Title: Band of Brothers
Type: Slash, first time, oneshot, student/mentor (slight theme), alternate episode, TVverse
Rating: NC-17
Fandom: Legend of the Seeker (TV)
Pairing/s: Richard/Leo (Seeker2, Reo, CypherDane), Some references to Richard/Kahlan and Leo/Cara
Episode Setting: Alternative outcome to the events of Season Two's "Eternity" and also "Unbroken" (in part)
Word Count: 7632
Summary: With Cara once again broken by Darken Rahl and the Stone of Tears now in his hands, Richard proposes an alternative to Zedd using the unpredictable Spell of Undoing, just before it is cast. However, he is about to find that his plan has some unexpected outcomes of it's own, and he is far from prepared for what comes next…at least until an old friend of the light shows him the way. Let's just say that one man of two knows exactly what to do, and he has no trouble coaxing the same response out of the other with his more masterful, manly and eager hands.
Warnings: Not only is this is my first ever attempt at a LotS slashfic, but I am a relatively new fan of the show, so keep that in mind. I have seen all of the episodes so don't worry, I'm not about to screw up the characters or anything like that; strictly show based though as I have not read any of the books and do not plan to. Mostly done in third person omniscient, and staying true to the "fantasy" essence of the show. Like all of my fics this one does not consist of spiteful smut. I let sexual chemistry and interactions build up somewhat believably and naturally so if you have no interest in good characterization, humour or nifty dialogue and just want Richard and Leo to just wake up gay and have full penetrative anal sex with each other after the first paragraph and then act like it's normal, turn away now. May be slightly spoilerish to those who have not seen "Eternity" and "Unbroken" and perhaps other episodes prior to those. Includes mature language and situations. Also includes some actual dialogue from episode "Unbroken".
NOTE: NonCrit, if I wanted or needed a critique I would employ a professional, thankyou. If you ignore this and give a critique anyway, you are a massive, useless penis. Reviews are welcome as are lj/msn friends, so feel free to request.
Disclaimer: Don't own Legend of the Seeker or the characters, just like writing about it and making them do naughtyfunstuffz.
Something so simple as a ring turning in upon itself under the effortless pull of gravity should not have been encompassed by such dire fates, and yet the conclusion of this one ring's downfall would be as cleanly decisive as the flip of a coin that might have taken it's place. The golden swirl of this divine band emanated it's own song as it continued to fall to where it's landing would determine the victory of either the light or the dark, if only the ears of one could come close enough to hear it. The song; like the subtle scraping of the inside of a bell pristine, and yet if heard it would not make the listener certain as to whether it was a song of hope or despair. This though was no ordinary ring, not forged from man or metal at all but instead one of a full pair conjured with certain intent by The Creator herself, and the furious, emerald flames that surrounded it's plummet with roars that threatened to end it's quiet chime, just as to be fabled as the fact of this ring's origin. And yet the drop itself, as well as the good or bad that came from it, would all be over in a moment, unlike what had come before.
Roughly an hour ago…
"You know what you need to do Richard…but we both know you don't have the stomach for it.", the newly broken Cara said, now possessed by the core of pain that Darken Rahl has unleashed upon her, thanks to the agiel he had cruelly crafted for her along with the Sisters of the Dark which unleashed upon her all the suffering she had ever caused others. Thankfully for her true friends though, the constraints that now held her firmly tied to a tree showed no signs of loosening.
Zedd reached out to Cara, tapping in to the dark mystical hold than now surged through her body like wildfire that refused to leave it's new home, the skin of her flawless face and neck running red and black with evil magic as the wizard's powers ran over it, "She is in the grip of an insidious magic, as dark as any I've felt before."
"That's how Rahl turned her against us.", Richard supposed, unsurprised; he had known that Cara was not simply fooling he and his friends into trusting her all along.
"Lord Rahl merely showed me the error of my ways. I was a fool to ever follow you.", Cara's eyes cut through Richard's unprepared innocence, hurting him in ways he would not show.
"We may have to accept the fact that the Cara we know is gone forever."
"I don't believe that.", Richard refused Zedd's lack of optimism, although it may have better be known as rationale and sense of reality, "There has to be a way of undoing whatever it was Rahl did to her.", the True Seeker proving yet again, that he was not only loyal and virtuous, but that he would never leave a man behind if he could help it.
"There is one way…but the results are unpredictable.", clearly Zedd was hesitant to even mention what he was about to, let alone elaborate upon it; he knew that even with likely detriment caused, The Seeker would take any chance available to protect those he loved, "It's a spell I learned from years ago in the Wizards Keep, but I've never dared use it. It's called 'The Spell of Undoing'. According to the ancient texts it can erase even the most pernicious forms of dark magic.", it was fitting that a Wizard of the First Order such as Zedd would know of such a powerful and ominous sounding spell.
"Do it.", Richard said instantly, without taking even a moment to contemplate any other alternative.
"Richard, this spell hasn't been invoked in ages and for very good reason. It could undo the magic Rahl inflicted on Cara but it could also effect her in ways…I couldn't even begin to predict. It could even kill her…and if it does, we might lose any hope of finding Rahl and the stone in time."
"Cara's had everything taken away from her, twice. She would have gone to the ends of the world for me. I'm not giving up on her now.", said Richard, which was no surprise to the wizard, although the aged face beneath his silver man fought to keep a look of caution and fear from fully rising.
As Zedd began to chant an unusual language unknown to those present, whilst scribing a mystical symbol into the ground with a white, powdery substance, The Seeker made a sudden dash in order to stand between the wizard and his intended magical target; the Mord'Sith Cara.
"Wait-", The Seeker's kind eyes flashed with hope, as well as a measure of despair, one palm raised to the wizard's line of sight in protest, "-we're not going to do this.", even Kahlan looked on with surprise, as she was certain that Richard would have sought to save any of them with any cost hanging in the balance.
"Are you certain? But moments ago, you showed much determination that this was the only way in which we could save Cara, and thus go on to defeat The Keeper.", Zedd held his stance, still prepared to cast, and not keen to cease doing so lightly.
"There is another way.", seemingly pleasing with the fates, though Richard's tone of voice may not have promoted that he was convinced in his own claim, his very presence in this moment proved otherwise; he had faith that the forces of good were on his side, and so he had to be right. He held out his hand before him and unclenched his fist to reveal the two golden rings of Elodie and Alister, gifted to The First Generation by The Creator herself. It was the eyes of Kahlan that first told of present surprise towards this new development; none knew of Richard ascertaining even one of the divine golden bands, moreover the complete pair, certainly none had expected it.
"Even if we managed to use the magic of the rings, you should both be cautious. We have learnt firsthand how quickly The Creator is to temper, and she may not take kindly to magic of her creation being meddled with.", Kahlan spoke more out of concern for Richard than the rest of the world and all the innocence within it. Still, as the elected maternal human force of all the provinces, it was natural for Kahlan to view this situation from The Creator's point of view, she both respected and sympathised with her, even though she may not always agree with her.
"If the young woman we met was even The Creator at all.", Richard showed his disbelief, as well as his will to provoke The Creator's displeasure if of course Kahlan's worries rang true. Though he loved the Mother Confessor without need of being subject to her powers, Richard did not fret to challenge her logic when the moment required.
"And what would you have me do? These rings were intended only to provide communication between those who held eternal sanctuary under the ageless power of The Stone of Tears, if ever one of their number had to leave it's hold.", Zeddicus sought to determine his grandsons intentions as well as his logic, whilst a bedevilled Cara watched on with a callous smirk, assuming that her former friends were hopeless.
"The rings allow two people to share the same space and time regardless of the boundaries that contain them. Even The Creator's Sanctuary could not quell the power of the two rings when those of her First Generation used it's power to keep us trapped within it.", Richard began to explain.
"And who is it you would speak with Richard? Who could possibly help us now, without The Stone of Tears or the compass to guide us to it?", Kahlan wondered, looking as serene and as effortlessly beautiful as she ever had, porcelain skin seeming always to send sweet warmth in Richard's direction.
"You would have made quite the wizard after all, my boy.", Zedd proclaimed heftily, now having happened upon the foresight of Richard's plan, as Kahlan and Cara looked on awaiting reason for Zedd's sudden claim, which had seemed to lift his mood to heights of brilliant conclusion when only moments ago it seemed anchored to uncertainty and misery, "He wishes to break the veil between the living and the dead…two destinies one and the same in either realm, and yet united by The Creator's magic. With help from me, they would be taken to a place outside of time, outside of death and life.", Zedd's excitement ceased for a moment as he came to and understanding he thought not so easily offered by his grandson during such desperate times, before looking again to Richard and then Kahlan, "It could seal each and every rift that has cursed these lands.", and while the beautiful Mord'Sith present once held a gaze filled with mockery and pride, it now had sunken to one of defeat and self-loathing. Now Cara knew how her Lord Rahl had felt at every turn that The Seeker had thwarted and overcome him; less significant than the man he believed beneath him. Cara looked as though she had just been forced to wed a rainbow before an audience of unicorns; repulsed and with her bubble well and truly burst to say the least.
Kahlan's looks simpered gently between Zedd and her lover, as she placed the pieces of what Zedd had said together, "Two destinies…I…", and then the vigilant, yet ever compassionate Mother Confessor knew exactly as to what the wizard and Seeker had known before her, "Leo.", the look of shock on her face, not one of fear, but one of awe to the fact that this plan might indeed work.
The nearest rift had only been a league away from their previous location, the journey made only slightly longer for the fact that Richard and his friends, the Confessor and the wizard, had a captive in tow, quite literally. Cara has not been pleased for the duration of this transit; being held a prisoner and perhaps being subjected to measures of suffering was not her real burden, in fact she would probably enjoy such to a degree in some sick and twisted way, or so her demonic smirk would seem to promise. Still, that smirk had been crushed into a look of awful sourness; fitting perhaps, as the Mord'Sith suspected that the hour or so of non-stop trekking through disgustingly peaceful woodlands with her foes meant a journey closer to not only her end, but the end of her master's depraved scheme. A woman of fine form, the sweat on her brow came not from travelling, a fact she cared not to think about as she once again became tied tightly to the thick bark of involuntary tree by The Seeker's hand.
"What now?", Kahlan asked openly, staring out towards the gigantic crack in the near distance before them all, a ghostly calm gracing her porcelain features despite the effulgent horror bestowed upon them by the viridian flames that roared within the rift. Richard looked on to Zedd intently.
"I will cast a spell of seeking upon one of the rings, and once tossed within the rift, it will venture to find it's intended wearer.", he simply answered.
"Only venture?", The Seeker pressed on refusing to be startled, not wanting his plan not to work, for it was perhaps the only one worth having faith in; without it's success, all could be doomed.
"Richard, in times such as these has my magic ever failed us before?", Kahlan and Richard expressed knowing looks that would tell of their reassurance at the wizard's words, but both could not help but wonder in the back of their minds, if they had ever truly faced a time like this one to answer Zedd's question honestly. Quickly, they would reside to the reality that hope would have to win out, where despair may threaten to conquer.
Though his first instinct was to near himself to the lover he could never touch too intimately, Richard resigned to step closer to the wizard as Kahlan gazed over the hellish imperfection that had torn these otherwise perfect planes of nature, for this would be the place fate made a decision most ultimate for not only all of them, but ultimately all innocents that still lived. Richard extended one calm hand towards Zedd's which waited beneath it, releasing one of the rings as he opened his fist, before placing one of the golden bands upon a finger his own.
"This has to work…we've come too far to let Darken throw this world to ruin at the last moment.", though many had thought it naïve, Richard's blind faith in his friends as well as his quest had often proved to be one of his greatest strengths," I won't lose either of you, or Cara, or any good that is left in this world to The Keeper-", his heart touching moment of sincerity was cut shut by a fiendish spell of feminine laughter, that clearly spilled forth from over Richard's shoulder.
"-You will fail.", Cara mocked with thick tones of hatred through luscious lips, her thrill at the idea both menacing and surreal, sending an icy wrench to The Seekers gut, "This goes against any prophecy that The Creator has ever written, or anyone else for that matter. If the Stone of Tears is not taken to the Pillar of Creation for the Solstice, all is lost. Your plan is a fool's errand, and it fits you well.", her words so punished the very man who sought to save her from Darken's evil grasp, that at first he could not speak himself, "If it is truth that you are destined to seek, then here is some for you; you can not defeat prophecy."
"Then I will die trying.", The Seeker said, pushing past his disheartening to Cara's words, with Kahlan looking on to him proudly, when once her looks at sworn harm to the Mord'Sith who sought to reduce him to less than the man he indeed was. He turned to Zedd who has been chanting for some time, waiting for a moment of silence to address him without interruption, "Are we ready?"
At Richard's question, Zedd exhibited momentary defeat so quickly born and dead that it may have gone unnoticed, for he feared that his grandson's goodness could be to his detriment; he could lose him, even if Richard managed to correct the fates for all others, "Yes.", he uttered, gathering himself once more, hoping that his temporary unsteadiness would pass as tiredness from the spell he has cast, "You know what to do. Take this ring and hurl it into the rift, but beware my boy, you will not have much time to explain our predicament to Leo once the ring has found him. I myself will have to begin casting new magic as soon as he appears to us, and it won't be long before The Keeper senses the magic of the ring in his Kingdom."
"I understand.", Richard displayed no effort in facing his circumstances, taking the yet unworn ring back from Zedd in one steady hand. He looked to Kahlan as he approached the rift, stopping a moment to spare her a thought; his heart pulled him towards her for what could be their one last goodbye, but his spirit made light work of such sentiments. This would not be goodbye, it could not be, and not in fear for the loss of his one true love, but in fear for all that is good being lost; a true hero selfless, even when wishes might plead otherwise. Nevertheless, no words were needed for Kahlan to know of Richard's love for her, a truth she held dear as she pulled her eyes from the man she may never hold in her arms again. As he neared to the rift, Richard's big brown eyes followed the trajectory of the twirling ring as it flew upwardly from his hand, until it fell too far beneath him to see.
While time painfully passed by in the realm of the living, new fates were to be awoken in the unspeakable darkness of the lifeless underworld. Once landed, the newly spelled ring was at first as still as any other would have been, making stoic home of jagged, rocky surface. In no more than two moments, the golden band began to jolt in upon itself, flipping directly into the air above it a few times, each time with more distance, before pinning itself into position so that it's curl stood firmly upright against the ground as would a wheel. As though alive and as conscious as a daring little creature, the ring turned slowly to choose it's course and then sped forward, jumping to propel itself over roaring, poisonous looking uprisings of flame as they presented themselves, skittering and bouncing from the charred walls of damnation that now imprisoned it. After a speedy yet arduous transit, the ring had found it's intended wearer, nudging at Leo's hand as he lay almost catatonically across the rough, unwelcoming terrain that served as eternal bed to him. Leo's dead eyes were gradually tempted to see again, where they had been slave to a riveting state of limbo. As a spark of life returned to his eyes, he sat upright and looked to the ground where he would find the thing that had tapping erratically at his hand. A flood of images coursed through his mind as he remembered his life; a blacksmith, a freedom fighter in the resistance, a man who shared affinity with horses, a man with a kind heart and much love to give, a man who caused laughter, a man who had fell in love with a Mord'Sith, a man who still loved Cara, a man who was once a Seeker. Ironic, that though once Leo a Seeker of the Truth, the truth had now found him, and it was quickly sobering. With his sanity once returned to him, he knew that The Keeper would send swift torment his way once his new warmth was sensed; The Keeper not fond of any wellness returning to a past seeker, least of all one that was recent. Yet, it did not matter, Leo knew that this ring was meant for him, a calling for him to once again stand before adversity; he knew somehow he was needed, and this ring would begin his decision to help. He took it in his hand and stood, a smile of defiance given to this realm of death and eternal suffering, and with that, his lifeless finger was no longer without the charm of circular adornment.
A sudden emergence of imagery caught the attention of The Seeker and his allies whom had awaited it's arrival, and yet it had come so easily and so casually; no telltale sound or burst of light. In much less than a second Richard and his wizard had shared a nod, for as explained earlier there would not be much time for Zedd's magic to be worked, if of course The Creator's magic could be forced to collaborate with Zedd's at all. Nevertheless, from this point on, Zedd could not split his attentions; it was up to Richard to explain to Leo, the man he had never truly met and instead only heard tales of, exactly what he had been called upon to do; an impossible task, for what was known was too complicated to simplify for time's sake, and if truth be known much of what would come of what was known, was not yet known. Sooner than Richard's eyes had locked on to Leo's manifestation and found some comfort in it, his grandfather had started invoking a powerful spell; though Richard's focus was spoken for, Kahlan could see that the wizard's spell was already taking it's toll on the lofty old man.
"Leo-", Richard began, distracted by his sentimentality; this was the man who once took his place as Seeker, and with Kahlan's approval, a man whose makeshift funeral Richard had not only attended but also helped to realise, and now he was about to throw this man into what could be an even more disparaging fate, "-there isn't much time, I…we have to-", thankfully, The one true Seeker was interrupted by his summoned counterpart.
"You need not explain to me Richard, I am sure that the tale is long where time is short. If I am here then it is for the cause of good. Whatever it is you would ask of me has already been agreed to the moment I placed this ring on my finger.", the tales were true; Leo was as gallant as well as he was righteous and with a quick conviction that was inarguably rare. In the wake of Zedd's unfinished chanting, the two Seekers were surrounded by a circle of white fire, and from it slowly spread a dome of energy which like imperfect glass, distorted their image slightly to all those outside of it.
"I can see why it would be you to melt the steel of Cara's heart-", as Leo threatened to gaze over to the distance that held the woman whose mention has crossed Richard's lips, Richard promptly realised his error in speaking her name and moved abruptly on in an attempt to cease Leo's curiosity as to Cara's predicament, "-Kahlan swears that no other to take my place would do so with such justice, and Zedd's thoughts are much the same.", Leo let slip a subtle smile at such sharing of approval; though so obviously a man's man, unafraid of baring his feelings.
"It is a shame we never got to shake hands. We would have been friends, you and I.", Leo stated with warm sureness.
"We already are", Richard answered, causing Kahlan's heart to flutter as wing upon back of butterfly.
All of a sudden, Leo's head turned to one side and he exhibited a measure of panic, but of course none present in the realm of the living could witness that which surrounded their dearly departed ally. "What is it?", Richard asked, sharp concern protruding from his usually hopeful eyes.
"The Keeper, he sends his beasts upon me…he must have sensed the foreign magic we have at hand.", Leo did not allow himself to fret, though he was not foolish enough to disregard the monstrous bellows that ripped through the air of the underworld as The Keeper's deadly hounds of spiked rock and flame scoured their master's kingdom with Leo's scent in their sway.
"Zedd?", Richard pleaded, hoping hard that the wizard's spell was almost done, or else this may all have been for nothing. Even though The Seeker could only vaguely see his grandfather, he could clearly tell that there was something wrong; forcing his magic over that of The Creator's was greatly taxing, the wizard could barely stand, though he proceeded to chant and refused to fail.
"Richard, it's killing him.", Kahlan yelled in with tones of heightened worry, as she rushed to Zedd's side.
In the distance and out of eyeshot however, lingered one who would help unannounced. Staying out of sight and standing with her back to a towering cliff, Shota cast her ominous glare out to the wizard for whom she had much respect and almost as much disagreement, typically. Her hand gestured forward with fingers spanned in different claw-like positions as she herself began to talk in mystical tongues, in odd breathy pitches. Perhaps the estranged witch would never admit to aiding the wizard of the first order, though if such a fact would ever be learnt, it would not be difficult to make sense of it; it was Shota after all who envisioned Leo as Seeker in Richard's absence, perhaps she had a greater hand in the fates surrounding him than she cared to divulge.
"His strength returns to him.", the elegant Mother Confessor beamed, through a wide smile of restored faith as Zedd took once again to his feet with new valour, his magic almost instantly seeming more filled with zeal.
"The spell is complete, it should be working.", Zedd shot, confused as to why the spell had not taken Richard and Leo to a place outside of time as it should have. All spoke loudly now, to be heard through the harsh winds that the epic feats of chaotic magic had caused, "You need something inside the circle that connects you both, aside form your destiny as Seeker."
"We already have it.", Richard confidently yelled with no hesitation, taking hand to clasp in order to unleash the Sword of Truth. He moved to the centre of the circle while the magics around him crackled and cried like a storm enraged.
"Hurry.", the other Seeker insisted, clearly weary of the demonic beasts that had now found him in death's kingdom; he was moments away from suffering at their dreadful claws and fangs, so sharp to mere witness that they threatened to cut the eye for only looking upon them.
With one strained howl, Richard raised the Sword of Truth above him with both hands wrapped around it's handle, and plunged the blade tip-first into the ground before him, face overcome with a look of troubled excruciation. Once pinned firmly in the ground, Richard took one hand to the handle of the sword once again, and his erratic gestures urged Leo to do the same. And just like that, a fraction of a second before Leo was torn through by The Keeper's beasts, neither of The Seekers, nor magic dome of translucent energy that once encased them, were anywhere to be seen.
"It is done then?", Kahlan asked, to which she received only a nod of agreement from the wise, silvery wizard, "What happens now?", she asked, looking longingly to the place she last saw Richard.
"We wait.", was Zedd's only reply, and though his words truly pandered to the hope he had for Richard's efforts, they sounded like the warning of a dire omen, all the same.
"Well…at least we're not dead.", Leo's were the first words to break the silence once he and Richard had arrived to wherever it was they now were, both men fully corporeal to one another now, with one hand each touching the Sword of Truth, still planted in the ground.
"Don't be so sure.", Richard countered, looking around a little, bewildered.
"I've been dead and this…well, there is a lack of looming torment, wouldn't you agree?", this was the first time Richard would remember being subjected to Leo's infamous sense of humour, the very one that had even managed to break down Cara's defences to any admission of lingering humanity within her. It was still largely unbelievable to Richard that a man had caused Cara to not only smile, but also laugh; the imagery that came to mind in thought of this seemed too outrageous to fully piece together, and the pieces that did take hold created pictures that were almost nightmarish.
"You're not the only one.", Richard said casually, not ungrateful for Leo's own noble sacrifice as it had saved Kahlan's life. Still, Richard had died and been sent to the underworld himself, and whether or not Leo had been graced with such stories, he wanted the most recently dead Seeker to know that he too had been sent to death as a result of his quest.
"Is it just me or does this place look…well, just like home? A little brighter maybe but-", Leo spoke in colourful tone as he changed the subject, not offended or even provoked in the slightest by the true Seeker's corrective comment.
"-No, you are right. Wherever we are, it looks and even feels like the lands we came from."
"Except, there is no wind here…nor clouds.", quite quickly, Leo's observational skills and affinity with nature came to light.
"Or anything else that is living.", though impressed, Richard was not without his own skills of deduction. It felt good though, to work with a partner, to collaborate with an equal. Of course working alongside Kahlan, Zedd and Cara hardly paled in comparison, but Kahlan and Cara were women, and Zedd hardly tactile; this felt different. Leo was a man cut from the same cloth, a Seeker like Richard himself, only moments into their meeting and working together and both already felt so familiar to one another. They had so much in common; there was a lot to be said for the sense of that.
"It's like a dream; a place with no air and yet we breathe.", Leo surmised, as the concept of a sky with no bird's song in it took uncomfortable hold in his thoughts.
"This is no dream.", the younger man began to explain what he could, "Zedd said that if his spell was successful we would be taken to a place outside of time and space. If that's where we are, then even if this realm directly mirrors the one we know, the rules are different here."
Though Richard didn't notice at first and only caught the tail end of it, he unexpectedly noticed from the corner of his eye that Leo, now dressed in his dark leathers, was pulling at the waistline of his trousers and peering beneath the vicinity created from it, "Well, no change there.", Leo quipped with an infectiously intentional grin that convinced the viewer not to hate him for being obnoxious, but instead to warm to him for his playful spirit and overall heartiness. It was the sort of humour Richard had not been exposed to; though he was not raised a monk, his life from young had been somewhat sheltered, he had only ever seen but never known a man's man, the boisterous type that would make unclean jest for sport amongst other men of his kind. Richard realised now how much he might have missed not having such a friend or male influence in his life, which was a little ironic; though it was in his nature to stay as virtuous and without sin as possible, Richard found himself amused at Leo's casually lewd disposition, perhaps a little curious too. They walked on for part of a league through the unknown realm, so surreal in it's resemblance to home.
"Does any of this look familiar at all?", Richard asked while he looked around with his back turned to Leo.
"Not particularly…but I think it should to you.", Leo indicated with pointed finger raised to the sky, to that which he spoke of; the magical barrier of Westland.
"Home.", Richard voiced quietly and eyes widened with disbelief. And before he could even take one step closer to the land upon which he was raised, he looked on as the world shifted around him as though bursting with light, and when it ceased, he found himself home. He found it fortunate that he was not the only one brought along for the journey, "What just happened?"
"Your guess is better than mine, I was dead while you and Zedd came up with this plan, remember?", again impressively, Leo seemed to be in good spirits, and unshaken by the unusual event that had just occurred; both men taken from one place to another in one instance, by a force they could not feel or see.
"Wait…this is wrong.", Richard found trouble with his surroundings as he looked more closely to them, "This is Hartland…this is my home, where I come from, only…not everything is where it should be. Some things are gone altogether, and others don't belong at all."
"You mean like this?", Leo asked whilst standing near a one story building on the opposite side of the path from Richard, hitting a carved, wooden sign that protruded from it, causing it to swing and creek. As the sign stopped swinging, Richard paid closer attention to what it read.
"'Dane's Blacksmithing'…but that's impossible. This is Hartland, and you-", Richard was interrupted.
"Not impossible Richard, and not exactly Hartland either.", as the true Seeker struggled to make sense of current circumstances, Leo was happy to elaborate upon his findings, "Just as you recognize most of what you see here as your home in Hartland, I too recognize the village I was raised in."
"No time and space of it's own…this reality is based on us; our lives, the lands we come from-"
"-Only it's all mixed together.", Leo interjected, clearly on the same track as Richard who in fairness, knew more about this place and the magics that had brought them both to it, than the older Seeker did.
"That's why there are differences; the things that don't belong do belong, just not to me.", came Richard's conclusion.
"Exactly what I was thinking. Well not exactly, but you have spent more time around the wizard. With looks like these I don't mind you being known as the wordy one.", again Leo assaulted Richard with his wit, and given the dire circumstances surrounding both men and in turn those they love, Richard should have at least started by now to grow tired of the other man's inappropriate witticisms; instead, he felt himself smiling.
"You really did make Cara laugh, didn't you?", Richard asked, before thinking twice.
"Cara, I-", the usually buoyant swagger that Leo maintained came to a brief halt as he turned his head to one side and collected his thoughts, "-I saw…before we came here. What happened?", and Richard would hate to be the bearer of bad news, especially to a new friend.
"Darken Rahl has broken her again, she serves him now.", the younger of the two regretfully informed, his typically softly spoken voice speaking even softer than usual.
"And if we are successful here? She will be free of his hold?"
"We work here only to seal the rifts and prevent The Keeper's wrath upon the world of the living, but I promise you…Cara came to be our ally and our friend of her own accord, and she was the most valued of Darken's Mord'Sith then. The goodness in her overcame the bad he inflicted upon her, and that was without any of our influence. When we are done here with whatever it is that we must do, I swear to you that I will not rest until Cara is who she once was.", the determination burst forth from Richard reassuringly, even if Cara's salvation would not come as easily as her lover had hoped.
"You are a loyal friend Richard Cypher."
"It is only fair…she would have done the same for me.", both men shared a smile as they arrived to a building that both of them recognized as home, the Sword of Truth making it's presence known just outside in the garden near the door, as if it had moved there of it's own accord from it's previous position where it had been left earlier, unable to be pried from the ground. Still, neither Seeker was surprised at this point; this realm was far too random in essence to spend too much time being baffled.
"This place is distracting.", stated Richard, sounding just short of brimmed over with annoyance, after he and Leo had been inside their amalgamated home for over an hour, spending this time on comments with regards to how their belongings were now in and amongst one another's and in some cases even blended together to create single items from two or more that had been original, "So many curiosities to be taken by, when we should really be trying to discover what it is we are meant to do here."
"At least if this place truly is outside of time and space, we have an eternity to figure that out.", Leo's attempt to lighten the mood had not worked out so well, if Richard's heavy brow was any indication, "OK let me put it another way; at least there'll be plenty of time for us to share tips on male pubic grooming.", like a comedic alchemist, Leo turned Richard's dull frown into a light smirk.
"So far this world has unfolded before us. We were guided here without a map…maybe all the answers lie within us and we just don't know it.", the newly heartened Richard shared some theories in reference as to how they had managed to find their intertwined home without even deciding upon that particular pursuit.
"And we are right about this place being a reflection of who we are…then the answers should reveal themselves in time.", Leo finished the thought.
"And in the meantime?", Richard really shouldn't have pretended that he expected a timid answer.
"Pick your poison…I am told that my phallus puppetry provides an entertaining way to pass the time.", and though Leo may not have intended to prove such a thing to Richard, he spoke the truth nonetheless.
"Phallus…puppetry!", Richard dared to query under uneven brow, which was reacted to be Leo's hand ruffling his hair without restraint, as well as the older man's laughter.
"Don't worry Richard, I won't put you through such performances just yet.", Leo did not realise that Richard had trouble determining what sort of practice 'phallus puppetry' could actually be, "You know, there's really no point in throwing more timber into that fire-", Leo began, to change the pace of conversation, "-the flames bear no heat."
"No-", accepted Richard with no contest as he ceased to tend to the fireplace, when only moments ago he had sat opposite Leo at the small, round wooden table which was handcrafted and oddly proverbial to them both, "-but your hand does."
"Hmmm.", it took the older Seeker more than a few moments to piece together that which Richard proposed, remembering that his hand had slid roughly through the younger man's locks, playfully, "You think that is useful to us in some way?"
Suddenly the fireplace flared, as did the now dimming sunlight that had descended in it's shine that spread in disorganized beams through the blocky window panes and homely curtains. As soon as the two men had ceased their curiosity and thoughts regarding it thereafter, all excited elements once again simmered down to a predictable regularity. While Leo seemed somewhat taken by thought, Richard looked as though he was hesitant to voice any assumptions in fear of tempting fate in a world that seemed to so directly be impressionable to that which he said or did, even when he might not have realised it.
"Looks like we are on to something…", Leo's knowing tone and understated yet potent swagger was inexplicably worrying to Richard. Within the next few seconds that followed, Richard reached in to his pocket, suspecting or feeling something unfamiliar there, and by the expression he exuded it appeared that this finding was prompted more by sense than physical introduction.
"Don't I…isn't this…", Leo, though as reassured in his confidence as ever seemed confused as he pulled the foreign object from his dark leather pocket.
"A red flower.", Richard clarified in disbelief, "Cara left that with you when…", thankfully, he needn't have said more to open his new friend's eyes.
"Maybe it's us.", Leo quickly concluded, "It makes perfect sense…we were brought here through bond, perhaps it ends that way.", he seemed oddly at ease with the idea.
"That can not be.", the True Seeker fretted, if only for his eyes jittering from side to side in presumptive anxiety.
"And why not? I am aware how you have dabbled in the teachings of magics, and far be it from me to assume an upper hand in the subject, but as a simple man who has learnt that simple answers often come commonly; since when has magic ever had reasonable rules?", Leo asked, and though he may have been unlearnt in mysticism, and quite rightly so an admitted dunce in the practice of sorcery, his point was valid, "It is the first time this world has spoken to us so directly since we have been here. And besides…why are you so opposed to making further contact with me?", the end of his most recent sentence was tarred with deeply mischievous colour, thick with it, and his zealous smirk followed suit well.
"I'm not, it's not…it's-", Richard was clearly unprepared to form a coinciding reaction to Leo's proposed theory, which so far simply involved the requirement of touch. Never one to offend though, Richard did not want to seem distressed at the particular intimacy theorized, "-we should not make haste with such notions when all is not known, and much is still unpredictable in this place.", he offered an instance of gentle smile, though his eyes still took oath in shaking.
"You are right.", Leo agreed, to Richard's relief; a state which regretfully lasted only a moment, "Perhaps we should test the fates."
"What do you propose? We call out to this realm as if a man able to answer? We should not be keen to set course for madness."
"Something like that.", more intrusively now, Leo's answers came, as though his insistence if only spoken coated each of Richard's evasive attempts like rich treacle. He reached out to Richard who now sat once more, caressing his face, prompting the fireplace and sunlight to blaze once again, and this time even winds whistle; Leo smirked the whole time, "You should value my touch much more, young Richard.", and Richard secretly despised being referred to as young by Leo; not just because he had enough of such perceptive projections from his grandfather however innocently, but also because coming from Leo, it meant something else, no matter how harmlessly he obviously the other man had intended the comment to land.
"But we can't…men lying with men, it's…well-", both of Richard;s eyes wandered upwards and then in a crescent that slid from side to side a few times as he sought the words for which he was trying to explain, "-there is no word for it yet…but I feel it is not done.", Leo grumbled with the predatory laughter of a lion about to feast casually on a carcass he alone had procured.
"Kahlan was right, you are adorably…naïve.", Leo smugly claimed.
"She would never say such a thing.", bit the man with fairly longer hair.
"Not with ill intent, but in innocence; and she was right.", this time, Leo's soundly smug smirk seemed less smug and more informative, as did his tone that matched; Richard yet found himself buckling in preparation for something he wished not to prepare for, "You know not that men do this?"
"Do what?", Richard innocently, and adorably asked, his large eyes larger than usual as if wholehearted in their wish to understand more of what it was that Leo spoke.
"Lay with one another of course…well, not always lay…sometimes there is much kneeling involved, or mutual sitting, but I'm sure that even a man of your humble beginnings must understand that which I speak of?", in an almost surreal manner, it seemed that Leo was laughing softly while he spoke, though he was not. Certainly though, there was a light to his presence which though unseen, was felt like any other heat wave.
"I have thought that…perhaps it happened but…are you sure that it does? Such a thing seems so…undone?"
"Incorrect word use will get you everywhere with a Mother Confessor, Richard.", Leo politely mocked his friend's use of the word "undone", not sparing him a poetic license, "Such things do happen, and can kernel much enjoyment…of course this usually involves loose talk of women or sport and a satiation of sinful brew, but nevertheless, I am far from the young man I once was; such pardons are no longer needed."
"You have done this?", if his words were not enough to prove it, Richard's startled grimace would speak of how taken he was by Leo's admissions.
"If only you sought the obvious as well as you did the truth.", that was a yes, "It is nothing to be weary of, in fact I am surprised you have not indulged yourself when so many would have you.", no matter how unintended, Leo's effortless dominance and comfort with it, did well to smite Richard.
"I-", Richard thought twice before he spoke again. However alien the concept of two men being together intimately occurred to him, he could not think of a present reason for such a thing to be considered wrong or disgusting. It was simply that as far as he knew, such practices were not devised, let alone acted upon; he had never heard of such things. And yet, the more Richard peered at the gradually more evident Leo, the less the idea seemed lost upon him, "-I mean no offence, I had simply never heard of such a thing…perhaps only in jest, and even then, not commonly."
"It is not for all, and for me not something done often; though it has happened. Still, we needn't push on so far before we know it is needed.", at last, Leo showed sensibility over a taste for rogue banter.
"But you could be right", a silence filled the room as a fact came to light; Richard had hurried his response without any dose of usual restraint; rushed it out as though he had spoke before he had given himself mediation. Leo looked to his younger friend through narrowed eyes, annoyingly devious smile cursing his lips, as though to test and tease the authenticity of Richard's sudden enthusiasm.
"Really?", Leo's word was prolonged, and projected under uneven, uncertain brow filled with doubt.
END