John shook his head. “Your hearing is much better than mine, Harry. I guess you are a real Sentinel now.”
“Ah! Yes!” Harry crowed excitedly. “Well, no, not quite. It’s only hearing yet, but I know the others will kick in soon. And about time! I’ve been waiting years for this. Though I know, it never kicks in too young, but Clyde beat me and that’s just shameful. At least I’m ahead of Roger. Oh, John, I feel like my birthright is coming to me. Like this great inheritance. This amazing responsibility is on me. It’s scary, but it’s … oh god, how do I even describe it!” She was bubbling
( ... )
Harry’s foot stilled for a second, then started swinging again. “Yeah, okay, you are ordinary, John. And I’m teasing. But you know what? You rock ordinary. You have a talent for ordinary. And that makes you kind of special, at least to me.” She said it very fondly, but he couldn’t help but hear the disappointment in it.
Good. There was nothing at all wrong with ordinary, John decided. He looked for the chameleon again, thinking perhaps he could catch it and keep it as a pet, but he couldn’t find it.
Harry’s was insufferably smug for two days, and then the downside of being a Sentinel crashed in on her. She spent Tuesday in her room. John tried to see her, partially because he felt bad for her, partially because her misery seemed to permeate the house. But Father intervened. He was a Sentinel, and Mother was a Guide. They knew what they were doing, and John was in the way
( ... )
He knew what it was. If there had been a real lynx in Harry’s bedroom, both she and their parents would have raised an alarm. And where would one even come from? A zoo? No it was a spirit guide. Which meant that John could see spirit guides
( ... )
Harry was hurting and it was waking John up. He rolled over and covered his head with a pillow, but it muffled nothing. Her feelings pounded at him like a panic attack. Please. He thought desperately her way. Dial it down. Just dial it down the way mom tells Dad.
He heard the door creek open. Oh, God Harry. No. Don’t come in. Go to sleep. She must have sensed him somehow
( ... )
They set off for Aberdeen Tower at first light, the next morning. Harry was doing much better, which pleased Mother and Father a lot. They’d been worried how she would take the long trip. John volunteered to stay home but his parents for once remembered that they had a second child and had notions about this being a family affair, and somehow making it up to him by treating him to an afternoon in the City
( ... )
He glanced over her shoulder and saw his Father looking sharply at him for a second before his eyes seemed to be diverted elsewhere. Mother quickly stepped in and pulled Harry off of him. “She’s had you next to her all her life,” said Mother, apologetically. “She’s always protected you. And now that she’s a Sentinel that instinct is more powerful.” Mother turned to Harry who seemed dazed. “Dial it down, dear. John’s going to be safe. Don’t worry. Dad and I will watch him for you
( ... )
A flicker of movement. John saw his little lizard, trying to blend with the mauve fabric of the seatback. Unnatural. And he got the faint sense of reluctance from it, as though it disapproved of his actions. As if it, too, thought he should turn himself in. For a moment he considered getting out and walking up to those two Sentinels and admitting he was a Guide. It was the law after all. But once he’d done that, there was no taking it back. The thought made him feel sick.
Not yet, he told it. One day - just not yet.
The spirit guide stilled and seemed to vanish. It’s reluctance disappeared with it. John let out the deep breath he was holding. One day, he’d turn himself in. When he was older. When he was ready. When his other options stopped being better. When he’d found a Sentinel he was willing to bond with. And not a moment before.
And now the scene is set. The Holmes brothers come in next section.
Re: Fill: Chameleon Prologue-8/? Warning: non-con themes, mild incestiness
anonymous
May 14 2011, 22:45:12 UTC
I love Sentinel/Guide AUs, I read the one set in victorian times, and I am glad that someone is doing one for this one. And John being able to hide himself because his spirit guide is Chamelion is a great idea!
Are you going to do a time jump to when they meet as adults?
Ho yes! I love that one too, I wish it would update. I keep looking hopefully at it, but so far no. But I read it about 16 times before deciding I had to write this. Of course my plot will be significantly different from that one. And I've altered the circumstances and the backstory somewhat because I'm rather a fan of forced bonding.
And btw, yes, next part jumps ahead 15 years to when they are all adults and John's a Doctor.
That was so amazing. Every time John almost got caught, my heartbeat sped up and I tensed up on my chair. That was a delicious prologue. I can only imagine how wonderful the rest of this is going to be. The interaction with Harry was especially intense. I loved it.
I was grossed out, as incest is My Squick, but for me, that was an important part to the emotional response I was feeling. I needed to feel that to understand the lure of a Guide to an unbonded Sentinel, to feel the desperation that transcends societal bonds, to comprehend just why Guides are segregated the way they are until they are bonded, to understand on a visceral level exactly the decision John is choosing to make, and to set the stage for the world you have built. I think you did beautifully
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John shook his head. “Your hearing is much better than mine, Harry. I guess you are a real Sentinel now.”
“Ah! Yes!” Harry crowed excitedly. “Well, no, not quite. It’s only hearing yet, but I know the others will kick in soon. And about time! I’ve been waiting years for this. Though I know, it never kicks in too young, but Clyde beat me and that’s just shameful. At least I’m ahead of Roger. Oh, John, I feel like my birthright is coming to me. Like this great inheritance. This amazing responsibility is on me. It’s scary, but it’s … oh god, how do I even describe it!” She was bubbling ( ... )
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Good. There was nothing at all wrong with ordinary, John decided. He looked for the chameleon again, thinking perhaps he could catch it and keep it as a pet, but he couldn’t find it.
Harry’s was insufferably smug for two days, and then the downside of being a Sentinel crashed in on her. She spent Tuesday in her room. John tried to see her, partially because he felt bad for her, partially because her misery seemed to permeate the house. But Father intervened. He was a Sentinel, and Mother was a Guide. They knew what they were doing, and John was in the way ( ... )
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He heard the door creek open. Oh, God Harry. No. Don’t come in. Go to sleep. She must have sensed him somehow ( ... )
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Not yet, he told it. One day - just not yet.
The spirit guide stilled and seemed to vanish. It’s reluctance disappeared with it. John let out the deep breath he was holding. One day, he’d turn himself in. When he was older. When he was ready. When his other options stopped being better. When he’d found a Sentinel he was willing to bond with. And not a moment before.
And now the scene is set. The Holmes brothers come in next section.
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Are you going to do a time jump to when they meet as adults?
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And btw, yes, next part jumps ahead 15 years to when they are all adults and John's a Doctor.
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