Unnatural History, "Caught In-Between" ch.4, rated T
Fandom: Unnatural History
Title: Caught In-Between
Chapter Title: 4: Stone of Inanna
Author: Paynesgrey
Rating: R/M
Genre: Adventure/Romance
Characters/Pairings: Henry/Maggie, Jasper/Maggie, & hinted Jasper/Henry
Warnings: polyamory, UST in later chapters.
Disclaimer: Cartoon Network owns Unnatural History. I only borrow and play.
Notes: In progress. OT3 fic, with mature situations to be added later. (Once completed I'll post to the UnH comm here at LJ.)
URLS: FFnet | AO3
Story Summary:As a strange heat wave hits DC, the gang becomes involved in a mystery that enhances their feelings for one another, with a new fertility artifact as a possible cause. Henry x Maggie x Jasper. In-progress.
Previous Chapter
Chapter Four: Stone of Inanna
Henry came out of the DOUM rooms, telling his supervisor that he had to skip scanning things that night, for his Linguistics professor Ms. Amy Crowley was forcing him to help set up the new museum exhibit. As he exited the door, Ms. Crowley was waiting for him, her arms crossed over her pristine mauve suit as she eyed him through her thick-framed glasses. She pushed a dark black strand out of her eyes and marched over to Henry, as if she was afraid he’d suddenly escape her punishment at the last minute right under her dark eyes.
“There you are. Time to get going.” Henry fell in step beside her, and he felt that if she were allowed, Crowley would drag him by the ear to the exhibit. “Now, it’s rare for students to help to this extent, but this exhibit is something special. Also, it’s small, and the head collector doesn’t have many resources so she needs our help. She also doesn’t put on a lot of exhibits, and the National Museum Complex is very lucky to get her to agree to this. I swear the board had to beg her to practically return their inquiries.”
“If you don’t use students that often, why choose me? I could have done extra homework for not paying attention in class,” Henry said, curious that he wouldn’t even be here. This collector seemed like she wasn’t the type to trust many people, let alone a high school student.
Ms. Crowley turned around and gave Henry the most cryptic smile he’d ever seen on the woman’s face. “Because, Mr. Griffin, your parents are anthropologists, and their reputation precedes them, and so I’ve heard, that also extends to you. You are one of a mere handful of students who would probably respect the artifacts and not...” She made a scoffing noise and waved her hand. “Mock them.”
Henry furrowed his brow in curiosity. They had already walked to the main lobby of the museum, which was currently empty, and he presumed they would wait for instructions on unloading the exhibit contents soon.
“Why would they mock an exhibit?” Henry asked. In all his time here, he hardly ever saw exhibits mocked. Well, he did see some students high five various Buddha and Krishna statues, but that was the extent of it. But mocking? That seemed like something a child would do.
“They mock because of the subject matter,” said an accented voice behind him. Ms. Crowley and Henry turned around at the same time, and Henry laid eyes on a tall and exotic woman, and she could have been like a towering statue herself. She strode over to them with an assistant and two security personnel in tow, and she looked to Crowley who already extended her hand and was smiling.
“Amy, it is so good to see you again,” the woman said to her taking her hand, and Henry was still trying to place her accent. It was either Iraqi or Syrian.
“Mrs. Farah, I’m so glad to see you as well. We are honored to have your exhibit here,” Ms. Crowley said, and Henry observed her behavior, noticing that he’d never seen his teacher so polite or enthralled before. He was guessing the two women had known each other for some time, possibly even before today. Henry presumed that Ms. Crowley wasn’t telling him everything about Mrs. Farah or the new exhibit.
“And who might this be?” Mrs. Farah asked, scrutinizing Henry, though she was still tightly smiling, she seemed to be suspicious of his presence.
“Henry, this is Mrs. Samera Farah, curator and collector of this exhibit. Samera, Henry is one of my students who volunteered to help set up,” Crowley said. “Henry Griffin, son of Rosemary and Zafer Griffin.” Henry knew she threw in that last bit for good reason. Mrs. Farah’s eyes widened.
“Oh! Yes, I know your parents! Wonderful people. They helped me on a recent dig of mine in Syria.”
Henry cocked his head. “Yes, I remember them being there last month. That was with you?”
Mrs. Farah chuckled. “That is correct. You may even see a piece they unearthed here this week.”
Henry felt a surge of excitement, for he still missed his parents terribly. “You have to tell me which one is theirs.”
Mrs. Farah nodded. “But first, I need your help, Henry. Knowing what careful and meticulous people your parents are, I am more relieved that you will take care of things as we unload the artifacts.”
“Mrs. Farah, if I may ask, what is your exhibit about?”
She turned to him with a cat-like smile. “I am a known collector of rare Before Common Era goddess statuary and findings. With my family contacts, I spent a huge portion of my royal inheritance to preserve the culture before it is lost in the sand to time and war, to see how people existed as polytheists in ancient times.”
“That’s really amazing. What inspired you to focus on goddess statuary?” Henry asked boldly, and he noticed a longing look on Mrs. Farah’s face.
“It is my calling, Henry,” she said, and she turned her head and watched a few museum employees unload a crate and set it in the center of the main museum floor. Henry watched as she stripped away the tarp around it and started opening the locks on the huge protective chest. Curiosity overcame him as she delicately opened the chest doors and pulled out a tightly sealed glass box with a small six inch statue suspended in the middle, carved in a beautiful blue stone. Henry cautiously approached the statue, his eyes never leaving it as he inspected it.
“Lapis Lazuli,” Henry said. He’d unearthed that stone frequently in the Fertile Crescent on digs with his parents. The mineral was so common they’d let him keep some of the smaller stones.
“Yes, and I can guess what you’re thinking. What is so special about this ordinary stone?” she asked with a light chuckle.
“I’m guessing the stone itself, or more accurately, the carving is the relic here,” Henry surmised.
“There is a legend behind this statue, Henry,” Mrs. Farah said, and the statue had already mesmerized her attention away from him. “It is carved of the Goddess Inanna, and legend said that the Goddess’s priestesses worshiped with this stone. An even older legend suggests that this stone is tied to the Goddess herself, and it was carved from the very measuring rod she tried to take to hell with her to honor her brother-in-law, only she was stripped of it at the gates.”
Henry looked at the stone, trying to imagine it as long and flat as the rod. “So the stone is said to be a piece of the rod?”
Samera nodded at him. “Yes, and I can attest that in my possession, many strange and curious things have happened that could ...be attributed to Her.” She smiled at him and chuckled softly. “If you believe in that sort of thing,” she drawled, and he could tell by the bright energy of her eyes that she probably did.
“Now!” she said, delicately closing the chest back up with the Inanna statue safely inside. “You look like a strong boy. Why don’t you help my assistant Samir unload these crates?”
Henry nodded in compliance, but often during the night he would be drawn to the chest encasing the statue in the middle of the room, wondering about its power and fascinating history.
---
This story is loosely based on the story of the Sumerian Goddess Inanna, although the legend of the staff is picked up from various sources, like Wikipedia and The Encyclopedia of the Gods by Michael Jordan. (No, not that MJ) XD.
Chapter Five
Title: Caught In-Between
Chapter Title: 4: Stone of Inanna
Author: Paynesgrey
Rating: R/M
Genre: Adventure/Romance
Characters/Pairings: Henry/Maggie, Jasper/Maggie, & hinted Jasper/Henry
Warnings: polyamory, UST in later chapters.
Disclaimer: Cartoon Network owns Unnatural History. I only borrow and play.
Notes: In progress. OT3 fic, with mature situations to be added later. (Once completed I'll post to the UnH comm here at LJ.)
URLS: FFnet | AO3
Story Summary:As a strange heat wave hits DC, the gang becomes involved in a mystery that enhances their feelings for one another, with a new fertility artifact as a possible cause. Henry x Maggie x Jasper. In-progress.
Previous Chapter
Chapter Four: Stone of Inanna
Henry came out of the DOUM rooms, telling his supervisor that he had to skip scanning things that night, for his Linguistics professor Ms. Amy Crowley was forcing him to help set up the new museum exhibit. As he exited the door, Ms. Crowley was waiting for him, her arms crossed over her pristine mauve suit as she eyed him through her thick-framed glasses. She pushed a dark black strand out of her eyes and marched over to Henry, as if she was afraid he’d suddenly escape her punishment at the last minute right under her dark eyes.
“There you are. Time to get going.” Henry fell in step beside her, and he felt that if she were allowed, Crowley would drag him by the ear to the exhibit. “Now, it’s rare for students to help to this extent, but this exhibit is something special. Also, it’s small, and the head collector doesn’t have many resources so she needs our help. She also doesn’t put on a lot of exhibits, and the National Museum Complex is very lucky to get her to agree to this. I swear the board had to beg her to practically return their inquiries.”
“If you don’t use students that often, why choose me? I could have done extra homework for not paying attention in class,” Henry said, curious that he wouldn’t even be here. This collector seemed like she wasn’t the type to trust many people, let alone a high school student.
Ms. Crowley turned around and gave Henry the most cryptic smile he’d ever seen on the woman’s face. “Because, Mr. Griffin, your parents are anthropologists, and their reputation precedes them, and so I’ve heard, that also extends to you. You are one of a mere handful of students who would probably respect the artifacts and not...” She made a scoffing noise and waved her hand. “Mock them.”
Henry furrowed his brow in curiosity. They had already walked to the main lobby of the museum, which was currently empty, and he presumed they would wait for instructions on unloading the exhibit contents soon.
“Why would they mock an exhibit?” Henry asked. In all his time here, he hardly ever saw exhibits mocked. Well, he did see some students high five various Buddha and Krishna statues, but that was the extent of it. But mocking? That seemed like something a child would do.
“They mock because of the subject matter,” said an accented voice behind him. Ms. Crowley and Henry turned around at the same time, and Henry laid eyes on a tall and exotic woman, and she could have been like a towering statue herself. She strode over to them with an assistant and two security personnel in tow, and she looked to Crowley who already extended her hand and was smiling.
“Amy, it is so good to see you again,” the woman said to her taking her hand, and Henry was still trying to place her accent. It was either Iraqi or Syrian.
“Mrs. Farah, I’m so glad to see you as well. We are honored to have your exhibit here,” Ms. Crowley said, and Henry observed her behavior, noticing that he’d never seen his teacher so polite or enthralled before. He was guessing the two women had known each other for some time, possibly even before today. Henry presumed that Ms. Crowley wasn’t telling him everything about Mrs. Farah or the new exhibit.
“And who might this be?” Mrs. Farah asked, scrutinizing Henry, though she was still tightly smiling, she seemed to be suspicious of his presence.
“Henry, this is Mrs. Samera Farah, curator and collector of this exhibit. Samera, Henry is one of my students who volunteered to help set up,” Crowley said. “Henry Griffin, son of Rosemary and Zafer Griffin.” Henry knew she threw in that last bit for good reason. Mrs. Farah’s eyes widened.
“Oh! Yes, I know your parents! Wonderful people. They helped me on a recent dig of mine in Syria.”
Henry cocked his head. “Yes, I remember them being there last month. That was with you?”
Mrs. Farah chuckled. “That is correct. You may even see a piece they unearthed here this week.”
Henry felt a surge of excitement, for he still missed his parents terribly. “You have to tell me which one is theirs.”
Mrs. Farah nodded. “But first, I need your help, Henry. Knowing what careful and meticulous people your parents are, I am more relieved that you will take care of things as we unload the artifacts.”
“Mrs. Farah, if I may ask, what is your exhibit about?”
She turned to him with a cat-like smile. “I am a known collector of rare Before Common Era goddess statuary and findings. With my family contacts, I spent a huge portion of my royal inheritance to preserve the culture before it is lost in the sand to time and war, to see how people existed as polytheists in ancient times.”
“That’s really amazing. What inspired you to focus on goddess statuary?” Henry asked boldly, and he noticed a longing look on Mrs. Farah’s face.
“It is my calling, Henry,” she said, and she turned her head and watched a few museum employees unload a crate and set it in the center of the main museum floor. Henry watched as she stripped away the tarp around it and started opening the locks on the huge protective chest. Curiosity overcame him as she delicately opened the chest doors and pulled out a tightly sealed glass box with a small six inch statue suspended in the middle, carved in a beautiful blue stone. Henry cautiously approached the statue, his eyes never leaving it as he inspected it.
“Lapis Lazuli,” Henry said. He’d unearthed that stone frequently in the Fertile Crescent on digs with his parents. The mineral was so common they’d let him keep some of the smaller stones.
“Yes, and I can guess what you’re thinking. What is so special about this ordinary stone?” she asked with a light chuckle.
“I’m guessing the stone itself, or more accurately, the carving is the relic here,” Henry surmised.
“There is a legend behind this statue, Henry,” Mrs. Farah said, and the statue had already mesmerized her attention away from him. “It is carved of the Goddess Inanna, and legend said that the Goddess’s priestesses worshiped with this stone. An even older legend suggests that this stone is tied to the Goddess herself, and it was carved from the very measuring rod she tried to take to hell with her to honor her brother-in-law, only she was stripped of it at the gates.”
Henry looked at the stone, trying to imagine it as long and flat as the rod. “So the stone is said to be a piece of the rod?”
Samera nodded at him. “Yes, and I can attest that in my possession, many strange and curious things have happened that could ...be attributed to Her.” She smiled at him and chuckled softly. “If you believe in that sort of thing,” she drawled, and he could tell by the bright energy of her eyes that she probably did.
“Now!” she said, delicately closing the chest back up with the Inanna statue safely inside. “You look like a strong boy. Why don’t you help my assistant Samir unload these crates?”
Henry nodded in compliance, but often during the night he would be drawn to the chest encasing the statue in the middle of the room, wondering about its power and fascinating history.
---
This story is loosely based on the story of the Sumerian Goddess Inanna, although the legend of the staff is picked up from various sources, like Wikipedia and The Encyclopedia of the Gods by Michael Jordan. (No, not that MJ) XD.
Chapter Five