Gormglaith | Page 8

Geileis put an arm about her and the twins snuggled in the dusky glow of Snotra with its winding, wooded lanes, henges and gardens on the shore of loch Frigg.
"Everyone was there," said Gormglaith, nodding as they stared. "We reeled and stuff. Rhiain and Rhiam ran their scams on Findabair, Glynne showed off her new tongue dab mostly to Doirend and Dwyn who were their wonted mopey selves. Anyway I didn't have time to tell Findabair a thing and before I knew it she was folded up asleep on the settle. Rhiain and I made out, kind of, Rhiam went into a sulk and it was after four so I left."
Geileis gazed at Gormglaith who quickly looked back at three girls in fir green linens frolicking near the low pink granite walls of Slane house by cypress trees with indigo loch Frigg lapping beyond.
"Yeah, I know."
They fell asleep in each other's arms under the cool glow of a blue light strip.
Through the thatch over her eyes Gormglaith squinted at afternoon light streaming into the den. She popped up, stared, then bounded onto the hard black floor in linen sheathed feet, coming across Geileis in the airy titanium and white clunch kitchen, reading a frosty goblin with a steaming red mug of frothed coffee and a bowl of seeds, grains and milk before her.
"Hi kynnsikins!"
"Hi, my bat!
Gormglaith tasted Geileis' coffee and made a face.
"I still don't know how thou canst drink this stuff."
"Wait a few dozen moons more, thou wilt!"
Gormglaith took a stray jelly bun from the board and ate that whilst looking out the window. It had been raining but the sun peeked now and then from billowing puffy clouds over low fog and misty green.
"Where is everybody?"
"Aine came by. She and Enid have run off, somewhere, Flann's gone stitchin' with Blaithen Brent and Giorsal's in the thorpe with Gobnait."
"Bugged out, huh?"
"I'd say fled's the word."
"I'll do my reading, then."
Geileis raised a thatchen head to watch as her twin daughter loped away.
Gormglaith stepped from the shower bay with lank damp hair, shivered, grabbed a towel and gazed through a narrow window at the leaf strewn stoep where she and Geileis had talked the night before. From the wall cupboard she took worn, frayed grey longstockings, yanked them on, skipped out and plopped onto the cozy, steadfast staddle to flip leaves of Eachdraidh with fingers between her legs, twining into tales of wraithen girls by meads and hills and lochs.
Later she glanced up and said evenly, "Haunt Findabair?"
"Hey Gormglaith!" came the choppy greeting of half a dozen maegden and maedchen as if they were by the window.
"What happened to thee?!" asked Findabair.
"Thou fellst asleep!"
"So?! Anyway we're going up the hill to gather blue daisies. Come with?"
"I can't."
"What's on?"
"A clannin thing..."
"Ok. Meet at the Soohead later?"
"Uhm, I don't know. This might take awhile."
"Sounds kinda big!"
"It is. Snag a daisy for me, ok?"
The others slipped into giggles.
"Y'all?! Ok... bye Gormglaith!"
"Bye Gormglaith!" everybody else echoed singsong.
"Bye."
She lowered her head, brooded, got up, walked to the laser cut agate slab desk and waved a hand near its edge. A smeary blue and white ball popped up, a yard across. She blinked through sundry casts, stopping at one showing splashes of light scattered mostly across the north and south of a moonlit world.
She went to the window and its misty green landscape, took the prism and beamed true colours into a chalken hand.
"Gormglaith? Gormglaith?"
Geileis leaned over her, hair swept forward, smiling.
"It's nearing noon in Rye. I thought thou mayest've gotten lost."
"Ok. I was only reading."
"Swap the linens at least! I'll answer the door if thou wantst."
"I'll do it. I want to see the looks on their faces."
Geileis cast a braided look.
Gormglaith dragged herself from the staddle, lit to the bath, pulled on tidier greys and stared at the looking glass. She ran fingers through her thatch, shrugged, shook it, came back to the nest, put on black klompen, breezed out to the gather lair and faced her kynn with a grin. Geileis looked her up and down, then up again... and nodded.
"Truth be told," said Gormglaith, "I was thinking the same thing about thee!"
"Uh oh."
Gormglaith's grin swayed into a broad smile.
"So if thou needst me," said Geileis, shoving back a stray bit of straw thatch, "I'm here."
"Don't worry, twinsikins," she put with a shrug. "I can grip."
"I know..."
They heard a low thump outside as Gormglaith waved a bony, blue veined hand at the latch.
sheaf 3
Swans and Magpies
The banshees gaped and stared, then giggled. The taller girl's long face belied a shrewd look with popinjay eyes and a toothy lopsided smile. Thin as a sheaf of wheat, straight red hair tumbled to her bottom whilst narrow braids tied off by sleeves of many hued threads fell with flat locks over a black cutty sark. Each wore a