Wild Roses Prompt 028 "Children"

[taennyn]

Title: Faith
’Verse/characters: Wild Roses; Brighid (Ruadhan, Donnel & Aifiric)
Prompt: 028 "Children"
Word Count: 163
Rating: G
Notes: vaguely sparked by the memory of my brother accidentally giving my mother a black eye when he was very small.


The Bruise was finally fading, from a deep purple-black to a jaundiced green, the edges of boy-sized finger marks blurring away.

She hadn’t screamed, or cursed (though when she did curse it was a memorable occasion, soft clear precise language detailing exactly what she thought) when it happened. Just made a small pained hissing noise through her teeth, which was somehow worse than a scream might have been. It had taken her son a moment to realize that the pained noise was his fault, and so the Bruise was that much deeper.

She also hadn’t let either her husband or her older son lecture him about it—though there hadn’t been much she could do about the glares that came his way whenever they spotted the Bruise under the edge of her sleeve.

To her younger son, she’d said only that some people were more fragile than others, and to all three she’d said that next time, he would remember, and be more careful.

Comments

[youraugustine.livejournal.com]

. . . ohdeeear.

[taennyn]

Worked, though. O.o;;

Fintain was a biter, when he was little. Phoebe spelled herself so there was a mild shock if he tried biting her. It also worked. =P

[klgaffney.livejournal.com]

Ooops. >_>;

i think there's something in every kid's contract that lets them get away with that once, altho mothers tend to be far more lenient about mistakes than on purpose tantrum driven punches. those have a rather limited time offer. past a certain age--forget it.

[taennyn]

past a certain age--forget it.

'specially with Sabaeys, and most very expecially those with standard-issue human mothers. >.>

[darthneko.livejournal.com]

....wooops. #_#

[taennyn]

. . in regards to my sibling, or in regards to Ruadhan and Brighid? O.o

[darthneko.livejournal.com]

[g] Both. This seems to be a certain danger with small children, though, particularly the male type.

[taennyn]

Yeah, I didn't really start biting people until fourth grade.

. . *innocent*

[celeloriel.livejournal.com]

Whoa.

I had no idea that Sabaeys were THAT much stronger/more real than the rest of us. Damn. It's a good point to note, and I hope we see it in play again.

And she's a loving mom, clearly. I'm shocked that the kid's dad didn't notice that thing first and have a Conversation with the kid.

[taennyn]

I hope we see it in play again.

Oh, it will. If nothing else, warped wineglass stems and banisters because they happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. :) Or, for that matter, several of the cast being able to pull scarily weighted longbows and recurves with not exceptionally much difficulty, or kicking something to death.
*chin in one hand* or referencing an incident wherein one put another one through a brick wall when they were both teenagers.

The strength is a side effect of the same set of tricks that keep them from dying of exhaustion in their forties. Different mitochondrial arrangement, in one sense--they don't look much different, but it's inheritable and use-based (ie 'use it or lose it'). It also means that they--and every other active mage-type--live with a eternal case of the munchies. A pregnant active mage is a terrifying thing. :D

And she's a loving mom, clearly.

Yeah, she is. Second-and-last of the Queens, and the only royal wife who was purely mortal. (Phoebe goes without saying, and both Joceline and Amarante had relatives and direct ancestors who were mages.)

I'm shocked that the kid's dad didn't notice that thing first and have a Conversation with the kid.

. . . . . . . Set dad = Aifiric. At once both very busy and not exceptionally aware of his children until they're old enough to be useful or dangerous. In all honesty he wasn't a very good father--I think the only one of his kids who loved him as a father was his youngest. Brighid's boys were actually usually a little jealous of their father for coming in and stealing their mother's attention--because she was Queen as well as mother, and so wasn't always there all the time.

[youraugustine.livejournal.com]

Whenabouts does the enhanced strength kick in? It doesn't seem likely that it's there from too early, both because of the mentioned use-it-lose-it and because too early and a mortal mother would have broken ribs anf ruptured internal organs from kicking during the pregnancy, and be a MASS of bruises from nursing. So if it waits until later, when is later and wat generally sparks it?

The piece gives a definite sense of the perpetual threat she lives under, even if it's a very suspended one. None of the men or boys in her life have to DECIDE to hurt or damage her; a momentary lapse would be more than sufficient.

[taennyn]

I have the impression onset varies a bit; Nicolai and Ruadhan appear to have been early-onset (in Nicolai's case to the point where his mother brought him in to Aifiric and said I Can't Do This, when Nicolai was in the range of 5), while Isael's didn't really manifest as more than unusual stamina and endurance until he started getting mage training at 16/17. *hands!* Which is annoying from a worldbuilding perspective, like the time-to-adulthood variations, but allows for a lot of individual nuance.

Brighid gave lots of people heart attacks over the years. On both sides of the strength divide.