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07-09-2016, 12:58 PM
ultima
The boy’s head fell, and initially Ultima thought she’d said something offensive. But it was relief, wasn’t it? She blinked curiously at him and then glanced off across the sea, murmuring, “Think nothing of it.” The words put a strange taste in her mouth – shy envy, probably. She would’ve liked to change places, click her heels a few times and wake up in the goldfish pond with watercress in her hair. Alas.
“Ocean,” she repeated, testing the syllables, the soft hush of a transition that sounded like the surf’s hissing, sh sh sh. It was like secret-keeping, don’t tell or we’ll be caught! And it was like a lullaby, too, the light snuffing out with a wink in the west, only the halo of the boy’s lantern left standing. (And the stars. But even the stars were different here; she never wished to them; she didn’t know what they were saying.) Minerva used to sweep in before bed, regal as a crane, humming something phenomenally soft for an old bird with vocal chords like a steel file – now, lightyears away from anything familiar (anyone who loved her), Ultima rather regret saying as much.
She laughed, a fairy bell ringing bittersweet in the blue dark.
“Oh, very far. I couldn’t even begin to say how far. There wasn’t any ocean there. We had forests, though, and a million songbirds, and a m—” The m drew out for a beat. “—ountain.” There was another little gust of air and she lifted her chin into it, tassel-threads brushing against her neck. Lost as she was, it seemed some things never changed: the night was wider but brought the same calm it always had, and the lantern’s glow lent it a certain warmth, a certain comfort. It felt like sneaking out after hours to watch the jasmine bloom, ducking behind the hedges and cursing her bright coat. She always came home late, fetlocks stained grass-green—
“But I suppose you’re already very late, aren’t you? Getting home?” Ultima turned on him very sharply, her rough little voice shot through with urgency. “Were you lost? Did you get carried away? Does that happen? … Often?” (She’d once been swept off by the river, not very far, but it’d sent the entire household into a frenzy. Cautious, she took a small step back from the rising tide.) “Golly, you ought to run.”
“Ocean,” she repeated, testing the syllables, the soft hush of a transition that sounded like the surf’s hissing, sh sh sh. It was like secret-keeping, don’t tell or we’ll be caught! And it was like a lullaby, too, the light snuffing out with a wink in the west, only the halo of the boy’s lantern left standing. (And the stars. But even the stars were different here; she never wished to them; she didn’t know what they were saying.) Minerva used to sweep in before bed, regal as a crane, humming something phenomenally soft for an old bird with vocal chords like a steel file – now, lightyears away from anything familiar (anyone who loved her), Ultima rather regret saying as much.
She laughed, a fairy bell ringing bittersweet in the blue dark.
“Oh, very far. I couldn’t even begin to say how far. There wasn’t any ocean there. We had forests, though, and a million songbirds, and a m—” The m drew out for a beat. “—ountain.” There was another little gust of air and she lifted her chin into it, tassel-threads brushing against her neck. Lost as she was, it seemed some things never changed: the night was wider but brought the same calm it always had, and the lantern’s glow lent it a certain warmth, a certain comfort. It felt like sneaking out after hours to watch the jasmine bloom, ducking behind the hedges and cursing her bright coat. She always came home late, fetlocks stained grass-green—
“But I suppose you’re already very late, aren’t you? Getting home?” Ultima turned on him very sharply, her rough little voice shot through with urgency. “Were you lost? Did you get carried away? Does that happen? … Often?” (She’d once been swept off by the river, not very far, but it’d sent the entire household into a frenzy. Cautious, she took a small step back from the rising tide.) “Golly, you ought to run.”
command me to be well.
i just wanna *clenches fist* give u + tillyboo the best i've got!!!!!!
@tilney
 | please tag ultima in all posts! force/magic a-ok, shy of killing/maiming her! |
