[Daemon Muses] 2.1
Sep. 3rd, 2008 10:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
comedownthisroadWrite about Daemons your Daemon seems particularly close to. It ended up more like people and Daemons Tay and Milo are close to, but still.
From the time Tay was tiny, Milo adored her granddad's Other. Her name was Charlotte, but as one of his sisters was named Charlotte as well, they called her "Lettie". Lettie was a gorgeous snowy owl, and Tay always wished she could stroke the Other's feathers, because they looked so soft. Milo said they were even softer than they looked, almost like down. Lettie was a perfect compliment for Granddad, as Others were meant to be - gentle where he was harsh, and stern where he was lenient. She wasn't sweet by any stretch of the imagination - a fierce predator who had killed more than her share of demonic Others - but like Granddad, she was good, and she was kind, and she was fiercely protective of the younger Barnams and their Others.
It was Lettie, after all, who pointed out to Granddad that she herself had taken much more to a feline form when they were angelets, only settling in her wings after he'd gained his. He, of course, had nearly forgotten she'd ever been anything but an owl, and promptly told off the cousins for harassing Tay and Milo, as Milo preferred to stay in earth-bound shapes.
Lettie was a bit awe-inspiring, of course, and Milo would never claim they were friends, but they were family, and he loved her fiercely.
---
It was funny, sometimes, how two people could fight constantly and their Others could love each other dearly. Aaron was Tay's youngest cousin, only 40 when she was born, and they could not stand one another. It was nothing specific, just one of those personality clashes - Aaron was controlled where Tay was reckless, Aaron was flippant where Tay was solemn, Aaron had interests outside hunting where hunting was Tay's entire world.
Despite this, it wasn't an odd sight in the Barnam household to see Milo loping around a room with a splash of deep blue on his back - kingfisher blue, as a matter of fact, as Jo rode gleefully on Milo's back. Jo was his favourite playmate apart from Tay, which necessitated Tay and Aaron being in the same room quite often. It was for this reason that Aaron was the one who taught Tay how to disarm an attacker, forced her to listen to David Bowie, and taught her how to braid her hair so it would look nice and stay out of the way in a fight.
Tay and Aaron couldn't stand each other, but they were the closest of any of the cousins and wouldn't have it any other way.
---
When Tay was 12, the First among Firsts, the oldest angel in existence, came to visit the Barnam home. The Barnams had long worked with Romana Angelos, as far back (so they claimed, at any rate) that they had worked with her before she became a first, when she was simply the most powerful archangel alive. Tay hid in a tree by the gate to watch her arrive, her wings out and her hawk Other, Sophus, riding proudly on her shoulder. As she'd passed the tree, she'd looked up at Tay, long-limbed and awkward, not a girl any longer, but far from a young woman, and smiled. Milo hid, curled as a mouse in the hood of her sweatshirt, shaking from nerves (though he would never admit it), and Tay remembered suddenly that First Angels were psychic, and turned bright red.
But she didn't look away, and Romana nodded at her in a sort of approval. From that moment, Romana was the only being alive allowed to call Tay by her full name and not get an earful from the young angelet, and Tay worshipped her.
Sophus was not, obviously, generally affectionate - not in obvious ways, at any rate - but when he was around, Milo would stay in osprey form, and Sophus would preen him gently while Romana quizzed Tay on fighting tactics and taught her how to aim a gun without thinking. It was, Tay whispered to Milo one night after Romana's three-week visit, what having a mother must be like.
---
Vincent was the first person Tay befriended in Chicago when she was sent to be with Romana's entourage for her sixteenth birthday. He was old, for an archangel, though not quite a First, and was Romana's second in command. He was a strict leader, but a caring one, and funny and silly and laid-back when he wasn't fighting. Coraline was a hawk of some sort, Tay was never sure exactly, and she would perch on Milo's back like Jo once had, riding around with precious little dignity, as Milo was fond of loping, and was gangly to boot. Vince would just laugh at the two of them as he and Tay had pizza or ice cream or nothing at all, in the park usually, and Tay would laugh, too.
They shared a lot, and Tay considered him one of her best friends. Milo and Coraline were, when in the same room, nigh inseparable, and no one thought any less of Vincent for it.
---
The Taboo against touching someone else's Other did not apply to a Guardian and Ward, though unless the pair were lovers, they did not indulge in this openly under any but dire circumstances. Still, it was almost a compulsion for a Guardian's Other to touch the Ward after the psychic bond formed, and most accomplished this within two weeks of the recognition. The Ward's Other, obviously, was under no such compulsion, but there was usually a reciprocation, out of politeness and acknowledgement of the Guardian's sacrifice, allowing their Other to be touched by someone unknown to them. The younger the Guardian, the sooner the event, almost a rite of passage, occurred.
Tay was just barely sixteen when she found her ward - young and stubborn and reckless, hating her calling and hating that she would be outcast from her family. The demon was not Tay's idea of a fitting ward, and she was definitely not his idea of a desirable guardian, she was sure. Milo refused to touch him.
It was three months before the battle. Three months before Tay stood in front of Romana's army and pleaded for them to turn around and go home. Three months before that plea ended in Romana herself tossing her out of the way like so much garbage, leaving her crumpled unconscious against a tree while they began the battle. Three months before Romana attempted to kill Tay's ward. Three months before Romana Fell and was killed.
When both Guardian and Ward had physically recovered enough to move, Milo led Tay to her ward's room, walked over to him, and laid his shaggy head in the demon's lap.
From the time Tay was tiny, Milo adored her granddad's Other. Her name was Charlotte, but as one of his sisters was named Charlotte as well, they called her "Lettie". Lettie was a gorgeous snowy owl, and Tay always wished she could stroke the Other's feathers, because they looked so soft. Milo said they were even softer than they looked, almost like down. Lettie was a perfect compliment for Granddad, as Others were meant to be - gentle where he was harsh, and stern where he was lenient. She wasn't sweet by any stretch of the imagination - a fierce predator who had killed more than her share of demonic Others - but like Granddad, she was good, and she was kind, and she was fiercely protective of the younger Barnams and their Others.
It was Lettie, after all, who pointed out to Granddad that she herself had taken much more to a feline form when they were angelets, only settling in her wings after he'd gained his. He, of course, had nearly forgotten she'd ever been anything but an owl, and promptly told off the cousins for harassing Tay and Milo, as Milo preferred to stay in earth-bound shapes.
Lettie was a bit awe-inspiring, of course, and Milo would never claim they were friends, but they were family, and he loved her fiercely.
---
It was funny, sometimes, how two people could fight constantly and their Others could love each other dearly. Aaron was Tay's youngest cousin, only 40 when she was born, and they could not stand one another. It was nothing specific, just one of those personality clashes - Aaron was controlled where Tay was reckless, Aaron was flippant where Tay was solemn, Aaron had interests outside hunting where hunting was Tay's entire world.
Despite this, it wasn't an odd sight in the Barnam household to see Milo loping around a room with a splash of deep blue on his back - kingfisher blue, as a matter of fact, as Jo rode gleefully on Milo's back. Jo was his favourite playmate apart from Tay, which necessitated Tay and Aaron being in the same room quite often. It was for this reason that Aaron was the one who taught Tay how to disarm an attacker, forced her to listen to David Bowie, and taught her how to braid her hair so it would look nice and stay out of the way in a fight.
Tay and Aaron couldn't stand each other, but they were the closest of any of the cousins and wouldn't have it any other way.
---
When Tay was 12, the First among Firsts, the oldest angel in existence, came to visit the Barnam home. The Barnams had long worked with Romana Angelos, as far back (so they claimed, at any rate) that they had worked with her before she became a first, when she was simply the most powerful archangel alive. Tay hid in a tree by the gate to watch her arrive, her wings out and her hawk Other, Sophus, riding proudly on her shoulder. As she'd passed the tree, she'd looked up at Tay, long-limbed and awkward, not a girl any longer, but far from a young woman, and smiled. Milo hid, curled as a mouse in the hood of her sweatshirt, shaking from nerves (though he would never admit it), and Tay remembered suddenly that First Angels were psychic, and turned bright red.
But she didn't look away, and Romana nodded at her in a sort of approval. From that moment, Romana was the only being alive allowed to call Tay by her full name and not get an earful from the young angelet, and Tay worshipped her.
Sophus was not, obviously, generally affectionate - not in obvious ways, at any rate - but when he was around, Milo would stay in osprey form, and Sophus would preen him gently while Romana quizzed Tay on fighting tactics and taught her how to aim a gun without thinking. It was, Tay whispered to Milo one night after Romana's three-week visit, what having a mother must be like.
---
Vincent was the first person Tay befriended in Chicago when she was sent to be with Romana's entourage for her sixteenth birthday. He was old, for an archangel, though not quite a First, and was Romana's second in command. He was a strict leader, but a caring one, and funny and silly and laid-back when he wasn't fighting. Coraline was a hawk of some sort, Tay was never sure exactly, and she would perch on Milo's back like Jo once had, riding around with precious little dignity, as Milo was fond of loping, and was gangly to boot. Vince would just laugh at the two of them as he and Tay had pizza or ice cream or nothing at all, in the park usually, and Tay would laugh, too.
They shared a lot, and Tay considered him one of her best friends. Milo and Coraline were, when in the same room, nigh inseparable, and no one thought any less of Vincent for it.
---
The Taboo against touching someone else's Other did not apply to a Guardian and Ward, though unless the pair were lovers, they did not indulge in this openly under any but dire circumstances. Still, it was almost a compulsion for a Guardian's Other to touch the Ward after the psychic bond formed, and most accomplished this within two weeks of the recognition. The Ward's Other, obviously, was under no such compulsion, but there was usually a reciprocation, out of politeness and acknowledgement of the Guardian's sacrifice, allowing their Other to be touched by someone unknown to them. The younger the Guardian, the sooner the event, almost a rite of passage, occurred.
Tay was just barely sixteen when she found her ward - young and stubborn and reckless, hating her calling and hating that she would be outcast from her family. The demon was not Tay's idea of a fitting ward, and she was definitely not his idea of a desirable guardian, she was sure. Milo refused to touch him.
It was three months before the battle. Three months before Tay stood in front of Romana's army and pleaded for them to turn around and go home. Three months before that plea ended in Romana herself tossing her out of the way like so much garbage, leaving her crumpled unconscious against a tree while they began the battle. Three months before Romana attempted to kill Tay's ward. Three months before Romana Fell and was killed.
When both Guardian and Ward had physically recovered enough to move, Milo led Tay to her ward's room, walked over to him, and laid his shaggy head in the demon's lap.
