[June 5] [IoM] A Noble Ideal (late)
Jun. 6th, 2008 09:27 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
runicloreA Noble Ideal
Author: Amber Michelle
Day/Theme: June 5 - forever's just a place in someone else's story
Series: Illusion of Memory
Character/Pairing: Judas, Raeger
Rating: K
Words: 828
Notes: late because my sleeping schedule is messed up beyond repair.
.............................................
They sat facing each other on the steps of Sutekh's temple, Judas on a fallen slab of limestone, Raeger on the stump of the second pylon. The surface was worn smooth of glyphs by a millennium of sand and wind. The record inside said it was built by the Nile originally, and the channels and pipelines within told him that was true; there were lines chiseled into the stone for measuring the water level.
The valkyrie, he thought, must have changed the course of the river with her attack on the capitol. Nothing concerning the gods was impossible.
Concerning men on the other hand, even those long dead like himself, every obstacle seemed insurmountable.
"How long have we been doing this?" Raeger asked.
Judas twisted his wrists slowly to crack the joints, wincing when the skin pulled at the burns on his arms. Damned chimera. "I don't know. A few years. I thought you counted the days."
"Why would I do that?" Raeger lifted her pack onto the pylon and looked inside. "Stop that," she said, reaching in to dig out a pot of ointment. "It's just going to take longer if you aggravate the skin."
Judas rolled his eyes. "It doesn't work the same way for me."
She glared at him, fumbling with the top. "It will if your crazy plan works. Not that we have much hope of that."
He snatched the pot from her hands and loosened the leather cover with a quick flick of his wrist. "Being human is a step down, I admit, but I'm sure I'll manage just fine."
Judas let her take the pot back to uncork it and stretched his arms out for her perusal. The chimera they fought inside had gotten a lucky shot. He couldn't call it cleverness on the beast's part, since the attack left its vitals open to attack, but he wasn't complaining. Raeger was complaining, with comments like I can't believe he hit you and You need to be more careful, and then finally, "Even Elaine could have dodged that hit. Did you want to be on fire?"
"Do you want me to answer that?" She sighed, and Judas took the pot back to retie the cover when it seemed she would just sit there and stare at it. "Who is Elaine again?"
"My sister."
"How old is she?"
Raeger frowned, her fingers curling out as she counted. "Fifteen, I think, maybe sixteen. I suppose she's--" She paused. "I suppose about now they'd be arranging a marriage for her. Maybe they still are, wherever they went."
"That could be you." Judas handed the salve back to her. She didn't notice for a full ten seconds, and then blushed as she took it and repacked her bag. "Still. Artolia is gone now. If your family went to Flenceburg like you thought, there's nothing stopping you from returning to pick up where you left off."
"Which was?" She folded her legs to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Her face was tanned so thoroughly brown she could have been a native of the region if not for her pale hair. The sun had brightened it to a vivid, burnished gold that reminded him of Jelanda. Raeger touched her face, echoing his thoughts. "I'd never be married off, and I don't want to be. Maybe before I wouldn't have minded, but now..."
Judas watched her hair drift on a breeze. She wasn't suited for marriage. He would have said so when they first met, but for different reasons; in Lorien she was just a little girl, an incompetent bard too trusting for her own good, too attached to the ideals of nobility she used to illustrate in song.
In Amenti she was like him: a hunter, for stories and history, and treasure to pay her way. She lacked combat skill, but if she learned how to use a real weapon and maybe a little magic, she wouldn't need him. He started teaching her with that in mind, but in the year since then, Raeger had shown little initiative in learning, and he always found a reason to skip her lessons. Perhaps they lacked time, or money, or he was too weak, or she too tired. At this rate she'd be trapped with him forever.
Only 'forever' wasn't really - she had fifty years at best, and the last twenty or so would not involve treasure hunting if she was like most humans. There would be nobody to take care of her; no children, no husband, no family. Only him.
"I thought as much," Judas said finally, leaning against the crumbling stone. He didn't like silences that made her frown like that. "It would take a hero of a man to withstand your voice."
Raeger straightened and kicked sand at him. "No wonder it gave you a headache."
"Hm." Judas grinned. "Try me. With a little attention I'll have you singing in no time."
............................................................
Author: Amber Michelle
Day/Theme: June 5 - forever's just a place in someone else's story
Series: Illusion of Memory
Character/Pairing: Judas, Raeger
Rating: K
Words: 828
Notes: late because my sleeping schedule is messed up beyond repair.
.............................................
They sat facing each other on the steps of Sutekh's temple, Judas on a fallen slab of limestone, Raeger on the stump of the second pylon. The surface was worn smooth of glyphs by a millennium of sand and wind. The record inside said it was built by the Nile originally, and the channels and pipelines within told him that was true; there were lines chiseled into the stone for measuring the water level.
The valkyrie, he thought, must have changed the course of the river with her attack on the capitol. Nothing concerning the gods was impossible.
Concerning men on the other hand, even those long dead like himself, every obstacle seemed insurmountable.
"How long have we been doing this?" Raeger asked.
Judas twisted his wrists slowly to crack the joints, wincing when the skin pulled at the burns on his arms. Damned chimera. "I don't know. A few years. I thought you counted the days."
"Why would I do that?" Raeger lifted her pack onto the pylon and looked inside. "Stop that," she said, reaching in to dig out a pot of ointment. "It's just going to take longer if you aggravate the skin."
Judas rolled his eyes. "It doesn't work the same way for me."
She glared at him, fumbling with the top. "It will if your crazy plan works. Not that we have much hope of that."
He snatched the pot from her hands and loosened the leather cover with a quick flick of his wrist. "Being human is a step down, I admit, but I'm sure I'll manage just fine."
Judas let her take the pot back to uncork it and stretched his arms out for her perusal. The chimera they fought inside had gotten a lucky shot. He couldn't call it cleverness on the beast's part, since the attack left its vitals open to attack, but he wasn't complaining. Raeger was complaining, with comments like I can't believe he hit you and You need to be more careful, and then finally, "Even Elaine could have dodged that hit. Did you want to be on fire?"
"Do you want me to answer that?" She sighed, and Judas took the pot back to retie the cover when it seemed she would just sit there and stare at it. "Who is Elaine again?"
"My sister."
"How old is she?"
Raeger frowned, her fingers curling out as she counted. "Fifteen, I think, maybe sixteen. I suppose she's--" She paused. "I suppose about now they'd be arranging a marriage for her. Maybe they still are, wherever they went."
"That could be you." Judas handed the salve back to her. She didn't notice for a full ten seconds, and then blushed as she took it and repacked her bag. "Still. Artolia is gone now. If your family went to Flenceburg like you thought, there's nothing stopping you from returning to pick up where you left off."
"Which was?" She folded her legs to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Her face was tanned so thoroughly brown she could have been a native of the region if not for her pale hair. The sun had brightened it to a vivid, burnished gold that reminded him of Jelanda. Raeger touched her face, echoing his thoughts. "I'd never be married off, and I don't want to be. Maybe before I wouldn't have minded, but now..."
Judas watched her hair drift on a breeze. She wasn't suited for marriage. He would have said so when they first met, but for different reasons; in Lorien she was just a little girl, an incompetent bard too trusting for her own good, too attached to the ideals of nobility she used to illustrate in song.
In Amenti she was like him: a hunter, for stories and history, and treasure to pay her way. She lacked combat skill, but if she learned how to use a real weapon and maybe a little magic, she wouldn't need him. He started teaching her with that in mind, but in the year since then, Raeger had shown little initiative in learning, and he always found a reason to skip her lessons. Perhaps they lacked time, or money, or he was too weak, or she too tired. At this rate she'd be trapped with him forever.
Only 'forever' wasn't really - she had fifty years at best, and the last twenty or so would not involve treasure hunting if she was like most humans. There would be nobody to take care of her; no children, no husband, no family. Only him.
"I thought as much," Judas said finally, leaning against the crumbling stone. He didn't like silences that made her frown like that. "It would take a hero of a man to withstand your voice."
Raeger straightened and kicked sand at him. "No wonder it gave you a headache."
"Hm." Judas grinned. "Try me. With a little attention I'll have you singing in no time."
............................................................