Chocolate 14; Pistachio 30
Author: Marina
Story: Shifts universe (AU)
Challenge: Chocolate 14 (vengeance), Pistachio 30 ((not so) happily ever after)
Toppings: Chopped Nuts (Eleazar would never do this, but speculation is fun!)
Word Count: 1,249
Rating: PG
Summary: Oriana comes home from a date one fateful night…
Notes: This is Miyabi’s fault. However, any reality where Isabelle discovers Earl before Rupert does is at least a little OK by me. (This got away from me a bit, but after writing it I have decided that I want to revisit this scenario in the future, see what comes before and after it.)
The stick shift rammed her in the side yet again, and Oriana finally gave up trying to ignore it, pulling back. “This is really uncomfortable,” she said, apologetically.
Tim smiled sheepishly and began to detangle his fingers from her hair. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay. Why don’t you come in, instead? We can go to my room. No one’s home to notice.”
“That sounds good.” He kissed her one more time and then moved to get out of the car.
Grinning, she followed suit, but when she stood up to shut the door, she caught sight of her date’s now horror-stricken face and frowned. “What’s wrong?”
“Ori, I think your house is on fire.”
She whirled around to see that three of the windows glowed with a flickering red-orange light, and that several more were beginning to as well. “Shit! Call the fire department!” She did not wait for Tim to obey her, hurrying to unlock the gate. As she ran up the walk, the fire spread exponentially, the flames beginning to pour out the windows.
Before she could run inside, however, Tim dashed after her and caught her around the waist. “You can’t go in there,” he shouted.
“I have to! Someone might be stuck inside!”
“You said no one was home!”
“I said that to be sexy! I don’t actually know!”
Suddenly, the door snapped off its hinges and flew over the front steps, bouncing once on the cobblestone and landing barely a yard ahead and to the right of them, burning so strongly that they could feel the heat. Shocked into stillness, Oriana watched as the grass around it caught fire until something in her periphery caught her attention, and she looked back up at the doorway.
Her brother stood in the now-jagged opening, seemingly on fire himself and yet perfectly calm, even controlled. He slowly descended the steps as the masonry behind him began to turn black.
She broke free of Tim’s grip, shoving him back down the walk. “Run!”
“What-“
“Just do it!” Strengthened by her panic, she tugged hard at his arm, and this time he did as she told him. When they got to the gate, she looked back to see that Eleazar had made it to the flaming door and that not an inch of him was even a bit burnt, which confirmed her suspicions.
He had started the fire.
She closed and locked the gate behind them, hoping to stall him at least a little if he intended to come after them. “Give me your keys,” she said to Tim, and he handed them over without a fight.
A siren sounded in the distance. “Did you call the fire department?” she asked.
“No, I was trying to keep you from getting killed. You drive, I’ll call.”
She nodded and got in the driver’s seat, barely noticing the fact that the siren was growing louder by the second. She knew how to drive a stick, but she had been using an automatic for years. This damn thing better not stall, she thought, turning the key in the ignition.
Before she could pull away from the curb, the source of the siren pulled up across the street. Five people she did not recognize, but who were clearly not emergency personnel of any kind, tumbled out of the van and flew toward the house. Oriana frowned and got back out of the car in order to see what was going on. One of the women merely held up a hand, and the gate blew down as easily as the door had, crashing with a discordant clang.
They’re users, Oriana realized, and some of the tightness in her chest began to loosen.
“Eleazar Kopen,” the woman said loudly, “you are to stand down immediately, or face the consequences.”
Eleazar’s head snapped toward her, and his eyes narrowed. Don’t hurt her! Oriana wanted to shout, but the others were one step ahead of her. Just as her brother launched his attack, a transparent shield formed around the five, and one of them stayed back, planting her feet as she held it, while the other four continued to advance. Eleazar’s fire deflected off the shield, and he stepped back in surprise.
One of the men picked up his pace and moved out of the range of the shield, a smaller one forming around him as he went. He stepped right up to Eleazar and snatched him around the wrist. Seconds later, the fire surrounding Eleazar disappeared, and he sank to his knees, clearly overcome.
“It’s safe!” the man reported, and the shield dissipated.
“What the hell was that?” Tim cried. Oriana had not seen him get out of the car, but there he stood, transfixed by the scene.
“It’s okay,” she said. “They came to help us. I’ll explain in a second.” Without waiting to see if he would follow, she left the protection of the car and approached the group of users.
The first woman, whom she now recognized as an old friend of her father’s, glanced back, saw her, and left the others, who were busy restraining her brother. “I didn’t realize you were here,” she said. “Are you all right?”
“Yeah, fine, thanks.” Oriana tugged on a lock of her hair, feeling unusually timid.
“Did one of you call the fire department?”
“I think my date did. Remind me of your name?”
She offered her hand. “Isabelle Wellingstone. You must be Oriana.”
“That’s right. How did you know to come?”
“Your father had a special alarm installed years ago,” she said, with a small smile. “He wanted to make sure that people who could handle the situation would come to combat it if Eleazar’s ability got out of hand, as it did tonight. When the fire started to spread, we got the signal and came to investigate. Were you in the house when the fire started?”
Oriana shook her head.
“Do you know of anyone who was?”
“No, we were in the car.”
Isabelle laid a sympathetic hand on her shoulder. “You and your friend should come with us for now,” she said. Oriana nodded in agreement, glancing back at Tim and wincing in guilt at his obvious confusion and terror. Isabelle turned back to the others. “Earl? Are we done here?”
The man who had stopped Eleazar hurried over. “We’ve secured him,” he said. “Who’s this?”
“His sister,” Isabelle said. “Oriana, this is Earl Johnson, my trusted assistant. He’ll ride with the two of you and direct you to my house.”
“Good to meet you,” Earl said, also shaking Oriana’s hand and falling into step with her as they headed back toward the car. He gestured to Tim with his head. “Is he magic?”
“Not as far as I know.”
He cracked a smile. “What a way to find out.”
“Yeah, I wouldn’t want to be him right now.”
She was saved from having to offer an awkward, halting explanation by Earl, who extended his hand to Tim when they reached him. “I’m Earl Johnson,” he said. “I’m to take you and Oriana where the others are going, and we’ll have time to sit down and discuss this when we get there. It’s not far.”
“Sure,” Tim said, as if he couldn’t think of anything else to say. Earl and Oriana glanced at each other, silently agreeing to just accept that for the moment, and started for the car, Oriana tucking her hand in the crook of Tim’s elbow in an attempt at comfort.
Story: Shifts universe (AU)
Challenge: Chocolate 14 (vengeance), Pistachio 30 ((not so) happily ever after)
Toppings: Chopped Nuts (Eleazar would never do this, but speculation is fun!)
Word Count: 1,249
Rating: PG
Summary: Oriana comes home from a date one fateful night…
Notes: This is Miyabi’s fault. However, any reality where Isabelle discovers Earl before Rupert does is at least a little OK by me. (This got away from me a bit, but after writing it I have decided that I want to revisit this scenario in the future, see what comes before and after it.)
The stick shift rammed her in the side yet again, and Oriana finally gave up trying to ignore it, pulling back. “This is really uncomfortable,” she said, apologetically.
Tim smiled sheepishly and began to detangle his fingers from her hair. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay. Why don’t you come in, instead? We can go to my room. No one’s home to notice.”
“That sounds good.” He kissed her one more time and then moved to get out of the car.
Grinning, she followed suit, but when she stood up to shut the door, she caught sight of her date’s now horror-stricken face and frowned. “What’s wrong?”
“Ori, I think your house is on fire.”
She whirled around to see that three of the windows glowed with a flickering red-orange light, and that several more were beginning to as well. “Shit! Call the fire department!” She did not wait for Tim to obey her, hurrying to unlock the gate. As she ran up the walk, the fire spread exponentially, the flames beginning to pour out the windows.
Before she could run inside, however, Tim dashed after her and caught her around the waist. “You can’t go in there,” he shouted.
“I have to! Someone might be stuck inside!”
“You said no one was home!”
“I said that to be sexy! I don’t actually know!”
Suddenly, the door snapped off its hinges and flew over the front steps, bouncing once on the cobblestone and landing barely a yard ahead and to the right of them, burning so strongly that they could feel the heat. Shocked into stillness, Oriana watched as the grass around it caught fire until something in her periphery caught her attention, and she looked back up at the doorway.
Her brother stood in the now-jagged opening, seemingly on fire himself and yet perfectly calm, even controlled. He slowly descended the steps as the masonry behind him began to turn black.
She broke free of Tim’s grip, shoving him back down the walk. “Run!”
“What-“
“Just do it!” Strengthened by her panic, she tugged hard at his arm, and this time he did as she told him. When they got to the gate, she looked back to see that Eleazar had made it to the flaming door and that not an inch of him was even a bit burnt, which confirmed her suspicions.
He had started the fire.
She closed and locked the gate behind them, hoping to stall him at least a little if he intended to come after them. “Give me your keys,” she said to Tim, and he handed them over without a fight.
A siren sounded in the distance. “Did you call the fire department?” she asked.
“No, I was trying to keep you from getting killed. You drive, I’ll call.”
She nodded and got in the driver’s seat, barely noticing the fact that the siren was growing louder by the second. She knew how to drive a stick, but she had been using an automatic for years. This damn thing better not stall, she thought, turning the key in the ignition.
Before she could pull away from the curb, the source of the siren pulled up across the street. Five people she did not recognize, but who were clearly not emergency personnel of any kind, tumbled out of the van and flew toward the house. Oriana frowned and got back out of the car in order to see what was going on. One of the women merely held up a hand, and the gate blew down as easily as the door had, crashing with a discordant clang.
They’re users, Oriana realized, and some of the tightness in her chest began to loosen.
“Eleazar Kopen,” the woman said loudly, “you are to stand down immediately, or face the consequences.”
Eleazar’s head snapped toward her, and his eyes narrowed. Don’t hurt her! Oriana wanted to shout, but the others were one step ahead of her. Just as her brother launched his attack, a transparent shield formed around the five, and one of them stayed back, planting her feet as she held it, while the other four continued to advance. Eleazar’s fire deflected off the shield, and he stepped back in surprise.
One of the men picked up his pace and moved out of the range of the shield, a smaller one forming around him as he went. He stepped right up to Eleazar and snatched him around the wrist. Seconds later, the fire surrounding Eleazar disappeared, and he sank to his knees, clearly overcome.
“It’s safe!” the man reported, and the shield dissipated.
“What the hell was that?” Tim cried. Oriana had not seen him get out of the car, but there he stood, transfixed by the scene.
“It’s okay,” she said. “They came to help us. I’ll explain in a second.” Without waiting to see if he would follow, she left the protection of the car and approached the group of users.
The first woman, whom she now recognized as an old friend of her father’s, glanced back, saw her, and left the others, who were busy restraining her brother. “I didn’t realize you were here,” she said. “Are you all right?”
“Yeah, fine, thanks.” Oriana tugged on a lock of her hair, feeling unusually timid.
“Did one of you call the fire department?”
“I think my date did. Remind me of your name?”
She offered her hand. “Isabelle Wellingstone. You must be Oriana.”
“That’s right. How did you know to come?”
“Your father had a special alarm installed years ago,” she said, with a small smile. “He wanted to make sure that people who could handle the situation would come to combat it if Eleazar’s ability got out of hand, as it did tonight. When the fire started to spread, we got the signal and came to investigate. Were you in the house when the fire started?”
Oriana shook her head.
“Do you know of anyone who was?”
“No, we were in the car.”
Isabelle laid a sympathetic hand on her shoulder. “You and your friend should come with us for now,” she said. Oriana nodded in agreement, glancing back at Tim and wincing in guilt at his obvious confusion and terror. Isabelle turned back to the others. “Earl? Are we done here?”
The man who had stopped Eleazar hurried over. “We’ve secured him,” he said. “Who’s this?”
“His sister,” Isabelle said. “Oriana, this is Earl Johnson, my trusted assistant. He’ll ride with the two of you and direct you to my house.”
“Good to meet you,” Earl said, also shaking Oriana’s hand and falling into step with her as they headed back toward the car. He gestured to Tim with his head. “Is he magic?”
“Not as far as I know.”
He cracked a smile. “What a way to find out.”
“Yeah, I wouldn’t want to be him right now.”
She was saved from having to offer an awkward, halting explanation by Earl, who extended his hand to Tim when they reached him. “I’m Earl Johnson,” he said. “I’m to take you and Oriana where the others are going, and we’ll have time to sit down and discuss this when we get there. It’s not far.”
“Sure,” Tim said, as if he couldn’t think of anything else to say. Earl and Oriana glanced at each other, silently agreeing to just accept that for the moment, and started for the car, Oriana tucking her hand in the crook of Tim’s elbow in an attempt at comfort.