WHO: Presto and Vanessa Ives WHAT: Presto and Vanessa stargaze and snuggle, and witness a horrible sight. WHEN: The evening of 10/30 WARNINGS: None, really STATUS: Closed and Complete
Presto was unsure what Vanessa’s vision had meant, but he was hopeful it meant nothing bad. Still, it had been enough to ensure he wanted to watch the stars tonight. Such a thing seemed wise, and, well, it meant laying out with the woman he loved under the stars. Hardly a terrible thing. He had equipped the balcony with lots of pillows and blankets, and with a small heater and potbellied stove atop which he had mulled cider brewing.
All in all, as he looked out from the balcony, he was looking forward to the evening, and hoping for the best.
***
Vanessa was always hesitant when it came to her visions, this one had been suitably vague but she knew something important was going to happen in the skies that night. She just hoped it wasn’t something awful like a giant comet coming to take out the county or something.
Stepping onto the balcony she gasped at the transformation Presto had achieved, it looked amazing. She’d changed out of the clothes she’d worn earlier for her tarot reading appointments and was much more comfortable in her normal clothes. “This is amazing and that smells so good” she told him, moving over to join him.
***
Presto grinned at Vanessa. “I wanted to make this fun for us.” He reached out to her, taking her hands in his and drawing her in for a kiss. He was still feeling so amazed she felt the same about him as he did for her, but he was glad of it. She inspired a deep devotion in him.
He snuggled her close as he looked around. “I thought we could enjoy the evening, and snuggle out here as we look upward.”
***
“You always know how to make things that extra bit special” Vanessa told him with a smile before returning his kiss. Presto was not the only one who drew deep devotion from his partner, Vanessa was utterly dedicated to him.
“That is going to be perfect” she said, relaxing a little more, perhaps her vision hadn’t been too foreboding after all.
***
He pulled her to the pillows and settled with her, snuggling and relaxing, and hopeful. Visions could be wrong, right?
“I love you, and I am so glad we can share everything. From dreams to magic to stars.” He smiled softly at her, kissing her nose in a silly fashion.
***
Vanessa laughed, “I love you too and I am very glad I have you here with me. You make everything so much better” she told him happily, snuggling down into his arms comfortably.
***
He kissed her softly and snuggled her close and was very happy to be with her and enjoy this evening, whatever happened.
“The stars are almost as lovely as you tonight.”
***
“That is very sweet of you but I am happy to be outshone by stars, they are rather remote as much as they are beautiful” Vanessa said, “I would rather shine in your arms than in the sky”
***
Presto grinned and kissed her shoulder softly. “I like it much better this way too.” He would rather have her in his arms any day.
He noticed something out of the corner of his eye and looked up to see the moon hanging heavier in the sky than he had remembered. “Hmmm. Does the moon look a little fun-”
And then it happened, mid-sentence. Like a silent explosion that seemed to shake everything, the side of the moon just seemed to shatter, and explode outward. “Oh shit…”
Presto was staring, eyes wide, horror in his mind.
***
Vanessa noticed the moon when Presto did and gasped loudly as it exploded, “Oh no” she said her voice shaky as she gripped Presto tightly. She should have known her vision wouldn’t be something good, something sweet and innocent. No, it was more like she had seen the end of days.
“How has this happened?” she breathed, eyes not able to tear themselves away from the unfolding destruction.
***
Presto held her close, swearing in orcish, a guttural language, eyes wide, and tears in them. “I--- I don’t know. Maybe a comet, or an asteroid? Hitting from the other side of the moon?” then he paused.
“Or a first strike.”
He looked at her, pale.
“If the moon is damaged enough, it will cause earthquakes and tsunamis, not to mention the damage that could be caused if that debris comes down. The perfect softening up if someone wanted to launch an attack in a few days,. After we already react to this crisis.”
He held her close, eyes on the moon again. “Gods…”
***
“It’ll cause chaos everywhere” Vanessa said, “Panic will be widespread. You’re right it would be the perfect time to attack and we’ve seen it before, the kind of things that come here from the dreams of others”
It didn’t bear thinking about, but if they could do that to the moon what could they do to the planet? To everybody on it?
***
Preto hugged her. “I don’t know what to even think. My brain is...is like… frozen. I… “ he shivered and held on tight. “We probably need to call someone. But who?”
He held up a hand, and sketched a sigil in the air, and the air shimmered, giving a slightly closer look at the explosion’s aftermath, and he shivered and dispelled it. “I’m just glad I’m here with you.”
***
“I have no idea, the Agency? The ones who always come out with those silly cover stories for the strange things that happen here?” Vanessa suggested, though she had no idea how they would contact them. “Somebody else must have seen this” they couldn’t be the only ones.
“As am I. I would not want to be on my own” she told him, holding him tightly and showing no signs of letting go anytime soon.
***
“Maybe? We could drop something addressed to them on the network maybe? And to the magic guild?” He sighed and snuggled her and looked up, unsure what to do. But he knew one thing. Whatever happened next, at least he was with her.
With that in mind, he stared upward, holding tight to the woman he loved, and waited for whatever would happen next.