Restorative
Jun. 10th, 2025 05:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
redwolfSarah had spent her afternoon following up on their new arrival. Her concerns that the child could be suffering from a similar malady to that which had claimed her parents had been well founded. The healers had placed the little girl in statis while they worked to slowly purge her system of remaining toxins and to repair the damage they had caused.
While Sarah had hoped the healers could provide her with a list of the chemicals involved, that had unfortunately devolved into a circular discussion with neither party understanding the other’s terminology. Taking a different tack, Sarah had ended up calling Irene and, between the two of them, they had determined that the family had been the victims of a tainted water supply. It seemed that there was a high profile legal case for victim compensation in progress, which may help those families who had a chance of recovery, but there were enough people who were beyond medical intervention that Sarah suspected the child was the first of an influx.
Entering the library, Sarah smiled as she saw Jareth sprawled on a lounge chair. Having fallen asleep while reading, his head was thrown back, exposing a long column of neck and one hand was buried in the heavy pelt draped across his lap. As she watched, his rug moved and a very much alive wolf didn’t so much fall from the lounge as it did succumb to gravity in a slow ooze that eventually yawned, curled in a tight ball at Jareth’s feet and resumed its own sleep.
Stepping behind the chair, Sarah brushed Jareth’s hair aside before kissing him on the forehead.
With a dramatic full body stretch, Jareth reached up to return Sarah’s kiss. “How’s the patient?”
“She’ll recover fully, but they want to keep her in their care for a while yet.” Carefully avoiding treading on the sleeping wolf, Sarah joined Jareth on the lounge and curled into his side. “There’ll be more, won’t there?” She could feel an air of heavy expectation from the Labyrinth that made her suspect the next call would be soon.
“Quite a few, yes.” Sarah shuddered and Jareth tightened his arms around her.
“I’m feeling the urge to introduce the culprits to the bog.”
“Alas that is outside our remit, my love,” Jareth commiserated.
“Is there anything we can do?”
“We can ensure the children who are wished away find loving homes.”
“I meant Above.”
“I understand, but there are rules, and while you only want to intervene with the best of intentions, others may not be so altruistic.”
As frustrating as it was to hear, Sarah understood that it would be a slippery slope. While she knew the flip side was that there would soon be families Underground gaining a much wanted child, it was still difficult to only be able to step in under tightly defined conditions and even then it was in the aftermath of disaster.
“We provide a safety net for those who’ve lost all hope.”
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labyfic — drabble #213: luxurious
Part of the Balance!verse
While Sarah had hoped the healers could provide her with a list of the chemicals involved, that had unfortunately devolved into a circular discussion with neither party understanding the other’s terminology. Taking a different tack, Sarah had ended up calling Irene and, between the two of them, they had determined that the family had been the victims of a tainted water supply. It seemed that there was a high profile legal case for victim compensation in progress, which may help those families who had a chance of recovery, but there were enough people who were beyond medical intervention that Sarah suspected the child was the first of an influx.
Entering the library, Sarah smiled as she saw Jareth sprawled on a lounge chair. Having fallen asleep while reading, his head was thrown back, exposing a long column of neck and one hand was buried in the heavy pelt draped across his lap. As she watched, his rug moved and a very much alive wolf didn’t so much fall from the lounge as it did succumb to gravity in a slow ooze that eventually yawned, curled in a tight ball at Jareth’s feet and resumed its own sleep.
Stepping behind the chair, Sarah brushed Jareth’s hair aside before kissing him on the forehead.
With a dramatic full body stretch, Jareth reached up to return Sarah’s kiss. “How’s the patient?”
“She’ll recover fully, but they want to keep her in their care for a while yet.” Carefully avoiding treading on the sleeping wolf, Sarah joined Jareth on the lounge and curled into his side. “There’ll be more, won’t there?” She could feel an air of heavy expectation from the Labyrinth that made her suspect the next call would be soon.
“Quite a few, yes.” Sarah shuddered and Jareth tightened his arms around her.
“I’m feeling the urge to introduce the culprits to the bog.”
“Alas that is outside our remit, my love,” Jareth commiserated.
“Is there anything we can do?”
“We can ensure the children who are wished away find loving homes.”
“I meant Above.”
“I understand, but there are rules, and while you only want to intervene with the best of intentions, others may not be so altruistic.”
As frustrating as it was to hear, Sarah understood that it would be a slippery slope. While she knew the flip side was that there would soon be families Underground gaining a much wanted child, it was still difficult to only be able to step in under tightly defined conditions and even then it was in the aftermath of disaster.
“We provide a safety net for those who’ve lost all hope.”
labyfic — drabble #213: luxuriousPart of the Balance!verse
Bouyancy
Jun. 3rd, 2025 06:52 pmredwolfSarah felt the pull of a wish and had just enough time to set her work aside before she materialised into a room that was comparatively darker than the one she’d left.
Knowing that it was always best to stay quiet and let people make the wrong impression, Sarah waited for her eyes to adjust to the light difference, parsing the information dump of data the Labyrinth had placed in her mind as she was transported Above.
Keeping her expression neutral, Sarah took stock of her surroundings. A wall of glass was all that separated the restaurant from a pool. Sunlight filtering through the water was the cause of the peculiar lighting. As she watched, people dived into the pool and turned somersaults for the diners.
Turning back to the table at the end of the people aquarium, Sarah took in the sallow complexion of a young woman who returned her look with open wonder. Before anyone spoke, Jareth stepped forward to pull out a chair for Sarah, before he took a seat beside her. It was unusual for them both to be called, as odd as it was that they were both dressed in Above fashions suitable to the establishment rather than Goblin armour.
“Thank you for coming, Your Highnesses.” This was not the typical greeting they encountered.
“Mama! Can I swim too?”
Sarah barely restrained herself from startling at the child’s voice. She was definitely the one wished away, and yet not only had the goblins not taken her, they were currently in the pool pressed against the glass where the little girl looked up at them in delight.
“Perhaps later, darling.” She smiled sadly, then looked at Sarah. “Will she be taken care of?”
“She will be treasured,” Jareth answered in a gentle manner, reaching across the table to take her hand. “She will have a long, healthy life and will be raised in a loving family.”
The woman almost collapsed in relief and Sarah suspected she was barely holding herself together. The Labyrinth had informed her that the woman was suffering from a malady that had already claimed the child’s father, which seemed unlikely to be coincidental and raised questions of an environmental concern.
Jareth produced a crystal and held it out to the woman. “I am obligated to offer you your dreams.”
She shook her head and returned a soft smile. “You’ve given me my dreams.” Taking a deep breath she pulled her daughter into her arms and hugged her tightly. “I love you more than anything, darling, but the King and Queen will take you to play with your friends in the pool.”
“Okay, Mama. Love you too.” She hopped down and held her arms up to Jareth who stood and lifted her into his embrace.
Just as she felt the tug of the Underground, Sarah had a brief glimpse of the woman as she collapsed. Her final act of finding a loving home for her child had been all that had sustained her.
labyfic — drabble #212: underwater
Part of the Balance!verse
Knowing that it was always best to stay quiet and let people make the wrong impression, Sarah waited for her eyes to adjust to the light difference, parsing the information dump of data the Labyrinth had placed in her mind as she was transported Above.
Keeping her expression neutral, Sarah took stock of her surroundings. A wall of glass was all that separated the restaurant from a pool. Sunlight filtering through the water was the cause of the peculiar lighting. As she watched, people dived into the pool and turned somersaults for the diners.
Turning back to the table at the end of the people aquarium, Sarah took in the sallow complexion of a young woman who returned her look with open wonder. Before anyone spoke, Jareth stepped forward to pull out a chair for Sarah, before he took a seat beside her. It was unusual for them both to be called, as odd as it was that they were both dressed in Above fashions suitable to the establishment rather than Goblin armour.
“Thank you for coming, Your Highnesses.” This was not the typical greeting they encountered.
“Mama! Can I swim too?”
Sarah barely restrained herself from startling at the child’s voice. She was definitely the one wished away, and yet not only had the goblins not taken her, they were currently in the pool pressed against the glass where the little girl looked up at them in delight.
“Perhaps later, darling.” She smiled sadly, then looked at Sarah. “Will she be taken care of?”
“She will be treasured,” Jareth answered in a gentle manner, reaching across the table to take her hand. “She will have a long, healthy life and will be raised in a loving family.”
The woman almost collapsed in relief and Sarah suspected she was barely holding herself together. The Labyrinth had informed her that the woman was suffering from a malady that had already claimed the child’s father, which seemed unlikely to be coincidental and raised questions of an environmental concern.
Jareth produced a crystal and held it out to the woman. “I am obligated to offer you your dreams.”
She shook her head and returned a soft smile. “You’ve given me my dreams.” Taking a deep breath she pulled her daughter into her arms and hugged her tightly. “I love you more than anything, darling, but the King and Queen will take you to play with your friends in the pool.”
“Okay, Mama. Love you too.” She hopped down and held her arms up to Jareth who stood and lifted her into his embrace.
Just as she felt the tug of the Underground, Sarah had a brief glimpse of the woman as she collapsed. Her final act of finding a loving home for her child had been all that had sustained her.
labyfic — drabble #212: underwaterPart of the Balance!verse
