H, 50:
Mercury Winchester Blackbird
W, 45:
Maia Charity Sunshine
AD, 14:
Lyra Isobel Blackbird
It has been five years since
Mercury retired from the cloak-and-dagger scene into tranquil domesticity. Or rather, as tranquil as it gets when your wife is a healer, pulling daggers out of the backs of failed assassins whose targets had outwitted them, and patching up the scrapes of adorable street children in desperate need of a bath, 12 hours a day, while they try to rifle through her pockets. One such patient was
Lyra. 12 years old, tragically orphaned, with an angelic smile and hair that had never seen a comb,
Lyra was perhaps the most skilled pickpocket in Guildford. Or so she thought.
Because while she was about to slip away from
Maia after one of her visits, where she was told in a sternly, but motherly way, to steal more citrus because she was deficient in vitamin D, she was yanked by the collar.
Maia had noticed that the wide-eyed, dirty-faced girl had stolen her wedding ring, and demanded she returned it.
Lyra had two strategies for when she was caught. One was to run like her life depended on it, and the other was to cry. And since
Maia had an iron grip on her frayed collar, she was left with only one option.
Her tears melted
Maia's heart. She had a long conversation with
Mercury - who remarked that they were probably too old to have children of their own - and it was agreed. The Blackbirds scooped
Lyra up like an abandoned puppy, and she had lived with them ever since.
Mercury, the erstwhile spy, found in
Lyra a protégée of sorts. He regaled her with tales of espionage, while
Maia nurtured her magical inclinations.
Lyra displayed an innate talent for the arcane, particularly illusion magic - it was how she managed to evade capture for so long.
This was two years ago. Recently, shortly after
Lyra turned 14, she received an acceptance letter arrived from Hesterwood - the most prestigious magical academy in all of Guildford, funded by none other than His Majesty the
King.
Lyra was very pleased indeed - the application process (Hesterwood had better things to do than send out owls to every child in the country with a lick of magical potential) had been arduous, with only a small percentage of applicants making the cut.
Mercury and
Maia, who had started to see
Lyra as their daughter, are proud, though they shall certainly miss
Lyra. Though they probably won't miss her stealing the silverware - a habit she is yet to grow out of.
masculine list:
https://www.behindthename.com/pnl/191050/124079feminine list:
https://www.behindthename.com/pnl/191050/124080This message was edited 1/7/2024, 2:46 PM