Ragnarok has occurred. The world has changed. But nothing is different. Except for the catalyst and his friends. Thrown to the four winds, they find themselves unhindered by memories of the past and start to build new lives, a shallow attempt to fill the voids in their hearts.
A Thousand Points of Light
"Lupine! Lupine, it's past dawn already!"
Bright blue eyes opened and narrowed against the stream of light that shone through cracks in the shutters.
"I'm getting up," the young woman grumbled, rising from bed.
She avoided the low beams of the sloped ceiling of her room with practiced ease, getting dressed in a simple gown of pale blue. With deft fingers, she fastened her long blue-black hair with a polished wooden hair pin and padded down the stairs that connected her attic room to the rest of the house.
She ghosted through a white plaster hallway and into a homey kitchen. Dried herbs hung from the smoke blackened ceiling and the air was scented deliciously of fresh baked bread and sweet porridge. The slate-tiled floor was scrupulously clean. A middle-aged woman in gray was stirring the contents of a pot over the fire. As the young woman entered, she looked up with mild exasperation.
"Well it took you long enough!" The older woman was a stout, ordinary-looking woman with neatly brushed and braided brown hair and gray eyes. Despite her stern expression, she had an inherent kindness in her stormy eyes, as well as a curious knowing expression.
"I'm sorry, Eliza." Lupine stifled a yawn. "I'll get the eggs." She picked up a basket from the table.
"Lupine, did you sleep all right?" the older woman asked in concern.
"I had another dream." Lupine also picked up a shawl from a hook, wrapping it around her shoulders. The days had been unexpectedly chilly and she was inordinately fond of these shawls, warm and soft as the plush fur of a sleeping kitten.
Eliza stopped for a moment. "What was it this time?"
Lupine paused in the doorway. "I was falling from the heavens," she said simply and headed out the door.
…
"Myst, you up yet?"
A grunt.
"Mystery, come on. Are you making up for a century in sleep?"
"Urgh-"
"Ouch! Myst, you bastard! You didn't have to kick me!"
Mumble.
"Just so you know you're on kitchen duty. Gods save our souls."
"…Gods aren't interested in souls, Albrich."
"So Mr. Stoic-and-Cool is finally up! Yow!"
"Occasionally they do protect idiots."
"No need to rub it in, you asshat."
"…"
"Are you mocking me?"
"…"
"You are mocking me. Take- Yaargggh!"
Snore.
…
A young man greeted the dawn with a jaw-cracking yawn. In an interesting display of coordination he scratched head and buttocks at the same time. He glanced around and started panicking.
"Scarlet, wait up!" he shrieked, breaking into a run. The tweedy man walked with a disjointed amble that reminded one of the wobbling of a scarecrow in a high wind.
"I'm not going to keep on waiting for you, Len," called a distant voice.
"That's what you always say. You're stuck with me no matter what!"
The green-clad man further up the road stopped in his tracks and smiled, sunlight glittering on his brilliantly red hair.
"I'll start gargoyle hunting then," he said, turning to his bumbling companion, who blanched at the very image.
"Are you crazy?!"
The red-haired man lost his smile instantly as he hefted the sword slung on his back. "Maybe I am, Len, maybe I am."
…
She was a lovely girl. And she would remain that way for eternity. For they had put her body in the Crystal Lake, that strange water that preserved all that was dropped into its brilliant depths. They had dressed her in spider silk and their finest jewels, crowning her with roses redder than blood rubies.
She would sleep forever in the still silver waters and old age and time would never, ever steal away the blush of her cheeks, the brilliant copper of her hair, and the delicacy of her form. And they would protect her from anyone would try to take her away.
A/N: A long term story, hopefully! If not, it'll be a series of one-shots that'll take a number of different paths. I wrote this as a writing exercise for myself. Hope it pleases.