Private Tales Ash and Iron

[Maeve]

Maeve had her eyes screwed up tight causing a small crease over her nose.

Right Mae, focus on the air. Yes... I can breathe it in. Sure, I feel it. Little cold up here to be honest... would have been nicer back at the lake with that spring bree-- FOCUS. Focus! Scents. Well that was easy, I have always been taught how to do it. Perhaps faintly I can hear it? In the trees with all that rustling. Pretty distracting rustling to be honest...

She gave an irritated sigh.

"It never listens to me anyway, it does its own thing," and often laughed at her for her misfortunes.

 

[Lorcán]

"Of course it does it's own thing. Why should it listen to you when you don't listen to it? You're not focusing." he quirked a brow.

"Alright.." he shrugged, producing the rose he'd picked down by the lake and removing the petals to scatter them on the stone between them both. "Sometimes it's easier when we can see it." he glanced at her, and looked back at the petals. All at once they rose up into the air between them, swirling around in a small vortex of his making before they swirled around her and brushed against her cheek.

"You just...Tell them what you want them to do, and they'll do it." he shrugged, as though it were that simple. To him it was, it'd been such a long time since he'd learned to control his magic himself that there was no simpler way to explain it.

 

[Maeve]

Maeve made a face at him, assuming that he too was closing his eyes like she was. Of course she was focusing! Or at least trying to focus. It wasn't like she didn't like learning; her tutors had always been very complimentary on her dedication to her work. Magic was just... alien to her. It was something she had been taught to fear and respect in equal measures and now she found it coursing through her veins. It was... frightening.

With a sigh she gave herself a shake.

"You just said it wouldn't listen to me!" Mae exclaimed incredulously, opening her eyes and throwing a glare at him as the petals swirled about her. "How can I tell it what to do if it won't listen to me!?" As her anger began to rise the air about her, lifting tendrils of her hair.

 

[Lorcán]

Lòrcan's brow quirked for a brief moment, and then he frowned and gave her an exasperated growl. "It'll listen if you focus! Fucking hell Mae, it's not difficult. Maybe if you take your head out of your ass for a damned minute you'd learn something." he spat.

"Do you want to learn? Because it doesn't seem like you do, stop shutting yourself off and fucking concentrate!" he slapped his hand down on the stone next to him and the petals all fell...

 

[Maeve]

Maeve gaped at him.

"Take my head out of my arse!?" She spluttered when she could finally wrap her head around the idiocy that had just come out of his mouth. Before the petals hit the floor they stopped and quivered with the rage running through her.

"My head!?" She surged to her feet and with her came the petals. "You're the one giving me rubbish advice! Tell it what to do, but don't, listen but don't!" Her hands clenched into fists so tight she knew she was going to leave imprints of her nails in her palms.

The tiny pain sent the petals up in flames.

 

[Lorcán]

Lòrcan ignored his own pain, his gaze remaining fixed on her with the same irate frown despite his urge to grin as her anger rose and her power with it. She seemed entirely oblivious as she yelled at him, that temper that simmered just underneath the surface rising up like a furnace, and he so enjoyed fanning those flames.

He'd had his suspicions that fire ran in her veins, he'd noticed the flames in the hearth, but as the petals burst into little flames and the cinders fluttered back to the stone, his suspicions were confirmed. Now he grinned at her, suppressing a shudder that rolled across his back at the sight of even a hint of her rage.

"Good." he nodded, his cheeks dimpling as he let out a quiet laugh. "Looks like you stole a little more of my power than I realised.." his dark brow quirked at her. He gestured for her to sit back down..

"If anger is your trigger then we can channel and hone it, use it as your power source. You just, need to learn to control it.. It needs an outlet, or.. " he frowned slightly. "Lets just say it's not good." he smirked.

"Close your eyes again, and try to relax. This time I want you to take yourself back to a time of anger, and pain. I know it's not easy, but you need to face it to master it. You must control it, not the other way around.." he nodded to her. "Just remember where you are, and that you're safe."

 

[Maeve]

Good?!

The word halted her tirade enough for her to listen as he laughed and revealed his nasty little trick. She wanted to slap that smug, rugged grin from his face but all she found she could do was open and close her mouth like a floundering guppy. Crossing her legs she dropped to the floor in a huff and only then seemed to notice the cinders that surrounded her in an almost perfect circle. A grimace crossed her face at his warning and she thought of what else might have burned if she had not been so isolated.

"Making people angry doesn't tend to lead to relaxing," Maeve muttered but she did as she was told and shut her eyes.

It was a lot harder than she thought to go back to a time of anger and pain. As soon as Lòrcan had said it was what she needed to do she had known what memories were best, but it didn't make it any less difficult. They were memories that for a year had been the source of nightmares and terrors so bad she had woken herself with screaming.

With a deep breath she plunged back into them.

* * *​

"Get up," a nasty kick to her ribs was enough to rouse her from her exhaustion-driven slumber. She was never quick enough for Her tastes though and another boot to her hip reminded her of that. Maeve had got to her knees when the elf grabbed a fistful of her hair and yanked her up the rest of the way causing her to give a sharp cry of pain.

"Someone has been stealing from the stores," she explained as she dragged the human out of the tent kicking and squirming.

"It wasn't me!" she protested, trying desperately to grasp at the elf's slender wrist.

"That does not matter. You will all share in the punishment," the elf let go of her hair only to grab up her wrists and bind them to the pole already slick with blood in front of them. A sob broke from her lips as the shirt was torn from her back and the sound of a leather whip uncurled.

* * *​

Outside of her mind the air had begun to change. The temperature dropped and then the wind began to swirl and twist. Above the gay clouds turned dark and pregnant with incoming rain. With the first crack of the whip in the echoes of her memory a fork of lightning lit up the stormy sky.

 

[Lorcán]

He couldn't see what visions she saw in her mind, he hadn't intruded that much, but he couldn't help but feel those memories as she revisited the fear and pain, and he felt that rising fury in her. It was far more powerful than he'd realised.

His dark-golden eyes rose slowly toward the heavens, watching as the clouds darkened and the air cooled, his hair tousled by the rising wind.

What. The. Fuck?

The prince physically jolted as lightening struck from nowhere, wincing at the painful memory that Mae subjected herself to and he reached to take her hand. "Mae.." he said smoothly. "Remember where you are. They can't hurt you anymore.....Control it." he urged softly. Okay, so she had a lot more power than he'd realised.

 

[Maeve]

"Remember..."

* * *​

The heat was beating down upon her back as she dug her shovel into the dried up earth. Sweat stung her eyes causing tears she furiously wiped away to clear her vision. Next to her the other slaves were doing the same, their faces resigned and their eyes downcast for fear of another lashing. Graclyn to her left was faring the worst. She swayed on her feet and shivered despite the heat; her elf hadn't bothered to treat her wounds and they had grown infectious.

When the whistle blew at midday to stop Graclyn collapsed. The others gathered around her with worried murmurs as the elf tasked with watching them stormed over.

"She needs medicine," Maeve bent as though to try and pull the girl to her feet but the elf swatted her aside like a fly.

"She's weak," he shrugged and before Mae could speak again her had drawn his blade across the girls throat.

* * *
​

Lórcan's hand was like a lifeline and she gripped it to stop herself drowning. Safe. She was safe.

The storm above twisted and slowly, agonisingly slowly, a hole appeared in its centre and pushed outwards. The sun shone down once more upon the two whilst beyond their circle the storm raged on, though more muffled as though a barrier protected them from the rough weather.

 

[Lorcán]

Lòrcan idly brushed his thumb across her knuckles as he watched the clouds above in awe, however the pain in her expression caused his brow to furrow and he sent a wave of calm toward her as he shifted closer, lifting her hand to his chest a little hesitantly.

"Good just, focus on breathing.." He drew in a deep breath, letting her feel his chest rise and fall and rise...and fall. "Calm and controlled.." he breathed quietly, his gaze fixed on her intently and his pulse stumbling under her palm. Every second that he spent sending wave after soothing wave toward her was draining. He could feel the poison in his veins, clawing it's way toward his heart intent on halting it.

"You're safe.." he assured, his jaw clenching as he continued to breathe.

 

[Maeve]

It was a fine balancing act.

Rage and fear pulled at her on one side whilst Lórcan grounded her in safety on the other allowing her a modicum of control over the primal magic inside of her. That in itself was terrifying. She had felt it before of course but never had she allowed herself to let go quite so completely other than when she was healing.

Maeve slowed her breath to match his. In... and out... In...

The storm slowly evaporated and the birds hesitantly began to sing once more. Instead she made the storm smaller, brows farrowing up in concentration to make it rain directly over Lórcans head.

 

[Lorcán]

His lips tugged into a smirk as he watched her breathe..Not only was she far more powerful than he'd realised, but she was honing that fear and anger and channelling it already. He looked up to watch the storm shrink and gather above his head, a husky laugh tumbling from his lips at the first drop of rain.

His eyes closed as the little cloud rained down heavily upon him, his face cast toward it with a wide grin on his face. He'd forgotten to let her hand go, and so when he realised that he still held it his brow quirked and he suddenly pulled Mae in against him under her little rain cloud, water dripping from his face and hair stuck to his face.

 

[Maeve]

Breathe in... and o--

Perhaps he pulled a little too hard or maybe it was just because she had been so intently concentrating that she hadn't fought against him, but his yank not only brought her closer but sent her crashing into him. Maeve gasped in shock as the cold rainwater hit her. It ran down her spine and dropped from the sharp planes of her cheeks and nose onto his upturned face a bare few inches away from his.

Her attention sputtered and with it so did the storm but not before it gave one tiny little lightning bolt to Lórcan's nose.

"Not cool," she growled as the sun came out fully from behind the clouds.

 

[Lorcán]

His expression paused only briefly as she looked at him, his chest heaving with dying laughter. His gaze settled on her lips and he swallowed down that urge. Had he been at home, had he not been dying, had he not realised how little he appreciated things, he'd have presumed to grace those lips with a kiss. Yet Maeve wasn't one of the usual females who threw themselves at him, she deserved so much better than he was. He only wished he'd have longer to get to know her more.

The tiny spark of lightening hitting his nose dragged him from those thoughts with a flinch and he gave a sheepish smirk as he released her. "Very 'cool' actually.." he rubbed at his nose and ruffled his hand through his wet hair, his feathered wings floofing themselves out and shuddering off the rivulets of rain.

"Any more tricks up your sleeve?..." his brow quirked. "Seems you can not only manipulate air and fire but also the damned weather?.." he laughed under his breath.

 

[Maeve]

Maeve's eyes followed the caress of his fingers through the tangled wet mop of hair atop his head then to the wings blanketing their position. Were they as soft as the ravens they mimicked? She fought the urge to touch one of the little ones beneath the arch of his wing. Another droplet of rain ran down her nose and plopped onto his cheek making her smile despite the unease his words caused.

"I didn't mean to..." she wiped away that droplet of water by dragging the pad of her thumb across his cheek. "I was trying to control fire and air at the same time by making the flowers float and combust," she bit down on her lower lip and her brows drew together into a frown.

"I told you my magic just does what it wants."

 

[Lorcán]

His chest ached at the tender touch as she wiped the droplet from his face. He could only stare, drowning for a moment in the crystalline pools of her eyes, their brightness a contrast to the darkness of his. Mortals weren't supposed to be as beautiful as she was, perhaps being that she was both mortal and fae-touched she was a new kind of beauty, one that made even Lòrcan's mouth dry.

And by Gods he had to drag his gaze from her face as she bit on her lip like that, his hand rubbing at the back of his neck as he let out a huff of a laugh.. "I can see that.. It just takes practise. You know what makes it work, you just have to focus on it and shape it to your advantage." he smiled, daring to look back at her.

"Thank you for the shower."

 

[Maeve]

"You're welcome, you smelt pretty bad," she laughed and pushed herself to her feet.

Lazily she stretched onto her toes with her arms way up over her head before dropping back down. Her muscles felt heavy with the drain of the magic but surprisingly it didn't feel as awful as it had when she had attempted to heal him. Content she wasn't going to collapse Mae reached out a hand to offer him aid to his own feet.

"I think I need a break - from the magic - at least for a little while," she admitted even if it pained her to. She wanted to be strong not get tired after every spell. "So... can you... can you not control weather? Is that not normal?" Mae intended the question to be casual but the worry threaded through her voice like a stalking lion.

 

[Lorcán]

"I never smell bad." he countered with a wolfish grin. Fae could smell everything, he couldn't afford to smell bad, though he did often smell of females and alcohol. His eyes rolled as he thought of his brothers and Ama, and then his chest ached again. He never realised dying would make him so fucking emotional.

His throat cleared as he watched her stretch, lips twitching as he accepted her outstretched hand and got to his feet, squeezing her hand gently before letting go and stepping onto the smooth rocks that lined the pool, and hopping from one to the next toward the waterfall and caves.

"No, I can't." he answered, glancing over his shoulder with a laugh as she seemed to think there was something wrong with her after the power she'd just displayed. "It's rare, a powerful gift. From an ancestor, I'd expect, either one of yours or one of mine, I'm not sure." he shrugged.

"I have my own gifts, but they're not nearly as impressive." he told her, his voice now an echo as he stepped behind the fall and into the cavern beyond it.

 

[Maeve]

Maeve wrung her hands and stared at the spot where he had vanished. Impressive wasn't the word she would have used. Terrifying seemed far more suitable. As soon as the fae Prince vanished behind the fall, the wind around her laughed.

"Go away," she muttered and hopped onto one of the rocks to follow after him. Whatever the spirit that followed her was it was not entirely 'good' and did what it did for its own amusement rather than her safety. The fact it seemed to not like Lórcan was one of the few bonuses to being around the powerful fae. She breathed a sigh of relief when she felt it vanish as she entered the cavern behind the fall too.

"What is your magic then? You said I had taken... well, shouldn't our powers be the same?"

 

[Lorcán]

The grotto was larger than was to be expected from the mouth of the cave, ribbed with crystal and ore that seemed to glitter and reflect in the rock pools. He stepped up onto the rock in the centre of it and looked around with a small smile, the sound of echoing trickles and drips of water a delicate contrast to the rush of the fall.

He turned to look at her as she spoke to him, clearing his throat as he considered his answer.. "Well I can manipulate air and fire, like I said..." into weapons to slaughter and torture people with, he thought bitterly.. "And I can step into minds.." he said lightly as though it were as common as the ability to breathe.

"Who were you talking to out there?.." he asked casually, his arms folding over his chest as he quickly changed the subject.

 

[Maeve]

Maeve wandered over to one of the little pools where crustaceans had made their colourful home amid the jagged rocks. The ore that rippled through the mountainside illuminated each pool with a subtly different shade of blue or green. She crouched down beside the turquoise water and ran her fingers through it curiously. It was so clear she could see the lines of ore continued into the pools themselves illuminating them from within.

She was so lost marvelling at its beauty she almost didn't catch the casual way he admitted to being able to step into people's minds. Her head snapped up.

"I don't know," she dismissed with a shake of her head. "What does that mean? Step into people's minds? Read their thoughts? See their memories?" her eyes clouded with wariness. "Have you done that to me?"

 

[Lorcán]

He watched her study the rock pools with a slight smirk, but her question had him shake his head.

"No." he answered quickly.. "No I haven't been in your mind, and I won't... The empathic bond we share is.. different." he dragged both hands into his wet hair and laced his fingers behind his head as he huffed at her. "But yes I can read thoughts and see memories. I can also, manipulate things a little." he frowned.

"Magic is complicated.." he rumbled. "I'm over four hundred years old and sometimes I still don't fully understand it." he shrugged.

 

[Maeve]

Maeve visibly relaxed and went back to looking at the pool before her. The idea still unnerved her but if he said he wouldn't do it to her... well she only had today and tomorrow to worry about it, didn't she? Strangely that thought was not as comforting as it might have once been. She lowered her hand into the pool and carefully picked up one of the tiny little orange crabs.

"Does it get tiring living that long?" since her powers had begun manifesting she had wondered if she would live longer than most humans like Liath. She had seen how lonely he was and a bit of her feared living so long with no friends nor family.

 

[Lorcán]

Nobody had ever asked him that question before, had ever asked him to consider such a thing about his life. "Yes, and no.." he frowned in consternation as he began to pace on the rock.. "Pain gets tiring, hatred and anger get tiring..fighting gets tiring. But if the good things outweigh it all then no. There have been days where I'd have begged for death then and there and there have been days where I've felt happy enough to want to live a thousand lifetimes. Neither moment lasts.." he shrugged. "The bad days always get better and the better days always get worse..and around it goes." he laughed under his breath and swallowed a pain in his throat.

"Do you have friends, Maeve?" he asked curiously as he dropped to a knee, studying her rather than the shimmering rock pools or trickling water falls..

 

[Maeve]

That was a depressing way to look at it. Maeve grimaced. She hoped if she did live for a long time she wouldn't get to that point of thinking - a point where life because just about surviving. No wonder he was so blasé about dying. Immortality sounded as much of a curse as it did a gift. The crab in her hands scuttled up her arm until she caught it and let it play over her fingers.

She gave a soft curse when it pinched her and she dropped it back into the pool.

"Friends?" Maeve frowned and repeated the word like it was foreign. Faces appeared in her mind, some from back home, some from where she lived now. Arun. "Some, I suppose," she shrugged. "Not many anymore."