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fan_flashworks2020-04-11 12:11 am
down) wrote in fan_flashworks2020-04-11 12:11 am
Entry tags:
Magic Knight Rayearth: Fanfic: growing pains
Title: growing pains
Fandom: Magic Knight Rayearth
Rating: General
Length: 1000ish words
Content notes: None
Author notes: post-canon, Umi and Clef
Summary: Clef's got a job for Umi.
oOo
"You said you wanted to play your part, right?"
"Huh?" Umi looked up from her university coursework - Cephiro was a far nicer place to do her homework than her dorm - to see Clef in his newly-tall form. He was leaning against the doorframe a little too casually, like he wasn't entirely sure his legs were going to keep him upright if he didn't hold on to something. And he was smiling at her.
"Cephiro's rebuilding. You want to do something to help, that's what you told me back at Festival. Were you just tipsy, or did you mean it? Because if you did, there's something which needs doing which I think is just suited to someone of your talents. …You might need to practise a bit of magic first, though."
"I meant it, definitely, I- what is it?" Her university papers went on the table, along with her pen, as she bounced to her feet.
"Unless you have work you need to do…" he looked at the papers, and then pulled a face at her. "That's not due tomorrow, is it?"
Umi shoved him - gently - on the shoulder. "Would I ever leave things to the last mi-"
"Yes, you absolutely would!" He swayed slightly, and she ended up grabbing his arm to keep him standing. "Just last week you were hiding in my study until all hours, trying to get that report finished where Fuu wouldn't see you-"
"And I learned my lesson! Maybe. This isn't due for a few days, it's fine." His robes were wonderfully soft under her hand, like thousand-count cotton. And he was absolutely swaying on his feet. "Look, are you going to trip over yourself again walking down the corridor, or did you actually manage to get out and about and get used to being a little bit taller yet?"
"It's not my fault I got taller and then we hit a small emergency! I've been stuck in Council or in the Guild meetings for three weeks." He grinned at her. "It's good that Cephiro's so healthy she wants to expand, but we're not exactly set up to support an expansion, so-"
"I know, but you need to be moving about! Get some training in with the Guards, or something-"
"I know Ferio would love to laugh himself silly at me tripping over my own feet every morning, but I don't think Lantis would let him give me a sword to hold while I did it, so I'll pass on that thanks." He grinned at her. "Anyway, come out with me today and you can help with a little of that, and maybe I'll have some time to get some walking in."
Shaking her head, Umi let go as he got his balance back. It was still bizarre seeing him this tall - but it was almost more startling seeing him this happy. The more energy Cephiro had, the more he seemed to have too - even if both of them were going through some growing pains right now. He'd not got any taller since last week, but he'd been having issues with vertigo since he shot up, and it obviously hadn't let up.
But he was still beaming at her, even though that must feel terrible.
It made her wonder just how much of a strain he'd been carrying, helping support Cephiro even after the reformation. That was one of the reasons she'd made certain she could get to Cephiro on her own, wherever she was, before actually moving off to University in Kyoto - and it meant she still saw Hikaru and Fuu at least once a week, which was great, they all dropped in pretty frequently. But today it was just her. "So, what do you need a magic knight for?"
"The knight of water, in particular," he said, and set off down the corridor - at a fairly sedate pace, and she kept her arm out where he could grab it if he needed to. "We need to move a river a few miles or else the new peninsular that wants to grow is going to be a confused island - I figure if you ask nicely, she might just co-operate."
"…She?"
oOo
Moving a river apparently involved calling the river spirit up and trying to talk them into it, before you actually did any heavy lifting - which made sense, but it was still a little disturbing to stand there watching the High Priest prepare to actually call the river up so they could have a chat.
Umi was still rehearsing the spell she would need to do the actual shifting, staring at the map in her hands, when the new Soru - a woman called Zafira, who looked uncomfortably like Zagato's washed-out ghost with her long pale hair and the white version of the high priest's robes she wore - turned to look at both of them for the third time since they'd arrived.
Clef was sat on a boulder by Umi's side, face turned into the sunlight, and still apparently felt the dubiousness emanating their way. "Do you have a question, Soru?"
There was silence for a few seconds before Zafira gave in, and burst out with "May I ask why you have nominated an untrained mage to carry out a piece of vital work?"
"Because the Master Healer has declared I'm not to do any magic of significance until my form and therefore my power has settled, and there's no one else I trust to handle this but Umi," he said, opening his eyes to give Zafira an amused look. "You did insist that this be done now - if you wish to delay it, we could, or you could speak to Miura and try to change her mind…"
Zafira blushed bright red, but turned grumpily back to the water, which was trickling past them at a moderate rate, singing happily - they were pretty close to the source, here, next to a small shrine of the kind Umi was getting used to finding dotted about Cephiro, a little tree over a carved stone, this one with a bell hung in the tree so you could call attention by ringing it. Zafira apparently had a whole ritual she was meant to go through before she rang it, so this was apparently going to take a little while.
"They don't half irritate each other, do they," a bright voice said in Umi's ear, and she startled badly, nearly dropping the map, and turning to face a woman who - well, she hadn't been there a moment before, her voice gurgled with laughter like the water in the stream, and she was both slightly transparent and wearing nothing. "What are we up to?"
"…Hi," Umi said to the river's spirit, as Zafira spun about with an indescribable look on her face and Clef burst out laughing. "I'm Umi, it's nice to meet you - uh, we need to move where your river ends, if that's okay? Cephiro's getting all restless and trying to throw a peninsula out where you meet the sea-"
"Yeah, things have been getting itchy. Explain these drawings to me?" the woman sidled closer, smiling, and Umi couldn't help but grin back at her.
In the background, she could hear Clef saying 'see? This is why I thought she could help.'
oOo
She was too exhausted to get home that night, but the river was running where she needed to be - and she got back before her classes in the morning, feeling very pleased with herself.
Fandom: Magic Knight Rayearth
Rating: General
Length: 1000ish words
Content notes: None
Author notes: post-canon, Umi and Clef
Summary: Clef's got a job for Umi.
oOo
"You said you wanted to play your part, right?"
"Huh?" Umi looked up from her university coursework - Cephiro was a far nicer place to do her homework than her dorm - to see Clef in his newly-tall form. He was leaning against the doorframe a little too casually, like he wasn't entirely sure his legs were going to keep him upright if he didn't hold on to something. And he was smiling at her.
"Cephiro's rebuilding. You want to do something to help, that's what you told me back at Festival. Were you just tipsy, or did you mean it? Because if you did, there's something which needs doing which I think is just suited to someone of your talents. …You might need to practise a bit of magic first, though."
"I meant it, definitely, I- what is it?" Her university papers went on the table, along with her pen, as she bounced to her feet.
"Unless you have work you need to do…" he looked at the papers, and then pulled a face at her. "That's not due tomorrow, is it?"
Umi shoved him - gently - on the shoulder. "Would I ever leave things to the last mi-"
"Yes, you absolutely would!" He swayed slightly, and she ended up grabbing his arm to keep him standing. "Just last week you were hiding in my study until all hours, trying to get that report finished where Fuu wouldn't see you-"
"And I learned my lesson! Maybe. This isn't due for a few days, it's fine." His robes were wonderfully soft under her hand, like thousand-count cotton. And he was absolutely swaying on his feet. "Look, are you going to trip over yourself again walking down the corridor, or did you actually manage to get out and about and get used to being a little bit taller yet?"
"It's not my fault I got taller and then we hit a small emergency! I've been stuck in Council or in the Guild meetings for three weeks." He grinned at her. "It's good that Cephiro's so healthy she wants to expand, but we're not exactly set up to support an expansion, so-"
"I know, but you need to be moving about! Get some training in with the Guards, or something-"
"I know Ferio would love to laugh himself silly at me tripping over my own feet every morning, but I don't think Lantis would let him give me a sword to hold while I did it, so I'll pass on that thanks." He grinned at her. "Anyway, come out with me today and you can help with a little of that, and maybe I'll have some time to get some walking in."
Shaking her head, Umi let go as he got his balance back. It was still bizarre seeing him this tall - but it was almost more startling seeing him this happy. The more energy Cephiro had, the more he seemed to have too - even if both of them were going through some growing pains right now. He'd not got any taller since last week, but he'd been having issues with vertigo since he shot up, and it obviously hadn't let up.
But he was still beaming at her, even though that must feel terrible.
It made her wonder just how much of a strain he'd been carrying, helping support Cephiro even after the reformation. That was one of the reasons she'd made certain she could get to Cephiro on her own, wherever she was, before actually moving off to University in Kyoto - and it meant she still saw Hikaru and Fuu at least once a week, which was great, they all dropped in pretty frequently. But today it was just her. "So, what do you need a magic knight for?"
"The knight of water, in particular," he said, and set off down the corridor - at a fairly sedate pace, and she kept her arm out where he could grab it if he needed to. "We need to move a river a few miles or else the new peninsular that wants to grow is going to be a confused island - I figure if you ask nicely, she might just co-operate."
"…She?"
oOo
Moving a river apparently involved calling the river spirit up and trying to talk them into it, before you actually did any heavy lifting - which made sense, but it was still a little disturbing to stand there watching the High Priest prepare to actually call the river up so they could have a chat.
Umi was still rehearsing the spell she would need to do the actual shifting, staring at the map in her hands, when the new Soru - a woman called Zafira, who looked uncomfortably like Zagato's washed-out ghost with her long pale hair and the white version of the high priest's robes she wore - turned to look at both of them for the third time since they'd arrived.
Clef was sat on a boulder by Umi's side, face turned into the sunlight, and still apparently felt the dubiousness emanating their way. "Do you have a question, Soru?"
There was silence for a few seconds before Zafira gave in, and burst out with "May I ask why you have nominated an untrained mage to carry out a piece of vital work?"
"Because the Master Healer has declared I'm not to do any magic of significance until my form and therefore my power has settled, and there's no one else I trust to handle this but Umi," he said, opening his eyes to give Zafira an amused look. "You did insist that this be done now - if you wish to delay it, we could, or you could speak to Miura and try to change her mind…"
Zafira blushed bright red, but turned grumpily back to the water, which was trickling past them at a moderate rate, singing happily - they were pretty close to the source, here, next to a small shrine of the kind Umi was getting used to finding dotted about Cephiro, a little tree over a carved stone, this one with a bell hung in the tree so you could call attention by ringing it. Zafira apparently had a whole ritual she was meant to go through before she rang it, so this was apparently going to take a little while.
"They don't half irritate each other, do they," a bright voice said in Umi's ear, and she startled badly, nearly dropping the map, and turning to face a woman who - well, she hadn't been there a moment before, her voice gurgled with laughter like the water in the stream, and she was both slightly transparent and wearing nothing. "What are we up to?"
"…Hi," Umi said to the river's spirit, as Zafira spun about with an indescribable look on her face and Clef burst out laughing. "I'm Umi, it's nice to meet you - uh, we need to move where your river ends, if that's okay? Cephiro's getting all restless and trying to throw a peninsula out where you meet the sea-"
"Yeah, things have been getting itchy. Explain these drawings to me?" the woman sidled closer, smiling, and Umi couldn't help but grin back at her.
In the background, she could hear Clef saying 'see? This is why I thought she could help.'
oOo
She was too exhausted to get home that night, but the river was running where she needed to be - and she got back before her classes in the morning, feeling very pleased with herself.