[Fiction] Old Friends, New Day

[GDP_ST]

Far above the Earth on the edges of the planet's atmosphere, a white-clad figure hung suspended against the cold, black void of space, drifting in a lazy orbit of the small blue planet below.

Procyon's crystalline eyes turned from their contemplation of the star-spackled emptiness as he rolled over in the vacuum, his gaze noting the rotation of the Earth as it brought the mid-western portion of the North American continent towards dawn. His blazing solar aura made him an easy target for the orbiting satellites to pick up, he knew. His hearing picked up transmissions flying through the vacuum, some involving him, others people's private cellphone conversations, OpNet broadcasts, Emergency services communications. A dizzying array of data, noise and babble.

And yet, it is all too easy to sort through. A robbery in Manhattan. Two smalltime drug runners discussing their fears of the Windy City Knights' interference and their personal terror of Revenant. An old lady talking via videochat to her daughter in Ethiopia. A Church of Michael Archangel televangelist broadcast. The latest Elite kill-scores on N! Stock reports. His mind digested, processed, analysed and comprehended the data as it seemed to pour through him as if he were porous rock. So much happening, so much life being lived. So much to do, and see, and change. I may not be a god in the eyes of many, but it is hard to float here submersed in the pulse of the world and not feel somewhat... exalted. But that comes with a price, and a responsibility born of my own conscience. I have been gone too long. Far too long.

He plummeted downwards at that thought, aiming for the middle of the large landmass below him. His aura flared brighter, motes of shimmering light growing brighter and swirling around his golden form. He became a radiant streak in the dawn sky, high above Inyan Kara. The heat of his re-entry raged in the air around him, but touched not a thread of his white cotton shirt and trousers as he entered the lower atmosphere, easily avoiding the commercial air traffic currently criss-crossing the skies.

He turned his power-dive into a swoop, angling for the large rocky formation which housed his friends and students. Procyon smiled a little as he remembered his last visit to Ptesan-Wi and Wakinyan's home, and that memory shook off the lethargy which always came over him when listening to the voices of the world.

[Ptesan-Wi]

She emerged from the cave, resplendent in a native tunic dress that was as a mantle of snow. Hair so black that it seemed a slice of night ran in twin braids down to her delicate waist, and the feathers woven therein caught a spring breeze as she stepped forward with the grace of a goddess.

Tilting her head upward, eyes that glowed with the azure blue of the Dakota sky met those of the golden god Procyon, and all about her was the soft white aura that showed the People that she was the White Buffalo Calf Woman: Ptesan-Wi.

As he approached, the visiting luminary could feel the strange static that always surrounded this unique not-nova, the slight crackle of some utterly alien force against his ever-present flow of quantum energies. To his surprise, however, the sensation greeted him both sooner and with more force than he had noticed before. Something had happened with this strange student of his, something that told of power.

With a smile as genuine as it was bright, the Lakota goddess greeted him as he touched the sacred ground before her. “Hau, Procyon, and welcome back to our home!”

[Wakinyan]

The cool steam bubbled and splashed down the waterfall of rocks into the large basin below. Within the pool of jade tinted water something huge stir beneath the surface. It seemed to make no attempt to surface as it leisurely stretched it's limbs and roll onto it's back.

Wakinyan let a few bubbles slip from his beak as he stared upward through the water. The past months had been good, dealing with the tribal governments. Setting plans in motion that would bare fruit for his and many other reservations. The new tribal center and museum being built in Oglala would be a boon for the area the ground breaking ceremony next month would bring many people and would further the efforts he and his wife had devoted their life to.

Yet harmony with his people seemed to come at the cost of harmony with his species. The words slung on the message boards he and his wife frequented stung like Quantum bolts. The venomous tongues of Revenant, Machina and the rest once upon a time would have sent him into a animalistic rage. But he steeled his will and redirected his rage before he logged into the OpNet for just such events. Ptesan-Wi was hurt by it and he could feel it weigh upon her. Unlike he who had done things to earn their dislike she had never done so but Velvet spewed words upon her acussing her of attitudes that would make Nazis look saintly. The last person in the world to deserve such words was his wife. She deserved praise for her patience, her love and understanding. It just went to show that living in a cave in the middle of nowhere meant that people would never truly get to understand you. That was the price of solitude.

Wakinyan grumbled churning the water. He might not know how to deal with some of them but he knew what he planned to do with Revenant and Machina. Revenant would love a new scrap but he certainly won't enjoy the formal complaint he filed with the WCK board and Jager. As for Machina, well Machina would dig his own grave deeper everytime he opened his mouth the only thing that made Wakinyan curious was if Machina would even care.

Lost in his own little intrigues it took the giant griffin a moment to realize the sky above him was in pain. The lance of light the pierced it was a familiar sight even through the shimmering water. A visitor Wakinyan thought happily. 'Please let Procyon know I will be joining you both shortly.' He told his wife through their psychic link.

With that the enormous Nova pulled himself out of the pool flapping his wings and giving his body such a fierce shaking that people standing over one hundred feet away would have been drenched from the watery explosion. With one final ripple of fur from the nape of his neck exiting through his tail the Lakota god began to weave his way through the budding forest toward his home on the mountain above.