faderift | Do you walk in the valley of kings? Do you walk in the shadow of men?

It's breakfast in the Gallows, and though Glimmer's hair color has changed from the bright pink she originally knew to recognize her by, it's still a striking enough shade to pick out easily. Ellie comes from behind her, throws one leg over to straddle the bench next to her.

The second their eyes meet, Ellie gives her a smile that's fashioned to be innocent, but might very well contain trouble.

"... how bored are you this morning?"

That light shade of auburn brown is hard to miss, it's true. Glimmer really misses the pink hair, though. A lot. It's hard not to, when you feel like a little piece of yourself got taken away. She looks up from her bowl of porridge as Ellie sits herself down. That expression from Ellie usually means she has an idea of some kind.

Glimmer just isn't sure what idea that is just yet.

"...Pretty bored," she answers between bites of porridge. "Why?"

Ellie's smile widens, and she rests her elbow on the table, lifting her eyebrows at Glimmer.

"... bored enough to go looking for trouble?"

Light, useful trouble, but still trouble.

"I mean, if you don't mind flying double."

Glimmer's face splits into a grin at Ellie's offer and she leans forward, as if conspiring about something a little secret.

"I don't mind at all. I am itching to just go do something right now..."

"Awesome. Let's go beat up Venatori."

Ellie beams as if they've just planned a lunch date, tilting her head to one side and getting up from the table. As she does, she sweeps up her cloak, reaching to fasten it properly, adjusting her bow.

It's a different look from what Glimmer's used to with her; she's changed jeans and sneakers and Henleys for belted tunics and leggings, leather boots and gloves. Several more knives and a bow across her back.

She looks better than she did in the city. Like she's eating more, not so pale.

"Need to grab anything from your room?"

Glimmer scarfs down the last few bites of breakfast and rises to her feet to follow Ellie. Like the other young woman, she's adapted to the local clothing though perhaps with more ease. Cloaks, leggings, and tunics much the same. Sure, she could go for robes but she wants to wear something that gives her as much mobility as she needs. Getting tangled up in her robes at an inopportune time would just be embarrassing. A dagger on her belt, mostly because you need a tool when you're out there in the wild. Gloves. Sturdy boots.

She's still a bit softer in her build but the last few months of hard physical work and training and less opulent food have turned her a little more towards muscle and tone.

"I need to grab my staff," she says. "I'll met you at the gryphon stables?"

This place has agreed with the both of them; there's so much to do, things to keep busy with. And in Glimmer's case there's no end of people she can actually help.

... and it's good, seeing her smiling again, excited to do something.

"I'll get Artichoke saddled," she promises, and reaches past her to sneak a bit of leftover bread off Glimmer's tray, a treat for him. "And pack a lunch. We can have a picnic or something if we don't make it back in time."

All the more excuse to stay out as long as they can.

"See you there," Glimmer says with a bright grin. Her dishes are taken care of and she ducks into kitchens to snatch up some lunch--bread, smoked sausage, some dried fruit. Stuff that'll keep and give them energy and be easy to carry. She stuffs them into a satchel and then heads off up the stairs to grab her staff.

At the stables, she arrives a little out of breath (though constantly going up and down the stairs over the last couple months has gotten her very used to this by now) with her staff over her shoulder.

"I'm here," she calls out in an enthusiastic voice. With a spring in her step she heads towards where Ellie is preparing Artichoke, reaches out to give the gryphon a little stroke along the neck.

"Hey there boy, you're looking like someone's taking good care of you," she murmurs, glances up at Ellie with a cocky little smirk. "So where exactly are we headed?"

Edited 2021-09-01 15:44 (UTC)

"No, he's not a scruffy boy anymore, is he?" Ellie asks, her voice dropping to that super-affectionate purr used for babies as she finishes working Artichoke's bridle into place.

She rubs his neck as she flashes Glimmer a grin, slinging her arm around Artichoke's neck as she speaks. He tries to pick her pockets with his beak, and comes up with the scrap of bread. He gives a trill and horks it down.

"Heading east towards the mountain passes," she points out, gesturing. "There's a few places we're checking on, making sure the area's clear and passable. Lots of refugees still pouring in, and there's Hunters-"

Ellie pauses, corrects herself. "Bandits, hanging around like vultures."

"He's a very handsome boy," Glimmer emphasizes as Artichoke finds his treats and scarfs it down. She trails her fingers through the feathers on the creature's fearsome head and smiles a little before her attention settles back onto Ellie. A brief frown creases her features--all too brief. Hunters. One of the words from Ellie's home, from the world that Ellie had struggled in.

A world Glimmer has a hard time imagining. Sometimes she thinks there is a wide, wide gap of understanding between herself and Ellie and aches to cross it. Sometimes she misses the ability to hold her friend's hand and understand, even if Ellie always hated letting parts of her old life leak into their new one.

"Ugh, bandits," Glimmer says, the brief flicker of emotion passing in an instant. "Things are bad enough, they have to try and take what people have left," a righteous, fierce anger. That flame that always seems to burn in her. A flame that could be stoked to terrible, awful deeds if not tended carefully.

"Let's go knock them around if we can find any. If not, at least we'll get to take Artichoke out to stretch his wings, right?"

Ellie watches Glimmer, openly admiring the utter lack of fear she has with him. He's a big baby, but he could still do considerable damage if he chose to, something Ellie's always respectful of.

Her eyes widen just a little at the flicker of emotion crossing Glimmer's face, her shoulders just barely tense, anticipating a question, but they relax when Glimmer moves on to the subject of the bandits. It's a good thing for the both of them to put their energy into, something to keep them busy, keep them from thinking of everything that hasn't gone right, and Glimmer's homesickness.

"You're speaking my language," Ellie answers with a grin, fixing the last of the straps on the bridle, and then securing her pack to the side of Artichoke's saddle, before swinging up onto his back. The "stable" at the top of the tower has more than enough space to do so, with several griffon-sized exits.

She leans down to offer her hand to Glimmer, to help her up behind her.

Glimmer is a brave person--she has no use for fear, though it sometimes gets the better of her. She turns to watch as Ellie swings herself up into the saddle. Her own pack is likewise attached to the saddle, then she reaches out to take Ellie's hand and she hauls herself up and into the spot behind Ellie. Glimmer adjusts her position, then wraps her arms around Ellie's waist so that she can hold on tight for take-off.

"Let's go," she says with a grin. "Bandits aren't gonna kick their own asses."

Ellie puts a hand over the back of Glimmer's wrist around her waist, giving a light squeeze on habit, and has to catch her breath. It always, always reminds her of back home, even if Artichoke feels nothing like Shimmer, and Glimmer feels and smells nothing like Dina.

She still remembers.

Shaking off the ghost of it, Ellie laughs aloud and clicks her tongue, leaning forward so Artichoke won't whack their heads on one of the exits, and grins wildly.

"Damn right they won't," she says, and holds on tight. Artichoke coils underneath them, then springs into the air, opening his heavy wings to catch the updraft like a parachute, then climb them higher in powerful strokes. She turns him towards the mountain passes, one hand in his feathers, holding the reins, and the other hand on Glimmer's arm, protective.

"Ever dealt with bandits?" Ellie asks. "Or just soldiers?"

Glimmer can feel and hear the way Ellie's breath catches. It's one of those small things that she notices. One of those small things she doesn't make a big deal out of noticing. She closes her eyes and lets the rush of air carry her off with Ellie as Artichoke launches himself skyward. The feeling of Ellie's hand on her arm is comforting, even if the height doesn't particularly bother her--it's nice to feel protected, sometimes.

"...Mostly just soldiers," Glimmer admits. "Why?"

"They fight different," Ellie says, lowering her voice from a yell as they even out, and Artichoke settles into a pace that'll take them the distance and won't tire him out too fast. She sits up a bit straighter, letting the wind toss the hair that's escaped from where she's twisted it back into a bun.

"Soldiers have better teamwork and they're not as likely to run or hide. Bandits are sneaky fuckers, but if you can scare them enough they'll panic and break."

"Good to know," Glimmer says. There's a low, thoughtful timbre to her voice as she considers Ellie's wisdom on the difference between bandits and soldiers. Makes sense. Soldiers have a cause, loyalty to each other. Bandits just want to make a profit with as little danger to themselves as possible.

"So we have to make sure to stick together and keep our heads on straight."

"Yep," Ellie answers, turning her head to one side to glance at Glimmer out of the corner of her eye. The sun's making her freckles stand out.

"Exactly. But you're probably gonna draw their fire if they see you can use magic. Got any shields?"

"I can do shields," Glimmer says with more than a little satisfaction.

"It's so nice to have my magic back, honestly. Even if it's not quite the same, it just feels better..." Glimmer shifts her weight a little and turns her head to peer down and away to the landscape unfolding beneath the gryphon.

"I can handle a bit of attention, don't worry about me too much."

"Nice," Ellie says with feeling, and squeezes Glimmer's hand, thoughtful. It's -- good, having her here, but she can't help but feel a bit of distance between them since they came here. It's not either of their faults, that Ellie can't shake the feeling of waking up and finding the apartment empty.

She's mourned her and she's here.

"What's the magic feel like here? Does it feel more like home?"

They'd talked once, about how different the worlds felt, how itchy it was for Glimmer not to be steeped in all the magic of Etheria.

The difference in their time isn't something they've really talked about except in passing. Glimmer isn't sure what it means. Adora and Catra had remembered different things and Catra had even disappeared and then reappeared with new memories in New Amsterdan. Had that happened here, too?

Wondering about it is just going to make Glimmer pull her hair out.

"Yeah, kind of. It's different, but... better than not having it, I guess. It's just... hm. I can't describe it. Like I can feel it now, but it feels different. Kinda like... Uh... I dunno, playing an instrument that's like one you know, but is just different enough to feel awkward, I guess?"

"Like the difference between a six-string and a banjo?"

Ellie flashes her a grin over her shoulder, wondering if Glimmer knows what the fuck a banjo is. But hell, it makes sense.

"I've never been able to feel anything but my own powers," she says, thoughtfully. "Being able to feel the magic in the air must be fucking wild."

She pauses, reconsidering. "... but I guess it'd be weirder for you if you didn't feel it."

"What's a banjo?" Glimmer asks, immediately confirming Ellie's suspicion that Glimmer has no idea what in the hell that is.

"Yeah, it was weirder for me to not feel it. Having it back, at least sort of, here in Thedas... it's better. At least it feels better?" Glimmer adds, her cheek tucked against Ellie's shoulder.

"I'm still getting used to this place, honestly."

"It's like a guitar, but worse," Ellie says with a half-laugh, but quiets to listen -- and leans back into the way Glimmer holds onto her. Maybe she shouldn't be so shameless about wanting the contact, but Ellie is slowly starting to not give a fuck.

"Better or worse than New Amsterdam?"

No matter what, she knows it's not home.

"Better. Kind of. I mean, I got tossed into the middle of a war that's not really mine and the people here can be jerks, but... there's magic. And I can actually do something instead of just. Hiding in my little apartment and going to my stupid job and... whatever," Glimmer says quietly. The only sound up here is the occasional beat of Artichoke's wings and the rush of the air around them. It's quiet, peaceful almost. Which belies the fact that they're on the way to do violence to some folks who probably deserve it.

"I still miss home, though," there it is. The cold fact that this isn't home and never will be. Glimmer's arm tightens a little around Ellie. She wants the contact as much as Ellie does. The warm comfort of a friend close at hand.

"How are you handling all this?" From what Glimmer's seen, Ellie is doing well. No fungoid creatures to worry about and Ellie's always been used to hard work as far as Glimmer knows.

"Yeah, really," Ellie sighs. Going on missions for Riftwatch is far more exciting than bouncing the same drunk assholes out of a bar every night. She ignores the twinge when she thinks of the girls she worked with. Wonders what Ruth makes of her disappearance. Hopes they're not too worried.

... wonders if Joel is still there.

Ellie's quiet for longer than a second, but settles in Glimmer's grip.

"I go back and forth," she admits. "But I like this. Not having to hide all the time. Getting to fight. I just... miss the people. Lance, and Nate, and Gene, and..."

Well. Glimmer knows.

For Glimmer

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