I'll Catch You

Some nights, the clarity was just too much. She had to leave it, just for a while, to leave the warmth, the sweetness of these people accepting her...the adoring smiles and the amiable words.

Djinn had never deserved them. She deserved nothing. But damn, damn every star in the sky if she did not want to deserve more than being a servant. This might seem like a simple desire to some, but to Djinn, who had gone so long in an existence where want simply did not exist...it made her chest ache to the point that she was sure it would burst.

And bursting chests would not be pretty.

Eventually she came to a point where the forest dropped into nothing. It simply stopped, and far below the outcropping was the ocean that the Matriarch's mate's people lived most of their lives. The air felt and tasted differently here, the flora and fauna changed so subtly that mortal eye would not be able to catch it. But the air currents and every grain of brine she felt from the breeze catching the errant sea's spray, and she wondered how she would ever leave such a place. Part of her wondered if Feuriah would want to come here, to feel the sea on her back, to feel the cool kiss on the membranes of her wings....

A pang of longing for The Mistress's company speared through her, and Djinn bared her teeth. Cynder needed her protection, from the very place she thought could protect her, and from The Mistress's well deserved ire...but the eggs were under the Matriarch's protection. And Djinn knew that Gaea Firestone was one of The Mistress's few true friends, and did not think for a second that killing Gaea was a wise decision. Throughout each day, Djinn could hear The Mistress calling out to her, could hear her sadness, and what might have been the echo of her soul wailed in her chest. Desperate to answer.

But unable to, until Cynder released her from her possession. And that would not happen soon.

Yet as the days passed...Djinn wondered if this existence, if living among the Faun and Satyrs, the Matriarch's clans...was it truly so awful? Truth be told, it was not. There was happiness here, acceptance of those from all walks of life, mirth and warmth. Chances for repentance, a place where the soul and the heart and mind could truly heal at it's own pace. Part of the pain of being so far from The Mistress was the knowledge that this place might help her, might help mend some of the break....

It mends the break in you, too. Whether you want it or not.

That voice again. Who's was it? That infuriating vampire? Or something that lived on the island? Perhaps the black boned one that lived in the catacombs....or the islands' guardian, Lai-Chen? Djinn snarled softly, and on impulse, took leave of the ground in favor of the boughs of one of the closest trees. She passed through the different currents until she reached the top, and the temperature was much cooler. The wind howled fiercely, tugging at her clothes and cooling her ears and nose, but Djinn remained there, staring out to sea.

Any time she found herself close to the sea, with whatever Master she'd been bound to, she couldn't deny that she admired it more than any other place. Some part of her knew that no matter how large a creature she could shift into, there would always be an ocean larger than her, larger than was fathomable. So it was with the cosmos, in that strange way....

A place she'd been borne from. Djinn had never been able to remember her past, save that she had committed some crime so great that she would ever be in servitude to others....with any sense of free will or personal desire ripped from her being. She experienced the will and desires of her Master or Mistress, and with Feuriah, that was something she found she enjoyed. Out of all of the beings she'd met, and served, The Mistress had a better grasp for how to wisely choose to use Djinn's powers, and had good reasons for utilizing them. While those in the past had used Djinn to their advantage for greed, lust, or for fickle amusement.

Cynder wanted her to enjoy herself, while protecting them from any perceived threat voiced by the Little Mistress. What did Djinn enjoy, though? For millennium, possibly eons, a time before time, Djinn hadn't thought of what she enjoyed. Now she was told to do just that, for unselfish reasons...by her Mistress's daughter. She was instructed to gain any kind of pleasure or delight from this time on the Shimmering Isles as she could, possibly more. What delighted or pleased her?

The curiosity of the young Fauns and Satyrs, the drakes and drakka. Spinning stories and fables for them, and noting the Skyland heroes listening in the background with attempts to hide their interest. Conversing with Pop Thorn, Cynder, exchanging battles of wits with Night Shift. Hearing of Feuriah's past, the happier days she'd spent with Gaea, and hearing that when all of Warfang's citizens hated her, there was at least one young drakka who stood up for her. These things gave her greater comfort and joy than she could have ever imagined being blessed with...but there was still just one more experience she found herself the most troubled by.

Blue eyes flashed in her mind's eye, and Djinn hissed in pain. The pain was twined with something she thought might have been admiration, or maybe even fear... This was the one thing she knew she was forbidden from. Something she dared not name, but felt clawing at the inside of her ribs, swelling in her chest and making her head light when the object of said feelings was near, or in her thoughts. Rattle Shake -John, she reminded herself- was always somewhere near, near enough that she could sense him. He would watch her with the children of the Isles, with warmth and understanding in his smiling eyes. Always close enough to diffuse the debates she would have with Night Shift. Checking in on Cynder and Pop Thorn's eggs when she was with them, staying long enough to join their conversation, but not interjecting in any rude sort of way.

What stood out was the night of the Faun and Satyr's celebration of their stay. The closeness of him, the way he'd so easily spoken to her, his eyes on her and the sly lilt to his words as he'd admitted to flirting with her. She couldn't remember the last time she'd blushed, when a man had flattered her to the point that her pulse had kicked a little faster. She'd spied on him weeks after, in the safety of his room, watched the man give in to his need and find release in private....and guilt still plucked at her chest over that. It had been difficult for her to meet his eyes afterward, and Djinn knew that John had seen it, had picked up on it almost instantly. Though whether he knew what the cause was or not, he hadn't said, nor had he approached her about it. Perhaps his flirtations had been the habit of a man who charmed women frequently, and she'd taken them a little too seriously.

Out of the corner of one eye, in the deep blues and greens of the forest at night, she saw a sliver of sunlight through the canopy far below. Djinn turned her head to watch John as he made his slow way towards the tree she was in, his movements deliberate and incredibly careful...he was tracking. She remembered Cynder telling her that he'd been a tracker before joining the Skylander's Swap Force, and wondered if one of the young ones had followed her into the forest, and he'd been sent to find them. His purpose looked clearer as he came to the roots of the tree she occupied, but after a few moments passed, he seemed lost. Djinn watched as John combed the foliage and under-brush, looking more and more frustrated. From so high up, she could barely hear him, but the wind picked up a few of his muttered curses as he circled the tree a third and final time.

And then, he looked up. Their eyes met, and Djinn's body went rigid. But not for being found; no, that she was fine with. It was the broad smile that he gave her, slightly lopsided and a bit higher on the left side, and the warm way his blue eyes regarded her that made her body go utterly still. He was glad to have found her, if for no other reason than seeing her, being close enough to see her.

"I'll bet you're getting one hell of a view from up there," he called up to her. Djinn flicked an ear in a moment of uncertainty, and sighed in defeat.

"You'd have to have wings to get a better one," she shouted back, "or not be tied by the boundaries of gravity."

"Bit of a lonely one though, don't you think?" he mused. John looked down, hands on his hips. When he looked up again, he knocked the brim of his hat back a little; she supposed so that he could see her better. "Do you, ah...would you mind if I joined you?"

"If you like," she said without hesitation. Damn. Why did I do that? She shifted, plucking at a chord of magic in her blood so she could get down to him. "Give me a moment, I'll come down--"

"No need!" Djinn jerked upright in surprise when he shot from the ground, straight up towards her. He landed on a branch midway up the tree, and she watched as his body coiled like a spring, and released again. Branches snapped and swayed in his wake, and when he landed on the branch just below her, his hat was slightly askew, and with a small twig trapped in the hat's band. John paused for a moment, his tail coiling around the branch he was on as he caught his breath. On a whim, Djinn leaned down and plucked his hat off, dusting it of debris and pulling the twig out of it's band. Using the magic she'd summoned, she repaired one of the broken feathers, while John climbed up to join her.

"You aught to be careful with this," she said, fingers brushing the worn black felt. Djinn looked up at him, and he tilted his head at her slightly, brow drawn in curiosity. She smiled and held the hat out to him, and tried not to notice when his finger brush over one of her's when he took it. "One would have to be a fool to see it's special to you. Family heirloom, perhaps? A gift from a lover?"

"Ah, heh, yes, a family heirloom, from my father," John said, looking into the crown before securing it on his head with a practiced motion. His eyes flicked to her's, before turning to stare out at the ocean. Djinn watched as his eyes widened just a little, and his jaw hung open slightly. "¡Vaya! This is quite the view...what I'd give to see this at sunset."

"I imagine it's breathtaking," she admitted, turning to look out at the ocean again. Djinn sighed through her nose, tilting her head slightly. "I've seen a countless amount of sunsets over the ocean...I don't think I'd ever tire of it."

"Then, maybe...ah, never mind," John said after a long silence. Djinn turned to watch him, but he kept his eyes pointedly away from her's. She huffed, prompting him to glance at her again.

"Go on, please," she said. His mouth twitched and and he chuckled, glancing down and raising his brow ridges.

"I was going to suggest that you and I come back and see it...together," he said, fidgeting with the buttons on his vest. As she watched, the scales along his cheek-bones colored. She stared at him, perhaps for a bit too long, because he cleared his throat and turned his face away so she could not see it. "A silly suggestion, I know. Forget I brought it up, eh?"

"No," Djinn said, touching his arm. He went utterly still, and eventually turned to face her again. The color was still high in his cheeks, and had crept across the bridge of his muzzle. Djinn squinted her eyes at him, baffled by his behavior until it dawned on her. This was something associated with flirting, wasn't it? Voicing interest in spending time with another person? Just that other person? Djinn felt her cheeks warm as this sank in, and they stared at one another for a while in silence. "Why me?" she asked, her voice dropping to a whisper.

"Pardon?" John asked, tilting his head to one side. Djinn's ears flicked back, pinning to the thick hair growing from her scalp. The motion felt a little different now, and she turned her gaze back out to the ocean.

"Why ask me this? Why not one of the lovely Fauns who are so intrigued by you?" A tired sigh escaped her, and she looked up at him, her chest feeling heavy and stomach roiling. "John, you know you don't have to feign some sort of interest in keeping me company to repay me for saving your life. I understand if you are lonely, but are there not more sane individuals you could spend your time with?"

"Jinny," he said, his voice soft enough that she had to perk her ears back up to hear him. Her face burned a bit hotter at using that nickname, the one the children of the Isles had given her. Coming from him, it felt like a caress, and she wasn't prepared for the racing of her pulse or the burn that spread from her face to the insides of her ears. "Jinny, you are not crazy...I've never thought that, for a second."

"But you don't believe me when I tell those 'stories,'" she pointed out, almost accusingly. Guilt passed through her when he winced, grimacing with obvious discomfort.

"I didn't...not at first," he said. "It's hard to believe, even given the kind of world we live in. Even with the Portal Masters, all of the magic of this world and the Portal Masters' world, it's difficult to wrap one's mind around the fact that there are countless other universes and galaxies that exist. But I do believe you. When you saved me...something opened my mind to that. I saw it, through your memories, as though I were looking back with your eyes. And what I saw I knew was true. I just...knew. Jinny, I still don't know how it's possible, but I believe you. I just don't think the others are ready to accept that it's the truth." He laughed, a little nervously, glancing away. "And I'm not...faking my interest, in sharing your company. I don't know how to explain it, but I can try, if you'd like?"

"Please, do," Djinn said, brow furrowing. "I can't think of it any other way. But perhaps your perspective could show me?"

"I'd like that, actually," John said, caution written in his every feature. "I know I cannot change your mind, and I do not wish to. I want you to come to your own decision on this. I hope that I do not come off as wanting anything except for that...?"

"No...no you don't," she said at length, realizing he was wanting her to reassure him.

"Good. Then, ah, I suppose I should start by saying it was Cynder who got me interested. She told me about how you attacked Nikolai--er, Night Shift...and, I wondered if The Lost Queen wanted you to do it. We finally figured that no, she would have no reason to target him. Cynder told us you'd never done something like that...she was so worried. More worried than I'd ever seen her. I wondered, 'what type of being that attacked one of her allies could have her so concerned for the attacker?'

"When she stole you, she told us -the Undead, that is- first. She kept you secret, those first few days. After Spyro's temper tantrum, I can understand. But then you came out, and I was there when you went for Nikolai again. I've seen animals in their last moments, before death...how desperate and instinctively they act. Somehow, he used to trigger that sort of reaction in you. I am not sure why. When I saw that, I wondered how anything could drive a creature as powerful as you to act in such a way...

"Then you saved my life. I should have died, but you stopped that." He paused and lifted a hand to rub his fingers along the scars on his torso, and Djinn knew he was reliving the pain of receiving the wounds that caused them. I don't want him to relive that.... "You saved me from certain death. You stopped a fight that could have split the Skylanders apart. And why? Because Cynder wanted it? Maybe. I cannot explain to you why, but I feel as if you have a kinder heart than many would give you credit for. Jinny, you aren't a monster...you're something powerful, immortal, something that none of us may ever fully understand. But in all of that, you are also a woman. I think you're a woman who has spent her entire existence trying to...save others. I think you're a woman who has spent too long separated from what she truly is meant to be. Eon forgive me, I don't know why, but I want to help you. You might be the servant of one of my greatest adversaries, but querido Dios, you need...you deserve to be put first for a change."

The silence that followed was thick, and the pressure in her chest was more prominent and painful than it had been before. Djinn's chin dropped as she clutched at her chest, teeth bared at this fresh and alien pain, as if she could frighten it away. Worse still, her stomach seemed fit to jump out of her throat, though it felt light and the sensation almost tingled. Djinn wasn't aware she could feel all of these things at once, and it nearly paralyzed her with fear. But the fear wasn't in the experiencing of these things, it was the fact that she welcomed and wanted it.

"Jinny, I...if I've...offended you, I am sor--"

The distinct sound of a huge pair of wings cutting through the air interrupted him, and they both flinched as a powerful gust of wind hit them. There was a crack, and in the confusion of it all, Djinn felt herself falling.

Djinn twisted in the air, turning in an attempt to face the ground. And found that her magic did not come to her. She yelped in dismay, knowing that while she wouldn't die, this would hurt quite a bit; she twisted again, trying to reach for the tree--

And was snatched up by a pair of powerful arms. One around her back, the other under her knees, tucking her against a muscular chest as the impact rippled through them. It was absorbed by the arms that held her, and she heard the branch they'd occupied falling shortly after them. For a while they didn't move, Djinn shaking with true fear of the fate she'd narrowly missed, and John's chest heaving against her cheek and ear.

Slowly they shifted, John uncurling around her, and Djinn lifting her upper body so she could jump out of his hold. He still supported her, as easily as if she were weightless, but still she held onto the collar of his shirt to steady herself. They glanced up in unison, trying to see the creature that had flown over them, but saw only a star speckled sky. Djinn looked at John, and their eyes locked.

As a rule, Djinn didn't get too terribly close to others unless she was trying to intimidate them. And even then, she felt the experience too close for her comfort; her heightened senses could feel everything they pined for, and it was her nature to give them what they wanted. But being so close to John, close enough that she could feel the warmth of his breath on her mouth, could see the blush on his face spreading slowly (which mirrored hers), gave her that strange feeling again. That stomach-flipping, heart-squeezing, bittersweet twist all over her that she wanted but knew she didn't deserve. And she was close enough to hear, and feel, and see what he wanted: her. He wanted her, in a kind of innocent way, but the deeper she looked, into his mind and heart and eyes, the more she knew he wanted.

Damn if she didn't feel the over-powering desire to give him all of her, in every way he wanted.

"I, er...I...." John stammered, his fingers flexing and relaxing where he held her. He seemed unable to decide what he wanted to do now, perhaps subconsciously not willing to put her down yet. Granted, neither did she....

"You didn't offend me," she said. John blinked in clear confusion, and she almost smiled. "Back up there...all that you said. You didn't offend me. If you had, I might have pushed you out of the tree myself."

"I-I ah, have no doubt of that," he said, gently letting her down. He seemed to notice just as well as she did that her body dragged against his on the way down, and he stiffened up when he had her feet on the ground. "This was, ah...I am terrified right now."

"What? Why?" she asked, tilting her head at him. She still had her hands on his collar, and he only then noticed. When he gently pried her hands away, she noticed how his fingers trembled, and how odd a it was for a quick-shot to have such a display. He must have been aware of it too, because his hands balled into fists at his sides, though Djinn could feel the nerves still coming off of him in waves. The foliage under his coils rustled loudly as he inched away from her, eyes still locked on hers.

"Buenas noches," he said, and with a flick of gold-and-brown scales....he was gone.