Hera ♛ Lena Cosimo-Blackwell (luwalhati) wrote in mythopoeics, @ 2012-04-06 10:59:00 |
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Denver was surprisingly calm for a little girl. Katie had been such a bubbly and talkative child. Though Lena would not trade Katie for anyone in the world, such a sweetly reflective girl was refreshing. Especially when all Lena wanted to do was panic.
Still, she had to stay rational. Or as rational as she could get -- out of a misplaced sense of pride, she hadn't dared to remove her towering stilettos, even as the heels dragged into the soil.
It had been comfortably silent for sometime, but for some reason Lena felt pressed to ask, "Do you think you had a past life, too, Denver?"
It was ridiculous, really, the depth of these people's fantasies. A fascinating case study for any psychiatrist. Unfortunately, there was a family connection. Aside from the love Lena bore her Blackwell family members, if she brought their unbalanced mental conditions to light, the medical community she had worked so hard to conquer would be more than happy to dethrone her. And she couldn't have that. No, not at all.
In all of her lives, Hermione had been a calm soul only known to really erupt when something truly bothered her. Now the only things that were nagging were a desire for a shower (her hair was starting to feel limp) and an ever greater desire to see her father. Ever since finding out his existence, she'd not quite known how to feel but conflicted, torn between delight and disappointment. Disappointment for him failing her (more than once), yet delight for simply seeing him alive.
The prospect of seeing her father again in the flesh drove her on, dropped one foot in front of the other and had her behaving like a decent fourteen-year-old who had her complaints here and there. But the timing of the question startled her. Not wanting to be direct with her answer, she fiddled with her hair, picking an unsuspecting leaf from it.
"Why do you ask? Because of what's being said online?"
"Exactly." The girl caught on very quickly. For a moment, Lena was reminded of another child, smooth hands clasped around an intricate goblet with the sweetest smelling --
A rustle in the grass interrupted her line of thought. The sound of an arrow being drawn, familiar to Lena for reasons she couldn't place (memories she didn't remember). Gently but firmly, she steered Denver towards a dense clump of trees and shrubs.
"Stay here," Lena instructed. "And don't make a sound. Whatever you hear. Can you do that for me, Denver?"
There was little Hermione could do but allow herself to be led away, her questions on reincarnation left abandoned behind them. What now? She certainly hadn't picked up on any suspicious sounds, but if the adult was giving her an instruction, she would probably have to listen. And Lena had proved to be more than just an adult -- she was something like the mothering figure she deserved.
Wordlessly, the girl gave a nod, touching one palm to the closest tree.
Lena couldn't resist tucking a stray hair behind Denver's ear before heading back out into the clear. The girl would be okay, she hoped, such a good gi --
A scream. A thud.
Silence.