![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lassarina posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
rose_in_winterCharacters: Seth, Aneira
Rating: G
Contains: Spoilers for Seth's Dream
Wordcount: 639
Notes: Written formonthlysupergo, prompt "Air/Wind"
Betas: None
Summary: Aneira gives Seth a precious gift.
Seth watched as Aneira flew in wide, lazy spirals above the ship, scanning the horizon for new prey. His wings gleamed pure and bright in the dazzling sun, nearly a star unto himself. She envied him those wings--she, who wanted nothing but freedom, had found as much as any human or immortal might in her fast ship, running before the law, but one freedom was still denied her.
He folded his wings and plummeted toward the mast, unfurling them at the last moment to land lightly atop the wood, and called down to her. "Pleasure-boat to the north."
She grinned up at him, and called to the crew. "Then let's get it!"
They needed no further orders; within minutes the ship had turned and was flying before the wind, racing across the waves. Seth stood braced on the deck, fists on her hips, and drank in the scent of the sea as her ship raced toward the next plunder.
Aneira dropped to the deck beside her, light-footed as a cat. "What is it?" he asked her. Ever since he had freed them both from their prisons of solitude, they had become attuned to each other, aware of the slightest shifts of mood.
She shook her head. "Sometimes I wish I could fly, like you do," she said. It wasn't for tactical reasons--she was already the best pirate on all the world's wide seas--but rather just to have that sense of freedom, of leaving the earth behind and soaring into the sky.
He shook his head, sun glinting off his feathers. "I cannot give you wings, Seth." His hand, covered in soft down, rested on her shoulder. "But I can take you with me, if you wish it."
She, who dared everything, had never dared ask; she stared at him, half-afraid he would take it back.
He held out his arms wide like an embrace, and she stepped into them. He turned her so that he stood behind her, and wrapped his arms around her, one hand snugged firmly into her belt, the other tight across her ribs. She didn't even have time to take a deep breath before he leapt, and the boat and the water fell away beneath them as the air rushed past. She let out a cry of delight, and clung tightly to his hands--not because she feared, but because she did not want to interfere with his wings. She could feel the strain as he worked his wings to carry them both, lifting her higher and higher until her ship was but a speck on the endless shining blue. He turned, wings beating to hold them in place, and she saw the pleasure-boat he had chosen as their next target. The air seemed unbearably pure up here. She didn't know if it was because of the thrill of flight, or a true change, and she didn't care.
"Ready?" Aneira asked in her ear, and she nodded.
He folded his wings flat and dove, streaking toward the sea. The air screamed past them like a blade, tearing at her hair and bringing tears to her eyes. The sea rushed up, an endless glittering blue expanse, and as it seemed like they must crash into it, he snapped his wings open again and reversed course, soaring upward. The world dropped away and she laughed for sheer joy.
He spiraled back down to the deck and set her gently on her feet. She turned to face him, her words tangled in her throat, trapped by the sheer size of her gratitude. At last, she managed, "Thank you."
He shook out his wings, and smiled. "I will have Seren make you a harness for next time," he said.
Seth didn't bother to pretend that the tears were only from the wind.
Rating: G
Contains: Spoilers for Seth's Dream
Wordcount: 639
Notes: Written for
monthlysupergo, prompt "Air/Wind"Betas: None
Summary: Aneira gives Seth a precious gift.
Seth watched as Aneira flew in wide, lazy spirals above the ship, scanning the horizon for new prey. His wings gleamed pure and bright in the dazzling sun, nearly a star unto himself. She envied him those wings--she, who wanted nothing but freedom, had found as much as any human or immortal might in her fast ship, running before the law, but one freedom was still denied her.
He folded his wings and plummeted toward the mast, unfurling them at the last moment to land lightly atop the wood, and called down to her. "Pleasure-boat to the north."
She grinned up at him, and called to the crew. "Then let's get it!"
They needed no further orders; within minutes the ship had turned and was flying before the wind, racing across the waves. Seth stood braced on the deck, fists on her hips, and drank in the scent of the sea as her ship raced toward the next plunder.
Aneira dropped to the deck beside her, light-footed as a cat. "What is it?" he asked her. Ever since he had freed them both from their prisons of solitude, they had become attuned to each other, aware of the slightest shifts of mood.
She shook her head. "Sometimes I wish I could fly, like you do," she said. It wasn't for tactical reasons--she was already the best pirate on all the world's wide seas--but rather just to have that sense of freedom, of leaving the earth behind and soaring into the sky.
He shook his head, sun glinting off his feathers. "I cannot give you wings, Seth." His hand, covered in soft down, rested on her shoulder. "But I can take you with me, if you wish it."
She, who dared everything, had never dared ask; she stared at him, half-afraid he would take it back.
He held out his arms wide like an embrace, and she stepped into them. He turned her so that he stood behind her, and wrapped his arms around her, one hand snugged firmly into her belt, the other tight across her ribs. She didn't even have time to take a deep breath before he leapt, and the boat and the water fell away beneath them as the air rushed past. She let out a cry of delight, and clung tightly to his hands--not because she feared, but because she did not want to interfere with his wings. She could feel the strain as he worked his wings to carry them both, lifting her higher and higher until her ship was but a speck on the endless shining blue. He turned, wings beating to hold them in place, and she saw the pleasure-boat he had chosen as their next target. The air seemed unbearably pure up here. She didn't know if it was because of the thrill of flight, or a true change, and she didn't care.
"Ready?" Aneira asked in her ear, and she nodded.
He folded his wings flat and dove, streaking toward the sea. The air screamed past them like a blade, tearing at her hair and bringing tears to her eyes. The sea rushed up, an endless glittering blue expanse, and as it seemed like they must crash into it, he snapped his wings open again and reversed course, soaring upward. The world dropped away and she laughed for sheer joy.
He spiraled back down to the deck and set her gently on her feet. She turned to face him, her words tangled in her throat, trapped by the sheer size of her gratitude. At last, she managed, "Thank you."
He shook out his wings, and smiled. "I will have Seren make you a harness for next time," he said.
Seth didn't bother to pretend that the tears were only from the wind.