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(original story thing) 1st scene
This is not part of Cercle, but the first scene of a random Ofic. It's also scifi. Yeah, really.
It's also meant to be confusing because hopefully it's gonna be a one-shot and stuff and blah i can't think enough to explain why it's important to have the first scene be confusing and mysterious and shit.
anyway.
three guesses as to who i based the main characters on, and the first two don't count.
The third earthquake of the day shook the floating pier a little after noon, sloshing water on Rylan's legs. He sprawled on his back, arms akimbo, letting the tremors rock him as they wished. Inside the house, his father's aide shrieked; a gust of wind slammed the blinds, covering her voice. He narrowed his eyes to protect them from a smattering of droplets and stared up at the purpling sky.
Rylan wondered if his brother would be coming home today. Not that their father and the colony's emergency council would move their maps and their sprawling towers of paper down to the cove under the house so that Mathow could participate. Rylan's brother was the Exploration Division foreman; on land, his position wasn't important.
Rylan hadn't seen Mathow at all in a few days, now. The mer at the docks avoided Rylan's eyes when they told him they didn't have a clue where his brother went after hours.
The pier danced under him, and he spread his arms wider and hooked a heel behind the bars to keep from being rolled over and into the sea. The new caretaker was calling for him from his bedroom's window, something about storms and quakes and safety.
He was safer out at sea. Unless a tidal wave swept over the islets of the bay, ripped out the pier and crashed it into the house; but between that or a quake crumbling the house on their heads, it was an equal chance. Being tossed around freely in the sea sounded vaguely preferable to being inside the house while the sea tore it up.
A few birds were diving and scything through the gales, screeching at each other. Sometimes they sounded so much like the council of advisors he couldn't decide which one he was hearing. The caretaker seemed to have given up.
"It's colder out here than it was."
The corner of Rylan's lips quirked up briefly.
"That's what the wetsuit is for," he replied as he craned his neck to look at his brother.
Mathow's sharp features and sharper eyes were perfectly noncommittal as he propped up his elbows on the swinging pier and gazed out at the sea. A puddle of water spread out around him, sticking Rylan's short, tangled locks to the back of his head.
"They say the big earthquake will hit in five days," Rylan offered as he closed his eyes and turned his face to the sky again.
Mathow gave a neutral hum in acknowledgement. Rylan hadn't been expecting much more than that.
"The meeting started this morning at seven. Maybe they've come up with a plan by now." He didn't think so; not by the tone of their yells.
He opened his eyes; Mathow was looking down at him, an eyebrow arched.
"Maybe," his brother replied, with just a hint of disbelieving inquiry in his voice.
"Maybe," Rylan echoed, tone and all, and smiled again.
Another gust of wind brought a patter of drops on the pier. Rylan caught the raindrop on his chin with the tip of his tongue, and imagined that it tasted of ashes.
"They're digging trenches to redirect the lava to the North shore," he offered.
Mathow snorted.
"Yeah," Rylan agreed. Too little, too late and all that. "I went this morning to help anyway..."
He still felt the ache in his arms, in his back.
"Did he tell you to?"
Rylan knew what Mathow thought of their father's meaningful gestures to the public opinion. "Yeah. But I wanted to go anyway."
"Did you accomplish anything?"
Rylan's lips quirked up again in amusement. "I made a pretty neat lava speed bump."
Mathow's expression didn't change; Rylan's half-smirk died.
"Perhaps if you and Dad talked..."
"No."
Rylan swallowed, and his heels dug into the underside of the pier until the muscles in his thighs hurt.
"... Why did you come, then? Why now?" Why at all?
There was no reply.
"I know you don't agree on priorities, but he needs your point of view too..."
"Rylan."
They looked at each other; upside-down, Rylan's eyes ridiculously open and Mathow's face horribly shuttered.
"We're past the time for compromises."
Rylan shivered as he caught a flicker of quickly smothered regret in his brother's cold gray eyes.
"You should get back on land. The storm will break soon."
Rylan sat up just in time to catch a glimpse of his brother's tail as it flipped gracefully and disappeared under the waves.
It's also meant to be confusing because hopefully it's gonna be a one-shot and stuff and blah i can't think enough to explain why it's important to have the first scene be confusing and mysterious and shit.
anyway.
three guesses as to who i based the main characters on, and the first two don't count.
The third earthquake of the day shook the floating pier a little after noon, sloshing water on Rylan's legs. He sprawled on his back, arms akimbo, letting the tremors rock him as they wished. Inside the house, his father's aide shrieked; a gust of wind slammed the blinds, covering her voice. He narrowed his eyes to protect them from a smattering of droplets and stared up at the purpling sky.
Rylan wondered if his brother would be coming home today. Not that their father and the colony's emergency council would move their maps and their sprawling towers of paper down to the cove under the house so that Mathow could participate. Rylan's brother was the Exploration Division foreman; on land, his position wasn't important.
Rylan hadn't seen Mathow at all in a few days, now. The mer at the docks avoided Rylan's eyes when they told him they didn't have a clue where his brother went after hours.
The pier danced under him, and he spread his arms wider and hooked a heel behind the bars to keep from being rolled over and into the sea. The new caretaker was calling for him from his bedroom's window, something about storms and quakes and safety.
He was safer out at sea. Unless a tidal wave swept over the islets of the bay, ripped out the pier and crashed it into the house; but between that or a quake crumbling the house on their heads, it was an equal chance. Being tossed around freely in the sea sounded vaguely preferable to being inside the house while the sea tore it up.
A few birds were diving and scything through the gales, screeching at each other. Sometimes they sounded so much like the council of advisors he couldn't decide which one he was hearing. The caretaker seemed to have given up.
"It's colder out here than it was."
The corner of Rylan's lips quirked up briefly.
"That's what the wetsuit is for," he replied as he craned his neck to look at his brother.
Mathow's sharp features and sharper eyes were perfectly noncommittal as he propped up his elbows on the swinging pier and gazed out at the sea. A puddle of water spread out around him, sticking Rylan's short, tangled locks to the back of his head.
"They say the big earthquake will hit in five days," Rylan offered as he closed his eyes and turned his face to the sky again.
Mathow gave a neutral hum in acknowledgement. Rylan hadn't been expecting much more than that.
"The meeting started this morning at seven. Maybe they've come up with a plan by now." He didn't think so; not by the tone of their yells.
He opened his eyes; Mathow was looking down at him, an eyebrow arched.
"Maybe," his brother replied, with just a hint of disbelieving inquiry in his voice.
"Maybe," Rylan echoed, tone and all, and smiled again.
Another gust of wind brought a patter of drops on the pier. Rylan caught the raindrop on his chin with the tip of his tongue, and imagined that it tasted of ashes.
"They're digging trenches to redirect the lava to the North shore," he offered.
Mathow snorted.
"Yeah," Rylan agreed. Too little, too late and all that. "I went this morning to help anyway..."
He still felt the ache in his arms, in his back.
"Did he tell you to?"
Rylan knew what Mathow thought of their father's meaningful gestures to the public opinion. "Yeah. But I wanted to go anyway."
"Did you accomplish anything?"
Rylan's lips quirked up again in amusement. "I made a pretty neat lava speed bump."
Mathow's expression didn't change; Rylan's half-smirk died.
"Perhaps if you and Dad talked..."
"No."
Rylan swallowed, and his heels dug into the underside of the pier until the muscles in his thighs hurt.
"... Why did you come, then? Why now?" Why at all?
There was no reply.
"I know you don't agree on priorities, but he needs your point of view too..."
"Rylan."
They looked at each other; upside-down, Rylan's eyes ridiculously open and Mathow's face horribly shuttered.
"We're past the time for compromises."
Rylan shivered as he caught a flicker of quickly smothered regret in his brother's cold gray eyes.
"You should get back on land. The storm will break soon."
Rylan sat up just in time to catch a glimpse of his brother's tail as it flipped gracefully and disappeared under the waves.
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I like the way Rylan's sense of gallows humor pops up a few times--seeing him think like that kind of defrays the crushing inevitablility of the situation itself, so that it takes an extra second to realize just what exactly they're talking about.
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♥
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only three?Sasuke and Itachi?SasukeItachi? SasukeItachi?
ohhhh I likey. Very subtle with the hints toward something fatal happening around them. I like Rylan's pose especially, both phsycally and mentally, through the whole scene. very open, very accepting and almost innocent.
Mathow is a beautiful picture. He sort of radiate's poise and grace and freedom. The fact that Rylan is a sort of median between him and the land is quite interesting. I like his name too, very almost-normal, but just strange enough to be different in a totally cool mysterious way.
Hmmm, merman?
+J+
no subject
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maybe~