As soon as everyone was buckled in, Katherine cracked the reins and the sleigh launched into the air. It was a little bumpy, but Howard's repairs held.
If anyone had been there to see what happened next from the ground, what followed was a beautiful sight, even despite the dark. Ahead of Santa's sleigh, the vision of the girl made of light led the way, bursting through the shadows that had blocked out the sun, her rainbow hair trailing behind like the tail of a shooting star. The sleigh rocked to and fro from the shadows battering themselves against it, but none of them managed to keep their hold or cling on long enough to harm the passengers.
Then they were above the clouds of shadows and in the light of the sun again. Katherine hit the stealth button and the air shimmered just slightly around them but otherwise there was no other change. Outside the sleigh, the shadows still chasing them visibly seemed to be having difficulties finding it now.
Now that they were safe, the girl made of light turned to hold off the shadows trying to follow the sleigh to make sure they were even safer. Even though this was just a spellform of Nico's friend, the idea of her given temporary form, she fought as ferociously as the real thing.
Below them, there was suddenly a light that spread through the area, one that seemed to even dim the light of the sun. It was like an atom bomb, but less repulsive and unnatural - this light was filled with such transcendant beauty that it seemed like it belonged in the world, like the world was poorer for having less of it. For just a moment, everything was a blank piece of paper full of infinite possibility and they were the only drawings on the page.
Then the light faded away.
Katherine turned the sleigh just enough that they could see that the clouds of shadows had been greatly diminished after that burst of light, but some were still there. What was left of them swirled together in a great spiraling whirlwind of darkness that drove itself down in a single spot in the abandoned amusement park that was now far off in the distance.
Katherine, reaching for the snowglobe in her pocket, gasped. Her goose out out a disturbed honk.
Then there was a sudden loud boom and then another bright, bluish light that started near the ground and cascaded upward through the cloud of shadows like electricity. The entire cloudmass froze from the ground up and shattered with another resounding chakoom of sound. There were still more shadows left, but Katherine didn't waste any time seeing what happened to them. Muttering, "North's Workshop," into the globe, she tossed it in front of the sleigh in a long arc. A portal opened in front of them.
"Cocoa. What I need is cocoa. Cocoa makes everything better," she muttered to herself in the jangly tones of someone dealing with being scared.
Then they flew through the spiraling vortex to safety at last.
no subject
If anyone had been there to see what happened next from the ground, what followed was a beautiful sight, even despite the dark. Ahead of Santa's sleigh, the vision of the girl made of light led the way, bursting through the shadows that had blocked out the sun, her rainbow hair trailing behind like the tail of a shooting star. The sleigh rocked to and fro from the shadows battering themselves against it, but none of them managed to keep their hold or cling on long enough to harm the passengers.
Then they were above the clouds of shadows and in the light of the sun again. Katherine hit the stealth button and the air shimmered just slightly around them but otherwise there was no other change. Outside the sleigh, the shadows still chasing them visibly seemed to be having difficulties finding it now.
Now that they were safe, the girl made of light turned to hold off the shadows trying to follow the sleigh to make sure they were even safer. Even though this was just a spellform of Nico's friend, the idea of her given temporary form, she fought as ferociously as the real thing.
Below them, there was suddenly a light that spread through the area, one that seemed to even dim the light of the sun. It was like an atom bomb, but less repulsive and unnatural - this light was filled with such transcendant beauty that it seemed like it belonged in the world, like the world was poorer for having less of it. For just a moment, everything was a blank piece of paper full of infinite possibility and they were the only drawings on the page.
Then the light faded away.
Katherine turned the sleigh just enough that they could see that the clouds of shadows had been greatly diminished after that burst of light, but some were still there. What was left of them swirled together in a great spiraling whirlwind of darkness that drove itself down in a single spot in the abandoned amusement park that was now far off in the distance.
Katherine, reaching for the snowglobe in her pocket, gasped. Her goose out out a disturbed honk.
Then there was a sudden loud boom and then another bright, bluish light that started near the ground and cascaded upward through the cloud of shadows like electricity. The entire cloudmass froze from the ground up and shattered with another resounding chakoom of sound. There were still more shadows left, but Katherine didn't waste any time seeing what happened to them. Muttering, "North's Workshop," into the globe, she tossed it in front of the sleigh in a long arc. A portal opened in front of them.
"Cocoa. What I need is cocoa. Cocoa makes everything better," she muttered to herself in the jangly tones of someone dealing with being scared.
Then they flew through the spiraling vortex to safety at last.