Ficlet: Flight of Hope
So I needed a little break from writing my one arm series, and
bradygirl_12 gave me the perfect opportunity.
This is a piece done for her Inspiration Meme. It's just a little ficlet inspired by her story, Bright Essence I: Darkness Rising, specifically the second chapter. I don't know if I'll post the meme myself (I don't have nearly the body of work that she does) but I've got to admit, it's interesting.
So I hope you like!
Title: Flight of Hope
Author: Singer
Characters: Dick, Lian, Roy, Clark, Tim, mention of Bruce, Alfred, and Barbara
Pairings: Roy/Dick hinted at.
Rating: Pg
Disclaimer: Not my Characters... *headdesk*
Warnings: Unbeta-ed.
Summary: Dick can't give up on them yet. He has to see for himself. Inspired by Bright Essence I: Darkness Rising written by
bradygirl_12 .
Dick didn’t want to listen to what that thing said. He tried not to let its words hurt him. But when it spoke of his loved ones' ignorance, detailed their blindness with his voice, he hadn’t been able to convince himself that it was lying. But what could one third of a person do?
He shuffled in his branch as it left, taking his body with it. Now only two thirds remained in the garden. He stared down at the glowing figure of himself. His soul continued in peaceful slumber among the roses. It simply lay there shifting through the stages of his life. Had he ever really been that small?
He ruffled his unique plumage as he pondered. He wasn’t really sure what this part of him was, to tell the truth. His soul was firmly planted in the garden, and his body was off committing acts that both shocked and disgusted him. Did that make this bird-like form his…self? His reason? His sense? This division confused him.
The Grayson bird took flight, swooping low between the trees. As he passed over his essence he internally lamented that such a beautiful place brought him such pain. Alfred would’ve loved to see gardens like these.
He exited the Garden of Souls and let his senses lead him towards Gotham like a homing pigeon. He couldn’t accept that the ones he loved could be mislead so easily. The first stop was the Manor, his home.
He quietly landed on the ledge of a darkened window. No one was there. He flew past each window glancing in every room. All life that should’ve been there had gone subterranean, sealed away from the bird. He could feel his father and grandfather dozens of feet below him. The mission owned them this night, not Dick Grayson.
He took off towards the city, locating his little brother on a gargoyle above the skyline. He swooped past the boy, repeating his path through the boy’s sight line several times. There was once a time when he and Tim would joke about the few birds they saw at night, claiming they were starting an avian trend. Tonight he was ignored, labeled as an unimportant part of the nightlife, and uninvolved with tonight’s case. Tim had become immersed in his work since he dropped the green from his uniform. He didn’t have time for bird watching.
A pass over to the Clock tower yielded nothing more than that it was as closed off and guarded as ever. It reflected the women inside. He missed how bright Barbara had once been. Now he couldn’t even get close enough to catch sight of her.
None of them had noticed. None of them were looking. None of them saw.
He left the Gotham lights behind him and headed towards the Shining City of Tomorrow, following the tug he felt from a certain being of sunlight residing there. Clark Kent was in his apartment; after all, unless there was trouble, Superman was a daytime entity. He perched on the balcony railing, singing a loud chorus of chirrups, much louder than necessary to attract the attention of the man inside. Clark came to the window, regarding the bird outside with a small smile. Dick threw back his yellow head in song, flapping his emerald wings and baring his scarlet breast, putting on a show. The man of steel said nothing, just watched for several minutes before wandering further back inside.
Dick was getting desperate, Clark saw him, but couldn’t understand him!
He ached as he took flight once more. His heart was beating a rapid rhythm in his chest. Each disappointment had added more weight to his heart.
As he made his way towards New York he found himself thinking of the Garden again. It really was beautiful there, so warm and bright. The tree branches were steady and he could perch easily. There was a nice little nook in the tree nearest his soul that looked perfect for nesting. Maybe he would even weave some of those beautiful flowers into his nest! With each flap, the Garden and floral nest seemed more appealing.
The Harper apartment came into his view and he angled his weary wings towards the railing on the fire escape. He missed it, landing on the floor instead. His heartbeat hammered in his chest at speeds they would hospitalize a man for. Did birds really pant like this? He didn’t even bother to fold in his wings, leaving them sprawled out to the sides.
“Daddy, look!” a small voice came from within the building. He listened as a window was opened and two little bare feet landed gently in front of him.
“Lian,” Roy, that was Roy, “it’s time for bed.”
No Roy, no! Please! Down here!
“But Daddy, it needs help!”
Lian, you are such a little angel! I promise, I’ll take you to the circus whenever you want after this is all over.
Another set of feet, also barefoot, stepped down next to the child’s.
“What kind is it Daddy?”
“I don’t know, Lian. I’ve never seen anything like it before.”
Yes you have Roy! It’s me! You’ve only teased me about that costume and these colors since day one!
“Can we help it?”
Please Roy…
“…Sure. Let’s get it inside. We can let it rest in a shoebox.”
Dick was gently scooped up by a pair of bow-calloused hands, still not bothering to fold his wings in as they dangled over the edges of Roy’s palms.
Lian scampered back through the window to locate a shoebox.
“Don’t worry little guy, we’ll fix you up,” Roy said, his thumb gently stroking the emerald feathers on Dick’s back.
I know Roy… I know.
The yellow head tucked itself under as he was carried into the warm apartment.
He finally figured out what this division was. This third was Dick’s hope. And he had hope in the form of a kind little girl and the father that listened to her.
Somewhere far away, a soul stirred slightly in it’s bed of roses and Nightwing stumbled on a Bludhaven rooftop.
...........................................................................................................................................................................
END.
I'm trying out the meme for myself!
bradygirl_12 gave me the perfect opportunity.
This is a piece done for her Inspiration Meme. It's just a little ficlet inspired by her story, Bright Essence I: Darkness Rising, specifically the second chapter. I don't know if I'll post the meme myself (I don't have nearly the body of work that she does) but I've got to admit, it's interesting.
So I hope you like!
Title: Flight of Hope
Author: Singer
Characters: Dick, Lian, Roy, Clark, Tim, mention of Bruce, Alfred, and Barbara
Pairings: Roy/Dick hinted at.
Rating: Pg
Disclaimer: Not my Characters... *headdesk*
Warnings: Unbeta-ed.
Summary: Dick can't give up on them yet. He has to see for himself. Inspired by Bright Essence I: Darkness Rising written by
bradygirl_12 .
Dick didn’t want to listen to what that thing said. He tried not to let its words hurt him. But when it spoke of his loved ones' ignorance, detailed their blindness with his voice, he hadn’t been able to convince himself that it was lying. But what could one third of a person do?
He shuffled in his branch as it left, taking his body with it. Now only two thirds remained in the garden. He stared down at the glowing figure of himself. His soul continued in peaceful slumber among the roses. It simply lay there shifting through the stages of his life. Had he ever really been that small?
He ruffled his unique plumage as he pondered. He wasn’t really sure what this part of him was, to tell the truth. His soul was firmly planted in the garden, and his body was off committing acts that both shocked and disgusted him. Did that make this bird-like form his…self? His reason? His sense? This division confused him.
The Grayson bird took flight, swooping low between the trees. As he passed over his essence he internally lamented that such a beautiful place brought him such pain. Alfred would’ve loved to see gardens like these.
He exited the Garden of Souls and let his senses lead him towards Gotham like a homing pigeon. He couldn’t accept that the ones he loved could be mislead so easily. The first stop was the Manor, his home.
He quietly landed on the ledge of a darkened window. No one was there. He flew past each window glancing in every room. All life that should’ve been there had gone subterranean, sealed away from the bird. He could feel his father and grandfather dozens of feet below him. The mission owned them this night, not Dick Grayson.
He took off towards the city, locating his little brother on a gargoyle above the skyline. He swooped past the boy, repeating his path through the boy’s sight line several times. There was once a time when he and Tim would joke about the few birds they saw at night, claiming they were starting an avian trend. Tonight he was ignored, labeled as an unimportant part of the nightlife, and uninvolved with tonight’s case. Tim had become immersed in his work since he dropped the green from his uniform. He didn’t have time for bird watching.
A pass over to the Clock tower yielded nothing more than that it was as closed off and guarded as ever. It reflected the women inside. He missed how bright Barbara had once been. Now he couldn’t even get close enough to catch sight of her.
None of them had noticed. None of them were looking. None of them saw.
He left the Gotham lights behind him and headed towards the Shining City of Tomorrow, following the tug he felt from a certain being of sunlight residing there. Clark Kent was in his apartment; after all, unless there was trouble, Superman was a daytime entity. He perched on the balcony railing, singing a loud chorus of chirrups, much louder than necessary to attract the attention of the man inside. Clark came to the window, regarding the bird outside with a small smile. Dick threw back his yellow head in song, flapping his emerald wings and baring his scarlet breast, putting on a show. The man of steel said nothing, just watched for several minutes before wandering further back inside.
Dick was getting desperate, Clark saw him, but couldn’t understand him!
He ached as he took flight once more. His heart was beating a rapid rhythm in his chest. Each disappointment had added more weight to his heart.
As he made his way towards New York he found himself thinking of the Garden again. It really was beautiful there, so warm and bright. The tree branches were steady and he could perch easily. There was a nice little nook in the tree nearest his soul that looked perfect for nesting. Maybe he would even weave some of those beautiful flowers into his nest! With each flap, the Garden and floral nest seemed more appealing.
The Harper apartment came into his view and he angled his weary wings towards the railing on the fire escape. He missed it, landing on the floor instead. His heartbeat hammered in his chest at speeds they would hospitalize a man for. Did birds really pant like this? He didn’t even bother to fold in his wings, leaving them sprawled out to the sides.
“Daddy, look!” a small voice came from within the building. He listened as a window was opened and two little bare feet landed gently in front of him.
“Lian,” Roy, that was Roy, “it’s time for bed.”
No Roy, no! Please! Down here!
“But Daddy, it needs help!”
Lian, you are such a little angel! I promise, I’ll take you to the circus whenever you want after this is all over.
Another set of feet, also barefoot, stepped down next to the child’s.
“What kind is it Daddy?”
“I don’t know, Lian. I’ve never seen anything like it before.”
Yes you have Roy! It’s me! You’ve only teased me about that costume and these colors since day one!
“Can we help it?”
Please Roy…
“…Sure. Let’s get it inside. We can let it rest in a shoebox.”
Dick was gently scooped up by a pair of bow-calloused hands, still not bothering to fold his wings in as they dangled over the edges of Roy’s palms.
Lian scampered back through the window to locate a shoebox.
“Don’t worry little guy, we’ll fix you up,” Roy said, his thumb gently stroking the emerald feathers on Dick’s back.
I know Roy… I know.
The yellow head tucked itself under as he was carried into the warm apartment.
He finally figured out what this division was. This third was Dick’s hope. And he had hope in the form of a kind little girl and the father that listened to her.
Somewhere far away, a soul stirred slightly in it’s bed of roses and Nightwing stumbled on a Bludhaven rooftop.
...........................................................................................................................................................................
END.
I'm trying out the meme for myself!