Childplay

Prompt
Character: Raven Sorceress
Image: A dark granite cliff, winds whipping around stirring even the heaviest from their deepest slumbers.

(Note: Shannon is pronounced Sh-ae-nen”

The doors slam as Coreena marches into the throne room. “Shannon! Shannon answer me! None of this trickery! Shannon!” she calls hysterically rushing throughout. Her long black dress whips around the deserted suits of armor standing guard, each to his own pillar. “Damn it… where have you gone?”

Coreena reaches for her fan adorned with countless black raven feathers from behind her. She picks two longingly and kisses them with her black lips. “Huginn, Muninn. Come to your mistress.” She then tosses the two feathers into the air. The feathers glow white and burst into two ravens. They both land on each of Coreena’s bare white shoulders, Huginn on the left, Muninn on the right. “Find him for me, my loves. Search high and wide.” They both nestle against Coreena’s neck longingly before taking off, strongly and silently, their bright black orb eyes intent on their target.

Sighing Coreena seats herself on the throne, her pale white hand propping up her face under her pointed chin, as she blows the dark brown wisps of hair out of her pearl white eyes in annoyance. She leans against the throne diagonally, her nymph-like legs exposed from underneath the dark dress as she moves, crossing her ankles right over left relaxed.

Coreena straightens abruptly and looks around. Seeing no one around, she stretches her torso and adjusts the slightly slipping black leather corset. Finishing up the ritual she takes out her fan again. Plucking yet another feather, she returns the fan to her back, and focuses back to the feather. Closing her hands around the black feather carefully without crushing it, she chants an ancient language too soft to be heard. Her hair whips back from her face as it is illumed by white relics framing her eyebrows. As grandly as they appear they disappear leaving her hands glowing with white power. The light fades and she opens her hands, revealing a small circular mirror. Gracefully smiling at it, Coreena holds it up, fixes her hair, her makeup and finalizing her lips. Pleased with herself she lets the mirror and accessories disappear, a loud wearisome ‘rawk’ sounds the air.

Coreena turns to see both Huginn and Muninn’s glazed expressions watching her. She stifles a blush. “You didn’t see anything!” If ravens could look exasperated, they were indeed. Clearing her throat, Coreena changes the subject. “Did you find anything?” Both ravens ruffle their feathers and shake their heads. “I thought so… alright follow me.” Coreena gets up from the throne with as much dignity as she can muster, she grandly strides back out of the throne room and out of the castle. The ravens swoop after her and take to the castle walls as Coreena thinks of where else to go.

Rawk! Coreena looks up to see Muninn dart downwards towards her carrying a long white flight feather. “Figures…ok where to Muninn.” The raven takes off towards the castle again and disappears. “What in the world…” Coreena stops to call for Huginn. “Huginn, stay with me, you can lead me to Muninn.” Huginn obediently lands on her left should and she starts briskly moving towards where Muninn disappeared. A surge of power trembles through Coreena as she wanders closer and closer to the disappearing point. “Ready Huginn? Let’s go!” The raven nods, its eyes bright and confident.

Coreena steps through only to be assaulted by a blast of wind that nearly tears Huginn from her shoulder. Grabbing the raven, ignoring the irritated sounds its making she tucks it underneath her arm for protection. “Sorry about this Huginn.” As she plucks a feather and transforms it into a long hooded robe. Huginn squawks in alarm and annoyance. “What?!? We need to keep covered and you’d be tossed aside. We are so not having this conversation, we have to find Muninn!” Corenna looks up to see a dark foreboding granite cliff. She can see the winds whipping around, so raucous that it could stir even the heaviest giants from their deepest slumbers. At least she hoped there weren’t giants.

“Well this is getting a bit dangerous. We can’t go into that like is. Stay under my robe, I’m going to have to create a shield. No, I won’t be taking your feathers, so you can calm down.” Corenna take her robe and tucks Huginn into it leaving a small space for his yellow beak to peer out. Clearing her mind she takes out her fan again. Closing her eyes, with both hands holding the fan, she begins to hum an eerie melody. The wind seems to slow down to a crawl but Coreena doesn’t notice. Her hands start glowing with white, and she opens her eyes and the fan in one motion. The markings on her face appear just as abruptly and her eyebrows below them are furrowed in concentration. Her mouth opens and the melody turns into a song as Coreena dances around with her fan. Using circular motions around her she casts the shield spell. As she nears the end of the song, she holds the fan with both hands near her bosom and thrusts upward, and all the black raven feather shimmer into white. One, two, three, fifteen seconds, a minute later, Coreena lowers her hands. Smiling she picks up her robe and a quiet Huginn. “It should be safe, stay with me still the shield isn’t too big. Let’s go find Muninn.” Huginn nods in agreement.

Coreena scurries up through the towering cliff like a child. The wind is held back braced by her shield; as she listens to Huginn lead her onwards. Coreena is beginning to get worried; as she looks around her through the invisible shield she can’t help but think about Muninn. Without this shield she could have been thrown all over the place, and with the cliff and the jagged rocks ferociously decorating it, she wouldn’t know how she would have survived the trek. She gathers her dress and start to climb quicker, not allowing the tears to begin. Breathing hard she turns to Huginn, “One more bend right? Ok we can do this.” She reaches the last bend and with both her hands pulls herself up to see…

“Muninn! You’re safe! Shannon! Was this really necessary?” Atop the cliff the land flattens out with a barren tree in the middle. Muninn flies from it to Coreena’s right shoulder and nuzzles into her. Even Huginn is happy to see its friend safe and sound. A soft thud sounds nearby distracting them all. A white snowy owl looks at the companions and blinks its big eyes at them. Hooting softly at the sight. “Shannon, you didn’t answer me! Was this really necessary?!”

A rustle of feathers later, and a small boy peers from behind a pile of white feathers. “Well you don’t play with me anymore! I had to do something!”

“All of this?!? This was a bit unnecessary, you had me all worried… about you… about Muninn…”

“I’m sorry sis. I’ll get rid of it.” Shannon claps his hands and everyone is returned to the castle where it all started.

“Shannon?”

“Yeah sis?”

“The next time you want to play ‘Hide and Seek’… just ask?”

“Okay sis.” Shannon smiles at his sister.