Post by Tantomile Rush on Dec 23, 2007 3:06:08 GMT -5
Not all trees stand tall.
It was something Tantomile had learned over the course of her life, that not all trees breached the twelve foot mark. Call it a silly thing to discover, but for a Witch who had spent most of her childhood romping through the forests of Lake Enara, it had been a shock to discover plants as flimsy as the garden variety twig, found all over in domesticated human towns. In her mind's eye, a tree should be larger than life, towering above the world with a strong body and plenty of arms for climbing. Not that she still climbed trees. But still, a tree was a tree, and that was that.
Now, Tantomile stared up from her spot on the ground, dark jade green pine obscuring her view of the night sky. It reached far above her, like it could scrape the edges of the milky way, and Tantomile lazily wondered what it would be like to dip her fingers into a star. She'd never flown that high before because she'd never had reason to, but at this moment...she wished that she was more impulsive.
"I've done it, once," Coricopat murmured sleepily, snout nuzzling closer to Tantomile. A cold wet nose pressed against her bare arm, and the Witch casually scratched her daemon behind the ear, burying her pale fingers in the black thickets of fur. "Once, when we were very young. Your father was angry because you had lined all of the baby rabbits up in a line outside the walkway to the house, and I flew as fast and far as I could. Do you remember that?"
Eyes closing, Tantomile breathed and felt Coricopat breathe with her, snuggling a step closer and laying her great shaggy head on Tantomile's abdomen. Both hearts beat and precisely the same time, and Tantomile was content.
"Yes, I remember that. I hid in the tallest tree. I was afraid to fly then, because I knew that father would chase me and make me stay in the house for punishment if I did."
Slowly Tantomile's pets turned into luxurious circles, and she absently traced shapes onto the top of her counterpart's head.
"While you were hiding, I flew all the way up, up to the very top. As far as I could go before I got tired and fell back down."
"Father locked me up in the sewing room, and I didn't see you for a month."
"But I turned into a little bug and tried to creep in anyway."
"He placed a spell and you couldn't see me or get through the door."
"I know. But still. My wings touched a star. Didn't you feel it back in the room? It tingled all over, like magic."
"All I felt was worry. I didn't like not being able to be near you."
They both fell silent, and all they could hear was the rolling of the fog on the far shores, thick as cream. If you held your breath long enough, you could almost feel it sloshing around, clashing with the water of the lake. Tantomile's hand moved down and froze, a strange crease in the silky fur causing her a moment's pause. A wiry line ran down Coricopat's back, hard and as incongruent as a dark black line down a clean sheet of parchment. Her hands followed the trail, and then went back up again when it ended. Tracing the line over and over again, a strange tingling erupted down her own shoulder, and she knew exactly what it was. Suddenly her face looked troubled, and she squeezed her eyes shut tight against the memory.
~*~
"Now, you listen to me. You listen!"
Tantomile had begun to gasp, and she could hear a steady whine inch out of Coricopat's throat. She had never felt the chill of the air before, but her body was colder now than it had ever been before.
"You are an embarrassment! I have been protecting you for your entire life, and all for this? I will not have a daughter of mine running off with a human! It is simply unacceptable. It will not be tolerated."
Tantomile made to jerk out of his grasp, but with a throaty growl she felt a stab of pain, and heard Coricopat yelp.
"Let us go! You have no right to do this! I'm an adult!"
His open hand hit her face, and air whooshed out of her from the impact. Tears made her cheeks sticky, and she could feel her skin bruising even as he grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him.
"You may be an adult by age, but you are acting like a child. This Alexandra Cravin of yours, what good is she to you? Nothing. Just a moment in time, just a fleeting shadow that will flicker and die like a candle. All humans are so, but Witches last through the ages. Take a husband from our clan, and you will bring happiness to our family."
Flaring her nose and struggling for enough air, she gave him one of the dirtiest looks imaginable.
"I don't do things for people that I don't love. Especially not for you."
That did it. His face grew gray and stony, and for a moment she thought that she had won. Then, he spoke, and his voice and words were immutable.
"Grab onto the branch."
Her stomach turned to ice, and she chewed on her bottom lip, eyes darting around in search for a way out.
"I'm going to count to three, Tantomile."
"No!"
"One."
She tugged on his grip and Narcissticae's claws dug painfully into Coricopat's chest.
"Two."
Coricopat howled, and Tantomile struggled not to cry out in agony.
"Three."
As soon as the word left his mouth, she found herself bodily lifted from the ground, and realized with a humiliating jolt that he had actually tossed her like a heap of flower over his shoulder. Before she had time to wallow in the undignified position, however, an eruption of snarls broke out behind them, and Tantomile seized her chance. Thrashing furiously, she reached out and snapped off a sturdy branch from a passing tree, showing a surprising amount of strength. The stick rose, and she did with it, but not before a scream tore the air. It took Tantomile a few seconds to realize that it was her own, but by then, she was already in motion, and flying fast towards the North. Growls followed her, and her head pounded dizzily. Her upper back was on fire, and...was that wetness, coating her torn dress and making it stick so grossly to her skin?
~*~
It was her scar, all hers. The man that she once called "father" had given it to her, and even now, she still felt a twinge of pain. It had healed badly because she had refused to stop in her flight. The skin was knotted and ugly to look at, destroying what would have been a flawless back. But Tantomile was not flawless. Not at all.
"Don't think about it anymore. It makes me sad."
Coricopat's voice rumbled through her, deep and soft and satisfying, and Tantomile tried to forget that the forest they now lay in was the same in which she had received her permanent parting gift. Her hand stopped in its erratic circling, and Coricopat licked her knuckles affectionately.
"Another time, Tantomile. Now, we sleep."
It was something Tantomile had learned over the course of her life, that not all trees breached the twelve foot mark. Call it a silly thing to discover, but for a Witch who had spent most of her childhood romping through the forests of Lake Enara, it had been a shock to discover plants as flimsy as the garden variety twig, found all over in domesticated human towns. In her mind's eye, a tree should be larger than life, towering above the world with a strong body and plenty of arms for climbing. Not that she still climbed trees. But still, a tree was a tree, and that was that.
Now, Tantomile stared up from her spot on the ground, dark jade green pine obscuring her view of the night sky. It reached far above her, like it could scrape the edges of the milky way, and Tantomile lazily wondered what it would be like to dip her fingers into a star. She'd never flown that high before because she'd never had reason to, but at this moment...she wished that she was more impulsive.
"I've done it, once," Coricopat murmured sleepily, snout nuzzling closer to Tantomile. A cold wet nose pressed against her bare arm, and the Witch casually scratched her daemon behind the ear, burying her pale fingers in the black thickets of fur. "Once, when we were very young. Your father was angry because you had lined all of the baby rabbits up in a line outside the walkway to the house, and I flew as fast and far as I could. Do you remember that?"
Eyes closing, Tantomile breathed and felt Coricopat breathe with her, snuggling a step closer and laying her great shaggy head on Tantomile's abdomen. Both hearts beat and precisely the same time, and Tantomile was content.
"Yes, I remember that. I hid in the tallest tree. I was afraid to fly then, because I knew that father would chase me and make me stay in the house for punishment if I did."
Slowly Tantomile's pets turned into luxurious circles, and she absently traced shapes onto the top of her counterpart's head.
"While you were hiding, I flew all the way up, up to the very top. As far as I could go before I got tired and fell back down."
"Father locked me up in the sewing room, and I didn't see you for a month."
"But I turned into a little bug and tried to creep in anyway."
"He placed a spell and you couldn't see me or get through the door."
"I know. But still. My wings touched a star. Didn't you feel it back in the room? It tingled all over, like magic."
"All I felt was worry. I didn't like not being able to be near you."
They both fell silent, and all they could hear was the rolling of the fog on the far shores, thick as cream. If you held your breath long enough, you could almost feel it sloshing around, clashing with the water of the lake. Tantomile's hand moved down and froze, a strange crease in the silky fur causing her a moment's pause. A wiry line ran down Coricopat's back, hard and as incongruent as a dark black line down a clean sheet of parchment. Her hands followed the trail, and then went back up again when it ended. Tracing the line over and over again, a strange tingling erupted down her own shoulder, and she knew exactly what it was. Suddenly her face looked troubled, and she squeezed her eyes shut tight against the memory.
~*~
"Now, you listen to me. You listen!"
Tantomile had begun to gasp, and she could hear a steady whine inch out of Coricopat's throat. She had never felt the chill of the air before, but her body was colder now than it had ever been before.
"You are an embarrassment! I have been protecting you for your entire life, and all for this? I will not have a daughter of mine running off with a human! It is simply unacceptable. It will not be tolerated."
Tantomile made to jerk out of his grasp, but with a throaty growl she felt a stab of pain, and heard Coricopat yelp.
"Let us go! You have no right to do this! I'm an adult!"
His open hand hit her face, and air whooshed out of her from the impact. Tears made her cheeks sticky, and she could feel her skin bruising even as he grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him.
"You may be an adult by age, but you are acting like a child. This Alexandra Cravin of yours, what good is she to you? Nothing. Just a moment in time, just a fleeting shadow that will flicker and die like a candle. All humans are so, but Witches last through the ages. Take a husband from our clan, and you will bring happiness to our family."
Flaring her nose and struggling for enough air, she gave him one of the dirtiest looks imaginable.
"I don't do things for people that I don't love. Especially not for you."
That did it. His face grew gray and stony, and for a moment she thought that she had won. Then, he spoke, and his voice and words were immutable.
"Grab onto the branch."
Her stomach turned to ice, and she chewed on her bottom lip, eyes darting around in search for a way out.
"I'm going to count to three, Tantomile."
"No!"
"One."
She tugged on his grip and Narcissticae's claws dug painfully into Coricopat's chest.
"Two."
Coricopat howled, and Tantomile struggled not to cry out in agony.
"Three."
As soon as the word left his mouth, she found herself bodily lifted from the ground, and realized with a humiliating jolt that he had actually tossed her like a heap of flower over his shoulder. Before she had time to wallow in the undignified position, however, an eruption of snarls broke out behind them, and Tantomile seized her chance. Thrashing furiously, she reached out and snapped off a sturdy branch from a passing tree, showing a surprising amount of strength. The stick rose, and she did with it, but not before a scream tore the air. It took Tantomile a few seconds to realize that it was her own, but by then, she was already in motion, and flying fast towards the North. Growls followed her, and her head pounded dizzily. Her upper back was on fire, and...was that wetness, coating her torn dress and making it stick so grossly to her skin?
~*~
It was her scar, all hers. The man that she once called "father" had given it to her, and even now, she still felt a twinge of pain. It had healed badly because she had refused to stop in her flight. The skin was knotted and ugly to look at, destroying what would have been a flawless back. But Tantomile was not flawless. Not at all.
"Don't think about it anymore. It makes me sad."
Coricopat's voice rumbled through her, deep and soft and satisfying, and Tantomile tried to forget that the forest they now lay in was the same in which she had received her permanent parting gift. Her hand stopped in its erratic circling, and Coricopat licked her knuckles affectionately.
"Another time, Tantomile. Now, we sleep."
