Carol Danvers & Violet Sorrengail ft. Tairn & Andarna
WHAT: Carol wakes up bonded to Violet's dragons and boy, is it a headache WHERE: Tairn and Andarna's cove (between the mountains and forest) WHEN: This morning WARNINGS: Grumpy dragon and grumpy powerless superhero STATUS: Complete ART CREDIT:imlouise_art @ instagram
Violet had always been an early riser, that was one of the perks of growing up training to be a Scribe, and then even later one of the few benefits Basgiath had offered. Tairn and Andarna usually left her a little bit of peace and quiet in the morning, but Andarna was always first. She’d missed it terribly in the two months Violet had been here without Andarna, especially after having just got her back.
So silence when she first woke up wasn’t unusual, but there was already a pit in her stomach. That feeling of dread that was so similar to the times Violet had been drugged and her connection to her dragons had been severed. It was a one-of-a-kind feeling that she’d never liked, but ever since she’d been kidnapped by Varrish, it made her skin crawl.
Violet had practically launched herself out of bed and put on whatever clothes were nearby, desperately reaching out for either Tairn or Andarna in her head. It was one thing to be blocked or block them mentally, but this was another entirely. Were they missing? Had they disappeared like so many people in this place? She wasn’t sure if she could stomach that.
Tairn had found them an acceptable cove that was nestled in between the mountains and the forest, it was both lush and protected on three sides, and allowed Andarna room to hunt. Violet had found it adorable, because it felt like he had been making a home for Sgaeyl’s hopeful arrival, but she knew it had to be lonely. It was the first place she could think to go, and Violet hopped a few waypoints to get herself closer to marching right out there, prepared to be devastated when neither Tairn or Andarna greeted her.
But instead she found both of them, clearly agitated but grounded, and Violet moved forward in a far more graceful way than her normal stomp called for. “Okay, can someone please tell me what’s going on here? Am I in trouble?” Andarna’s head whipped to look at Violet, but she still didn’t hear that sweet voice in her head and Violet was one step away from screaming.
Carol wasn’t usually the type to sleep in, but she hadn’t been feeling quite herself for a while now. Losing her wife, her ex-lover, and a swathe of friends she’d called family all in one fell swoop had taken its toll. She was doing better, trudging through life in Vallo because she was still here. She still had people – Kamala foremost important among them, still counting on her and doing her best to pull her out of her funk – and she had to move forward.
Today, Kamala didn’t have classes until later in the morning, so she lingered in bed, clung to whatever sleep she could. She still dreamed of Emme sometimes, still felt her, and waking up meant going through another day without her. It wasn’t an experience she relished.
That lingering was interrupted, however, when a gruff voice boomed through her head and startled the vestiges of sleep right out of her.
“Who are YOU?”
She nearly fell out of bed then and there, head whipping around to find the source of the voice, but there was no one to be found. She knew that wasn’t Kamala’s voice – it was deep and definitely male, something not even her goofy teenager could mimic for a prank – and there were no other speech-capable beings in the house. A chill had slipped down her spine when she started wondering if she was going crazy – thinking, in her own head – and found the same voice answering her. And soon enough, it was joined by a higher, female voice making sassy comments.
Certainly felt like she was losing her fucking mind, but she figured it had to be some sort of telepathy. That was a thing in Vallo and even in her world; Wanda worked that kind of magic, and Carol had heard her voice in her head several times, especially lately. It was the unfamiliarity of these voices that was throwing her the most.
The strangest part was that, even when the voices died down, she felt connected to them, like she was tethered to them. And she felt drawn to go to them, especially as they expressed anger and annoyance that held an undercurrent of fear. Carol had never been one to turn away from anyone in need, so she got herself into semi-public-appropriate clothes, tied her hair back into a messy bun, and attempted to lift off from the front porch.
She went absolutely nowhere. And that was when it set in that the cosmic pulse she always felt thrumming through her was gone. Which meant her powers were gone, something she’d experienced exactly once since being here and hated for every single moment. Great.
That pull wasn’t letting up, unfortunately, nor was the energy that still crackled beneath her skin – there was still power here, just not hers and not something she could easily access. So off she went, walking to the nearest waypoint and cycling through a few more until she felt like she was closing in on her destination. Ending up in front of a cove up against the mountainside and containing two dragons was a surprise but nothing she couldn’t handle. She’d seen plenty of Temeraire in her time spent with Laurence, she could handle dragons – until her head filled with voices again. Her hands instinctively slapped over her temples, and she squinted up at the bigger of the two.
“Holy shit, can we all calm down?”
Tairn regarded the newcomer with his customary unamused stare - if you could even tell a dragon was unamused, Tairn was the example set. He was clearly displeased by the fact that he was now connected to a stranger, and not his Silver One. The disdain in his voice was likely evident as he looked to her. “I am calm, Golden Mane, but you have not answered my question.”
Violet couldn’t hear what he was saying to her, but she knew Tairn, and she knew that both of them had little patience for anything out of their control. Or-- really, anything. She’d had to play mediator a few times here in Vallo, with the rules and laws being different than what they were used to and the fear that what happened to Del could happen to them. But now there was just stress, not even Andarna’s sweet explanations (or sassy comebacks, as she was more inclined to give these days) could soften any blows coming at her.
She rubbed her hands over her face before looking to Carol, they’d already met a few times, through Defense and when Andarna had arrived, and Violet liked her, but there was this pang of jealousy settling into her core she had to push away to get through this. “You can hear them, can’t you? It’s like they’re in your head?”
“Yeah. I didn’t realize they were yours.” Carol sent Violet a tired nod, then glowered up at Tairn for the loudness in her head. She knew it wasn’t his or anyone’s fault, that whatever the hell was going on was out of their control as much as it was hers. This was one of those stupid little tricks Vallo liked to play; it used to at least be funny on occasion, but now, just the thought of it exhausted her. Add on having her powers ripped away, a feeling that was never going to set well with her – and to have them replaced with this situation didn’t make it any better – and she was probably just as grumpy as the giant dragon.
Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to shift back into Captain Marvel mode. This was business, not pleasure, and she needed to cooperate instead of overreact if they were going to get a handle on any of this.
“Sorry,” she said, softening her expression as she looked between the two dragons. “I’m Carol. I didn’t respond well because, well, dragon voices in my head are unusual. But your friend and I here,” she gestured to Violet as she spoke, “we’ve met. My kid, Kamala, found Andarna when she first got here. Promise I’m not posing any threat.” Especially now.
Andarna picked that moment to pipe up, and she moved forward, out from under the safety of Tairn’s tucked wing. She was still just small enough to fit, but getting bigger by the week, to the point where Violet was sure she was going to end up close to Sgaeyl’s size. “I liked her! She isn’t Violet, but she was very nice, and helped me.” Then there was an indignant huff from Andarna’s nostrils. “I did not need the help, but it was nice.”
Oh, Violet really hated not being able to hear them. Not only was she curious but that surge of jealousy rose up again. She rubbed her temple. “This must be what all of my friends feel like when Xaden argues with me in my head.” It was mostly muttered to herself, because Carol wouldn’t know who Xaden is, or why he argued with her in her head.
But she had to feel useful somehow. Her shoulders slumped. “I guess you’re bonded with them now? Hopefully temporarily.” Tairn growled in the background as if to say it better be, but Violet ignored it. “Um so you might also have my other abilities? Channeling lightning. There’s also Lesser Magic, like unlocking doors, setting runes, creating sound barriers. I don’t think I have anything right now.” Or, at least, nothing happened when she held out her hand and tried to channel power through it.
Carol smiled appreciatively at Andarna. It was hard not to like Kamala, even for dragons, apparently. She did tend to get a little overeager, especially when it came to animals and the various other creatures Vallo housed, but she meant well. It was nice to have the confirmation that Andarna had seen that and didn’t mind. Hopefully that vote of confidence would gain her some favor with Tairn, too.
With the dragons satisfied for the moment, she turned back to Violet and raked a hand through her long blonde hair – Golden Mane, the name Tairn had given her, was apt, she had to give it to him.
“It’ll definitely be temporary,” she said first and foremost, placing a hand on Violet’s shoulder to offer a bit of comfort. “You haven’t been here long, so it might sound arrogant of me to say that, but trust me. I’ve been around long enough to know this is just Vallo being… Vallo. You’ll get everything back. Timeline’s anyone’s guess, though.”
Where her powers had gone was another mystery she’d have to solve – soon. Violet may have passed on her ability to channel lightning, but Carol’s powers were a cosmic bomb waiting to go off.
As if to reassure Violet, Andarna pushed her head into Violet’s side and nudged her. Violet responded by running a hand over her and hugging lightly. “Temporary, good. This’ll be a weird few days or however long it takes, but we’ve been through worse, right?” That was to Andarna, who knew damn well they had been through worse than just being cut off from communicating. It was practically a relief that torture wasn’t involved this time.
“Will you get me if they need anything? Or-” Their little cove wasn’t very well protected by the elements, and Violet looked around at the remnants of snow. She didn’t have lightning to keep her warm, but the dragons were practically heaters. “I could get a tent or something and camp out here, I guess, if that’s easier.”
Tairn rumbled. Then addressed Carol, “Tell Silver One that is unnecessary. Though I do not appreciate this world removing my ability to protect her, we will not make trouble. But I will not silence myself, you will simply have to learn proper shielding.”
Even without Tairn’s input, Carol was already frowning at the idea of Violet camping up out here with the two of them. Winter hadn’t quite passed, and nights were cold. She was already the only non-dragon person here from her world, there was no doubt that was tough. Having the bond with her dragons removed on top of that couldn’t make that any easier.
“Tairn says that you don’t need to do that and they won’t make trouble. And that you’ll have to teach me how to shield if I don’t want to hear them.” She glanced up at him with a playful smirk. “Just don’t wake me up in the middle of the night and we won’t have that problem. You won’t be interrupting anything exciting.”
Turning back to Violet, she considered her thoughtfully for a moment. “Alright, I have a thought. Stay with Kamala and me. I can hear them right now, and you can’t. If you’re close and something’s going on, I’ll be right there to tell you. And if either of them feels like I have bad intentions at some point, I don’t have my powers. Perfect timing to incinerate me.”
If she’d been home and that offer had been presented to her, there was pretty much no way Violet would’ve said yes. But she couldn’t trust half the population of her world (maybe more) to not kill her in her sleep, and being in someone else’s house was-- risky. Xaden would probably still consider this risky, but she had to bet on the fact that even if the bond was stripped, even if they were connected to Carol, Tairn and Andarna would have her back.
It took her a second to agree, though, and she spent that time glancing between her dragons, as if she was willing herself to be able to talk to them in private about this, until she finally gave up with a little sigh. “Okay. Yeah. Just for a little while. That’ll help for me teaching you how to shield- not that I-” Violet gave a helpless little shrug. “I’m still not even great at it, I don’t know how good of a teacher I’ll be.”
Carol shrugged. Now that she had come here and spoken with everyone, she wasn’t as worried about her mind being infested with dragon voices. “Tell me what you know, and I’ll figure out how to handle it,” she said. “I’ve dealt with worse.”
Controlling powers was second nature to her. The lightning Volet had mentioned, she didn’t foresee having any issue there. Mental connections were a different story. She didn’t have the same experience blocking them out – and in her most recent cases, it was Wanda. She didn’t want to.
“Have you–” She paused for a moment, then turned to address the question to Tairn instead. “Have you considered staying at the Dragon Covert? Laurence and Temerarie’s place? I bet it’d be a hell of a lot more comfortable than here.”
Tairn grumbled again, this time a little lower in his throat. It was to attempt to cut off Andarna, who hopped up curiously and then looked to Tairn with a smug little tilt of her chin. She spoke in her sweet voice to Carol, with an air of someone who just got validated. “I suggested that! But he said we do not need nicer, that this will do.” Tairn sighed. He was clearly already over the adolescent and her ideas.
“We do not require comfort and I do not trust them. Perhaps it will come in time. For now, this is our place.” There was no room for argument in his tone.
The silence that followed Carol’s question left Violet antsy, she started shifting from one foot, then the other - and after a tug and pull of pain, she frowned at the fact that she’d lost all of the perks of what she’d worked for yet kept whatever this pain was. How the fuck was that fair? None of this felt fair in the moment, to any of them. “I trust them to know what they want to do. But I also kind of need to get out of here right now so you guys can either stay and get to know each other and I’ll come back in a little bit. Or you can go with me and we’ll work on shields.”
Andarna pushed her head into Violet’s hand, and she had to fight back the tears that flooded her eyes for that brief moment, but she still stroked Andarna’s muzzle. That wasn’t something she’d ever turn down.
That was fair enough. They were still new here, and it was clear just from the few interactions she’d had with them up until now that dragons had very different rules in these two very separate worlds. Carol wasn’t their rider – she wasn’t going to push – but she did wonder if it would be easier on Violet if they went the more comfortable route. They probably heard that thought, too; shields might be more in order than she thought if she wanted to pass on incurring Tairn’s wrath.
“Let’s do breakfast, then shields,” Carol decided, turning to slide an arm around Violet’s shoulders. They may not know each other well, but becoming bonded to her dragons had left her feeling a surge of protectiveness toward her. She shot Violet a smile, still tinged with exhaustion but much more genuine. “I make amazing waffles, just ask Kamala.”