[IoM] Untouchable
Dec. 20th, 2007 03:26 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
runicloreUntouchable
Author: Amber Michelle
Fandom: Illusion of Memory "canon."
Words: 977
Other installments: 1: Paradise, 2: A Moth to Flame
Notes: n/a
..........................................
On the last day of their second week in Cyrene, Raeger caught sight of Judas, speaking with the maid assigned to their room. What she glimpsed through the door of the common room was empty and dark near the back, where the the bar stretched and ended with the kitchen door. She left him to it, not liking the looks she got when the woman came up with their food, and went upstairs to their room. Tea waited for her on the table in a chilled silver pitcher, with a glass decanter of sweet milk besides. She helped herself and waited.
Being who she was, however, Raeger felt boredom's numbing little fingers creeping into her brain a mere five minutes after she settled back in her chair at the window. What exactly did he have to say to that girl that it should take more than five minutes? No, six, now. She could see the temple clocktower between the slats of the shutters, and its overly fancy minute hand had just ticked another mark away. It glinted in the afternoon sunlight; she could swear it was gilded.
That was the Free Towns for you - they took all the wrong cues from their ancient Egyptian roots. She wondered how often someone had to climb up there to replace stolen clock hands.
He had better be getting our laundry.
She frowned, the white tower and its copper-colored dome bluring into smears of light. It didn't really matter, did it, as long as the maid minded her own business. He usually dismissed servants, though he never let them out of his sight when they were in the room. This one dallied in the room, gave them strange looks, and followed Raeger to the gate this morning when she'd decided to get her breakfast from the bazaar - though she'd been stealthy, maybe, and she would have gone unnoticed by anyone else. When one crawls ruins that are haunted more often than not, one learns to sense eyes on one's back and shadows that don't stay put when one passes them.
Maybe he's telling her off and getting a new maid.
She hmmmed-- but no, that was unlikely. The inkeep had been absent.
Raeger rubbed her throat absently, scratching the spot over her pulse. It was dry and red from two days of abuse, but the itch wouldn't go away. The skin under her nails came away pink.
Maybe I should tell him to tell her off.
-- a better idea, if unlikely. In the real world she asked, and sometimes pleaded, and occasionally he gave in and did what she wanted. Yesterday he'd taken her to buy another change of clothes after an idle comment. The day before he wouldn't leave her alone, stayed all day trying to pry that dream out of her, while plying her with soothing herbal teas and some kind of pastry that was crumbly, white, and delicious. She was tempted to have nightmares more often. It'd been a while since she'd awakened screaming at something that wasn't supernatural and attacking them.
Raeger had just given up on him and opened the shutters to admit the sun when Judas returned. She pointedly left them open and stretched, weaving her fingers together and arching against the back of the chair. "Is there a library here?" She slumped again, ignoring his stare and the lifted eyebrow.
"Yes." He crossed the room, threw his coat on the bed, and looked down at her with a little line between his brows. "What are you doing to yourself?" His fingers clamped on her chin and tilted her head to bare her neck.
"Nothing!" She tried to push his hand away.
"It's bleeding."
"It was an accident, okay? I just didn't notice." She glared at him, and he released her chin.
He turned away and went to rifle through his pack. "I smelled it," he said over his shoulder, answering the question she'd been about to ask. "And so will others, if we don't take care of it before we leave."
"You can smell that?" she muttered. "Great." That had potential for embarassment.
Judas came back with a jar of ointment, returning her glare with an unimpressed tilt to his eyebrows - it was amazing how many expressions he could fit into such a limited feature - and a flat, "Sit still," as he unscrewed the top and took hold of her chin again. "We have another week here at least - long enough for this to heal if you leave it alone."
Raeger watched him examine her and prod at the skin with a cool finger. She would have said something flippant before - nobody has bitten me lately, don't worry - but her mouth was dry and she didn't want to give anything else away. The ointment was ice cold, but after her initial shiver it warmed to her skin, and he rubbed in a little bit more.
"Has our laundry been mysteriously lost?"
He paused. "What?"
She almost snickered at the way he blinked down at her, completely lost. She settled for rolling her eyes. "The maid. I saw you talking to her."
"Ah."
"So that's a 'no.'" Raeger watched his face, mouth running away with her thoughts. She wanted to kick herself for what came out next: "So what were you talking about, then?"
He shrugged and capped the jar. "Dinner."
She nodded, and then froze. "O-oh."
He watched her swallow - she saw his eyes stray - and she averted her own.
"You don't want to know," he said.
Raeger shook her head, and her hand strayed to her throat, fingertips edging along the sticky edge where he'd rubbed the treatment in. It smelled like mint.
Judas wrapped his fingers around hers and pulled her hand away gently. "No touching."
Now she nodded, staring at their hands, his ring. No touching.
Author: Amber Michelle
Fandom: Illusion of Memory "canon."
Words: 977
Other installments: 1: Paradise, 2: A Moth to Flame
Notes: n/a
..........................................
On the last day of their second week in Cyrene, Raeger caught sight of Judas, speaking with the maid assigned to their room. What she glimpsed through the door of the common room was empty and dark near the back, where the the bar stretched and ended with the kitchen door. She left him to it, not liking the looks she got when the woman came up with their food, and went upstairs to their room. Tea waited for her on the table in a chilled silver pitcher, with a glass decanter of sweet milk besides. She helped herself and waited.
Being who she was, however, Raeger felt boredom's numbing little fingers creeping into her brain a mere five minutes after she settled back in her chair at the window. What exactly did he have to say to that girl that it should take more than five minutes? No, six, now. She could see the temple clocktower between the slats of the shutters, and its overly fancy minute hand had just ticked another mark away. It glinted in the afternoon sunlight; she could swear it was gilded.
That was the Free Towns for you - they took all the wrong cues from their ancient Egyptian roots. She wondered how often someone had to climb up there to replace stolen clock hands.
He had better be getting our laundry.
She frowned, the white tower and its copper-colored dome bluring into smears of light. It didn't really matter, did it, as long as the maid minded her own business. He usually dismissed servants, though he never let them out of his sight when they were in the room. This one dallied in the room, gave them strange looks, and followed Raeger to the gate this morning when she'd decided to get her breakfast from the bazaar - though she'd been stealthy, maybe, and she would have gone unnoticed by anyone else. When one crawls ruins that are haunted more often than not, one learns to sense eyes on one's back and shadows that don't stay put when one passes them.
Maybe he's telling her off and getting a new maid.
She hmmmed-- but no, that was unlikely. The inkeep had been absent.
Raeger rubbed her throat absently, scratching the spot over her pulse. It was dry and red from two days of abuse, but the itch wouldn't go away. The skin under her nails came away pink.
Maybe I should tell him to tell her off.
-- a better idea, if unlikely. In the real world she asked, and sometimes pleaded, and occasionally he gave in and did what she wanted. Yesterday he'd taken her to buy another change of clothes after an idle comment. The day before he wouldn't leave her alone, stayed all day trying to pry that dream out of her, while plying her with soothing herbal teas and some kind of pastry that was crumbly, white, and delicious. She was tempted to have nightmares more often. It'd been a while since she'd awakened screaming at something that wasn't supernatural and attacking them.
Raeger had just given up on him and opened the shutters to admit the sun when Judas returned. She pointedly left them open and stretched, weaving her fingers together and arching against the back of the chair. "Is there a library here?" She slumped again, ignoring his stare and the lifted eyebrow.
"Yes." He crossed the room, threw his coat on the bed, and looked down at her with a little line between his brows. "What are you doing to yourself?" His fingers clamped on her chin and tilted her head to bare her neck.
"Nothing!" She tried to push his hand away.
"It's bleeding."
"It was an accident, okay? I just didn't notice." She glared at him, and he released her chin.
He turned away and went to rifle through his pack. "I smelled it," he said over his shoulder, answering the question she'd been about to ask. "And so will others, if we don't take care of it before we leave."
"You can smell that?" she muttered. "Great." That had potential for embarassment.
Judas came back with a jar of ointment, returning her glare with an unimpressed tilt to his eyebrows - it was amazing how many expressions he could fit into such a limited feature - and a flat, "Sit still," as he unscrewed the top and took hold of her chin again. "We have another week here at least - long enough for this to heal if you leave it alone."
Raeger watched him examine her and prod at the skin with a cool finger. She would have said something flippant before - nobody has bitten me lately, don't worry - but her mouth was dry and she didn't want to give anything else away. The ointment was ice cold, but after her initial shiver it warmed to her skin, and he rubbed in a little bit more.
"Has our laundry been mysteriously lost?"
He paused. "What?"
She almost snickered at the way he blinked down at her, completely lost. She settled for rolling her eyes. "The maid. I saw you talking to her."
"Ah."
"So that's a 'no.'" Raeger watched his face, mouth running away with her thoughts. She wanted to kick herself for what came out next: "So what were you talking about, then?"
He shrugged and capped the jar. "Dinner."
She nodded, and then froze. "O-oh."
He watched her swallow - she saw his eyes stray - and she averted her own.
"You don't want to know," he said.
Raeger shook her head, and her hand strayed to her throat, fingertips edging along the sticky edge where he'd rubbed the treatment in. It smelled like mint.
Judas wrapped his fingers around hers and pulled her hand away gently. "No touching."
Now she nodded, staring at their hands, his ring. No touching.
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no subject
Date: 2007-12-23 01:52 pm (UTC)I've missed these two. I know it's my hopelessly biased fangirl tittering talking, here, but it always makes me happy to see you write something about them. ♥ I sort of like the little subtle changes in their interaction here, and of course I can't help but wonder how things will turn out, and whether Judas will get a confession out of Raeger about just what she's been seeing in her dreams or not.
(I notice the ferret is gone, though whether it's by selective omission or because he really has been lost (sold, or expired? Hmm) is up to any interpretation. XD The only reason I bring it up is because the ointment on her neck makes me think of bitter apple, that stuff you spray on things so that pets (ie. ferrets, though it applies to dogs) will be discouraged from chewing on furniture because it tastes so bad... XD;;; I wonder what that implies, though).
WRITE MORE, FOR THE HOLIDAYS. :))))))))))) Unrelatedly, though, would you like me to draw you something as a thank-you+merry christmas image?
no subject
Date: 2007-12-23 11:27 pm (UTC)Well. He, um. >_> Decided he liked a cackling, toothless old fool by the Nile better than traipsing through the desert? Errrrrr. Maybe Judas got jealous that the ferret got to cuddle up around her neck and nip at-- never mind. :P
I would love artwork, by the way, if you're inspired. XD I do plan to finish this before the year is up, barring disasterous writer's block. I know exactly how to end it, in terms of plot events, but the fourth installment is giving me a bit of trouble.
no subject
Date: 2007-12-24 02:22 am (UTC)I think I'll be able to cough something up. XD Spirit of the season, and all. I had dreams about some awfully inhuman guy doing his best to be human for my sake (to the point where he showed more goodwill towards people than I did! Whoa!) so... haha I wonder if that's a reflection of what I've been reading of late? XD
no subject
Date: 2007-12-24 04:12 am (UTC)Fic fodder? I THINK SO. :D
If Judas was ever like, nice to people, I'd be scared. :P What HAVE you been reading, pray tell?
no subject
Date: 2007-12-24 04:23 am (UTC)What HAVE you been reading, pray tell?
LOL mostly just this fic actually. I was thinking of it as I fell asleep last night. |D