'The Memories of Stones and Stars'

Characters/Pairings: Methos, Duncan MacLeod, Original Characters & Creatures. No pairings.
Rating: PG13
Warnings: No major character death, but there is death of a violent nature in what follows.
Notes: hlh_shortcuts story, written for lferion. This came to me after reading Lferion's 'Dear Authour' post, so I hope it meets her expectations. This story also gave me an opportunity to utilize my head canon for Methos' birthplace, which makes me happy. Special thanks to ninjababe for helping me in a pinch when I ended up needing to find another beta at the final hour.
Summary: When Methos uttered the words 'just a shakedown cruise' he should have realized that almost certain disaster was inevitable.

Added Note: This is absolutely not a crossover, except, maybe, in my brain. I have a sneaking suspicion that this might end up being a future event for Methos in the Avengers crossovers I'm currently writing. If you've read White As Snow, Red As Blood, and Loki's prophecies therein, you'll probably see where this might be going. We'll see, won't we?

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Day 4,853

Melting snow, dripping from the roof of the stone walled cot, was what woke Methos from an unsettled sleep. Spring. He hated spring, well in this place at least. Here, spring reminded him of death, the screams of the tortured as they died. No, the coming season was not something he welcomed, and never would, be it twenty five years or twenty five centuries.

Pushing away the sleeping fur and the worn scrim blanket, he rolled off the bed and got to his feet, his breath fogging in the cold of the room. Pulling the blanket off the bed, he wrapped it around himself, sliding his feet into the slippers he'd made last winter. Walking the short distance to the clay brick stove, he picked up a stick, stirring up the embers from last night's banked fire. Adding a few pieces of kindling, and then a brick of peat, he huddled over the hearth, using the blanket like a shield to keep the heat on him. ( Maybe this would be the year he'd move on to the warmer climes he knew existed a mere few thousand miles away. Shouldn't take more than a decade to reach, give or take. )

Link at AO3

Pondering

I'm thinking it's time to rewatch Magnificent Seven, or maybe Queen of Swords.

A Place We Love

So you know we went to the Grand Canyon, but one of the highlights was returning to Wupatki National Monument. What's Wupatki? It's an ancient pueblo ruin, the major one, in a park filled with many ruins of pueblos.



Wupatki is the largest pueblo in the park. A self-guided trail begins behind the visitor center.

People gathered here during the 1100s, gradually building this 100-room pueblo with a community room and ballcourt. By 1182, perhaps 85 to 100 people lived at Wupatki Pueblo, the largest building for at least fifty miles. Within a day's walk, a population of several thousand surrounded Wupatki.

Wupatki appears empty and abandoned. Though it is no longer physically occupied, Hopi believe the people who lived and died here remain as spiritual guardians. Stories of Wupatki are passed on among Hopi, Zuni, Navajo, and perhaps other tribes. Members of the Hopi Bear, Sand, Lizard, Rattlesnake, Water, Snow, and Katsina Clans return periodically to enrich their personal understanding of their clan history. Wupatki is remembered and cared for, not abandoned.

ninjababe and I have been here several times over the years, and this visit mimicked our first - arriving at sunset after the last ranger had gone home for the evening. If you're ever in the Flagstaff area, I highly recommend you take the time to visit this remarkable historic site.

( Pics below!! )