you left tabula rasa and all I got was this dog
They had planned to spend the weekend together, the two of them, on the far side of the island, doing as they had been wont since the first time Harry had been bold enough to press beyond kisses and Morgan had, with all of the shamelessness of ten thousand years, encouraged him. Yet even so, it surprised her not at all to find him away from his hut when she arrived. Being involved with Harry was rather like being involved with any other fictional wizard, which she as a fictional sorceress could appreciate. In short, she expected him when she saw him.
When he hadn't returned by mid afternoon, and Bess, who quite liked Morgan but usually could be found with Harry, not only had returned but rested her head on Morgan's knee and whined, Morgan decided that 'when she saw him' might well be never again. So thinking, she entered Harry's hut and found that most of his things had gone, and very likely - since he had no reason to avoid his only sexual intimate in seven years - taken Harry with them. Of the things he had treasured, only Amoracchius remained.
It was not her nature to rail at the unfairness of him having been taken from her just as they had grown into a fondness that might well have become a deep and abiding love. Both had known from the beginning that either might leave at any time, and that, in fact, Morgan herself would very likely cease to exist, if she did. Nevertheless, such knowledge did little to comfort the heaviness of her heart when she made her way from Harry's hut back toward her own, with the sword and the dog, who had appointed itself hers immediately upon Harry's absence, following at her heels and guarding her as the temple guardian Harry had suspected she might be ought to do.
There was a ring on Dick's finger, a simple plain band of gold that Tim couldn't stop looking at, his fingers laced between Dick's. The swing moved gently beneath their combined weight, Dick with Tim's legs wrapped about him. They had plans today but nothing urgent and nothing so important as each other so the afternoon passed them by in a lazy slide of warmth and affection.
The faint noise of someone moving closer made Tim tear his attention off his fiance to see who it was. A moment later he frowned as his familiarity with the woman painted an unsettling picture. She looked lovely, with her hair loose, her dress soft and flattering but paired with the dog beside her and the sword whose sheathed tip carved the ground to mark her passage, it was immediately obvious that something was wrong. Tim leaned in and murmured her name in Dick's ear, nodding toward her then bent backward, planted his hands on the ground and tumbled off of Dick to his feet. He brushed his hands clean and hurried to Morgan's side. "My lady?"
No sooner had his beloved murmured Morgan's name in his ear than Dick knew, beyond doubting that she had lost someone today. Tim's teacher, but his friend, their family, and Dick swung out dropping lightly to his feet with none of his usual insouciance. They'd lost too many people lately - Alfred, Barbara and with her Booth, Bart, Benny, Beverly, Dinah, Lois, Monet, Peter, and before them Roy. Dick's team what there had been left of it had been decimated. The family had scattered. To see Morgan hit with yet another loss tightened his fingers at his side and his chest.
The loss couldn't diminish the joy in being - finally - engaged to Tim, but unlike the ring on his finger which shone golden-pure in the sunlight, his happiness glowed softer, burnished with the sorrow he hadn't yet shaken. He arrived several steps behind Tim, fingertips immediately finding both Tim's lower back and Morgan's elbow, strained under the heavy sword.
Bess saw them before she did, giving a low bark to indicate that she was no longer alone. At least, Morgan believed that to be the meaning of the bark, since she had most often heard it when she approached Harry or when someone intruded upon their solitude. How she had found her way to the playground of all places, she could not imagine, and yet, glancing behind to see the line the sword made in the sand, she could not say it had been a wrong choice, even if not a conscious one.
Had she still been Ascended, she might have described Harry as much like that line. A pattern written in and through her energy, one that would fade over time, but as the sandlot, so too would her energy patterns be irrevocably altered by his passage. It pleased her to think of him such, and she pledged to continue to do so. "Very well, Bess, let us see what my student and his beloved are smiling about," she began and angled her steps toward them, but they had seen her first, and weren't weighted by sword or fresh sorrow, and Dick's hand rested upon her elbow before she might ask.
"Harry has gone," she answered Timothy simply, expression perhaps a trifle less serene than usual but only a trifle. Best put, she felt as though she had been rendered in watercolors that had blurred under too much water. "I might ask you both the same question, although I should have to ask 'young Robins?' instead."
"I'm sorry," Tim replied in the same simple fashion. There was no lack of true sympathy or affection for the understated response--with her, he was always so, training with her had given him the understanding that she didn't require overwrought displays to believe the truth of his emotions. He'd had cause to be grateful for it many times before and was again at the moment because there was no good way to adequately respond to a loss like that. Dick's hand at his back was proof, the reassuring touch making it that much clearer for him how worthless words would be.
With the sword and the dog at Morgan's heels sitting in judgment on he and Tim, Dick had expected it to be Harry. He squeezed her elbow gently, drawing her toward them for a brief embrace and the brush of his lips across her forehead, which she accepted as graceful as ever but neither leaned in to nor sought more of. They stood together in silence a minute, then Dick murmured the Rom blessing for the dead under his breath.
Morgan's head came sharply up at that. "That will be quite enough of that. Harry is not dead, and I won't be carrying on as though he is. He has moved on to a different sphere, and perhaps I may yet see him again." Her eyes flashed, arms lowered to clasp at her waist, but rather than doing so trailed a hand down for the dog. Bess obligingly put her head under it. "Now, will you tell me why you look like lamps hiding poorly behind black shrouds?"
"I wasn't going to interrupt your weekend." And he wanted even less to trivialize her loss. But he had learned that his teacher rarely asked a question without wanting the answer and never asked one twice. He turned, looked up at Dick and smiled. "I've asked Dick to marry me. He's accepted."
At that smile, Dick couldn't keep his own down. Soft around the edges, but real when he shared it with Morgan, more so when he brushed the back of his hand against Tim's cheek. "There was never a chance I wasn't going to."
Slight lift of an eyebrow, widening of her eyes, and Morgan gave them a very tiny smile. "I confess I am more surprised that you have waited so long since the mock marriage that had stars in both of your eyes than that you have finally done it. I believe the accepted mode is to offer congratulations?" She cupped first one boy's cheek and then the other. "Congratulations."
"Thank you, my lady." He reached up, took Dick's hand and kissed the back of it then laced their fingers. It was very hard to remember that Morgan had lost a man she'd been falling in love with when he was so happy himself. "We don't have any plans yet. It'll be soon though."
"And of course we'd like you to be in the wedding." Dick glanced at Tim, then back at Morgan, smile softening with knowledge. The idea was instinct, impulse, but he knew it would work for Tim. "Actually, we'd like you to perform the ceremony."
Then, finally, both her pain and their gain joy collided with her serenity, jarring loose more emotion than she usually show. Her fingers slid through the fur of the dog's ruff and she smiled, eyes suspiciously bright. "Nothing would please me more." Bess barked quiet agreement, then slipped through Morgan's fingers to headbutt first Dick and then Tim.
Tim smiled back at her with an easy, open grin totally unlike anything he'd have worn when he met her. He bent a little, patted Bess on the head and scratched behind her ears. "Okay, okay. We'll try to find you a place in the wedding too."
"I think Coraline would cry if we made the dog the ringbearer." Dick laughed quietly, warmth flooding his chest at seeing Tim smile and Morgan comfortable with them. Maybe their family had gotten smaller, but with the dog and Morgan it was getting bigger again too. "Oh, hey, what's her name? We can't put her in the wedding without even knowing her name."
"This is Bess."
Bess gave a sharp, bright bark of agreement, then barked again, a lower woof of warning. She nudged the sword resting against Morgan's hip and all three of them turned to see who was behind them.
[ooc: this post serves as official notice of Harry Dresden's departure, also a collective departure post for Alfred Pennyworth, Barbara Gordon, Dinah Lance, Lois Lane, and Monet St. Croix. It also serves as notice of Tim and Dick's engagement. Not a bad time to talk to them, despite the sorrows. Tag one, tag all, just let us know who you want. LT/ST, all Ts are awesome.
When he hadn't returned by mid afternoon, and Bess, who quite liked Morgan but usually could be found with Harry, not only had returned but rested her head on Morgan's knee and whined, Morgan decided that 'when she saw him' might well be never again. So thinking, she entered Harry's hut and found that most of his things had gone, and very likely - since he had no reason to avoid his only sexual intimate in seven years - taken Harry with them. Of the things he had treasured, only Amoracchius remained.
It was not her nature to rail at the unfairness of him having been taken from her just as they had grown into a fondness that might well have become a deep and abiding love. Both had known from the beginning that either might leave at any time, and that, in fact, Morgan herself would very likely cease to exist, if she did. Nevertheless, such knowledge did little to comfort the heaviness of her heart when she made her way from Harry's hut back toward her own, with the sword and the dog, who had appointed itself hers immediately upon Harry's absence, following at her heels and guarding her as the temple guardian Harry had suspected she might be ought to do.
There was a ring on Dick's finger, a simple plain band of gold that Tim couldn't stop looking at, his fingers laced between Dick's. The swing moved gently beneath their combined weight, Dick with Tim's legs wrapped about him. They had plans today but nothing urgent and nothing so important as each other so the afternoon passed them by in a lazy slide of warmth and affection.
The faint noise of someone moving closer made Tim tear his attention off his fiance to see who it was. A moment later he frowned as his familiarity with the woman painted an unsettling picture. She looked lovely, with her hair loose, her dress soft and flattering but paired with the dog beside her and the sword whose sheathed tip carved the ground to mark her passage, it was immediately obvious that something was wrong. Tim leaned in and murmured her name in Dick's ear, nodding toward her then bent backward, planted his hands on the ground and tumbled off of Dick to his feet. He brushed his hands clean and hurried to Morgan's side. "My lady?"
No sooner had his beloved murmured Morgan's name in his ear than Dick knew, beyond doubting that she had lost someone today. Tim's teacher, but his friend, their family, and Dick swung out dropping lightly to his feet with none of his usual insouciance. They'd lost too many people lately - Alfred, Barbara and with her Booth, Bart, Benny, Beverly, Dinah, Lois, Monet, Peter, and before them Roy. Dick's team what there had been left of it had been decimated. The family had scattered. To see Morgan hit with yet another loss tightened his fingers at his side and his chest.
The loss couldn't diminish the joy in being - finally - engaged to Tim, but unlike the ring on his finger which shone golden-pure in the sunlight, his happiness glowed softer, burnished with the sorrow he hadn't yet shaken. He arrived several steps behind Tim, fingertips immediately finding both Tim's lower back and Morgan's elbow, strained under the heavy sword.
Bess saw them before she did, giving a low bark to indicate that she was no longer alone. At least, Morgan believed that to be the meaning of the bark, since she had most often heard it when she approached Harry or when someone intruded upon their solitude. How she had found her way to the playground of all places, she could not imagine, and yet, glancing behind to see the line the sword made in the sand, she could not say it had been a wrong choice, even if not a conscious one.
Had she still been Ascended, she might have described Harry as much like that line. A pattern written in and through her energy, one that would fade over time, but as the sandlot, so too would her energy patterns be irrevocably altered by his passage. It pleased her to think of him such, and she pledged to continue to do so. "Very well, Bess, let us see what my student and his beloved are smiling about," she began and angled her steps toward them, but they had seen her first, and weren't weighted by sword or fresh sorrow, and Dick's hand rested upon her elbow before she might ask.
"Harry has gone," she answered Timothy simply, expression perhaps a trifle less serene than usual but only a trifle. Best put, she felt as though she had been rendered in watercolors that had blurred under too much water. "I might ask you both the same question, although I should have to ask 'young Robins?' instead."
"I'm sorry," Tim replied in the same simple fashion. There was no lack of true sympathy or affection for the understated response--with her, he was always so, training with her had given him the understanding that she didn't require overwrought displays to believe the truth of his emotions. He'd had cause to be grateful for it many times before and was again at the moment because there was no good way to adequately respond to a loss like that. Dick's hand at his back was proof, the reassuring touch making it that much clearer for him how worthless words would be.
With the sword and the dog at Morgan's heels sitting in judgment on he and Tim, Dick had expected it to be Harry. He squeezed her elbow gently, drawing her toward them for a brief embrace and the brush of his lips across her forehead, which she accepted as graceful as ever but neither leaned in to nor sought more of. They stood together in silence a minute, then Dick murmured the Rom blessing for the dead under his breath.
Morgan's head came sharply up at that. "That will be quite enough of that. Harry is not dead, and I won't be carrying on as though he is. He has moved on to a different sphere, and perhaps I may yet see him again." Her eyes flashed, arms lowered to clasp at her waist, but rather than doing so trailed a hand down for the dog. Bess obligingly put her head under it. "Now, will you tell me why you look like lamps hiding poorly behind black shrouds?"
"I wasn't going to interrupt your weekend." And he wanted even less to trivialize her loss. But he had learned that his teacher rarely asked a question without wanting the answer and never asked one twice. He turned, looked up at Dick and smiled. "I've asked Dick to marry me. He's accepted."
At that smile, Dick couldn't keep his own down. Soft around the edges, but real when he shared it with Morgan, more so when he brushed the back of his hand against Tim's cheek. "There was never a chance I wasn't going to."
Slight lift of an eyebrow, widening of her eyes, and Morgan gave them a very tiny smile. "I confess I am more surprised that you have waited so long since the mock marriage that had stars in both of your eyes than that you have finally done it. I believe the accepted mode is to offer congratulations?" She cupped first one boy's cheek and then the other. "Congratulations."
"Thank you, my lady." He reached up, took Dick's hand and kissed the back of it then laced their fingers. It was very hard to remember that Morgan had lost a man she'd been falling in love with when he was so happy himself. "We don't have any plans yet. It'll be soon though."
"And of course we'd like you to be in the wedding." Dick glanced at Tim, then back at Morgan, smile softening with knowledge. The idea was instinct, impulse, but he knew it would work for Tim. "Actually, we'd like you to perform the ceremony."
Then, finally, both her pain and their gain joy collided with her serenity, jarring loose more emotion than she usually show. Her fingers slid through the fur of the dog's ruff and she smiled, eyes suspiciously bright. "Nothing would please me more." Bess barked quiet agreement, then slipped through Morgan's fingers to headbutt first Dick and then Tim.
Tim smiled back at her with an easy, open grin totally unlike anything he'd have worn when he met her. He bent a little, patted Bess on the head and scratched behind her ears. "Okay, okay. We'll try to find you a place in the wedding too."
"I think Coraline would cry if we made the dog the ringbearer." Dick laughed quietly, warmth flooding his chest at seeing Tim smile and Morgan comfortable with them. Maybe their family had gotten smaller, but with the dog and Morgan it was getting bigger again too. "Oh, hey, what's her name? We can't put her in the wedding without even knowing her name."
"This is Bess."
Bess gave a sharp, bright bark of agreement, then barked again, a lower woof of warning. She nudged the sword resting against Morgan's hip and all three of them turned to see who was behind them.
[ooc: this post serves as official notice of Harry Dresden's departure, also a collective departure post for Alfred Pennyworth, Barbara Gordon, Dinah Lance, Lois Lane, and Monet St. Croix. It also serves as notice of Tim and Dick's engagement. Not a bad time to talk to them, despite the sorrows. Tag one, tag all, just let us know who you want. LT/ST, all Ts are awesome.