Quest 222
[Private || Hackable by Friends]
It's nearly October again.
It really did creep up on me quickly this year; it's only a few days away now and this is the first time I've really thought of it all month. But that's not such a bad thing, I suppose--and certainly not after the way this time of year went last year, with the prison and Rue and the boxes and the barrier coming down. Has it really been a year already? It doesn't seem like so long ago that it was all going on. I'd meant to do so much after all that, to make myself ready for whatever trouble might come, and I don't feel as though I have.
I'm different now than I was then, though. At least, I feel different. I've lost Sam and Blue now--and this will be the first October I spend without both of them. I suppose it's something to be thankful for, in a way, since it means I don't have to worry that they might get hurt by whatever comes in the next month. I don't have to fear seeing Sam in one of those machines again. But it also means I'm on my own, doesn't it? Or more on my own than I once was. I miss knowing that they were always here to protect me when trouble came along, or to help me get through things when I couldn't manage it myself.
I hope they're all right. Sam saving the world and Blue--and Blue off somewhere nice, like Dean said, where he can be happy and play his trumpet and be surrounded by the people he loves. I hope there's a jazz club there, where he is, and that he gets to play every night if he wants, and everyone is so enthralled by his music that no one ever even thinks about how he looks. And I hope Bumblebee is keeping Sam safe, and that he and Mikaela are happy, and that he's doing well at his Princeton and playing Mario Kart and--and thinking of me, sometimes. I hope he does.
Is the storm coming again, with the beginning of October? It's Rue's anniversary again, and her birthday, too. I'll be more careful this year, I'll know to watch out for it--
But I have to look after it myself this year. Not alone, because I know I'm not alone here, even if it feels like it at times. But it always feels like that, no matter where you are, and I'm much better off than Mother was in her tower or Alexander was with that wizard, and...and if they can do it, then I can, too. I can. It just means being more careful this year, and not taking foolish chances, and...being ready. I have to be ready to take care of myself and the people I care about. It's my turn for that, now.
Nightmares or not...whatever's coming, I'm going to manage it. Haven't I always said I want to be the sort of princess that rescues others, and not the other way around?
That's it again, then. Whatever happens, whatever's coming, I won't let it get a bit of misery out of me. I'll beat October again, just as I beat it last year. And I'll make sure that my friends make it with me, too.
Storms or not, we'll weather it, won't we?
[/Private]
I remember thinking, this time last year, that waiting for October to come was rather like watching storm clouds on the horizon--even though the sky is blue overhead, you can see that darkness in the distance, slowly rolling toward you as time goes on. This is the end of my third September here now, and next month will be my third October. And it's superstition to say that bad things often come in threes, but the City rather likes to play on superstition, doesn't it? And October is usually the worst month of them all, and has been since long before I came here, myself.
Last year, it was something different every week--monsters and cannibals and a haunted pumpkin patch, of all things. I don't remember much about the October before that, since I didn't pay as close of attention to the curses then as I do now, but I seem to recall something about fighting and people being cursed into enjoying it, which is troublesome in itself. And in the years before that, I've heard the stories about hunting witches and accusing others of horrible things and everyone trying to harm each other because of it. Small wonder, then, that October should gain the reputation of being awful, when we've had so many years of bad ones.
And now it seems one of the deities is warning about a storm, himself. I'm afraid I don't know the story he has in mind for all this, but I do know the one about the boy that liked to cry wolf--and that sometimes, it's better to heed a warning and discover that it's false than to ignore it when it comes and learn too late that it's true.
What harm is there in getting ready for something that never comes, other than a bit of lost time? And really, I think it'd be wise to get ready for October anyway, since there's no telling what will come of it, but more often than not, it's something awful.
And whatever it might be, there's no harm in keeping a lemon cake on hand for the next few weeks. One never knows.
But on the bright side, October is a storm we've weathered before, and we'll weather it again, won't we? It's only one month, and then once it's over, we've got Giving-Thanks and Christmas to look forward to, and another whole year to enjoy before it comes around again.
It's nearly October again.
It really did creep up on me quickly this year; it's only a few days away now and this is the first time I've really thought of it all month. But that's not such a bad thing, I suppose--and certainly not after the way this time of year went last year, with the prison and Rue and the boxes and the barrier coming down. Has it really been a year already? It doesn't seem like so long ago that it was all going on. I'd meant to do so much after all that, to make myself ready for whatever trouble might come, and I don't feel as though I have.
I'm different now than I was then, though. At least, I feel different. I've lost Sam and Blue now--and this will be the first October I spend without both of them. I suppose it's something to be thankful for, in a way, since it means I don't have to worry that they might get hurt by whatever comes in the next month. I don't have to fear seeing Sam in one of those machines again. But it also means I'm on my own, doesn't it? Or more on my own than I once was. I miss knowing that they were always here to protect me when trouble came along, or to help me get through things when I couldn't manage it myself.
I hope they're all right. Sam saving the world and Blue--and Blue off somewhere nice, like Dean said, where he can be happy and play his trumpet and be surrounded by the people he loves. I hope there's a jazz club there, where he is, and that he gets to play every night if he wants, and everyone is so enthralled by his music that no one ever even thinks about how he looks. And I hope Bumblebee is keeping Sam safe, and that he and Mikaela are happy, and that he's doing well at his Princeton and playing Mario Kart and--and thinking of me, sometimes. I hope he does.
Is the storm coming again, with the beginning of October? It's Rue's anniversary again, and her birthday, too. I'll be more careful this year, I'll know to watch out for it--
But I have to look after it myself this year. Not alone, because I know I'm not alone here, even if it feels like it at times. But it always feels like that, no matter where you are, and I'm much better off than Mother was in her tower or Alexander was with that wizard, and...and if they can do it, then I can, too. I can. It just means being more careful this year, and not taking foolish chances, and...being ready. I have to be ready to take care of myself and the people I care about. It's my turn for that, now.
Nightmares or not...whatever's coming, I'm going to manage it. Haven't I always said I want to be the sort of princess that rescues others, and not the other way around?
That's it again, then. Whatever happens, whatever's coming, I won't let it get a bit of misery out of me. I'll beat October again, just as I beat it last year. And I'll make sure that my friends make it with me, too.
Storms or not, we'll weather it, won't we?
[/Private]
I remember thinking, this time last year, that waiting for October to come was rather like watching storm clouds on the horizon--even though the sky is blue overhead, you can see that darkness in the distance, slowly rolling toward you as time goes on. This is the end of my third September here now, and next month will be my third October. And it's superstition to say that bad things often come in threes, but the City rather likes to play on superstition, doesn't it? And October is usually the worst month of them all, and has been since long before I came here, myself.
Last year, it was something different every week--monsters and cannibals and a haunted pumpkin patch, of all things. I don't remember much about the October before that, since I didn't pay as close of attention to the curses then as I do now, but I seem to recall something about fighting and people being cursed into enjoying it, which is troublesome in itself. And in the years before that, I've heard the stories about hunting witches and accusing others of horrible things and everyone trying to harm each other because of it. Small wonder, then, that October should gain the reputation of being awful, when we've had so many years of bad ones.
And now it seems one of the deities is warning about a storm, himself. I'm afraid I don't know the story he has in mind for all this, but I do know the one about the boy that liked to cry wolf--and that sometimes, it's better to heed a warning and discover that it's false than to ignore it when it comes and learn too late that it's true.
What harm is there in getting ready for something that never comes, other than a bit of lost time? And really, I think it'd be wise to get ready for October anyway, since there's no telling what will come of it, but more often than not, it's something awful.
And whatever it might be, there's no harm in keeping a lemon cake on hand for the next few weeks. One never knows.
But on the bright side, October is a storm we've weathered before, and we'll weather it again, won't we? It's only one month, and then once it's over, we've got Giving-Thanks and Christmas to look forward to, and another whole year to enjoy before it comes around again.