Original - Shadow: Rings
Lucas stared, hard, at the ring in the ground.
Mushrooms grew in a large circle - looping around a tree - just behind the house. The air was bright and crisp with the morning sun. It made his bones ache a little. The inked characters on his skin tightened - around his wrist, his forearms, just under his collar bone. Every place the light touched.
The forest was quiet - it was to late in the day for deer, to early still for the crows. Lucas' eyes travel the ring again, the writing on the back of his neck prickling with his thoughts.
"What’s wrong?" Anna's voice surprises him - makes him jump a little. He's calmed immediately by her smile though. Her eyes are beautiful - peeking out from under her flat bangs.
"You startled me -"
"I didn't intend to." She says back, stepping down from the back door. Leaves don't crunch under her feet like they do under his. Lucas wonders at that for a moment.
"You were thinking too hard." Anna notes, moving over to him - touching his arm carefully. The wards on his arm pulse and humm with her touch. He watches her smile, and it sooths him. Her voice is soft. "What were you thinking about?"
It takes him a moment to remember. It comes back to him with a shake, a sharp jab of memory. "This circle -" Lucas gesture with his hand. His wrist aches. " -what is it?"
He watches as Anna's eyes trace the circle - heavy, the color of amber in the sunlight - the look in them is anything but kind. It's rough, and haunted, and Lucas is confused.
"It's called a Fairy ring." She says, slow. Her voice is a bit different, a little not right. Lucas' head feels clouded - sluggish. "I didn't notice it myself - didn't even see it till you mentioned it. I haven't felt any Fey around..."
"Wait," Lucas manages. Something is hissing at the base of his spine. He can hear Her voice, dimly - flickering in the back of his head, hissing and silently screaming, bound by the marks on his body. She's saying something, over and over and over, and it sounds a lot like yes. Or lies.
Anna touches his arm, and the whispering stops. His head clears, and it's comforting and warm and good. She's smiling up at him.
"Wait," he says again, swallowing. "Fairy's are real?"
Anna laughs, and it's like sweet bells - like the sound that smiles make. Hey eyes glitter, and her smile tightens all of the markings on his skin. "Lucas, Rökkr, your demon rages inside you, my spells wrap and binds you, and you've seen my love change forms and heal himself. Believing in the Fey is not that far of a stretch...."
And she laughs again, and touches the marks on his wrist. Her fingers dig for a second, placing another mark in the circle. It hurts - a flashing, white burning pain - as all of the marks move to accommodate the new symbol. It rushes up his arm and burns in his chest, and it's warmth everywhere, so comfortable and easy to breath in, and Anna's eyes are glittering Gold, and for a second something shifts -
Luke sits up, sucking in a breath he doesn’t need, lungs screaming for it. The air in the basement is cold and unmoving - the shadows holding, flickering, and waiting for him. The curl of early dawn is sharp against his senses, vibrating in his bones.
She curls up in his chest, humming with worry. Luke is worried himself - he never dreams, not really. He doesn’t sleep - hasn’t in a long time...
'Memory.' She purrs, soft, in his ear.
"No kidding." He whispers. She humms, a soothing sound now, her hands brushing against his face. The shadows move. His hair sticks to the back of his neck. He swats his bangs from his face and stands, stretching. The marks around his collar and on the back of his neck prickle, hidden from (almost) everyone’s eyes.
Luke rubs his thumb over the key like mark on his wrist before heading up stairs to get the paper and start coffee. It's the only mark he can never hide. It's the first.
It still aches.
Mushrooms grew in a large circle - looping around a tree - just behind the house. The air was bright and crisp with the morning sun. It made his bones ache a little. The inked characters on his skin tightened - around his wrist, his forearms, just under his collar bone. Every place the light touched.
The forest was quiet - it was to late in the day for deer, to early still for the crows. Lucas' eyes travel the ring again, the writing on the back of his neck prickling with his thoughts.
"What’s wrong?" Anna's voice surprises him - makes him jump a little. He's calmed immediately by her smile though. Her eyes are beautiful - peeking out from under her flat bangs.
"You startled me -"
"I didn't intend to." She says back, stepping down from the back door. Leaves don't crunch under her feet like they do under his. Lucas wonders at that for a moment.
"You were thinking too hard." Anna notes, moving over to him - touching his arm carefully. The wards on his arm pulse and humm with her touch. He watches her smile, and it sooths him. Her voice is soft. "What were you thinking about?"
It takes him a moment to remember. It comes back to him with a shake, a sharp jab of memory. "This circle -" Lucas gesture with his hand. His wrist aches. " -what is it?"
He watches as Anna's eyes trace the circle - heavy, the color of amber in the sunlight - the look in them is anything but kind. It's rough, and haunted, and Lucas is confused.
"It's called a Fairy ring." She says, slow. Her voice is a bit different, a little not right. Lucas' head feels clouded - sluggish. "I didn't notice it myself - didn't even see it till you mentioned it. I haven't felt any Fey around..."
"Wait," Lucas manages. Something is hissing at the base of his spine. He can hear Her voice, dimly - flickering in the back of his head, hissing and silently screaming, bound by the marks on his body. She's saying something, over and over and over, and it sounds a lot like yes. Or lies.
Anna touches his arm, and the whispering stops. His head clears, and it's comforting and warm and good. She's smiling up at him.
"Wait," he says again, swallowing. "Fairy's are real?"
Anna laughs, and it's like sweet bells - like the sound that smiles make. Hey eyes glitter, and her smile tightens all of the markings on his skin. "Lucas, Rökkr, your demon rages inside you, my spells wrap and binds you, and you've seen my love change forms and heal himself. Believing in the Fey is not that far of a stretch...."
And she laughs again, and touches the marks on his wrist. Her fingers dig for a second, placing another mark in the circle. It hurts - a flashing, white burning pain - as all of the marks move to accommodate the new symbol. It rushes up his arm and burns in his chest, and it's warmth everywhere, so comfortable and easy to breath in, and Anna's eyes are glittering Gold, and for a second something shifts -
Luke sits up, sucking in a breath he doesn’t need, lungs screaming for it. The air in the basement is cold and unmoving - the shadows holding, flickering, and waiting for him. The curl of early dawn is sharp against his senses, vibrating in his bones.
She curls up in his chest, humming with worry. Luke is worried himself - he never dreams, not really. He doesn’t sleep - hasn’t in a long time...
'Memory.' She purrs, soft, in his ear.
"No kidding." He whispers. She humms, a soothing sound now, her hands brushing against his face. The shadows move. His hair sticks to the back of his neck. He swats his bangs from his face and stands, stretching. The marks around his collar and on the back of his neck prickle, hidden from (almost) everyone’s eyes.
Luke rubs his thumb over the key like mark on his wrist before heading up stairs to get the paper and start coffee. It's the only mark he can never hide. It's the first.
It still aches.