"You can't make me go back there! Not now, not ever." He turned his back on
the man and continued walking away.
"So what are you going to do? Run again? Aren't you tired of this?" He heard the man sigh, but ignored him and continued walking. "Come back, we can work this out, you don't have to go." The boy stopped and looked back over his shoulder, his violet eyes sad.
"Yes I do, and you know that." He turned and continued walking, red hair flying wildly around his head in the sudden wind. The man watched him disappear around the bend in the road and sighed. Turning he walked back to the house and back to the grieving mother who had just lost her child.
But maybe he was never hers to begin with, not after what they had done.
***
Casimir stared around the small village from his place on a roof. He sighed as, again, he saw no one like himself. This village was called Kannaboro and was supposedly a nice place, but Cas had learned not to take any chances. Not when he looked like he did.
'Damn them! Why did they do this to me anyways? Wasn't enough to take away my freedom?'
But no, it probably wasn't. They had to take everything from him and leave him like this. He sighed and lay back on the roof, arms and legs outspread, tail curled around his leg. The sun felt nice on his skin and he allowed himself a small smile since no one was watching.
He knew his happiness wouldn't last very long. Not with what lay ahead of him. Leaving home had been one of the best things he had done, but it was only the beginning. Well, it hadn't really been home, just the place he stayed. His heart didn't belong there and they all had known it was only a matter of time before he would leave.
He shook himself away from those thoughts burying them deep within his mind so he wouldn't become distracted. It was time to get moving again. Time to continue to find a place where there was someone else like him.
Somewhere he could be at peace.
Somewhere where there was a person that held the answers to the questions that burned in his heart.
He snorted and pushed himself to his feet.
'Like that would ever happen.'
Jumping across the roofs he made it to the edge of the village undetected and from there leaped into the trees a good distance from the road. He couldn't travel near other people, not when his appearance would condemn him either to death or capture. With very little forest around he had to keep moving quickly, always avoiding the eyes of others and trust to his luck, no matter how small it was.
At least there was a good clean breeze today and that combined with the warm sun made traveling a lot easier to handle and Cas let himself enjoy the moment.
The next minute he knew that hadn't been a good idea, but then again, it never was. He had relaxed his guard and that stopped him from registering the sound of hooves fast approaching him. He turned in alarm and saw a white horse heading in his direction, running all out at him.
"Damn!" he dodged the horse as it ran near him, but it quickly turned and cut him off, never letting him leave the area, almost as if it was trying to herd him away from his course. It had no rider and Cas wondered how it knew what to do. "What do you want? I didn't do anything to you." The horse, of course, didn't answer what had he expected from the animal? But it did continue to keep him trapped. Cas growled.
He had had enough of this little game and launched himself at the horse, extending his claws. He could see in its eyes that it hadn't expected to be attacked and stood frozen as Cas's claws dug into its hide. He didn't want to truly hurt it, just scare it off enough that it would leave him alone and let him move on. But then he made the mistake of looking in to a pair of beautiful blue eyes and got lost in a peace he never knew could exist.
: I choose you. : Cas could only blink at the voice in his head. : Now could you please remove your claws, they hurt. : He did as he was told and backed away from the horse.
"You're talking to me?" the horse nodded.
: Yes. My name is Arian and I'm a Companion. : The little red head blinked again and cocked his head to the side, ears laid back in confusion and tail moving back and forth restlessly.
"So...?" he prompted. Arian sighed again.
: You're to be a Herald, young one. My Herald. : This Cas understood. He had seen the Herald's while traveling and had learned a little about them from people had said within earshot. They were supposedly good and wonderful people that helped this Kingdom. He didn't see how he could be one, or even dream of considering himself as one. He shook his head.
"Sorry but I can't, I'm, well look at me!" The Companion did and Cas could almost feel the shrug in his head.
: So, you're not human. That doesn't make a difference, not to me. :
"It does to me and it will to others. Especially if they had to trust me." Cas backed away from Arian and winced when he saw the blood coming from the wounds he had inflicted.
"Sorry about that." He lowered his head while gesturing to the wounds.
: Don't worry about it. They'll heal just fine, but if you could clean them out, I'd be grateful. : Cas nodded and looked around. It was some distance to the river, but there was a small pond nearby, and as long as they didn't run into anyone else, he would be fine.
"Come on, this way." He led the way to the pond and brought Arian into the water with him. But then he realized that he didn't have anything to clean them with except his hands until Arian pointed his head towards the saddlebag on his back. Opening it up Cas found a cloth he could use and set about cleaning the wounds.
Once they were all cleaned they both walked back up to the bank and sat down to dry off. Well Cas sat. Arian just stood there enjoying the heat, but he continued to watch Cas closely. Cas knew why too. If it was true and Companion's could read people's thoughts than Arian would feel his fear about being taken anywhere where there were a lot of humans. But he wouldn't know why.
No one would if they had not gone through it themselves. The hatred and fear that drove someone to destroy something they couldn't understand or put a name to. The reason that Cas was out here.
Alone.
: So how do I convince you to come to Haven? : Cas looked over at him.
"You really want me to, don't you? Even though you and I both know it's going to cause problems with a lot of people" The Companion nodded and looked at him with his blue eyes, almost pleading. Cas sighed, for some reason his fears seemed to fade when he looked at Arian. But they were still there.
Yet, maybe there he would have better luck. Besides, traveling on horse back would be a lot faster than on foot, even for him.
"Fine. But I don't think I could walk in there looking like this." He waved at himself.
: Look in the pack again. : Cas did so and found what looked like a white cloak and hood, along with more white clothes. They were all loose and would cover him up while still making him look normal. Cas looked over at Arian who looked entirely too smug.
"You had all this planned, didn't you?"
: Yes. :
"How did you know?"
: It was just a feeling when I felt my Call, so when they got me ready I made them pack all that as well. I didn't expect you to look like this, but I don't mind. You look cute. : The young man blushed but put the clothes on over his own without comment, adjusting them to make sure everything was covered. He pulled the hood low over his face and then let Arian inspect him.
: Okay, you're all covered. Now let's get going. : Cas nodded and leaped from the ground up onto the Arian's back much to the Companion's surprise. Arian looked back at him as he settled down into the saddle. : I guess I have to stop thinking in human abilities with you huh. What else can you do? : Cas shrugged.
"A lot. But I'm still figuring most of it out for myself." Arian shook his head at this and then took off across the grass. Cas molded himself to the Companion's back and together they went flying down the road. Nobody looked twice at the white horse and rider, although a few did wonder why the rider wore the hood up on such a beautiful day.
Soon they had passed another village, but Arian showed no signs of stopping.
"Aren't you getting tired?" he shouted over the rushing of the wind going past them.
: I would feel better seeing you safe in haven right now. : That was understandable and Cas didn't complain. He just hoped he would be safe at Haven.
Soon they had topped a small hill and there, Arian slowed down and finally paused for a moment.
: There it is. : Cas looked down at the city and his eyes widened. It was huge! Almost as big as..
No! He wouldn't think of 'that' place ever again. He shook his head as a vision of another, darker place tried to cover up the sight before him.
Arian's ears flicked back in concern.
: Are you alright? :
"Yeah, just a little surprised by the size that's all." Arian nodded and then started down the hill at an easy pace. Once they had passed the first set of gates Cas pulled the hood closer down to his face. So many people so close to him made him nervous and now he was behind walls with them.
It took them a long time to get to the inner walls of the Palace, but finally they made it and Arian headed over to a smaller gate built in the huge wall. A young man in a dark blue uniform smiled at them as they approached.
"Ah! Welcome back Arian and you are?" Cas looked down at the man in some confusion. How did he know Arian's name?
: They keep track of all the Heralds and Companion's going out and in, for safety reasons. :
'Makes sense.'
"Casimir." He told the guard who nodded and wrote something down in a book.
"Welcome to Haven, Casimir." Cas nodded at the man and then Arian brought them through the wall and out into the courtyard beyond. As people approached them Cas brought the hood closer to his face. These people were Heralds and they smiled when they neared him.
"So Arian, you finally Chose, but I think it's a bit early for him to be wearing whites." Arian just snorted and one of the men helped Cas of the Companion's back. "I guess we should go get you changed and then off to get something to eat." His heart jumped into his throat when the man led him away from Arian and towards the Palace. He looked back at his Companion helplessly.
: They won't hurt you, I promise. : Cas nodded and let himself be led inside and down hall after hall. His eyes scanned everything as they passed, but never looked at the people he passed. He didn't need them to see what he really looked like yet. Finally the man stopped in front of one of the many doors they had passed and opened it, motioning Cas to enter.
Inside were two other people. One was a young lady dressed in green and the other was a young man dressed in white. Both smiled as they entered.
"So this is our new trainee huh?" the lady in green smiled. "Hello there, do we get a name or can we guess?"
"Casimir."
"Nice name." The young man spoke up and then looked at the person who had brought him here. "Is this his first stop then?" the one behind him nodded.
"Yes, he just arrived now and I figured might as well get him cleaned up so he can eat, if that's all right with you?" they all looked at Cas who nodded. "Okay then lets get you out of these whites and into a uniform."
Before Cas could react the lady had grabbed his hood and pulled it off.
Silence.
Cas cringed at the looks of shock on their faces, and he was sure he saw a touch of fear.
'I knew this was a bad idea. Time to get out of here and quick, before fear turns to hate!'
He turned and pushed the man behind him away and took off through the door. He heard them quickly regain their senses and start after him.
"Wait! It's all right! We're not going to hurt you."
'Yeah right!' he didn't wait to hear any more just continued to run, but a bell had sounded and doors were opening all down the halls. Young men and women in gray and blue were piling out of them, laughing and talking to each other.
'Damn! I can't get through this!' he stopped and looked around the whole hall and finally noticed the windows that lined the hall had slight ledges built on top of them to hold drapes. They were extremely narrow and high up but he didn't see any other choice. By now the people had noticed him and he must have looked a sight, with the white robe and hood now off.
They all stood frozen, not sure what he was, but then Cas heard the sound of running behind him and leaped for the nearest window. At first he slipped, but sinking his claws into the wood he managed to pull himself up and gain his footing. With a body adapted for this kind of movement he leaped from window to window, high above the heads of the students and made his way quickly to the end of the hall.
He didn't pause there to see how his pursuers were doing though and continued on for the nearest door.
'This is just like before when people had seen me. Shock had turned to fear. Fear had turned to anger. Anger turned to hate and hate became pain. I won't let that happen again!'
He turned another corner but was stopped as he ran into something, or, looking up, someone.
His ears lay back against his head in fear as he stared up into the eyes of the Griffon towering above him. It stared back calmly, but as soon as he tried to move it pinned him with one clawed foot, not hurting him, but not letting him move either.
'I'm dead.'
He lay shivering as the people finally caught up to him and when the young lady knelt beside him and reached out to touch him he winced, expecting a blow.
"I told you, we are not going to hurt you and I meant it. Just relax." She reached out to me and touched one of my pointed ears and I flicked it in response. "What are you?" I shook my head, I didn't know either. She sighed and placed a cool hand on either side of my head. "For now, just sleep, you've been through enough."
I tried to protest but my mind drifted off into darkness and I was lost in a deep slumber.
A/N: So, anyone interested??
"So what are you going to do? Run again? Aren't you tired of this?" He heard the man sigh, but ignored him and continued walking. "Come back, we can work this out, you don't have to go." The boy stopped and looked back over his shoulder, his violet eyes sad.
"Yes I do, and you know that." He turned and continued walking, red hair flying wildly around his head in the sudden wind. The man watched him disappear around the bend in the road and sighed. Turning he walked back to the house and back to the grieving mother who had just lost her child.
But maybe he was never hers to begin with, not after what they had done.
***
Casimir stared around the small village from his place on a roof. He sighed as, again, he saw no one like himself. This village was called Kannaboro and was supposedly a nice place, but Cas had learned not to take any chances. Not when he looked like he did.
'Damn them! Why did they do this to me anyways? Wasn't enough to take away my freedom?'
But no, it probably wasn't. They had to take everything from him and leave him like this. He sighed and lay back on the roof, arms and legs outspread, tail curled around his leg. The sun felt nice on his skin and he allowed himself a small smile since no one was watching.
He knew his happiness wouldn't last very long. Not with what lay ahead of him. Leaving home had been one of the best things he had done, but it was only the beginning. Well, it hadn't really been home, just the place he stayed. His heart didn't belong there and they all had known it was only a matter of time before he would leave.
He shook himself away from those thoughts burying them deep within his mind so he wouldn't become distracted. It was time to get moving again. Time to continue to find a place where there was someone else like him.
Somewhere he could be at peace.
Somewhere where there was a person that held the answers to the questions that burned in his heart.
He snorted and pushed himself to his feet.
'Like that would ever happen.'
Jumping across the roofs he made it to the edge of the village undetected and from there leaped into the trees a good distance from the road. He couldn't travel near other people, not when his appearance would condemn him either to death or capture. With very little forest around he had to keep moving quickly, always avoiding the eyes of others and trust to his luck, no matter how small it was.
At least there was a good clean breeze today and that combined with the warm sun made traveling a lot easier to handle and Cas let himself enjoy the moment.
The next minute he knew that hadn't been a good idea, but then again, it never was. He had relaxed his guard and that stopped him from registering the sound of hooves fast approaching him. He turned in alarm and saw a white horse heading in his direction, running all out at him.
"Damn!" he dodged the horse as it ran near him, but it quickly turned and cut him off, never letting him leave the area, almost as if it was trying to herd him away from his course. It had no rider and Cas wondered how it knew what to do. "What do you want? I didn't do anything to you." The horse, of course, didn't answer what had he expected from the animal? But it did continue to keep him trapped. Cas growled.
He had had enough of this little game and launched himself at the horse, extending his claws. He could see in its eyes that it hadn't expected to be attacked and stood frozen as Cas's claws dug into its hide. He didn't want to truly hurt it, just scare it off enough that it would leave him alone and let him move on. But then he made the mistake of looking in to a pair of beautiful blue eyes and got lost in a peace he never knew could exist.
: I choose you. : Cas could only blink at the voice in his head. : Now could you please remove your claws, they hurt. : He did as he was told and backed away from the horse.
"You're talking to me?" the horse nodded.
: Yes. My name is Arian and I'm a Companion. : The little red head blinked again and cocked his head to the side, ears laid back in confusion and tail moving back and forth restlessly.
"So...?" he prompted. Arian sighed again.
: You're to be a Herald, young one. My Herald. : This Cas understood. He had seen the Herald's while traveling and had learned a little about them from people had said within earshot. They were supposedly good and wonderful people that helped this Kingdom. He didn't see how he could be one, or even dream of considering himself as one. He shook his head.
"Sorry but I can't, I'm, well look at me!" The Companion did and Cas could almost feel the shrug in his head.
: So, you're not human. That doesn't make a difference, not to me. :
"It does to me and it will to others. Especially if they had to trust me." Cas backed away from Arian and winced when he saw the blood coming from the wounds he had inflicted.
"Sorry about that." He lowered his head while gesturing to the wounds.
: Don't worry about it. They'll heal just fine, but if you could clean them out, I'd be grateful. : Cas nodded and looked around. It was some distance to the river, but there was a small pond nearby, and as long as they didn't run into anyone else, he would be fine.
"Come on, this way." He led the way to the pond and brought Arian into the water with him. But then he realized that he didn't have anything to clean them with except his hands until Arian pointed his head towards the saddlebag on his back. Opening it up Cas found a cloth he could use and set about cleaning the wounds.
Once they were all cleaned they both walked back up to the bank and sat down to dry off. Well Cas sat. Arian just stood there enjoying the heat, but he continued to watch Cas closely. Cas knew why too. If it was true and Companion's could read people's thoughts than Arian would feel his fear about being taken anywhere where there were a lot of humans. But he wouldn't know why.
No one would if they had not gone through it themselves. The hatred and fear that drove someone to destroy something they couldn't understand or put a name to. The reason that Cas was out here.
Alone.
: So how do I convince you to come to Haven? : Cas looked over at him.
"You really want me to, don't you? Even though you and I both know it's going to cause problems with a lot of people" The Companion nodded and looked at him with his blue eyes, almost pleading. Cas sighed, for some reason his fears seemed to fade when he looked at Arian. But they were still there.
Yet, maybe there he would have better luck. Besides, traveling on horse back would be a lot faster than on foot, even for him.
"Fine. But I don't think I could walk in there looking like this." He waved at himself.
: Look in the pack again. : Cas did so and found what looked like a white cloak and hood, along with more white clothes. They were all loose and would cover him up while still making him look normal. Cas looked over at Arian who looked entirely too smug.
"You had all this planned, didn't you?"
: Yes. :
"How did you know?"
: It was just a feeling when I felt my Call, so when they got me ready I made them pack all that as well. I didn't expect you to look like this, but I don't mind. You look cute. : The young man blushed but put the clothes on over his own without comment, adjusting them to make sure everything was covered. He pulled the hood low over his face and then let Arian inspect him.
: Okay, you're all covered. Now let's get going. : Cas nodded and leaped from the ground up onto the Arian's back much to the Companion's surprise. Arian looked back at him as he settled down into the saddle. : I guess I have to stop thinking in human abilities with you huh. What else can you do? : Cas shrugged.
"A lot. But I'm still figuring most of it out for myself." Arian shook his head at this and then took off across the grass. Cas molded himself to the Companion's back and together they went flying down the road. Nobody looked twice at the white horse and rider, although a few did wonder why the rider wore the hood up on such a beautiful day.
Soon they had passed another village, but Arian showed no signs of stopping.
"Aren't you getting tired?" he shouted over the rushing of the wind going past them.
: I would feel better seeing you safe in haven right now. : That was understandable and Cas didn't complain. He just hoped he would be safe at Haven.
Soon they had topped a small hill and there, Arian slowed down and finally paused for a moment.
: There it is. : Cas looked down at the city and his eyes widened. It was huge! Almost as big as..
No! He wouldn't think of 'that' place ever again. He shook his head as a vision of another, darker place tried to cover up the sight before him.
Arian's ears flicked back in concern.
: Are you alright? :
"Yeah, just a little surprised by the size that's all." Arian nodded and then started down the hill at an easy pace. Once they had passed the first set of gates Cas pulled the hood closer down to his face. So many people so close to him made him nervous and now he was behind walls with them.
It took them a long time to get to the inner walls of the Palace, but finally they made it and Arian headed over to a smaller gate built in the huge wall. A young man in a dark blue uniform smiled at them as they approached.
"Ah! Welcome back Arian and you are?" Cas looked down at the man in some confusion. How did he know Arian's name?
: They keep track of all the Heralds and Companion's going out and in, for safety reasons. :
'Makes sense.'
"Casimir." He told the guard who nodded and wrote something down in a book.
"Welcome to Haven, Casimir." Cas nodded at the man and then Arian brought them through the wall and out into the courtyard beyond. As people approached them Cas brought the hood closer to his face. These people were Heralds and they smiled when they neared him.
"So Arian, you finally Chose, but I think it's a bit early for him to be wearing whites." Arian just snorted and one of the men helped Cas of the Companion's back. "I guess we should go get you changed and then off to get something to eat." His heart jumped into his throat when the man led him away from Arian and towards the Palace. He looked back at his Companion helplessly.
: They won't hurt you, I promise. : Cas nodded and let himself be led inside and down hall after hall. His eyes scanned everything as they passed, but never looked at the people he passed. He didn't need them to see what he really looked like yet. Finally the man stopped in front of one of the many doors they had passed and opened it, motioning Cas to enter.
Inside were two other people. One was a young lady dressed in green and the other was a young man dressed in white. Both smiled as they entered.
"So this is our new trainee huh?" the lady in green smiled. "Hello there, do we get a name or can we guess?"
"Casimir."
"Nice name." The young man spoke up and then looked at the person who had brought him here. "Is this his first stop then?" the one behind him nodded.
"Yes, he just arrived now and I figured might as well get him cleaned up so he can eat, if that's all right with you?" they all looked at Cas who nodded. "Okay then lets get you out of these whites and into a uniform."
Before Cas could react the lady had grabbed his hood and pulled it off.
Silence.
Cas cringed at the looks of shock on their faces, and he was sure he saw a touch of fear.
'I knew this was a bad idea. Time to get out of here and quick, before fear turns to hate!'
He turned and pushed the man behind him away and took off through the door. He heard them quickly regain their senses and start after him.
"Wait! It's all right! We're not going to hurt you."
'Yeah right!' he didn't wait to hear any more just continued to run, but a bell had sounded and doors were opening all down the halls. Young men and women in gray and blue were piling out of them, laughing and talking to each other.
'Damn! I can't get through this!' he stopped and looked around the whole hall and finally noticed the windows that lined the hall had slight ledges built on top of them to hold drapes. They were extremely narrow and high up but he didn't see any other choice. By now the people had noticed him and he must have looked a sight, with the white robe and hood now off.
They all stood frozen, not sure what he was, but then Cas heard the sound of running behind him and leaped for the nearest window. At first he slipped, but sinking his claws into the wood he managed to pull himself up and gain his footing. With a body adapted for this kind of movement he leaped from window to window, high above the heads of the students and made his way quickly to the end of the hall.
He didn't pause there to see how his pursuers were doing though and continued on for the nearest door.
'This is just like before when people had seen me. Shock had turned to fear. Fear had turned to anger. Anger turned to hate and hate became pain. I won't let that happen again!'
He turned another corner but was stopped as he ran into something, or, looking up, someone.
His ears lay back against his head in fear as he stared up into the eyes of the Griffon towering above him. It stared back calmly, but as soon as he tried to move it pinned him with one clawed foot, not hurting him, but not letting him move either.
'I'm dead.'
He lay shivering as the people finally caught up to him and when the young lady knelt beside him and reached out to touch him he winced, expecting a blow.
"I told you, we are not going to hurt you and I meant it. Just relax." She reached out to me and touched one of my pointed ears and I flicked it in response. "What are you?" I shook my head, I didn't know either. She sighed and placed a cool hand on either side of my head. "For now, just sleep, you've been through enough."
I tried to protest but my mind drifted off into darkness and I was lost in a deep slumber.
A/N: So, anyone interested??