ladyfirestarter: (Tet Corporation)
ladyfirestarter ([personal profile] ladyfirestarter) wrote2007-08-26 11:30 pm

(no subject)

Every so often, Charlie's called to the home office in New York. She tries to arrange a day or two extra before and after the scheduled meeting, just to walk around and see the city.

The desert has become her heart's home, but ... once or twice a year she starts to sicken for the sight of skyscrapers and yellow cabs, the way some people sicken for mountains or the sea.

It's a brisk day in early September, cool and breezy, ideal for walking.

[identity profile] notboundnow.livejournal.com 2007-08-31 04:50 am (UTC)(link)
He doesn't meet her look, but twists his head, (reaches) for the (almost).

(It) pours through him; his eyes shoot open. When he faces Charlie, the expression is startled -- though without fear. "What is that?"

[identity profile] notboundnow.livejournal.com 2007-08-31 05:06 am (UTC)(link)
For once, he has nothing to say. He just listens.

She leads him to the foot of a glittering tower. He pauses at the bottom to stare up the length of it. (For reasons he cannot clarify, it reminds him of his brother. A pillar of the world.)

They pass through a door, into the building itself. (Prometheus finds himself (thrumming) along with it.)

[identity profile] notboundnow.livejournal.com 2007-09-02 02:56 am (UTC)(link)
Prometheus holds reverence for very few things. Power on its own, he does not respect, nor riches nor unconditional goodness.

He slows down as they approach the rose. One hand migrates over his heart, the fingers folded in, an old, old gesture. The song shimmers, the words all decipherable at once.

There is a plaque set before them. He drops his eyes to read.

LIGHT OVER DARKNESS: THUS WILLS THE BUILDER.


His chest rises and falls, his smile unfettered. "Hello."

[identity profile] notboundnow.livejournal.com 2007-09-02 03:32 am (UTC)(link)
The sound, the sight, they're beautiful.

He murmurs in an ancient tongue, the first he ever knew. "I am a guest in your world. My thanks for so receiving me."

His fingers are still threaded into Charlie's. He slips them closer, the first of many thank yous.

[identity profile] notboundnow.livejournal.com 2007-09-02 03:49 am (UTC)(link)
Time passes in the service of gazing, and if there is more to be said, it is quiet and brief.

Prometheus turns back to Charlie, then. "I like your completely new thing," he says softly. "Surprise doesn't begin to cover it."

[identity profile] notboundnow.livejournal.com 2007-09-02 04:32 am (UTC)(link)
"It is." He looks again, the rose and the earth and the (pillar). "Yes."

Something faint twists within him. Your work, it whispers, (but not mine. Where am I?) He squeezes his eyes shut, quick enough to make seem like blinking, and pushes it away.

[identity profile] notboundnow.livejournal.com 2007-09-02 04:39 am (UTC)(link)
He glances sidelong, surprised. "No no, it's nothing." He offers up a smile. "Just my brain at odds with me again."

[identity profile] notboundnow.livejournal.com 2007-09-02 05:05 am (UTC)(link)
"We can go." It's worth so much, a little more time won't add to the value.

One last nod to the rose, and he turns to leave the lobby.

[identity profile] notboundnow.livejournal.com 2007-09-02 05:17 am (UTC)(link)
For a moment, he stops, stiff with something he could not name.

The stiffness eases, replaced with a calm, like clay spun on a wheel.

"I trust you," he answers, though he does not face the rose again. Some tautness shakes itself free of his limbs. He goes with Charlie through the door, smiling.