Archive | July 7, 2015

The Call Comes Again, a continuation of a fanfic of Narnia and Valdemar

Jul7

first: A Door in the Wall
Second: On the Other Side of the Door

…Perhaps you could find the help that you needed as well

Susan looked at Edmund, who was frowning. She looked at Lucy, who wore a smile which was at the same time hopeful and very confused. She looked finally at Peter, who was looking what she thought of as Kingly.

Help that they needed? What could it be that they all needed together?

Peter took a step forward. He bowed politely to the cat and cleared his throat. “Please,” he said, sounding so much like a schoolboy that it hurt Susan to listen. Who was this shy boy? “Where are we? And who am I speaking to?”

::You are in the southernmost corner of a nation called Valdemar, in a world that is not that which you were born on, nor the same world as your Narnia. And I am Tesnel. I am a Firecat, a representative of Vkandis Sunlord.:: The Cat – Firecat, Susan supposed – took a moment to groom herself. ::I was chosen to speak to you because of your affinity towards other catlike avatars of the gods. And… we need your help.::

Well, that was certainly an introduction. Susan, as she had so often done with Animals in Narnia, sat down on the ground to be closer to eye level with the Firecat. “What is it you need our help with? And, I’m sorry, but… do you have any proof?”

::Your time in both lives has made you cynical, Daughter of Eve.:: The cat did not sound as if she disapproved.

“Susan–” Peter began, but the cat cut him off.

::And I have brought some gifts for you that I believe may help you trust.:: The cat blinked, and a pile of objects appeared in front of her.

This was a magic Susan had not seen before, fascinating and strange. To make things appear out of nowhere! But the objects themselves — that was even more fascinating.

“Is that… is that my bow?” She knelt down, remembering at the last moment to wait politely for the others.

Edmund hung back, but, then again, Edmund had not received a present from Father Christmas all those years ago. Poor Edmund, Susan thought suddenly, to be reminded forever of what had really been one foolish, childish mistakes. As if none of the rest of them had ever done anything silly!

::Step forward, King Edmund. you have not been forgotten. Father Christmas, I am told, made a special trip for you.:: The Firecat nudged a package forward, wrapped in red paper with golden ribbons. ::Open it.::

Susan looked at Lucy, who was cradling her gifts. She looked at Peter, who was checking the line of his sword and posing. She looked back to Edmund, who was staring at the small package nervously.

::You were called the Just, and although it may not be fair that your gifts have waited so much longer than those of your siblings, it is just, for these gifts will serve you in much greater stead here in Valdemar.:: Tesnel pushed the package towards Edmund with a paw. ::Open it, King Edmund.::

Susan sat down next to her younger brother. “Open them, Ed. It’s okay.”

“You know why Father Christmas didn’t give me gifts when he gave them to the rest of you lot.” Edmund did not look at Susan; he was staring at the wrapped parcels. “I don’t deserve these.”

“I say,” Susan said, as firmly as she could muster, “that if Father Christmas says that now is the time for these presents, well then, you oughtn’t do him a disservice by ignoring them. Come on, Ed. It’s time.”

Edmund pierced her with a look, such an inscrutable look that Susan struggled not to gasp. “‘It’s time’, says Queen Susan. Then I guess it must be.” He opened the package, his fingers seeming to tremble on the wrappings.

::To be just,:: Tesnel seemed to whisper in their minds, ::you need both strength and understanding. The mace is an ugly weapon, King Edmund, that you remember that war is ugly and use it only when needed. And the vial, well, that offers understanding. One drop on your tongue, and you will speak any language. One in your ear, and you will understand any speech. One drop on your eyes, and you may read or write any language.::

Edmund managed a thank you that was rather stammered. To Susan’s eyes, he looked stunned. He touched the gifts again, as if reassuring himself that they were truly there.

::You will all have need of yours gifts soon, I’m afraid.:: Tesnel bowed her head. ::You have been called here because, as Narnia once was, Valdemar is now: they are in need of help. Soon, a companion will arrive to explain things to you. But know this, children of another land, kings and queens of Narnia: :: The firecat looked solemn and serious, in the way they had only known one other feline to look. ::This is not an easy road, but it is a necessary one. And it may be that you four are the only ones who can walk it.::

The firecat wiggled its whiskers, a gesture that should have been comical and was instead sad, and was gone, leaving the four of them standing alone in front of a strange forest.

Next: http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/963929.html

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/958642.html. You can comment here or there.

A Double-AU Crossover in need of a title, part the second: Intimations

Jul7

First: http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/955989.html

The tension was high in the room, and one of the most deadly people in the world was smiling at Tony. Things were about to get really, really bad.

Tony leaned back against his suit and grinned, his billionaire playboy philanthropist smile, all razzle and a little bit of dazzle. “Oh, you know me.” He flipped his hand sideways, taking in the whole tower and everything else. “I like to fuck everyone.”

He leaned forward before she could attack, which was a miracle in and of itself. She was holding back. Why was she holding back?

Hopefully, the same reason he was.

“And,” he added, in an entirely different voice, one he normally reserved for Pepper and other deadly serious situations, “I always keep my word. Including to my crew, Agent Romanoff. I seem to recall saying that the Avengers are the most important thing in my life — aside from Pepper, because you know she wouldn’t stand for being second to saving the world or anything.” He raised his eyebrows at her. Her move.

She rolled back on her heels, her hands settling at her sides. “You’re saying you’d be in a crew with a Shenera Osera.”

“No.” Tony shook his head, caught her eye, and smirked. “That would be crazy if, say, I was a Shenera Endra.” He flipped his hand negligently. “I’m an Avenger. You’re an Avenger. That makes us crew. The rest is just details.”

Deliberately, Tony threw off the most casual salute he had ever managed — it barely made it within a mile of his face — and turned back to the suit. “Could you pass me the welder?”

She was up against him before he’d finished the sentence. “You don’t like having things handed to you.” Her breath was warm on the back of his neck. In terms of stupid ways to die — well, he’d come up with worse.

“Crew, remember? Besides, Dum-E’s scared of you. You’re very intimidating.”

Natasha handed Tony the spot welder. Her hand lingered there, and her eyes lingered on his.

There were reasons he didn’t like being handed things. Tony held the eye contact. This was important.

“Tony? Tony, I know you’re in there. You’ve been avoiding your mail all week.”

Pepper had the world’s worst timing, or perhaps the world’s best. The door slid open and Pepper came around the corner, something waving in her hand.

Before Tony had had a chance to even think about moving, Romanoff was five feet away, leaning against Dum-E like he wasn’t terrified of her and studying her nails. “What did Tony do this time?”

Pepper was, of course, brilliant. She studied the two of them for a heartbeat, decided it was nothing she had to worry about, and looked directly at Tony, still shaking the letter. Proper paper, folded, he noted, with a wax seal. “Do you know what this is?”

Tony raised his eyebrows. “Heavy rag paper, looks like, someone still using the outdated system of the US Postal Service – unless they sent it by Pony Express? The Post Office machines can’t handle wax seals. They didn’t consult Stark Industries on those. That was a Hammer design.”

Pepper didn’t listen. She had quite a bit of skill not listening to Tony. “This,” she hissed, her voice soft, “Is a letter from ‘the Council,’ demanding you explain your actions. Tony, who — or what — is the Council?”

Next: http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/978324.html

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/958239.html. You can comment here or there.

A Clever? Addergoole Idea

Jul7

I came up with this idea last night, something a bunch of upperclassmen might come up with ~Yr16-Yr19

Rather than leaving the whole Keeping thing up to hope-and-chance, right after Regine’s orientation, they bring all the new kids into the gym/somewhere for a “meet n’ greet and mentor set-up.” This consists of something like speed dating, where each new kid meets each upperclassman that’s interested in “mentoring new students;” I.e., having a Kept.

The administration allows this on a few caveats, one of which is that part of the meet-and-greet is to allow students to choose several upperclassmen they either DO or DON’T want as their “Mentor”.

All the upperclassmen put in the same information – they’d like x, y, and z, they don’t want A, b, or c Kept. Then a computer program runs random numbers.

If a “want” matches up, that’s the most likely pairing. “Don’t wants” won’t be paired. Obviously, not every upperclassmen will get a Kept. But every new student WILL get a Keeper.

All nice and tidy and SO MANY stories I could write off of this

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/958099.html. You can comment here or there.