Grief
#7 of The Prisoner
***********************************************************************
WARNING - This chapter contains graphic descriptions of sex and homosexuality, and contains depictions of violence and what could be considered rape. Any who would be insulted or disgusted by this, or any children under 18 years of age (or 21 in certain areas) should NOT read this story, and by reading past this point, you affirm that you are legally mature and able to handle the subjects mentioned above. Also, the writer is not responsible for any problems which arise by not complying with this warning. Thank you for your patience, and I hope you enjoy.
***********************************************************************
Chapter 7 - Grief
There's no time left, this I know. Unless I do something, I'll kill both the human and Crvesh without any say in the matter. As my arms prepare to deliver the final blow, I manage to take hold of my vocal chords for a split second, letting out a loud, annoying yelp. I see two sets of eyes open, then open wide. I can see the look Crvesh has in his eyes, and I know he sees mine. The truth of the situation is instantly in Crvesh's grasp, but that human just stares up at the knife hanging over him, a look of fear on his face. Maybe I can just let this part happen, and hope Crvesh has the common sense to run.
No such luck. Not that I have any control over myself anyway, but to see Crvesh move so fast to cover up that human... it nearly broke the spell over me. Nearly. With no choice but to watch in utter agony, my knife is thrust down into Crvesh's back.
I doubt any words could capture the emotions that begin to run through me. Hatred, fear, sadness and despair, all compacted into one feeling, then multiplied by a hundred. Pulling the knife back, I see the blood begin to soak into the fur along my dearest friend's back. Yet, without any seeming care, I begin to shove my former friend's fading body from atop the human. At least I can have faith that the human will not survive this encounter.
But the human sits up, and makes it to his feet before I can catch him with the end of my dagger. As I stand, he looks to Crvesh, then back to me. Probably thinking of any way he can use his bewitched slave against me before the life leaves his body. And yet... what am I now, but a poor, pathetic slave, being driven to deeds I would never even dream of, all for my master's whim. Glancing at Crvesh, I can see him looking at the human now, all of his strength seeming to be poured into the effort. To my surprise, the human rushes over to Crvesh.
I try to intercept the human, though his surprising move is a bit too quick for me. I see a blinding flash before my eyes, and as it clears... my muscles obey my commands again! What in the world? Still, momentum is a problem. I run full force into the human, knocking him to the ground with myself atop him. As I sit up, astride my prey, I ponder just a moment if this is right? I make a snap decision, and toss my knife away, hearing it clutter on the ground and thud dully against a wall across the room.
Rising from the human, I approach Crvesh, intent on atoning for my actions before he leaves this world. I say in my own tongue, "[Crvesh, you must believe that I didn't intend this to happen...]"
My dear friend, and prince, raises his head slightly, his ears looking rather pale, and his movements appearing strained. Nothing below his neck moves an inch. He speaks in the human tongue, "Hret... flee.. the forest... with Xavier..." His speech is followed by a horrifying sputtering of blood. The human is at my side as well, but I could care less what he does now. My Crvesh is dying...
No, he's no longer my Crvesh. He is the human's... Xavier's. Still, in his last moments, I could see in his eyes that he had never really forgotten about me. And if his dying wish is for me to act as a guardian for some human... I suppose there's no other choice for me. Standing, I walk over to my dagger, pick it up, and replace it in its sheath at my hip. Then I turn, and speak to Xavier. "Human, it is time to leave."
He looks up a moment, looking at me with surprise. Though if it is surprise about the message, or surprise about my ease with speaking his tongue, I cannot tell. He replies to me, "I cannot leave Crvesh. And I won't leave with some murderer."
I still cannot fathom what about this human Crvesh found so drawing. "We have no time. This place will be surrounded soon. If we are caught, I will be executed as a murderer, and you as a conspirator."
The look in Xavier's eyes fills me with grief. I'm only beginning to understand the true depths of emotion that he felt for Crvesh. Perhaps as deep as my own. "I can't leave... I'd rather die than live without him..."
With a growl, I approach Xavier. The human looks up, then back at Crvesh, and I notice that his breath has stopped. It takes me a moment to choke back my own tears, before I crouch down, and give one swift punch to Xavier's middle. His eyes go wide, then close, as the reeling pain sends him into unconsciousness rather easily. I sling him over my shoulder, and hastily make my way toward the stairs. Yet, even as I do...
"[Hurry! Our prince's life may be in danger!]"
Footsteps hurriedly shuffle down the stairway leading to the exit, and I hastily move against the wall, and will myself and Xavier to vanish into the surroundings.
Not a moment too soon, either. Five wolven warriors tread into the room, each armed with a short dagger. And all five stop and gaze in horrified silence as they see their ruler's body. Still cloaked in shadow, I quietly make my way to the stairs, and sneak upward, using their shock as the perfect cover for my escape.
At the top of the stairs, I notice Crvesh's rune stone, sitting on the ground as lifeless as he is. I'd forgotten that the lock would dissolve once the stone's owner deceased. Without looking back, I run for the edge of the wood, keeping myself cloaked, and my footsteps silenced. Finally, I reach out, and open a gateway to the real world, stepping through with Xavier on my shoulder.
Reality has an odd way of kicking you when you're down. Just as I'd thought I could rest for a moment, I pop out of a magical portal right beside a human hunting squad. I bathe myself in shadow and silence my moves, but if one of them happens to bump into me, the spell is instantly undone.
They all look around, searching for the noise they'd heard a moment before. By no means was the portal I used to come here silent, quite the contrary. I hear some of the dialogue of those closer to me.
"What the bloody hell was that?" One whispers.
Another grunts, "Damned if I know. Maybe it's one of those Mazuku, huh? You know, that one the army captured that escaped?"
This gets a few chuckles from the group. "Aw, come on, that was more than a week ago. He hasn't been seen since."
Another pipes in, "Yeah, and that was over a thousand miles from here. Wouldn't be here unless he hopped a transport plane."
The one who seems to be leading this group finally interrupts this idle chatter. "Hey, we're here to hunt, not gossip. Leave that for your wives back home. There's only another two hours before it gets bright, and I intend to bring home a big one. Now let's get a move-on!" With that said, the group slowly trudges on, right past where I crouch down in hiding, and deeper into the forest.
Once I no longer hear their footsteps, I set Xavier on the ground, and stand up to look at my surroundings. The weather feels cool, but comfortable, and the foliage is of the type which is abundant in a moderate climate zone. The trees are full of life, as they should be in late spring, and the air has... an odd scent to it. Unlike the near perfect air in the magical forest which was once my home, this air is slightly thinner. Less nourishing to the lungs, and perhaps a bit polluted by the human presence in the area. Reality can be a shock, after so many years of perfection.
I hear a stirring behind me, and look to find Xavier finally coming to. I walk over to him, not too close, and speak softly, "Back with the living now?"
He looks up, his eyes widening in surprise, then looks around him and jumps to his feet. "Where is this? Where's Crvesh?" He looks a little dizzy at first, understandably, but quickly catches himself, and makes his way over to me. His direct manner surprises me. "Tell me where Crvesh is!" He says, a little too loudly for my tastes.
I decide to dampen the sound in the area, "You've got to be quiet now, or they'll hear you." I whisper. After a moment, I can see that he'll listen, as violently angry as he appears. "Good. You must forgive me for taking you forcefully. But we were nearly discovered, and..."
The human cuts in, "I wouldn't have cared, I told you that. Let them kill me, it's not worth it now that Crvesh is gone..." He trails off his thoughts, looking me directly in the eyes, "Take me to Crvesh, or kill me here."
I growl at him, "Listen, human, Crvesh is dead, and sitting over his corpse won't bring him back. There's no returning now, we're in your world." His face looks on in shock a moment, as I continue.
"Also, I cannot kill you. Crvesh asked me to protect you. For how long, or to what end, I don't know. He seems to believe there's something intriguing about you. And I'm beginning to wonder the same thing. How is it that you lifted my master's control? A human such as yourself couldn't possibly have magical power..."
He turns away from me, obviously trying to cope with everything. Despite my hatred for his race... and for him, the one who took away my prince... I still feel a sliver of pity for him. After all, we can relate. We both lost a loved one this night.
He begins speaking softly, "We can use magic... any human can. We've just never learned. Crvesh brought out my power, and taught me to use it." He turns back to face me, "Part of my power is the ability to lift afflictions of the mind. Crvesh told me about you... when he protected me. He told me how to release you from that control. If only he hadn't given his life. I can't believe he's gone..."
Xavier's voice trails off, and I can tell he's about to cry. And why not? I feel like doing the same thing. But there's no way I'll show weakness to a human.
Finally, I walk over, and take his arm, "Come on, we have to find a secluded place to spend the day. We could both use some sleep, but the scent of humans is too strong around this area."
Xavier looks at me a moment, then jerks his arm free of my grasp, and says, "Fine, lead on. But don't expect any friendly company. You're still a murderer in my eyes."
I feel compelled to retort to his personal attacks, but the place and time are all wrong for a loud argument. I head off into the forest, and I can hear him following me.
Not a word is exchanged as we tread through the wilderness, the silence feeling dauntingly uneasy. Though, knowing the comradery between us, it isn't hard to see why. Slowly, I realize that the scent of humans is growing weaker. My ears also catch the faint trickling of running water nearby. It shouldn't be difficult to find, and would probably provide a wonderful hiding place for us.
After walking a short distance toward the sounds of the stream, I catch an unpleasant scent on the air, and immediately come to a halt. I turn and motion for Xavier to get down, before lowering myself to the ground as well. The scent now floating down-wind toward me is that of the hunting team from before. I curse my bad luck at finding them again, but somehow the irony doesn't surprise me. Tonight has already gone the worst it possibly can. A little more trouble is minuscule in comparison.
From the sound of their feet, I can tell they're marching almost directly for us, and this realization fills me with fear. It won't do any good to hide here, there are only trees, and they give us minimal coverage from the moonlight. I hide in the shadow of a tree, and direct my traveling companion to do the same, intensifying the shadows around us.
As I'd feared, their path seems to be leading them directly toward us. And to worsen the situation, they stop right before the tree I hide behind, and appear to be rifling through their inventories. I also notice two following behind them, the dead carcass of a deer hanging from a thick branch and held at each end. They begin conversing with each other again.
"Come on, we've got one that's big enough..."
The leader from before again interrupts. "We're not leaving yet. This one may be large, but it's not the largest I've seen. It HAS to be around somewhere, and we're not leaving until the sun comes up, or until we find it!"
One of the followers speaks up, "Well, at least let us rest a spell. It's tiring, trudging through this forest all night."
"A fine lot you all are. It's just a little hike, for Pete's sake. But I guess if you're that tired, we can rest for a moment here."
'Wonderful,' I think to myself. Now we'll have to remain motionless for who knows how long. And all the while, even so much as a faint whisper, or small snap of a twig, and our positions will be given away. We successfully wait for a minute or two, hoping beyond hope that their over-bearing leader finally persuades them on, with no such luck. Finally, I've had enough, and I delve deeper into my powers.
With a moment's thought, I thin the air around them, giving them less nourishing oxygen. As I hear light coughs coming from their group, I intensify the effect, before they can realize what's going on. I hear a few light thuds from the path, some of the stronger men taking a little longer before they too hit the ground. After a moment or two of hearing nothing more, I make my way out from behind the tree.
But it was a moment too soon. Their leader, quite possibly one of the strongest humans I've ever encountered (even though this isn't saying much) is still awake, checking his men over, then seeing me. His shock is evident in his face, and I see him try to take in a gasp of air. But with my spell still in effect, he gets nothing, and falls flat on his face.
I know I can't leave the spell in effect too long, or it may actually kill a few of them. But they won't be out long just from the slight asphyxiation I've put them through. I rush around another tree, grab Xavier's arm, and run into the brush, cancelling my spell in the process.
I notice his slow speed, and stop to lift him in my arms, much how I'd first seen him held by Xavier. With him like this, I take off into the forest, ducking around trees and shrubs, ignoring the slight cuts I get on my legs from some of the more annoying thorn bushes. I'd never encountered many of them, but then, what need did the plants in the perfect forest back home have for such defenses?
A while later, I come to a rocky hillside, the scent of humans seeming much more distant than before. I set Xavier down, and take a look around me. It doesn't seem as though the humans have tried to follow us, nor is our path all that obvious. Yet, the lead human seemed to be very well-attuned with this forest. He could probably find Xavier and I if we just stayed out here.
I turn to my human companion and speak softly, "We mustn't stay here, Xavier. This is your world, do you know anywhere we can hide? Do you even know where we are?"
Xavier looks around for a moment, then looks back at me, "Why can't we create one of those magical homes like back in your world."
I chuckle a little, "There's no reason we can't, but only a follower of the path of earth can create something like that."
The human seems un-daunted. "Tell me how."
I look at him oddly, wondering what he has up his sleeve. "You are an earth caster?"
"I can be." He says flatly.
He can be? I must say I am rather confused by all of this. Still, I suppose I could just kill him and eat him were he to go insane. So this wouldn't be so bad.
"All an earth caster need do is imagine the space to be there. Then the owner would have to link the entrance to his own mental pattern. But in our case... we just need the shelter."
The human reaches over and takes hold of my arm. Rather forcefully, might I add. I try to struggle away, but his grip holds, and as I watch, a translucent doorway begins to form in front of me. I can do nothing but gawk at this for a moment while the human creates this hollow for us to hide in, then finally lets go of my arm. The doorway stays, and he begins to walk into it.
He looks over his shoulder, "Coming? I don't much care whether you live or die, but I can't survive on my own." With this, he walks in. I'm not about to just let him go with that, and I follow him inside.
As the entrance seals up, I realize that we don't have a single light for ourselves. Out of nowhere, I see a shimmering ball of light appear in his hand. "What the...?" This human has far more surprises than I'd thought.
He sits down in the middle of the small room he'd made for us, letting the ball of light float up toward the ceiling, giving a soft ambient light to the room. I look at him a while, then ask, "How does an earth caster do that?" As I ask, I point up toward the glowing ball above us.
Xavier speaks softly, "It's nothing big. And I'm not technically an earth caster. Just... for that moment, I was."
I shake my head in confusion, "You can't just become an earth caster for a short moment, that makes no sense at all."
Nothing seems to put emotion on Xavier's face anymore. Either Crvesh's death has hardened him, or something else inside him is boiling up. "No, but with a little help from you, I can." He sits up, and moves over to me. "Take my arm." I look at him with distrust, before he becomes impatient and motions it at me, "Go on, just do it."
I do, moving my paw forward to hold onto his arm. He then says, "Ok, now hold up your other hand and make a fireball."
I look at him oddly, but the look in his eyes tells me he's serious. Or insane. In any case, I think of it for a moment, and with hardly any effort at all a small flame appears above my paw. I look at it with several varieties of fear. Fear of the kind of power I'm being shown. Fear of how a human can know this when none of my race do. I see the flame sputter and vanish, and realize that my paw had slid limply from his arm. I shake my head in disbelief. "How can this be? How have none of my kind figured this out? You've been exposed to magic for a week, and have already unlocked this secret?"
The human shakes his head again, this time looking at the ground. I can almost guess what he'll say. "No... Crvesh taught me to do everything I do with magic." He then looks up. "The way I understand it, your kind alone can't use this power. Neither can mine. It has to be... one of my kind, and one of yours. It surprised Crvesh at first too, but... he eventually figured it out. You'll find that even with this power, we can't do much. Crvesh told me that last night I was with him that the magic intensifies when the feelings between the two involved grow stronger. In other words, the tighter the bond, the more powerful the magic. That's why I could only make this little hole in the ground."
While taking all of this in, I look up and notice the light beginning to dim. I realize suddenly just how long he's been holding it there. For one so young to the ways of magic, it's actually pretty impressive. "I think we should make a fire, instead of relying on your light. I have a feeling you're nearly burnt out."
He looks up at the light, and though he replenishes it through will, I can see the effort on his brow. "That's... a good idea. What should we do?"
I stand up, and turn toward the entrance. "We need to collect wood. It will be easier if we can let that burn, and not have to maintain anything."
He stands as well, the light moving to his hand again, as we walk to the entrance. I look to the outside while the entrance is still hidden, finding no signs of the human hunters out looking for us. I step forward, willing the entrance to open, and it does, Xavier following me out. I turn around once the entrance closes, placing a few rocks in a rough pattern to mark its location.
The two of us begin collecting twigs and branches, anything we think will burn. I hear a low growling coming from right about where Xavier is, and immediately start looking around. Rushing over to him, I get there just in time to find him facing off with a rather large looking wolf. His sticks clutter to the ground, and he lets out a surprised yell as he bumps into me.
The opportunistic wolf springs forward, catching both of us off guard, but not quite enough. I let my sticks go as well, and shove Xavier back, swinging my arm just as the wolf gets in reach. The wolf's face gets batted away, his body landing near my feet. I back up, but the wolf runs off defeated, deciding on finding easier prey tonight. My hackles slowly lower back into place, and I shake myself out, somewhat used to confrontation like that. I look back, and see Xavier sitting there holding his knee. Humans really are a fragile race.
I shake my head, and help him up. "It's just a scrape." I say, having him hold my arm while I douse his knee with cool water. He complains about the temperature, but I just tell him to shut up. After a few moments, the blood begins to clot, and I press my paw up against the wound. He hisses, and clutches at my fur, but a moment later, he seems to relax considerably. Looking down, he finally notices that the scratch isn't even visible anymore. He looks up at me and asks, "How did you...?"
I interrupt him. "All casters have an innate ability to heal wounds. Except me. But with your help, I can use whatever I want. Your leg will be better by tomorrow. Get the sticks and come inside, I don't want anything else hunting you." I go over and pick up my pile of twigs, heading over to the new hidden entrance. The human hurriedly follows me, the two of us heading inside.
While setting up the twigs and sticks in the center of the small room, I hear him speaking lowly, "Hey... what will we do about the smoke? It'll fill this place up really fast."
I smile at that, "I thought of that too. Don't worry, it'll be taken care of." I take his arm, and point my finger at the pile of twigs. "These won't produce any smoke now." Still holding onto his arm, I produce a small flame, and send it into the pile of twigs. Soon, it begins to crackle and burn. I nod to Xavier, and he extinguishes his orb of light, letting the fire brighten up the room.
Xavier shrugs his arm out of my grip, and slides himself to the opposite side of the fire. I can feel his uneasiness, and I try not to react too harshly. "I thought we were past this."
He curls up like a child on the floor of this small cave. Humans are so fragile. "Maybe you can forget that Crvesh is gone. Maybe you can easily forget that you killed him. I can't."
I sigh outwardly. This is a topic I hadn't hoped to revive. Instead of making some angry retort, as my mind wanted to, I simply lay out on my back, and close my eyes. "You've had a tough night. Get some sleep. We can't go out until dusk."
A few shuffling sounds verify that Xavier is laying down. I idly wonder for a moment what my master is up to. My ex-master, I remind myself. I get the distinct feeling he is still watching me, and I decide to try and cloud my mind from him. Whether it worked or not, I can't tell, but the feeling of dread passes quickly. After some further depressing thoughts, my mind finally allows me to slip into a fitful sleep.
copyright 2004 - Neiko Mitaki
Feel free to e-mail me with any comments you might have, I would love to hear from anyone at all. Send comments to [email protected]