One More Goodbye
Jan. 10th, 2019 06:30 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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everwoodCharacters: Owen, Akadine, Anahi and Vi
When: About two weeks after Giving the Night
Wordcount: 981
Summary: It's time to leave Urdasvale. Owen has a long-term journey to look forward to.
Notes: Crossposted torainbowfic
**Banner for 'winning' the Silver colour prompt list here once it's given**
Owen's last day in Urdasvale drew up suddenly. He knew it was time to go. His feet usually got an itch before his head had quite caught up, but this time was different. He'd spent time with Akadine and her family, but he had also devoted quite a bit of this visit to the mayor, who also happened to be the keyholder of the retreat for which Urdasvale was officially famed.
Within the retreat, simply known as Goldleaf Lodge, an order of magicians worked to preserve the study of magic as it was known in the kingdom. Some of them went far into the Everwood to trade with its non-human denizens to bring back new knowledge (Owen counted himself among them), some transcribed manuscripts after testing hearsay to verify what power they could. Some came here to dabble, to become inspired by the calm and peace of the valley. Still others preserved stories that had no verifiable parts, that could not be written down for fear of the power that the written word could hold. Elder Gannette was one of the last. She held a hundred hundred stories within her, which was very impressive for a natural-born human. She claimed she'd inherited a shard of the same power that had sustained the original Urda, but Owen kept his doubts to himself. What he could say, irrefutably, was that Gannette liked to talk. He'd hardly gotten a word in edgewise, and so his visit to the lodge had been very one-sided. He hadn't even had a chance to catch up with the latest news from the other residents; everything had been tinted by the Elder's lens. If he wanted that dreary sort of company, he could have stayed in court.
It was a relief to return to Akadine's cabin, but before he'd set the coat on the rack the scarred woman had already read him and made a rude noise in the back of her throat. "I bet Brandi' you wouldn't last a week."
"I hope she didn't wager too much," Owen said. He'd thought, for a split second, that he might try to demure, to obfuscate... but he couldn't bring himself to play that game. He liked this home, but it wasn't his, and he had promised himself that he'd try to be clear and careful with this family. Lying to delay goodbyes felt like a deliberate slap. He caught sight of the girls playing in front of the fire... with his bag... and his things distributed chaotically around the rag-knit rug. "Oh dear."
Akadine shrugged. "You try keeping the cat out of the cream." And then, as he rushed over to Anahi, who was playing with the contents of his coin pouch, she added, "Don't worry, I took all of your spooky little boxes and set them aside. We don't travel with half a mint to our name; figured they couldn't hurt for them getting a look at money." She was sharpening a long, very well-used blade, and it struck him that he didn't want to argue with her when she had old faithful Knick in hand. Akadine jerked a nod to the side table, where a scroll lay in a simple waxed case, safely untouched. "Brandili wrote a lot of letters while you were out. They're for you to look through and sort out. She's off with the hunters to sort out a few deer for the town stores... I don't think she'll be back before you need to go."
"I'm sorry," he apologized, meaning it. He'd meant to get them all in one place to let them know he was going... but the urge to leave was tugging hard. The moment his last bits and pieces were packed away, he'd be hauling his ass back on the road. That was how he'd always worked.
"Hey, Uncle Owen," Anahi tugged on his pant-leg. She looked unworried by her mother's flat tone, though he noticed Vi had sat back to guiltily hide her hands behind her back. The man willed his lips to unpurse as he unballed his fists. "What are all these animals?" She was holding a sterling piece, blackened with age and smoothed by use. On one side, a wreath of strange leaves surrounded a stark face in profile, one with luscious locks lined in a net of jewels. On the other, a gryphon's face peered regally with ears proudly forward. The rest of his coins, now scattered, came from a variety of lands--most of them of the local kingdom, some from over the crimson sea and far away.
He settled down with a "whoof" between the two girls. "Oh, there's a lot to know just by looking at a coin. Actually, that one you're holding is from your mom's great grandmother's time." He flipped the coin to show the face. "That's her, you know. Queen Monawe."
Akadine had finished cleaning off her old sword, sheathed it, wandered over to place it high over the girls' heads on the mantle. He could tell it was an excuse for her to linger closer, but he didn't call attention to the bald-faced maneuver, not even when she wedged her stocking feet under his backside. Instead, he leaned against her hard shins, trapping her in place. To Anahi, he added, "Your family was instrumental in establishing trade all over the crimson sea, you know that?"
Anahi snatched the coin he was holding back, flipping it between gryphon and queen. "But what's this?" she asked, pointing to the animal.
Akadine gave a hearty laugh, and Owen cast a withering look up at her. Back to Anahi, "I guess I have time for one story before I go." He'd weather any sadness soon... but not quite yet. "Gryphons are vanishingly rare these days, but there were a precious few who lived on the cliffs of the Garnet coast..."
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When: About two weeks after Giving the Night
Wordcount: 981
Summary: It's time to leave Urdasvale. Owen has a long-term journey to look forward to.
Notes: Crossposted to
rainbowfic**Banner for 'winning' the Silver colour prompt list here once it's given**
Owen's last day in Urdasvale drew up suddenly. He knew it was time to go. His feet usually got an itch before his head had quite caught up, but this time was different. He'd spent time with Akadine and her family, but he had also devoted quite a bit of this visit to the mayor, who also happened to be the keyholder of the retreat for which Urdasvale was officially famed.
Within the retreat, simply known as Goldleaf Lodge, an order of magicians worked to preserve the study of magic as it was known in the kingdom. Some of them went far into the Everwood to trade with its non-human denizens to bring back new knowledge (Owen counted himself among them), some transcribed manuscripts after testing hearsay to verify what power they could. Some came here to dabble, to become inspired by the calm and peace of the valley. Still others preserved stories that had no verifiable parts, that could not be written down for fear of the power that the written word could hold. Elder Gannette was one of the last. She held a hundred hundred stories within her, which was very impressive for a natural-born human. She claimed she'd inherited a shard of the same power that had sustained the original Urda, but Owen kept his doubts to himself. What he could say, irrefutably, was that Gannette liked to talk. He'd hardly gotten a word in edgewise, and so his visit to the lodge had been very one-sided. He hadn't even had a chance to catch up with the latest news from the other residents; everything had been tinted by the Elder's lens. If he wanted that dreary sort of company, he could have stayed in court.
It was a relief to return to Akadine's cabin, but before he'd set the coat on the rack the scarred woman had already read him and made a rude noise in the back of her throat. "I bet Brandi' you wouldn't last a week."
"I hope she didn't wager too much," Owen said. He'd thought, for a split second, that he might try to demure, to obfuscate... but he couldn't bring himself to play that game. He liked this home, but it wasn't his, and he had promised himself that he'd try to be clear and careful with this family. Lying to delay goodbyes felt like a deliberate slap. He caught sight of the girls playing in front of the fire... with his bag... and his things distributed chaotically around the rag-knit rug. "Oh dear."
Akadine shrugged. "You try keeping the cat out of the cream." And then, as he rushed over to Anahi, who was playing with the contents of his coin pouch, she added, "Don't worry, I took all of your spooky little boxes and set them aside. We don't travel with half a mint to our name; figured they couldn't hurt for them getting a look at money." She was sharpening a long, very well-used blade, and it struck him that he didn't want to argue with her when she had old faithful Knick in hand. Akadine jerked a nod to the side table, where a scroll lay in a simple waxed case, safely untouched. "Brandili wrote a lot of letters while you were out. They're for you to look through and sort out. She's off with the hunters to sort out a few deer for the town stores... I don't think she'll be back before you need to go."
"I'm sorry," he apologized, meaning it. He'd meant to get them all in one place to let them know he was going... but the urge to leave was tugging hard. The moment his last bits and pieces were packed away, he'd be hauling his ass back on the road. That was how he'd always worked.
"Hey, Uncle Owen," Anahi tugged on his pant-leg. She looked unworried by her mother's flat tone, though he noticed Vi had sat back to guiltily hide her hands behind her back. The man willed his lips to unpurse as he unballed his fists. "What are all these animals?" She was holding a sterling piece, blackened with age and smoothed by use. On one side, a wreath of strange leaves surrounded a stark face in profile, one with luscious locks lined in a net of jewels. On the other, a gryphon's face peered regally with ears proudly forward. The rest of his coins, now scattered, came from a variety of lands--most of them of the local kingdom, some from over the crimson sea and far away.
He settled down with a "whoof" between the two girls. "Oh, there's a lot to know just by looking at a coin. Actually, that one you're holding is from your mom's great grandmother's time." He flipped the coin to show the face. "That's her, you know. Queen Monawe."
Akadine had finished cleaning off her old sword, sheathed it, wandered over to place it high over the girls' heads on the mantle. He could tell it was an excuse for her to linger closer, but he didn't call attention to the bald-faced maneuver, not even when she wedged her stocking feet under his backside. Instead, he leaned against her hard shins, trapping her in place. To Anahi, he added, "Your family was instrumental in establishing trade all over the crimson sea, you know that?"
Anahi snatched the coin he was holding back, flipping it between gryphon and queen. "But what's this?" she asked, pointing to the animal.
Akadine gave a hearty laugh, and Owen cast a withering look up at her. Back to Anahi, "I guess I have time for one story before I go." He'd weather any sadness soon... but not quite yet. "Gryphons are vanishingly rare these days, but there were a precious few who lived on the cliffs of the Garnet coast..."
