Dark Water [Farscape]. Rated PG.
Chiana and John have a moment during their stay on Earth. Precurser to Terra Firma, after Kansas. Rated PG.
Archived: here and here.
Disclaimer: Farscape is owned by The Jim Henson Company, Hallmark Entertainment, Nine Network Australia and the Sci-Fi Channel. I just like to play.
Author’s Notes: I wrote this while sitting in my contemporary fiction class back around March. I had just read one of the assignments, which got me thinking, and I had Chiana’s red bikini on my mind, and the thoughts gave way into this.
Sorry is there are any glaring or maybe not-so-glaring grammar mistakes. I tried to look over as best I could, but sometimes things slide right past you. Find something and tell me and I'll be very grateful. ;]
Hope you enjoy.
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Her skin is grey in the moonlight, but then, it’s always that shade.
The water’s shining off her face, casting shadows that dance along
her features. Eyes that are rimmed with darkness, cheek and
collarbones jutting out prominently, it takes me a moment to realize
that she’s gained some weight, here on Earth. I wonder about
gravity and beams of light as I watch her move in the water, her
bare skin shining and damp.
She’s been wearing red since we’ve been here, clashing with her skin.
The bikini looks darker in the moonlight. Whenever I see her in red, I am
assaulted by my visions of her broken body, the blood that’s on my hands,
and it takes me a minute to remember that her blood is not crimson and
my visions aren’t real. Not like hers are. Not like the blood on my hands is.
Her eyes roll back in her head and she collapses. I leap to my feet as she slips
underneath the surface, the water folding around her and turning glassy,
as if she never existed. Maybe she didn’t. Maybe she’s just a ghost and the
past four years have only been dreams. I don’t pay any attention to these
thoughts-the laka in my pocket is real enough, as is the ache in my heart.
I’m in the water immediately, my clothes weighing me down. I find her easily,
her skin luminescent and shimmering in the dark water. Her eyes are open and
white. Everything is black and white and grey underneath the water.
Everything is black and white and grey with her. The red bikini is nearly navy
underneath the water. I pull her onto the shore of the lake with ease.
Her body is so light.
Tilt her head back, don’t obstruct air passageways… breathe for her.
She chokes up water when she wakes and I grimace, reminded of the
time the Other One drowned and how I tried to wake that lifeless body,
black hair getting tangled in my fingers, cold skin freezing mine.
But Chiana is warm and alive as she reaches out to me, pulling me into her arms.
Dark water will claim us, she says cryptically and I frown at her. She looks
at me with sad, unseeing eyes. She looks at me. Don’t let her go, John,
she says. I feel something wet slide down my cheek. I want to pretend it’s
from my wet hair, but it tastes salty and horrible in my mouth. What does
this taste like? Yesterday.
Dark water, she repeats, and I listen.
I’ll always listen to the ones that understand.
Archived: here and here.
Disclaimer: Farscape is owned by The Jim Henson Company, Hallmark Entertainment, Nine Network Australia and the Sci-Fi Channel. I just like to play.
Author’s Notes: I wrote this while sitting in my contemporary fiction class back around March. I had just read one of the assignments, which got me thinking, and I had Chiana’s red bikini on my mind, and the thoughts gave way into this.
Sorry is there are any glaring or maybe not-so-glaring grammar mistakes. I tried to look over as best I could, but sometimes things slide right past you. Find something and tell me and I'll be very grateful. ;]
Hope you enjoy.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Her skin is grey in the moonlight, but then, it’s always that shade.
The water’s shining off her face, casting shadows that dance along
her features. Eyes that are rimmed with darkness, cheek and
collarbones jutting out prominently, it takes me a moment to realize
that she’s gained some weight, here on Earth. I wonder about
gravity and beams of light as I watch her move in the water, her
bare skin shining and damp.
She’s been wearing red since we’ve been here, clashing with her skin.
The bikini looks darker in the moonlight. Whenever I see her in red, I am
assaulted by my visions of her broken body, the blood that’s on my hands,
and it takes me a minute to remember that her blood is not crimson and
my visions aren’t real. Not like hers are. Not like the blood on my hands is.
Her eyes roll back in her head and she collapses. I leap to my feet as she slips
underneath the surface, the water folding around her and turning glassy,
as if she never existed. Maybe she didn’t. Maybe she’s just a ghost and the
past four years have only been dreams. I don’t pay any attention to these
thoughts-the laka in my pocket is real enough, as is the ache in my heart.
I’m in the water immediately, my clothes weighing me down. I find her easily,
her skin luminescent and shimmering in the dark water. Her eyes are open and
white. Everything is black and white and grey underneath the water.
Everything is black and white and grey with her. The red bikini is nearly navy
underneath the water. I pull her onto the shore of the lake with ease.
Her body is so light.
Tilt her head back, don’t obstruct air passageways… breathe for her.
She chokes up water when she wakes and I grimace, reminded of the
time the Other One drowned and how I tried to wake that lifeless body,
black hair getting tangled in my fingers, cold skin freezing mine.
But Chiana is warm and alive as she reaches out to me, pulling me into her arms.
Dark water will claim us, she says cryptically and I frown at her. She looks
at me with sad, unseeing eyes. She looks at me. Don’t let her go, John,
she says. I feel something wet slide down my cheek. I want to pretend it’s
from my wet hair, but it tastes salty and horrible in my mouth. What does
this taste like? Yesterday.
Dark water, she repeats, and I listen.
I’ll always listen to the ones that understand.