Romani Road Trip Part 2
Jan. 12th, 2005 10:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsTwo more scenes from a homecoming…
Stefan introduces Amanda to the clan horses, and she surprises both of them by remembering one in particular.
Night had fallen, a clear, still night, and it was freezing. Still, Stefan had offered to introduce her to the clan's horses, and who could resist that? Besides, it was a welcome break from the intensity of the situation, and the maddening feeling of deja vu she got every time she turned around. Shivering slightly in the deep, breathless cold, she looked up at the tall, serious-looking brown-haired man walking beside her, trying to see if she remembered anything of his face, before reminding herself he would have been just a kid himself. Fifteen years - that was practically a lifetime, at least for her.
Stefan glanced at the young woman --his sister-- and managed a small smile. It was obvious that she was nervous, though she hid it well. He could not fault her, he would be just as nervous if he was in her place. "Do you prefer speaking in English?" he asked, voice quiet. From the way he talked, Amanda could probably figure he never spoke in anything louder if he could help it.
"Um, yeah, if you don't mind..." she replied, pleased that he'd asked. Her Romany was adequate, but the effort of trying to think and speak in a language she'd never gotten formal tutoring in was difficult. And she kept making mistakes and feeling like an idiot. "Must've been a shock, when Kurt called you t' tell you what was goin' on," she ventured after a moment. "From what I can gather, you all pretty much thought I was dead or somethin'."
He stared at the ground for a second, gathering his thoughts. "Or worse," came the reply. "After a while, we had figured out that something was wrong, especially when Mother's spells were blocked. But by then, he had you well away from us." After a second, he sighed. "Whenever we hit this area, she continued searching, did you know that?"
She nodded. "Kurt said," she said, looking down at her boots crunching through the snow. "I... I didn't believe him at first," she admitted softly. "Or Wanda. All that time... I needed t' believe yer'd thrown me away. 'Cause if I knew I had a family that wanted me out there, an' couldn't get me away from Rack, I wouldn't... it would have been t' much t' bear."
Stefan reached over to touch her shoulder and then hesitated. "G-" No, she preferred the other name. "Amanda. I understand why but I hope you are seeing, now, that we were heartbroken to the point of despair when you were taken. You were so very dear to us all."
"Oh, I'm not that stubborn," she said with a wry grin. "After meetin' you lot, an' all the stuff Wanda found, an' Rom givin' Margali the all-clear... Well, I'd have t' be stupid not t' realise that. An' I'm a lot of things, but I'm not stupid." She looked up as they reached the enclosure where the horses were kept, and smiled. "Oh, they're beauties," she practically cooed, heading straight for the fence and clicking her tongue encouragingly at them. There was one old mare who ambled over immediately and sniffed at Amanda's hair and face, making soft whickering noises. Amanda held perfectly still, a sense of familiarity... no, a memory coming through as clear as day. "I know you," she murmured, reaching up to pat her nose. "You were mine, weren't you? I remember... I remember Dad, puttin' me on yer back..."
There was a long moment of silence as he stared at her, throat seizing up suddenly. "Your first ride," he managed, coughing a bit as he walked up to scratch the horse behind the ears. "You were so stubborn about riding her yourself. I guess you never did notice the fact that I was right behind you in case you should fall."
She chuckled, returning the horse's nuzzle with one of her own, closing her eyes and breathing in the familiar, comforting smell of Horse. "She'd never let me fall, would you ~Dya~?" she said, letting the memory wash over. She'd been so small, and the horse so big, and her father had picked her up and set her on the broad back... Then she opened her eyes and met Stefan's, which were so much like her own. "You were standin' right there, an' when I wobbled, you reached up an' steadied me," she said.
"And you chided me for it," he said dryly, suddenly giving into temptation and reaching over to muss up her hair like he had always done.
She wrinkled her nose at him, but didn't protest. It felt so familiar, so safe... "But you did it any way, since you always looked after me, you an' Kurt..." Tears pricked suddenly, the wealth of feeling prompted by the fleeting memories almost too much. "I remember now, when he first took me, I'd cry for you t' come and take me home, 'cause that's what you did, you kept me safe..."
"You were my baby sister, how could I not?" Throwing caution, and whatever manly pride he believed in, to the winds, Stefan stepped up and folded Amanda into a firm embrace. "I have missed you so very much," he whispered tightly. "I am so sorry I could not keep you safe from the harm that befell you."
"'S over now," she replied, muffled by the fact she was burying her face in his woollen sweater, with her arms wrapped tightly around his waist. She _remembered_ him, this was her big brother, and that was all that mattered. "He's gone, an' I'm not, an' that's all there is to it."
"Yes, you are back with us. Safe, sound -- different but, well, different is good." Laughter rumbled through his chest at that. "I like the piercings by the way. Very unique."
She had to giggle at that. "Well, you'd be worried if I still looked the same after fifteen years," she teased, pulling her face out of his sweater and looking up at him, but not letting go, not just yet. "'M still cute tho'."
"God, and you still know it. If you still remember how to pull off a good set of puppy dog eyes, you will be the death of me." A mischievous grin suddenly appeared, lightening up the somber face. "I wonder..." Reaching around, he deliberately poked her in the lower ribs.
Squealing, she jerked back. "That's not fair!" she protested, trying to wriggle away as he poked her again.
"Of course it isn't, that is why I'm doing it." The tickling went on for a few moments before Stefan relented and pulled back. "Some things, I see, have not changed."
Amanda pouted at him, all the while using her TK spell to levitate a fist-sized ball of loose snow behind him. "Yer still a big ticklin' bully," she told him, mock-seriously. "I remember you doin' that 'til I was nearly sick sometimes..." Then she let the snowball drop on his head, covering him with loose, powdery snow. "An' I'm still just as sneaky," she pointed out innocently as he spluttered.
Cursing and laughing, he found it hard to remove some of the snow from his shirt. "I think we can call this a draw," he said, sticking his tongue out at her. "Sneaky sisters tend to win at things like this."
"Of course we do. It's how we keep big brothers in line," she pointed out with another of those impish grins, before coming forward and helping brush the snow from his shoulders before tucking her arm through his. "Should we head back? I think Margali's had enough time t' drill Wanda on the school an' all."
"It is a good thing Wanda is made of stern stuff. Other saner people, don't tell her I said that, would have run screaming by now." Stefan grinned down as they started to head back. "Besides, I heard rumors of there being hot cider at the fire place."
"Cider? Why didn't you say?" she said, letting him go. "Race you back!" And with that, she took off across the snowy ground, laughing merrily. Sounding like the young girl she was.
"~Thank you for bringing her back,~" he murmured before grinning. "You were always slower!" Sprinting after her, Stefan laughed and suddenly, for the first time, felt young again.
'Dya' - Romany for 'Mother'.
While Stefan and Amanda are having their poignant moment, Margali and Wanda talk around the fire. Margali has more than a few fears for her newly-found daughter.
Wanda stretched her legs out in front of her as she warmed up next to the fire. She'd spent most of the time chattering with some of the caravan, following up actually on the research she did here years ago. Now, though, most had started to wrap up the evening and head to bed. A pot of cider was still near-by, there were a few still out and about.
Across from her, Margali was quiet - had been, for most of the evening. Still taking everything in, her family had supposed. At last, when it was just the two of them at the fire, Stefan taking Gem... Amanda off to meet the horses and Kurt checking in on Jimaine, she lifted slightly troubled eyes to Wanda and spoke. "~I cannot thank you enough for what you have done,~ she said, slowly. "~My clan owes you a great debt.~"
Looking up, she smiled a little. "~There is no need for thanks,~" she responded, tucking her legs under her again. "~I just did what I thought was right. It was hard for me to believe the 'sold' story that Amanda had been told and, I must admit, I was curious. Imagine my surprise when I found out who you were.~"
"~You surprise was probably as great as ours - we had almost given up hope of finding her. Or there being a 'her' to find. She came close to having her soul destroyed.~" Margali frowned into the fire. "~And not just by this man 'Rack'. I sensed... darkness in her. She has been touched by something older and more evil than a mere man.~"
"~Her name is Selene,~" Wanda offered, standing up and heading over to sit closer to Margali. "~I do not know the whole story, I was not there when it happened.~"
"~I don't know this name, but what I felt...~" Margali shivered, despite the fire and the blanket she had wrapped around her shoulders. "~I am afraid, for her. Of her. Her power can be so very great - should she stray from the path, she could become something terrible indeed. All of our clan's magic lives in her.~"
She frowned at that. That was an odd way of putting it. Unless she actually meant that. "~All of it lives within Amanda?~" she asked after a minute, puzzling out. "~I am familiar with some magic, we had a fairly powerful healer in my clan, but not with this.~"
"~Her gift, her... mutation...~" Margali used the English word. "~It makes her very powerful. More powerful than any of our people have ever been. She feeds on the essence of magic itself, channels that within herself into greater power - in effect, it is as if she has been given all the power our clan has ever possessed. I fear for her - no-one can manage that much power without great discipline.~"
Wanda didn't say anything, a little stunned. She had known, roughly, what Amanda's power was but that was... hard to grasp. "~My God. I thought my powers were hard to control. I know she is seeking training through Stephen...Dr. Strange. I will see if she needs a hand with some of the concentration, it is something I have had to become very good at.~"
"~She is... limited, at the moment. Her need for power, the amulet her teachers have given her... they act to keep her in check. But she will need help if she is to progress.~" Margali looked up at Wanda with a knowing smile. "~This doctor? Is he a goodly man?~"
She glanced up at the sky for second, grinning. "~Yes, he is a goodly man. He cares for Amanda more deeply than either of them know, I think. I have not yet seen him work magic but I am assuming he is good at what he does if Rom suggested him as a teacher.~"
"~Good enough, for a man, and an academic.~" Margali snorted a little. "~The Romany and I know of each other, but we do not see eye to eye. She is a headstrong one, that woman.~"
"~Which is good in some cases. Not so good in others. I know this from experience. But she also cares for Amanda and that is what fuels her intentions.~"
"~I trust your assessment, sister, ~" Margali said, although her expression remained guarded. "~And this school? What kind of place is it? Kurt speaks of it a little, but he is gone so often...~"
"~It is...interesting.~" Wanda regarded the fire for a few minutes before continuing. "~It has its share of problems. More than it's share, it seems. And the people are an interesting hodge podge that does not always mix well. But at it's very core, I believe it is a good place. One that offers a sense of home and familiarity.~"
"~Good.~" Margali was silent for a long while. "~I suppose I forfeited my right to be the concerned parent when I lost her, but I can't help wanting to know that she is safe, that she is happy...~" she said at last. "~She is still my daughter, even though she will never think of me as her mother.~"
"~But perhaps she will come to think of you as family. And you have every right to be concerned, you were tricked as much as she was by that monster. Just keep offering Amanda everything you have.~" She smiled at the older woman. "~The first, and hardest, step is done. She has been found. Everything else will fall into place.~"
Stefan introduces Amanda to the clan horses, and she surprises both of them by remembering one in particular.
Night had fallen, a clear, still night, and it was freezing. Still, Stefan had offered to introduce her to the clan's horses, and who could resist that? Besides, it was a welcome break from the intensity of the situation, and the maddening feeling of deja vu she got every time she turned around. Shivering slightly in the deep, breathless cold, she looked up at the tall, serious-looking brown-haired man walking beside her, trying to see if she remembered anything of his face, before reminding herself he would have been just a kid himself. Fifteen years - that was practically a lifetime, at least for her.
Stefan glanced at the young woman --his sister-- and managed a small smile. It was obvious that she was nervous, though she hid it well. He could not fault her, he would be just as nervous if he was in her place. "Do you prefer speaking in English?" he asked, voice quiet. From the way he talked, Amanda could probably figure he never spoke in anything louder if he could help it.
"Um, yeah, if you don't mind..." she replied, pleased that he'd asked. Her Romany was adequate, but the effort of trying to think and speak in a language she'd never gotten formal tutoring in was difficult. And she kept making mistakes and feeling like an idiot. "Must've been a shock, when Kurt called you t' tell you what was goin' on," she ventured after a moment. "From what I can gather, you all pretty much thought I was dead or somethin'."
He stared at the ground for a second, gathering his thoughts. "Or worse," came the reply. "After a while, we had figured out that something was wrong, especially when Mother's spells were blocked. But by then, he had you well away from us." After a second, he sighed. "Whenever we hit this area, she continued searching, did you know that?"
She nodded. "Kurt said," she said, looking down at her boots crunching through the snow. "I... I didn't believe him at first," she admitted softly. "Or Wanda. All that time... I needed t' believe yer'd thrown me away. 'Cause if I knew I had a family that wanted me out there, an' couldn't get me away from Rack, I wouldn't... it would have been t' much t' bear."
Stefan reached over to touch her shoulder and then hesitated. "G-" No, she preferred the other name. "Amanda. I understand why but I hope you are seeing, now, that we were heartbroken to the point of despair when you were taken. You were so very dear to us all."
"Oh, I'm not that stubborn," she said with a wry grin. "After meetin' you lot, an' all the stuff Wanda found, an' Rom givin' Margali the all-clear... Well, I'd have t' be stupid not t' realise that. An' I'm a lot of things, but I'm not stupid." She looked up as they reached the enclosure where the horses were kept, and smiled. "Oh, they're beauties," she practically cooed, heading straight for the fence and clicking her tongue encouragingly at them. There was one old mare who ambled over immediately and sniffed at Amanda's hair and face, making soft whickering noises. Amanda held perfectly still, a sense of familiarity... no, a memory coming through as clear as day. "I know you," she murmured, reaching up to pat her nose. "You were mine, weren't you? I remember... I remember Dad, puttin' me on yer back..."
There was a long moment of silence as he stared at her, throat seizing up suddenly. "Your first ride," he managed, coughing a bit as he walked up to scratch the horse behind the ears. "You were so stubborn about riding her yourself. I guess you never did notice the fact that I was right behind you in case you should fall."
She chuckled, returning the horse's nuzzle with one of her own, closing her eyes and breathing in the familiar, comforting smell of Horse. "She'd never let me fall, would you ~Dya~?" she said, letting the memory wash over. She'd been so small, and the horse so big, and her father had picked her up and set her on the broad back... Then she opened her eyes and met Stefan's, which were so much like her own. "You were standin' right there, an' when I wobbled, you reached up an' steadied me," she said.
"And you chided me for it," he said dryly, suddenly giving into temptation and reaching over to muss up her hair like he had always done.
She wrinkled her nose at him, but didn't protest. It felt so familiar, so safe... "But you did it any way, since you always looked after me, you an' Kurt..." Tears pricked suddenly, the wealth of feeling prompted by the fleeting memories almost too much. "I remember now, when he first took me, I'd cry for you t' come and take me home, 'cause that's what you did, you kept me safe..."
"You were my baby sister, how could I not?" Throwing caution, and whatever manly pride he believed in, to the winds, Stefan stepped up and folded Amanda into a firm embrace. "I have missed you so very much," he whispered tightly. "I am so sorry I could not keep you safe from the harm that befell you."
"'S over now," she replied, muffled by the fact she was burying her face in his woollen sweater, with her arms wrapped tightly around his waist. She _remembered_ him, this was her big brother, and that was all that mattered. "He's gone, an' I'm not, an' that's all there is to it."
"Yes, you are back with us. Safe, sound -- different but, well, different is good." Laughter rumbled through his chest at that. "I like the piercings by the way. Very unique."
She had to giggle at that. "Well, you'd be worried if I still looked the same after fifteen years," she teased, pulling her face out of his sweater and looking up at him, but not letting go, not just yet. "'M still cute tho'."
"God, and you still know it. If you still remember how to pull off a good set of puppy dog eyes, you will be the death of me." A mischievous grin suddenly appeared, lightening up the somber face. "I wonder..." Reaching around, he deliberately poked her in the lower ribs.
Squealing, she jerked back. "That's not fair!" she protested, trying to wriggle away as he poked her again.
"Of course it isn't, that is why I'm doing it." The tickling went on for a few moments before Stefan relented and pulled back. "Some things, I see, have not changed."
Amanda pouted at him, all the while using her TK spell to levitate a fist-sized ball of loose snow behind him. "Yer still a big ticklin' bully," she told him, mock-seriously. "I remember you doin' that 'til I was nearly sick sometimes..." Then she let the snowball drop on his head, covering him with loose, powdery snow. "An' I'm still just as sneaky," she pointed out innocently as he spluttered.
Cursing and laughing, he found it hard to remove some of the snow from his shirt. "I think we can call this a draw," he said, sticking his tongue out at her. "Sneaky sisters tend to win at things like this."
"Of course we do. It's how we keep big brothers in line," she pointed out with another of those impish grins, before coming forward and helping brush the snow from his shoulders before tucking her arm through his. "Should we head back? I think Margali's had enough time t' drill Wanda on the school an' all."
"It is a good thing Wanda is made of stern stuff. Other saner people, don't tell her I said that, would have run screaming by now." Stefan grinned down as they started to head back. "Besides, I heard rumors of there being hot cider at the fire place."
"Cider? Why didn't you say?" she said, letting him go. "Race you back!" And with that, she took off across the snowy ground, laughing merrily. Sounding like the young girl she was.
"~Thank you for bringing her back,~" he murmured before grinning. "You were always slower!" Sprinting after her, Stefan laughed and suddenly, for the first time, felt young again.
'Dya' - Romany for 'Mother'.
While Stefan and Amanda are having their poignant moment, Margali and Wanda talk around the fire. Margali has more than a few fears for her newly-found daughter.
Wanda stretched her legs out in front of her as she warmed up next to the fire. She'd spent most of the time chattering with some of the caravan, following up actually on the research she did here years ago. Now, though, most had started to wrap up the evening and head to bed. A pot of cider was still near-by, there were a few still out and about.
Across from her, Margali was quiet - had been, for most of the evening. Still taking everything in, her family had supposed. At last, when it was just the two of them at the fire, Stefan taking Gem... Amanda off to meet the horses and Kurt checking in on Jimaine, she lifted slightly troubled eyes to Wanda and spoke. "~I cannot thank you enough for what you have done,~ she said, slowly. "~My clan owes you a great debt.~"
Looking up, she smiled a little. "~There is no need for thanks,~" she responded, tucking her legs under her again. "~I just did what I thought was right. It was hard for me to believe the 'sold' story that Amanda had been told and, I must admit, I was curious. Imagine my surprise when I found out who you were.~"
"~You surprise was probably as great as ours - we had almost given up hope of finding her. Or there being a 'her' to find. She came close to having her soul destroyed.~" Margali frowned into the fire. "~And not just by this man 'Rack'. I sensed... darkness in her. She has been touched by something older and more evil than a mere man.~"
"~Her name is Selene,~" Wanda offered, standing up and heading over to sit closer to Margali. "~I do not know the whole story, I was not there when it happened.~"
"~I don't know this name, but what I felt...~" Margali shivered, despite the fire and the blanket she had wrapped around her shoulders. "~I am afraid, for her. Of her. Her power can be so very great - should she stray from the path, she could become something terrible indeed. All of our clan's magic lives in her.~"
She frowned at that. That was an odd way of putting it. Unless she actually meant that. "~All of it lives within Amanda?~" she asked after a minute, puzzling out. "~I am familiar with some magic, we had a fairly powerful healer in my clan, but not with this.~"
"~Her gift, her... mutation...~" Margali used the English word. "~It makes her very powerful. More powerful than any of our people have ever been. She feeds on the essence of magic itself, channels that within herself into greater power - in effect, it is as if she has been given all the power our clan has ever possessed. I fear for her - no-one can manage that much power without great discipline.~"
Wanda didn't say anything, a little stunned. She had known, roughly, what Amanda's power was but that was... hard to grasp. "~My God. I thought my powers were hard to control. I know she is seeking training through Stephen...Dr. Strange. I will see if she needs a hand with some of the concentration, it is something I have had to become very good at.~"
"~She is... limited, at the moment. Her need for power, the amulet her teachers have given her... they act to keep her in check. But she will need help if she is to progress.~" Margali looked up at Wanda with a knowing smile. "~This doctor? Is he a goodly man?~"
She glanced up at the sky for second, grinning. "~Yes, he is a goodly man. He cares for Amanda more deeply than either of them know, I think. I have not yet seen him work magic but I am assuming he is good at what he does if Rom suggested him as a teacher.~"
"~Good enough, for a man, and an academic.~" Margali snorted a little. "~The Romany and I know of each other, but we do not see eye to eye. She is a headstrong one, that woman.~"
"~Which is good in some cases. Not so good in others. I know this from experience. But she also cares for Amanda and that is what fuels her intentions.~"
"~I trust your assessment, sister, ~" Margali said, although her expression remained guarded. "~And this school? What kind of place is it? Kurt speaks of it a little, but he is gone so often...~"
"~It is...interesting.~" Wanda regarded the fire for a few minutes before continuing. "~It has its share of problems. More than it's share, it seems. And the people are an interesting hodge podge that does not always mix well. But at it's very core, I believe it is a good place. One that offers a sense of home and familiarity.~"
"~Good.~" Margali was silent for a long while. "~I suppose I forfeited my right to be the concerned parent when I lost her, but I can't help wanting to know that she is safe, that she is happy...~" she said at last. "~She is still my daughter, even though she will never think of me as her mother.~"
"~But perhaps she will come to think of you as family. And you have every right to be concerned, you were tricked as much as she was by that monster. Just keep offering Amanda everything you have.~" She smiled at the older woman. "~The first, and hardest, step is done. She has been found. Everything else will fall into place.~"
