Post by johnpaul on Jun 24, 2018 14:49:42 GMT -6
[I felt like doing some writing, so here's another Vinnie fic. I'm not quite sure what timeline it's in, but it's set during the time of S3.]
Lavinia stretched out by the Spiral of Lorelei, basking in the sunshine. She thought about the upcoming fertility festival and smiled. She always enjoyed the looks on their faces of the youngsters at the ceremony. Smiling, she remembered the first time a young man - Sam, was it? - had approached her and shyly asked her to be the one to initiate him into adulthood. He had been so nervous, but she remembered how earnest he had been, doing what he could to please her. It may have been brief, but she couldn't help smiling at the memory.
There had been many others over the years - boys, girls, even a few Kenku (only they made her think of her dads, which felt... odd). Not so many in recent years, as even trees aged slowly over time and her once flawless green skin was showing cracks of her many centuries. That, and the fact that now she was the grandmother (or great grandmother, or great great grandmother...) of most of the village, which probably felt as odd to them as thinking about her dads made her feel. Still, it was a celebration of new life, just as the new growth in the fields was.
Suddenly, she felt a terrible pain shoot through her. It reminded her of a distant memory - was it even her memory? - of when she had been forcibly separated from the Spiral. But she was lying right against it. Alarmingly, she saw a giant crack appear across the Spiral and its leaves starting to shrivel, as if Winter had suddenly arrived. Unsure what to do, she sought the wisdom of Ehlonna.
"Goddess! Blessed Ehlonna! Your Tree is dying."
"Not just my tree, child... I'm dying."
"But... you can't die! You're... you're a Goddess!"
Vinnie began to cry.
"Don't weep, child... at least, not for me. Everything has its Season... and mine is coming to an end. I was here when the first sapling grew in your Woods... and that was millennia ago. Winter has come for me... as it should be. Everything ends."
"But... why?" gasped Vinnie, between the sobs.
"Never mind that... I am sorry, but when I die, my tree will die... as will you. It cannot be stopped."
Vinnie wailed in misery as her Goddess' voice began to fade.
"Peace, my child. You have served me well... these many years. Perhaps we shall meet again... in realms even we Gods can't see. Good... bye."
Ehlonna's voice faded and Vinnie was back in the Ragged Woods, tears flowing down her face. She was still sitting there, weeping, when there was a tug at her arm.
"Granny, why are you crying?"
Vinnie found it hard to raise her head, but looked up to see Algernon, one of her youngest descendants. More like Great-Great-Great Granny, she thought, but was too weary to work it out.
"I'm dy... tired and old, Algy, and need to rest."
"Can I get you anything?" asked the boy. "A blanket? A cushion?"
"No, dear. But perhaps you could... sing to me."
"Of course!"
He took a deep breath, but Vinnie stopped him.
"And Algy, if I... fall asleep during your song, please ask your father to... put me to bed."
"Yes Granny!"
He began singing and Vinnie shut her eyes. The old things pass, but the children carry on. That's as it should be, she thought, as her life slipped away.