Post by orinocoflow on Jan 8, 2012 20:05:13 GMT -5
So, this is a bit of an unusual story I wrote for Furb and it turned out longer than I first expected. After thinking a bit, I brainstormed and discovered that I had a novel in the making out of this. Whether this will turn into the next MIK I don't know yet, but let's hope it fares better than MIK did if I ever try entering it in a contest. MIK was one vote away from getting third place ONE. SINGLE. VOTE. *ahem* anywho, enjoy the story!
Sam stared at the flickering lights in the dark, evening sky above her. It was slightly chilly, but then again, it was October, after all, so what else could she expect? It was the eve of her sixteenth birthday and she was out here in the fields alone with no one but her cat and the smell of sweet grass surrounding her.
“It’s pretty at night,” she murmured sleepily. The motorboat purring at her hip grew louder and the striped cat yawned, then crawled over to lie on her stomach.
“Oof! Haden! Too heavy!” she giggled, ruffling the soft fur and earning a faceful of eager licking in return. “Oh, fine, stay. Just don’t go bringing me breakfast,” she added, seeing the way the cat was watching the birds in the nearby tree with hunger.
“Oh, how I would love to be able to fly among those stars…why does that only happen in stories?”
As she dozed off, she could have sworn there was a ripple in the air above, the stars shivering as something passed by.
***
“Som……” a soft, haunting voice called by her ear. Prying her eyes open, she gasped soundlessly at the pale face hovering above her, blue eyes glowing in the starry night inches over her face, black hair rumpled by a light breeze and blending with the night. Blinking to make sure she was truly awake, she shifted so the figure was silhouetted by the moon.
The bold, young features of a teenager no older than herself stood in a dark profile, his gaze squinting to focus on her better, the high-collared black cloak making him seem sinister…yet harmless, as though he was just posing in the outfit to try and convince himself that he was a man to be reckoned with.
“Who are you? What are you doing here?” she hissed, trying to back away but finding herself drawn to him.
“My name is insignificant. But yours, Som, is unique…”
“It’s Sam, not Som,” she clarified, her voice strangely weak.
The boy frowned, a thin crease denting his smooth forehead and casting a shadow on those bright eyes. “That’s what I said, isn’t it?”
“No, it’s…never mind. What are you doing here?” She had forgotten that this person had yet to name himself. Somehow, it felt like he…belonged there in that field with her.
He cocked his head to the side, arching one eyebrow, and smiled slightly. “Didn’t you want to fly among the stars?” She nodded numbly. “Well, I can offer that. Here, take my hand and I’ll show you.”
Just as she opened her mouth to reply, a loud howling filled the air and she scrunched her eyes shut, plugging her ears against the deafening sound, her hair blowing in her face and tangling around her nose, making it difficult to breathe. Lights flashed before her eyes, blinding even through her closed lids. Momentary panic filled her, but as she lay there, she felt a whisper of a touch by her cheek.
“I’ll come back for ye when I can, when I am old enough to gain control.” The boy’s voice soothed her soul as it appeared in her mind, but whether he had spoken or she had imagined his words, she did not know.
As suddenly as it had occurred, the howling ceased and the lights dimmed to the normal sparkling stars in the night sky. Sam tentatively opened her eyes to find that it was as though nothing had changed, nothing had happened, there had been no boy…
“Okay…my imagination is getting a little too adventurous,” she mused, hugging Haden to her chest. The cat, however, had other ideas. Hissing, he leapt from her arms and made a beeline for the house, his tail four times its normal size.
It has just been her imagination…right?
***
Sam stared at the flickering lights in the dark, evening sky above her. It was slightly chilly, but then again, it was October, after all, so what else could she expect? It was the eve of her sixteenth birthday and she was out here in the fields alone with no one but her cat and the smell of sweet grass surrounding her.
“It’s pretty at night,” she murmured sleepily. The motorboat purring at her hip grew louder and the striped cat yawned, then crawled over to lie on her stomach.
“Oof! Haden! Too heavy!” she giggled, ruffling the soft fur and earning a faceful of eager licking in return. “Oh, fine, stay. Just don’t go bringing me breakfast,” she added, seeing the way the cat was watching the birds in the nearby tree with hunger.
“Oh, how I would love to be able to fly among those stars…why does that only happen in stories?”
As she dozed off, she could have sworn there was a ripple in the air above, the stars shivering as something passed by.
***
“Som……” a soft, haunting voice called by her ear. Prying her eyes open, she gasped soundlessly at the pale face hovering above her, blue eyes glowing in the starry night inches over her face, black hair rumpled by a light breeze and blending with the night. Blinking to make sure she was truly awake, she shifted so the figure was silhouetted by the moon.
The bold, young features of a teenager no older than herself stood in a dark profile, his gaze squinting to focus on her better, the high-collared black cloak making him seem sinister…yet harmless, as though he was just posing in the outfit to try and convince himself that he was a man to be reckoned with.
“Who are you? What are you doing here?” she hissed, trying to back away but finding herself drawn to him.
“My name is insignificant. But yours, Som, is unique…”
“It’s Sam, not Som,” she clarified, her voice strangely weak.
The boy frowned, a thin crease denting his smooth forehead and casting a shadow on those bright eyes. “That’s what I said, isn’t it?”
“No, it’s…never mind. What are you doing here?” She had forgotten that this person had yet to name himself. Somehow, it felt like he…belonged there in that field with her.
He cocked his head to the side, arching one eyebrow, and smiled slightly. “Didn’t you want to fly among the stars?” She nodded numbly. “Well, I can offer that. Here, take my hand and I’ll show you.”
Just as she opened her mouth to reply, a loud howling filled the air and she scrunched her eyes shut, plugging her ears against the deafening sound, her hair blowing in her face and tangling around her nose, making it difficult to breathe. Lights flashed before her eyes, blinding even through her closed lids. Momentary panic filled her, but as she lay there, she felt a whisper of a touch by her cheek.
“I’ll come back for ye when I can, when I am old enough to gain control.” The boy’s voice soothed her soul as it appeared in her mind, but whether he had spoken or she had imagined his words, she did not know.
As suddenly as it had occurred, the howling ceased and the lights dimmed to the normal sparkling stars in the night sky. Sam tentatively opened her eyes to find that it was as though nothing had changed, nothing had happened, there had been no boy…
“Okay…my imagination is getting a little too adventurous,” she mused, hugging Haden to her chest. The cat, however, had other ideas. Hissing, he leapt from her arms and made a beeline for the house, his tail four times its normal size.
It has just been her imagination…right?
***