Luck Highwind (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
captainluck) wrote2019-11-02 10:37 pm
captainluck) wrote2019-11-02 10:37 pm
I've Got a Ticket for the Long Way 'Round
“Excuse me?! You’re what?!” Madeline Atwood looked incredulously at the young, pink man sitting beside her on the stone wall, mouth agape as she struggled to process what he’d said. He, in turn, looked confused - like this outburst was a far cry from what he’d been expecting, and now was absolutely lost on how to change course.
“I… I’m leaving at the end of the month? I booked a carriage ride to Leeside, and-”
“LUCK. HIGHWIND.” She wished sincerely he had a middle name, so she could shout it with the others for that added ‘oomph’. Oh well, she’d have to make do. “You can’t just drop this on me like it’s just… some thing! Like we didn’t have a plan that this is absolutely not a part of! What are you even thinking?!”
*************************
The Atwood family was well established in the town of Red Hawk. Madeline’s ancestors had been the first blacksmiths of what was once a struggling town, and many in her family had proudly carried on the tradition. Generation after generation, an Atwood served the forging needs of the larger community, and after all this time, it had become quite the large community indeed. Farmers, merchants, ranchers, craftsmen - they all turned to one place for their iron-working needs. Yes, for Madeline’s family, smithing was a proud tradition. Luckily for her (or at least, she thought it was lucky), her older sister was ready, eager, and willing to carry on that particular tradition. This left the youngest Atwood daughter free to her own devices - free to forge her own path. She decided early on to make it a rebellious one.
Someone had dared to call her a tomboy to her face once - for their troubles, they were left with a black eye, a smile, and an explanation: she was simply too amazing to be just a tomboy. Her look, for one thing, was way off. She was cute - she knew she was cute - and so she liked looking it as often as possible, wearing bright sundresses that somehow still couldn’t compare to how her auburn hair would shine in the sun. By the time she mentioned her interests were far too many to pigeonhole herself, her would-be teaser had long since run home crying. Perhaps it shouldn’t have been a surprise when she fell in with the ‘wrong’ crowd.
Said wrong crowd was a boy, just about her age, and normal in most respects. Unfortunately for him, one of the ways that set him apart drastically was his appearance. Pink skin, purple hair, and unmistakable horns set him apart in a way nothing else could. Red Hawk had attracted all sorts - the usual sorts anyways. Humans, elves and dwarves were all commonplace, with no real discrimination to speak of. When it came to tieflings, however, the story changed. There simply hadn’t been any in the tiny town up until now, and nobody had certainly expected one to be born to the Highwind farmers’ daughter out of wedlock. None dared say anything to her face, but there had been plenty of whispers about town - stolen glances, hushed tones, disapproving looks, they had all piled up until the poor girl had simply vanished, leaving her son behind. As the boy grew, he became old enough to receive the same whispers and looks. He had friends, sure - no town is populated entirely by assholes - but for the young Atwood, befriending him was nigh unthinkable. There were standards to uphold, after all.
So, after days of trying to engineer a scenario where she could ‘accidentally’ talk to him to find out what all the fuss was with zero luck, she had simply walked up to him, declared them friends, and demanded answers to her litany of questions. It was one of the best days of his childhood that Luck Highwind could remember.
*************************
At her question, he had fallen silent, unable to meet her eyes. Surprise and anger began to give way to fear, as her stomach started twisting itself into knots. Never, not once, had he ever held anything back from her. What could possibly make him start now? Her mind ran through every scenario she could conceive - of which, admittedly, there weren’t many in the heat of the moment - but nothing made sense.
Unfortunately for her, the truth was inconceivable. Never would she have guessed that the day before had been his mother’s birthday - his birth mother, not the kindly woman he called ‘Ma’ (Ma, the one who had raised him, cared for him, nurtured him, and protected him as best she could through the harsh world was in truth, his grandmother). Even if she had managed to guess that, Madeline could never have suspected that Luck’s Ma would have had a bit too much to drink as she quietly mourned the daughter who had left. In the one-in-a-billion chance she did, she certainly never would have thought that Ma would tearfully apologize to Luck for every horrible thing her daughter had said before walking out, going through the list in a haze as she re-lived what had been the worst night of her life.
No, the truth was far too horrible for her to ever dream of, so all she was left with was fear, confusion, and just a dash of resentment.
“Madeline, I…” his voice was strained and unusually soft, only adding to her growing turmoil. “I can’t wait any longer. I know, it’s not what we planned, but-”
“Luck, you idiot, we’re so close! Another year, that’s all! One more stupid year and we’d have everything we need for the grand adventure we’ve always dreamed of!”
*************************
He answered every single question she asked that day, not leaving her side until they’d both been called in for dinner. She’d found out his name - Luck, and found she much preferred it to thinking of him as ‘pink-boy’ (she’d refused from the very start to even consider the far more popular ‘demon boy’ that some villagers used). She’d also discovered they were close in age, being only a few months apart, that they had the same favorite bard (Hamelin Kentarrë, naturally), and more importantly, that they had the same love of adventure running deep in their veins. Once they’d realized that, the rest of the afternoon had been a blur of swapping their favorite stories and songs. He’d shared a few tales of Biiqo the Blue Lightning Keeper that she’d never heard before. She’d sung for him the entire Ballad of the Princess and the Handsome Thief, from memory. He’d sat enraptured the entire time, and was the best audience she’d ever had. They acted out their favorite parts from stories, played and laughed. First they were daring knights on a valiant quest. Then they were brave rebels fighting a greedy king, and then the Pirate Queen Madeline and her loyal first mate searched for treasure all across the seas. Over the course of an afternoon become utterly inseparable.
She got an earful at home, of course. Her older sister had been insistent she not consort with ‘that sort’ and, after an hour long lecture, had gone straight to their parents. They, however, were far more thoughtful. Knowing forbidding her from seeing the boy would only make her want to do it more, they were more accepting, figuring as with many children they would grow tired of each other before too long. When that didn’t happen, they were forced by proximity to get to know Luck. Eventually, they even started to like him. He was a dreamer, sure, and fairly unsure of himself. But he was also polite, a hard worker, and even a little charming. Acceptance gave way to fondness, and while being accepted by one prominent family could hardly reverse all of the boy’s bad fortunes, the whispers began to die down.
Madeline was happy. Luck was doubly so.
*************************
“I’m not trying to leave without you! Please, just let me finish!” There was a desperation to his voice she’d never heard before, and at least for a moment, Madeline fell silent. His fists were clenched as his heart pounded in his chest, but he pressed on. “After the cost of the ride and supplies, I… I still have a bit left. Enough to bring another person. So maybe, if you wanted…?” The rest of the question went unspoken, but his meaning was clear. Come with me. Please.
In some ways, it wasn’t too far off from what they had already been planning. Their love of songs, tales and adventures had never abated as they grew older. Eventually, as what once were distant childhood dreams began to look like possibilities, they began to plan. Together, they could make their way into a bigger city. There, he could learn from a bardic college, while she would find a knight to apprentice to. They’d have enough funds to last them a while to start and make money on the side where they could. Then, before they knew it, they’d both be strong enough to set out side by side on their own adventure, performing their own epic deeds and composing their own ballads of adventure. They’d worked, they’d saved, and like Madeline had said, they were getting close. So why?
Why now?
As the seconds ticked by without a response, Luck’s nerves failed him.
“I… I know this is out of the blue, so don’t feel like you have to answer now, ok? I leave at the end of the month. Just let me know before then.”
*************************
Naturally, as their friendship blossomed and the years went by, more and more of their peers assumed they were dating. They received their fair share of teasing, to which they gave back their fair share of cuts both verbal and physical. Their relationship never seemed to move past that though, which seemed to bother just about everyone in her life except for Madeline herself. She was happy with their friendship as it was. It didn’t need to be anything more. She also told herself that if he’d just stop being an idiot and ask her out on a proper date, she’d be just as happy with whatever their friendship became. At the end of the day, they had goals they were working towards together, and the specifics of the together weren’t important.
That’s not to say they never talked about romance, though. After all, what story could truly call itself a great, epic adventure story without even the tiniest hint of romance?! After going through one such story, they asked each other: What did they want their first epic romance to be like? She had answered almost instantly - she hadn’t figured out the ‘how’ yet, but she wanted to be swept off her feet by a dashing hero, the kind just oozing with charm. He’d say something perfect and steal her heart away. After a few moments, he had shared his - a forbidden romance with someone out of his league and far above him, socially. If he could win their family over somehow, that’d be even better. Madeline had giggled, asking him if he had a ‘princess’ in mind. Luck had stammered that it didn’t have to be a princess princess before changing the topic.
*************************
The days danced by, and rather than an answer for Luck, Madeline found she only had more frustrations. How could he be so selfish? Why weren’t their plans important anymore? What had happened to put her pink-boy in such a weird mood? Why couldn’t he just tell her about it? Attempts to ask had only been met with awkward evasion of the subject, which only further added to her frustrations. Never before had there been such a rift between them, and every day that passed only seemed to deepen it. Before she knew it, she was simply out of days. The time had come at last, and she stood beside him as he loaded his few belongings onto the carriage that would take him away. With his things loaded, the two stood facing each other, an awkward fog surrounding them that neither wanted, but neither knew how to dispel. Seconds ticked by, the driver began to grow impatient, and the end was in sight. So, after days of trying to engineer some sort of response to him and failing miserably, Madeline Atwood took a step forward, grabbed Luck Highwind by his collar, and pulled him into the fiercest kiss she could manage.
Years of friendship and companionship, weeks of frustrations and anger, all her hopes and dreams for the future - it was a lot to try and fit into one kiss, but she was simply too amazing to be content with just a simple peck goodbye. When she finally pulled away, she kept a grip on his collar, keeping him close enough so only he could hear.
“This? Whatever the hell this is? Get it out of your system, get back here, sweep me off my feet, and we’ll go into our adventures. Our adventures. Together. And if you don’t? I swear to you now, Luck Highwind, the Pirate Queen Madeline will track you down, find you, and we will have words.” With that, she let him go, and watched as a dumbfounded Luck stumbled his way into the carriage that carried him out of Red Hawk. Surely, he’d find his way back in a few months, perhaps with a few good stories to boot. More likely, stories or no stories, he’d tell her how right she was. She could wait that long, at least.
Three months passed. Then six, then nine. Time progressed forward as it always does, but Luck had proved impossible to reach. By all accounts, he had made it to Leeside safely. From there though, he seemed to have vanished, leaving not even a trace. Even when his grandparents had passed, no one seemed able to locate Luck Highwind. People gave Madeline their condolences. Her sister swore she’d throttle him if he ever dared set foot in Red Hawk again. Madeline did her best to tune it out. She had a new goal, after all.
The world was about to meet Pirate Queen Madeline. And then?
There would be words.
“I… I’m leaving at the end of the month? I booked a carriage ride to Leeside, and-”
“LUCK. HIGHWIND.” She wished sincerely he had a middle name, so she could shout it with the others for that added ‘oomph’. Oh well, she’d have to make do. “You can’t just drop this on me like it’s just… some thing! Like we didn’t have a plan that this is absolutely not a part of! What are you even thinking?!”
*************************
The Atwood family was well established in the town of Red Hawk. Madeline’s ancestors had been the first blacksmiths of what was once a struggling town, and many in her family had proudly carried on the tradition. Generation after generation, an Atwood served the forging needs of the larger community, and after all this time, it had become quite the large community indeed. Farmers, merchants, ranchers, craftsmen - they all turned to one place for their iron-working needs. Yes, for Madeline’s family, smithing was a proud tradition. Luckily for her (or at least, she thought it was lucky), her older sister was ready, eager, and willing to carry on that particular tradition. This left the youngest Atwood daughter free to her own devices - free to forge her own path. She decided early on to make it a rebellious one.
Someone had dared to call her a tomboy to her face once - for their troubles, they were left with a black eye, a smile, and an explanation: she was simply too amazing to be just a tomboy. Her look, for one thing, was way off. She was cute - she knew she was cute - and so she liked looking it as often as possible, wearing bright sundresses that somehow still couldn’t compare to how her auburn hair would shine in the sun. By the time she mentioned her interests were far too many to pigeonhole herself, her would-be teaser had long since run home crying. Perhaps it shouldn’t have been a surprise when she fell in with the ‘wrong’ crowd.
Said wrong crowd was a boy, just about her age, and normal in most respects. Unfortunately for him, one of the ways that set him apart drastically was his appearance. Pink skin, purple hair, and unmistakable horns set him apart in a way nothing else could. Red Hawk had attracted all sorts - the usual sorts anyways. Humans, elves and dwarves were all commonplace, with no real discrimination to speak of. When it came to tieflings, however, the story changed. There simply hadn’t been any in the tiny town up until now, and nobody had certainly expected one to be born to the Highwind farmers’ daughter out of wedlock. None dared say anything to her face, but there had been plenty of whispers about town - stolen glances, hushed tones, disapproving looks, they had all piled up until the poor girl had simply vanished, leaving her son behind. As the boy grew, he became old enough to receive the same whispers and looks. He had friends, sure - no town is populated entirely by assholes - but for the young Atwood, befriending him was nigh unthinkable. There were standards to uphold, after all.
So, after days of trying to engineer a scenario where she could ‘accidentally’ talk to him to find out what all the fuss was with zero luck, she had simply walked up to him, declared them friends, and demanded answers to her litany of questions. It was one of the best days of his childhood that Luck Highwind could remember.
*************************
At her question, he had fallen silent, unable to meet her eyes. Surprise and anger began to give way to fear, as her stomach started twisting itself into knots. Never, not once, had he ever held anything back from her. What could possibly make him start now? Her mind ran through every scenario she could conceive - of which, admittedly, there weren’t many in the heat of the moment - but nothing made sense.
Unfortunately for her, the truth was inconceivable. Never would she have guessed that the day before had been his mother’s birthday - his birth mother, not the kindly woman he called ‘Ma’ (Ma, the one who had raised him, cared for him, nurtured him, and protected him as best she could through the harsh world was in truth, his grandmother). Even if she had managed to guess that, Madeline could never have suspected that Luck’s Ma would have had a bit too much to drink as she quietly mourned the daughter who had left. In the one-in-a-billion chance she did, she certainly never would have thought that Ma would tearfully apologize to Luck for every horrible thing her daughter had said before walking out, going through the list in a haze as she re-lived what had been the worst night of her life.
No, the truth was far too horrible for her to ever dream of, so all she was left with was fear, confusion, and just a dash of resentment.
“Madeline, I…” his voice was strained and unusually soft, only adding to her growing turmoil. “I can’t wait any longer. I know, it’s not what we planned, but-”
“Luck, you idiot, we’re so close! Another year, that’s all! One more stupid year and we’d have everything we need for the grand adventure we’ve always dreamed of!”
*************************
He answered every single question she asked that day, not leaving her side until they’d both been called in for dinner. She’d found out his name - Luck, and found she much preferred it to thinking of him as ‘pink-boy’ (she’d refused from the very start to even consider the far more popular ‘demon boy’ that some villagers used). She’d also discovered they were close in age, being only a few months apart, that they had the same favorite bard (Hamelin Kentarrë, naturally), and more importantly, that they had the same love of adventure running deep in their veins. Once they’d realized that, the rest of the afternoon had been a blur of swapping their favorite stories and songs. He’d shared a few tales of Biiqo the Blue Lightning Keeper that she’d never heard before. She’d sung for him the entire Ballad of the Princess and the Handsome Thief, from memory. He’d sat enraptured the entire time, and was the best audience she’d ever had. They acted out their favorite parts from stories, played and laughed. First they were daring knights on a valiant quest. Then they were brave rebels fighting a greedy king, and then the Pirate Queen Madeline and her loyal first mate searched for treasure all across the seas. Over the course of an afternoon become utterly inseparable.
She got an earful at home, of course. Her older sister had been insistent she not consort with ‘that sort’ and, after an hour long lecture, had gone straight to their parents. They, however, were far more thoughtful. Knowing forbidding her from seeing the boy would only make her want to do it more, they were more accepting, figuring as with many children they would grow tired of each other before too long. When that didn’t happen, they were forced by proximity to get to know Luck. Eventually, they even started to like him. He was a dreamer, sure, and fairly unsure of himself. But he was also polite, a hard worker, and even a little charming. Acceptance gave way to fondness, and while being accepted by one prominent family could hardly reverse all of the boy’s bad fortunes, the whispers began to die down.
Madeline was happy. Luck was doubly so.
*************************
“I’m not trying to leave without you! Please, just let me finish!” There was a desperation to his voice she’d never heard before, and at least for a moment, Madeline fell silent. His fists were clenched as his heart pounded in his chest, but he pressed on. “After the cost of the ride and supplies, I… I still have a bit left. Enough to bring another person. So maybe, if you wanted…?” The rest of the question went unspoken, but his meaning was clear. Come with me. Please.
In some ways, it wasn’t too far off from what they had already been planning. Their love of songs, tales and adventures had never abated as they grew older. Eventually, as what once were distant childhood dreams began to look like possibilities, they began to plan. Together, they could make their way into a bigger city. There, he could learn from a bardic college, while she would find a knight to apprentice to. They’d have enough funds to last them a while to start and make money on the side where they could. Then, before they knew it, they’d both be strong enough to set out side by side on their own adventure, performing their own epic deeds and composing their own ballads of adventure. They’d worked, they’d saved, and like Madeline had said, they were getting close. So why?
Why now?
As the seconds ticked by without a response, Luck’s nerves failed him.
“I… I know this is out of the blue, so don’t feel like you have to answer now, ok? I leave at the end of the month. Just let me know before then.”
*************************
Naturally, as their friendship blossomed and the years went by, more and more of their peers assumed they were dating. They received their fair share of teasing, to which they gave back their fair share of cuts both verbal and physical. Their relationship never seemed to move past that though, which seemed to bother just about everyone in her life except for Madeline herself. She was happy with their friendship as it was. It didn’t need to be anything more. She also told herself that if he’d just stop being an idiot and ask her out on a proper date, she’d be just as happy with whatever their friendship became. At the end of the day, they had goals they were working towards together, and the specifics of the together weren’t important.
That’s not to say they never talked about romance, though. After all, what story could truly call itself a great, epic adventure story without even the tiniest hint of romance?! After going through one such story, they asked each other: What did they want their first epic romance to be like? She had answered almost instantly - she hadn’t figured out the ‘how’ yet, but she wanted to be swept off her feet by a dashing hero, the kind just oozing with charm. He’d say something perfect and steal her heart away. After a few moments, he had shared his - a forbidden romance with someone out of his league and far above him, socially. If he could win their family over somehow, that’d be even better. Madeline had giggled, asking him if he had a ‘princess’ in mind. Luck had stammered that it didn’t have to be a princess princess before changing the topic.
*************************
The days danced by, and rather than an answer for Luck, Madeline found she only had more frustrations. How could he be so selfish? Why weren’t their plans important anymore? What had happened to put her pink-boy in such a weird mood? Why couldn’t he just tell her about it? Attempts to ask had only been met with awkward evasion of the subject, which only further added to her frustrations. Never before had there been such a rift between them, and every day that passed only seemed to deepen it. Before she knew it, she was simply out of days. The time had come at last, and she stood beside him as he loaded his few belongings onto the carriage that would take him away. With his things loaded, the two stood facing each other, an awkward fog surrounding them that neither wanted, but neither knew how to dispel. Seconds ticked by, the driver began to grow impatient, and the end was in sight. So, after days of trying to engineer some sort of response to him and failing miserably, Madeline Atwood took a step forward, grabbed Luck Highwind by his collar, and pulled him into the fiercest kiss she could manage.
Years of friendship and companionship, weeks of frustrations and anger, all her hopes and dreams for the future - it was a lot to try and fit into one kiss, but she was simply too amazing to be content with just a simple peck goodbye. When she finally pulled away, she kept a grip on his collar, keeping him close enough so only he could hear.
“This? Whatever the hell this is? Get it out of your system, get back here, sweep me off my feet, and we’ll go into our adventures. Our adventures. Together. And if you don’t? I swear to you now, Luck Highwind, the Pirate Queen Madeline will track you down, find you, and we will have words.” With that, she let him go, and watched as a dumbfounded Luck stumbled his way into the carriage that carried him out of Red Hawk. Surely, he’d find his way back in a few months, perhaps with a few good stories to boot. More likely, stories or no stories, he’d tell her how right she was. She could wait that long, at least.
Three months passed. Then six, then nine. Time progressed forward as it always does, but Luck had proved impossible to reach. By all accounts, he had made it to Leeside safely. From there though, he seemed to have vanished, leaving not even a trace. Even when his grandparents had passed, no one seemed able to locate Luck Highwind. People gave Madeline their condolences. Her sister swore she’d throttle him if he ever dared set foot in Red Hawk again. Madeline did her best to tune it out. She had a new goal, after all.
The world was about to meet Pirate Queen Madeline. And then?
There would be words.