Eerie, Indiana fanfiction: Induction

[froodle]

The Lady of the Cold was very beautiful, and her face was very still. Eyes the luminous blue-white of a snowbank under moonlight gazed down upon the shivering human before her, and there was no pity in those icy depths.

Syndi Teller wrapped her arms tighter around herself and wished, not for the first time that day, that Eerie's traditional Miss Tornado Day outfit included thermal underwear and some kind of woolly hat. Possibly with ear flaps. Possibly even a balaclava.

"I think there's been a mistake," she said, between chattering teeth.

The great Grey Lady of the Storms shook her head, and the wild shock of her ozone-smelling hair buzzed with frozen electricity.

"Are you not the Twister Queen of the Great Lakes region?" she asked, her voice a whipcrack that split the sky around her.

"What?" said Syndi. "No? I'm just... it's just a pageant." She took off the squashed and dented funnel-cloud hat and held it out for inspection. "See?"

"That proves nothing," said a glowing pillar of fire shaped like a woman. The face was a coruscating mass of solar flares, bubbling and bursting and throwing out bright shafts of cosmic radiation in every direction. "A queen may remove her crown, yet still she remains a queen."

Syndi's gaze flickered towards the Lady of the Cold's tiara, a towering edifice of splintered ice that jutted straight out from her forehead as though formed from her flesh. She decided not to ask for a demonstration.

The Summer King laughed, a rolling golden note like ripe corn rippling in a warm breeze.

"Come now," he said. "No need for modesty here. Did you not slay the Great Destroyer, the Cyclone Emperor of Indiana, the one they call Old Bob?"

"Oh," said Syndi, understanding. "No," she said. "You want my brother. Marshall."

The assembled weather gods murmured amongst themselves. Syndi's skin prickled and burned, the first pink blush of an oncoming sunburn spreading across the backs of her hands. Her eyelashes were prickling knives of ice, and she couldn't blink.

"No," said a whispering being of fallen leaves and animals gone fat and sleepy before hibernation. "We do not like him. We like you."

This was comfortingly familiar ground to Syndi, and she found herself nodding in agreement.

"Well, that's fair," she said, before she could stop herself.

"Wait, no," she corrected hastily, as the flickering half-seen things surrounding her buzzed and hummed in approval. "That's not what I meant!"

"Your meaning is immaterial," said the Lady of the Cold, in a voice that drifted down like snowflakes on a frozen lake. "You will be the newest member of our Pantheon." She extended one arm, the skin a brilliant swirl of colour reflecting the Northern Lights, and a tablet etched in hoarfrost appeared in her white, white fingers.

"You will report to our Emissary on this plane," said the Lady of Storms. "He will instruct you in your new duties. His name is Weatherman Wally, and you will find him at," she stumbled over the unfamilar syllables, "the tee-vee-stay-chon."

"Wait," said Syndi. "I'm a weather goddess, and I have to take orders from a meteorologist?"

The atavistic spirits of the natural world drew back in horror. The Summer King frowned, a drought killing crops in the field. Even the impassive Cold Lady raised one frozen eyebrow.

"He is a Weatherman," whispered the creature of autumn leaves and the long deep sleep. "You would do well to remember that."

Syndi clutched her Miss Tornado Day crown close to her chest, and cursed her brother's inherent unlikability.





The Weather Series

Wally by froodle, in which a certain weatherman doesn't lose his temper, but is sorely tried

Vacation by froodle, in which Weatherman Wally visits a tropical paradise without ever leaving Eerie city limits

Sick Day by froodle, in which Weatherman Wally does not go to work

The Storm by froodle, in which Mayor Chisel has a very specific job for Eerie's resident weatherman

Setting the Scene by froodle, in which Wally prepares for Christmas

Holidays are Coming by froodle, in which something else prepares for Christmas

Garden by froodle, in which Wally eats ice-cream

Strawberry by froodle, in which there is unauthorised hubbub in Eerie

Stormfront by froodle, in which Wally takes a hands-on approach to firefighting.

Sisters by froodle, in which we visit Normal, Illinois

Still by froodle, in which we find out there are far worse things than Old Bob

Midsummer by froodle, in which the Eerie Express returns, right on schedule

Castle by froodle, in which there is unexpected architecture in Eerie

Waiting In by froodle, in which there is an ice-storm and a handyman does not arrive

Squall by froodle, in which Wally and Old Bob have a disagreement





Teller Family History

First Date by froodle, in which a young Edgar Teller shows off one of his earlier inventions

Popcorn by froodle. Friday night is always movie night in the Teller household.

The Teller Home for Displaced Youth by froodle, in which Edgar harbours some doubts about his new home town

Lawn by froodle, in which Marilyn Teller contemplaces some yardwork

Tornado Day, Revisited by froodle, in which Syndi learns exactly what it means to be Miss Tornado Day

Wildlife by froodle, in which Simon and Marshall go to the beach

Culinary Delights by froodle, in which Syndi's terrible cooking may or may not have been an accident

Camping by froodle, in which Syndi cannot sleep

Artist in the Family by froodle, in which an immortal creature takes a liking to Syndi

Without Due Care and Attention by froodle, in which Syndi finally becomes mobile

Waiting In by froodle, in which there is an ice-storm and a handyman does not arrive

Brunch by froodle, in which Marilyn does not appreciate Edgar's help in the kitchen

Handmade by froodle, in which the Tellers receive a Christmas package from Marilyn's mother

Poor Life Choices by froodle, in which Syndi loves her brother anyway

Lillian by froodle, in which Marilyn's mother has concerns

Visitor by froodle, in which Marshall's grandma comes to stay

Nap by froodle, in which Marshall has a quiet moment in the Secret Spot

Fresh Sheets by froodle

Tradition by froodle, in which Dash and Marshall decorate a Christmas tree

Hometown by froodle, in which Mars and Syndi visit New Jersey