InsaneJournal

Sibling Rivalry (Finn, Niks, TBC in comments)
Finnick had found himself in a world that was very decidedly wrong. It didn’t feel right, didn’t smell right, nothing about it was right. He’d wanted to take solace in the nearby forest but he was informed that he had duties. A job. The indignity of it made him seethe. He didn’t know where he was or why he was here, but oh he planned to find out and there would be hell to pay when he did.

For now, he ventured into the Dreamlands. Thankfully, those were still present. Whatever else might be going on in the waking world, if he could access those, then it would be all right. He felt more at home in the Dreamlands than in the waking world anyway.

Today, he wandered by the shore of a lake. It sparkled in the sunlight at him. The plants near the lake shrank away as he wandered, aware of their rightful place as it should be. He was clad in a deep green tunic decorated with intricate patterns and brown leather pants. A sword hung at his side, ready to be drawn if needed. He had powers that made using the blade unnecessary but the weapon was still a comforting weight to have.

He wasn’t alone here. He could feel that much. It wasn’t entirely surprising-sometimes mortals or other faeries stumbled upon the Dreamlands. The presence today, however. That presence was familiar in ways that he still wasn’t sure he was comfortable with. There was a flash of irritation that faded just as quickly as he turned his attention back to the lake. If she was here, she would have to come to him.



----

Niks needed solace. She needed a quiet moment to reflect. Slowly and surely she was becoming more comfortable with who and what she was, yet there were times she needed to retreat into a world that had always felt like her own. Should she have been told she couldn’t go back…

The trees around her shook a little at the thought as if they didn’t want to see her gone for too long. She knew it was a reaction to what she was, who she was, but she did like the thought that the Dreamlands would miss her.

As she smoothed her hands over her skirt, just watching the material flow like liquid silk under her fingers, she felt it. Her head lifted, and for the first time, she was possibly upset. She had felt others here; she knew they came and went, and she knew she wouldn’t meet them all - as if they were environmental white noise. This was different. It felt like Simon only not. This was not Simon.

Being the curious one, a curiosity that had only grown since Simon ‘unlocked’ her, she rose and started moving toward that..presence. It was distinct and blended. It fit here, almost as well as she did. Almost. Though if she were being honest, she would have to question her feelings; perhaps, she only wanted to believe she was the one so strongly connected to the Dreamlands, and no one else.

The librarian paused at the forest’s edge and watched the figure. Fully clothed and a weapon. This being was no stranger...she was possibly in trouble.

----

Finn turned to see his half sister. She looked different from the last time that he’d tried to catch a peek of her. She’d been more human then. Now… He shook his head and clucked.

“Someone’s been meddling.”

He didn’t know who yet or why, but someone had helped her unlock her heritage. He wasn’t sure how he felt about that. He supposed that it was only a matter of course. She wouldn’t know who he was. At least, he didn’t see how she could. That meant that he had the upper hand here. It was certainly a card that he intended to hang onto for as long as possible.

He didn’t bother to explain his first statement. Instead, his mouth widened into a grin.

“Lovely day, isn’t it? Then again, they usually are here.”

----

Niks stepped back, not sure how to take this...not so much intruder. Her head tilted slightly as she watched him.

“I beg your pardon?” A smug...fairy? There was a smug fairy in the Dreamlands? One that wasn’t Simon? His ears were right there, and she finally realized what she was feeling. Fae. Her lips pulled slightly as she looked over him.

“It is often nice, yes.” She didn’t come too far out of the trees, watching him carefully. Fairies were tricky, very tricky, weren’t they? “Do you come here often?”

----

Finn chuckled softly. Oh the question was quite amusing, knowing all that he knew. He certainly wasn’t trying to hide the fact that he was a fairy. He was what he was. Perhaps out in the waking world, he might make somewhat more of an effort, though if only to avoid causing the humans to get their knickers in a twist.

“Surely you didn’t think you were the only one who took solace here,” he said.

Oh, but he was enjoying this. He’d imagined meeting his half-sister for quite some time and he’d always enjoyed the idea that he would have the upper hand when he did.

----

“I haven’t met many who do,” was Niks soft reply. It was a statement lacking accusation or anger but still holding a hint of surprise. She wasn’t used to seeing people who knew where they were, who were aware.

“You’re a fairy.” Her tone curious. It was not at all a simple statement as some might think. Nor was it said in elation or surprise. She was used to fairies, sort of, or at least the one in her life was constantly turning it upside down. Another one might make her life even more confusing.

“Aren’t you?”

----

“Very good,” Finn said with a genuine grin.

As much as he might have conflicting feelings towards this sibling of his, he would hate for her to be an embarrassment. He was just glad to see that their father’s blood was presenting itself respectably in her now.

“And what about yourself? What do you call yourself? Fairy or human?”

He manipulated his appearance as he spoke so that the points on his ears disappeared and his face became that much more plain as he wove his human disguise. It was effortless here. Here, he could look like whatever he chose. For now, he settled for looking like a silly human.

----

Niks’ lips twisted slightly at the question. What did she call herself? Had Simon shared the name with her, what she was, or did she just know…

“I believe the term is ‘faekin’ - though I wonder if that’s all that nice a word.” She didn’t have the skill to hide what she was. In fact, being in the Dreamlands seemed to expose her even more. She didn’t exactly try to hide it, but she would have liked the choice.

“How long have you been here?” She could judge time, instinctually. She believed Simon could do, so it stood to reason this fairy had the same ability. She knew how long she was under, or was becoming more adept at it, judging how long she had been away from the waking world. For her, the time flow wasn’t as disconcerting or confusing.

----

Finn couldn’t help but smile at the term. It wasn’t generally used as a compliment, no. He neither confirmed nor denied that however. There were certainly some who looked down on him because his father was a faekin. His blood wasn’t pure enough for them. He worked twice as hard to prove himself and yet perhaps he’d gotten some of the old ideas about blood. Fae did tend to focus on hierarchies.

“Does it matter?” he asked. He certainly knew how long he’d been here, but he couldn’t help but wonder why she was asking. He didn’t much like the world that he’d somehow ended up in so he wasn’t sure if he intended to make an appearance in the waking world or not. Either way, he thought that the reasoning behind the question was more important than actually answering it.

----

“Your body is somewhere. If you’ve been taken, your body will be somewhere with the rest of us. It may not be safe if your body is found.” Niks knew that it wouldn’t matter, possibly. If he could do any magic, he may be just fine.

“Are you new with us? Did they take you recently, or have you been with us long?” Her head tilted slightly as she looked him over again.

“Who are you?” She finally gave in to her curiosity. “Are you traveling with us?” He could be the way home, sort of. He could be how they find their way back.

----

She had a point that his body wasn’t safe while he was here. The look of realization on Finn’s face was masked just as quickly as it appeared. His magic would protect him most likely, but he still didn’t know who or what else might be in this world. Faeries were certainly not immortal, in spite how many seemed to carry on. They were much more than humans, whose lives were all too fleeting.

He wanted to ask about who had taken them, and wanted to ask why she was questioning in that line of things. Clearly, she knew more than he did. He didn’t like that.

For now, he chose to answer her one question. Oh, he wouldn’t give her his true name because names were power. But he could certainly give the human name that he used. He fully expected a reaction to it, but he had just as much right to that last name as she did.

“The name’s Finnick, Finn for short. Finnick Wright.”

He held out a hand to his half-sister.

“And you?”