Aerial Adventures, part 2
Aug. 11th, 2006 11:55 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sylph_ficsThis bunny decided to poke it's nose up again, so here we go. This part is a little short for me, but since I've decided (or they did) that the parts end when the pov switches, that's just how it goes. This takes off immediately from Aerial Adventures, part one and is still entirely the fault of the JLU crack generator.
Title: Aerial Adventures, part 2
Fandom: JLU-verse
Pairing: none yet
Characters: Black Canary, Batman
Rating: PG-13, language
Aerial Adventures
"--ake up. Dinah, Wake up," //Huh what who--Batman?// flashed through Dinah's sleep-fogged mind. //Why's Batman//--her turn towards him was abruptly stopped by the strong hand that flattened between her shoulder-blades, high enough that his fingertips were of the nape of her neck, cold and rough--from the armor, she realized, even as she froze still. //Why doesn't he want me to move?//
"Dinah, be careful. The wings. You don't want to roll onto them."
//Wings? What? Batman, are you--wait, why am I sleeping on my che--// Her mind was racing, trying to wake up, to catch up, and she realized the warm, heavy weight on her back wasn't a blanket, it was a feathery, living--//oh, god, it's real, it wasn't a nightmare it happened I have wings....//--weight on her back as they folded in tighter--//reacting to me?// She took three careful, slow, deep breaths, in with calmness, push out the fear... and she nodded slowly. "All right. Thank you. I'm awake, now."
She felt his hand leave her back and twisted carefully, spotting the tail of the cape sliding out the door of the van. Thinking carefully, she got her feet--more accurately, her knees--under her and made her way out of the van, trying not to drag the ends on the carpet, which stung all the way up into her shoulders and back, and not to slam the tops of them against the roof of the van or the door. //Oh these stupid things. Shayera, how do you do this?!// She slipped out carefully, trying not to let the weight of them overbalance her as she moved clear of the van. She stood up fully, looked around, and stared.
The Cave--her mind seemed to capitalize it without her intent--was simply... vast. The blazing halogen lights high on the stalactites in often-improbable locations seemed almost like the stars, struggling to illuminate the dark reaches of the Cave's abyssal black.... they made it larger, not smaller. She felt herself flinch as feathers slid along the bare skin of her shoulders and chest, pressed against the leather of her top--she looked down, and the wings were wrapped tightly around her body. //Shit! These things give too much away!!//
The annoyed frown on her lips wasn't much better and she closed her eyes to take more slow, deep breaths and settle her emotions... and eventually, the wings folded back into place along her back. Now that she was calmer, she could feel the changes in the muscles of her back and ribs, the overlapping set of them that seemed to move the wings. //He changed me... changed my body, didn't just add the wings he changed me!// Her calm vanished again, she wanted to scream, but, //Batman will never forgive me if I wreck his Cave having hysterics,// she told herself firmly. Her throat still hurt, even though the painkillers had done a marvelous job--they weren't up to the task of handling the actinic flare of pain that surged down her nerves as the wings slammed open in her anger and fear. She bit back a whimper--and the urge to scream again--at the pain of new, weak muscles being asked to do far more than they could handle. Her lips went white--and that cold, armored hand settled on her shoulder again, gently. "Easy, Dinah...."
She let herself lean against that hand a moment, amazed at the gentle tone of his voice. "I.... thank you. This is amazing..." She turned her head to look back over her shoulder, past the wing, and caught--//was that? Yes, it was!//--the traces of a smile on the Bat's lips. //Nice to know I can make someb--Stop that, Dinah. How many people does he bring down here, after all? He's not smiling at the fact that you're hurting. ...He's not smiling at all anymore...// That made her strangely unhappy, and some trace of it must have flashed across her face, because his jaw tightened.
"You didn't rest long, Dinah, come sit back down." His hand slid away from her shoulder and he began to walk with that long stride--and in only a few steps he'd moved faster than she could currently keep up with. The wings flared again, nearly unbalancing her, as she realized how helpless she was right now, hobbled by god-only-knew how many pounds of feathers on her back that moved independently of her will and pulled at her back and hurt and--
She shook her head hard, dashing the tear (just pain!) away from her cheek as she followed him as quickly as she could, boot-heels loud on the rough rock of the Cave--to her shame. She simply couldn't quiet her step, no matter how she tried. She also couldn't move swiftly and she felt her cheeks burn with shame as Batman stopped and turned back towards her, waiting. What she could see of his face was perfectly calm--but that didn't mean he wasn't judging her behind the expressionless façade, she was just sure. She caught up to him, cheeks still aflame despite her best attempts.
"Sorry. Thinking about what may need to be done."
//Did he just... apologize to me?// She was really rather stunned, floored by the difference in what she'd imagined and what he'd said. It was a well-known fact that the Bat was... not the most social, or civil, of persons. "I--it's all right, I wouldn't normally have a problem keeping pace with you, but--" she shut herself up and waved a hand in the direction of her shoulder and the wings, and saw him nod. When he started to walk towards what was obviously a medical area again--and she couldn't help but wonder about the wisdom of attempting to treat injuries inside of a bat-infested living cave (Cave)--he moved no faster than she could manage, and he managed that without looking in the slightest like he was attempting to hold back.... Definitely a level of control to be envied, and attempted. He indicated the padded, crisply made up gurney with a turn of one gauntleted hand "Sit down, or lie down, whichever you prefer."
She nodded and simply laid down on it, crossing her legs at the ankles. She lifted up a little, despite the weight, and turned her head towards him, bracing her chin in one hand to watch him standing there, just far enough back from the gurney that it wasn't difficult to look up at the lenses of the cowl. "You said something about "what may need to be done." What did you mean?"
"You don't want this to be permanent, obviously. It will likely require magic to rectify this, which means the assistance of a trustworthy and powerful spell-caster. However, Zatanna and Blood are both currently occupied." She tilted her head a little more at him, listening to the low, darkly pleasant pitch of his voice. Hearing him really talk, more than just tactical commands made her realize how striking that voice was--and she would almost swear she'd heard it somewhere else.... She shook off the thought and put her full attention back on him, nodding her understanding, and he continued.
"Given what I've seen of the wings so far, I believe it would be wise to attempt studying them, beginning with simple X-rays...."
She blinked, betraying that he'd startled her, then nodded. "I... that sounds wise. I want to know what he did to me. I can feel changes, but... that's not good enough. I don't know what equipment you have, but I agree."
"Good. This will be a few moments, that's not one of the Cave's most frequently used pieces of equipment," there was the faintest trace of wry humor in his voice, she realized with a smile of her own, and the cape rustled as he turned away. She laid down, closing her eyes to listen to the sounds of him moving and the uncanny rustle of the bats fluttering above... and within moments, the feeling of safety wrapped around her again and she was asleep before he could even return.
end part two
I repeat the usual mantra of "I live for feedback", guys. Even if you didn't like something, tell me.
Title: Aerial Adventures, part 2
Fandom: JLU-verse
Pairing: none yet
Characters: Black Canary, Batman
Rating: PG-13, language
Aerial Adventures
"--ake up. Dinah, Wake up," //Huh what who--Batman?// flashed through Dinah's sleep-fogged mind. //Why's Batman//--her turn towards him was abruptly stopped by the strong hand that flattened between her shoulder-blades, high enough that his fingertips were of the nape of her neck, cold and rough--from the armor, she realized, even as she froze still. //Why doesn't he want me to move?//
"Dinah, be careful. The wings. You don't want to roll onto them."
//Wings? What? Batman, are you--wait, why am I sleeping on my che--// Her mind was racing, trying to wake up, to catch up, and she realized the warm, heavy weight on her back wasn't a blanket, it was a feathery, living--//oh, god, it's real, it wasn't a nightmare it happened I have wings....//--weight on her back as they folded in tighter--//reacting to me?// She took three careful, slow, deep breaths, in with calmness, push out the fear... and she nodded slowly. "All right. Thank you. I'm awake, now."
She felt his hand leave her back and twisted carefully, spotting the tail of the cape sliding out the door of the van. Thinking carefully, she got her feet--more accurately, her knees--under her and made her way out of the van, trying not to drag the ends on the carpet, which stung all the way up into her shoulders and back, and not to slam the tops of them against the roof of the van or the door. //Oh these stupid things. Shayera, how do you do this?!// She slipped out carefully, trying not to let the weight of them overbalance her as she moved clear of the van. She stood up fully, looked around, and stared.
The Cave--her mind seemed to capitalize it without her intent--was simply... vast. The blazing halogen lights high on the stalactites in often-improbable locations seemed almost like the stars, struggling to illuminate the dark reaches of the Cave's abyssal black.... they made it larger, not smaller. She felt herself flinch as feathers slid along the bare skin of her shoulders and chest, pressed against the leather of her top--she looked down, and the wings were wrapped tightly around her body. //Shit! These things give too much away!!//
The annoyed frown on her lips wasn't much better and she closed her eyes to take more slow, deep breaths and settle her emotions... and eventually, the wings folded back into place along her back. Now that she was calmer, she could feel the changes in the muscles of her back and ribs, the overlapping set of them that seemed to move the wings. //He changed me... changed my body, didn't just add the wings he changed me!// Her calm vanished again, she wanted to scream, but, //Batman will never forgive me if I wreck his Cave having hysterics,// she told herself firmly. Her throat still hurt, even though the painkillers had done a marvelous job--they weren't up to the task of handling the actinic flare of pain that surged down her nerves as the wings slammed open in her anger and fear. She bit back a whimper--and the urge to scream again--at the pain of new, weak muscles being asked to do far more than they could handle. Her lips went white--and that cold, armored hand settled on her shoulder again, gently. "Easy, Dinah...."
She let herself lean against that hand a moment, amazed at the gentle tone of his voice. "I.... thank you. This is amazing..." She turned her head to look back over her shoulder, past the wing, and caught--//was that? Yes, it was!//--the traces of a smile on the Bat's lips. //Nice to know I can make someb--Stop that, Dinah. How many people does he bring down here, after all? He's not smiling at the fact that you're hurting. ...He's not smiling at all anymore...// That made her strangely unhappy, and some trace of it must have flashed across her face, because his jaw tightened.
"You didn't rest long, Dinah, come sit back down." His hand slid away from her shoulder and he began to walk with that long stride--and in only a few steps he'd moved faster than she could currently keep up with. The wings flared again, nearly unbalancing her, as she realized how helpless she was right now, hobbled by god-only-knew how many pounds of feathers on her back that moved independently of her will and pulled at her back and hurt and--
She shook her head hard, dashing the tear (just pain!) away from her cheek as she followed him as quickly as she could, boot-heels loud on the rough rock of the Cave--to her shame. She simply couldn't quiet her step, no matter how she tried. She also couldn't move swiftly and she felt her cheeks burn with shame as Batman stopped and turned back towards her, waiting. What she could see of his face was perfectly calm--but that didn't mean he wasn't judging her behind the expressionless façade, she was just sure. She caught up to him, cheeks still aflame despite her best attempts.
"Sorry. Thinking about what may need to be done."
//Did he just... apologize to me?// She was really rather stunned, floored by the difference in what she'd imagined and what he'd said. It was a well-known fact that the Bat was... not the most social, or civil, of persons. "I--it's all right, I wouldn't normally have a problem keeping pace with you, but--" she shut herself up and waved a hand in the direction of her shoulder and the wings, and saw him nod. When he started to walk towards what was obviously a medical area again--and she couldn't help but wonder about the wisdom of attempting to treat injuries inside of a bat-infested living cave (Cave)--he moved no faster than she could manage, and he managed that without looking in the slightest like he was attempting to hold back.... Definitely a level of control to be envied, and attempted. He indicated the padded, crisply made up gurney with a turn of one gauntleted hand "Sit down, or lie down, whichever you prefer."
She nodded and simply laid down on it, crossing her legs at the ankles. She lifted up a little, despite the weight, and turned her head towards him, bracing her chin in one hand to watch him standing there, just far enough back from the gurney that it wasn't difficult to look up at the lenses of the cowl. "You said something about "what may need to be done." What did you mean?"
"You don't want this to be permanent, obviously. It will likely require magic to rectify this, which means the assistance of a trustworthy and powerful spell-caster. However, Zatanna and Blood are both currently occupied." She tilted her head a little more at him, listening to the low, darkly pleasant pitch of his voice. Hearing him really talk, more than just tactical commands made her realize how striking that voice was--and she would almost swear she'd heard it somewhere else.... She shook off the thought and put her full attention back on him, nodding her understanding, and he continued.
"Given what I've seen of the wings so far, I believe it would be wise to attempt studying them, beginning with simple X-rays...."
She blinked, betraying that he'd startled her, then nodded. "I... that sounds wise. I want to know what he did to me. I can feel changes, but... that's not good enough. I don't know what equipment you have, but I agree."
"Good. This will be a few moments, that's not one of the Cave's most frequently used pieces of equipment," there was the faintest trace of wry humor in his voice, she realized with a smile of her own, and the cape rustled as he turned away. She laid down, closing her eyes to listen to the sounds of him moving and the uncanny rustle of the bats fluttering above... and within moments, the feeling of safety wrapped around her again and she was asleep before he could even return.
end part two
I repeat the usual mantra of "I live for feedback", guys. Even if you didn't like something, tell me.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-08-11 06:13 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-11 06:17 am (UTC)Also waiting
Date: 2006-08-13 03:16 am (UTC)Sincerely,
David
Re: Also waiting
Date: 2006-08-14 12:05 am (UTC)Black Canary = Dinah Lance, as mentioned. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Canary Here's the wiki write-up of her. Ignore the Golden Age stuff. More questions? Let me know! Magic in the DC-verse? *snort* Depends on which spellcaster. Zatanna just speaks backwards and it's done, Jason Blood's a good man bound to be the host of Etrigan, a demon lord with serious magical strength. Then there's Constantine (yes, that movie), trickster and mage. Seems like every mage does things differently. What will she do? That depends on what Blood and Zee can manage--if anything.
Batman's always pleasurable to write. If not always the easiest.
Thanks!
Yena
no subject
Date: 2006-08-11 06:15 am (UTC)Yay! She's so going to be stunned when it clicks.
and within moments, the feeling of safety wrapped around her again and she was asleep before he could even return.
Only a child of Gotham could equate the cave with security.
Looking forward to more with baited breath!
no subject
Date: 2006-08-11 06:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-11 06:19 am (UTC)*chuckle* Slightly less the Cave, and more the man in it, but... wow. That doesn't really change a damned thing about the accuracy of that statement of yours, does it? And you're right.
Don't hold your breath, hon. Gonna be a busy weekend for me.
no subject
Date: 2006-08-11 06:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-11 08:42 am (UTC)Good Job Yena!..can't wait for more whenever you get it written.
no subject
Date: 2006-08-11 02:29 pm (UTC)Thanks!
no subject
Date: 2006-08-11 01:40 pm (UTC)she looked down, and the wings were wrapped tightly around her body. //Shit! These things give too much away!!//
We always write winged characters as having wings that express their moods...suddenly finding yourself with basically a new set of nonverbals you have to control to keep your persona would be awfully rattling to a superhero. Her reaction seems so perfectly realistic here.
And the interactions between Dinah and Bruce were wonderfully tense and sweet at the same time. I can hardly wait to see more. But I'll be patient. :)
no subject
Date: 2006-08-11 02:36 pm (UTC)I like thinking about wings, they're interesting, and writing them is fun, too. Well, wings seem like they express bird-moods, why shouldn't they express people-moods? *grins*
suddenly finding yourself with basically a new set of nonverbals you have to control to keep your persona would be awfully rattling to a superhero. Her reaction seems so perfectly realistic here.
Yes, exactly! She's not happy about it, either. Learning to control those 'tells' is going to be something she puts a ton of effort into, because she can't be that open. I thought her reaction made sense, I'm delighted you did, too.
*grins* She and Bruce are going to have the most interesting relationship. They really are. Which pleases me greatly. I'll try and keep this one coming, but i have fractious, fractious unruly muses.
no subject
Date: 2006-08-11 09:24 pm (UTC)An evil part of me cackled because I have this secret bunny of Jason and Zatanna... hehe, of course they are busy. Ahem.
I love this! I thin you give Dinah a great voice and the reality of wings is so interesting, how much they wieght, what would be needed for a human to carry them, how they reflect emotions, how they hinder movement, etc. You have me really interested on it, and are doing a wonderful job of writing dinah dealing with them. And Bruce is so.. mmm.. dark and safe.
She tilted her head a little more at him, listening to the low, darkly pleasant pitch of his voice. Hearing him really talk, more than just tactical commands made her realize how striking that voice was--and she would almost swear she'd heard it somewhere else....
She's in for a surprise! But yes, Bruce's voice -and his amazing training of it- is one of my favorite things. He's got charisma dripping out of his pores, and the voice is one dead give away. I really hope to see more of this!
no subject
Date: 2006-08-13 11:50 pm (UTC)*joy* I'm glad you like how I'm dealing with the wings, they're... an interesting challenge for her. Yes, yes they are. ...Yeah. That's my Bruce 'dark and safe' describes him perfectly.
Isn't she just? His voice is so wonderful, and if anyone could figure out the same-ness of Bruce and the Bat's voices, it would be the woman with the Canary Cry.
*chuckle* it doesn't seem to be leaving me alone. I've got some more to type up from this weekend already.
no subject
Date: 2006-08-15 06:25 am (UTC)"Dinah, be careful. The wings. You don't want to roll onto them."
You and
teddy bears? WTF?She took three careful, slow, deep breaths, in with calmness, push out the fear... and she nodded slowly.
Aw! That's so very Dinah like. Actually, so is the whole wavering back and forth that she does about being in pain, wanting to scream, not wanting to show it, not wanting to give in to Batman. Your Dinah muse might not have wanted to cooperate in the beginning, but she apparently paid you back in spades.
That made her strangely unhappy, and some trace of it must have flashed across her face, because his jaw tightened.
*g* Oh, Dinah, honey, you have the worst taste in men.
"I--it's all right, I wouldn't normally have a problem keeping pace with you, but--"
This is a great detail that really *shows* us how the wings are affecting her skills.
//Oh these stupid things. Shayera, how do you do this?!//
;) Aw, Hawkgirl love.
I loved and look forward to the next part, of course. I will try not to be stupid and miss it by several days. *scowl.*
no subject
Date: 2006-08-16 04:17 pm (UTC)*grins* Bruce is wonderful, sometimes. ToonBruce is easier to do this with, too.
oh, she finally decided it was easiest to get it over with and helped.
*g* Oh, Dinah, honey, you have the worst taste in men.
How do you figure?
*humms happily* I liked it.
Shayera's nifty.
Next part is up, too.
no subject
Date: 2006-08-16 02:27 pm (UTC)I think I'm projecting my childhood wish for this to happen to me onto her. XD
no subject
Date: 2006-08-16 04:15 pm (UTC)...but didn't everyone want to fly at some point? XD