Wind and Thunder

By: WolfRunner

A/N: Well, this is my first attempt at a chaptered fic. hope you like it. I was inspired by the book "Hawk Song" which had the whole Romeo/Juliet star crossed lover concept in it. Any way, read, hopefully enjoy, and please review. I'd appreciate any coments and/or constructive criticism that you have. I guess the only thing left is the usual disclaimer: don't own any of the characters, wish I did but I don't. Oh well.

ps. thanks to the people that reviewed my first ficlet "Sweet Dream" I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Ch.1

Blood and death ruled here. The fighting was over, only a few scattered battles were left. The participants engaging in a macabre dance to music made by the cries of the dying and injured. One could tasted the anguish in the air. Surely this was Hell on earth, but he walked it anyway.

He wasn't a soldier. No, Cameron Watanabe had been denied his right to fight, his innate power- his dragon spirit- had been bound and imprisoned within him to honor the dying wish of his mother. That he never knew the horror of the battle field and bloodshed. A promise that his father had kept, not even teaching him the basic fighting technique of the dragon ninjas, but that was as far as King Watanabe had been able to control. Despite his father's wishes, Cam had secretly trained himself and was as good as if not better than the ninjas at the wind dragon palace.

And now he walked the fields. Despite his father's command and the horror that he met every time he came, Cam could not resist the call to return.

This place…. This was the place where countless people- his people- had lost their lives fighting. So many in his own blood line had met the darkness in these very fields.

The same fields that his ancestors had fought and died on were the same ones his generation was fighting for. So much blood had been spilled and no ground was won. Soldiers gave their lives for a war so old that no one could remember how it started.

So the soldiers fought and Cameron Watanabe, heir to the air dragon kingdom, walked and comforted the dying in their last moments in the mortal realm.

Cam stood up as he let go of the young soldier's hand. 'He was only a boy, not even a man yet.' His wound had been too deep to stop the bleeding. All he could do was ease the boy's suffering as he passed on.

He walked farther through the field know without needing to look that the Dragon's Claw, a squad of castle guards assigned to protect the royal family, was following him. It had been a gruesome battle and Cam had walked the fields through most of it, from early morning to late afternoon.

As he prepared to leave, Cam heard a cry for help. Making his way towards the sound, he found not a dragon soldier but one of the enemy.

The woman lying on the ground looked to be about his age and the markings of her feline demi form that she was still in marked her clearly as a tiger, one of the feline shifters of the thunder kingdom. He wanted to leave, nut the look in her eyes called to him.

Cam looked at her wounds but could instantly tell it was hopeless. She had been stabbed in the stomach, fated to a slow and painful death. Seeing he could not save her, Cam sat and gently cradled her head in his lap. She might be the enemy, but he couldn't let her die alone. The look she gave him before she closed her eyes in pain wasn't of hate, though he was clearly not her kind, it was of gratefulness.

"My Prince, I must protest. She is one of the cat people, one of the thunder kingdom's whelps. She deserves her death."

At this statement a dark shadow passed over the prince's face. "I am not blind. I can see her lineage quite clearly," He stated coldly, but added in a softer voice "but no one deserves to die alone."

"As you wish." The guards retreated farther away and began gathering and removing the wounded. Cam knew the only reason that they obeyed him was his heritage. In a society where fighting ability and honor were prized, no one could respect a ruler that, as far as they could see, had no power or training. If not for his blood line, Cam would be an outcast at the bottom of society.

When the guards were out of ear shot Cam turned back and studied the woman in his lap. She was about twenty one years of age, with dark hair and amber eyes…… wait, amber eyes! Amber eyes were the trademark of the thunder kingdom's princess, Leanne. Taking in the quality of her armor and weapons, Cam was surprised that he hadn't realized it sooner.

This was Princess Leanne. The famed fighter that had killed so many of his people, yet he could not make himself leave her to suffer. So with enemy in his arms, Cameron Watanabe softly chanted calming sutras and kept vigil as the thunder princess slowly slipped into darkness.

With Leanne finally at rest the dragons prepared to leave, but a sound caught their attention before they could depart. Quickly shifting into a defensive stance, Cam faced the direction that it had come from. Leanne's body was no longer alone. A squad of thunder ninjas- all in feline form- had surrounded the body. One, a large jaguar, quickly changed to human form and knelt by the body.

Cam and the Dragon's Claw tensed, ready for an attack but the man by the body looked up.

Dread swept over Cam's entire frame as he recognized the other man. Hunter Bradley, the older of the two adopted sons of the thunder king and the crown prince. He was an even fiercer fighter than Leanne and Cam prepared himself for the worst.

Neither man moved, both were staring at the other and sizing them up. Suddenly their eyes met, chocolate brown and icy blue, and a silent agreement passed between them.

"Enough blood has been spilt this day." Cam said quietly to the Claw's captain, "Let us not add any more to it."

He was taking a gamble but Cam turned his back on the squad of thunder ninjas and walked away from the scene. Looking over his shoulder, Cam saw Prince Hunter do the same thing. Each squad followed their respective leader and soon both parties were gone.

The decision may not have been the best one. The men would probably meet again on the battle fields and one side would destroy the other, but it would not happen that day. Too many had been lost already. When their eyes had met, Cam saw the anguish in them over the loss of family and the fatigue of the war. He was supposed to hate this man, but found he could not bring himself to hate him. Not when he felt the same way.

So both men silently agreed. Both had seen too much bloodshed. There would be a time for battle; this would not be that day.

End Ch1