The sky - or, more precisely, a part of it - was falling.
Violet scrambled to her feet, leaving her books (stacks and stacks, holding down the edge of the blanket she'd been sitting on, all on various topics. Swimming, fighting, building- they were all there, including one Twilight Saga stuffed between two much more practical tomes) behind her as she ran closer to the water. She could see the dark shape - it looked like a giant bird, and then-
It wheeled to one side, and Violet's mouth dropped open, completely agape. Nimble fingers grasped the purple ribbon across her shoulders, tying her hair back even as her bare feet sunk into the sand.
It was unsurprising these days that Violet ran towards giant things that fell from the sky instead of away; it was a habit that went hand in hand with midnight swims and picking fights. Still, she skidded to a stop as the person - the man, really - dropped the wings to the sand and she was torn, her mouth moving to form words as she stared at the wings, the wings that were lying there, braces and
( ... )
She looked to be around my age, although her clothes were unlike any I'd ever seen before, and the sight of them made my cheeks flush. I averted my eyes and concentrated on the fact that she seemed to speak English. "I'm fine, miss." Perhaps I should have been scared, but despite everything the sky was still my element. It was a sad thing to see the wings on the beach crumpled so, and the girl seemed to notice it as well.
"Where is this place?" Seeing it brought back memories of the island the Aurora had crashed on. No doubt Kate would want to examine the local flora and fauna when she arrived.
If she arrived.
I pushed the thought from my head, squinting my eyes against the sun in anticipation for the dark shape that was due on the horizon any moment now. Kate - I didn't dare to think my Kate, even to myself - was clever. She would find a way.
"It's an island. Sort of... not on any map, and not really reachable unless you're-" Violet paused for second, her mouth pursing like she was trying to reason with herself before she settled on the right word. "... special."
She took another step - towards the wings, not him - and then chewed on her lip. "I'm Violet. Don't- You should pick those up. Did you make them?"
"An uncharted island?" I'd heard of such things from weary sky sailors. Rumours of a fabled triangle somewhere in the Pacificus that churned with bad weather all-year round. Islands so small that they'd gotten overlooked by the map makers. Yet it didn't explain the sudden shift in temperature and climate.
Her words directed my gaze back to the wings, and I was almost reluctant to pick them up, forlorn as they were. Bending down, I reached for the straps and swung the contraption over my back. A trail of feathers fluttered to the sand.
I shook my head. "No, I didn't make them." Briefly, I thought of the Hyperion, with all of her gold and treasures sinking to the bottom of the ocean. We were lucky to be alive, and I didn't regret my decision, but I couldn't help but wonder what other inventions Grunel had stowed away in his workshop. But now was no time for such thoughts. I nodded in her direction, for it would be improper to offer a handshake. "I'm Matt."
Violet bent, grabbing the feathers that had fallen. "I could fix them. I mean, if... you can't. I'd- like to help. Is all." She seemed to sort of be stumbling over her own mouth, and for once it wasn't actually about- well.
Violet was seventeen after all.
"Matt. Right. This place - it's sort of uncharted. Sort of... magic, I guess. Weird stuff happens. And there's dinosaurs." She shook her head. "People just end up here. I was- My brother and sister and I were on a boat, in the middle of a storm. A wave hit our boat, and then here I was - not a storm in sight, and they weren't here either."
Keeping one end of the wings against my shoulder, I crouched down to help her, but the feathers were flighty things who wanted nothing more than to escape my grasp. I swiped at them again, keeping my feet firmly grounded in the sand to avoid toppling over and was rewarded by a fistful. She seemed honest enough, though there was a cautious quality to her too. But I was no inventor beyond the occasional repairs to the Aurora, and any help would be appreciated. "If you're sure," I said, my gaze locked on her eyes only.
The thought that I might one day fly again was heartening despite the news.
"Magic?" I tilted my head quizzically. Of course, I'd heard the term before, used jokingly to describe the fancy physics that allowed hydrium to lift an airship as large of the Aurora. But never seriously, and never like this. Still, her story sounded very much like mine, as outlandish as it seemed
( ... )
"Of course I'm sure," Violet said as she peeked around him at the wings again, then looked back up at his face. "Yeah. Weird things happen, I guess. I don't... know." She licked her lips, and blew out a slow breath. "Then they're probably not here," she said quietly. "You know? I mean. They could turn up. Or be here, it's just... people usually don't come together."
Violet looked away, rubbing the back of her neck with a hand. "I've been here a year. My sister- she's actually been here... four years? I don't know how it even makes sense."
She wasn't making much sense, and my mind could not replace the gaps in her explanations, no matter how much I tried, although I managed to place some of her meaning. A sentence of it, to be exact. "It must have been hard for you to be without your sister for four years. How did she get here?" I wanted to be sympathetic, but there was still a knot in my heart and I was fraught with panic.
"I... wasn't without her. She's- When I ended up here, she was two, for me. Here? She's six."
She shook her head. 'It doesn't make sense. I'm sorry, it just... it doesn't." She looked over her shoulder. "We can... I can show you where people live. I mean, most people. Maybe you can find your friends."
I nodded. "That would be helpful. Thank you." Part of me wanted to stay here in case Kate and the others did manage to find their way, but there was the possibility that they'd already found the Saga. In which case the smartest thing to do would be to try and raise them on the wireless.
"The paths, they're- they're a bit narrow. Can they-" She's still stopping herself from touching the wings, from wanting to pick them over and figure out how they work. "Can they fold?" She looked up at him, her cheeks pink. "If not - I mean, we can still go."
"Yeah," I picked them up, as cumbersome as they were, and managed to fold the wing span in half. I'd have to carry them out in front of me to hold them shut. Once again I was grateful for my newfound strength. "Can you show me?"
Violet scrambled to her feet, leaving her books (stacks and stacks, holding down the edge of the blanket she'd been sitting on, all on various topics. Swimming, fighting, building- they were all there, including one Twilight Saga stuffed between two much more practical tomes) behind her as she ran closer to the water. She could see the dark shape - it looked like a giant bird, and then-
It wheeled to one side, and Violet's mouth dropped open, completely agape. Nimble fingers grasped the purple ribbon across her shoulders, tying her hair back even as her bare feet sunk into the sand.
It was unsurprising these days that Violet ran towards giant things that fell from the sky instead of away; it was a habit that went hand in hand with midnight swims and picking fights. Still, she skidded to a stop as the person - the man, really - dropped the wings to the sand and she was torn, her mouth moving to form words as she stared at the wings, the wings that were lying there, braces and ( ... )
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"Where is this place?" Seeing it brought back memories of the island the Aurora had crashed on. No doubt Kate would want to examine the local flora and fauna when she arrived.
If she arrived.
I pushed the thought from my head, squinting my eyes against the sun in anticipation for the dark shape that was due on the horizon any moment now. Kate - I didn't dare to think my Kate, even to myself - was clever. She would find a way.
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She took another step - towards the wings, not him - and then chewed on her lip. "I'm Violet. Don't- You should pick those up. Did you make them?"
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Her words directed my gaze back to the wings, and I was almost reluctant to pick them up, forlorn as they were. Bending down, I reached for the straps and swung the contraption over my back. A trail of feathers fluttered to the sand.
I shook my head. "No, I didn't make them." Briefly, I thought of the Hyperion, with all of her gold and treasures sinking to the bottom of the ocean. We were lucky to be alive, and I didn't regret my decision, but I couldn't help but wonder what other inventions Grunel had stowed away in his workshop. But now was no time for such thoughts. I nodded in her direction, for it would be improper to offer a handshake. "I'm Matt."
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Violet was seventeen after all.
"Matt. Right. This place - it's sort of uncharted. Sort of... magic, I guess. Weird stuff happens. And there's dinosaurs." She shook her head. "People just end up here. I was- My brother and sister and I were on a boat, in the middle of a storm. A wave hit our boat, and then here I was - not a storm in sight, and they weren't here either."
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The thought that I might one day fly again was heartening despite the news.
"Magic?" I tilted my head quizzically. Of course, I'd heard the term before, used jokingly to describe the fancy physics that allowed hydrium to lift an airship as large of the Aurora. But never seriously, and never like this. Still, her story sounded very much like mine, as outlandish as it seemed ( ... )
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Violet looked away, rubbing the back of her neck with a hand. "I've been here a year. My sister- she's actually been here... four years? I don't know how it even makes sense."
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She shook her head. 'It doesn't make sense. I'm sorry, it just... it doesn't." She looked over her shoulder. "We can... I can show you where people live. I mean, most people. Maybe you can find your friends."
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