Fic: Grey Sky Morning
Title: Grey Sky Morning
Word Count: 1002
Prompt: For writerverse- use a text from textsfromlastnight.com in your story - I used My bed is full of blood and feathers.
Rating: PG
Original/Fandom: Original - Streetlight People 'verse
Pairings (if any): Xie/Cyril Ann
Warnings (Non-Con/Dub-Con/etc): none
Summary: Cyril Ann wakes up from one of the bad dreams that keep plaguing her of late. She knows she needs to be doing something but Xie's fear is holding her back.
The dreams woke Cyril Ann long before she normally opened her eyes. It took a moment to separate gray sky reality from the wisp of brilliant sun that still burned the back of her eyes. Her muscles still clenched as she struggled to relax them. At this rate, she was going to be stiff for most of the day.
"Another bad dream." Xie traced a finger down her cheek as he loomed over her, his chapped skin leaving a reminder of his touch long after he withdrew enough to give her some space to get used to the early morning company. "What was this one about?"
She'd almost forgotten that she wasn't alone in her bed. Hadn't been alone any night this week. Having him and then losing him had been enough of a wake up call that she wasn't taking his presence here for granted. Wasn't easily forgetting what it had been like without him or how, most nights, she'd cried herself to sleep from the lonely ache that gnawed away at her.
But offering him an insight into her thoughts, raw and worn with the magic that still pulsed through her when she wasn't prepared for it, wasn't easy. He'd allowed for the magic when it was most needed but, otherwise, it made him angry. She knew he wasn't angry at her but he had so much history with magic gone bad. For him, it only meant loss. How could she explain about this new course of energy that had infected her of late? How was he going to accept that she wasn't pushing it away with quite the same fervor that she once had?
"Roll over and I'll rub your back."
Since it would keep her from having to look him in the eye, she did as he instructed, trying to surpress the shiver as he pushed up the worn shift she wore to bed. If he asked, which he didn't, she was prepared to mention something about the cool morning air even though the grate was producing enough warmth to keep the room at a comfortable temperature. To his credit, he didn't mention anything, only pressed his knuckles into her tense muscles. It was an agony that bordered on ecstasy as he worked each section thoroughly before moving on to the next.
"My bed is full of blood and feathers," she mumbled into his silence. "And I can't find you but I know where you are. I know what I need to do."
"And what is that?"
His voice was calm, almost technical, as if she wasn't talking about him but another person that he didn't know. If he'd shown any emotion, it would have been easier to sugarcoat the words. Instead, she found herself delving into the heart of the dream. "I need to wash my hands. There's blood on them. And then I need to go find you. To tell you the job's done. The beast is dead."
"The beast is dead."
She nodded, the tears running out of her eyes rubbing off as her cheek moved against the smooth pillowcase. "There are more of them. Too many, really. You told me I needed to kill them all before... before I could come find you. It's my job. To kill all the beasts. But I'm going to find you regardless of the warning."
"I'll be angry?" She was fairly certain his voice went up at the end of the sentence to make this a question but there was a part of her that wondered if he knew more about her dream than he should. That was insane, though. He couldn't know what she'd been dreaming.
"I haven't killed them all. I can't. It's impossible. I need help."
"What kind of help?"
Cyril Ann rolled over until she was staring up at him. The tears leaking out of her eyes cast shadows on his face in the morning gloom. "There are others, Xie. Like me. Like Aja. I've... I've been following one around campus lately. She doesn't know it. Maybe she doesn't care. She's not like the other skittery one that makes sure we're never near each other. This one is brazen."
He lowered himself until his face was right over hers and there was no way she could miss his anger. Even though it wasn't burning toward her, she flenched. There were rules that she was breaking by even bringing this up to him but it was too important for him not to hear. The monsters were real. Now was the time she needed him the most.
"You promised-"
"I just want to know if she's like me."
"-you wouldn't give in to the temptation."
Her hands gripped his arms, as much for support as an attempt to get him to move away. This was too close when he was in a mood like this. "Xie, listen to me. I'm not being stupid about this. I can see. I swear to you that I haven't lost any vision. This isn't like Aja. I'm not... this isn't the same."
"The magic takes. That's all it does. You use it and it uses you. One day, you might use too much and you'll wake up without something important. One day, it will kill you."
"It's what I was meant to do," she yelled, levering herself up until she was touching his nose with her own. Even this close, she didn't think he was really paying attention to her. Too much of him was lost in the past where he realized he was losing his sister by increments as she fought to put food on the table for her baby brother. "I need to see this through."
"And I say no. I'm not going to lose you."
She fell back against the pillow. "If you don't let me do this, I'm as good as dead. Even if I don't use the magic, it will take its due. I might as well get some use out of it while I can."
This entry was cross posted at dreamwidth - where the cool kids hang out.
Word Count: 1002
Prompt: For writerverse- use a text from textsfromlastnight.com in your story - I used My bed is full of blood and feathers.
Rating: PG
Original/Fandom: Original - Streetlight People 'verse
Pairings (if any): Xie/Cyril Ann
Warnings (Non-Con/Dub-Con/etc): none
Summary: Cyril Ann wakes up from one of the bad dreams that keep plaguing her of late. She knows she needs to be doing something but Xie's fear is holding her back.
The dreams woke Cyril Ann long before she normally opened her eyes. It took a moment to separate gray sky reality from the wisp of brilliant sun that still burned the back of her eyes. Her muscles still clenched as she struggled to relax them. At this rate, she was going to be stiff for most of the day.
"Another bad dream." Xie traced a finger down her cheek as he loomed over her, his chapped skin leaving a reminder of his touch long after he withdrew enough to give her some space to get used to the early morning company. "What was this one about?"
She'd almost forgotten that she wasn't alone in her bed. Hadn't been alone any night this week. Having him and then losing him had been enough of a wake up call that she wasn't taking his presence here for granted. Wasn't easily forgetting what it had been like without him or how, most nights, she'd cried herself to sleep from the lonely ache that gnawed away at her.
But offering him an insight into her thoughts, raw and worn with the magic that still pulsed through her when she wasn't prepared for it, wasn't easy. He'd allowed for the magic when it was most needed but, otherwise, it made him angry. She knew he wasn't angry at her but he had so much history with magic gone bad. For him, it only meant loss. How could she explain about this new course of energy that had infected her of late? How was he going to accept that she wasn't pushing it away with quite the same fervor that she once had?
"Roll over and I'll rub your back."
Since it would keep her from having to look him in the eye, she did as he instructed, trying to surpress the shiver as he pushed up the worn shift she wore to bed. If he asked, which he didn't, she was prepared to mention something about the cool morning air even though the grate was producing enough warmth to keep the room at a comfortable temperature. To his credit, he didn't mention anything, only pressed his knuckles into her tense muscles. It was an agony that bordered on ecstasy as he worked each section thoroughly before moving on to the next.
"My bed is full of blood and feathers," she mumbled into his silence. "And I can't find you but I know where you are. I know what I need to do."
"And what is that?"
His voice was calm, almost technical, as if she wasn't talking about him but another person that he didn't know. If he'd shown any emotion, it would have been easier to sugarcoat the words. Instead, she found herself delving into the heart of the dream. "I need to wash my hands. There's blood on them. And then I need to go find you. To tell you the job's done. The beast is dead."
"The beast is dead."
She nodded, the tears running out of her eyes rubbing off as her cheek moved against the smooth pillowcase. "There are more of them. Too many, really. You told me I needed to kill them all before... before I could come find you. It's my job. To kill all the beasts. But I'm going to find you regardless of the warning."
"I'll be angry?" She was fairly certain his voice went up at the end of the sentence to make this a question but there was a part of her that wondered if he knew more about her dream than he should. That was insane, though. He couldn't know what she'd been dreaming.
"I haven't killed them all. I can't. It's impossible. I need help."
"What kind of help?"
Cyril Ann rolled over until she was staring up at him. The tears leaking out of her eyes cast shadows on his face in the morning gloom. "There are others, Xie. Like me. Like Aja. I've... I've been following one around campus lately. She doesn't know it. Maybe she doesn't care. She's not like the other skittery one that makes sure we're never near each other. This one is brazen."
He lowered himself until his face was right over hers and there was no way she could miss his anger. Even though it wasn't burning toward her, she flenched. There were rules that she was breaking by even bringing this up to him but it was too important for him not to hear. The monsters were real. Now was the time she needed him the most.
"You promised-"
"I just want to know if she's like me."
"-you wouldn't give in to the temptation."
Her hands gripped his arms, as much for support as an attempt to get him to move away. This was too close when he was in a mood like this. "Xie, listen to me. I'm not being stupid about this. I can see. I swear to you that I haven't lost any vision. This isn't like Aja. I'm not... this isn't the same."
"The magic takes. That's all it does. You use it and it uses you. One day, you might use too much and you'll wake up without something important. One day, it will kill you."
"It's what I was meant to do," she yelled, levering herself up until she was touching his nose with her own. Even this close, she didn't think he was really paying attention to her. Too much of him was lost in the past where he realized he was losing his sister by increments as she fought to put food on the table for her baby brother. "I need to see this through."
"And I say no. I'm not going to lose you."
She fell back against the pillow. "If you don't let me do this, I'm as good as dead. Even if I don't use the magic, it will take its due. I might as well get some use out of it while I can."
This entry was cross posted at dreamwidth - where the cool kids hang out.