Hello everyone.
First of all, I'd like to apologize sincerely for how long it is taking me to get the next chapter out of Winters' Ballad. I'm sure by now I've completely missed the deadline of one chapter per month I set myself up for last year to make waiting for you all go by at a good pace. I thought I could handle the story with that kind of schedule, but it seems life isn't giving me much option to write these days. I don't like using school as an excuse for my neglegence, but it really has been taking a lot out of me creativly to write. From papers, lessons, assigned readings, and blog posts for assigned homework plus my job, most of my time is dedicated to making sure I don't fail these latest classes i have set up this semester.
However, i also cannot say that i have not fully been unable to write. If some of you actually keep up with some other stories I have or noticed my other work (you'd on't have to have if you don't want to), I was able to publish one chapter for two more stories I've wanted to do for a VERY long time now that over the past month or two were able to jot down over weeks and post. I'm very happy and glad that I have been able tp finally post somethign for these ideas that have been floating in my brain since I was sixteen, but that doesn't excuse the way I've sort of been ignoring Winters' Ballad to write some other stuff. It isn't that I don't like writing Winters' Ballad or anything as of recently, but these other stories are ar easier to write in a sense. Winters' Ballad takes a lot of time for me in terms of planning out character interaction, story beats, and the direction of where I want it to go. Unfortunate school has made it difficult to give me any time to story plot Infiltraitor in any way but the basic beginning, so I've been unable to write the full chapter due to this.
So, I suppose for now the best thing I can say at the moment is that this story is not dead. I don't know how many times I'll have to kee saying that over this hiatus I keep having, but it's true. I won't give up on it. I care about and Samantha/Winter far too much to let go of it. It just seems like for now, Ballad will be stuck in a hiatus until my semester is over. I can't seem to find the time to balance all five of my college classes and write the chapters of Ballad as I used to. I tend to overwork myself without knowing it, and I suppose this time I've reached my limits with what I can do.
So for now the story is on hiatus, though I think a lot of poeple already knew that with the lack of updates so far. However, I do have this for you all to read. The beginning of Infiltraitor Pt. 1 that I've been writing so far. I suppose you could also say that this intro has also hindered progress due to it's length, but I felt it was needed with the way things were going on the latest of chapters.
So for now, I hope you all enjoy what I have written so far. If I'm lucky, perhaps I can add more to this during spring break and get the chapter pumped out if I type fast enough. If not, maybe later than that, but I can't make promises.
Please have a good day/night. And if you're taking midterms and writing papers like I am, I wish you the bestest of luck. :3
Here's a first look at Winters' Ballad: Growth & Love: Infiltraitor Pt. 1 Preview.
-Star City
August 5th, 2010 7:59 PM PDT-
"He's late."
A cool summer night drifted in Star City as the few sparkles of stars tried to make their way into the sky against the fluorescent lights of the landscape. It was the usual scenery Winter would see whether looking out her window at home, walking in the streets as a civilian, or when staring quietly atop a roof just like this, but recently she was beginning to wish the sky she'd been so used to looking at would change if only a little. Perhaps to look like the sky in Happy Harbor; orbs of gas glistening like diamonds that could be seen by just looking upwards rather than squinting her own like she was now.
It would make waiting far more enjoyable at least. She could stare at more than a blanket of darkness above her and a half filled moon that looked so lonely. Unfortunately, Samantha wasn't a God, so she'd have to make due with what she had that night as she waited silently.
She wouldn't have to wait long if somebody wasn't taking his sweet time.
"It's been fifteen minutes since I asked him to meet me. He should know by now how much I hate tardiness." Winter muttered, arms folded over her chest as a soft breeze tickled her face and pushed the ends of her side ponytail enough to let them flicker playfully in the air. "Roy, you're going to get on my bad side again if you are late by another second." The ice use huffed, foot tapping on the ground to display her aggravation.
"Good thing I'm here."
A male voice she knew all too well ringing in the air, Winter rolled her eyes at the response; a typical one Roy liked to use at the best moments to mess with her since they'd known one another. Not even turning back to look at her companion, Winter stared at the expansive city in front of her. "Took you long enough. I expected since you went solo you'd be able to find more time to be punctual."
"Some stuff got in the way. No rest for us heroes, right?" Roy spoke, the sound of boots thumping against the roof pavement, only stopping as the taller figure of Roy stood beside the heroine.
Winter felt her lips fall into an unamused frown.
"It sounds like you didn't change much since going solo. You're still as laid back as ever about our meet ups." Winter retorted back in a matter of fact tone, staring up at the moon above them.
Roy just chuckled amusingly back, making Winter feel the hairs on her back stand on end at the strange attitude the archer was displaying. No quip? Joke? Jab at her for being so uptight? That wasn't like Roy at all.
"If you're going to go on one of those old lectures of yours, you could at least look at me."
Oh, there it was. She just had to wait a bit longer.
Huffing at the joke made towards her, Winter turned to Roy, ready to give the archer a piece of her mind. "Roy Harper, don't make me push you off this-"
Only to feel her words cut off so seamlessly in her throat at the sight before her.
The figure of Roy Harper she was so used to seeing was not beside her on this particular moonlit night. Stature still towering over her as ever, Roy stood beside Winter now wearing a uniform far contrasting from his old appearance. The red, yellow, and black of Green' Arrows' old sidekick was no more. The simpler design now stripped away, Roy Harper now appeared in a uniform of black and red chest armor that clung to his more toned form; something Winter was honestly not used to seeing. Black leg armor and combat boots covered his lower half, adding to the sudden shift of loose clothing to a more defensive approach. Added with black gloves and familiar domino mask covering his face, the archer's weapon was neatly collapsed and strapped to his back along with his quiver, finishing the entire ensemble off with a smirk Winter swore was showing due to the silence she'd suddenly opted for.
Ice blue eyes blinked for a moment, having to be sure she wasn't being tricked by the moonlight raining down from above them. She heard Roy's voice from beside her, but the person next to her did not look anything like Speedy.
"You...changed your outfit." Samantha said, words falling from her lips in an almost questionable tone that she hadn't meant it to sound like. Her eyes were still slightly widened, scanning the archer up and down like he'd sudden' change back if she kept looking hard enough.
"Yeah," Roy replied back with a nod, turning his head to look out at the city beyond their vantage point. "A lot of things changed. Thought the outfit needed an update too." Head titling back to look at the ice user, Roy strangely reached to rub the back of his neck, almost nervously so. "What? You don't like it?"
"What?" The heroine asked, brow raised at the question being posed to her. "I-I don't know. It's...It's..."
Why was she having so much trouble just answering such a simple question? And to Roy of all people? It was not hard to give someone an honest opinion about what they were wearing. She did it all the time with Wally or Robin. They called it "brutal honesty" whenever she used it. Why was this any different?
Maybe it was because it was such a different change from what she was used to seeing Roy wear? She had seen him wear the same uniform for years until just now. The change probably just surprised her. It wasn't like the outfit was bad or anything. Far from it, actually.
The outfit itself looked well made. Far more stranger than the loose cloth ranger-esque suit Roy used to wear. Durable enough that it would protect Roy from any encounter he found himself in. The dashes of black and red made for a more mature and darker tone than what the symbol of Speedy used to represent, but it wasn't a bad change. It showed a growth somewhat overall, like Roy was melting away the younger version of himself and growing into a more confident and responsible role. It suited him given the events that transpired for the past month and the growth they both had to endure. From being children to adults in the blink of an eye.
Speaking of growing...
Eyes drifted from Roy's new outfit to his now unconcealed arms, the clearly tough training Roy was going through showing well in his muscles. What used to be somewhat fit and toned muscular power was now defined not only by the mature essence the outfit was giving off, but also the work Roy was putting himself through with his solo career. It clearly showed from the bulging muscle tone that framed his arms and legs, conveying an image of strength and power; something Winter honestly did not associate with Roy all that much since knowing one him.
All of this placed in front of her, seeing Roy look like this was...
"Different." Winter said, turning her head to stare back at the city. Her face feeling warmer than it had before and strangely embarrassed, the ice user glued her gaze to the lights sparkling below and took a tiny side step away from Roy to build more space between them. "It's different, that's all. I suppose I was just more used to seeing you look more...conservative. It's a bit unsettling, but I'll get used to it. You don't look much like the Speedy I remember seeing a few weeks ago after all."
"That's because I'm not anymore." Roy answered the heroine, hand falling back to his side. "Speedy's done. Call me Red Arrow."
"Red Arrow?" Winter repeated. "Couldn't come up with anything more creative?" She asked somewhat playfully.
"Not all of us can come up with words and names on the spot like you can. I beat you wouldn't have been able to come up with anything better." Roy said, smirking a little at the banter going back and forth between them.
"Don't play a game you know you can't win, Roy. Oh, excuse me. Red Arrow." Winter said with a roll of her eyes. Warmth in her chest growing at the calm the two heroes were sharing together and the strange feeling of embarrassment dying out like embers, the ice user sighed calmly. "How is your solo work going by the way?"
"Good," Red Arrow simply answered. "Fighting guys on the streets, drug and arms dealers alike. Far more action than I ever got to work being a sidekick." He added bitterly, kicking a small pebble with his foot off the roof. "Heard you guys aren't having any boring days either. Wally called again. Talked about you guys taking down some robot on your last mission."
"Ugh, again?" Face scrunching in irritation, Winter rested a hand on her head to relax a headache starting to form. "I've told Wally that despite it being nice to tell people our exploits, we need to keep a low profile. How hard is it for him to just keep his mouth shut about confidential missions?"
"You know you're talking about Wally, right?" Red Arrow asked jokingly, making Winter look back at the archer in the corner of her eye. Smirking, Roy shrugged his shoulders and winked. "I'm not one to spill details. I'll make sure to keep it on the down low."
"At least you're trustworthy. I'm going to have to have another talk with Wally when we meet up again." Winter muttered softly, taking her attention away from the city to an item strapped to her person. "But, speaking of our last mission, I called you out here concerning it."
The casual atmosphere disappearing as soon as Red Arrow heard the tone shift in the ice user beside him, the archer turned to look over to the heroine. "Something come up? You didn't get hurt did you?"
"What? No. None of us were hurt, though we did run into some complications. But that's besides the point." Winter explained, pushing aside the sudden concern Red Arrow had for her. "It might have something to do with you, but I couldn't be sure?"
Red Arrow rose a brow at suddenly being the center of attention. "Me?"
"I said might." Winter iterated, arms folded over her chest. "This is going to sound extremely stupid to ask you considering your stance I'm sure you have, but were you in Gotham at any time this week?"
"Gotham? No, not this week. Not these past few months actually." Red Arrow answered, still looking a bit confused by the question. "What makes you think I was there?"
Hearing the million dollar question from the archer, Winter reached on her person and pulled out the green bodied arrow from the team's previous mission. Still intact with not a single cut nor bruise on its' frame, the pure white maiden placed it in the hands of the blood red archer.
"This." Winter answered while watching the hero inspect the projectile. "When we were fighting a robot created by Dr. Ivo, we were outmatched for a time and Kid Flash almost got crushed in half if it wasn't for this being shot at the Amazo." Moving a strand behind her ear, Winter continued. "Most of the team assumes it was you given the League denied helping us at all when we questioned them; plus it didn't match Green Arrow's projectiles."
Eyes beneath his mask scouring the arrow for any clues or details, Red Arrow commented thoughtfully. "So you decided to call me out here to ask if it was me?"
"Please," Winter said, scoffing at the very question. "You should know me better than that. I've seen the way you make your arrows, Roy. This one is amateur at best." Winter explained, finger pointing to the projectile. "The arrowhead is far duller than the ones you make. Plus the body is green. Before any of this even happened I always remember you saying you'd never have green arrows like your mentor because it would cause you two to mix up inventory at times."
A small ghost of a chuckle leaving him, Red Arrow, closely gazed at the arrow's body, only to twirl it in his fingertips and look back at Winter with a confident smirk. "Good eye. I didn't expect you to be the only one to catch it. Robin didn't realize anything?"
"I think he was just too excited to realize. And not all of us know how you make your weapons as well as I do. But that's why I came by. As much as I knew it was too good to be true, I had to ask before I brought it up with the team." Winter said, reaching her hand out to Red Arrow to take the projectile back.
"Well you got your answer form the source." Handing the arrow back into Winter's hands, the archer frowned. "You sure it's not the League just trying to pull one over you all?"
Winter felt a small ping of dread tap her heart at the question. Even still as time passed and the had changed, Roy was still holding onto his skepticism and anger with the League. She understood his pain greatly and felt the same sting herself, but as time wen ton she'd learned to move past it and grow from it. Her relationship with the League was still somewhat strained, but the trust was slowly rebuilding itself day by day. But Roy...
He's grown in some ways. Mentally and physically, but his heart's still the same.
"I'm sure, Roy." Winter reassured her old friend, placing the arrow back on her person. "We asked and the League was genuinely surprised. Green Arrow even showed us his own arrows. They didn't match."
The archer scoffed. "Doesn't mean he can't just use different arrows."
Winter hummed a soft sigh, trying to ease the slight ping of irritation running through her at Roy's comment. "You've become a lot more cynical since you left."
"Not cynical. I'm just more willing to question things rather than take them at face value." Red Arrow retorted, head turning ever so slightly as eyes narrowed behind his domino mask at the ice user. "I thought you would too after everything."
"I..." Feeling herself sighing, Winter looked out at the glowing city of Star City and felt her body, or perhaps her heart grow a little heavy as her sentence trailed off. Brain trying to put together some kind of response back that would continue the conversation, Winter felt her gaze drop to the streets below. "Roy, let's not. Please? I don't want this to turn into something that..." Words drifted off into the wind, sentence left unfinished. She didn't try to finish the rest of her thought, a flash of worry crossing her features.
Taking in some air as his voice clicked in his throat to start another response, the archer sighed and let his words disappear before they too be voiced, exhaling through his nose and turning his attention away from Winter, looking down at the same city below them.
The awkward tension from her own words carrying a weight that made it tough to breathe, it was Roy who spoke again. Only this time his voice was a bit softer and no longer held the edge he'd momentarily used.
"Sorry."