sound of iron shots

[Kristina Northampton]

She was trembling like a leaf - this was never going to work. In her hands was an envelope, with the very lightest dusting of a fragrance that smelt rather like a cross between passionfruit and apple, the pink imprint of her lips on the back, labelled only with a single cross in fountain-pen ink, thin lines scratched into the lilac paper. Inside this envelope was a confession; all of those feelings, those desires, made manifest in paper. Lucile might have provided most of the adjectives with a little help from Manuel, but the sentiment was all her own. Despite her own jealousies, Kristina couldn't bear to look at Ravyn without her heart pumping a thousand times a minute - she was an angel, in even the most literal meaning of the term - oh, what it would be like to feel those wings, to smell her breath, to feel her warmth in her arms, to hold her, just to tell her and know that nobody else would ever know what she said - to go into the sky with her and stroke the face of the clouds, just to be with her, alone with her for even a moment; somewhere, behind this door, she was asleep. Were her wings spread-eagle, or were they wrapped tight around her, keeping her safe and warm from all the hurtful world outside?

Her entire body ached with need for her; to think she was so near, yet so far away killed Kris. Laying a hand on the door, she breathed in through her nose, trying to taste Ravyn's scent, but all she could get was her own little present - kneeling down, blinking fast to hold back the tears welling inside her, she slipped the envelope under the door, and ran, for she did not trust herself to stay, down the corridor, just eight rooms away from her perfect love. It was not easy to sleep that night, knowing that Ravyn would soon be reading that message, but when she finally fell into the mists of sleep, she was with her once again, floating in an ether of perfection. Her voice ran through her dreams, that beautiful, exotic accent flowing like milk into her ears. My dearest Ravyn,

I cannot tell you in mere words how my heart longs to hold you. I see you every day and I know that one day we will be together, but for now circumstances and cruel fate hold us apart. Know that each word of this letter is filled with an undying love that shall never fade, more lustrous than the brightest star, more eternal than all the Gods, and stronger than the mightiest mountain. My heart is yours, Ravyn, now and forever.

May you always have the sun smile on you,

Your Admirer

The morning came with the singing of birds, and Lucile shaking Kristina's wrist. "Get up, get up, eet eez a beautiful day!" It was dark, and cold, but the thin gap between the curtains was casting a thin, desperate beam of light between the darkness - much like Ravyn. Wherever Kris looked, she saw her darling - and that forced her out of bed. Stripping out of her pyjamas, she clambered into a pair of tight leather trousers and a black t-shirt, a peacoat with chains on the shoulders and a pair of knee-high boots covered in fearsome-looking metal buckles & straps, grabbed a pair of leather gloves and rushed out of the door, determined to enjoy the crisp morning weather, enjoying the cold dance of air over her face, a smile forming, biting her top lip with bright eyes and a buzzing feeling at the bottom of her tummy; today was going to be a good day.

Breaking into a run, she rushed through the grounds toward the big training field, launching herself into the green area with all the energy of a dog chasing a ball, running before tumbling over a bit of turf and rolling twice over, before coming to a rest, lying down on the freezing ground, just so happy with life. Something had happened last night, and now the rest of the world just made sense. Each voice was in quiet accordance with the other, and as she stood up, her legs cooperated. Shuffling along, kicking the dew from the grass as she went, this impossibly happy girl in those impossibly sad clothes looked up and saw a black mark darting across the sky, great wings flapping far above – and her smile widened.

“You really are an angel,” she gasped, mouth wide open at the impossibly beautiful sight of her heart's desire, in the morning sky, greeting the sun's first rays. She couldn't bear to look away – and in that moment, that brief, twinkling moment, every single thing in Kristina Northampton's life was perfect.

[Ravyn Rozanova]

Ravyn had spent most of the previous night getting ready for her trip to Russia. It was a vacation she made every year to visit her mom and grandparents, only this year it was a little more special - she had invited Cameron and Noah to come with her, and they had both said yes! She went to bed with eager anticipation, unknowing of the girl that so lovingly left the note outside her door until the following morning.

She woke as usual, taking her time getting ready, since it was a Saturday and she didn't have classes to attend. Tugging on her usual tanktop and jeans, she shrugged on a jacket as well - it was getting cold these days, and she had plans to go out flying. It was pretty early, she realized as she took a glance out the window - but it wasn't raining, which was a relief. Flying in such conditions was always much less pleasant.

She tugged on some boots before opening her door quietly, so as not to bother her roommates if they were still asleep. A small scratchy noise caught her attention, and she looked down to see... An envelope. Ravyn blinked, surprised, and bent down to examine it. It was beautifully decorated, and she caught a whiff of some unfamiliar but enchanting scent. She hesitated for a brief moment as she flipped it over - there on the back was the faint mark of a kiss. A girl's? Ravyn wasn't quite sure what to think.

Rather than mulling it over, she tore open the top with care, gently pulling out the paper within. She opened it and began reading, her heart beginning to quicken as she read the words. It was, in a word... Beautiful. Ravyn had no idea who had left the letter there, or why this admirer had, but it made her head spin so much that she had to reread it several times before she could grasp the meaning.

Someone was in love with her? But who? The words themselves were written in such a way that made Ravyn think of all the love stories she had seen and heard as a kid, and she couldn't help but smile softly to herself. Whoever this mysterious person was... It made Ravyn feel like the most special person in the world in that moment.

She placed the envelope with the paper inside delicately on her desk, taking one last appreciative sniff as she went outside. Her mind buzzed with the possibilities of who could have left it, but she couldn't put a finger on exactly who it could be. In some dreamy back part of her mind, she imagined it was Noah - but, of course, that was ridiculous. For one, he wouldn't have written with such eloquence, or with such obvious femininity. And, she thought, he was much more likely to tell her in person. Still, a girl could dream, right?

Ravyn took off into the air, laughing as the wind took her high more quickly than she was used to; they were pretty strong today. She coasted on the thermals for a while, making large circles around Hammel until her wings grew tired. She wasn't sure how long she had been up in the air before she decided to come down. Rather than making a slow, graceful decent, she decided to roll into a dive. She and Noam had practiced landing the other day, and she was determined to get it right. As she sped towards the ground, however, a gust of wind tugged her in a way she wasn't expecting, and she found herself turned to a semi-sideways position, heading straight for someone on the ground. She let out a gasp.

"Look out!" At the last minute, she got control over herself again, and managed to pull away from the girl, landing with an OOF a few feet away. She quickly pushed herself up from her knees, brushing herself off as she folded her wings against herself and looked over to the person she had almost hit.

"I am so, so, so sorry," she apologized, taking a few steps closer. "I wasn't expecting the wind to act like that - I lost control for a minute." Ravyn studied the girl for a moment, recognizing her from the halls, or somewhere else. "Are you okay?" She hadn't hit her, but it was possible she had been buffeted from the closeness of Ravyn's wings when she landed.

[Kristina Northampton]

There are some things that you really don't need to come out of the sky at you - rain, for example. Pigeon poop. Meteorites, shafts of frozen urine ejected from airplanes (Kristina had seen that picture of the internet of that unfortunate woman in Yorkshire and it still made her giggle), very large bricks, or bombs - what came down and nearly blew Kris off her feet was infinitely more enjoyable than any of those - even almost being killed by Ravyn was a magical experience, and the thought that she had read her letter, that she knew her feelings even if she didn't know their source; it was wonderful. She had actually managed to be so dumbstruck by the sound of her voice that she had stayed perfectly still, even when Ravyn was streaming down towards her and it looked as though she would be splattered across the dirt.

I lost control for a minute. Hah - Kris had lost control the moment she had seen her, and she was never going to get it back. Hell, she didn't even want it back, if she could feel like this forever she would never need another thing so long as she lived; Ravyn's adoration was all that she would ever need in this life. Rushing over, trying to hide her joy at being this close under a mask of concern, she did her best to steady Ravyn, giving her a hand up and struggling to avoid going entirely mad at just how near she was to her heart's desire. Kris had never actually seen Ravyn's wings like this before, never noticed how the light caught the angles in her feathers, nor how pale her skin was, like porcelain or a old-fashioned doll, and her eyes, oh good lord she had the bluest eyes she had ever seen - so full of life, so wonderfully bright, so...so perfect. This was impossible. This was a dream. "I-I am now," Kris stammered, her head light, blushing so much that she imagined she looked like some massive thumb that had just been hit with a hammer.

"Now let me guess," she smirked in her Midlands accent, "You're at Hammel for pyrokinetics, right? Right..." The words rang around Kristina's head, echoing as her vision grew dark and fuzzy, her hands grew cold, and she fell backwards into the unending darkness, deciding that if today was her day to die, if today her blood ran cold and her time came to an end, it was a life well spent so near to the one she adored. When she finally came to, Ravyn was leant over her, saying something unintelligible, distant and muted, like far-off artillery firing or fireworks through fog. Kris' soft smile returned to her lips, and weakly, she mewed, "Looks like it's my turn to apologise."

[Ravyn Rozanova]

Ravyn was impressed by how still the girl had stayed as she plummeted towards her - maybe she was paralyzed from fear? Either way, it wasn't usual for her to fall like that, and she felt bad. She couldn't have really hurt the girl.

She hadn't expected her to come over to help, either, and smiled gratefully as she took the offered hand and continued to brush herself off. "Thank you," she said with appreciation, beaming at her. "I don't typically land that hard, so I hope you don't judge me," she added with a laugh. It was true, she usually had landing pretty much perfected. This girl was quite pretty, Ravyn thought, in a sort of unusual sense. She tried to think if she knew her name, but it just wasn't coming to her. When she said she was alright, Ravyn let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, good, I would have felt horrible if something had happened." The comment about her being okay now went over Ravyn's head, as she had know reason to know it was this blonde that had left the letter.

Ravyn cocked her head in confusion as she continued talking, unsure of what she meant. Was she being sarcastic? Before she could say anything, though, the girl had suddenly collapsed without warning, and though Ravyn gasped and tried to keep her from falling, she still landed pretty roughly. "What-?" Ravyn began to ask, but realized it was pointless - she was out cold. Ravyn bent over on her knees over her, gaping and wondering what to do. Should she call someone? An ambulance? Maybe she should run back to the school to get someone. But it didn't seem like a good idea to leave her alone, and it wasn't too long before she started stirring. "Wake up, sweetie," Ravyn told her, shaking her shoulders gently. "Are you alright?" Obviously something was wrong, but at least she was coming to. When she spoke, Ravyn shook her head. "Of course it's not. You did nothing wrong. I just want to make sure you're okay. Did I hit you without realizing it?" Maybe she had hit the girl's head and it had caused a delayed reaction, or something.

[Kristina Northampton]

Wake up, Kristina. Wake up and smell the ashes. Wake up and smell the roses. Wake up, and see the cloths of heav'n - but I, being poor, have only my dreams, and I have spread them beneath your feet. Tread softly, because you tread on my dreams. Yeats, in the deep, dulcet tones that only Sean Bean could create rang around inside Kris' ears as the world turned from dark to half-light, and then to light, to a halo of rays around the dark silhouette of Ravyn's head, the cold winter air whirling slowly around her hair. Wake up, sweetie. One day she would say that, and she would turn over in her bed to see Ravyn, smiling, holding her hand, all in white, in a Swiss cabin atop a mountain of reasonable height in a perpetual summer, in the land of her dreams with the only woman in all the world who could ever make them complete.

"I don't t-think so," groaned Kristina, sitting up, leaning against her arms behind her, the blood rushing to her head - or was it away? She never really found the source of that bizarre tingling sensation when one stood up too quickly, and making a mental note to ask one of her teachers exactly why that happened, she blinked twice, looking around, making sure everything was still working. [/i]Quite a fall you took there,[/i] chimed in Lord Fortesque, far too chipper for Krissy's liking. You really must be more careful, dear girl. You shouldn't be cavorting with strange eastern gypsies with wings - 'tis quite unhealthy for a girl of your age! "Shut up," she spat, before realising her mistake and blushing. "Sorry, not you! I...sorry!" Shaking her head as though she were more confused than she actually was, Kristina tried to plead ignorance before coming back to her senses. "Ahm...you must be...Ravyn, right?" Even her name is dreamy. 'Ravyn' - familiar like butter but wonderful like mint cream. "Kristina Northampton - first-time crash-test dummy!" spurted the young woman, sticking an awkward hand out for her to shake. "Er...how do you sleep?"

Smooth, Kris. Real smooth.

[Ravyn Rozanova]

Ravyn hovered around the girl as she began to sit up, resting a hand on her shoulder in case she was going to fall back again or anything. Her eyes creased in worry, especially when she answered her question. "Do I... Need to call someone?" she asked, unsure of what to do, but wanting to help if she could. Was it possible she had these fainting spells often? Ravyn couldn't think of what else would have caused it. "Or would you just like some water or something?" She wasn't really good at this, as much as she wished she was.

When she spat out, Ravyn flinched, jerking away slightly. But apparently it wasn't directed at her, if Kris's words meant anything, and her concern only grew. "It's... It's okay," she said soothingly. Maybe she had hit her head harder against the ground than Ravyn realized.

She smiled, though, as she seemed to recognize her. That was good, at least, even though Ravyn wasn't quite sure where she would have heard the name. She supposed people spoke of her occasionally. "Yes, that's right," she nodded. "The girl with the ironic name." She laughed slightly, motioning to her wings. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Kristina," she added, chuckling again at the joke. "Well, next time, I'd wear better protective gear," she replied, tapping her own head gently. "I wouldn't want you to get hurt on my account, especially when I really should have better control."

She took the girl's hand when offered, raising an eyebrow at the question. "I slept well, thank you," she replied, wondering why she had asked. A sudden memory made her smile and continue on. "I woke up to a lovely surprise, too. It's always nice to wake up to unexpected letters laying at your door." Even though she still had no idea who it was from, the thought alone made her feel all fluttery inside.

[Kristina Northampton]

Ravyn hadn't quite understood Kris' question, but given the speed of her landing that was probably forgiveable. As she described the message under her door, Kris shoved her hands in her pockets and bit down on her lip to stop herself squealing like the schoolgirl she was - Ravyn's smile betrayed her reaction to the letter, and the thought that she had made her happy was like a thousand birthdays and Christmases all at once. Still, it was for the best that she continue with the lie, for now - make her not suspect Kristina and the surprise would be all the greater if she ever told her. "Oh, a letter? Some romantic gushing from one of your hordes of admirers, or was it just an electricity bill?"

Somehow, once she had said it, the joke didn't seem quite as funny as it had inside her head - it wasn't the first time Heinrich's humour didn't go down too spectacularly well - that one joke about the rabbi, the imam, and the bacon salesman had gone especially bad - detention had been involved, but at least the teacher at the business end of the slightly insensitive joke hadn't cried too much. "So...uhm...awkward silences?"

[Ravyn Rozanova]

Ravyn still wondered who could have placed the letter under her door; she hoped whoever it was would tell her at some point, just so she would know. She wasn't quite sure how she would react, but she wasn't about to cruelly turn down someone who so obviously felt something towards her. She knew how that felt. Either that, or the letter was a joke, and she could just laugh it off in the future. "Oh, gosh, I don't have hordes of admirers," she laughed. Other than the person who had left it, she didn't know of any. "But, yeah, it was the sweetest letter I've ever read. I just wish I knew who it was from." She vaguely wondered how Kris had guessed, but it wasn't really important. Or so she thought.

She had thought the joke was funny, as was plain to tell by the smile that stayed on her face. The silence wasn't too awkward in her opinion, but she chuckled once more, motioning to Hammel. "How about we head inside? I'm a bit chilly now that I'm not flying." She thought it would be best for the girl to sit down, too, considering she had just fainted. She turned to head towards the building, shooting the blonde a look over her shoulder to see if she was following.