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31_days2006-06-23 11:42 pm
alyxbradford.livejournal.com) wrote in 31_days2006-06-23 11:42 pm
[23 June] [Elemental Masters] Fire Masters
Title: Fire Masters
Day/Theme: 23 June – Love, unconquered in the fight
Series: Elemental Masters
Character/Pairing: OCs
Rating: PG-13
Notes: I've borrowed the world and notions of Mercedes Lackey's Elemental Masters series, but with characters of my own and in a different time period. A 10x100, as I'm just exploring these characters as they form themselves in my head.
"It often skips," old Eloise explains bluntly, not troubling to smile at her grandson. "Not always, but often. I might have noticed earlier, but your fool mother..." She shakes her head. "Well. We've a long tradition of Air in this family, I'll have you know, but I shan't be ashamed of a Fire thrown into the mix. You might have done better, but you might have done a lot worse, too."
Stephen Kelsey knows that is the only semblance of praise he's likely to receive from the decrepit dragon. "Well, then," he says, straightening his shoulders. "Where do I start?"
-
"I won't, and you can't make me."
Renata Harmon crosses her arms, her falsely placid expression diametrically opposed to her obstinate force of will. It makes her mother and aunt exchange weighty glances; Air and Earth are ill-suited to combat such a Fire as blazes in Renata's soul.
It's true; they can't make her. The last attempt to force Renata to do something against her will nearly incinerated the whole East Wing. But it is Belinda, dear, sensible Belinda, who finds the words to convince Renata of what's best for her.
"There will, I think, be some young men there."
-
He knows, the minute they meet, he knows they are meant for each other. She could not be farther from the usual milksop misses his mother pushes in his path: just one look at her, the proud, golden head, the flashing fury in her emerald eyes, and Stephen doesn't want to spend another second with anyone else at his mother's garden party. And, never a shy one, he decides to let the goddess know his intentions immediately.
The fact that she wastes no time in pushing him in the duckpond for his troubles dampens only his clothing, not his desires.
-
For some reason, one of Shakespeare's more insipid lines filters into her mind: 'A sister! You are she!'
Vanessa, though, inspires no such glee. Even across the room, Renata can tell what sort her half-sibling is, can see the malicious glint lurking in the back of those cerulean eyes. She smiles, she purrs, she destroys. She is the corruption of Fire, hungry and destructive, vicious and insatiable. Renata doesn't know who she's trying to lure tonight, but is glad to be, for now, anonymous.
Renata reinforces her shields. 'She must not see me,' she thinks. 'She must not know me.'
-
"Someone once told me," she whispers, not quite meeting his eyes, "that two Fires will—"
"What?" he interrupts, a teasing grin pulling at his expression. "Explode?"
"One way or another," she muses, too quietly.
Stephen's fingers touch her chin, raising it slightly to force her gaze. "Fire is the Element of passion, of unbridled expression," he says. "Let Air have its celestial glory, Water its plunging depth, Earth its steadiness." Ever so gently, his lips brush hers, a skimming caress. "But let us have this." His fingers push two stray ringlets behind her ears. "I could desire nothing more."
-
Stephen has heard of maidens being "assaulted" in the shadowy passes of Vauxhall Gardens, once slipped away from the watchful eyes of chaperones, but never expected the situation to be reversed.
"Pray tell," the vixen whispers, her hands invading altogether too private regions of his body, "where is the little harlot?" Stephen stiffens, though not in the way he's certain Vanessa hopes. "I know you know her. I know you've been..." Her hands grow bolder, her heady perfume invading his senses. "...intimate."
"Keep your seduction games for other bucks, she-devil," he says, disentangling himself from her. "I'll none of it."
-
A tear trembles at the edge of Renata's lashes, but pride will not let it fall. "I am not afraid of her," she declares, and what troubles Stephen the most is the truthfulness of that statement. Nothing could frighten him more than her headstrong bravery. "And I will not let you fight my battles for me."
"Not for, Renata, I—"
"No, Stephen!" she interrupts. "I will face her. And I will not let you stop me, or impede me, or... help me."
Stephen's jaw sets tightly, locking against the turmoil in his heart. "Whoever said you get that choice?"
-
Renata can only stand completely motionless, surrounded by the treacherous little river, which she knows will rise and swallow her if she so much as flinches. Vanessa prowls around the moat, seemingly fearless of it, that damned smirk curling her lips. "You were always the weaker one, Renata," she sneers. "You had to be protected. Sheltered. Educated and trimmed and hemmed in every step. I grew to power on my own -- and so I need answer to no one!"
"You answer to no one," Renata replies, unable to cage her insolence even now, "because no one would have you."
-
"Don't you die on me," he hisses. When this evokes no response, he grasps her shoulders and gives her a shake. "Damn it, Renata, don't you dare die on me!" Her body remains as a ragdoll, beaten nearly boneless, and just as senseless.
"Stephen," William says, laying a hand softly on his shoulder, "Stephen, she's—"
"No!" Stephen roars, flaring red and gold beacons, with all the wounded majesty of an angry lion. "I will not accept it! I will not let her die! I won't!"
"Arrogant... bastard..." says a voice from below, coughing. "Whoever said... you got... that choice?"
-
"A Healer."
The little girl seems nearly oblivious to the miracle, and so does the kitten, both of them continuing with their play as though the little tabby had never caught its paw in the door at all.
Renata nods in agreement with her husband's assessment. "A natural."
"How in the name of everything holy," Stephen wonders aloud, "did the two of us turn out a Earth mage who possesses that kind of natural power?"
"I couldn't begin to guess," Renata answers, tilting her face to the sun. "Though it does make one wonder what the next one will be."
Day/Theme: 23 June – Love, unconquered in the fight
Series: Elemental Masters
Character/Pairing: OCs
Rating: PG-13
Notes: I've borrowed the world and notions of Mercedes Lackey's Elemental Masters series, but with characters of my own and in a different time period. A 10x100, as I'm just exploring these characters as they form themselves in my head.
"It often skips," old Eloise explains bluntly, not troubling to smile at her grandson. "Not always, but often. I might have noticed earlier, but your fool mother..." She shakes her head. "Well. We've a long tradition of Air in this family, I'll have you know, but I shan't be ashamed of a Fire thrown into the mix. You might have done better, but you might have done a lot worse, too."
Stephen Kelsey knows that is the only semblance of praise he's likely to receive from the decrepit dragon. "Well, then," he says, straightening his shoulders. "Where do I start?"
-
"I won't, and you can't make me."
Renata Harmon crosses her arms, her falsely placid expression diametrically opposed to her obstinate force of will. It makes her mother and aunt exchange weighty glances; Air and Earth are ill-suited to combat such a Fire as blazes in Renata's soul.
It's true; they can't make her. The last attempt to force Renata to do something against her will nearly incinerated the whole East Wing. But it is Belinda, dear, sensible Belinda, who finds the words to convince Renata of what's best for her.
"There will, I think, be some young men there."
-
He knows, the minute they meet, he knows they are meant for each other. She could not be farther from the usual milksop misses his mother pushes in his path: just one look at her, the proud, golden head, the flashing fury in her emerald eyes, and Stephen doesn't want to spend another second with anyone else at his mother's garden party. And, never a shy one, he decides to let the goddess know his intentions immediately.
The fact that she wastes no time in pushing him in the duckpond for his troubles dampens only his clothing, not his desires.
-
For some reason, one of Shakespeare's more insipid lines filters into her mind: 'A sister! You are she!'
Vanessa, though, inspires no such glee. Even across the room, Renata can tell what sort her half-sibling is, can see the malicious glint lurking in the back of those cerulean eyes. She smiles, she purrs, she destroys. She is the corruption of Fire, hungry and destructive, vicious and insatiable. Renata doesn't know who she's trying to lure tonight, but is glad to be, for now, anonymous.
Renata reinforces her shields. 'She must not see me,' she thinks. 'She must not know me.'
-
"Someone once told me," she whispers, not quite meeting his eyes, "that two Fires will—"
"What?" he interrupts, a teasing grin pulling at his expression. "Explode?"
"One way or another," she muses, too quietly.
Stephen's fingers touch her chin, raising it slightly to force her gaze. "Fire is the Element of passion, of unbridled expression," he says. "Let Air have its celestial glory, Water its plunging depth, Earth its steadiness." Ever so gently, his lips brush hers, a skimming caress. "But let us have this." His fingers push two stray ringlets behind her ears. "I could desire nothing more."
-
Stephen has heard of maidens being "assaulted" in the shadowy passes of Vauxhall Gardens, once slipped away from the watchful eyes of chaperones, but never expected the situation to be reversed.
"Pray tell," the vixen whispers, her hands invading altogether too private regions of his body, "where is the little harlot?" Stephen stiffens, though not in the way he's certain Vanessa hopes. "I know you know her. I know you've been..." Her hands grow bolder, her heady perfume invading his senses. "...intimate."
"Keep your seduction games for other bucks, she-devil," he says, disentangling himself from her. "I'll none of it."
-
A tear trembles at the edge of Renata's lashes, but pride will not let it fall. "I am not afraid of her," she declares, and what troubles Stephen the most is the truthfulness of that statement. Nothing could frighten him more than her headstrong bravery. "And I will not let you fight my battles for me."
"Not for, Renata, I—"
"No, Stephen!" she interrupts. "I will face her. And I will not let you stop me, or impede me, or... help me."
Stephen's jaw sets tightly, locking against the turmoil in his heart. "Whoever said you get that choice?"
-
Renata can only stand completely motionless, surrounded by the treacherous little river, which she knows will rise and swallow her if she so much as flinches. Vanessa prowls around the moat, seemingly fearless of it, that damned smirk curling her lips. "You were always the weaker one, Renata," she sneers. "You had to be protected. Sheltered. Educated and trimmed and hemmed in every step. I grew to power on my own -- and so I need answer to no one!"
"You answer to no one," Renata replies, unable to cage her insolence even now, "because no one would have you."
-
"Don't you die on me," he hisses. When this evokes no response, he grasps her shoulders and gives her a shake. "Damn it, Renata, don't you dare die on me!" Her body remains as a ragdoll, beaten nearly boneless, and just as senseless.
"Stephen," William says, laying a hand softly on his shoulder, "Stephen, she's—"
"No!" Stephen roars, flaring red and gold beacons, with all the wounded majesty of an angry lion. "I will not accept it! I will not let her die! I won't!"
"Arrogant... bastard..." says a voice from below, coughing. "Whoever said... you got... that choice?"
-
"A Healer."
The little girl seems nearly oblivious to the miracle, and so does the kitten, both of them continuing with their play as though the little tabby had never caught its paw in the door at all.
Renata nods in agreement with her husband's assessment. "A natural."
"How in the name of everything holy," Stephen wonders aloud, "did the two of us turn out a Earth mage who possesses that kind of natural power?"
"I couldn't begin to guess," Renata answers, tilting her face to the sun. "Though it does make one wonder what the next one will be."