|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Fri Jul 20, 2018 9:19 am
Upon reflection, Chariklo probably should’ve given Xibalba a little more time to process her request before whisking them both off to her planet. But in the months since she’d been away from Destiny City, some of her natural impulsiveness seemed to have returned. That and trying to explain to explain her relationship to the senshi of pestilence had her more than a little antsy. What if she was wrong about proposing? What if he said no? What if…? What if?!?
But he’d said yes to coming up here with her. And, of more immediate importance, he’d agreed to help her perform the ritual she’d learned about on her last visit here. There weren’t many people who’d do the same.
Reaching out in the fog to grasp Xibalba’s hand Chariklo gave it a hard squeeze, chuckling as she heard a faint clanking sound coming from his backpack.
“How the hell many blades did you bring, baby? I only asked to borrow a little one.”
“Aye, but ye also mentioned the condition o’this place. Figured Ah’d bring along some tools tae help make it more homey while Ah’m here ye ken?”
And here was another reason to absolutely adore him. Without her asking, he’d thought of other ways he could help and simply done it. How on earth had she been lucky enough to meet him, much less get this far along into a relationship with him? Especially when she’d been convinced for so long that she’d never love anyone again after Avacyn. Crazy how things worked out.
Keeping her hold of Xibalba’s hand, she leaned in against his side for a moment, allowing herself to enjoy his proximity. If anyone had told her weeks ago that she’d be standing on her planet with her boyfriend, she’d have laughed in their face.
“Well, we’re almost up to the castle. What do you think so far?”
She could almost feel him thinking as they walked, and a quick glance showed her that he was looking at everything, avid curiosity evident in his eyes. It was weirdly flattering. And since he was seeing all of this with a different mindset, she was curious enough in her own right to hear what he’d say.
“Ah don’t think ye’d find a place more suited to ye, if y’tried, lass. Be honest now, have y’tried to go surfing here yet?” Xibalba flashed a grin down at her and winked. “Truth, Ah like it here. ‘S peaceful. Very different from mah own wonder, though.”
Hefting her own backpack Chariklo nodded and paused for a moment. She could feel the faint breeze that meant that the fog would dissipate for a few moments and she wanted Xibalba to have a good view of her castle. She was not disappointed by his reaction either, feeling his fingers tighten their grip on her hand as he did a sharp intake of breath.
“Pretty, isn’t it,” she asked nonchalantly. “I’m still not sure where they got the stone to build it, unless there’s a quarry on one of the islands I haven’t had a chance to visit yet. Wait till night comes. Then I can show you the pillars on the beach. They legit glow and it’s awesome!”
Satisfied in how things were going so far, she tugged at his hand, eager to get to the castle and shed the things they’d brought along. And since the castle had been shown to be not that far, it was easy enough for the both of them to fall into a quick jog. And once they were there and inside, it was such a simple thing for Chariklo to dart about, snapping on the various battery powered lanterns she’d already brought up.
Once they were up in her room, though, it was all Chariklo could do to not pounce on Xibalba. Instead, she tied the makeshift curtains back to allow light in and dropped her backpack to the floor. Then, she sat primly on the air mattress and gave it a pat to indicate that Xibalba should sit by her.
“Before we do anything, I want to tell you a few things, babe. Then we can take care of what we came up here to do, aight?”
He nodded and sat, then leaned in to drop a kiss on her shoulder. Then, straightening, he looked at her expectantly.
“Right. Let’s hear it, lass.”
Chariklo’s explanation of her prior visits and visions should have only take an hour or so tops, but between random kiss breaks, it was nearly dusk by the time she finished talking. By that time, Xibalba was stretched out on his back across the mattress with Chariklo pillowing her head against his stomach while he stroked her hair.
“So that’s the way of things, hrmm,” she heard him murmuring. “Ah think Ah understand why ye asked me for a knife. So when d’ye have tae do this ritual?”
Thinking over what she’d seen and heard, Chariklo shrugged a little.
“I don’t think time matters for this,” she said. “Though I do want you to see those pillars I mentioned. And I speak from experience when I say the beaches here are ******** beautiful at night. Take a walk with me?”
Sitting up, she rolled to her feet, but left her boots behind. Holding out a hand, she pulled Xibalba to his feet before wrapping her arms around him in a leech-like hug.
“I’m really glad you’re here with me. Let’s get the knife and go see what we can see, yeah?”
Leaving the castle, the two wandered through the ruins of the town before coming to the staircase carved into the cliffs. Chariklo skipped down with the ease born of practice. Xibaba on the other hand went more slowly, cursing under his breath. Turning to smile reassurance up at him, Chariklo slowed her pace and tried to keep the anxieties bubbling away in her stomach from showing on her face. Xibalba had been properly impressed by the glowing pillars, even if he clearly disliked the stairs down to the beach. Well, it would’ve been too much to hope that he’d adore everything about this place the way she did. It was enough that he’d understood why she felt the need to do this so deeply. He wasn’t scolding or trying to change her mind.
And that just cemented her decision that he was absolutely the right person for her. No doubts, no questions.
By the time they reached the pale sands of the beach, the skies had filled with the purples and blues of falling night. Perfect. Moving to a spot halfway between the cliffs and the sea, Chariklo knelt in the sand and looked expectantly up at Xibalba until he too was kneeling in the cool sands. She met his eyes and nodded. And after a moment of staring into her eyes, he nodded too and withdrew a tiny knife from the folds of his kilt. Taking the knife from him, she held it for a moment, fingers trembling before whispering, “Help me, please.”
Once his hand covered her own, Chariklo relaxed slightly and moving quickly, held out her free hand and sliced through her palm, yelping in pain.
“Okay, I might’ve gone a little too deep there. You brought the first aid kit, right?”
“Aye. But you’ll be fine. You’re doin’ fine, love.”
Closing her eyes, she nodded and squeezed her cut hand into a fist, forcing her blood to travel between her fingers and to drop on the sand. Only when her hand really began to ache did she leave off and open her sunset eyes to stare at the red-tinged sand. Her memories said she only needed the tiniest bit of soil. Well, here sand was the soil, right? What mattered was that she made this pledge. That she prove she wasn’t anything like the b***h who was happy to let her planet rot.
Scraping up a pinch of blood soaked sand, Chariklo visibly braced herself and felt Xibalba take the knife from her before gently holding onto her free hand in silent encouragement. Nodding to herself, she held the pinch of sand to her mouth and placed it on her tongue, swallowing quickly, before her body could try to instinctively spit it out. Wincing at the grainy, coppery tasting stuff that slid down her throat, Chariklo waited a moment and then sucked in a breath. Part one was finished.
“I am Chariklo, Eternal Senshi of Seagulls and I pledge myself to my planet. I pledge to serve as the Senshi of this world and to defend it from any who would harm it. And I am never going to abandon it.”
Suddenly, she tightened her grip on Xibalba’s hand. Staring at his face, she memorized every detail hungrily, just in case he… well. Just in case. Time to get part three of this venture under way.
“I need my planet, I may not have had access to it as long as some other senshi have to their places, but I love it and I want to help it live again. But I need you too, Angus,” she paused deliberately, letting him take in the fact that she’d used his actual name. “I love you and I need you, just as much as I need this place.”
Reaching up with her cut hand she placed it against Xibalba’s cheek and smiled a little at the naked shock in his eyes.
“Marry me, you magnificent, Scottish b*****d,” she whispered, letting emotion flood into her voice. “Let me spend the rest of my life with you.”
Somewhere deep inside, Chariklo felt a sudden bubbling of warmth and peaceful stillness. Whatever happened, she was exactly where and who she needed to be right now. And for the tiniest of moments, she could easily imagine that her planet waited with her in breathless expectation for the answer Xibalba would give.
The stillness extended by the merest of seconds as Chariklo wondered if she’d made an a** of herself. Then, the feeling of rushing warmth surged through her as Xibalba answered by yanking her against him and kissing her as if she had been a lifeline to a drowning victim. Practically twining around him, Chariklo couldn’t help her burble of laughter as she heard him growl under his breath, “As if Ah’d let y’marry anyone else.”
The feeling of warmth intensified and Chariklo gasped, as she was kissed again and then released as Xibalba stared as her in wonder, the faintest of glows lighting his features.
“Ah, Bindhi,” he began in a halting voice. “Why’re ye glowing?”
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jul 20, 2018 9:21 am
In the midst of a surge of warmth and power, so similar to when she’d purified, but at the same time so different, Chariklo glanced down and saw glowing, stylized wings across her chest and yelped. A faint memory of Faust telling her about some other senshi who’d turned glowy intruded on her thoughts and the word the cat had used dredged up.
“Transcended? What in the hell is even…?”
Then, Chariklo fell into Xibalba, laughing helplessly as she felt, on some deep level her planet somehow sparking to life within her heart.
“I think this place is very happy right now, babe. And I think the glows are how it’s choosing to show it. The planet accepted me and my pledge.”
Still laughing, Chariklo felt tears begin to stream from her eyes as she tilted her head up to kiss her intended. Her planet had let her know in no uncertain terms that she was never going to be lost and alone again.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
