also ran (
foxysquidalso) wrote2007-10-10 05:22 pm
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Work Write: Two Spirits
Haha, I am writing at work! So glamorous.
rufftoon said I could write a story set in her "Water Tribe Zhao" AU. So--I am doing so. As it's enjoyable!
YES, it is about Hahn. I have to pollute everything with my Hahn agenda! But (surprisingly) it is not slashy! Well, maybe secretly. But not really...
This is just a tiny bit of the (completely unedited) beginning.
Two Spirits.
Zhaoka felt a chill on the back of his neck, due to more than just the winter cold that plagued him and knotted achingly in his joints. He turned in time to see a man standing in the ice archway a full fifty paces behind. Their gazes met for a moment, and then the other man turned away, passing through the arch and disappearing from sight.
Zhaoka looked at Horuk, but the other man didn't say anything, paused mid-stride as if waiting for Zhaoka to continue walking, so he did.
"Who's that?" Zhaoka asked, his warm breath manifesting itself in the air as a pale cloud.
"Who is who?" Horuk asked, the tone of his deep voice even less forthcoming than usual.
"Didn't you see him?" Still walking, Zhaoka gestured back towards the arch. "He was standing there."
Horuk's reply was terse. "I saw him."
It was not full winter yet, but the days were fleeting. Already the sky was purple with twilight. Zhaoka and Horuk were on their way back to the forge after hours at the docks, haggling with Earth Kingdom traders, eying the new merchandise they were unloading, and for some of the time simply watching. Winter was a lonely, hard few months, and as the days continued to grow shorter, fewer and fewer merchant vessels would sail into Water Tribe harbors. Until then, everyone tried to find what entertainment they could, making memories to keep and cherish throughout the long, cold winter.
Zhaoka could tell when Horuk was feeling reticent, and he didn't press--yet. "I've seen him before," he said casually. And he had, once or twice. The stranger was younger, but certainly old enough to be a full member of the tribe. He was much like any other young man, and Zhaoka might not even have noticed him but for the way he watched. The two or three times Zhaoka had spotted him, always within the walls of the city, the young man had been regarding him with a particularly fixed stare. It was not that he had never been stared at before, but this was different, more focused and more prolonged.
"Have you?" asked Horuk, as if he wasn't interested.
"He looks at me like he knows me," Zhaoka said slowly.
Horus stopped, looked at him. "He doesn't know you."
Zhaoka had only had three years of life, more or less, since the time he had lost his memory. In all that time, no one had come up to him and claimed to have known him in earlier days. No one had shared stories with him of the things he had done before he had lost his memory of who he was. Yes, Horuk and Chief Arnook and the other men of the tribe had been generous, and he had his place at the forge, crafting weapons for the warriors, a task he enjoyed as well as excelled at. Now, as had happened before, Horuk betrayed at some least some passing knowledge of his old life, knowledge he was unwilling to share, for whatever reason.
"And how do you know that?"
"Because I know him." Horuk shook his head. "Maybe he's got some idea about you, but it isn't because he knows you. He's a strange one, that's all."
"Who is he?" Zhaoka asked again.
Horuk let out a long, deep breath. "You don't give up. Well, it's a long walk back to the forge."
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YES, it is about Hahn. I have to pollute everything with my Hahn agenda! But (surprisingly) it is not slashy! Well, maybe secretly. But not really...
This is just a tiny bit of the (completely unedited) beginning.
Two Spirits.
Zhaoka felt a chill on the back of his neck, due to more than just the winter cold that plagued him and knotted achingly in his joints. He turned in time to see a man standing in the ice archway a full fifty paces behind. Their gazes met for a moment, and then the other man turned away, passing through the arch and disappearing from sight.
Zhaoka looked at Horuk, but the other man didn't say anything, paused mid-stride as if waiting for Zhaoka to continue walking, so he did.
"Who's that?" Zhaoka asked, his warm breath manifesting itself in the air as a pale cloud.
"Who is who?" Horuk asked, the tone of his deep voice even less forthcoming than usual.
"Didn't you see him?" Still walking, Zhaoka gestured back towards the arch. "He was standing there."
Horuk's reply was terse. "I saw him."
It was not full winter yet, but the days were fleeting. Already the sky was purple with twilight. Zhaoka and Horuk were on their way back to the forge after hours at the docks, haggling with Earth Kingdom traders, eying the new merchandise they were unloading, and for some of the time simply watching. Winter was a lonely, hard few months, and as the days continued to grow shorter, fewer and fewer merchant vessels would sail into Water Tribe harbors. Until then, everyone tried to find what entertainment they could, making memories to keep and cherish throughout the long, cold winter.
Zhaoka could tell when Horuk was feeling reticent, and he didn't press--yet. "I've seen him before," he said casually. And he had, once or twice. The stranger was younger, but certainly old enough to be a full member of the tribe. He was much like any other young man, and Zhaoka might not even have noticed him but for the way he watched. The two or three times Zhaoka had spotted him, always within the walls of the city, the young man had been regarding him with a particularly fixed stare. It was not that he had never been stared at before, but this was different, more focused and more prolonged.
"Have you?" asked Horuk, as if he wasn't interested.
"He looks at me like he knows me," Zhaoka said slowly.
Horus stopped, looked at him. "He doesn't know you."
Zhaoka had only had three years of life, more or less, since the time he had lost his memory. In all that time, no one had come up to him and claimed to have known him in earlier days. No one had shared stories with him of the things he had done before he had lost his memory of who he was. Yes, Horuk and Chief Arnook and the other men of the tribe had been generous, and he had his place at the forge, crafting weapons for the warriors, a task he enjoyed as well as excelled at. Now, as had happened before, Horuk betrayed at some least some passing knowledge of his old life, knowledge he was unwilling to share, for whatever reason.
"And how do you know that?"
"Because I know him." Horuk shook his head. "Maybe he's got some idea about you, but it isn't because he knows you. He's a strange one, that's all."
"Who is he?" Zhaoka asked again.
Horuk let out a long, deep breath. "You don't give up. Well, it's a long walk back to the forge."
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moar!
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Well, work is STILL SLOW, so I might get more done!
Haha, it's lots of fun.
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Moar plz
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I have had a chance to sneakily write some more at work, bwa ha ha.
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Ha ha, your excitement is making me more excited!
This is way too much fun to write.
*silly*
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And for excitement!
I like fun. And friends! ♥
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i am afraid i have been tainted by your avatar-slashworld mindset [it is a good kind of fear].
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And I try to taint as many people as possible, so it's good to know it's working! ;)
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Looking forward to seeing more. Very much so. :)
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I'm so glad you like it thus far! :D