brighter lights fill the nights and bluer skies reflect in your eyes
Title: Never Forget
Author/Artist: decaydreams
Character(s) or Pairing(s): Iceland and a random elf. I'm serious as a heart attack. Kind of like a pairing if you squint.
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Ambiguous setting, probably some inaccuracies (I've never met one of the elves, after all), possibly sappy writing style, and bad English grammar. Nothing new.
Word Count: 1,309
Prompt: Huldúfolk, or any folkloric/supernatural occurence or creature (obviously native to Iceland).
Summary: Iceland takes a walk and met an old childhood friend.
never forget.
It was spring again, how quickly time has passed. It felt like winter was just yesterday, but then it passes by so quickly, like a fleeting butterfly. But the weather was quite nice, Iceland had to admit, and hence why he was out, walking in the streets of his capital and observing his people from a safe distance. People could be annoying sometimes, you know, even his own people. But they are certainly different than the other Nations. Sometimes he enjoyed their company; asking subtle questions about the lives they had, talking about the weather, and sometimes their opinion about their country. For some reason, it’s easier for him to talk to them, random people on the streets, than the other Nations. It’s probably because they were his people, or because they don’t know each other for centuries. The other countries…well, they can be interesting sometimes. But he’d rather pay attention to his own people and his land and occasionally his family, if you can call them that. It’s not apathy; it’s just that he was minding his own business, not like some people he knew, who meddled in other people’s business. He wasn’t like that.
Just like now. He was strolling in a rather empty street because he doesn’t feel like meeting people. He encountered some along the way, of course, but he tried his best to avoid their gaze and scurried on his path, even though he had nowhere in particular to go to. There are no meetings today, he already checked his schedule this morning before he started his little adventure (it was one of his simple joys of life). He was about to go watching the whales today, but he changed his mind in the last minutes. He’s always like that; making plans, but never truly follows them. If he did, it wouldn’t be the exact same thing as what he was actually planning.
“Where are you going?”
A stranger’s voice pulled Iceland out of his train of thought rudely, and it made him stopped dead in his tracks, because the girl (or maybe young lady would be a more correct term, even though it’s hard to guess her age) who was talking to him was standing on it. She made him blink a couple of times and stared at her for quite a long time, not because she was beautiful, but because she wasn’t there seconds ago. Other than that, she was wearing outdated clothes. Outdated as in the ones ladies’ wore three centuries ago. Her clothes automatically made him think about the elves, but he quickly shun away the thought. It’s been quite a long time since one of them (or more) makes themselves visible to him, about half a century ago or so. She was just probably on her way to a costume party or something along that line. Human girls these days…
“Isn’t it rude to ignore someone who is speaking to you, even if she is a stranger?”
She beamed him a smile (maybe a bit too bright to resist) and took a step forward. He blinked again and opened his mouth to answer. But before he can do so, the blonde-haired girl cuts him off.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m certain that you’re busy worrying about your people’s well-being and all, yes?”
This, of course, caused the Nation to gawk. After all, no one knows his true identity except for his bosses. Why did some random girl he met on the street, who was wearing odd clothes, know that, he had no idea. He composed the words he was about to say carefully, but then again, sometimes his mind and mouth just won’t cooperate.
“How did you know?”
He shouldn’t say that. That only caused her to smile more brightly (and prettily, but Iceland won’t admit that) and took another step closer. Now that they’re at a quite close proximity, he can see that she had some…inhuman qualities. Not in a sense that she had wings growing from her back or what, no, that would be obvious from the start, but in a sense where she emits…an inhuman vibe. A strangely familiar otherworldly vibe.
“You don’t remember, do you?”
The platinum-haired Nation instinctively took a step back as she draws in closer, not because she emanated a malevolent vibe from a closer distance, but more because the human part in him knows; this wasn’t a regular human being he encountered every day, this was something else. Something alien. And humans tend to fear unknown things; things that they can’t hunt down and capture with words. But the inhuman, immortal part of him stays unyielding, staring back at her defiantly.
There are memories; memories he knew but doesn’t quite remember, playing in his mind, like a forgotten old song.
He knows her.
The sense of knowing but not knowing sent forward a surge of curiosity; he must find out, he will find out.
“Who are you?”
The woman he addressed (she suddenly looked older now in his eyes; it was as if her physical age didn’t suit her, much like him) answered his question with another smile. But it’s not just a smile; it was a knowing smile. She’d known all along that he’s going to ask that fundamental question.
“You had grown so well, hadn’t you?”
He should have anticipated that. This woman, no, this creature, wouldn’t answer his question that easily. He raked his memory, looking for her in them, lost in thought. Her question was a rhetorical one; he didn’t need to answer it.
“I always thought that you were one of us.” She took another step forward, slowly closing the space between them. He did nothing; it was as if his feet were permanently etched to the ground. He was spellbound, entranced by her words. “But apparently I was wrong, wasn’t I?” She extends a hand to touch his face, forcing him to look into her eyes. They were blue, as he was predicted, but it made him think of neither the sky nor the sea. They merged together in her eyes, forming a pattern so oddly familiar, like an old friend.
An old friend. Suddenly everything clicks in his mind.
“You’re too human to be one of us, but you’re not human enough to be one of them.” She finished her monologue in a sing-song voice, caressing his face softly.
“You were the one in my childhood…?” Iceland finally asked in a hesitant tone, breaking free from his trance.
“We used to do everything together,” She answered, still in a sing-song voice. “And you were the only friend I had.” He chimed in, finishing her sentence by some unknown power. He remembered, all of a sudden.
“Long ago, in the dawn of your time.” Her smile seemed less foreign now. Long, long ago, it was the smile that helped him sleep at night, and the first thing that he saw in the morning. An odd feeling of nostalgia and longing suddenly fill his chest, and his heart fluttered faster, like a caged bird. “I remember.” The words escaped his lips, and she kissed his left cheek. Like the one she used to do, he suddenly thought. He could feel a blush spreads across his face, and laughter rings out from her. It felt so close yet so distant at the same time.
“I have to go now,” She said, breaking the silence that came naturally after her laughter. He opened his mouth to debate her, because he wanted to spend more time with her, reliving the memories. But she knew; she placed a finger in his lips, silencing him. “I can’t stay long, but I want you to promise me one thing.”
He can’t say anything, she has rendered him speechless. He could only stared back at her, silently asking with his eyes.
“Never forget.”
A/N: There are tons of articles and explanations on the ol' internet about the Huldúfolk (just do your Google-fu) if you want to know, but this summed it up pretty nicely since hey, it's uncle Wiki, and this kind of cracked me up. There's also erotic services 101 and 101 101, but that doesn't have anything to do with the story! /shot
Author/Artist: decaydreams
Character(s) or Pairing(s): Iceland and a random elf. I'm serious as a heart attack. Kind of like a pairing if you squint.
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Ambiguous setting, probably some inaccuracies (I've never met one of the elves, after all), possibly sappy writing style, and bad English grammar. Nothing new.
Word Count: 1,309
Prompt: Huldúfolk, or any folkloric/supernatural occurence or creature (obviously native to Iceland).
Summary: Iceland takes a walk and met an old childhood friend.
never forget.
It was spring again, how quickly time has passed. It felt like winter was just yesterday, but then it passes by so quickly, like a fleeting butterfly. But the weather was quite nice, Iceland had to admit, and hence why he was out, walking in the streets of his capital and observing his people from a safe distance. People could be annoying sometimes, you know, even his own people. But they are certainly different than the other Nations. Sometimes he enjoyed their company; asking subtle questions about the lives they had, talking about the weather, and sometimes their opinion about their country. For some reason, it’s easier for him to talk to them, random people on the streets, than the other Nations. It’s probably because they were his people, or because they don’t know each other for centuries. The other countries…well, they can be interesting sometimes. But he’d rather pay attention to his own people and his land and occasionally his family, if you can call them that. It’s not apathy; it’s just that he was minding his own business, not like some people he knew, who meddled in other people’s business. He wasn’t like that.
Just like now. He was strolling in a rather empty street because he doesn’t feel like meeting people. He encountered some along the way, of course, but he tried his best to avoid their gaze and scurried on his path, even though he had nowhere in particular to go to. There are no meetings today, he already checked his schedule this morning before he started his little adventure (it was one of his simple joys of life). He was about to go watching the whales today, but he changed his mind in the last minutes. He’s always like that; making plans, but never truly follows them. If he did, it wouldn’t be the exact same thing as what he was actually planning.
“Where are you going?”
A stranger’s voice pulled Iceland out of his train of thought rudely, and it made him stopped dead in his tracks, because the girl (or maybe young lady would be a more correct term, even though it’s hard to guess her age) who was talking to him was standing on it. She made him blink a couple of times and stared at her for quite a long time, not because she was beautiful, but because she wasn’t there seconds ago. Other than that, she was wearing outdated clothes. Outdated as in the ones ladies’ wore three centuries ago. Her clothes automatically made him think about the elves, but he quickly shun away the thought. It’s been quite a long time since one of them (or more) makes themselves visible to him, about half a century ago or so. She was just probably on her way to a costume party or something along that line. Human girls these days…
“Isn’t it rude to ignore someone who is speaking to you, even if she is a stranger?”
She beamed him a smile (maybe a bit too bright to resist) and took a step forward. He blinked again and opened his mouth to answer. But before he can do so, the blonde-haired girl cuts him off.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m certain that you’re busy worrying about your people’s well-being and all, yes?”
This, of course, caused the Nation to gawk. After all, no one knows his true identity except for his bosses. Why did some random girl he met on the street, who was wearing odd clothes, know that, he had no idea. He composed the words he was about to say carefully, but then again, sometimes his mind and mouth just won’t cooperate.
“How did you know?”
He shouldn’t say that. That only caused her to smile more brightly (and prettily, but Iceland won’t admit that) and took another step closer. Now that they’re at a quite close proximity, he can see that she had some…inhuman qualities. Not in a sense that she had wings growing from her back or what, no, that would be obvious from the start, but in a sense where she emits…an inhuman vibe. A strangely familiar otherworldly vibe.
“You don’t remember, do you?”
The platinum-haired Nation instinctively took a step back as she draws in closer, not because she emanated a malevolent vibe from a closer distance, but more because the human part in him knows; this wasn’t a regular human being he encountered every day, this was something else. Something alien. And humans tend to fear unknown things; things that they can’t hunt down and capture with words. But the inhuman, immortal part of him stays unyielding, staring back at her defiantly.
There are memories; memories he knew but doesn’t quite remember, playing in his mind, like a forgotten old song.
He knows her.
The sense of knowing but not knowing sent forward a surge of curiosity; he must find out, he will find out.
“Who are you?”
The woman he addressed (she suddenly looked older now in his eyes; it was as if her physical age didn’t suit her, much like him) answered his question with another smile. But it’s not just a smile; it was a knowing smile. She’d known all along that he’s going to ask that fundamental question.
“You had grown so well, hadn’t you?”
He should have anticipated that. This woman, no, this creature, wouldn’t answer his question that easily. He raked his memory, looking for her in them, lost in thought. Her question was a rhetorical one; he didn’t need to answer it.
“I always thought that you were one of us.” She took another step forward, slowly closing the space between them. He did nothing; it was as if his feet were permanently etched to the ground. He was spellbound, entranced by her words. “But apparently I was wrong, wasn’t I?” She extends a hand to touch his face, forcing him to look into her eyes. They were blue, as he was predicted, but it made him think of neither the sky nor the sea. They merged together in her eyes, forming a pattern so oddly familiar, like an old friend.
An old friend. Suddenly everything clicks in his mind.
“You’re too human to be one of us, but you’re not human enough to be one of them.” She finished her monologue in a sing-song voice, caressing his face softly.
“You were the one in my childhood…?” Iceland finally asked in a hesitant tone, breaking free from his trance.
“We used to do everything together,” She answered, still in a sing-song voice. “And you were the only friend I had.” He chimed in, finishing her sentence by some unknown power. He remembered, all of a sudden.
“Long ago, in the dawn of your time.” Her smile seemed less foreign now. Long, long ago, it was the smile that helped him sleep at night, and the first thing that he saw in the morning. An odd feeling of nostalgia and longing suddenly fill his chest, and his heart fluttered faster, like a caged bird. “I remember.” The words escaped his lips, and she kissed his left cheek. Like the one she used to do, he suddenly thought. He could feel a blush spreads across his face, and laughter rings out from her. It felt so close yet so distant at the same time.
“I have to go now,” She said, breaking the silence that came naturally after her laughter. He opened his mouth to debate her, because he wanted to spend more time with her, reliving the memories. But she knew; she placed a finger in his lips, silencing him. “I can’t stay long, but I want you to promise me one thing.”
He can’t say anything, she has rendered him speechless. He could only stared back at her, silently asking with his eyes.
“Never forget.”
A/N: There are tons of articles and explanations on the ol' internet about the Huldúfolk (just do your Google-fu) if you want to know, but this summed it up pretty nicely since hey, it's uncle Wiki, and this kind of cracked me up. There's also erotic services 101 and 101 101, but that doesn't have anything to do with the story! /shot