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[#251 Out There]
This prompt has been brought to you by someone who wishes to remain anonymous, thank you very much! What surprises are waiting out there for your characters? Is this a new, unknown place yet to discover?, or has it always been here? Whether it is that they prefer to stay inside or explore what’s out here, we want to know! Happy writing!
Written for @flashfictionfridayofficial prompt 251, “Out There”
Ao3: Here!
When Gem settled on the mountain with her dwarf friend, Impulse, it wasn’t just because of its advantageous position, far away from civilization and with a river on the skirts of the mountain.
The landscape across from her… there was no word for it other than alien.
No, not magical. She knew magic better than most and it didn’t look like that. Hills that twisted and rolled. Platforms of soil, forming natural underpasses. Trees of colors she never would have imagined possible. Purple, blue, pines of yellow and orange. Crystal flowers. Vines that supported their own weight, growing up in the air. And over one of the hills…
A mushroom. Towering over nearly everything. Teal. Like two heads of a bird, sprouting from an orange stem. Nothing about it felt… earthly.
And next to it, a flower, the only thing that stood taller than the mushroom. Its petals reached out like tentacles into the skies. Its roots shaped the soil around it like a magnet, green tubes that left the ground. From afar, you could confuse them for moss-ridden bridges.
But not everything was natural, and that interested her just as much. Builds sprawled over the landscape. Grey, but not stone. And a tower, though it was unfair to just call it that. It stood as tall as the flower and mushroom. Multiple layers of different colors and shapes. Rings floated around it.
And they were empty.
So far, Impulse and her hadn’t seen anyone around. No one who could’ve built or lived in those buildings. And yet, they weren’t crumbling from disrepair.
Neither had crossed the river yet, fearing what could reside there, all the same.
They still chose that spot to live in because sometimes, the views were worth the risk.
And anyway, their distance was changing today! She thought she saw some movement, as she was setting up base — a bigger one, not the small treehouse she was currently living in. It was nice, but obviously temporary. She was an elf. Sure, she may have been exiled for befriending a dwarf and also her many crimes of treason with said dwarf and some beheadings here and there, but she still had standards. And those standards were a big castle with a dungeon where she could display the heads of her enemies.
And so, she filled herself with courage and buckled her sword.
One could never be too careful.
Impulse was too busy doing dwarf things underground and she wanted to do this on her own. Still, she called out to him, just in case, and when he didn’t respond, she shrugged. She was intimidating enough on her own. And if the being wasn’t intimidated by her at first, they would quickly learn to adapt.
She slipped on her wooden glider wings, something she and Impulse designed for quick get-aways, and with a running start, jumped off the mountain.
The closer she got, the more she was hit with how gorgeous it all looked.
She descended gracefully in front of the buildings and closed her wings. She unsheathed her blade.
Slowly, she approached the main building’s gates.
The crushing of grass behind her made her swivel, sword outstretched, her braid whipping from the movement.
“Oi, mate! Careful with that thing, you almost hit me!”
Gem’s eyes widened and her arm lingered uncertain as she processed the message and what she was looking at.
A woman was standing there. Human, by the look of things, but you could never be too certain. Tall, long brown hair, a sloped nose, friendly looking eyes, and some very strange clothes. Forest green… not quite breeches, that extended over her torso, covering a black shirt. And on her head, the strangest thing of all, a helmet without face protection. Orange, and with a texture she couldn’t recognize. Actually, her boots seemed to be of a similar material.
Gem took a step back, certain with her sword. “Who are you?” she asked with a threat in her voice.
The other got the memo and stepped back too, arms still in front of her. “Wh— I should be asking you! You burst into my home and threaten me?”
That got Gem to finally lower her sword. “This is your home?”
The lady looked around with mild panic and then deflated. “Yes.” Then, her eyes shone, body re-energized. “Oh, you must be one of the new neighbours! You’re human, right?”
She looked too eager, asking that.
“Uh…”
“Oh, are you not?”
Gem pointed at her ears and the woman nodded absently.
“Right… So, not human?”
“... No?”
Okay, whatever that lady was, she definitely was not a human, like she’d thought. They’d have to keep a close eye on her.
“And your friend? The short one?”
“A dwarf.”
The definitely-not-human lady took a second and then pouted. “Okay.”
“What, you looking for humans?”
“W-well, of course I am looking for my people!”
Right, so that’s how they were doing things. Gem decided to play along.
“I see!” She looked over the constructions. “And they aren’t in one of those buildings?”
The stranger shook her head. “No, I don’t know what happened. I’m trying to study what happened to the– to my people. They were all here and one day, they disappeared. I figured if you two were humans too… you may have an idea of what happened.”
“Sorry, no.” Gem genuinely was sorry. “I was too busy trying to commit regicide.”
“Oh.” Their eyes met. “And that is?”
Gem brushed it off with her hand. “Don’t worry about it.”
“Okay…” The woman sounded unconvinced. “Oh, you asked for my name. I’m Pearlescent Moon. Pearl, for short.”
“Nice to meet you, Pearl.” Gem stretched out a hand. “Gemini Tay. Gem.”
Pearl looked at the hand for a long moment, frowning, then met her gaze. “Um, nice to meet you too, Gem! I’ll have to meet your ‘dwarf’ friend next!”
Happy flash fiction friday ! (Or Saturday morning...) haven't done one of these in a loooong time but I want to get back into writing 🙈
Thanks @flashfictionfridayofficial for organising this!! Always good fun 🩷
Thunder - 584 Words
The rumbling woke Alice up. Usually, she slept like the dead in her cabin and it was rare for her eyes to seek the world beyond 2am but tonight, she discovered through crusted eyes and a beam of phone light, it was already half three in the morning.
Dropping back onto her pillow, she pulled the sheets tight over her ears and waited for the storm to pass. Only it never quite did. As one thunder clap ended it seemed another had simply been waiting to pick up the tune, pulling up to the orchestra with determination to out compete its fellow player.
Alice opened her eyes.
The window adjacent to her bed sat still and quiet. A sliver of silver outlined it's curtained disguise. It never changed. She crept closer in her bed and reached out, peeling back until she could just see through the corner of the glass.
It was still.
The grass below lay unmoving, the sky pricked with hundreds of pinhole stars and the obnoxious full moon looked down at her with a smirk.
The "thunder" grew louder.
Alice dropped the curtain. She shuffled back until her back hit the headboard and she gathered up all her sheets into a tight bundle about her.
The noise continued. It sounded more metallic now, like girders aching in a skyscraper caught in the midst of a hurricane. But the house didn't shake. It felt hollow and empty and silent as if even the rats had abandoned her. But the rumbles kept coming.
There were pops now too, like wood on a fire, and it seemed they were concentrated on one side. The side of her bedroom window. Alice grabbed her phone. She didn't have anyone to call, not at three am, and she knew she couldn't call the police about a storm but the weight in her hand seemed to be a comfort. A child's favourite toy.
Alice took a breath. Then she tore open the curtain.
Nothing. Just the overgrown grass of her empty garden and the thin fence that provided the first line of defence from the sprawling forest beyond. The trees seemed to stare back, only certain trunks visible in the low light, the leaves muddling with the shadows. They seemed to mock her fear.
Alice refused to look away. Eyes locked, she reached up, unclicked the latch and let the window drop open. The cold rushed in along with the sound, like a ships horn roaring into harbour. She gave an uncontrollable shiver, spiders running along her arms. She'd never liked the forest. All that quiet, all that darkness, all that unknown. She hadn't wanted to move to this post, testing soil samples for radioactivity. There was plenty good land in the south by the sea, why did the government need to farm here too?
Alice braced herself on her window frame and stuck her head out. It was louder than a jet engine and now finally the cabin seemed to hear it too, shuddering beneath her fingers.
The trees seemed to shake too. But not like the walls. Or like her. They shook with ease. They shook the way a person who's sat still for too long does. Shaking a wrist, stretching a leg, cracking a neck. It seemed to her that more slivers of grey were splitting from the trunks. Two side by side stared back at her. Eyes. One gave a wink. Alice threw herself back inside.
Lying down beneath the stars, I curl up next to you.
You pull me close and with a finger point out all the stars.
Orion, the great hunter, a dog faithful by his side.
So many other heroes, immortal in the sky.
Lying down beneath the stars, I'm sorry that we came
We both look for Orion, though I know it's all in vain
The city lights are shining brightly, we'd never see that far
At least you're still here by my side, and that means so much more
Lying down beneath the stars, I'm glad we made the trip
The sky is filled with so many stars I never could have dreamed
I still can't find Orion, and you still smile at me
Then with your arm around my shoulder, you point out where he stands
Lying down beneath the stars, my back is far too cold
I know that you will be back soon, but soon is far away
Until you do I'll come here nightly
So I can point Orion out to you
Lying down beneath the stars, I think back on that first time
When you told me that the gods would put heroes in the sky
The moment just before they died, a constellation new
But try as I might, I cannot find you up there in the stars
Written for @flashfictionfridayofficial 251 prompt: Out There.
Out There
“You be careful, out there.” Every parent has said it, as they sent their child off, whether it is to play in the yard or to school, first date, off to college, out there is always a perilous thing.
We want them safe at home. It is understandable, right? The problem is, they can't grow in safety. It takes risks to grow into the people they were created to be.
Ships stay safe on the shore, yes? But that isn't where ships are meant to be. The waves may crash over them, there may be playground accidents, school bullying, broken hearts, all and many more are probable.
Still, out there, is where they must be. We, us parents, let them fly knowing they have a safe place to come home to when, out there, it gets to be to much.
Pairing: Bruno/Mirabel (yes, uncle/niece - they worked hard to get the Catholic Church to sign off on that, but it was possible and legal in mid-20th century Colombia... and still is, best I can tell)
CW: reference to sexual violence against women and girls (not directly involving the main characters!)
Author's note: Bruno was seeing scenes from La Violencia, which is the term used for the (initially) politically-motivated violence between 1948-1958 that went way beyond assassinations of actual politicians. Journalists were afraid to publish much about incidents as it occured, due to the brutality of reprisals, so it's difficult to know exactly what happened and to whom, but what we do know is horrific.
Word count: 155
He could never bring himself to tell her what lay out there, beyond the mountains, beyond their Encanto that their real Miracle, his Miracle, had saved with her boldness, her bravery, her honesty. Unlike his soul that he was glad to have agreed to clean every month in Confession as part of the Church's conditions for being united with his Miracle, hers was far too pure for the knowledge of the gruesome things men did, were doing, to women and girls even younger than she was when they met in their nearly ruined house, supposedly in the name of one political faction or the other.
So after yet another horrible, involuntary vision, he let his wife hold him as he shook back into the present, back into their Casita, back into the safety of her arms.
He would give the vaguest explanation that might pause her questions. He could not be bold, brave, or honest.
So this is the last part of Ry story as he has finally reached his destination,
warning that applies here: mention of death, near drowning, mention of fighting
755 words
From the other side of the train station there were many doors, all put side by side almost all over the others. Some doors were simpler, some were highly decorated, and Ry walked along the side of the train tracks, looking for a door that would call to him. It seemed he had been walking for hours, staring at the doors one at a time, but he wasn’t tired, his body wasn’t aching, he felt fine. He must have walked beside a thousand doors and the trains station seemed endless. Ry had half a mind to turn around, look through the door he had already passed and open one at random, but it felt wrong.
He walked along the path before he threw a look behind him, he could no longer see the staring point, where the train had been, and nobody was left behind him, having all chosen their door. He turned around to continue when something caught his attention. It was a door that was but inviting but it sent a feeling of familiarity down Ry stomach, like a déjà-vu, but it was the strongest feeling of déjà-vu that Ry ever experience.
The door was an antique door of a very dark wood, there was stained glass with a rose and flowers going around but it was darkened by dust. On the other side of the door there seemed to be a sun on the other side, making the glass shine and sparkles in spot that held less dust. Other than the glass the door in itself seemed older than everything in the train station, there was some spots that were more used on the door, where a hand might have pushed right above the handle. The handle was fancy but well used, Ry reached for it instinctively.
Ry pushed the antique door that was in front of him as he took a long deep breath in, the light blinded him for a moment, and he put his arm over his eyes to try and shield himself from the light that was too bright. Charon had told him he would know where to go, and he had. He tried to look over the threshold of the door, behind the blinding light, but he realized that he couldn’t focus, his sight was one big blur of colors. It looked like how the light might have shined with dozens of colors when the sun would go through the church’s stained-glass window.
He walked over the threshold of the door, and it felt like he was drowning, air wouldn’t fill his lungs and he was immerged in cold water, that coldness piercing through his bones more than when he had died. He felt alive again, he realized, he felt alive again and he was drowning not knowing where the surface was. He panicked, trying to look around but all he saw was darkness, gone was the colors he had seen before crossing the door. He turned around, looking for the door, but it was gone. Then something was pulling at him. A hand at his collar, it pulled him toward more darkness.
Then he could finally breath, air filled his lungs as he almost choked on air trying to pull in as much as he could. He couched, bending forward to rest his elbow on his legs and his head in his hands. He blinked away the water in his eyes and saw he was on a deck near a lake, he stood up straight to see who had saved him, to thank them when he was met with a familiar face.
“Elijah!” Exclaimed Ry, recognizing that freckled face everywhere.
“Hello little brother.” Said Elijah, tears shining in his eyes, “You weren’t supposed to die so young.”
“Ha!” Ry chuckled almost bitterly, looking up at Elijah who was holding back tears. They were now almost the same height. He brought his older brother closer to hug him tightly before pushing away as if to examine him. “As if you didn’t die almost just as young as me, we look like we could be fraternal twins!”
Ry was right, now that he had grown up quite a lot he looked strikingly like his older brother. They both had the same mess of hair that stuck in odd directions, the same freckles that dusted their dimples.
“I saw you fight, Ry, you were really brave out there you know? I’m proud of you.” Elijah ruffled Ry's hair who cried out indignantly.
“When will Daddy and Mommalin be back?” Rohan asked sleepily.
Pema gave him a kiss on the forehead and reminded him, “They’ll be home for dinner tomorrow, just like we told you earlier.” She smoothed his hair and pressed him gently between his shoulder blades.
“Do you miss them?” he wondered.
She smiled, and ran her fingers through his soft brown hair. When she pulled the covers up a bit more, he wriggled into the bedding and sighed.
“I do. But I know they will be back. So I will miss them today, and be happy when they come home tomorrow.”
By that point, the child was already asleep.
With a soft huff, Pema retreated from his bedside, closing the door quietly.
Once back in their bedchambers, she shed her outer robes, keeping only her lightest shift. She stretched. The relief she felt from her shoulders and down her back encouraged her to shake her arms and legs.
She walked across the room and opened the window overlooking the gardens. From this angle, she didn’t have much of a view. It had always been intended to give her and Tenzin more privacy than was standard in the temples.
But she knew the grounds well. Knew that just beyond the gardens, the stables were quiet for the night, one stall standing empty.
They had asked her permission. They had made it clear that if she objected, they would not proceed without her.
But it had been a point they had discussed in those first few days. They all knew the time would be coming.
Over the weeks since agreeing to be together, it just hadn’t happened quite that way yet. Tenzin had been called away for a week to help Korra, but Lin had stayed alone at the apartment for most of the time.
Until she was on the Island for dinner, and helped put the kids to bed. So she was there when Tenzin called to speak to his loved ones. Lin’s embarrassment when he asked how they were sleeping without him gave Pema the giggles. She assured him that Lin had not been staying.
He was confused, clearly expecting that they should have been together. That he was neither embarrassed nor hurt for them to sleep - or not - without him.
And he kept the conversation going. With an arch insinuation, he bade them good night, and asked them to keep each other warm for him.
They had enjoyed each other’s company for the night, and his the next day.
Out there, Tenzin and Lin were spending the night together without her for the first time in over twenty years. And Pema looked forward to welcoming them home.
