Hope and Wrath

A Warrior Mage, a Spirit Healer, and a Troubled Telepath. OC RP Blog. Multi-verse, Multi-ship. Mun 30+ and Muses 21+. NSFW under read more. Side blog for felis-silvestris-sapiens, follow backs from that url.

[mariafullofwrath]

Ideas

[mariafullofwrath]

victorious-sigyn‌:

She chuckled softly and nuzzled him to quiet his questions. 

“It is not a choice,” she began to explain, her eyes closed as she leaned her cheek against his. “It just happens. It is always right and it is very rare. Vanir can love someone and never glow.” 

She drew back so she could look at him for a long moment, the back of her hand brushing along his face. “It is rarer still to glow for two different mates in a lifetime. And yet… here we are. Sometimes it happens the moment they meet, as was the case with Loki and myself. He took my hand to dance and I turned a deep violet shade. But you are different.” 

She held up her hand holding his so he could observe the soft blue color she was when they touched. “Purple is just the color my magic manifests,” she went on. “Quick answers: No, it is not concious. I cannot turn it off and I cannot hide it. In the instant you put yourself between me and the box as it opened, the color changed from a confused lavender to this shade that is only yours.” She brought his hand to her lips, kissing the back of it. “Soul mates in Vanir culture are very real. And you are mine. It explains so much.” 

Who would have thought that getting something he wanted, something that had seemed so out of reach he never even dared hope for it, would be so terrifying? It was a strange feeling, a thread of doubt that coiled around their quiet contentment like a snake. He couldn’t quite touch it, but he could tell it was there. Of course, he’d never doubt Sigyn. But doubting himself was second nature. Would he really be...enough, for her? He still couldn’t help thinking that she deserved better...more. More than a perpetually lost man who had been broken a few too many times in a life that would be so much shorter than hers.

He wanted to ask her to tell him again how the magic was always right, how it couldn’t fail. He wanted to ask her a hundred times over. But that wouldn’t help. That wasn’t the answer.

“Sigyn, I…” he looked into her eyes as she held his hand. “This is...this is wonderful, and confusing, and...it’s a lot to take in, and…” he didn’t often struggle for words, but he didn’t want her to feel rejected in any way. “I think I’m going to need some time. No much, a day or two before the duel. Time to, well, center myself I guess. Get everything organized in my head.” He knew it was what he needed, but he still regretted it after he’d said it. He switched the grip of their hands so that he was holding hers, and brought it to his face. Instead of kissing her hand, he rested his cheek gently against it.

“Not tonight, though. Tomorrow. I’ll take tomorrow, but we’ll have tonight.”

[mariafullofwrath]

Ideas

[mariafullofwrath]

victorious-sigyn‌:

She tucked her feet under her bottom and folded herself into his side. For the first time since this crazy train took off she felt at peace. She knew this would be a short-lived peace, but it was a peace she could hold onto. 

As he drew her into his arms, she went and matched his contended sigh. She was giving herself permission to relax and breathe and also to be content in his arms, rather than hide her feelings from him. It was too late for that now. 

He spoke and she nodded, tucking her face in his neck. Crane was right, of course. Management didn’t matter right then and there. Not at all. What mattered most was the two of them and figuring out what to do with this budding romance. 

“But you do,” she murmured, snaking her arm around his middle. “You matter to me a great deal.” She breathed him in and sighed once more. Her shoulders relaxed, she practically melted into him. Her skin glittering softly all over. 

“This is nice. I will make you food in a moment, I just want to be held for now. Maybe something simple, like, soup? Corn chowder sounds nice…” 

Crane watched the glitter play across Sigyn’s skin. It had changed color, around when the box had opened. He wondered what the metaphysics of that were. Had the lighter glow been waiting for the box, for her to read Loki’s letter? Or maybe for her once she’d read it? Did the change in color mean something? Did all Vanir glow purple? What would two Vanir in love look like, glowing together.

He wouldn’t glow, although he couldn’t deny now, even to himself, that he loved her.

“Sigyn,” he asked, his tone relaxed and neutral because it was very hard to worry with her leaning against him, “How does this work? Is it...is it conscious? Well, no, then you would have turned it off until you were ready to tell me. Is it a choice? Is it always right? I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be...humans talk about the idea of a soul mate all the time, but it’s a metaphor.”

[mariafullofwrath]

Ideas

[mariafullofwrath]

victorious-sigyn‌:

The gentle kiss on her forehead set a flush of color from the point of contact straight through her. The light washed over her in a wave, a soft smile came to her lips accompanied by a sigh of contentment. She didn’t have to hide anymore, it was all out in the open. 

The light played on her skin for a moment before fading away. “I can cook,” she smiled as he wrapped her up in his arm. She snaked an around around the small of his back, held onto his hip. “No need for a portal, Crane. I can conjure what I need.” 

She leaded her head against his shoulder as they walked in step back toward the house. “I have no desire to be anywhere loud for a while,” she went on. “We have much to figure out… It is best if we spend this time… alone. In relative peace and quiet. You said it may take a day or two? Do you need to prepare?” 

She bit her bottom lip. She remembered how drained he had been after the last duel. “Will he…?” she broke off, looking at Crane in fear. 

Crane felt Sigyn’s hand on his hip and her head resting on his shoulder, and part of him felt light. He felt...it took a moment to figure out exactly what he was feeling, as they walked in step together. That has always been a talent of theirs; walking in step together even with their difference in height. Maybe it meant something.

Relief. That was what he felt. Relief about everything. He felt both elated and terrified about what Sigyn had told him about her glow. It was sudden, and there was magic to it that he didn’t understand, and he’d need some time. But there was more. He’d faced down Management, and, well, trading insults was easy enough, but there’d been a moment when Sigyn spoke in his mind: He’d always believed himself to be less than Scythe, to be less in some unplaceable but essential way. And then suddenly, his anger...his anger and more than Management’s jibe, really. His anger at himself for not being able to save her, his anger at her for dying and leaving him...all of that melted away, and everything was so simple. He knew what she would have done, and he was going to do it. He would face Management in the duel arcane, and he would not use his weapons of Mind. He would fight with Mind as his shield, and if it couldn’t protect him then he didn’t deserve to win.

“There’s not much to do, besides making sure I’m well-rested,” he said as he gently led Sigyn to the couch in the living room--the living room had a single couch, a coffee table, and one bookshelf for its only furniture. “I should give Irrlicht a call and warn her what’s headed her way soon, but after that she and whoever Management strong arms into being his second will take of the negotiations. He’ll want it to be public before the Consilium, I’ll tell Irrlicht to say no.”

“Will he...will he what?” he asked, and realized what she likely meant a moment after. For a moment he didn’t know what to say, because the answer was yes. There would be no physical damage, but, win or lose, Management would try to do as much damage as he could while he had the chance. There was no reason for it. It was just how he was.

He didn’t want to say that to Sigyn, of course, but neither was he going to lie, or disguise the truth. And he wasn’t afraid, honestly. He felt calmer than he should have, and as he thought about it he understood why.

“Sigyn,” he turned to her and smiled softly. “You know what? He doesn’t matter.” He put his arm around her shoulders and drew her to him with a sigh that was almost contented. “He doesn’t matter at all.”

[mariafullofwrath]

Ideas

[mariafullofwrath]

victorious-sigyn‌:

She frowned at his back. She wasn’t one to let him have the last word. As he stepped one leg through the portal, she licked her wrist and yanked Managements foot out from underneath him, sending him flailing through the portal rather than causally strolling through. He hit the ground with a satisfying flop and he turned to sneer at her. 

The sweet smile on her face was only accentuated by the gesture she made with her middle finger. It was the last vision he’d have of her before his portal snapped shut. “Fucker,” she muttered under her breath. 

In the silence that followed, she turned her attention back to Crane. The moment his brow touched hers, her skin began to twinkle and glow. She gave him a few moments to gather his thoughts before smiling mischievously. “New Jersey is far more exciting than you have led me to believe,” she joked softly. She nuzzled him sweetly. “How long do we have, you think? Enough time for a coffee? Maybe a meal?” She gently took a step back toward the house. “Come, love. He is gone now. No matter what he pulls from you, I can put back. There is nothing he can do that my love cannot undo. He is weak and a coward. But we are stronger than hate and fear.” 

Crane leaned back so that he could kiss Sigyn gently on the forehead, and then straightened up. He’d reached the point of dust settling after a storm, when volatile emotions drained away and one was left bone-tired, with the smell of petrichor in the air.

“I always mean to take you,” he said. “It’s nice out here. Quiet, when I don’t have any uninvited guests. Oh, we’ve got time,” he gave a soft smile. “The duel is official Consilium business now; it’ll take a day or two for them to get everything worked out. Management hasn’t even named a second, yet. I’ll have to see about cooking, though. Right now the kitchen is stocked mostly for emergencies.” He hummed thoughtfully. “Wouldn’t be hard to make a portal back to the city, I suppose. But...I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t mind some quiet.”

He put an arm around Sigyn’s shoulders. “Let’s go back inside.”

[mariafullofwrath]

Ideas

[mariafullofwrath]

victorious-sigyn‌:

A duel. 

She should have been more specific. Of course he would make this choice! She should have seen it coming. But then… she knew just enough to know that while he may not be physically harmed, he would be drained of his energy. 

She rose a perfect eyebrow at Management’s chide. 

He thinks me a fool, she sent Crane in amusement. He thinks he can frighten me into making a choice to fall into his trap. 

She smiled darkly at Management. “I know the Duel Arcane enough, coward. It is the only way you walk away from this alive. I have been kind do you, this day. I could have let him kill you here…” She stood up, though on shaky legs. She was very much not recovered. But she’d do her best. 

She took Crane’s hand, leaning on him a little to keep her balance. But also to stay rooted to him, to find strength in him. 

“Crane will be my champion,” she spoke. “I agree to his terms.” 

Management focused on Sigyn, a small, cold smile on his face. “It’s done, then. I got more than I hoped, honestly. A duel with the mysterious Alexander Crane, who didn’t exist until fifteen years ago. I hope you realize, my lady, that there are more ways than one to hurt a man, and there’s a reason he’s never agreed to a challenge with me before. I fight with the dagger of the Mind, and our dear Alex, well...we’ve all got our aliases and our secrets, but he’s got more than most. Regardless of who wins, Lady Sigyn, I am going to tear his mind open and let all of those little beasties out to play.” 

Crane squeezed Sigyn’s hand. Management turned without waiting for a response and pulled a phone out of his pocket, started typing. “My second will be in touch,” Management said, absently. A window in space opened up in front of him. It was a bit different from Crane’s neat ovals; a rectangle with a border that glowed gold. “Seeya later,” he said as he stepped through, and the portal disappeared behind him.

“Oh, Sigyn,” said Crane, his voice barely more than a whisper. He was still looking off into the distance, toward where the portal had been. He couldn’t think of how to finish the sentence he’d started, so instead he simply turned toward her and leaned down until his forehead touched hers. He stayed like that for a moment and just breathed.

[mariafullofwrath]

Ideas

[mariafullofwrath]

victorious-sigyn‌:

Energy seeped out of her a if she were being squeezed. Of course, she wasn’t surprised he knew some parlor tricks, but this was a magic she hadn’t encountered before. Her knees buckled, the air seemed to slowly escape from her and she felt a creeping cold come over her. 

She felt death. 

She gasped in as her body went limp into the cool grass. Dizzy, the whispers she hear seemed like screams, the words that Management spoke stung deep, cut deeper and then… her eyes landed on Crane’s back. The way he held his shoulders the way he was prime for an attack, she could see it.

Time slowed down, the flash of a woman in her lap, blood on her lips and the grief that hit her like a ton of bricks took her the rest of the way to the ground. It took a few moments for her to realize these flashes of death weren’t her memories but Crane’s. Management had split him wide open, it seemed, and sucked her power away to keep her subdued. 

Sigyn knew then in perfect clarity that if she didn’t do something, Crane would kill this man. Whatever happened in this now very private memory exposed, it was enough to drive him to madness. 

Crane… She whispered to his mind. She put a mental hand on his shoulder, for he was too far away from her to actually take his shoulder. Crane, my love. No. He will not bring her back… It will not bring you peace. 

Sigyn, though she be compromised, pulled forth the last bit of warmth she had left and sent it toward the man she loved. Let him go… Come back to me. 

Crane watched Management, standing closer now, looking pleased with himself. He wasn’t doing anything outwardly to protect himself from Crane’s magic, but that didn’t mean anything. It came down to a guess: was he shielding for magical attacks, or physical? He’d been shielding for magic before, otherwise Crane’s punch never would have landed. But Management really did hate physical confrontation, physical pain. Would he have changed shields after Crane hit him? It made all the difference in deciding which spell to use. If he was shielding for magic, it would have to Space. There were a number of ways to kill a man with Space magic; knock him into a portal and close it when he was halfway through, stab him in the back without moving a muscle. If he was shielding from physical threats, Crane would use Mind. Mind was cleaner. With Mind magic, he could simply tell a man’s brain to die.

Management was a coward, Crane had always thought. He wouldn’t want to be hit again. He readied his spell, and then…

There she was. There was Sigyn. They had no need for words spoken aloud, not anymore. He listened to her voice, felt her warmth, and she was right. She was right. This was what Management wanted. He wanted to provoke them. If Crane tried to kill him, he had a right to defend himself, and then…

Crane knew what he needed to do. It was simple, really, almost obvious, but he wouldn’t have thought of it without Sigyn’s words. He could resolve this in a way that would leave Sigyn safe, and no one would get hurt. It was so simple. It was what Scythe would have done.

The whispers dissipated like smoke. “I challenge you,” Crane said to Management. “The Duel Arcane. Irrlicht will be my second. If I win, you and the Guardians leave Sigyn in peace. She’s no threat, anyway.” Crane had never accepted a duel with Management, even over mundane political matters. Part of him was afraid of what he could dig up, even in a duel, if he used Mind magic against him, and Management knew it. He wouldn’t refuse.

Management raised his eyebrows and gave a small, pleased smile. “Well, this is a pleasant turn of events. And if I win, what then? The lady gives up her memories? They’re not yours to bargain with, though.”

Crane shook his head. “No. If you win, I will stand aside and let you try.”

Management sighed. “Not as much as I’d hope for, but I could consider it. We’re not the only two parties involved, though. Lady Sigyn...feeling any better?” He looked down at Sigyn with a self-satisfied smirk. “How do you feel about this? Has Crane told you about the Duel Arcane? Have you ever seen one?”

[mariafullofwrath]

Ideas

[mariafullofwrath]

victorious-sigyn‌:

The moment Management began to move she summoned a ball of fire red seidr to each hand. It crackled as fireballs do. She crouched a little in front of Crane in a protective stance. She could kill this man easily, if she had to. 

When he stopped, she stared him down almost daring him to try to hurt her. And honestly, if she hadn’t received the written blessing from Loki just moments before the words would have cut much deeper. As it was, she knew he was intending to hurt her and all it felt like was a small jab from a dull blade, meant more to annoy than to hurt. 

She would have thrown her fireball at the man, but Crane moved before she could. The satisfying crack across Managements jaw brought a dark smirk to her lips. 

“I find it amusing, young one,” she spoke to Management in a cold tone. “That you think words from a worm might hurt me. You know nothing of what you speak. You flap your mouth as if it were a weapon, but what I hear are the death throws of a coward.” 

Management got to his feet slowly, grass stains on his khaki slacks. Crane’s blow seemed to have broken through his calm exterior, and he looked at Sigyn with rage in his eyes.

“Never underestimate the young, old woman,” he snarled, blood staining his teeth where the punch had cut his lip. He reached into his pocket again, but he didn’t pull out the golden coin. Instead he held a carved-bone charm on a thin cord. He raised his eyebrows at Sigyn and gave a quirk of his lips that would have been mischievous if the intent in his eyes hadn’t been so dark.

The fire in Sigyn’s hands flared brightly for just a second before winking out, replaced with cold, empty air. Death magic was primal decay, entropy that promised the eventual death of everything, even the universe. He could take the energy from more than just living beings. But he could do that, too. Raising the hand that held the charm, he made no particular gesture, but life flowed from Sigyn to him, healing the cut on his lip and the barely formed bruises on his face. He stood a bit taller, his eyes brighter, composure returned to his face. He hadn’t take much, but it would be enough to leave Sigyn dizzy, drained, perhaps feeling oddly...less, for a moment or two.

“Stop it!” Growled Crane.

“Physical violence is for sleepers and amateurs, Crane,” he replied, “But I don’t really like being hit, so be assured this is what will happen if you do it again. Of course, I could have just asked you, but everyone knows you don’t study healing magic.”

The whispers that came with Crane’s magic had faded into the background until then, but now they rose in volume until they were a physical presence, a murmuring roar that sounded almost like the ocean.

“Oh, don’t worry,” he said in a low, dangerous voice. “Next one won’t be for show.” The magic that swirled around him hadn’t yet formed into a spell yet, hadn’t found a purpose, but when it did...Crane was fully ready to kill him with his next blow.

[mariafullofwrath]

Ideas

[victorious-muses-deactivated202]

mariafullofwrath‌:

He was hers. She was his. They were each others, and she forgave him. It was so much, it was too much, he didn’t know what to say, and then…

Shit. His mage sight lit up like a firework. Management was here, and he was making an entrance.

He broke the embrace gently. “He’s here. I’ve got to go, you should…no,” he thought better of it and shook his head with a small smile. “No, I know you better than that. Come with me. We’ll go meet him together.

Crane led her out of the room, down a dusty hallways and staircase to the sparsely furnished main room of the house, and then out the front door. The house itself was isolated; surrounded by nothing but woods and abandoned farms for a few miles. Management was waiting for them at the end of the grassy front yard.

The man was a few inches shorter than Crane. He was very pale, with sandy hair and wire-framed glasses, and an almost scholarly sense of style not that different from Crane’s. Crane had always wondered if maybe they both had something to prove.

The portal had already closed behind him, but his nimbus was all around, November cold and the taste of fog. He approached them with arms held out wide, almost welcoming.

“Love, Crane? Really?” He looked at their intertwined hands and grinned. “You’ve always been self-destructive; I knew something would take you down eventually, but I never expected love. Hmm,” He stopped walking about fifteen feet away from them, and Crane felt his own nimbus creep up on him, the air suddenly filled with quiet, wordless whispers. “Maybe it does suit you. But really, I know she’s a goddess…but to get on the Mysterium and the Guardian’s bad side all at once…is the sex really that good?” He turned to Sigyn and winked.

The snide remarks turned her stomach. Instantly she felt uncomfortable, and the flippant suggestion that she was a mere sexual conquest flipped a switch in her. 

Sigyn snarled and stepped in front of Crane as if she were protecting him, The whites of her eyes vanished as a dark pitch took over her soft gaze. It wasn’t just show boating, Crane had never seen her dark side as there was no reason to ever let him see it. 

“Fiend,” she hissed. “You think yourself clever. Speak of me as a conquest again, child and you will never find pleasure again.” She could have gone darker, she could command him to his knees, force him to apologize for the intrusion and then make him believe it was his own idea to take a long walk into the ocean. But not yet… This was, after all, Crane’s fight. She couldn’t fight this for him. 

But damned if she wouldn’t protect him. 

[mariafullofwrath]

“Oh, look at that,” Management said softly, putting one hand absently in his pocket as he gazed upon the angry goddess. “I can see why you like her, Crane.” To most people, it would seem like he was unfazed by Sigyn’s threat, but the benefit of the Awakened community being rather small was that everyone knew at least a little bit about everyone else. Management had a gold coin that was almost always in one of his pockets, a dedicated magical item, and Crane happened to know that fidgeting with it was a nervous habit of his.

“If you’re looking for change, I’d be happy to lend you cab fare home,” he said, smoothly.

Management made a quiet “hmmph,” sound, along with a glare and a slight curl of his lip. “It can be like that, if you want. We could have had a nice little chat first, caught up a little bit, but no. Fine, let’s get straight to cracking open your girlfriend’s pretty little head,” he strode towards them, but halfway there stopped with a raise of his eyebrows. “Well, look what we have here,” said Management with a satisfied smile. 

Crane wondered what he could be sensing, since there was no sign of Mind magic from him, but he figured it out just too late. Management hated to use physical violence; it was with emotional violence that he was most vicious, and even if he wasn’t using Mind magic at the moment, his skill with Death gave him an ability Crane lacked. He could sense the weight of death around a person, and sometimes details beyond that.

“Lady Sigyn, I’m surprised. He hasn’t been gone long at all, has he? Don’t you think you’re moving on...just a bit fast?”

Crane knew he didn’t need to protect Sigyn, but in that moment it didn’t matter. He took the two long strides to close the distance between them, and hit Management in the face with a right hook, watching in satisfaction as he hit the ground.

[mariafullofwrath]

Ideas

[mariafullofwrath]

victorious-sigyn‌:

She listened to every word he spoke as if it was doctrine. She hung upon everything he gave her, taking in all of it. 

“I am not afraid,” she replied and would have said more if he hadn’t pulled her in. She responded instantly, wrapping her arms around him. She felt him wrap his whole self around her. Crane was a lanky man with long arms that she thought could wrap around her twice if he tried. She had to wiggle a little to tuck her head into the crook of his neck, nuzzling upward until she felt the wetness on his cheek. 

“Oh, my sweet love,” she whispered. She drew her face back just enough to look up at him. With her right hand she dried his left cheek and kissed away the tear that streamed down his right. She lingered there for a moment before pulling back again.

“I know you won’t…” she whispered. “I have never been safer than I am with you. I am not afraid of Management, Crane. He cannot hurt me, he cannot take you from me. I will destroy him with a command and he will believe it was his own idea and thank me for it. The box never belonged to the Consilium, they have no claim to it. The box was mine all along. And you are mine. And I am yours.” She cradled his chin in her hand. “I forgive you.” 

He was hers. She was his. They were each others, and she forgave him. It was so much, it was too much, he didn’t know what to say, and then…

Shit. His mage sight lit up like a firework. Management was here, and he was making an entrance.

He broke the embrace gently. “He’s here. I’ve got to go, you should...no,” he thought better of it and shook his head with a small smile. “No, I know you better than that. Come with me. We’ll go meet him together.

Crane led her out of the room, down a dusty hallways and staircase to the sparsely furnished main room of the house, and then out the front door. The house itself was isolated; surrounded by nothing but woods and abandoned farms for a few miles. Management was waiting for them at the end of the grassy front yard.

The man was a few inches shorter than Crane. He was very pale, with sandy hair and wire-framed glasses, and an almost scholarly sense of style not that different from Crane’s. Crane had always wondered if maybe they both had something to prove.

The portal had already closed behind him, but his nimbus was all around, November cold and the taste of fog. He approached them with arms held out wide, almost welcoming.

“Love, Crane? Really?” He looked at their intertwined hands and grinned. “You’ve always been self-destructive; I knew something would take you down eventually, but I never expected love. Hmm,” He stopped walking about fifteen feet away from them, and Crane felt his own nimbus creep up on him, the air suddenly filled with quiet, wordless whispers. “Maybe it does suit you. But really, I know she’s a goddess...but to get on the Mysterium and the Guardian’s bad side all at once...is the sex really that good?” He turned to Sigyn and winked.

[mariafullofwrath]

Ideas

[mariafullofwrath]

victorious-sigyn‌:

At first she almost didn’t understand what he wanted her to look at. But then she realized he wanted her to look into his mind. Of course, that would make sense. It would be faster than him having to explain anything to her, especially if he were tongue-tied. 

She nodded, then let go his hands to place her hands on his face, her fingers gently resting on his temples. She closed her eyes and just… relaxed. She saw the door named Sigyn and saw… well… everything. It came flooding at her in flashes like a movie montage. 

It was his emotions that struck a chord in her, and this time tears sprang up not from sorrow but joy. Joy that she wasn’t trapping him by opening her heart up to him. Magic glittering in her hands ran down her arms and flooded her skin all over. He’d see it spread across her person as she watched his memories. 

“Yes, that is it exactly,” she whispered, opening her eyes to look at him. The rest she said to his mind. Soul mates. Vanir soul bond. That is what makes my glitter when I touch you. I have been yours since the beginning of time. 

“Sigyn,” he placed his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes, his expression both tender and frightened. “I care about you so much. More than words. More than anything. I need you to listen to me now. You’re in danger.” What had that box done to her? The glow around her had changed color, and now she could talk about nothing but love. And as much as her words made him feel...he didn’t have the time to sit down and fully figure out how he felt about her words, but…

“Sigyn, we can’t be soul mates if neither of us remembers the other one exists. The Guardians have been watching me, and they’ve decided since the box opened that I’ve shared too much with someone outside the Consilium.  They’re sending a fixer, someone with magic like mine to steal your memories, and maybe mine as well, and Sigyn,” his throat felt tight just at the thought of it. “I know the man they’re sending. He’s the only one in the Consilium who could stand a chance against me no that Scythe’s gone, and...Sigyn, I’ve done this kind of work for them before, but I know Management and he’s vicious. The kind of things I’ll do only out of necessity, he does for fun. I don’t know if he could get past your magic, but Sigyn he’ll...he’ll hurt you just by trying, and I will not let that happen.”

He took a long breath after his explanation, and then, almost before he knew what he was doing, he pulled Sigyn into a tight embrace. 

“I won’t let that happen,” he whispered, and he felt a tear run down his cheek. “I won’t let that happen.

[mariafullofwrath]

Ideas

[mariafullofwrath]

victorious-sigyn‌:

She didn’t ask any questions while he lead her through the doors and into a closet. The urgency in his body language was all too clear. Something spooked him, and as cool and calm as he usually was, to see him wound up like this was unsettling, especially since things had all fallen into place for her. 

She flinched a little when he plunged the dagger into the door and was still while he babbled on. 

“Crane,” she replied softly, stepping closer to him and taking both his hands in hers. Instantly in just touching him she felt better and her magic responded in kind by lighting up her hands. She exhaled a little in a small sigh of relief. 

“Darling, please look at me,” she went on, her voice gentle. “Whatever you have to tell me, tell me. Just say it, sweetheart. Nothing will change this.” She held up their joined hands so he could see the light produced simply by his touch. Her skin looked as if it were sunlight dancing the surface of water. 

“Nothing will take this away,” she promised. 

“Sigyn, I…” he trailed off, looking into her lovely eyes. “Oh...just look,” he said, his voice thin and soft and vulnerable. “Just look.”

There was a door in his mind. The door was marked “Sigyn,” and behind the door was everything. Every moment, from the time he’d first noticed her presence in the apartment downstairs, to the moment he picked up his phone when Irrlicht called the emergency line. 

Everything he had kept from her. His conversations with Melville. Vakna and Irrlicht examining the box, and his deep shame at having lied about it. That was what he had wanted to show her, without words, that all the while he’d been watching her, someone else had been watching him, and they were unhappy, and everything he and Sigyn had was in danger.

But there was something else there. Every happy memory, every time he saw something in that particular shade of purple and thought of Sigyn. Every moment he heard or saw something, and smiled and thought “I have to tell Sigyn about this.” Every time he looked into her eyes. Every time he held her hand. The gradual unfolding of a heart that had been locked away in a puzzle more deep and difficult than the enchanted box they’d just opened. The secret he was keeping from himself: that he loved her, not as a friend, not even as a lover. As a soulmate. That she couldn’t possibly be his, because he was already hers, and had been for some time now.

[mariafullofwrath]

Ideas

[mariafullofwrath]

victorious-sigyn‌:

The urgency in his voice was enough. The conversation, the bonding, the chance to digest it all was being robbed of them.

“Okay,” she nodded, squeezing his hand. She didn’t need an explanation, didn’t need him to make promises. She trusted him with her whole life her heart. “What about the box? Do we need it too or just what is in it?”

“Leave the box. Take what Loki gave you,” he said, and he was moving before he finished the sentence, leading Sigyn out of the room and down the hall, and holding on to her hand like his life depended on it.

He took her into the bedroom and through one of the closet doors, the one that didn’t match the rest of the doors in his apartment because technically it wasn’t in his apartment. It was lined with suit jackets and button down shirts, because this was the one he actually used for a closet, and it made him think of the journey to Narnia, except that instead of going through the back of the closet they simply turned around and went back out the door, and because the place they ended up was much less exciting.

The room outside of the closet had changed (or rather, where the door went had changed). They exited the closet into a barely furnished guest room in an old house. Crane turned, and flicked the wrist of his free hand. In it appeared a jeweled dagger, and he plunged it deep into the wood of the door.

“That should buy us some time,” he said, turning back to face Sigyn. “He won’t be able to make a portal, he’ll have to use mundane transportation or get someone to make one for him, and that will annoy him.” He let out a long breath and leaned back against the door, which now led only into a closet in this particular house, closing his eyes. “God, how am I going to explain this…?”

[mariafullofwrath]

Ideas

[mariafullofwrath]

victorious-sigyn‌:

She gulped as he tried to make sense of all of her words. It sounded mostly positive, but without permission she couldn’t look into his heart and find out, no matter how loud her magic was screaming for the connection.

Then the moment was broken and there was no chance of a resolution in her immediate future. “Of course, darling,” she nodded, drawing back a little. “It must be important…”

Still trying to assimilate everything that had happened in the last few minutes, Crane flicked his wrist and a ringing phone appeared in his hand.

“Is everyone okay?” he answered without introduction. But what Irrlicht told him sent a cold shiver down his spine.

“What?”

“They wouldn’t dare.”

“Oh, if he tries...if he tries I’ll kill him.”

He hung up the phone and put it back into his pocket. Then he took Sigyn’s hand in his, the one that had been resting under his chin, and looked at her, eyes full of urgency.

“We have to go. Now.”

[mariafullofwrath]

Ideas

[mariafullofwrath]

victorious-sigyn‌:

She… blinked at him. Was he really this thick? How could he not see it in her eyes, in the way she hovered around him, was always trying to remain connected to him in someway. 

“No, Crane…” she said softly, tucking the note from Loki into a hidden pocket and then cupped his chin with her hands. The moment she touched him her hands lit up a soft blue that was the color of her love for him, or at least the color her magic chose for him. 

“Crane, my darling, look at me,” she murmured. “I.. I am afraid I have not been truthful. I was afraid. I was afraid that this truth would… would trap you because… Crane…” She stepped closer to him, one hand snaking behind his head to cradle the base of his skull, the other stayed on his cheek. 

“Crane, I glow because it’s you,” she admitted, full sincerity in her eyes. “Vanir… my race… we glow for the one…. the one we belong to. Do you understand? The box opened because I am ready for you.”

Crane was still with his face held gently in Sigyn’s hands. It was...it was him? His thoughts raced. Everything was making sense and getting more confusing at the same time. The glow that surrounded her, it had happened after he’d held her up so she could float in the ocean. He’d thought she had some sort of a Vanir chill…

It had started right after she’d let him hold her in his arms while she faced a great fear. Of course, of course she loved him. He’d ignored the signs, put in all in box in the back of his mind because of course that was too much to hope for, of course he wasn’t worthy of it, and...did he love her? He compartmentalized his mind too well; and he’d hidden those feelings so thoroughly away that he was only partially aware that they were there.

But what was she saying about trapping him? It wouldn’t be a trap, but it would be too much, more than he deserved. It would be a trap for her, not for him, and...belonging to someone? Sigyn was beautiful and kind and wondrous, and she belonged to no one but herself.

“I...Sigyn, I…” he didn’t know what to say, couldn’t find the words. “Sigyn, I…”

And then he felt a tickle, something like a phone ringing in the back of his mind, quite literally. It was the emergency line. Not now, how could it be precisely now...the box. The box.

“Sigyn, I’m sorry, I would never, never in a moment like this but...it’s my emergency phone. It’s Irrlicht’s ring.”

[mariafullofwrath]

Ideas

[mariafullofwrath]

victorious-sigyn‌:

She kept blinking at him while he inspected the box. He was so focused on the box he missed the moment entirely. 

She opened her mouth to say his name in hopes to get his attention but he beat her to it. “What?” she asked, tearing her eyes from him and toward the box. “Me? How?” 

She stepped closer and saw a familiar scrolling print that made her heart stop all together. It was clearly her name. “Oh, Great Mothers…” she whispered temporarily forgetting the life altering situation. “Of course you would, you fool…” 

She wasn’t talking to Crane anymore, she was talking to Loki. Her eyes were stinging a little with unshed tears. With reverence she lifted the paper from the box and began to open it, reading the familiar writing that made her heart ached for the past. She cried silently, one tear after the next rolling down her cheeks. He explained the pendant’s purpose was to hide her from Odin, Heimdall and Mimir, as well as to act as a ward of protection. But it was the end of the letter that made everything clear. 

I sealed the box with a ward that only you could open when your heart was ready to love another. I couldn’t bear you to be alone for eternity. I give you my blessing. May they be a more worthy partner than I. 

She closed the letter and brought it to her lips, whispering in Ancient Vanir her thanks and her love. “My husband,” she whispered softly to Crane, offering him a watery smile. “He always did love a grand gesture. Leave it to him to enchant a box for me…” She laughed ironically, shaking her head as she withdrew the necklace from the box and began to latch it onto her neck. 

“Crane…” she began. “We have to talk… This box. It opened for a reason. Loki enchanted it for the very moment in which I was ready to love again.” 

He watched Sigyn’s face as she spoke, and just by her eyes he made a fairly good guess as to who had written the letter. If Loki had done anything to reopen the wound that was only just beginning to heal, he’d walk to Stygia, to Valhalla, if that was what it took...no. He’d been her husband. If she’d loved him that much, he would have been a better man than that.

He saw the tears begin to fall from her eyes, and he wanted very badly to hold her, to take this and every hurt away from her. He wanted, in a deep place in his heart that he’d been steadfastly ignoring for months, to kiss the tears from her cheeks. But they seemed like necessary tears, and this seemed like a private moment, even across centuries.

When she told him it was her husband, he nodded and smiled gently. But when she told him the letter’s purpose, he felt a pain in his heart, somehow dull and stabbing at the same time. He tried his best to keep any hint of it off his face, and when she’d finished putting on the necklace, he took both of her hands. This was a happy thing, and he wasn’t going to behave like a high school student, angry that his best friend was going on dates for the first time.

“Oh Sigyn,” he said warmly, honestly, “that’s wonderful. You...you have so much love, in you. You need someone to share that with.”

[mariafullofwrath]

Ideas

[mariafullofwrath]

victorious-sigyn‌:

All the feeling of trepidation washed away the second he took hold of her arm. 

Vanir soul love is a strange thing. There can be many soul mates in a cycle and many chances for them to meet or not meet at all. It would seem a rare thing for a Vanir to find one soulmate in a lifetime, two would seem extraordinary. But… it has happened. It’s been documented the first Queen of Vanaheim, the Great Mother (though not the last) had three. There weren’t many Vanir in the beginning… 

Crane took her arm and pulled her away, putting himself between her and the box and in that instance, the glow decided. He was blue. A light blue, the color of the spring sky without clouds. It washed over her whole body, flooding her with the deep need to keep touching him, to stay connected physically. He seemed to suddenly be… everything. Her whole heart. 

The sensation was so overwhelming she didn’t realize the box had opened at first. There was no box, no portal to New Jersey, no paper coffee cup, no Minecraft, no crowded apartment, no purple trinket that reminding him of her… just… Alex. 

“There you are,” she whispered as if seeing him for the first time. She wasn’t looking at the box. She was looking at him. Her skin was glittering as if the sun were dancing on a pond, soft blue colors that lit up the room and bathed him in just the right shade. 

“It’s you…” 

Crane heard her speak, but he didn’t turn around to see Sigyn’s glow. “There who is?” he murmured, but he only half-processed her words because all of his attention was focused on the box and it’s frantic movements. They were settling though, one by one, and nothing terrible had happened. He’d finally remembered to breath and there was nothing toxic in the air. When the finally gear settled into its new place, the box had perfectly smooth metal sides (which was impossible, but it didn’t seem to be the kind of object that cared about physics), and an open top.

He leaned forward and peered into the opening. Inside the box was a piece of paper that looked very old, but perfectly preserved, and a pendant of some sort. The two items sat on a bed of fine violet cloth, and the paper had lettering that looked like old Norse. Everything came together, the fate Irrlicht had seen, the words of the box’s spirit. He turned to Sigyn.

“I think...I think this is for you.”

[mariafullofwrath]

Ideas

[mariafullofwrath]

victorious-sigyn‌:

She saw his smile and it made her heart sink. She paused for just a second. He began to move but she didn’t… not at first. Her arm tugged and it was just enough for him to notice she wasn’t moving before she moved. 

Sigyn was frowning and she was frowning at Crane. Words formed in her mouth but never passed her lips. 

What is wrong? You are hiding something from me and I do not like it.

Instead she let him lead her into his safe room to the clicking box. She turned her frown to the box. This is your fault, clicking box, she directed her frown and her pain at it. What is it about you that is hurting My Crane so? 

She withdrew her arm from Crane’s and stepped closer to it. “Well?” she asked it aloud. It was a continuation of her internal thoughts that Crane wasn’t privy to. “Answer me.” 

With a sigh, she reached out and touched the box.

He could tell Sigyn knew something was wrong. He hated to lie, most of all to her. And it was getting to the point where she knew him too well for him to pull it off, anyway. He wondered when the last time had been that he’d let someone know him that well. Scythe, probably.

He had to tell her. He had to stop this. Maybe it was Scythe’s memory, but he had to stop this, whatever the cost might be.

He opened his mouth to speak just as just Sigyn touched the box. The gears stopped with a soft, metallic whir that was almost a sigh, and then they all moved at once, extending themselves from the box as one had done the last time they’d looked at the box, turning and flipping in a flurry of motion.

“Sigyn, get back!” He took hold of her arm and pulled her behind him as he brought up his shield against magic to cover both of them. But he didn’t know what the box would do, and he couldn’t shield against magic and physical threats at the same time. So he simply put himself between Sigyn and the box.