A Matter of Timing
by Shade
Disclaimer: KA writes MSN. D product of C. FUAIE!
--------------------
Little Negi Springfield knew that he wasn't supposed to be out at night.
While the village and the surrounding hills in this remote region of Wales
had been peaceful for many years, it was still no place for a seven year
old child to be wandering around all by himself with only the light of
the full moon and the stars in the clear sky overhead to see by.
But Negi was on a mission.
His childhood friend Anya had told him about the legend of the water spirit
that lived in the lake near here who she said she had heard from a villager
who had known someone who knew someone who knew someone that had seen her
before. On the night of a full moon such as tonight, the spirit would appear
to swim in the waters of the lake and the person who managed to find and take
her garments hidden somewhere on the shore would be able to trade them back
for a boon from the magical being.
To the young boy this meant only one thing. A chance to find his long lost father.
And so he had forced himself out of his warm bed and still clad in his long pajamas, started
on the simple trodden path to the lake. The walk seemed to last forever in the darkness,
but in reality was probably only about an hour and a half. But when dark shadows turned
the familiar reassuring trees into looming monsters ready to leap out, the little boy
could be forgiven for not being able to tell the difference.
When he finally saw the lake ahead the sight of it seemed to take his breath away.
It seemed to have turned into pure liquid silver in the moonlight, so beautiful
and magical that the sight alone seemed to be enough to justify his sneaking out.
But as he got closer, he saw that there was someone in the water. From the distance
it was hard to make out but it seemed to be a woman. Negi started to run, panting
as he pumped his short legs as hard as they would go to get to the edge of the lake.
His breath came out in little pale puffs of mist in the cold night air as he finally
reached the dense undergrowth that seperated the thin forest from the thick grass
that lined the banks of the inland lake. He had once almost drowned in those waters,
determined to get his father to show up and save him at the last minute and only
receiving a long stay in bed and a tearful scolding from Nekane for his troubles.
He shivered slightly at the memory before looking for the person he had seen earlier.
And then he heard a soft splash of movement in the rippling water and turned to see her.
Time seemed to slow to a crawl as Negi Springfield stared at the most beautiful woman
he had ever seen in his life. Long thick tresses the color of the the finest emeralds
swept down the milky smoothness of her flawless naked back as the little beads of water
clinging to her form shone like little diamonds. Her face was the essence of Woman,
and even the innocent child could feel the draw of her innate feminine power as he stared
at her.
For the first time in his life, Negi forgot about his father. He forgot about Anya, Nekane,
Old Stan and the cold gnawing at his shivering hands and feet. He forgot about everything
except that captivating vision before him. It was only when she dived under the water that
the spell was broken and Negi came back to himself.
Blood rushed to his cheeks as awareness returned. He was supposed to be a gentleman, Nekane
had made sure to drill that into his head and here he had gone and just gaped at that woman
when she wasn't wearing any clothes...clothes...clothes!!
The boy started looking around on the ground for any sign of the Water Spirit's clothes,
because what else could she be but the legendary magical creature? But no matter how hard
he looked, Negi couldn't find any sign of garments on the grass. Determined to look even harder,
he failed to watch where his feet were going and stepped on a dry twig that cracked under
his weight like a gunshot.
"Who's there?"
The woman was standing up where the water only came up to her finely toned hips. Trickles
of shining silver ran down her glorious form as she looked right at where Negi was. Had he
been somewhat older, the sight of her exposed breasts would have instigated an embarrassing
physical reaction from him, provided he didn't simply have a heart attack from the raw sensuality
that radiated from her like light from the Sun.
Hesitantly, he stepped out of the underbrush in his blue pajamas, eyes wide with fear
at having been caught peeping. Negi wasn't sure what the punishment was, but Anya had
always said really bad things happened to boys who peeped on girls.
She studied him thoughtfully, an amused smile forming on her perfect strawberry lips.
"A child? Come here, boy. Let me look at you."
His feet seeming to develop a will of their own, Negi found himself moving closer
to this enchanting creature. When she suddenly narrowed her eyes, he thought it
was his fault and he found himself holding his breath in fear. But she wasn't
looking at him any longer, she was looking above-
Something massive erupted from the trees.
The terrified young boy started to shout a warning to the Water Spirit, but she was already moving.
He gaped as the strange woman leaped straight out of the water as if it wasn't even there,
revealing herself completely to his gaze for a long priceless moment. And then a swarm of
bats appeared and swarmed over her body before glowing and changing into a tight fitting bodysuit
that seemed to reveal even more of her then simple nudity had only moments earlier.
Large Batwings erupted from her back and a smaller pair on the top of her head as the green haired figure
met the monstrous creature in midair and began to attack it. The larger wings on her back shifted into
spears of shadowy black that struck at the beast from all sides and forced it to bat them away with
the huge twisted clawed hands that belonged to no natural creature.
Mesmorized by the violent spectacle taking place above, Negi almost missed the sound of the second figure
moving to get a better angle on the pair dueling in the sky. It might have passed for a man were it not
for the being's animalistic features and the scales that served it as skin. It paid the boy no attention,
focused entirely on the battle taking place.
And then the little wizard saw it was aiming the staff in its hands at the woman fighting its fellow monster.
Negi Springfield didn't even stop to think, the little practice wand Nekane had given to him
and he always carried around was simply in his hand and pointed at the creature standing before
him.
"Practe Bigi Nar! Ardescat!!"
It was only a very tiny flame, but it was able to distract the assassin's attention just enough.
The ugly green shot from its staff only grazed a single wing instead of the heart it had been
initially aimed for and the element of surprise was now gone.
"Stupid Human Brat!"
Something hard and sharp hit Springfield in his middle and he went down hard on his back.
Then the awful gutwrenching pain began. It hurt worse then anything Negi could have imagined,
tears were running down his face as he moaned and tried to keep from screaming because moving
even a little made the pain that much worse.
He didn't see the enormous fireball of magical energy that shimmered like a diamond trapped in
the heart of flame that completely vaporized the creature that had struck him down, nor did he
witness the sudden and complete dismemberment of the large hulking attacker by the woman's
transformed bladed wings. All the dying boy saw was the stars in the sky, twinkling eternally
beyond the concerns of mortal men.
And then there was a face looking down into his own. The face of an angel.
It was her, the Water Spirit. One tiny trembling hand reached up and touched the softness of her cheek.
"Good. You're okay."
Negi tasted iron saltiness in his mouth as he said those words, his voice barely more then a whisper now.
Everything was getting blurry and becoming harder to see now. But at least she wasn't hurt and that
was all that really mattered to him now.
Her hypnotic gaze never left his face, it almost seemed as if she was struggling to come to a decision.
"I wanted to see you...father...."
It didn't hurt so much anymore. It felt almost peaceful now. The Spirit's face was getting larger,
was this what dying was like? Was she going to be the last thing he saw? That didn't seem so bad-
And then she kissed him.
Her mouth was sweet on his and he felt something hot and pulsing flowing into his body, there were no
words that he knew of which could truly capture the essence of it. It was as if he was both expanding
into a giant and squeezing together like light through a magnifying glass.
He could hear her voice in his head even though their lips remained joined.
'A piece of myself to you, for House Aensland always repays their debts.'
Then Negi Springfield knew nothing more.
-------------------------
"Negi! Wake up you idiot!!"
It was Anya, his childhood friend, yelling in his ear. The little girl looked
furiously at him. He stared back at her blankly, trying to remember who he was
and what he was doing there.
"How long do you think you're just going to sleeping in your bed like that?"
He looked down to see what she was talking about and stared.
This was his bedroom and this was his bed. There were no marks on him, had he dreamed it all?
But if he had, then where had his pajama top gone?
Then Anya started yelling at him again and seven year old was soon too busy trying to avoid
the embarrassing spectacle of being forced to take a bath to recall the fading memory of
what seemed to be more and more of a dream.
But sometimes at night, that woman's face would still appear in his dreams.
by Shade
Disclaimer: KA writes MSN. D product of C. FUAIE!
--------------------
Little Negi Springfield knew that he wasn't supposed to be out at night.
While the village and the surrounding hills in this remote region of Wales
had been peaceful for many years, it was still no place for a seven year
old child to be wandering around all by himself with only the light of
the full moon and the stars in the clear sky overhead to see by.
But Negi was on a mission.
His childhood friend Anya had told him about the legend of the water spirit
that lived in the lake near here who she said she had heard from a villager
who had known someone who knew someone who knew someone that had seen her
before. On the night of a full moon such as tonight, the spirit would appear
to swim in the waters of the lake and the person who managed to find and take
her garments hidden somewhere on the shore would be able to trade them back
for a boon from the magical being.
To the young boy this meant only one thing. A chance to find his long lost father.
And so he had forced himself out of his warm bed and still clad in his long pajamas, started
on the simple trodden path to the lake. The walk seemed to last forever in the darkness,
but in reality was probably only about an hour and a half. But when dark shadows turned
the familiar reassuring trees into looming monsters ready to leap out, the little boy
could be forgiven for not being able to tell the difference.
When he finally saw the lake ahead the sight of it seemed to take his breath away.
It seemed to have turned into pure liquid silver in the moonlight, so beautiful
and magical that the sight alone seemed to be enough to justify his sneaking out.
But as he got closer, he saw that there was someone in the water. From the distance
it was hard to make out but it seemed to be a woman. Negi started to run, panting
as he pumped his short legs as hard as they would go to get to the edge of the lake.
His breath came out in little pale puffs of mist in the cold night air as he finally
reached the dense undergrowth that seperated the thin forest from the thick grass
that lined the banks of the inland lake. He had once almost drowned in those waters,
determined to get his father to show up and save him at the last minute and only
receiving a long stay in bed and a tearful scolding from Nekane for his troubles.
He shivered slightly at the memory before looking for the person he had seen earlier.
And then he heard a soft splash of movement in the rippling water and turned to see her.
Time seemed to slow to a crawl as Negi Springfield stared at the most beautiful woman
he had ever seen in his life. Long thick tresses the color of the the finest emeralds
swept down the milky smoothness of her flawless naked back as the little beads of water
clinging to her form shone like little diamonds. Her face was the essence of Woman,
and even the innocent child could feel the draw of her innate feminine power as he stared
at her.
For the first time in his life, Negi forgot about his father. He forgot about Anya, Nekane,
Old Stan and the cold gnawing at his shivering hands and feet. He forgot about everything
except that captivating vision before him. It was only when she dived under the water that
the spell was broken and Negi came back to himself.
Blood rushed to his cheeks as awareness returned. He was supposed to be a gentleman, Nekane
had made sure to drill that into his head and here he had gone and just gaped at that woman
when she wasn't wearing any clothes...clothes...clothes!!
The boy started looking around on the ground for any sign of the Water Spirit's clothes,
because what else could she be but the legendary magical creature? But no matter how hard
he looked, Negi couldn't find any sign of garments on the grass. Determined to look even harder,
he failed to watch where his feet were going and stepped on a dry twig that cracked under
his weight like a gunshot.
"Who's there?"
The woman was standing up where the water only came up to her finely toned hips. Trickles
of shining silver ran down her glorious form as she looked right at where Negi was. Had he
been somewhat older, the sight of her exposed breasts would have instigated an embarrassing
physical reaction from him, provided he didn't simply have a heart attack from the raw sensuality
that radiated from her like light from the Sun.
Hesitantly, he stepped out of the underbrush in his blue pajamas, eyes wide with fear
at having been caught peeping. Negi wasn't sure what the punishment was, but Anya had
always said really bad things happened to boys who peeped on girls.
She studied him thoughtfully, an amused smile forming on her perfect strawberry lips.
"A child? Come here, boy. Let me look at you."
His feet seeming to develop a will of their own, Negi found himself moving closer
to this enchanting creature. When she suddenly narrowed her eyes, he thought it
was his fault and he found himself holding his breath in fear. But she wasn't
looking at him any longer, she was looking above-
Something massive erupted from the trees.
The terrified young boy started to shout a warning to the Water Spirit, but she was already moving.
He gaped as the strange woman leaped straight out of the water as if it wasn't even there,
revealing herself completely to his gaze for a long priceless moment. And then a swarm of
bats appeared and swarmed over her body before glowing and changing into a tight fitting bodysuit
that seemed to reveal even more of her then simple nudity had only moments earlier.
Large Batwings erupted from her back and a smaller pair on the top of her head as the green haired figure
met the monstrous creature in midair and began to attack it. The larger wings on her back shifted into
spears of shadowy black that struck at the beast from all sides and forced it to bat them away with
the huge twisted clawed hands that belonged to no natural creature.
Mesmorized by the violent spectacle taking place above, Negi almost missed the sound of the second figure
moving to get a better angle on the pair dueling in the sky. It might have passed for a man were it not
for the being's animalistic features and the scales that served it as skin. It paid the boy no attention,
focused entirely on the battle taking place.
And then the little wizard saw it was aiming the staff in its hands at the woman fighting its fellow monster.
Negi Springfield didn't even stop to think, the little practice wand Nekane had given to him
and he always carried around was simply in his hand and pointed at the creature standing before
him.
"Practe Bigi Nar! Ardescat!!"
It was only a very tiny flame, but it was able to distract the assassin's attention just enough.
The ugly green shot from its staff only grazed a single wing instead of the heart it had been
initially aimed for and the element of surprise was now gone.
"Stupid Human Brat!"
Something hard and sharp hit Springfield in his middle and he went down hard on his back.
Then the awful gutwrenching pain began. It hurt worse then anything Negi could have imagined,
tears were running down his face as he moaned and tried to keep from screaming because moving
even a little made the pain that much worse.
He didn't see the enormous fireball of magical energy that shimmered like a diamond trapped in
the heart of flame that completely vaporized the creature that had struck him down, nor did he
witness the sudden and complete dismemberment of the large hulking attacker by the woman's
transformed bladed wings. All the dying boy saw was the stars in the sky, twinkling eternally
beyond the concerns of mortal men.
And then there was a face looking down into his own. The face of an angel.
It was her, the Water Spirit. One tiny trembling hand reached up and touched the softness of her cheek.
"Good. You're okay."
Negi tasted iron saltiness in his mouth as he said those words, his voice barely more then a whisper now.
Everything was getting blurry and becoming harder to see now. But at least she wasn't hurt and that
was all that really mattered to him now.
Her hypnotic gaze never left his face, it almost seemed as if she was struggling to come to a decision.
"I wanted to see you...father...."
It didn't hurt so much anymore. It felt almost peaceful now. The Spirit's face was getting larger,
was this what dying was like? Was she going to be the last thing he saw? That didn't seem so bad-
And then she kissed him.
Her mouth was sweet on his and he felt something hot and pulsing flowing into his body, there were no
words that he knew of which could truly capture the essence of it. It was as if he was both expanding
into a giant and squeezing together like light through a magnifying glass.
He could hear her voice in his head even though their lips remained joined.
'A piece of myself to you, for House Aensland always repays their debts.'
Then Negi Springfield knew nothing more.
-------------------------
"Negi! Wake up you idiot!!"
It was Anya, his childhood friend, yelling in his ear. The little girl looked
furiously at him. He stared back at her blankly, trying to remember who he was
and what he was doing there.
"How long do you think you're just going to sleeping in your bed like that?"
He looked down to see what she was talking about and stared.
This was his bedroom and this was his bed. There were no marks on him, had he dreamed it all?
But if he had, then where had his pajama top gone?
Then Anya started yelling at him again and seven year old was soon too busy trying to avoid
the embarrassing spectacle of being forced to take a bath to recall the fading memory of
what seemed to be more and more of a dream.
But sometimes at night, that woman's face would still appear in his dreams.
