IC: Midsummer Rising

[white_flowers]

Midsummer.

Longest day, brightest day, day of celebration for those of the Light and also of the Wild.

It will be a day of great power-- and had once marked the ending of the rising Dark in the world she had once called her own.

But here at the end of all the worlds, she intends to change things. The longest and brightest day it may be, but there is another side to it as well; for at the moment that the sun passes zenith, the time of Light also passes.

So begins the long slow fall into the Dark.

This time, the White Rider means to turn her carefully-gathered power to advantage at that precise moment, bringing the cycle to an entirely different ending -- for everyone.

She is smiling cruelly when she steps out of the forest and starts toward the bar, half-lost in her thoughts and her plans.

Comments

[creator_raven]

Raven's smile, for a moment, is almost gentle.

"You will, I think, be sorrier yet."

And then he dismisses her, turning to Mary and Dickon, head tilted.

Perhaps he is scanning for feathers.

"You have seen my sister?"

[uncommongardenr.livejournal.com]

Dickon blinks, and casts a look around.

And endeavors to sound helpful as he asks "...What does she look like, sir?"

[nitro-is-ace.livejournal.com]

It really isn't Dickon's fault.

Even Ace knows this.

She just doesn't feel like dwelling on it right now.

Thus, the little 'I'm right here' chirp has a decided sulky tone to it.

Being short is horrid.

[creator_raven]

"Mostly she is looking like a bird, I think."

He smiles, holding out his hand to the little jay.

"You are possibly wanting to change that, Ace, yes?"

[nitro-is-ace.livejournal.com]

Impatient, Ace doesn't wait for the inevitable handoff, and hops out of Dickon's hand. This goes grandly for a moment as she flaps frantically to close the distance between the hands.

And then she's falling again.

That's all flying is, right? Falling? Just, generally, with more elegance than Ace is displaying at the moment.

[creator_raven]

It is an easy thing to think, certainly--and perhaps it works well enough for some. Unfortunately, at the moment, Ace is perhaps not among that proud few.

So Raven scoops her out of the air instead. Very carefully.

"It will be awkward, I think. But not so difficult."

Hopefully it does not hurt.

[nitro-is-ace.livejournal.com]

Ace settles into his hands, resting her beak on his wrists. Now that she's got the time to think about it (slowly, as there still isn't much room for big thoughts in that tiny little head), it'd probably suit her right if it was difficult.

She was warned.

Repeatedly.

[uncommongardenr.livejournal.com]

Dickon's eyebrows, meanwhile, have gone up slightly.

"...Miss Ace?"

The Ace he's met before was rather less avian, but...Milliways.

"Did th' witch do that to 'er, sir?"

[creator_raven]

For a moment--half a moment, perhaps--Raven's expression is cold and implacable.

Then it fades, and Raven smiles at Dickon.

"So she did, I think. It was hardly wise of her."

He tilts his head, watching Ace and frowning slightly. There is a short pause, and then he nods, holding his hand out and flat.

The chant is quiet but rhythmic, heat haze spilling from his fingertips and surrounding the jay.

[nitro-is-ace.livejournal.com]

And there's a shift and it's not entirely unlike falling and Ace suddenly comes to realize that she's on the ground but it's an awfully long ways away. This may be one of the few times she thinks this while her feet are both on the ground.

She should relish it, really.

It's almost a shame that this moment of tall-ness is lost since she decides to hug her brother instead. Because she has arms, and she can do that now.

[uncommongardenr.livejournal.com]

After everything else that's happened tonight, it's perhaps just as well that this isn't the first time Dickon's seen anyone change shape.

As it is, his expression barely changes beyond relief to see Ace back in her right shape before he glances toward Blodwen again, still wary.

"What now?"

For such a simple question, it encompasses rather a lot.

[creator_raven]

Raven hugs Ace back tightly, face buried in her hair.

It takes a minute for him to answer Dickon, but eventually he looks up, solemn black eyes fixed on Blodwen.

"Now she lives, I think. If she can."

Not everyone does. It is one of the more difficult choices to make, sometimes.

Most times.

[uncommongardenr.livejournal.com]

Dickon watches quietly as Blodwen turns and leaves, round face pale and solemn.

"If she can without tryin' t' hurt folk," he adds in a low voice. "That'd be summat t' see, sir."

With that, he moves back towards Mary.