at the Manor or back home in the fields. She knew that he kept a window box garden at his Metropolis apartment, growing flowers and tomatoes, “because you can never have enough tomatoes”.
She put a hand on Clark’s shoulder. “Good, rich earth?”
He nodded. “Which is a miracle here in the city, I suppose.”
She squatted next to him, taking a deep breath. “Yes, the earth here is fertile.”
Clark closed his eyes. “I can smell it, feel it, hear it. All around me, like a song.”
“You learned this on the farm?”
He nodded. “I didn’t have all my powers as a kid, but I did have some, or low-level versions of them. I could run incredibly fast, and jump way higher than a normal kid. I could see further than anyone, though not as far as when I hit adolescence. Same for hearing. I could hear a lot farther than anyone else, but it must have been a safety device that I didn’t get my true range of hearing until I was a teenager and able to cope with filtering things out.” He also took a deep breath. “I did have a keen sense of smell from the early days. And I could smell all the growing things: corn and beans and tomatoes and everything good and plentiful.”
Diana clasped his hand and he smiled slightly. “You know I am of the Earth itself. I feel her, deep in my blood and bones.”
Clark squeezed her hand gently. “I know.” He opened his eyes and smiled at her.
Diana felt great affection for her friend and said, “We Amazons are always in tune with the Earth, and especially on holidays like Beltane and the Solstices, but I wish to honor her in the way of Man’s World.” At Clark’s quizzical look she said, “I wish to perform a ritual on Earth Day.”
Understanding dawned. “That’s a wonderful idea.”
“I wish you to participate.”
Clark’s blue eyes sparkled. “I’d like that!” He frowned slightly. “But you need more than two for a ritual, right?”
She nodded. “Usually, though we could perform this as two. However, I’m sure that Steve will be happy to join us. He has ties to the elements: the Earth, as his family always kept a garden of vegetables and flowers, the sea, as he says it’s in his Celtic blood…” she smiled fondly “…and the sky, because he loves it so.”
“I think of Bruce the same way. He loves the Manor and the estate, knows her rhythms and pulse, and it’s generations old in his blood.” He stood, bringing Diana with him. “I always think of him by the sea, as the Manor looks out over the ocean. And as a Bat, flying over Gotham’s rooftops is just natural. Oh, and a certain Little Bird enjoys the sky even more.”
Diana laughed. “Very true.” She squeezed his hand. “So we shall ask Steve, and how about Bruce, Dick and Roy? And your cousin and her Beloved? We can still perform with three if the others are not interested.”
“All right.”
They flew up into the sky.
& & & & & &
The sun was rising over the lake, Diana brushing her hair back as the wind blew. She was wearing a gold tiara different from her usual headpiece, and wore a long, white chiton with gold clasps, her bracelets sheathed in gold. Her sandals were the same color, and she wore a special amulet around her neck, jewels of every color against a gold background. She remembered the day her mother had given it to her when she had come of age to lead as a Priestess. She added the Virgin Mary medal that Steve had given her years ago.
She smiled at Clark, who was garbed in the masculine version of a chiton, and his accessories were gold, too, as fit a child of the Sun. He wore a Kryptonian headband and his father’s tieclip was attached to his sleeve.
“You look beautiful, my friend,” Diana said.
Clark smiled. “As do you, my friend.” He cocked his head. “Are you sure the male/female balance is right?”
“Well, if one of you were female, it might be more balanced, but I believe I and my sisters are female enough for all of us.”
He grinned, then looked around at the woods surrounding Miller’s Pond. The Kent holdings ran to the edge of the pond on the west side, and Clark was very happy that they were doing the ritual on his family land. “Mmm, the smell of spruce!”
Diana smiled. “The forest here is abundant.”
Clark nodded. “A nice change from flat fields, though acres of wheat and corn are a beautiful sight to behold.” His expression grew pensive. “Taking care of the Earth…it’s very important to me.” He rubbed his arm. “I know what it’s like to lose a planet.”
Diana touched his arm. “You are a fine caretaker, Clark.”
He smiled, and Bruce’s voice called, “Time to get this party started, Princess?”
Diana nodded, and she and Clark walked to the edge of the lake where Bruce and Steve waited, both garbed like Clark. Bruce’s accessories were silver, and his father’s cufflinks were attached to the sleeve of his chiton. He wore a Kryptonian headband and a watch over his bracelet gifted to him by Clark.
“Time to commune with the Earth, Clark?” he teased, and Clark merely smiled, glad that Bruce was comfortable enough to joke with him. He fingered the Wayne signet ring given to him by Bruce.
The others in their party emerged from the forest, each with their own small talisman on their chitons: Dick with a small badge with the letter ‘R’ from his Flying Graysons costume (later adapted to his Robin symbol); Roy with a Navajo turquoise-and-silver necklace given to him by the man who raised him, Brave Bow; Linda with a gold-and-silver Kryptonian necklace given to her by her parents, and Barbara with a topaz-studded purple bracelet, a gift from her father.
Their gifts to each other were just as treasured: Roy had given Dick a Navajo bracelet that matched his, and Dick had given Roy a glittering ring that was a prized Grayson family heirloom. Linda had been thrilled to receive a stunning set of silver filigreed earrings studded with deep-blue sapphires, and she had given Barbara a jeweled hairclip in the form of a butterfly that never failed to make her redhead smile.
Linda felt about the Earth in the same way as her cousin. She hadn’t grown up here, but it was her planet now, and she loved it. Barbara had always helped her father with a garden in their small backyard plot, and she was very environmentally-conscious, even before it had become widely accepted.
Dick’s Gypsy blood liked the mysticism of communing with the Earth, loving Wayne Manor as much as Bruce did, and of course he loved the sky with a true freedom that was rare.
Roy understood how to accept and live with Nature, a gift from his Navajo caretakers growing up on the reservation.
Diana approached her Beloved. Steve’s accessories were gold, and he wore the Medal of Athena given to him by Diana years ago and a tiny American flag pin given to him by his sister. He wore a Greek headband, blond hair spilling over gold, and smiled at his Angel.
“You look sparkling-gorgeous this morning, my love,” Diana said.
“Thank you, Angel. May I say the same?”
“You may.”
Bruce rolled his eyes, but he was teasing. Clark grinned. “Sorry you didn’t have time for coffee, Bruce.”
Bruce grumped. He rubbed his eyes, still grousing about the ‘ungodly hour’, but when he had been invited to this ritual, he had teased Clark about it but had accepted. He understood Clark’s bond with the Earth, and his own bond as well.
“Time to greet the new day, Bruce,” Dick said cheerfully, clapping his mentor on the shoulder and receiving a glare in return. He grinned, never fazed by Bat-grumpiness.
“Let us begin.”
Diana lit the fire, and all the elements were present: Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. She glanced at the flame-red hair of Roy and Barbara and smiled. She lifted her arms to the sky, holding a jeweled wand, and invoked the Goddess: “Oh, Great Gaia, hear your children. We hold sacred North, East, South, and West…” she created the circle, walking to each corner “…and honor you on this day.” The wind blew, the lake rippling as the sky streaked with lemon-yellow, cherry-red, and tangerine-orange with a touch of indigo and purple. Her hair and chiton flapped gently out behind her. “Know that we are preservers of your soil, your sea, your air, your fire. We offer our hearts and hands in your service, and know that we will always care for you, Great Gaia, Mother of All, as the fruit of your womb gives us a cornucopia of plenty on this precious planet.”
Diana could smell the blue spruce and evergreens, the pines and maples and oaks. She could hear the sounds of the forest, small animals scurrying, bright birds flying, and the sound of the water lapping at the edge of the shore. The wind tore at her hair and clothes, and she exulted in it.
“We nurture your earth, we swim your oceans and fly through your skies, and the fire of passion burns in our loins.” She could feel her Beloved in her heart, and her closest friends, bound to each other, as they all were.
She lifted a golden bowl of Martha’s homebaked bread and berries picked on their way here this morning. She offered it to Gaia, and passed the bowl around, each person touching the bowl to their forehead, and then she offered a golden chalice, filled with lush wine from Paradise Island, and she passed it around, each person touching it to their lips. When the bowl and cup reached her, she did the same.
A bluebird flew overhead, then a robin, and a crow cawed deep in the branches of a towering spruce. The fire crackled and the wind blew, tiny sparks blowing through the air, and she continued, “We who preserve you will never allow you harm. Our tears will water your plants and our blood will enrich your earth. We will sing with joy under the sun, and dance ‘round the fire.”
She took Steve and Clark’s hands, and everyone clasped hands with their neighbor. They moved slowly around the circle, chanting, “Gaia, Mother of All,” and when they made three rotations, stopped at their original spots and lifted their arms, and their voices were clear as they chanted, “We honor thee, O Great Gaia, Mother of All!” Diana’s heart sang.
Clark and Steve’s eyes were sparkling, her Beloved’s blond hair touched by the sun, and even Bruce looked moved, his midnight-blue eyes jewel-bright. The younger heroes glowed with their joyful pleasure, young and healthy and loved.
“The sun warms our skin, the sea is in our veins, the wind buoys our souls, and fire burns in our hearts.” She bowed her head. “Know that we will always care for you, Mother Gaia, who gives us life.”
They chanted for several minutes, performing the intricate Spiral Dance, and then Diana spoke the invocation and closed the circle.
& & & & & &
They feasted on Martha’s homemade bread, ripe and juicy berries, and pomegranates from Paradise. They drank the rich wine and watched the lake ripple in the wind as birds sang behind them in the trees.
Steve put his arm around her shoulders, his sapphire eyes sparkling as his Irish blood was fired up, blood that loved the land, as anyone Celtic could tell you.
Bruce was quietly sipping his wine, a warm red cape draped over his shoulders, and he held hands with Clark, whose faraway expression told Diana that he was communing with the Earth.
Barbara was entwining flowers in Linda’s hair, and Dick fed Roy pomegranate, eyes dancing with mischief.
She felt Gaia, deep in her heart and blood and bones, and shared her wine with Steve, their eyes meeting over the rim of the chalice, and her thigh brushed his. His hand brushed her hair back from her eyes, then placed a wildflower in her hair.
They were all alive, and happy, and would give their all to the Earth.
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Author: BradyGirl_12
Pairings/Characters: Steve/Diana, Clark/Bruce, Dick/Roy, Linda/Barbara
Genres: Challenge, Fluff, Slice-Of-Life
Rating: G
Claim: For the dcu_freeforall Challenge (Diana/Steve)
Prompt: T 16; P 46: Sunrise (Writer’s Choice)
Prompt Count: (6/15)
Warnings: None
Spoilers: None
Summary: Diana and Clark discuss their connection to the Earth, and invite their loved ones to take part in a ritual to honor Gaia on Earth Day.
Date Of Completion: April 20, 2009
Date Of Posting: April 21, 2009
Disclaimer: I don’t own ‘em, DC does, more’s the pity.
Word Count: 2249
Feedback welcome and appreciated.
Author’s Notes: Written in honor of Earth Day, and it fits my 2009 DCU Fic/Art Cast Of Thousands!!! Challenge. Man, am I having fun with that! :)
Feel the Earth,
Between your fingers,
The wind on your face,
The sun on your skin,
The fire in your heart.
This is
The Song Of Gaia.
Elysia
"Laurel Leaves
And Other
Amazonian Poems"
326 B.C.E.
Diana walked up to Clark, who was squatting in a small grove in Metropolis’ City Park, his cape draped over him gracefully. Clark never thought of himself as graceful, attributing that to people like her, or Bruce and Dick, but Diana saw a very real grace in her old friend.
He was sifting the earth through his fingers of a hand that was both strong and gentle, a hand capable of lifting great weight or tearing things apart with barely any exertion, or typing a story with eager joy, yet the hand she saw was a farmer’s hand.
Clark’s appreciation of the land had been ingrained in him since a very young age on the Kent farm, and he truly loved the Earth and all its growing things. He was never happier than when puttering around a garden at the Manor or back home in the fields. She knew that he kept a window box garden at his Metropolis apartment, growing flowers and tomatoes, “because you can never have enough tomatoes”.
She put a hand on Clark’s shoulder. “Good, rich earth?”
He nodded. “Which is a miracle here in the city, I suppose.”
She squatted next to him, taking a deep breath. “Yes, the earth here is fertile.”
Clark closed his eyes. “I can smell it, feel it, hear it. All around me, like a song.”
“You learned this on the farm?”
He nodded. “I didn’t have all my powers as a kid, but I did have some, or low-level versions of them. I could run incredibly fast, and jump way higher than a normal kid. I could see further than anyone, though not as far as when I hit adolescence. Same for hearing. I could hear a lot farther than anyone else, but it must have been a safety device that I didn’t get my true range of hearing until I was a teenager and able to cope with filtering things out.” He also took a deep breath. “I did have a keen sense of smell from the early days. And I could smell all the growing things: corn and beans and tomatoes and everything good and plentiful.”
Diana clasped his hand and he smiled slightly. “You know I am of the Earth itself. I feel her, deep in my blood and bones.”
Clark squeezed her hand gently. “I know.” He opened his eyes and smiled at her.
Diana felt great affection for her friend and said, “We Amazons are always in tune with the Earth, and especially on holidays like Beltane and the Solstices, but I wish to honor her in the way of Man’s World.” At Clark’s quizzical look she said, “I wish to perform a ritual on Earth Day.”
Understanding dawned. “That’s a wonderful idea.”
“I wish you to participate.”
Clark’s blue eyes sparkled. “I’d like that!” He frowned slightly. “But you need more than two for a ritual, right?”
She nodded. “Usually, though we could perform this as two. However, I’m sure that Steve will be happy to join us. He has ties to the elements: the Earth, as his family always kept a garden of vegetables and flowers, the sea, as he says it’s in his Celtic blood…” she smiled fondly “…and the sky, because he loves it so.”
“I think of Bruce the same way. He loves the Manor and the estate, knows her rhythms and pulse, and it’s generations old in his blood.” He stood, bringing Diana with him. “I always think of him by the sea, as the Manor looks out over the ocean. And as a Bat, flying over Gotham’s rooftops is just natural. Oh, and a certain Little Bird enjoys the sky even more.”
Diana laughed. “Very true.” She squeezed his hand. “So we shall ask Steve, and how about Bruce, Dick and Roy? And your cousin and her Beloved? We can still perform with three if the others are not interested.”
“All right.”
They flew up into the sky.
& & & & & &
The sun was rising over the lake, Diana brushing her hair back as the wind blew. She was wearing a gold tiara different from her usual headpiece, and wore a long, white chiton with gold clasps, her bracelets sheathed in gold. Her sandals were the same color, and she wore a special amulet around her neck, jewels of every color against a gold background. She remembered the day her mother had given it to her when she had come of age to lead as a Priestess. She added the Virgin Mary medal that Steve had given her years ago.
She smiled at Clark, who was garbed in the masculine version of a chiton, and his accessories were gold, too, as fit a child of the Sun. He wore a Kryptonian headband and his father’s tieclip was attached to his sleeve.
“You look beautiful, my friend,” Diana said.
Clark smiled. “As do you, my friend.” He cocked his head. “Are you sure the male/female balance is right?”
“Well, if one of you were female, it might be more balanced, but I believe I and my sisters are female enough for all of us.”
He grinned, then looked around at the woods surrounding Miller’s Pond. The Kent holdings ran to the edge of the pond on the west side, and Clark was very happy that they were doing the ritual on his family land. “Mmm, the smell of spruce!”
Diana smiled. “The forest here is abundant.”
Clark nodded. “A nice change from flat fields, though acres of wheat and corn are a beautiful sight to behold.” His expression grew pensive. “Taking care of the Earth…it’s very important to me.” He rubbed his arm. “I know what it’s like to lose a planet.”
Diana touched his arm. “You are a fine caretaker, Clark.”
He smiled, and Bruce’s voice called, “Time to get this party started, Princess?”
Diana nodded, and she and Clark walked to the edge of the lake where Bruce and Steve waited, both garbed like Clark. Bruce’s accessories were silver, and his father’s cufflinks were attached to the sleeve of his chiton. He wore a Kryptonian headband and a watch over his bracelet gifted to him by Clark.
“Time to commune with the Earth, Clark?” he teased, and Clark merely smiled, glad that Bruce was comfortable enough to joke with him. He fingered the Wayne signet ring given to him by Bruce.
The others in their party emerged from the forest, each with their own small talisman on their chitons: Dick with a small badge with the letter ‘R’ from his Flying Graysons costume (later adapted to his Robin symbol); Roy with a Navajo turquoise-and-silver necklace given to him by the man who raised him, Brave Bow; Linda with a gold-and-silver Kryptonian necklace given to her by her parents, and Barbara with a topaz-studded purple bracelet, a gift from her father.
Their gifts to each other were just as treasured: Roy had given Dick a Navajo bracelet that matched his, and Dick had given Roy a glittering ring that was a prized Grayson family heirloom. Linda had been thrilled to receive a stunning set of silver filigreed earrings studded with deep-blue sapphires, and she had given Barbara a jeweled hairclip in the form of a butterfly that never failed to make her redhead smile.
Linda felt about the Earth in the same way as her cousin. She hadn’t grown up here, but it was her planet now, and she loved it. Barbara had always helped her father with a garden in their small backyard plot, and she was very environmentally-conscious, even before it had become widely accepted.
Dick’s Gypsy blood liked the mysticism of communing with the Earth, loving Wayne Manor as much as Bruce did, and of course he loved the sky with a true freedom that was rare.
Roy understood how to accept and live with Nature, a gift from his Navajo caretakers growing up on the reservation.
Diana approached her Beloved. Steve’s accessories were gold, and he wore the Medal of Athena given to him by Diana years ago and a tiny American flag pin given to him by his sister. He wore a Greek headband, blond hair spilling over gold, and smiled at his Angel.
“You look sparkling-gorgeous this morning, my love,” Diana said.
“Thank you, Angel. May I say the same?”
“You may.”
Bruce rolled his eyes, but he was teasing. Clark grinned. “Sorry you didn’t have time for coffee, Bruce.”
Bruce grumped. He rubbed his eyes, still grousing about the ‘ungodly hour’, but when he had been invited to this ritual, he had teased Clark about it but had accepted. He understood Clark’s bond with the Earth, and his own bond as well.
“Time to greet the new day, Bruce,” Dick said cheerfully, clapping his mentor on the shoulder and receiving a glare in return. He grinned, never fazed by Bat-grumpiness.
“Let us begin.”
Diana lit the fire, and all the elements were present: Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. She glanced at the flame-red hair of Roy and Barbara and smiled. She lifted her arms to the sky, holding a jeweled wand, and invoked the Goddess: “Oh, Great Gaia, hear your children. We hold sacred North, East, South, and West…” she created the circle, walking to each corner “…and honor you on this day.” The wind blew, the lake rippling as the sky streaked with lemon-yellow, cherry-red, and tangerine-orange with a touch of indigo and purple. Her hair and chiton flapped gently out behind her. “Know that we are preservers of your soil, your sea, your air, your fire. We offer our hearts and hands in your service, and know that we will always care for you, Great Gaia, Mother of All, as the fruit of your womb gives us a cornucopia of plenty on this precious planet.”
Diana could smell the blue spruce and evergreens, the pines and maples and oaks. She could hear the sounds of the forest, small animals scurrying, bright birds flying, and the sound of the water lapping at the edge of the shore. The wind tore at her hair and clothes, and she exulted in it.
“We nurture your earth, we swim your oceans and fly through your skies, and the fire of passion burns in our loins.” She could feel her Beloved in her heart, and her closest friends, bound to each other, as they all were.
She lifted a golden bowl of Martha’s homebaked bread and berries picked on their way here this morning. She offered it to Gaia, and passed the bowl around, each person touching the bowl to their forehead, and then she offered a golden chalice, filled with lush wine from Paradise Island, and she passed it around, each person touching it to their lips. When the bowl and cup reached her, she did the same.
A bluebird flew overhead, then a robin, and a crow cawed deep in the branches of a towering spruce. The fire crackled and the wind blew, tiny sparks blowing through the air, and she continued, “We who preserve you will never allow you harm. Our tears will water your plants and our blood will enrich your earth. We will sing with joy under the sun, and dance ‘round the fire.”
She took Steve and Clark’s hands, and everyone clasped hands with their neighbor. They moved slowly around the circle, chanting, “Gaia, Mother of All,” and when they made three rotations, stopped at their original spots and lifted their arms, and their voices were clear as they chanted, “We honor thee, O Great Gaia, Mother of All!” Diana’s heart sang.
Clark and Steve’s eyes were sparkling, her Beloved’s blond hair touched by the sun, and even Bruce looked moved, his midnight-blue eyes jewel-bright. The younger heroes glowed with their joyful pleasure, young and healthy and loved.
“The sun warms our skin, the sea is in our veins, the wind buoys our souls, and fire burns in our hearts.” She bowed her head. “Know that we will always care for you, Mother Gaia, who gives us life.”
They chanted for several minutes, performing the intricate Spiral Dance, and then Diana spoke the invocation and closed the circle.
& & & & & &
They feasted on Martha’s homemade bread, ripe and juicy berries, and pomegranates from Paradise. They drank the rich wine and watched the lake ripple in the wind as birds sang behind them in the trees.
Steve put his arm around her shoulders, his sapphire eyes sparkling as his Irish blood was fired up, blood that loved the land, as anyone Celtic could tell you.
Bruce was quietly sipping his wine, a warm red cape draped over his shoulders, and he held hands with Clark, whose faraway expression told Diana that he was communing with the Earth.
Barbara was entwining flowers in Linda’s hair, and Dick fed Roy pomegranate, eyes dancing with mischief.
She felt Gaia, deep in her heart and blood and bones, and shared her wine with Steve, their eyes meeting over the rim of the chalice, and her thigh brushed his. His hand brushed her hair back from her eyes, then placed a wildflower in her hair.
They were all alive, and happy, and would give their all to the Earth.
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