Chapter Text
A distant explosion echoes through the streets.
Siân barely notices as she walks home from work. It's Saturday evening and it's been a long week, but an even longer day. She just wants to get home and spend too long in the bath.
"meow"
"Hi floof" says Siân as she enters her flat.
She dumps her bag on the table, quickly pours out some wet food for Catsune, then prepares a bath. As she removes her work clothes her top snags on her necklace.
She pauses a moment, remembering 2½ years ago when her mother gifted it to her on her first birthday since she came out as trans. It was an heirloom, passed down through the women of her family for the last 200 years. Its a fairly simple design housing a lilac gemstone.
At the time she'd only been taking estrogen for a few months, and though grateful, couldn't experience the emotions she should have felt. But now, after such a long week, her walls are down, and nearly 3 years of estrogen have worked their magic. She starts crying.
Happy tears.
Then sad tears.
Happy because her mother saw HER.
Sad because her mother passed away just over a year ago.
She's experienced some moments of heightened emotion since starting HRT, unlike the 30 years of her life before. But this? This is new. So much more intense.
Happy to be experiencing new levels of emotion.
Sad she has no one to share it with.
Happy to be experiencing new levels of emotion.
Sad she has no one to share it with.
The water is hot and soothing as she lowers herself in, still crying, still wearing the necklace. She never takes it off.
But before she has time to relax, the bathroom wall shatters in over her from a deafening explosion on the street. The bath topples over, throwing her to the floor.
Her body floods with adrenalin. Fight or flight kicks in, but she can't move as part of the wall is pinning her legs.
Pain. Ears ringing. Panic. She's about to die.
But she feels more than that, she somehow feels like she's about to die many times, all at once.
Die in the flat below.
Die on the street.
Die in an upturned car.
Silently, four women, holding hands, suddenly appear next to her.
One of them observes the chaos, twisting and turning with such speed and precision her limbs look like they're going to detach.
2 seconds after they appear, without any of them saying a word, the women get to action.
One woman lays her hands gently on Siân. The pain begins to ease. But she still feels like she's about to die many times over.
The observer and the third woman start removing the rubble trapping Siân.
The fourth woman goes into the next room, away from the exploded wall.
After removing the rubble, they help Siân to sit up, and the third woman noticeably pauses as she sees Siân's necklace.
After a moment she looks up at Siân's face.
They lock eyes.
Siân notices how serenely blue hers are.
Before Siân has a chance to say anything, Blue Eyes speaks first in a calming voice "don't worry, we're here to help. Robyn is getting your cat. We'll get you both to safety".
The observer passes a nearby robe to Blue Eyes.
"Thank you Ari" says Blue Eyes.
She places it over Siân's shoulders.
Robyn walks in cradling Catsune.
"Nikki, is she ready to go?" asks Blue Eyes.
"All set" answers Nikki, only now removing her hands from Siân, who realises her pain and panic has completely gone.
But she still senses her imminent deaths nearby.
Blue Eyes stands up, and Siân only now notices how tall and muscular she is.
She effortlessly picks Siân up into her arms, as though she's done so a thousand times.
The other women converge close around them, linking themselves by touch.
Siân doesn't take her eyes off of Blue Eyes.
Suddenly the sounds of chaos around them stops.
Silence.
Cold air.
White Light.
The sense of her imminent deaths is gone.
Siân looks around to notice she's no longer in her flat.
She's in a clean white room, still being held by Blue Eyes. It's a medical admittance area of some kind.
Ari and Nikki go to speak to a nurse nearby.
Robyn walks under a "Veterinary" sign and places Catsune in a carrier, writing the name from her tag on the top: "Catsune Meowku".
Siân has been rescued by the Angels Of Life, teams of women with extraordinary abilities allowing them to save people from imminent death.
They've been around since the 1800s, but how they get their abilities is a secret closely guarded by The Families, who run the Angel teams.
"Nikki eased your pain" says Blue Eyes "but you're still injured, so let's get you seen to".
She gently places Siân onto a gurney near a set of doors marked "Emergency" and joins Ari and Nikki speaking with the nurse, but Siân doesn't hear their conversation.
Robyn returns with a wristband with "Catsune Meowku" written on it, and places it on Siân's wrist.
Blue Eyes turns back to Siân. "Nikki's magic is only temporary so your pain will return soon, but they'll take good care of you here, you're gonna be fine".
The women all join hands again.
"I... I felt something back there" says Siân, her gaze locked onto Blue Eyes.
"I know" says Blue Eyes softly while glancing once again at Siân's necklace.
Looking up into Siân's eyes she asks "What's your name?".
"Siân" she says.
"I'll be back to check on you Siân. I'd like to hear more about what you felt". says Blue Eyes, "I'm Becky by the way".
They silently disappear, leaving four women shaped clouds of dust and smoke where they stood.
