When the Gods Attacked, a story of Fae Apoc for the Giraffe Call

For [personal profile] kc_obrien‘s prompt

Faerie Apoc has a landing page here on DW and here on LJ

It has a very very rudimentary wiki beginning here

Maggie went through her Change as Marduk declared supremacy over the capital of New York State, presumably because the bigger gods had already invaded New York City and the Polish & Russian gods taking over Buffalo were more than a little terrifying.

She was walking home from classes with her friend ‘Cray when the strafing began, dragons flying low overhead, lighting buildings on fire at seeming random. They started running, feet pounding the pavement, every beat seeming to be not enough not enough, not enough, and as they ran, her ten-inch height advantage over her friend seemed to grow, and her feet were burning, screaming in pain, her heels feeling like they were moving. She kept running – there was something like a dinosaur lumbering down the street, and they had to get off the roads and into a house, preferably a stone house – until she couldn’t walk anymore, and found herself pulled into a building. There, the pain finally took over, and she passed out.

She came back to consciousness a few minutes later to the smell of ‘Cray filling her nose, thick and feline and worried, like a tom-cat ready to kill something, stronger than she’d ever known him. She opened her eyes, slowly, to find him hovering over her, his now-very-pointed ears pointing at her. A low giggle escaped her. “McCrae, I always said you were a tomcat.”

“And I always said you were a fox. I think I was a little off,” he noted. “Dodger says thylacine, and, more importantly, says we need to leave the city before the fighting really starts.”

“Dodger?” The only Dodger she knew was the bum who played violin for spare change.

“Dodger,” a voice behind her agreed; the bum’s voice, but richer, heavier, and more musical. “There’s a lot to explain, including why I was watching over the two of you, but the TL:DR version is this: Marduk has moved into the city with a crew of about seven smaller fae and a double dozen really nasty human and human-like warriors. The good guys are on their way, and they’re going to do their best to stop him, but everyone and everything will be on the lookout for kids like you, Changed but with no sense yet. Don’t promise anyone anything, don’t tell anyone your names, and by all that’s holy, don’t get into any fights with anyone.”

He was standing over Maggie by the time he finished this, revealing himself to be, well, himself, but with a shaggy tail and perky collie ears, and a much cleaner trenchcoat than she normally saw him in. There were gods attacking the city, so she avoided commentary about Crime Dogs, and simply nodded. She was pretty sure he was trying to save their lives.

“Where do we go? And how?”

He pressed a key into her hands, and another one into ‘Cray’s. “There’s a van outside. There’s a map with a route highlighted on it in yellow. Cray drives. You have the cabin key. Wait there for me. If I don’t come in a month… you’re on your own.” He helped her to her feet and gave them a gentle shove. “Go. There’s a war on, and you’re not ready to be enlisted.”

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/251508.html. You can comment here or there.

12 thoughts on “When the Gods Attacked, a story of Fae Apoc for the Giraffe Call

  1. Dodger might be the first fae in I’ve seen yet in this ‘verse who earns unconditional good-guy points. Or at least, his ulterior motive isn’t visible yet. I don’t really like the use of “TL:DR” in a story, particularly when someone’s speaking aloud. How would that be pronounced? “the short form” would work perfectly well.

    • Tee-el-dee-arr. I am surrounded by people who use web speak in real life; I considered “short version” but discarded it. Dodger is, so far, a very good guy, yes. 🙂

      • That’s more syllables than “short version”! Noooooooo! Some things are not meant to be pronounced (nor really to be typed, but that one’s by no means the worst)! Nor is “too long; didn’t read” appropriate for a *spoken* explanation!

        • Be that as it may, I say that kind of stuff all the time. Honestly, I have more ‘conversation’ in written form (and have for over a decade) than verbally, so it sort of comes naturally.

        • Yeah, language isn’t always logical. Heck, I’ve actually heard people that I don’t consider particularly geeky say, “I less-than-three that,” instead of, “I love that,” playing off typing <3 to make a heart shape.

          • I do have a friend who always says “I heart that,” and I’ve caught myself managing “srsly” with no vowels. I even have pidgin sign language for “wtf?”

            • Oh I actually say doubleyew tee eff ALL the time. To the extent that in normal chat mediums, I will outright type “doubleyew tee eff” instead of wtf. XD ~Trix

Leave a Reply to anonymous Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *