Before we be begin with the second installment I would like to offer a little apology for my absence, in everything from posting to comments to discord, the past few days if anyone happened to notice it, and an apology on this post coming out far later in the day than I had hoped for.
Psssst I havent even written it yet and it’s currently 8:30pm on Friday. I am a weeeee bit sleep deprived and all of my stat bars are draaained. Monday the excessive demands for my attention began, Tuesday had me questioning mildly why, and I was mainly focused on the Steemit Meetup I’m involved in, Wednesday morning the full brunt of my child's cling force hit me like a brick wall as complaints of ear pain began.
When she’s sick she needs Mama 110%, absolutely can not be more than a foot away from me at any time… usually she’s holding tight to my body or crawling all over me. Heaven forbid I go the bathroom without her, or spend more than twenty seconds looking at my phone. Of course Wednesday brought conversations that I thought also demanded immediate attention so that was a bit of a battle. By bedtime she had a fever of 102.6 and in the morning I made her a doctors appointment, so Thursday was majorly being out of the house, one thing always turns into 100 doesn’t it? She was absolutely miserable, crying like crazy, clinging like she would absolutely die if she let go, and literally kicking my phone out of my hand if I tried to use it at all.
The antibiotics were started though and thank whatever higher powers that are out there that they start working quick because at that point “Lets go get coffee so I can work on this post” turned into three hours of sleep and no writing. Got home and when she woke up I managed to convince her that it was okay if she wasn’t on top of me, she still had to hold my hand for almost four hours but it did lead to her accepting that I could be on a device and have physical contact with her as long as she’s careful. That’s where we’re at now.
Oh and also we’ve discovered that she has a major irrational fear of automatic lights, like the ones BIL installed a couple of days ago, so there’s that… Also in the midst of a vitamin crash because I forget to take care of myself. Enough about my life though, back to the story! If you haven’t read the first Surface Dwellers installment, you can find it here.
Thank you to all the lovely readers that voted on an option; the result was B! So, very late filtered through exhaustion and cutting it extremely close, but still on Friday as I promised…
Surface Dwellers Chapter Two
“Alright Ro, we can try your idea… but you’re going to be responsible for this entire plan and for fixing any chaos that this plan creates, you hear me?” She asked pointing for intimidation, and with Ronan’s enthusiastic agreement Lane turned, shaking her head at her own craziness and headed to the the living room, she needed a good book.
She sat curled up like a cat on the sofa reading about the impact of lesser asteroid placements at time of birth, happy to push away the growing nervousness inside of her in any way that she could. She sat so still, moving minimally to turn the pages that if Ronan hadn’t known Mama’s reading spot she may have passed right by her when she came to bring a hot bowl of gumbo. Lee followed closely behind carrying two bowls and handful of papers. As soon as they were all settled around the coffee table Ronan dived into her presentation, outlining all of the supplies she’d need for her racoon trap with all the dramatics of an old time hollywood actress.
“Okay the fishing net I get, but why on earth do you need my tire iron and drill?” Lane asked leaving her mouth slightly agape in wonder, her full spoon still suspended mid air. “Like in the picture see?” Ronan asked pointing to her crude blueprints. “If I tie a thingy to the tire iron and stick it to the drill I can make a wheel that spins and drops the net when the racoon eats the food!” Like duh Mom. Lane put up her hands in surrender as Lee tried to stifle her laughter. “You’re the boss… it’s your project. You can start it, gather your materials and pick a location, but we’re going to be sleeping in the vault tonight okay? And no school tomorrow, you’ll be studying herbology with Lee instead.” As she spoke the words her stomach began to flutter with nerves. This was happening.
It took him years to figure out how to trap her in the surface world, but he’d done it. He’d found them, he’d track down the falsified documents that made them members of human society, and he’d figured out the loopholes. She might not have known he wasn’t human then, but it didn’t really matter now… a DNA test would still turn her up as his so even if this wasn’t a ploy to separate Ro from her so he could get to her, they’d have to run again. Run until he couldn’t find them and start another new life… and that wasn’t by any means easy.
“Mama why are you looking at me like that?” Ronan inquired with her head a little tilted and concern in her eyes. “I just love you baby.” A soft smile the only comfort she could manage. “I love you too, Mama.” Ronan smiled sweetly back, Lee stood up and stretched exuberantly. “Well that was a darn good dinner if I do say so myself. Ro, why don’t you come help me clean up while Ma gets your raccoon trap stuff, yeah?” They did, and as the sun began to set they crawled down into the renovated, reinforced celler that housed all of their most powerful books and tools. No human could penetrate its physical defences, and nothing else could the magical ones. They had spent their entire time here slowly building the wards, never using enough of their internal magic at once to set off a ripple. Not even a covenant priestess could get in here… because well, they were outside of the laws of the covenant and able to access magic hidden and forbidden, and to protect Ronan they’d spilled their blood.
Morning came far to quickly for Lane’s liking. She rose, clenching her teeth against the growing dread, and prepared to face the creature who had tortured her for months, and even worse made her believe he loved her so that he could create a more powerful tool for himself. It had always been about “the child”... a Priestess child with silver blood… She leaned over, softly tucked a tuft of bright orange hair behind a freckled little ear and kissed her sleeping baby’s forehead. She felt fire well up inside of her as she turned and walked shoulders back through the wards; He picked the wrong damned Priestess.
She reached the city on auto pilot and found herself standing before the court building without being entirely sure how she’d gotten there. Taking a deep breath she forced the city noise around her into a low hum, found a place of quiet inside of herself and sent forth a single thought. Safe. It only took a moment for the thought to be echoed back. There were easier modes of magical communication than direct telepathy, as far as she knew only certain order elders had acquired this skill… but it created only a miniscule ripple, and they werent fighting to survive. In her peripheral she noticed one man in a group of threes back straighten and tense as his head began to turn she moved forward quickly allowing humans to filter through where she’d been… whatever he was, he wouldn’t identify her.
She inched through line, passed through metal detectors, retrieved her bag, crammed herself into an elevator with eight other people, checked into her ‘part’, where she waited a few minutes to be greeted by her attorney, and Ronan’s appointed attorney. She sat with them then, in a ‘private’ room, insisting repeatedly that this person was not her child's father, that she had never heard of him, that the person she knew to be Ronan’s father was the son of an Irish immigrant and had died in a car crash just days after they’d found out she was pregnant, by the name of Sean O’Dea. “Look”, shed pleaded as she pulled out his faded newspaper obituary clipping right here in her wallet, where she’d kept it all these years.
She’d never met the man in the picture of course, it was just a random obituary shed found from the right time frame in the right location and had major bonus for the classic Irish looks that Ronan had somehow managed to emulate, but no one would ever be able to prove she didn’t believe all of this to be true. Hyde had no proof to the contrary, he couldn’t possibly. After that she waited with building tension, doing all that she could to keep her eyes from darting around the room searching for him. She waited for over an hour before their parties were called, and while a sharp and vicious hawk of a female attorney entered to court room with them, he did not. As she settled into her chair she quickly entered her quiet place, holding her breath. Not here.
Safe.
She let out her breath, and took note that the hawk woman explained that her client traveled frequently and on short notice for business, and that she had full representation. There was brief discussion, mainly yes or nos and within a matter of minuted the judge had ordered a DNA test be performed, she had four weeks to comply at so and so agency, and was to appear back in court in six. The next thing she knew she was back in her car, heading home. She could feel the breeze trying to speak with her through the crack in the window, but ignored it… even talking to the wind let off a ripple she couldn’t afford, no matter how much she’d missed her old companion.
She was far too absorbed in her thoughts anyway, wondering what Hydes ploy was… He hadn’t made a move, why? As her brain sped through every possible angle he could be coming from she lost track of her surroundings until that is about fifteen miles out of town something slammed hard into her windshield. With a sharp intake of breath she hit the breaks and spun out. Her hands as steady as a mounten, her insides shaking like a Florida palm in August, she looked up through her hair to see a web of cracks on her windshield extending from a splatter of blood. On high alert now she stepped out of her car and slowly approached the flapping black mass on the other side of the road.
“Why on earth would you go and do that?” She asked sadly. She removed her red button up dress shirt, “And how did you survive?” She extended a calm hand and watched as the crow began to settle, she couldn’t heal him or ask him what he was trying to tell her here, not without a ripple, nor could she remove the panic in his eyes. When he was still she wrapped him gently in her shirt and cradled him safely in her arms, she took him with her to go inspect her car situation.
“Are you bringing me change Mr. Crow? Change of tire at least.” She sighed now feeling a little more secure in her surroundings, her heart rate almost back to normal, and she contemplated the blown out tire before her. “I bet Ronan’s tire iron wheel was your idea Mr. Crow.” She grumbled, pulling her phone out of her back pocket. Dead? How? She glared down at her injured charge, with no real animosity, and smiled with a snort as he blinked back up at her. His murder erupted from the trees, cawing and crowing up a black storm as they circled ahead before flying off to the south. She leaned against her car, watching them long after they were gone with furrowed brow. She wasn’t sure how long she stood there, feeding as much energy as she could to sustain Mr. Crow without creating a ripple, only sending out on mental check, before she saw a car approaching in the distance, from the same direction the crows had gone.
With the arm that wasn’t rocking a crow like a baby she put her hand up and waved. The vehicle slowed to a stop across from her and the door opened. “Hey thanks!” She smiled with a relieved sigh, “Got a popped tire and a missing iron, if you could just let me make a call tha-” The occupant stepped out then and she felt her stomach jump into her throat. Well damn I’ve never seen that color blue she thought as the stranger approached, “Well if you’ve got a donut I can throw it on for ya.”
“Oh, good, okay yeah. Thank you.” She watched his electric blue eyes drop and survey the crow with befuddled curiosity, but “No problem.” Was all he offered before turning to search his truck, she took the que and shaking her head popped her own. “You can’t be from around here…” She stated with a slight uptone of inquiry “... I’d know your face, you have a good face.”
He scratched his scruffy blonde chin at her with a brilliant smile and soft snort of laughter. “Thanks you have a good face too.” She realized at that moment how stupid she’d sounded, slightly embarrassed she cleared her throat and keeping her eyes on Mr. Crow spoke again. “So you’re not from around here?”
Heaving the donut out of her trunk, his intrigue shaded eyes stayed on her and her little companion. “Naw I’m from Ohio, I’m out this way for work. You are from around here then?”
With her pause in answer he began to work on the tire. It took her a couple of moments to process what he’d spoken, she was trying so hard not to look at him. “Oh, uhm, yes.” Her eyes squinted closed, wow, what the hell has possessed me? He just chuckled and when he was finished he stood “... you’re kind of odd.” Her brows rose in surprise at his blunt verbilizatin and almost instantaneously furrowed as Mr. Crow squalled, presumably in agreement from her arms. “Oh you hush!” She said to the bird as the strange man walked away. Dropping her voice to a very low whisper she told him firmly “I know what you’re doing and I won’t have any of it.”
The man with the blue eyes stopped at his door, and when he opened his mouth to speak again she blurted out a very quick, “Well thank you!” and jumped into her own to hide, gently setting Mr. Crow in the passenger seat and taking off as quickly as she could. “Do you know what’s going on right now?!” She squealed at the crow, he clicked his beak. “I do not have the time or patience for your shenanigans sir, nope! I don’t care what he’s for, it’s not happening right now do you hear me?! No new people. No new situations. I’m not saving his life, I’m not introducing him to his future wife, I’m not involving myself in his thread. Nothing until I take care of Hyde! He can find another catalyst, and I’ll fix you up and you can go on and nearly kill yourself for someone else’s fate!”
It wasn’t long until she and Mr. Crow pulled into the drive, and made their way to the vault. She was so happy to see Ronan completely unphased by the events happening around her that she all but forgot her frustrations with Mr. Crow, and they were even able to utilize some of her herbology lesson to help patch him up. “He’ll have to live here for a while right Mama?” Ronan asked, gently stroking along his unbroken wing. “He will, so you’ll have to help keep him good company, why don’t you tell him a story while I go talk to Auntie.” She stole a quick kiss on the cheek and went off into the corner with Lee to fill her in on all the happenings.
A. She never took her eyes off of her daughter as she did, finally she sighed, “Will you run with me again Lee? I don’t like it either but without our magic what else can we do? If we fight Hyde… the covenant comes with him. We have to go, we can find another home.”
B. As she finished her eyes flickered for a moment to Mr. Crow, he had looked at her with cocked head. She felt the fire begin to rise again and turned to her friend. “Will you fight with me Lee? It’s dangerous but I’m tired of living without our magic. We don’t follow their rules, we have a chance.”
(all images, typos and mistakes credit a slightly delirious @Accio)