[June 11] [Fire Emblem] Ashera's Blessing
Jun. 10th, 2008 07:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
runicloreAshera's Blessing
Author: Amber Michelle
Day/Theme: June 11 - You want so much, it makes you sorry
Series: Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
Character/Pairing: Lehran, Altina
Rating: K
Words: ~500
Notes:I couldn't find the answers I was looking for, so I made stuff up! Edited somewhat. (-- 06/16/08)
Rewritten as Count the Ways.
.............................................
It began as illness, a weakness in Lehran's wings that crippled his attempts to fly. The gentle sea breeze ripped at his feathers as a tempest. Altina soothed them with her fingers at night, stroked them back into order while he sat with legs folded upon their plush feather mattress - irony, that - and allowed himself to be reminded of the times long ago when he was a nestling and his mother preened him in similar fashion.
Six months, Altina said one night. You'll be well to greet our daughter, I know it.
He folded his wing, endured the pain, and guided her into his lap. His arms were stronger, now more than a match to carrying her, as if to compensate his loss. Is that an order?
Silence. She slid her fingers into his hair and tucked it behind his ears, resting her palms against his face. A mother is never wrong when it comes to matters regarding her child.
On the fifth day of the seventh month of her pregnancy, Lehran could not summon the strength to shift. He didn't tell Altina. Her symptoms were easing, but she appeared so fragile; the fearless warrior who defeated Yune could not dress herself without his help nor sleep without his songs - such was her discomfort. He'd taken over matters of state long ago to spare her.
There aren't many forests near the capitol anymore, she mused one night, safely nested within his arms. The sky was moonless, the stars seeming brighter for it, and they sat on the balcony to enjoy the crisp autumn taste of the air. Don't you miss the trees, the meadows?
Trees are peaceful company, he told her. Not proof against misfortune.
You're sick, she whispered, and her fingers twitched over his hands, as if they would reach for his wings again.
It isn't your fault.
That isn't why--
There's no use lying to me.
His daughter was born at sunset. When they allowed him inside, Lehran sang the goddess's blessing at Altina's bedside and took the child in his own arms to allow her rest. Though pale, with shadows standing out beneath her eyes, she echoed Ashera's beauty with her strong brow, and her hair was the color of dusk. He wondered if she still heard the voice of the goddess, the quiet murmur of her will, passed between deep, even breaths like a heartbeat.
Ashera. His daughter's eyes were a solemn gold and her hair the color of coal. She had no wings. Ashera, did I not serve you well? Was it not the goddess who told him to put an end to war - did he not do this by reaching out to his human counterpart? He spread his wings with difficulty, and smiled when his daughter's eyes followed.
In the morning they were gone, and he never told Altina why.
...............................................
Edited somewhat. I didn't find much to contradict what I wrote, actually; my questions (for instance: did he lose his wings or does he just hide them?) still haven't been answered.
Author: Amber Michelle
Day/Theme: June 11 - You want so much, it makes you sorry
Series: Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
Character/Pairing: Lehran, Altina
Rating: K
Words: ~500
Notes:
Rewritten as Count the Ways.
.............................................
It began as illness, a weakness in Lehran's wings that crippled his attempts to fly. The gentle sea breeze ripped at his feathers as a tempest. Altina soothed them with her fingers at night, stroked them back into order while he sat with legs folded upon their plush feather mattress - irony, that - and allowed himself to be reminded of the times long ago when he was a nestling and his mother preened him in similar fashion.
Six months, Altina said one night. You'll be well to greet our daughter, I know it.
He folded his wing, endured the pain, and guided her into his lap. His arms were stronger, now more than a match to carrying her, as if to compensate his loss. Is that an order?
Silence. She slid her fingers into his hair and tucked it behind his ears, resting her palms against his face. A mother is never wrong when it comes to matters regarding her child.
On the fifth day of the seventh month of her pregnancy, Lehran could not summon the strength to shift. He didn't tell Altina. Her symptoms were easing, but she appeared so fragile; the fearless warrior who defeated Yune could not dress herself without his help nor sleep without his songs - such was her discomfort. He'd taken over matters of state long ago to spare her.
There aren't many forests near the capitol anymore, she mused one night, safely nested within his arms. The sky was moonless, the stars seeming brighter for it, and they sat on the balcony to enjoy the crisp autumn taste of the air. Don't you miss the trees, the meadows?
Trees are peaceful company, he told her. Not proof against misfortune.
You're sick, she whispered, and her fingers twitched over his hands, as if they would reach for his wings again.
It isn't your fault.
That isn't why--
There's no use lying to me.
His daughter was born at sunset. When they allowed him inside, Lehran sang the goddess's blessing at Altina's bedside and took the child in his own arms to allow her rest. Though pale, with shadows standing out beneath her eyes, she echoed Ashera's beauty with her strong brow, and her hair was the color of dusk. He wondered if she still heard the voice of the goddess, the quiet murmur of her will, passed between deep, even breaths like a heartbeat.
Ashera. His daughter's eyes were a solemn gold and her hair the color of coal. She had no wings. Ashera, did I not serve you well? Was it not the goddess who told him to put an end to war - did he not do this by reaching out to his human counterpart? He spread his wings with difficulty, and smiled when his daughter's eyes followed.
In the morning they were gone, and he never told Altina why.
...............................................
Edited somewhat. I didn't find much to contradict what I wrote, actually; my questions (for instance: did he lose his wings or does he just hide them?) still haven't been answered.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
Re: Yay !
Date: 2008-07-15 05:37 am (UTC)'Tis all of you and Asunera's fault, I say ! :o)