A Single Candle
Jan. 18th, 2009 01:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dagas_isaPrompt: 311 A single candle
Universe: Original: Axis
Genre(s): Romance
Rating: G
Warnings: Incomprehensibility, maybe?
Word Count: 956
They stopped at the border of the farthest lake. Utame, on the western horizon, glowed against the backdrop of the setting sun. Jin spread before them a woolen blanket upon the grass. "To keep the snakes away." He winked at Inori.
She just shook her head and sat down, keeping her troublesome left leg out in front of her. Jin sat next to her, crossing his legs in the noraiuin style. They faced the west--the furthest lake, the grasslands just now turning crisp in the cooling autumn winds, and Utame, a pale tower shining against the darkening sky.
Next to her, Jin took the lantern from his pack. Funny, that in all these months, Inori had not really looked at his lantern before, and never questioned where or how the Noraiuin could have the glass and metal to create one. Brass chain links fell over his fingers, giving the sound of bells to Inori's ears, while he lit the candle inside. Without Kaitos's light, only a dim illumination penetrated the coming darkness, but reflected against the pale walls of Utame, the lantern created a glowing point on the horizon. It was enough to bring her home.
"Chodo."
"Utame."
They spoke the names of the tower at the same time, and heard the other's words only after. Inori looked at Jin, whose eyes shone in the reflected light.
"Utame?"
"Chodo?"
They asked at the same time. They laughed. The nervous, bubbling sound filled Inori and freed her from her cares, if only until they popped and escaped into the wind. She set her hand down on the blanket.
"What is it like, living there?" Jin asked.
Inori exhaled, memories of Utame sharp and clear in her mind. Out on the horizon, Utame looked tranquil and motionless, so distant from the real world, but she remembered its heartbeat, the people who brought it to life.
Jin answered his own question. "I always thought it would be peaceful to live in a place like that. No hunts, no raids from other clans. You would just live there, nice and safe. Warm in the winter."
She smiled at the memories bubbling deep within her. "It is, but I never thought it peaceful. There's too much to do. We don't tell stories so much. We don't sit down in small groups and while away seasons playing games. We have a saying, 'The tower is the queen.' It means, no matter what we do, it exists for the sake of the tower, and the people who depend on her.
"More people live in Utame then exist in the Zhoraik clan, the Lihr clan, and the Chimare clan all put together. People from miles around, from islands in the ocean, to people from the lands beyond. Even...people from underneath the earth. Peaceful...peaceful does not describe their interactions."
Jin cast his eyes down. "Oh."
Taking Jin's hand, she entwined her fingers with his. "It was beautiful, though. I arrived through the underground. At first, I thought it exactly the same as the place I left behind. Oh, you should have seen me, trailing on the Kakkatou's coattails, looking around for any light at all, the smoky air, smells of cooked food and cut flowers. I could hardly keep up with the Kakkatou who led the way into a place I yearned to be since my first memories
"It was loud under ground. Street vendors called out for sales, and until I got a hold on my ears, you know forced myself to understand what they said, it sounded so different from the language I heard in the slums. And then the Kakkatou began to speak it too, to the people who surrounded him. At least, I looked as someone from the farms did, not like a rat beggar. So those who greeted Kozan, they just gave me a glance, and passed by.
"I remember, he spoiled me that day, the Kakkatou. Yellow flowers, I didn't know they were common to the gardens here, but I liked them, and he gave them to me. A soup of potatoes and cream. He told me, 'We take pies and and kabobs when we leave, and soup when we arrive home.' And then, immediately, he bought me a newspaper. Just this thin sheet of yellowed paper, no thicker or more durable than an autumn leaf. I couldn't read then, so the marks on it meant nothing
"Not until later, did I realize that the Kakkatou bought me those things, not as a generosity, but as a lesson. And," Inori awoke from her daze, amused, "I did have to pay for those lessons. He set me up so that I would have to fight to the end of my nails. Not physically, against others, but for myself and the towers."
Jin's light wavered against the darkening sky. "Yeah...but fighting... I wish there was a place without it."
She cut through his illusion. "No life worth living comes easy. Even yours. Even mine. I've thought about it. I can't leave you behind, but I can't abandon my old life either. I paid too much to throw it away. When this is over, Jin, will you follow me?"
He set down the lantern, a tiny glowing point between them. He curled his knees to his chest, and in the dim light, his hazel eyes still shone with dreams. "It would be nice, to be with you always. Maybe I could even become a beggar for you."
Inori lifted the lantern to the sky again, to shine at Utame and create a beacon of hope. "Trust me, and you will not be a beggar." She scooted closer to him, to wrap an arm around his shoulder.
Universe: Original: Axis
Genre(s): Romance
Rating: G
Warnings: Incomprehensibility, maybe?
Word Count: 956
They stopped at the border of the farthest lake. Utame, on the western horizon, glowed against the backdrop of the setting sun. Jin spread before them a woolen blanket upon the grass. "To keep the snakes away." He winked at Inori.
She just shook her head and sat down, keeping her troublesome left leg out in front of her. Jin sat next to her, crossing his legs in the noraiuin style. They faced the west--the furthest lake, the grasslands just now turning crisp in the cooling autumn winds, and Utame, a pale tower shining against the darkening sky.
Next to her, Jin took the lantern from his pack. Funny, that in all these months, Inori had not really looked at his lantern before, and never questioned where or how the Noraiuin could have the glass and metal to create one. Brass chain links fell over his fingers, giving the sound of bells to Inori's ears, while he lit the candle inside. Without Kaitos's light, only a dim illumination penetrated the coming darkness, but reflected against the pale walls of Utame, the lantern created a glowing point on the horizon. It was enough to bring her home.
"Chodo."
"Utame."
They spoke the names of the tower at the same time, and heard the other's words only after. Inori looked at Jin, whose eyes shone in the reflected light.
"Utame?"
"Chodo?"
They asked at the same time. They laughed. The nervous, bubbling sound filled Inori and freed her from her cares, if only until they popped and escaped into the wind. She set her hand down on the blanket.
"What is it like, living there?" Jin asked.
Inori exhaled, memories of Utame sharp and clear in her mind. Out on the horizon, Utame looked tranquil and motionless, so distant from the real world, but she remembered its heartbeat, the people who brought it to life.
Jin answered his own question. "I always thought it would be peaceful to live in a place like that. No hunts, no raids from other clans. You would just live there, nice and safe. Warm in the winter."
She smiled at the memories bubbling deep within her. "It is, but I never thought it peaceful. There's too much to do. We don't tell stories so much. We don't sit down in small groups and while away seasons playing games. We have a saying, 'The tower is the queen.' It means, no matter what we do, it exists for the sake of the tower, and the people who depend on her.
"More people live in Utame then exist in the Zhoraik clan, the Lihr clan, and the Chimare clan all put together. People from miles around, from islands in the ocean, to people from the lands beyond. Even...people from underneath the earth. Peaceful...peaceful does not describe their interactions."
Jin cast his eyes down. "Oh."
Taking Jin's hand, she entwined her fingers with his. "It was beautiful, though. I arrived through the underground. At first, I thought it exactly the same as the place I left behind. Oh, you should have seen me, trailing on the Kakkatou's coattails, looking around for any light at all, the smoky air, smells of cooked food and cut flowers. I could hardly keep up with the Kakkatou who led the way into a place I yearned to be since my first memories
"It was loud under ground. Street vendors called out for sales, and until I got a hold on my ears, you know forced myself to understand what they said, it sounded so different from the language I heard in the slums. And then the Kakkatou began to speak it too, to the people who surrounded him. At least, I looked as someone from the farms did, not like a rat beggar. So those who greeted Kozan, they just gave me a glance, and passed by.
"I remember, he spoiled me that day, the Kakkatou. Yellow flowers, I didn't know they were common to the gardens here, but I liked them, and he gave them to me. A soup of potatoes and cream. He told me, 'We take pies and and kabobs when we leave, and soup when we arrive home.' And then, immediately, he bought me a newspaper. Just this thin sheet of yellowed paper, no thicker or more durable than an autumn leaf. I couldn't read then, so the marks on it meant nothing
"Not until later, did I realize that the Kakkatou bought me those things, not as a generosity, but as a lesson. And," Inori awoke from her daze, amused, "I did have to pay for those lessons. He set me up so that I would have to fight to the end of my nails. Not physically, against others, but for myself and the towers."
Jin's light wavered against the darkening sky. "Yeah...but fighting... I wish there was a place without it."
She cut through his illusion. "No life worth living comes easy. Even yours. Even mine. I've thought about it. I can't leave you behind, but I can't abandon my old life either. I paid too much to throw it away. When this is over, Jin, will you follow me?"
He set down the lantern, a tiny glowing point between them. He curled his knees to his chest, and in the dim light, his hazel eyes still shone with dreams. "It would be nice, to be with you always. Maybe I could even become a beggar for you."
Inori lifted the lantern to the sky again, to shine at Utame and create a beacon of hope. "Trust me, and you will not be a beggar." She scooted closer to him, to wrap an arm around his shoulder.
