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glyficTitle: Safe and Warm
Author:malurette
Fandom: Discworld, Monstrous Regiment
Characters/Pairing: Magda & Tilda
Rating: PG-13 / T
Disclaimer: Pratchett's
Author’s note: ESL author with no beta-reader – if you spot any mistakes please do correct me?
Prompt: «Exothermic Reaction» forladiesbingo
Word count: 500+
***
Tilda used to set fire to anything that bothered her. Now that things are settling down and Magda’s here to keep her safe and warm, not so much anymore.
It started out as pure vengeance: destroy everything. She kept on as a form of control: know that she could destroy anything she set her mind to. Sometimes she lit things on fire then put them out just to prove that she could. Other, she let burn.
She’s mostly self taught; she figured out by trial and error and experimenting with whatever was at hand, household products, whatever kindling she could glean in the woods outside the mill; what burns best, what makes for a slow or fast or hottest burn. She learnt how to engineers a fire to get whatever result she wanted; it proved useful during her stint in the army.
And now that it’s over, she still can’t believe in peace--not for very long. As long as Magda’s with her, she wants to believe that everything will be alright. But she knows, she knows, deep down, that she can still lose everything. Everything can get ripped away from her grasp. Magda’s strong and together they’re even stronger but that might not be enough if bad luck sets. Maybe, just maybe, she’ll have to burn the whole world to the ground and then herself. She hopes not. Most of the time she doesn’t think it’ll ever come to that. It shouldn’t. But you never know.
All she’s sure of is, Magda’s love here and now at her side, infinite supplies of bad luck out there in the world, and how to burn down things. And the only thing she has control over, is burning things. She won’t let herself forget. (Even if she wanted to forget, fire pulls at her, calls to her. She couldn’t.)
So she keeps setting fires, in controlled ways. Not to destruct anymore but to open new clearings without destroying the whole forest. To keep underbrush under control. To build cuttings so after a bad thunderstorm a forest fire will stop before threatening a village. To keep houses safe from accidental fires. And she puts out fires that took by other people’s mistakes, even!
Magda never tried stopping Tilda from burning things--why would she? Tilda needed release for her suffering, the orphanage and the miller deserved it, and then… it just kept going. Oh, she didn’t encourage her to, either, but. Heh.
She’s still bitter, she can’t heal so easy, so fast, even with Magda by her side, but now she gets… creative instead of just destructive.
The army gave her access to seldom encountered materials, that made for a spectacular burn. Like, not just massive but a big kaboom of light and colour. Now that’s impressive. It’s… beautiful. And she loves that Magda admires it, admires her for recreating it. She feels better now, when there’s no need for destruction anymore, when they just keep warm together, when bonfires are just celebration…
She can keep with the anti-fire stuff, or, if alchemists and artificers take on apprentices, she might apply. And Magda will follow.
Author:
maluretteFandom: Discworld, Monstrous Regiment
Characters/Pairing: Magda & Tilda
Rating: PG-13 / T
Disclaimer: Pratchett's
Author’s note: ESL author with no beta-reader – if you spot any mistakes please do correct me?
Prompt: «Exothermic Reaction» for
ladiesbingoWord count: 500+
Tilda used to set fire to anything that bothered her. Now that things are settling down and Magda’s here to keep her safe and warm, not so much anymore.
It started out as pure vengeance: destroy everything. She kept on as a form of control: know that she could destroy anything she set her mind to. Sometimes she lit things on fire then put them out just to prove that she could. Other, she let burn.
She’s mostly self taught; she figured out by trial and error and experimenting with whatever was at hand, household products, whatever kindling she could glean in the woods outside the mill; what burns best, what makes for a slow or fast or hottest burn. She learnt how to engineers a fire to get whatever result she wanted; it proved useful during her stint in the army.
And now that it’s over, she still can’t believe in peace--not for very long. As long as Magda’s with her, she wants to believe that everything will be alright. But she knows, she knows, deep down, that she can still lose everything. Everything can get ripped away from her grasp. Magda’s strong and together they’re even stronger but that might not be enough if bad luck sets. Maybe, just maybe, she’ll have to burn the whole world to the ground and then herself. She hopes not. Most of the time she doesn’t think it’ll ever come to that. It shouldn’t. But you never know.
All she’s sure of is, Magda’s love here and now at her side, infinite supplies of bad luck out there in the world, and how to burn down things. And the only thing she has control over, is burning things. She won’t let herself forget. (Even if she wanted to forget, fire pulls at her, calls to her. She couldn’t.)
So she keeps setting fires, in controlled ways. Not to destruct anymore but to open new clearings without destroying the whole forest. To keep underbrush under control. To build cuttings so after a bad thunderstorm a forest fire will stop before threatening a village. To keep houses safe from accidental fires. And she puts out fires that took by other people’s mistakes, even!
Magda never tried stopping Tilda from burning things--why would she? Tilda needed release for her suffering, the orphanage and the miller deserved it, and then… it just kept going. Oh, she didn’t encourage her to, either, but. Heh.
She’s still bitter, she can’t heal so easy, so fast, even with Magda by her side, but now she gets… creative instead of just destructive.
The army gave her access to seldom encountered materials, that made for a spectacular burn. Like, not just massive but a big kaboom of light and colour. Now that’s impressive. It’s… beautiful. And she loves that Magda admires it, admires her for recreating it. She feels better now, when there’s no need for destruction anymore, when they just keep warm together, when bonfires are just celebration…
She can keep with the anti-fire stuff, or, if alchemists and artificers take on apprentices, she might apply. And Magda will follow.
