(no subject)
Flavor of the Day - 08/07/10 - Mojo and Cinnamon Swirl #9. All or Nothing
with Caramel, Hot Fudge, and Malt
Story : knights & necromancers
Rating : PG
Timeframe : 1280's (same day as Enduring Renewal)
Word Count : 859
Malt Prompt : (Trick or Treat) from Kowareta : Magic. Something to do with delicious magic.
Word of the Day : Mojo - art or practice of casting magic spells; magic; voodoo. / An object, as an amulet or charm, that is believed to carry a magic spell.
I've kind of looked at this malt as my Sundae 'get out of jail free' card. But at the same time I really wanted to end up using it on something appropriate. I think it found the right home in the end.
This whole piece is one BIG, FAT SPOILER. As usually happens when I attack things later on in canon, I've had some of these ideas floating in my head and haven't really committed to them. So, uh, here goes going ahead with them all at once, huh? Thank you fotd for forcing them out.
Curtains drawn and lights out, Kairn lay on his back in his bed, staring up, only half seeing the ceiling of his cabin. He’d taken to feigning sleeping in. Sethan hadn’t said anything so far, so he reckoned it was working well enough.
In the air above his chest, one hand wound around the other, pulling cloth across limp fingers. He’d done it so many times now he didn’t need to look to line up the sigil. The end of the cloth slid from his grasp and he curled his palm around his broken hand where he knew the mark should be.
Closing his eyes, he drew a breath and slid his finger along the rim of the circle. He expected a faint buzz, maybe a twitch from his useless joints. He expected to sigh and cram the cloth back under his pillow and go find Sethan and some breakfast and get on with his day. When it felt instead like his hand was being smashed all over again and a roar ran through the room like thunder, he jerked upright with a cry.
The cloth fell away as he brought his throbbing hand up for closer examination. He sat there panting for a moment, the fingers spread in front of him shifting in and out of focus. He grit his teeth and willed them to flex, and his jaw dropped as the last two digits bent with the rest. The movement was stiff and jerky and it hurt so badly he nearly yelled again, but they’d moved, even if just a little.
With his good hand he snatched the cloth back up. He was shaking as he pressed it back in place. The jolt the mark sent through his hand when he invoked it had him curled on the bed writhing and gasping, but he held it fast.
When the world stopped its spinning, Kairn peeled the cloth away and curled his hand, slowly and painfully but surely, into a fist. He was laughing as he unfolded and spread his fingers. He wiggled them a bit and laughed again. Then he froze.
Magic worked. How many times had Sethan laughed at him for hoping? How many mornings had he lain here with a scarf around his hand, pretending he’d felt the faintest spark? And now…if sigils suddenly worked again…
Lightheaded and shaking as he was, he managed to roll from the bed and stagger to the door without actually falling. The stumbling race down the short flight of steps was a blur, and then he was flying across the deck.
He found him leaning over the rail, his hands curled around it like he was clinging for life. He’d spent the first weeks like that, and Kairn had asked, more times than he could count, over the sound of retching, if this had been a bad idea. But Sethan hadn’t been ill in awhile now. A feeling of lead tugged at Kairn’s stomach.
“Sethan?“ He caught him by the shoulder and pulled him around.
Sethan shuffled numbly about to face him, only half letting go of the rail. His eyes were distant, with rings beneath as if he hadn’t slept in days, and Kairn’s stomach sank deeper still.
He swallowed hard. “She’s…she’s back, isn’t she?”
Sethan seemed to gather his wits for a moment. Brows creased, he blinked at Kairn. “How?” was all he said.
Kairn thrust his hand in front of him and wiggled his freshly healed fingers. The movement was still far from fluid, but the pain continued to decrease.
Sethan looked as if he might fall to the deck from exhaustion any moment, but his eyes lit and his lips curled and he shook his head at Kairn. “You never stopped.”
Kairn bowed his head, his cheeks warming a bit. “Of course I never stopped.”
Sethan laughed, and it was a hollow sound, as if he lacked the strength for that as well. “No, of course not.”
“I was right,” said Kairn, indignantly. “It worked. Eventually.”
Sethan just shook his head again.
“So…what does she want now?”
“What does she ever want?” Sethan said hastily. He twisted out of Kairn’s grasp, turning back to the rail.
Kairn frowned as Sethan set his gaze back on the empty sea. “You’re hiding something.”
Sethan sighed, the hint of a smile slipping back across his lips as he peered over his shoulder at Kairn. “Have I managed to become so transparent?” Kairn couldn’t answer, but it seemed Sethan took that for an affirmative. He turned back away before he said, “She’s been trying to provoke me into throwing myself over.”
“But-”
Sethan pried a hand from the rail to wave the back of it at him. “I’m not about to do it,” he said. “I suspect she thinks she will have an easier time with my successor.”
Fighting both his breath and the weight in his stomach, Kairn came up beside him and laid his own hands on the rail. “So,” he said, eyes on the slowly churning waves before him, “what do we do now?”
Sethan shrugged. “We destroyed it once before,” he said.
with Caramel, Hot Fudge, and Malt
Story : knights & necromancers
Rating : PG
Timeframe : 1280's (same day as Enduring Renewal)
Word Count : 859
Malt Prompt : (Trick or Treat) from Kowareta : Magic. Something to do with delicious magic.
Word of the Day : Mojo - art or practice of casting magic spells; magic; voodoo. / An object, as an amulet or charm, that is believed to carry a magic spell.
I've kind of looked at this malt as my Sundae 'get out of jail free' card. But at the same time I really wanted to end up using it on something appropriate. I think it found the right home in the end.
This whole piece is one BIG, FAT SPOILER. As usually happens when I attack things later on in canon, I've had some of these ideas floating in my head and haven't really committed to them. So, uh, here goes going ahead with them all at once, huh? Thank you fotd for forcing them out.
Curtains drawn and lights out, Kairn lay on his back in his bed, staring up, only half seeing the ceiling of his cabin. He’d taken to feigning sleeping in. Sethan hadn’t said anything so far, so he reckoned it was working well enough.
In the air above his chest, one hand wound around the other, pulling cloth across limp fingers. He’d done it so many times now he didn’t need to look to line up the sigil. The end of the cloth slid from his grasp and he curled his palm around his broken hand where he knew the mark should be.
Closing his eyes, he drew a breath and slid his finger along the rim of the circle. He expected a faint buzz, maybe a twitch from his useless joints. He expected to sigh and cram the cloth back under his pillow and go find Sethan and some breakfast and get on with his day. When it felt instead like his hand was being smashed all over again and a roar ran through the room like thunder, he jerked upright with a cry.
The cloth fell away as he brought his throbbing hand up for closer examination. He sat there panting for a moment, the fingers spread in front of him shifting in and out of focus. He grit his teeth and willed them to flex, and his jaw dropped as the last two digits bent with the rest. The movement was stiff and jerky and it hurt so badly he nearly yelled again, but they’d moved, even if just a little.
With his good hand he snatched the cloth back up. He was shaking as he pressed it back in place. The jolt the mark sent through his hand when he invoked it had him curled on the bed writhing and gasping, but he held it fast.
When the world stopped its spinning, Kairn peeled the cloth away and curled his hand, slowly and painfully but surely, into a fist. He was laughing as he unfolded and spread his fingers. He wiggled them a bit and laughed again. Then he froze.
Magic worked. How many times had Sethan laughed at him for hoping? How many mornings had he lain here with a scarf around his hand, pretending he’d felt the faintest spark? And now…if sigils suddenly worked again…
Lightheaded and shaking as he was, he managed to roll from the bed and stagger to the door without actually falling. The stumbling race down the short flight of steps was a blur, and then he was flying across the deck.
He found him leaning over the rail, his hands curled around it like he was clinging for life. He’d spent the first weeks like that, and Kairn had asked, more times than he could count, over the sound of retching, if this had been a bad idea. But Sethan hadn’t been ill in awhile now. A feeling of lead tugged at Kairn’s stomach.
“Sethan?“ He caught him by the shoulder and pulled him around.
Sethan shuffled numbly about to face him, only half letting go of the rail. His eyes were distant, with rings beneath as if he hadn’t slept in days, and Kairn’s stomach sank deeper still.
He swallowed hard. “She’s…she’s back, isn’t she?”
Sethan seemed to gather his wits for a moment. Brows creased, he blinked at Kairn. “How?” was all he said.
Kairn thrust his hand in front of him and wiggled his freshly healed fingers. The movement was still far from fluid, but the pain continued to decrease.
Sethan looked as if he might fall to the deck from exhaustion any moment, but his eyes lit and his lips curled and he shook his head at Kairn. “You never stopped.”
Kairn bowed his head, his cheeks warming a bit. “Of course I never stopped.”
Sethan laughed, and it was a hollow sound, as if he lacked the strength for that as well. “No, of course not.”
“I was right,” said Kairn, indignantly. “It worked. Eventually.”
Sethan just shook his head again.
“So…what does she want now?”
“What does she ever want?” Sethan said hastily. He twisted out of Kairn’s grasp, turning back to the rail.
Kairn frowned as Sethan set his gaze back on the empty sea. “You’re hiding something.”
Sethan sighed, the hint of a smile slipping back across his lips as he peered over his shoulder at Kairn. “Have I managed to become so transparent?” Kairn couldn’t answer, but it seemed Sethan took that for an affirmative. He turned back away before he said, “She’s been trying to provoke me into throwing myself over.”
“But-”
Sethan pried a hand from the rail to wave the back of it at him. “I’m not about to do it,” he said. “I suspect she thinks she will have an easier time with my successor.”
Fighting both his breath and the weight in his stomach, Kairn came up beside him and laid his own hands on the rail. “So,” he said, eyes on the slowly churning waves before him, “what do we do now?”
Sethan shrugged. “We destroyed it once before,” he said.