Work Text:
author: Lucinda
rating: pg
main characters: Tara McClay, Barinthus
disclaimer: Tara is created by Joss, Barinthus belongs to Laurell K Hamilton's Merry Gentry series.
distribution: Twisting, Mental Wanderings - anyone else please ask.
notes: AU s4, Tara is not dating Willow, future-fic setting for Merry Gentry novels. For TtH FfA 2005.
Tara knelt on the beach, tracing out a circle for her solstice ritual. If she invoked the elements and powers, asking for their blessing and guidance through the new season... Well, Sunnydale seemed like the sort of place where she could use all the support she could get.
Carefully, she made a small mark at the four directions, where she would place the candles. All four were a pale cream color, magnolia scented to remind her of her home. There wouldn't be any herbs or oils in this ritual, and the only salt would be from the sea. Tara shivered from the cold air, reminding herself that no matter how cool it felt, it was much colder at home.
Having pushed the candles a few inches into the sand, Tara pulled out a book of matches. She tried to keep her teeth from chattering too much as she called on the blessings of the four directions, their elements and the powers who were linked to them.
"I haven't heard one of those rituals calling on me in a long time." The unexpected voice was strange, a deep, rolling voice, like the ocean.
Tara felt herself stiffen, spikes of alarm and fear growing inside her. Who was this man, and what did he mean 'calling on me'? Slowly, she turned to face him.
The man was tall, sleek with muscles and an undeniable masculine energy. His skin was a bluish green, and long hair fell to the sands, where the tide washed over his feet. It was a rippling cascade, shimmering blues, greens, and grays just like the ocean. His eyes pulled her in, just like an undertow.
He broke eye contact, and moved closer, and the water spilled into her circle, as if it had followed him. "You called on the powers of the ocean, did you not, little witch?"
Tara nodded, her eyes wide. She couldn't quite form the words to ask the questions spinning between her worries.
"I am Barinthus, Lord of the Waters, Lord among the Unseelie Court." He smiled, looking almost friendly. "You called, and I was free to come."
"I thought the Queen of the Unseelie wouldn't allow..." Tara's words halted, her face burning with embarrassment.
He chuckled, and gracefully folded himself to kneel beside her circle, across from her. "Andais is no longer the Queen of the Unseelie. The Crown has passed to Meredith, and she has loosened the bonds on her Ravens."
"ohhh." It was more a release of breath than a conscious statement. Her mind tried to grasp the many implications of a new ruler of the Unseelie Court of the Fae, and failed.
He smiled, and the water in the circle glowed for a moment, as if liquid moonlight. "Good fortune in the new season, little witch."
Power flowed in and around Tara, and it felt good. She could think of nothing closer than the warm, gentle caress of ocean currents as she floated in the water, lifting and supporting her, filling her. Except that there was more to it, and it was wonderful.
Effortlessly, he rose again to his feet, and stepped towards the water. "The old powers of the world aren't all gone, after all. Some of us simply retreated a bit from all of the many changes."
As Tara collected her now extinguished candles, she no longer felt cold. The New Year would be wonderful.
end Solstice Blessings.