Memory
The latest event was... well, it was something that took some getting used to. The most striking aspect was the... the physical change. And the somewhat baffling fact that she looked more feminine now; slimmer face, bigger eyes, less muscle, finer hands. She'd kept the height. The whole thing was bizarre.
All the same, dogs still needed to be taken out, so here she was on Captain Planet with most of hers. Jump had trotted off. Since she was having trouble getting words out, she had leashed the excitable Fang. Fortunately, it seemed that even with a slight build that had required tightening her belt quite a bit, she was still stronger than him. Jade and Curly were a little more tractable, so they ranged around, sometimes coming back to check where she was.
A disk came skimming out over the frost-touched grass and Fang lunged to catch it. Seeing that she was looking at it, he immediately tried to sprint off for a game of keepaway, and was cut short by the leash.
"No," she said in that somewhat deeper, hoarser voice the Ordeal had seen fit to give her. "Drop it." She'd have said that he didn't know what it was or where it was from if she could talk as easily as was usual. There was something in that disk, taped to it, and it glinted when the dog reluctantly let it fall. A memory crystal!
She picked the disk up, intending to worry the crystal free and wait until she was normal again to touch it. But she'd forgotten to account for slightly more slender fingers. One slipped through the wire, and then -
She was kneeling on a wooden floor in front of an altar in a temple, looking with awe at a pair of swords. One was short, the other longer, and both were sheathed in gold which had been polished until they shone like mirrored glass. Mindelan saw a hint of her reflection in one of them. It seemed tremendously distorted until she realized that in this memory, she was a child.
Min turned her head a little and saw a woman kneeling besides her, a few feet away. She was dressed in an ornate silk kimono - now that Min though of it, so was she - and speaking, though Mindelan couldn't hear anything. Her gaze went back to the swords.
She could feel awe, and her skin rippled into little bumps. This was something sacred.
Something changed, though she couldn't tell what. She was sniffing the air, though in the present Mindelan smelled nothing. Her gaze paused briefly on the large lamps on cords hanging from the ceiling, and the paper screens forming the walls. The woman kneeling next to her stood.
Min turned and saw a tall woman burst through a set of double doors. Her outer kimono flapped open, and her thick white hair was pulling free of its pins. She was carrying a staff capped by a long, curved blade. Despite wide eyes in a pale, powdered face, the way her mouth moved suggested calm and self-control.
And - whoever this was, Mindelan loved her.
She felt herself turn entirely around again in the instant before silhouettes appeared through the paper and hacked through it with axes and swords. Grimy barbaric-looking raiders, already spattered with blood, started tearing through.
An arm wrapped around her ribs and yanked her up; the woman who had been kneeling had picked the swords up with one hand, Mindelan in the other, and she outraced the raiders to the tall woman.
Then she stumbled and fell at the tall woman's feet. Mindelan slid across the floor, through the doorway. Startled, she picked herself up and looked back.
The woman who had knelt lay dead, an arrow in her back. The tall woman gathered the fallen swords in one arm and swept her bladed staff high, right and left, cutting down five lanterns. They burst on the floor, spreading burning oil. Even from this distance, Mindelan could feel the sudden heat. The raiders crossing the floor were naturally distracted.
The tall woman told her something, and Min hiked up the skirts of her kimono and ran with her, their socked feet sliding on the polished floors.
From being picked up to starting to run had all happened in a few seconds. Now they raced down corridors and made turnings, fleeing both the altar room and a new group of raiders seen in the distance. There was a little haze of smoke in the temple, not enough to obscure her sight.
Soon enough they were cornered in a dead end, in some part of the temple that had wooden walls. Raiders with axes and swords blocked the way they had come. The tall woman said something as she thrust the swords into Mindelan's arms, made her huddle in the corner, and stood between her and the approaching raiders.
Mindelan turned so that she could see around the tall woman's kimono and pinned the swords to the corner with her back. She saw the raiders relaxed, laughing and talking amongst themselves. The tall woman was tense, ready.
A second or two after Mindelan would have in her place, the tall woman moved. She cut one across the chest, another across the throat, and then they stopped laughing and took her seriously. The tall woman held them back, lunging and retreating, holding them off with her skill and longer weapon. Hot blood had struck Mindelan's face; she spat some out, wiped it on one voluminous sleeve, and watched, the sheathed swords poking into her back. She was breathless, but she was not afraid.
They were more cautious now, but the tall woman still killed a third and fourth before a squad of guardsman rounded the corner. Caught between them and the tall woman, the raiders were slaughtered.
When the last one was down, the tall woman turned back to her, covered in blood, and reached down to her, saying something. There had never been anyone so grand. Mindelan took her hand and came to her feet, picking the swords up again. Now that there was no danger, they seemed astonishingly heavy.
The guards knelt as one body into the deepest bow, pressing their foreheads to the bloody floor.
She wanted one of those bladed staffs. Any further thought was lost as the cold hit her. Mindelan seemed to have lost her coat and shirtsleeves. She was, in fact, in a brilliantly colored dress which was, naturally, not suited to this weather at all. Fang was sniffing cautiously at one of the seven child-sized mannequins that had appeared around her. Jade was starting to bound their way, baying excitedly; Curly couldn't be far behind.
Mindelan wrapped her mostly-bare arms around each other. "Baka," she muttered.
All the same, dogs still needed to be taken out, so here she was on Captain Planet with most of hers. Jump had trotted off. Since she was having trouble getting words out, she had leashed the excitable Fang. Fortunately, it seemed that even with a slight build that had required tightening her belt quite a bit, she was still stronger than him. Jade and Curly were a little more tractable, so they ranged around, sometimes coming back to check where she was.
A disk came skimming out over the frost-touched grass and Fang lunged to catch it. Seeing that she was looking at it, he immediately tried to sprint off for a game of keepaway, and was cut short by the leash.
"No," she said in that somewhat deeper, hoarser voice the Ordeal had seen fit to give her. "Drop it." She'd have said that he didn't know what it was or where it was from if she could talk as easily as was usual. There was something in that disk, taped to it, and it glinted when the dog reluctantly let it fall. A memory crystal!
She picked the disk up, intending to worry the crystal free and wait until she was normal again to touch it. But she'd forgotten to account for slightly more slender fingers. One slipped through the wire, and then -
She was kneeling on a wooden floor in front of an altar in a temple, looking with awe at a pair of swords. One was short, the other longer, and both were sheathed in gold which had been polished until they shone like mirrored glass. Mindelan saw a hint of her reflection in one of them. It seemed tremendously distorted until she realized that in this memory, she was a child.
Min turned her head a little and saw a woman kneeling besides her, a few feet away. She was dressed in an ornate silk kimono - now that Min though of it, so was she - and speaking, though Mindelan couldn't hear anything. Her gaze went back to the swords.
She could feel awe, and her skin rippled into little bumps. This was something sacred.
Something changed, though she couldn't tell what. She was sniffing the air, though in the present Mindelan smelled nothing. Her gaze paused briefly on the large lamps on cords hanging from the ceiling, and the paper screens forming the walls. The woman kneeling next to her stood.
Min turned and saw a tall woman burst through a set of double doors. Her outer kimono flapped open, and her thick white hair was pulling free of its pins. She was carrying a staff capped by a long, curved blade. Despite wide eyes in a pale, powdered face, the way her mouth moved suggested calm and self-control.
And - whoever this was, Mindelan loved her.
She felt herself turn entirely around again in the instant before silhouettes appeared through the paper and hacked through it with axes and swords. Grimy barbaric-looking raiders, already spattered with blood, started tearing through.
An arm wrapped around her ribs and yanked her up; the woman who had been kneeling had picked the swords up with one hand, Mindelan in the other, and she outraced the raiders to the tall woman.
Then she stumbled and fell at the tall woman's feet. Mindelan slid across the floor, through the doorway. Startled, she picked herself up and looked back.
The woman who had knelt lay dead, an arrow in her back. The tall woman gathered the fallen swords in one arm and swept her bladed staff high, right and left, cutting down five lanterns. They burst on the floor, spreading burning oil. Even from this distance, Mindelan could feel the sudden heat. The raiders crossing the floor were naturally distracted.
The tall woman told her something, and Min hiked up the skirts of her kimono and ran with her, their socked feet sliding on the polished floors.
From being picked up to starting to run had all happened in a few seconds. Now they raced down corridors and made turnings, fleeing both the altar room and a new group of raiders seen in the distance. There was a little haze of smoke in the temple, not enough to obscure her sight.
Soon enough they were cornered in a dead end, in some part of the temple that had wooden walls. Raiders with axes and swords blocked the way they had come. The tall woman said something as she thrust the swords into Mindelan's arms, made her huddle in the corner, and stood between her and the approaching raiders.
Mindelan turned so that she could see around the tall woman's kimono and pinned the swords to the corner with her back. She saw the raiders relaxed, laughing and talking amongst themselves. The tall woman was tense, ready.
A second or two after Mindelan would have in her place, the tall woman moved. She cut one across the chest, another across the throat, and then they stopped laughing and took her seriously. The tall woman held them back, lunging and retreating, holding them off with her skill and longer weapon. Hot blood had struck Mindelan's face; she spat some out, wiped it on one voluminous sleeve, and watched, the sheathed swords poking into her back. She was breathless, but she was not afraid.
They were more cautious now, but the tall woman still killed a third and fourth before a squad of guardsman rounded the corner. Caught between them and the tall woman, the raiders were slaughtered.
When the last one was down, the tall woman turned back to her, covered in blood, and reached down to her, saying something. There had never been anyone so grand. Mindelan took her hand and came to her feet, picking the swords up again. Now that there was no danger, they seemed astonishingly heavy.
The guards knelt as one body into the deepest bow, pressing their foreheads to the bloody floor.
She wanted one of those bladed staffs. Any further thought was lost as the cold hit her. Mindelan seemed to have lost her coat and shirtsleeves. She was, in fact, in a brilliantly colored dress which was, naturally, not suited to this weather at all. Fang was sniffing cautiously at one of the seven child-sized mannequins that had appeared around her. Jade was starting to bound their way, baying excitedly; Curly couldn't be far behind.
Mindelan wrapped her mostly-bare arms around each other. "Baka," she muttered.