Orion Self-discovery Thing
Jun. 17th, 2019 07:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
strange_natureshttps://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/370553.html?thread=2164425081#cmt2164425081
Orion shivered and rubbed his arms with both hands, turning again to look at the corner that gave him the screaming heebies. After a few deep, calming breaths he squared his shoulders and approached it, pausing as the echo of an old containment circle brushed against his manifestation like a cobweb; there was still no sense of Presence, but he could perceive blood, shadow, ether, and traces of thaum still congealed in the cracks around him despite the best efforts of the clean-up crew and the years of weather. Perhaps it was clean enough to be undetectable to anybody else; perhaps it needed someone made up of the exact same ingredients to pick up on it.
Swallowing again, he forced himself to move even closer to the long destroyed containment spell, and murmured, "Hey, Rigel, long time no see."
It was stupid that they'd named him, their fourth quarter, who hadn't spun together properly and had ended up smeared across the walls and floor of the warehouse. Orion couldn't even remember whose idea it had been, it had just slipped into a Skype conversation one day and had stuck; it felt right to give their missing piece an identity of sorts, even if he'd never gotten a chance to build his own. Orion could picture him easily: identical to the rest of batch one, but with the same intense blue manifestation of his counterparts in batches two and three, Miranda and Nine.
Orion allowed his fingers to drift through the air where the containment circle would once have been, and frowned. Was there a buzz of energy under his fingertips, or was it his imagination giving the echo more significance?
Karen's voice startled him out of his thoughts: "You shouldn't be here."
***
https://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/359692.html?thread=2093727244#cmt2093727244
"Sometimes I wonder what life would have been like if I'd followed orders and backed off," she said, "left the weird stuff to the professionals."
"Do you regret it?"
She was silent for a while. "Right now, no, but don't ask me at three a.m. after I've woken up screaming again."
***
https://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/371141.html?thread=2167561925#cmt2167561925
The sun was almost set, and in the darkness Orion could see the twinkling navigation lights of the massive cargo ships as they glided down the river on their way to the open sea - smaller craft too, returning late to their berths at the marina because they had to wait for the evening tide to ease their way home and allow them through the huge river-locks. On the wind he could hear humans shouting and laughing as they went about their business, completely unaware of his presence in the waters below.
Was this how the Little Mermaid would have felt, staring wistfully up at tiny wooden sailing ships of yore as they crossed her seas? He wrapped his tentacles around himself in a protective ball, and wondered what might happen if he climbed aboard one of the vast carriers. A chance to see the world, but at the risk of setting roots down on the ship - or being killed by an older genius loci because a route carried him through their territory... would it be worth it?
***
https://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/371410.html?thread=2169309394#cmt2169309394
Orion froze the moment he set eyes on the display in the bookshop, bile rising in his throat. Two people narrowly missed crashing into him, one shouted, but he didn't notice, too caught up in the twelve faces staring back from the blown-up reproduction of the book's cover. In lurid letters, the title read: The Wightbury Witchcraft Murders.
Dry-mouthed, he stepped closer to the window, letting his fingers rest lightly on the glass as he stared at his own face - but not his face, the kid in the black and white photo wasn't him, he was the human who'd been used to make him...
He knew he shouldn't do it, there was no 'deep down' about the sensation, he knew from surface to core that it was a bad idea, but he slipped inside anyway and picked a copy up off the display table.
***
https://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/371495.html?thread=2170959911#cmt2170959911
"I'm okay; I'm being careful," Orion grumbled. He glared out of the car window and winced as they went past St. Martins church: his human ingredient had kissed a blond guy in the sheltered doorway one night, both drunk on alcohol and the danger of being caught; an echo of sweat, stale beer and cigarettes smeared itself briefly across his tongue, clawing at his seams until he shoved it away and buried his awareness in the bright-sweet minty scent of the car's air freshener, and the sticky texture of the plastic seat beneath his fingertips. Touching his hand to the window-glass helped too, adding another layer of sensation, smooth and cool: he was here, and he was now, and he was one.
"Please keep your eyes down," Karen said.
Orion shook his head, and murmured, "It helps - I know it sounds mental, but fighting off their memories is helping me feel like... I dunno, more me, I guess."
***
https://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/371757.html?thread=2172826413#cmt2172826413
"I don't know what's going on, I just know that DI Thewlis was grumbling about having to deal with a - and I quote - 'chip pan fire', when there's 'a forest fire' in the city."
"And you're sure she meant that the eight foot freak in holding is the chip pan, and twinky-dink in there is the..."
Orion closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against the side of the shower cubicle, focusing on the pleasant sensation of hot water flowing down his back while he listened to the Victim Support officers talking in the corridor outside. They were under strict instructions to leave him in peace, under pain of transfer to the Odd Squad, but apparently that wasn't enough to keep them from speculating - or, apparently, handing out nicknames.
He sighed. He supposed he could understand their confusion: his human-ish aspect was a slender five foot four, with features that sat firmly on the border between pretty and handsome, and the nineteen year old sacrificial victim had looked young for his age; maybe the geometric spellwork that held his component parts together would be recognisable to a practitioner, but they'd be nothing more than decorative tattoos to anyone else; and his pewter-coloured hair could be a good dye job. His violet irises were less easily explained, but even if the officers believed the rumours about the Odd Squad they probably had him pegged as some kind of elf, rather than a god, however small the 'g'.
Twinky-dink was still just short of a smite-able offense though, he thought, grumpily.
***
https://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/372132.html?thread=2174402212#cmt2174402212
Memories tried to rise again, but Orion concentrated on what he could feel in the immediate there and then: the chill of the water around and inside him; the rolling movement of the pebbles beneath his feet, and the slick tickle of weeds against his skin; the heavy, sluggish reek of the reed-beds along the banks. "I am here, and I am now, and I Am," he whispered to himself. Closely followed by an, "Oh, for fuck's sake," as the River Sef tangled itself up in his manifestation and made it very clear that it wasn't going to let go in a hurry.
A blessing in disguise: he was pretty fucking sure that his component pieces had never had to worry about this shit, and all reminiscences fled in the face of dealing with the immediate problem.
"You don't want me; I've got commitment issues," he told the river as he started trying to extricate himself from its grip.
***
https://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/372376.html?thread=2176250520#cmt2176250520
"I just wanted to see where it happened," Orion said. "I don't know why; I just had to."
Karen strolled silently next to him, her hands in her pockets, seemingly doing nothing more than enjoying a relaxing walk in the winter sunshine. The wait for her next reply left a void for thoughts to rush in, and Orion was forced to take a deep breath to loosen the tightness in his chest before he spilled out: "I wanted to know what it would feel like to come back: whether there'd be nothing, or if I'd hate it... or if it'd feel like, I dunno, home."
"And does it?"
He kicked a stone out of the way, and watched as it bounced across the towpath to land in the weed-choked edge of the canal with a soft blip. "It feels like everywhere else: entire world's just a patchwork of needy fucking landscape that won't let me leave without a fight; no matter where I go I get another reminder that I'm never going to be free, and it sucks."
***
https://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/372679.html?thread=2178009031#cmt2178009031
As they turned off the towpath Orion braced himself for the clutching grasp of the canal trying to hang on to his manifestation, but it never came: the waterway slumbered softly on, as if it hadn't even registered his presence.
Rude, he thought, and then mentally scolded himself for being ridiculous. This was what he wanted, wasn't it? Better that a landmark not even notice him than that it cling to his metaphorical legs like a bratty toddler, screaming for him to stay. Still, being ignored left him feeling off-kilter.
"Something the matter?" Karen asked, interrupting his thoughts.
"No, just... the canal doesn't want me; that's never happened before," he said, hoping that he sounded more relieved than petulant.
She chuckled. "Maybe it's playing hard to get?"
***
https://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/372964.html?thread=2179565284#cmt2179565284
"So," Karen said, "now that you've figured out you're not a turtle, what's your next step?"
That was the real question, wasn't it? "I don't know," Orion muttered.
"Mmm." She didn't offer any suggestions, or try to tease more out of him, she just took a sip of her coke and let the silence surround them like an itchy blanket.
He knew damned well what she was doing, trying to force him to fill the quiet the same way she might when interviewing a suspect, but he found himself falling for it anyway: "I don't want to settle down anywhere, but I don't know how much longer I can carry on like this... it's like I've got a wedding dress on." He averted his gaze, suddenly embarrassed by the analogy: 'til death do us part was a little too close to the bone. "You know, with the long traily thing that gets tangled on everything, except it's a part of me instead of just being a dress, and I've got to keep ripping it up to get free."
****
https://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/373194.html?thread=2181490378#cmt2181490378
Orion found himself turning back towards the towpath, and the peace and quiet of the canal.
"I thought you said it doesn't like you?" Karen said as soon as their destination was made clear.
"It's more like it hasn't even noticed I'm here," he replied, contemplating the muddy stretch of water. "If it rejects me I'll leave it alone, I promise, but right now it's nice to be somewhere that'll leave me alone." Bruised ego notwithstanding, he didn't add.
"Okay, well, as long as I don't end up having to serve a restraining order on behalf of a canal - the Odd Squad is weird enough without having to figure the logistics of that one out."
***
https://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/373467.html?thread=2183717083#cmt2183717083
A light, tickling touch ghosted inside Orion's manifestation, startling a very ungodly yelp out of his throat and sending him skittering into the hedge. He rounded on the sensation, but only caught a fleeting echo as it fled in either embarrassment or terror, he couldn't tell. He wasn't even sure what it was: there'd been a stillness to it; soft silt and hard edges; rusted metal; plastic; diesel and paint and who knew what else, all nestled together in calm, slow-moving waters...
"What happened?"
He realised Karen had put herself between him and the space he'd been in, had even pulled her baton out, and had to choke down the Really? She meant well, even she was going to get herself obliterated by something one of these days. "The canal touched me," he explained.
Karen's facial expression went through a complicated dance, from what?, to are you for real?, to a slow-dawning ohhh.
"No, not like that..." He paused, considering how deep inside his manifestation the touch had been. "Kinda like that, but she backed off as soon as she realised she was being inappropriate."
***
https://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/373647.html?thread=2184752527#cmt2184752527
Orion stroked the cover of the book as if it was a beloved pet, letting his fingers drift over the black and white portrait photos that decorated the front until they finally rested on his mirror image. Was he ready for this? Maybe he should wait until the morning, when Karen was up and around and could call Perdita if it all went tits up...
Except if Karen saw him with a copy of The Wightbury Witchcraft Murders she'd call Perdita immediately.
He chewed on his lower lip for a moment, considering his options, and then took a deep breath, opened the book, and turned to page one: he didn't have to jump to victim number ten; there were nine other murders before the one that had created him.
***
https://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/373940.html?thread=2186756788#cmt2186756788
Orion didn't trust his shaky hands with the kettle, so instead he used three tentacles to lift it and fill his mug, glad that he didn't have to worry about Karen coming downstairs and seeing him like this - she'd seen his brother Cosmo in full aspect and survived with her mind intact; she should have no problem finding a near-identical eldritch abomination semi-manifested throughout her kitchen.
Actually, that wasn't strictly true: she'd want to know what the hell had happened, and she wouldn't like the answer.
"Learning about them is helping," he muttered to himself as he glared into the spreading darkness of his brewing tea. Maybe there was a way of explaining it that would make sense to her, some metaphor or analogy. "It's like breaking in new shoes, right?" he practised on the mug. "It hurts; I need to stretch the leather out; maybe I'll get a blister or two, but it's not a big deal, I'm just..."
He let the sentence trail away and sighed, already knowing what she'd say: breaking in new shoes didn't involve tearing apart the component pieces at the seams. He had a feeling that likening it to a too-tight jumper that he had to unravel and reknit would provoke an even worse reaction.
"I can fit myself together better if I understand what my pieces look like?" he offered.
The mug seemed unconvinced.
***
https://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/374060.html?thread=2188350252#cmt2188350252
Orion took a deep breath to steady himself, and then turned his gaze to the hallway mirror. He didn't mind the sight of his human aspect as such, but the sense of recognition was far too shallow: that split-second where he had to remind himself that the kid staring back was him.
Nick and Cosmo didn't have the same problem. He wondered whether it was because they'd behaved like proper little genii locorum, and incorporated a chunk of landscape into themselves, or if there was something wrong with him - something beyond not wanting to set down roots and start building up a territory.
On a whim, he passed his hands over his head and shifted his dark pewter hair to bright silver, and his violet eyes to cobalt blue: the colouration Rigel would have had if he'd survived their creation. He'd never attempted it before, and he wouldn't be able to hold the change for longer than a few seconds, but something about revisiting his birth-place made him want to see his unspun brother in the flesh.
...Oh, that did not help with the depersonalisation issues at all.
*
https://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/374457.html?thread=2189927609#cmt2189927609
"Okay, you know where everything is - try to stay out of trouble today, for my sake if nothing else," Karen said as she pulled on her jacket. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do."
Orion raised an eyebrow at her, and did not say: Aunt Karen, you are literally the patron goddess of It-Seemed-Like-A-Good-Idea-At-The-Time's favourite human.
Apparently she got the message loud and clear anyway: she pulled a face at him, and said, "Fine, don't do anything that the sensible, level-headed person I like to pretend I am wouldn't do."
*
https://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/374581.html?thread=2191859765#cmt2191859765
Orion hadn't meant to head for the canal, but the network branched through the entire city, weaving between and even under buildings like the fossilised root system of long-vanished industry. It had gone back to ignoring his existence, although this time it felt more like a toddler hiding under a blanket - I'm not looking at you, therefore you can't see me. He could almost taste the throb of humiliated embrarrassment vibrating against the sensory web of his manifestation.
"I'll leave if you don't want me here, you know; you only have to ask," he told it as he leaned against the railings near a series of locks. "It's just... peaceful around you. You're not as pushy as them - apart from feeling me up that time, but it's okay as long as you don't do it again... I get it, you didn't mean to; there's no need to be so embarrassed."
Still no answer. Sighing, he decided to take the 'if you don't bother me, I won't bother you' option, shoved his hands into the pockets of his hoodie, and started walking again.
***
https://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/375006.html?thread=2193495006#cmt2193495006
He should leave it alone, but Orion found himself approaching the old man who was struggling with the lock gate anyway. He tried to make his human body-language as non-threatening as possible, sensing the figure's growing alarm at his presence. The question was: would letting a little more of himself seep into his surroundings help, or hinder? He decided to give it a go, hoping the thrum of power would spark a reminder of the old cautionary tales about turning away beggars - even though this 'beggar' was less interested in alms than in preventing a heart attack. Bracing himself, he beamed a smile at the guy's tense shoulders, and said, "I'll do that for you."
The man turned. "That's not ne-" He broke off mid-sentence and swallowed, his conscious and sub-conscious clearly locked in a battle between 'kid in hoodie, do not trust' and a deeper, far more ancient message that screamed: 'that's not even remotely what that thing is; kneel, you idiot!!!'
Orion held his hand out for the tool. "It's not a problem, mate. Show me how it works; I want to help."
***
https://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/375055.html?thread=2195160591#cmt2195160591
There was a pleasing rhythm to working the locks, Orion thought as he began opening the sluice on the next gate in the 'staircase'. He paused halfway, as per Stan's timid instructions, to reduce the turbulence and splashing as the 'pound' filled with water from the level above; he didn't want the narrowboat inside it to bump around too much, or to have her 'well-deck' swamped.
So many new words to learn.
The water rose slowly, but the unhurried pace was nice too. Cars rushed back and forth on the nearby roads, their drivers raging at the slightest delay, but down here things happened on the canal's timeframe, and it wanted no part of the hurly-burly of the twenty-first century.
It was... unexpectedly soothing, like waiting for the kettle to boil during a crisis.
***
https://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/375521.html?thread=2197012449#cmt2197012449
Stan nodded, alarmingly grateful that his gesture of gratitude had been accepted - however reluctantly - and was back on his boat and pushed off before Orion had chance to recover.
Swallowing, Orion stared down at the buzzing tingle of the £10 note in his hand; the presence of it fizzed along his arm, heating up his entire manifestation in a warm, shivering glow. A gift of thanks from someone who'd recognised his nature and felt the instinctive need to placate it. His first true offering.
He closed his fist around it and shook his head slightly, trying to clear the urge to relax into the sensation. So that was why some deities grew addicted to sacrifice...
***
https://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/375996.html?thread=2200143548#cmt2200143548
Orion sighed and turned his gaze back to the calm, still waters of the canal. Perdita had once taken them aside and warned against the dangers of religion. "If the daft little buggers start thinking they can rely on you, they start to rely on you," she'd told them, "and then you feel obligated to look after them. If you're not constantly watching and summat happens then you'll never hear the bloody end of it. You start getting resentments building up, and they can't take it out on you so they take it out on each other; and then before you know it some pillock decides to take it upon themselves to start guessing what you want from them, and it all goes tits up. It's not worth it. You can try it for yourselves if you want, you all know I've got no place trying to quash a rebellious phase, but it in't worth it. Practice on a game of Sims if you need to get it out of your system."
****
https://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/376248.html?thread=2201908408#cmt2201908408
"I'm surprised so many people want to move around in the middle of winter," Orion admitted, gesturing at the narrowboat.
Joe smiled at him. "Us continuous-cruisers have to move every two weeks, unless we've got good enough reason not to. Today's nice weather, warm enough for the ice to soften up so as you don't scrape all the blacking off your hull. Good day to get through the city and out the other side without having to risk the overnight stop - yobs and vandals, and the like." There was a glint in his eye as his smile broadened, and he added, "You're not what I was expecting from our Stan's description, lad."
It hadn't even occurred to Orion that people would be talking about him. Trying to hide his surprise, he fell back on Grandpa Abby's advice and hid behind humour: "Let me guess - you were expecting someone taller?"
Judging by the reaction, Abby would be proud.
***
https://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/376328.html?thread=2203736328#cmt2203736328
Orion scuffed the frosty grass next to the towpath with the toe of his shoe, and wondered what to do next: go back to Aunt Karen's, spend the night wandering, or spend it in the canal the way he had the River Sef.
He didn't fancy wandering, and the last thing he wanted was to make the canal feel put-upon, or encourage her to get as possessive as the rest of the landscape did, so he shoved his hands in his pockets and headed for Calder Drive.
He could always explore a different part of the network tomorrow.
***
https://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/376577.html?thread=2205506561#cmt2205506561
"If there aren't any words then how can you be sure you know what it's thinking or feeling?" Karen asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I don't know. How it feels, I guess, I just..." Orion trailed off, trying to work out how to explain the deep-seated communication in terms that would make sense to her. "It's like when someone's right up against you in a big crowd, and you can feel their body language: if they're tense or relaxed, or leaning against you, or turning to look at something, or pissed off at someone else, or, like, an elbow in the ribs, or a hug..."
"Canals have elbows?"
He huffed out a long breath, and muttered, "You know what I mean."
***
https://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/376942.html?thread=2207097198#cmt2207097198
"I told them the truth, Orion," Karen said. "A group of killers murdered their son and transplanted his body parts into three other kids, three other innocent victims who bear no responsibility for the crime. And when they wanted to meet you I told them that experts strongly advised against allowing any contact."
Trying to ignore the knot of frustration tangling up his insides, Orion forced his jaw to unclench. "That's not the truth though, is it? Not really."
"Isn't it? Sounds pretty accurate to me." She set her wineglass down, her expression grim. "If I was hiding their son from them I wouldn't be able to live with myself, but you're not him; you only look like him, and they'll resent you for that, and they'll resent you for existing; they'll resent you for every little reminder of him, and every little reminder that you're not him; and they'll resent you even more because they'll know that they're not being fair. You're an innocent victim yourself, Orion, you've got no reason or obligation to take that burden."
***
https://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/377276.html?thread=2208935100#cmt2208935100
No matter where Orion turned, the canal was an ever-present entity; pockets of calm scattered throughout Wightbury, ready to remind him that there was an escape from the hustle and bustle, and from the cloying pressure of the city trying to tangle itself up in his manifestation.
Wightbury might have fewer canals than Birmingham, but Birmingham had more miles of canal than Venice did...
He frowned as he hit another pocket, and another impulse to head down to the calm of the waters below. Was he connecting to the canal? But this wasn't anything like the sensations his siblings had described - no instantaneous feeling of mine! snapping from the depths of his core to the tips of his tendrils; no sense of belonging to something bigger than he was; no urge to wrap himself up in the landscape like it was a snuggly blanket on a cold day.
Just peace, and quiet, and freedom.
***
https://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/377455.html?thread=2210481519#cmt2210481519
Orion responded to the canal's distress before he was even consciously aware of it, dashing down the metal stairs in the direction of the commotion. She wasn't giving him any detail, just a collection of fuzzy emotional feedback and strange pushing movements... had someone fallen in? No, there were echoes of diesel, rotting wood and battery acid, sorrow and helplessness, all wrapped up in something that vaguely translated as 'icky'. What the hell?
She was upset about the nearest lock, he realised as he skittered across the cobbles of the old towpath: the edges of his manifestation picked up churning water and huge wooden gates; a semi-submerged tree-limb jamming open a paddle while multiple shouting people tried to force it closed again; a boat creaking and groaning, its bow-line snagged on the branches despite the best efforts of the frantic crew; the water-level rising as the bow remained firmly where it was...
The canal shuddered and tried to push again: she didn't want the mess of sorrow and pollution that came with having a home sink into her depths, but she didn't have the kind of power that could stop it.
Orion shed his bag without even slowing down, and dove into the seething water.
***
https://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/377813.html?thread=2212466645#cmt2212466645
Thankfully the water was murky enough to hide him, even at such close quarters. Orion spread as much of his manifestation as he dared into the physical realm, shoved half of his tentacles into the muddy ooze in the bottom of the lock, and braced the rest against the slick, steel base of the boat. Not the best plan, but he'd gotten too caught up in the canal's desire to push the boat back above water to think of something sensible. He felt around the tree-limb and swore to himself - that wasn't going to come out easily unless he reduced it to an inexplicable pile of splinters; he didn't have time to untangle it, and he couldn't lift the boat out of the water in front of witnesses, which left the rope... surely that would give out before the steel hull did?
A life-ring splatted into the water just above his head. Orion closed his eyes and groaned. It would be just his luck if some idiot got themselves killed trying to rescue a fucking deity from drowning. Two problems: sinking boat; don't save me. Okay, he could do this. He pulled enough of his human aspect back on to cover his head and arms, surfaced, and slashed at the rope as though he was holding a knife: it parted instantly; the bow popped upwards like a cork, and he heard crockery smashing inside the boat over the screams of the woman who'd been trying to release the line.
"Are you insane?!" she yelled as she grabbed at him. She caught hold of his hood and did her best to drag him onto the deck, like a mama-cat picking a misbehaving kitten up by the scruff.
Well, that's gratitude for you, he thought as he buried his manifestation safely back under his skin. But at least the canal was happy.
***
https://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/378002.html?thread=2213927826#cmt2213927826
"I'm fine, I'm a strong swimmer," Orion said as he tried, and failed, to wave away the 'helpful' onlookers. He very nearly waved away the offered blanket too, but remembered himself at the last moment and accepted it gratefully; it was a useful reminder that he should be shivering in the winter air.
"That wouldn't have done you much good if you'd gotten crushed between twenty tonnes of steel and a brick wall, now, would it?" the woman snapped back.
"Give the lad a break, Lily," said the blanket-giver. "You'd think he hadn't just kept you from sinking."
"I'd rather have sunk than have somebody die," Lily muttered, but the reflexive anger seemed to have subsided. She jumped onto the bank and tugged on Orion's arm. "Come on, young man, let's get you into the warm before you freeze to death; we can worry about Weil's disease later."
***
https://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/378261.html?thread=2215651221#cmt2215651221
Stepping down into the narrowboat felt a bit like climbing into a jewellery box: the only sources of light in the living room were the winter sunshine that trickled in through two gleaming brass portholes, and the cheery glow from a multifuel stove that took pride of place against one wall. A heavy stewpot still simmered on top of it despite the boat's sudden jolt into the air, but the shards of pottery and glass that twinkled against the dark wood of the floor showed where less weighty items hadn't fared so well. To one side of the stove there was a blue velvet two-seater sofa, on the other an oxblood leather wingback chair, both accented with jewel-toned throw cushions; an ancient marmalade tomcat snoozed peacefully on a reindeer pelt that had been draped over the chair, seemingly unbothered by the whole kerfluffle. Bookshelves lined the lower parts of the wood-panelled walls, stuffed to overflowing with a random selection of paperbacks and hardbacks, the reader's taste in genres apparently being 'is it a book?'.
Despite the small space it didn't feel cramped, instead there was a sense of cosy opulence that made the frosty weather outside seem a world away.
And beneath it all, woven into the very fabric of the boat's interior, Orion sensed magic.
***
https://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/378471.html?thread=2217340519#cmt2217340519
Orion swallowed, suddenly glad that he'd been keeping tighter control of his power signature since the incident with Stan. He slowly began to gather his manifestation in, reducing the amount of magic that dissipated even further; it was going to be uncomfortable, but if news of his proximity to Wightbury got back to Perdita he could kiss her 'hands off' approach goodbye.
But judging by the way Lily dragged him past the kitchen and bustled him into a tiny bathroom she hadn't realised what she was manhandling - or godhandling, as the case may be.
Was she the practitioner, and she just hadn't noticed in all the excitement? Or was it the helmswoman he'd only caught a glimpse of at the back of the boat?
***
https://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/388663.html?thread=2284118327#cmt2284118327
Orion clutched the blanket tighter around himself, feeling strangely naked - granted, he was naked, but something about having his clothes drying in front of the stove next to him only made it more acute. And he was pretty sure that Efra had caught a glimpse of his bindings... Shit, what had he been thinking?
The canal leaned gently against him, forcing him to shake his head and whisper a quiet, “Please don’t.” The pressure of holding his entire self inside his human aspect throbbed against his temples; her added weight was too much.
***
https://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/388976.html?thread=2285585520#cmt2285585520
“Those aren’t normal binding spells, Lil.”
Orion snapped his full attention onto his hosts, wishing he could see them at the far end of the boat, but with his manifestation fully tucked away his senses were too dulled.
“What do you think he is?” Lily asked, her voice as low as Efra’s.
“I don’t know - maybe some kind of water-folk hybrid; you felt the power coming off him when he was in the water, even in the shower... My guess is a sorcerer caught him young, didn’t realise how strong he was going to get, and has been bodging the spellwork to keep him under control.”
He couldn’t help but smile: if Perdita heard of a water-folk hybrid she wouldn’t link it to him - which was probably just as well, given she’d have thoughts about someone calling her spellwork ‘bodged’, even if it was an accurate description.
***
https://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/389128.html?thread=2287280136#cmt2287280136
Forcing his way free of the pair seemed too much like overkill. Sighing, Orion decided that even gods had to admit defeat sometimes, accepted the phone, and called Karen.
“For the record,” she said, after hearing him out, “‘Don’t do anything the sensible, level-headed person I like to pretend I am wouldn’t do,’ includes diving into a dangerous bit of the canal in front of witnesses.”
Oion suppressed a memory of being caught sneaking back into the house after an under-age night on the town, and offered a meek, “Yes, Aunt Karen.”
***
https://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/389570.html?thread=2289299650#cmt2289299650
“So, what’s the damage?” Karen asked as they returned to the car.
“I need to flare.” The pounding in his temples had spread, disrupting his focus like an irregular drumbeat; a syncopatic ache throbbing throughout his entire self. Damn it, he should have allowed for some power seepage instead of trying to hold everything in, but it was far too late to risk venting in a built up area...
“If you can hang on for twenty minutes we can get to waste ground, but I was talking about gossip getting back to Perdita. It’s both our arses on the line if she finds out you’re here and I didn’t shop you for it.”
He focused on the question, trying not to think about enduring the next twenty minutes. “Shouldn’t be a problem; they think I’m a jumped-up water sprite.”
That gave her pause. “...How the hell did you manage that?"
***
https://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/389793.html?thread=2290669729#cmt2290669729
Behind him, Orion heard Darcy ask, “Ma’am, is he okay?” He sighed into the frost-rimed earth and stretched his limbs again, working out every kink, secure in the knowledge that the constable could only see a guy laying face-down in the long grass.
“Hard to say,” Karen replied, and Orion felt her walking through his manifestation to join his human aspect, scattering the most timid of the feeding nature spirits in her wake. She bobbed down to complete the illusion that the piece of him in the physical realm was also his totality, and murmured, “You can stretch out properly; nobody who can see you comes here.”
“I am stretched out.”
“Oh.” She paused for a moment, glancing around. “I thought you’d been sucking it in the entire time... should you be this much smaller than Nick and Cosmo?”
Well, that was just rude.
***
https://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/390664.html?thread=2297612040#cmt2297612040
Orion dragged himself into the shelter of the hedge, and found a cool patch of ground to rest his forehead against. He could feel the canal hovering, like a concerned friend who didn’t know what to do, and the sensation brought not one but two sets of memories with it: his human ingredient throwing up in a club bathroom, friends standing by; his dusk-wight ingredient after tangling with a hunter, returning to her shocked family. The flickers of past selves clawed at his seams, white agony blazing along every sigil and curlicue of the binding spells. Wincing, he whispered, “Please leave me alone.”
The essence did as she was asked, leaving behind only empty landscape, and the sinking realisation that he might have upset the one place in it that wasn’t prepared to tear him apart in order to keep him.
***
https://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/391104.html?thread=2299545280#cmt2299545280
Touch seeped into his consciousness, gentle brushes and nudges against his skin, coupled with the background noise of rustling leaves, and the steady putt-putt-putt of an approaching diesel engine. Orion opened one eye and flexed his fingers and the tips of his tendrils, trying to orient himself: he was still in the hedgerow, now surrounded by elementals and nature spirits of all shapes and sizes; they crowded in, a thick wall of bodies sheltering him from the world outside. He smiled despite himself. Okay, so Cosmo’s habit of treating the beings like a pack of faithful hounds suddenly made a lot more sense: he didn’t even know these ones, yet here they were, making sure the small god they’d found in their collective territory was safe while he recovered. Then one raised its ichor-stained muzzle from his torn roots and licked its chops, and the warm glow abruptly dissipated. Well, that was just fucking charming.
"Shoo," he scolded, sending them scattering with a flick of a tentacle, and instantly regretted it as he heard a familiar voice shout, "What the hell spooked that lot?" from the direction of the canal.
***
https://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/391363.html?thread=2300941763#cmt2300941763
Orion rolled onto his back and pulled himself together as best he could. Of course the hedge-witches would find him in a bloody hedge. He was asking for it, really. He put on a brave face as Lily shifted some of the winter foliage out of the way, offered her a weak smile, and said, “Hi.”
“Orion?!”
He closed his eyes; he could practically feel her questions hanging in the air, waiting to swoop down on him like vultures.
***
https://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/391643.html?thread=2302644443#cmt2302644443
To Orion’s relief, it seemed as though his hosts weren’t going to break the social taboo on asking what another supernatural being was, even though they obviously wanted to. Just as well, given that he wasn’t in the the right headspace to come up with a half-decent lie, and I’m a two year old genius loci who’s fucked himself up so bad that you have no inkling what you’re dealing with right now, only raised more questions.
“Who’re you on the run from?” Efra asked.
Oh, if only the taboo covered personal questions in general.
***
https://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/391819.html?thread=2304344459#cmt2304344459
“I’m not on the run from anybody,” Orion said, cradling his mug close to his chest. “I’m... looking for something.”
Efra raised a coal-black eyebrow. “And bleeding to death in a hedge is an integral part of that, is it?”
“I’ll admit things haven’t been exactly going to plan,” he said, offering her a rueful smile.
***
https://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/392072.html?thread=2306327432#cmt2306327432
What the hell was taking so long? Nick always switched his phone off when he was in his quarry pool; if it was ringing then he had to be above water. Maybe his bad leg was playing up? Orion tried his brother's number again, then a third time, then a fourth. He was just about to give up when the call finally answered.
Nick said, “Bad time,” and immediately hung up.
Little twat. Orion called again. This time it was answered straightaway, so he hissed, “Just get Vega to call me, alright, dickhead?”
“I remember teaching you better manners, son of mine,” Perdita replied, coolly.
Oh. Oh, no.
***
https://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/392398.html?thread=2307858638#cmt2307858638
“I’ve been trying to give you your space, given that you obviously didn’t feel like talking to me about what you were going through,” Perdita continued, her voice tight. “But I’ll warn you now: once you’ve finished this whole ‘finding yourself’ business you are grounded.”
The swamp of guilt Orion was stewing in boiled to hot indignation in a millisecond: “Nick didn’t get in trouble for his vanishing act!”
Nick made a noise somewhere between a gasp and a snarl, but before he could put his protest into words Perdita growled: “Point of order: I grounded your brother for six months. It’s not my fault the rebellious little git was too busy cleaning his dump and doing his homework to even bloody notice.”
“Wait, you did?” Nick said.
