Awakening, Quickening

Awakening Part 2

I'm sitting on the floor, Harmony thought. Why am I sitting on the floor?

Oh, that's right--she'd tried to grab that wand, had fumbled,

dropped it,

stepped back and tripped over a rough edge in the cobblestone floor,

narrowly missed cracking her head open on the ledge,

fell on the floor,

and briefly blacked out...

Harmony sighed. She realized now, that she'd have to try to move much more slowly than she was used to. Gods only knew how long she had gone without food or water in this place, supported only by her own soul...lucky for her, hers was free to move around without her body.

Speaking of souls, she thought... Where is Muse?

She grasped the wand & heaved herself up. Unaccustomed to her new weight, she swayed drunkenly & grasped the wall for support. Carefully, she leaned on it, and sat down on the ledge again. Awkward, yes, but at least it was some support.

What a strange, strange thing it was, to wake up like this, heavy with growth she didn't remember at all. Harmony didn't WANT to wonder how she got pregnant, really; she had to assume someone--or something--took advantage of her body while she was presumed dead. She grimaced and shook her head. Whoever it was, must be totally sick in the head. To take advantage of the body of a dead girl, who looked like a human only 16 years old? Even the thought made her feel sick. SHE knew she was actually 33...or rather, that's as many years as she could remember—but that's because half-elven women aged differently than ordinary humans. Harmony frowned. She didn't feel angry, or even taken advantage of, though—just a sort of soft sadness...and curiosity. She felt like at this point, it didn't matter—she knew she wanted to have this baby, and learn more about it. Her inner magic researcher was already trying to think of ways one could wind up in a weird, broken down tomb. She knew she was still as much 'herself' as she'd been before; only now, she had something more to worry about. Some ONE more, she guessed. A someone who wasn't Muse. She would decide what to do about that, later.

She thought for a moment, then plucked a few strands of her long, amber-colored hair & braided them deftly into a tiny wreath. Stroking it, she whispered a three-strand spell--Sure-foot, light-weight, mountain's endurance. She broke off the light-weight strand halfway & pulled out the other end to ensure she wouldn't be so light she would float over the ground. She carefully twisted the strand back on itself to deactivate it, & tucked the other end in a pocket for later. Never know when you might need to float, after all. No sense in wasting it. The remaining three-strand, she wrapped around her wrist and tied with a knot, then tapped it with the wand. A brief mental flash signified it had worked; it would direct a little mana to help her stay upright. Now, for some clothes...

She tapped the pile of russet fabric-crumbles with the wand, concentrating to revert it to its original form, a russet velvet grave blanket. This she pulled into her lap. Next, she pictured a dress, then realized suddenly that a dress wouldn't fit; shaking her head, she pictured a long, wide tunic with deep pockets, instead. The velvet unraveled and re-wrapped itself, forming the tunic, which she slid on. Much better; at least now she had something over herself. She couldn't exactly explore in the nude, after all...

Steady on her feet now, she lifted the wand & slid it into one of the pockets. Then she started down the corridor. A cluster of purple fireflies floated at end of the corridor, making a light tinkling music as they flashed & flew, bumping idly into walls and corpses, leaving disrespectful-looking blobs of purple paint wherever they touched.

"MUSE!!" Harmony croaked, her voice rasping with disuse.

The firefly-cluster screeched in unison, flashed brightly, twisted together, and morphed into strand of tiny bells, jingling wildly. Harmony felt Muse's projected warmth hug her, making her skin tingle. Then it drew back, and the fireflies reappeared, forming a dancing question mark. The "?" echoed in Harmony's mind. "You're PREGNANT?!! How did I miss that?!"