Jamie Young (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
land_lover) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
shatterverse2008-07-16 02:14 pm
land_lover) wrote in shatterverse2008-07-16 02:14 pm
Entry tags:
(no subject)
It starts the usual way: A flash, a bang, a person standing, disoriented, near a long stretch of deserted road.
But this man falls to his knees-
(thousands of voices; screaming, crying in his head; anger and despair and everything in between, and he can’t fight, can’t ignore, can’t resist them; stop, stop, Goddess why won’t it STOP)
-and clutches his head, letting loose an agonized shout of surprise.
Then it's over, and it's like it never was.
Jamie lowers his hands, noticing in a detached manner that short strands of blond hair come away in his fingers, and sits back on his haunches, blinking. The last thing he remembers is laughing at a joke -- a bad one, with three tavern wenches and a statue -- and climbing a ladder to get at the apples high in an Olau tree. His shirt still smells like the orchard: sun and fruit and green, growing things. Had he fallen? Is this a fevered hallucination brought on by his broken body and healing magic gone wrong? Grace never could get the hang of it. She’s probably given him an extra thumb.
No. All’s right with that.
Digging his fingers into the earth beside the road, he watches it sift back to the ground. It's chunky and rough, but not dry. Even so, it's clearly not the smooth, dark soil of Olau. Jamie sniffs his hand, frowns and pulls himself to his feet. The road crests a hill to the west. Maybe there's something on the other side to explain what's happened; maybe not. Nothing to do, he supposes, but to start walking.
He'll get back to the pain (voices) in his head later. When the mood strikes.
But this man falls to his knees-
(thousands of voices; screaming, crying in his head; anger and despair and everything in between, and he can’t fight, can’t ignore, can’t resist them; stop, stop, Goddess why won’t it STOP)
-and clutches his head, letting loose an agonized shout of surprise.
Then it's over, and it's like it never was.
Jamie lowers his hands, noticing in a detached manner that short strands of blond hair come away in his fingers, and sits back on his haunches, blinking. The last thing he remembers is laughing at a joke -- a bad one, with three tavern wenches and a statue -- and climbing a ladder to get at the apples high in an Olau tree. His shirt still smells like the orchard: sun and fruit and green, growing things. Had he fallen? Is this a fevered hallucination brought on by his broken body and healing magic gone wrong? Grace never could get the hang of it. She’s probably given him an extra thumb.
No. All’s right with that.
Digging his fingers into the earth beside the road, he watches it sift back to the ground. It's chunky and rough, but not dry. Even so, it's clearly not the smooth, dark soil of Olau. Jamie sniffs his hand, frowns and pulls himself to his feet. The road crests a hill to the west. Maybe there's something on the other side to explain what's happened; maybe not. Nothing to do, he supposes, but to start walking.
He'll get back to the pain (voices) in his head later. When the mood strikes.
no subject
She peeks up when it becomes clear that the attack has ceased. She's not sure how or why it stopped, but she's not complaining. Judging it temporarily safe, she then removes her helmet and stands, visibly grimacing and favoring her injured leg.
The strangers are soon spotted, along with their flat-bed pickup truck. They're clearly here to help, so she starts making her hobbling way over to them with her bike.
"Hey! Are we safe?"
It's only when she gets closer that she notices Jamie's predicament. He doesn't look so hot.
no subject
The last is directed at Jamie, who stands and makes it three steps before going stiff and pitching forward, completely unconscious.
He lands with a thud, face first in moss and decomposing leaves.
no subject
"Did he just... faint?" she inquires, already knowing the answer.
The unknown woman nods woodenly as her two male companions stoop and make preparations to lift Jamie from his resting place in the mulch. Eleanor rolls her eyes.
"Awesome."
She takes possession of his sword, shaking her head hopelessly all the while, and waits for the men to load him and her bike onto their vehicle.
"I'm Eleanor by the way, and Sleeping Beauty there is Jamie. Thanks for saving us."
"You're welcome," the woman replies, smiling cordially now. She's a redhead of average height and slender build. Not unattractive. Her age is hard to judge, Eleanor pegs her somewhere in her late thirties. "You're not the first people to have run foul of this forest," she continues, "and I'm sure you won't be the last."
She extends a hand towards Eleanor. "Emily."
As the blonde shakes, the guys pause in their work to introduce themselves as well.
"Dan," says the first. He's stocky and youthful. "Ethan," says the second. He's clearly the oldest of the group, and taller than Dan. They both have brown hair, tightly cropped in the former's case, longer and slightly receding in the latter's.
"Nice to meet you all," Eleanor returns, politely. They seem harmless enough.
"We should go," Emily then prompts, putting the men back on task.
Eleanor agrees. She swallows the many questions she has for these folks and lets Emily help her clamber aboard the truck bed next to the recumbent Jamie. Before long her bike is up there as well, and they're off and rolling towards the village (http://community.livejournal.com/shatterverse/181137.html?thread=12647825#t12647825).