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rainbowfic2024-08-21 11:15 pm
bookblather) wrote in rainbowfic2024-08-21 11:15 pm
Sapphire 19: Break Down Walls
Author: Kat
Title: Break Down Walls
Story: In the Heart - Urban Fantasy AU
Colors: Sapphire 19 (jasper) with thisbluespirit's paint by numbers (Olivia & Danny - attacked by a creature)
Supplies and Materials: Graffiti (Jericho, Iniko), eraser, novelty beads ("I do not like interesting things. They tend to bite painfully." - from Trickster's Choice by Tamora Pierce), pastels (30 Days Writing Challenge, write about a girls' night), parchment (it's been a heckuva time for this AU), prototype
Word Count: 1095
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Danny actually really liked going to bars with Olivia.
Warning: none
Notes: The bauk is a real Slavic monster.
Update: This is apparently a prototype for parchment.
The thing was, Danny actually really liked going to bars with Olivia.
Coworkers went out to try and get laid, her Navy buddies just wanted to get trashed as fast as possible, and Aaron always wanted to bring all his friends and his little sister to boot. Not that Ivy wasn’t cool, she was, but two slayers in one place could make things awkward sometimes, plus the conversation somehow always turned into talking shop.
Olivia, though, she was so… normal. Okay, well, abused, just like Danny had been, and kinda weird in the way all the best people were, but she didn’t know shit about the supernatural and didn’t seem to care about it at all. Danny liked that. She liked talking about other stuff. She liked… well, being normal.
So of course the damn bauk chose to attack when they were walking home.
Olivia, Danny thought grimly as she dodged its claws, was never going to go out with her again.
Bauks, big motherfuckers like evil, monstrous bears, had been a much bigger problem back home, where they hid in all the abandoned storefronts and tried to eat pets, cops, and the dumber neighborhood kids. Danny couldn’t speak for the seventies, but these days New York City was too well-lit for them. Or so she thought up until thirty seconds ago.
She ducked under its next swing and slammed her leather-clad elbow right into its stupid fucking too-long teeth. One tooth broke and the thing went howling back- but just back. She needed light to get rid of it, or a fucking loud noise, but light was easier if she could just get her phone out. Of course the damn thing was in her zippered inside pocket. She yanked her jacket open.
It howled again and came for her.
“Fucking hell!” This time she didn’t move quite fast enough. The edge of its swing caught the top of her head and sent her sprawling. Small pain, no blood, get up, get up, get the fuck up…
A cardboard box spiraled out of nowhere and hit the fucker in the face.
It jerked its head back, and another box flew, then another. The wind was picking up. Danny shoved herself to her feet while the bauk swatted at nothing and grabbed for her inside pocket.
The bauk roared and batted the next box out of the air. Another came in from the side and it threw that one down too. Not just a lucky hit.
Too late. Her zipper scraped open. Danny yanked her phone out, swiped up, and hit the flashlight app.
The roar became something more like a scream as the bauk melted back into the shadows. She’d have to track it down and kill it properly later, but it wouldn’t come back for a while. She had time to get Olivia home.
Olivia… where was Olivia?
Danny hadn’t had time during the actual fight to think of Olivia, except for a brief intense gratitude that she’d gotten the fuck out of the way. She scanned the alley, and winced. The other girl was nowhere in sight. Probably running for home as fast as she could. At this rate Olivia would never even talk to her again, let alone-
“Up here,” Olivia called.
She was sitting on a fire escape, two floors up, pretty pale but she looked okay. How the hell she’d gotten up there- the ladder was up and there was nothing to jump from. Well, people did superhuman things Danny swallowed. “You okay?”
“Yes,” Olivia said, then winced as she uncurled her fingers. “Ow. I think I held on to the bar too tight.”
“That’s okay.” Danny looked around for something to get her up there, and found nothing. “Hang on, I can… can you put the ladder down?”
Olivia stared at her. “Why?” she asked.
“To… get you down?” They were going to need some kind of ladder and there was one right there. Probably rusty as hell, but it still had to function.
Olivia stood. She stretched, cracked her back, hauled herself over the railing, and stepped off.
Danny stifled a scream- the last thing they needed was the cops- but nothing happened. Olivia just… walked down thin fucking air like a fucking ramp, her skirt belling out in the wind. The most normal person she knew just walked on air. Just all casual like that was a thing she did every fucking day.
Then again, maybe it was, Danny didn’t know her life.
“What the fuck,” she said.
Olivia hopped the last few inches to the ground, and looked away, her face reddening. “I’m sorry,” she said. “That I didn’t tell you.”
“Tell me what?” Danny gestured wildly at her and at the fire escape. “About the fact that you can fly?”
“It’s not flying,” she said. “It’s walking on… on… I guess you could call it a very localized updraft?”
There were many things that Danny could have said to that. She settled for a deeply felt “Bro.”
Olivia winced. “I know! I know, I’m sorry, and I’m sorry you had to fight that thing, I helped as much as I could, and I’ll try to explain about all this, I will, I just--”
“No, no,” Danny said, “not all this, I get all this, I mean you, fucking walking on a ‘very localized updraft.’” And controlling the wind, apparently? What kind of things controlled wind? Sirens? “Are you a siren?”
“No?” Olivia dragged out the n. “No, I’m an aura.”
Danny stared at her. “You’re the spiritual manifestation of somebody’s mood?”
“No,” she said, much more crisply this time. “An aura. A wind-nymph. Some people call them sylphs? My father was one of the four winds.”
“Sure, okay,” Danny said, calming down. She’d never heard of an aura, or a sylph, for that matter, but she barely understood how much she didn’t know. “Wind-nymph. Sure. That sounds like a thing.”
“It is,” Olivia said. “I am, I mean. I- what do you mean you get all this?”
Danny waved a hand. “Oh, I’m a slayer, this is just what I do. But you...”
For a long silent moment, they stared at each other.
“You know what,” Danny said, finally, “I used to think you were normal.”
Olivia giggled, high-pitched and a little hysterical. “Honestly? Me too.”
Danny slung an arm across her shoulders. “Tell you what. Let’s go home, my place, and get actually drunk, and then in the morning we can do this again but making sense.”
Olivia smiled, real and big. “Okay.”
Title: Break Down Walls
Story: In the Heart - Urban Fantasy AU
Colors: Sapphire 19 (jasper) with thisbluespirit's paint by numbers (Olivia & Danny - attacked by a creature)
Supplies and Materials: Graffiti (Jericho, Iniko), eraser, novelty beads ("I do not like interesting things. They tend to bite painfully." - from Trickster's Choice by Tamora Pierce), pastels (30 Days Writing Challenge, write about a girls' night), parchment (it's been a heckuva time for this AU), prototype
Word Count: 1095
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Danny actually really liked going to bars with Olivia.
Warning: none
Notes: The bauk is a real Slavic monster.
Update: This is apparently a prototype for parchment.
The thing was, Danny actually really liked going to bars with Olivia.
Coworkers went out to try and get laid, her Navy buddies just wanted to get trashed as fast as possible, and Aaron always wanted to bring all his friends and his little sister to boot. Not that Ivy wasn’t cool, she was, but two slayers in one place could make things awkward sometimes, plus the conversation somehow always turned into talking shop.
Olivia, though, she was so… normal. Okay, well, abused, just like Danny had been, and kinda weird in the way all the best people were, but she didn’t know shit about the supernatural and didn’t seem to care about it at all. Danny liked that. She liked talking about other stuff. She liked… well, being normal.
So of course the damn bauk chose to attack when they were walking home.
Olivia, Danny thought grimly as she dodged its claws, was never going to go out with her again.
Bauks, big motherfuckers like evil, monstrous bears, had been a much bigger problem back home, where they hid in all the abandoned storefronts and tried to eat pets, cops, and the dumber neighborhood kids. Danny couldn’t speak for the seventies, but these days New York City was too well-lit for them. Or so she thought up until thirty seconds ago.
She ducked under its next swing and slammed her leather-clad elbow right into its stupid fucking too-long teeth. One tooth broke and the thing went howling back- but just back. She needed light to get rid of it, or a fucking loud noise, but light was easier if she could just get her phone out. Of course the damn thing was in her zippered inside pocket. She yanked her jacket open.
It howled again and came for her.
“Fucking hell!” This time she didn’t move quite fast enough. The edge of its swing caught the top of her head and sent her sprawling. Small pain, no blood, get up, get up, get the fuck up…
A cardboard box spiraled out of nowhere and hit the fucker in the face.
It jerked its head back, and another box flew, then another. The wind was picking up. Danny shoved herself to her feet while the bauk swatted at nothing and grabbed for her inside pocket.
The bauk roared and batted the next box out of the air. Another came in from the side and it threw that one down too. Not just a lucky hit.
Too late. Her zipper scraped open. Danny yanked her phone out, swiped up, and hit the flashlight app.
The roar became something more like a scream as the bauk melted back into the shadows. She’d have to track it down and kill it properly later, but it wouldn’t come back for a while. She had time to get Olivia home.
Olivia… where was Olivia?
Danny hadn’t had time during the actual fight to think of Olivia, except for a brief intense gratitude that she’d gotten the fuck out of the way. She scanned the alley, and winced. The other girl was nowhere in sight. Probably running for home as fast as she could. At this rate Olivia would never even talk to her again, let alone-
“Up here,” Olivia called.
She was sitting on a fire escape, two floors up, pretty pale but she looked okay. How the hell she’d gotten up there- the ladder was up and there was nothing to jump from. Well, people did superhuman things Danny swallowed. “You okay?”
“Yes,” Olivia said, then winced as she uncurled her fingers. “Ow. I think I held on to the bar too tight.”
“That’s okay.” Danny looked around for something to get her up there, and found nothing. “Hang on, I can… can you put the ladder down?”
Olivia stared at her. “Why?” she asked.
“To… get you down?” They were going to need some kind of ladder and there was one right there. Probably rusty as hell, but it still had to function.
Olivia stood. She stretched, cracked her back, hauled herself over the railing, and stepped off.
Danny stifled a scream- the last thing they needed was the cops- but nothing happened. Olivia just… walked down thin fucking air like a fucking ramp, her skirt belling out in the wind. The most normal person she knew just walked on air. Just all casual like that was a thing she did every fucking day.
Then again, maybe it was, Danny didn’t know her life.
“What the fuck,” she said.
Olivia hopped the last few inches to the ground, and looked away, her face reddening. “I’m sorry,” she said. “That I didn’t tell you.”
“Tell me what?” Danny gestured wildly at her and at the fire escape. “About the fact that you can fly?”
“It’s not flying,” she said. “It’s walking on… on… I guess you could call it a very localized updraft?”
There were many things that Danny could have said to that. She settled for a deeply felt “Bro.”
Olivia winced. “I know! I know, I’m sorry, and I’m sorry you had to fight that thing, I helped as much as I could, and I’ll try to explain about all this, I will, I just--”
“No, no,” Danny said, “not all this, I get all this, I mean you, fucking walking on a ‘very localized updraft.’” And controlling the wind, apparently? What kind of things controlled wind? Sirens? “Are you a siren?”
“No?” Olivia dragged out the n. “No, I’m an aura.”
Danny stared at her. “You’re the spiritual manifestation of somebody’s mood?”
“No,” she said, much more crisply this time. “An aura. A wind-nymph. Some people call them sylphs? My father was one of the four winds.”
“Sure, okay,” Danny said, calming down. She’d never heard of an aura, or a sylph, for that matter, but she barely understood how much she didn’t know. “Wind-nymph. Sure. That sounds like a thing.”
“It is,” Olivia said. “I am, I mean. I- what do you mean you get all this?”
Danny waved a hand. “Oh, I’m a slayer, this is just what I do. But you...”
For a long silent moment, they stared at each other.
“You know what,” Danny said, finally, “I used to think you were normal.”
Olivia giggled, high-pitched and a little hysterical. “Honestly? Me too.”
Danny slung an arm across her shoulders. “Tell you what. Let’s go home, my place, and get actually drunk, and then in the morning we can do this again but making sense.”
Olivia smiled, real and big. “Okay.”