"I'm going in to town to get us some supplies. You should stay here."
"What? No way!" Prince Valdrigr shook his head, rejecting that idea immediately. "Hal, I'm coming too!"
But the wizard simply gave him a dry stare in return, as if he had already determined long ago that Val was to remain at their temporary campsite with positively no exceptions whatsoever, and began packing up his saddlebags for the long ride ahead.
"Hal? I am going with you, right? Surely you will let me come along?"
"And if I do not?" Hal inquired conversationally, placing a small change purse in the bag's side pocket along with a few other items. Val was a little bit indignant when he answered, but the focus of the older man never once shifted to him.
"Wh-what do you mean by that!?"
"Exactly what I asked. What will you do if I refuse to bring you with me?"
"You say that like you expect me to misbehave! I'm no child, Halvir!"
"Then you should prove it to me by being mature enough to understand why you're staying behind."
The sorcerer buckled the side pocket shut, and then moved on to fill the other one adjacent to it with one smooth motion. It took him hardly any time at all to do this with each pocket on both sides of the saddlebags; and he went about it with such an effortless efficiency that soon all eight pockets were rounded out and the bags ready to be strapped onto the horse. With a tap from the tip of his staff, each one magically floated up and levitated over to the clearing where Kiba was patiently awaiting his rider, lowering their weight gently onto his back. Kiba didn't react other than to casually flick his tail, like this was the most ordinary way in the world to prepare for a ride.
On any other day the prince would have marveled at the strange kind of normalcy that both the creature and his master seemed accustomed to in comparison to what people like himself considered to be truly 'normal'. But he was too upset at the moment to care about that. Instead Val growled silently at his lover's retreating back as he went over to do the final adjustments on the bag's strappings, so that only he could hear how frustrated he was becoming with that damn magician.
Ever since they had begun their journey together to break the curse of Ygg Veilund, Halvir had made trips to every shop in each town they passed through, saying flippantly that he would be back soon; only he would show up much later, at the darkest time of night with the moon hanging high in the sky. Even the stars seemed to be asleep when Val would finally hear Kiba's plodding footsteps cantering up to the camp. All the sorcerer would have on him to account for his lateness would be something odd, like a statue that could tell hidden truths to others, or a dragon's egg that was rumored only to hatch when it sensed a person's true selflessness. These things mattered little to Val compared to having Hal's presence near. He could sit there in the camp for the rest of the day with Rulca, Mars and Halrein for company and be utterly dejected the entire time. Not that the trio were poor friends to have around! They definitely did everything they could to lift his spirits; but during the evening, when everyone was silent and he was left with only his thoughts, it took a lot of mental strength to keep himself from succumbing to his loneliness before the wizard's return.
His entire being longed to have Hal beside him when he was away, and these past few months had been nothing but torture for the prince. Hal wouldn't even glance at him when he came to their bed anymore. He would walk up, press a small kiss to his cheek, then stride past him and collapse into bed exhaustedly. When Val recovered from the shock of his companion's lack of interest in him, he would creep up on the form of Hal spread out under the blankets and find the older man sound asleep every time, leaving the frustrated prince with nothing better to do than fall asleep beside him. He would have rather been alone than with Hal in those moments, so angry was he; but then he would think that even having Hal close in this way was enough for now. Maybe tomorrow he'll make time for us, Val would always reassure himself.
But lately he was becoming aware that the positivity that was so crucial in controlling the demonic presence inside him was failing. Val felt like the family pet, waiting eagerly for his master to come home and pay attention to him, and then all he would receive for his loyalty was a slight pat on the head. He was growing tense, on edge, and steadily more irate with his lover.
This cannot stand, he thought as he watched Hal, determinedly forcing himself not to admire, but instead to glower. Either I go with him this time, or he doesn't go at all!
"Hm... This is unexpected," the sorcerer mused to himself as he fingered a decent-sized tear in one of the saddlebag's pockets. All of the items he had carefully packed inside were strewn all over the ground around Kiba's feet. With a frown creasing his forehead, Hal reached up and took the defective bag off of the horse's back. "I suppose I'll just have to make do with one today."
He turned towards the camp, long strands of silver blowing into his face with the breeze. But before he could even think about swinging his leg forward, the prince had blocked his path confrontationally. Kiba's head rose to stare at the duo with mild curiosity. Then the fanged mouth returned to its grazing.
"What is the meaning of this? Get out of the way," Hal grunted, adjusting his grip on the saddlebag and blowing the wispy hair out of his eyes before making a move to step around Val. Why is he carrying it now? Was he too lazy to carry it earlier? The younger man set his jaw and effectively matched Hal's movements, barring the way to the camp with his arms tightly crossed. When it became clear that Val wasn't about to let him pass, Hal sighed with irritation and dropped the saddlebag beside him in the dust.
"What has gotten into you, Val?" he asked in annoyance, "Are you really that eager to starve? We need to replenish our supplies; it's been far too long since we've bought any. I won't be able to feed those hungry brutes over there unless I make it to the market!"
As he said this, he jabbed his thumb in the direction of their fellow travellers. Rulca, in his human form, huffed and looked insulted, turning his head away from the wizard contemptuously.
"Don't place me under that category Hal! I eat hardly anything as it is. If anybody here eats a lot, it would be Mars!"
At the mention of his name, Mars poked his head out from behind a bush innocently. His mouth and cheeks were stained with blue juice, and the bushes around him that had once been richly laden with berries were now bare.
"What? Come on, I don't eat that much!" he said, looking hurt.
"Then please do tell us what you're doing behind those berry bushes," Halrein retorted dryly, his stare equally as sardonic. "Surely you're collecting those berries so that we all may share in their bounty."
Mars laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head, smearing berry juice all over his hair and ponytail.
"O-oh, yeah... that probably would have been a good idea, since we're out of food and everybody is probably just as starving as I am..."
"So there aren't any berries left on any of those bushes?" Rulca asked in amazement, eyebrows raised. "I counted at least ten of them when we set up camp here yesterday, and their branches were brimming with berries!"
Mars grinned sheepishly in response and ducked back behind the bush. Halrein shook his head and shrugged resignedly.
"What did you expect? This is Mars we're talking about. He got thrown in jail for stealing a cow, killing it and eating the entire thing. I wouldn't be surprised if he ate all the leaves off of those bushes, too." His expression turned thoughtful as he brought a finger to his chin. "Still, it's amazing that one human being could eat so much in one sitting and not feel sick because of it. Maybe a powerful kind of magic is at work deep within his stomach... Hm. I wonder if he'd let me examine it...?"
Hal had been watching them with moderate distaste and now he turned his attention back to Val, who still looked stubbornly resolute as he stood there.
"Are you going to move out of my way, or am I going to have to move you myself?" the sorcerer asked impatiently.
"I'm not allowing you to leave unless you take me with you," Val stated firmly. Hal cocked an eyebrow at him, his stare flat. Val knew how much the man disliked being ordered around, but having none of Hal's love at night was wearing him thin, and he wasn't about to be left on his own tonight if he could help it.
"Of course, my lord; whatever your heart desires," he replied sarcastically, stooping down to pick up the saddlebag again. "How many times must I remind you...? I am no servant."
Val quickly reached for Hal's arm, grabbing him near the elbow, and their eyes met. The magician's were calm as the ocean, deep and vast, sucking him in without any effort at all. The world around them disappeared, and nothing else existed in that instant except for Hal and himself. Val wanted to lurch forward, to give his heart free reign to take what it so feverishly pleaded for. The anger of a second ago, the frustration, the pain, all of it was submerged in the rush of feeling that surfaced and engulfed his mind and soul. Halvir's looks were pure magic. An aphrodisiac from the cosmic plane.
Needless to say, it took the prince a moment to collect his thoughts. Eventually through the haze he remembered where he was and what he was trying to accomplish, and those dark feelings of loneliness and neglect welled up inside him with a vengeance. When he did finally speak his voice was strained so he lowered it, hoping their friends wouldn't hear him.
"Please Hal, please let me come with you! I swear to the gods that I won't be a nuisance! Can't I come with you this time...?"
But Halvir was already shaking his head.
"You must stay here. It's not safe for you to be in any town for too long, Val. You know that. I'll only be – "
"You always take such a long time to come back!" Val uttered urgently, his eyes flashing with anger. "What do you do when you go to town that makes you waste half a day? Is... is there someone else...?"
Hal's eyes widened in surprise and Val was relieved to see it. That had been one of his many worries as he laid in bed by himself, wondering what that damn wizard was doing and if he was alright.
"Of course not, that is an outlandish assumption!" he replied, and added on a sigh, "Do you always let your imagination wander so freely?"
"Then what is it? What could possibly take you so long to return to me," Val demanded, "and wear you out so much that you can't even spare me a kiss?"
Hal frowned and looked away for a moment. Val glared at him, and felt the demon stirring deep in his breast. That bastard was being so very selfish right now, and Val couldn't help but remember all those times when Hal had said that he was selfish. What a hypocrite, he thought; there is something he's doing in town that means more to him than I do... so now he ignores me! Even when they spent time together during the earlier part of the day, Hal still seemed distant and all he could talk about was his ever expanding collection of magical rarities. Was that what was placing the wall between them?
"Well? Answer me, Hal!"
The older man's cool eyes met his again, and this time they had the opposite effect. Val felt like slapping him hard repeatedly until those eyes were blazing with as much fury as he felt. He was always so reserved, so collected... It was infuriating sometimes, looking into that handsome face and questioning what Hal was really feeling on the inside. Gently the sorcerer removed the prince's hand from his arm and pried out the long black claws that had been digging into his skin. They hadn't been there a moment ago...
"My negotiations with the storekeepers over their valuables takes longer than I expect sometimes."
"When you finally get here, everyone else is sleeping and I'm lying here, unable to, because I'm worried about you! Damn it Hal, can't you stop thinking about those trinkets of yours long enough to care about how I feel?" Val snapped, his voice rising with his temper. "Would it really be so terrible to forget about collecting every single magical item in the world for one night?"
"First of all, they aren't merely items or 'trinkets' as you put it; they are relics that are often imbued with strong magical energy and are worth a great deal – not only to me, but to everyone else who happens upon them. This, by the way, is part of the reason why it's so hard to buy them off of their owners. Secondly, it's something of a hobby of mine to collect these artifacts, and hobbies take devotion to maintain. That means my time will be occasionally consumed by it; but that doesn't mean that I think any less of you, like you seem to think." Hal's stare bored into Val with an intensity that could only mean he was upset, though his tone gave nothing of the sort away. "And finally... you tell me to stop thinking of myself. Can't you stop thinking of yourself either, Valdrigr? I'm interested in these types of things, they are important to me, and I'm not willing to change that to conform to a prince's every whim. I've been doing everything possible to help you break your curse since the beginning, including pleasing you every single night, and because of that I haven't had any spare time at all to spend in town, adding to my collection. I haven't even been able to read any of the spell tomes I've come across yet. I'm not saying that I dislike being with you... but even sorcerers need to disengage themselves once in a while. Do you understand?"
"Hal, I..." Val started to plead. He was about to explain that the wizard had been 'disengaged' from him for a long while already, that he was bordering on committing blatant neglect. But Hal sighed and shook his head, aiming a pointed stare at him that froze his words fast to his tongue.
"I don't try to take away the things that you love, do I?"
Yes you do, Val thought with a sudden wave of irate sadness. You do, Hal. You're taking yourself away from me, your body, your kiss, your love... You and my little brother are the only things that I love. What will I do if I lose both of you...?
Rulca was a good friend, Mars and Halrein too, but the feelings he held for them paled in comparison to what he had locked away in his heart for Hal. Was it selfish of him to want Hal every night? Yes... it sounded like something a spoiled prince would do, but he couldn't help it. He needed that man; he needed him in the worst of ways, physically and mentally. If any other way to satisfy his demanding hunger had existed, he would have jumped at the chance to use that opportunity. He knew that he had been the one to saddle Halvir with the responsibility of exorcising him, and he wanted to lessen the burden in whatever ways he could.
But that was just it – there were no other ways.
That annoying sorcerer was the only thing grounding Val, keeping him sane, and he would fight through an army of demons with nothing but his fists if it meant that his one love wouldn't slip further away from him. He didn't need to make love every single night, he could be flexible. But three months of ignorance was intolerable! Could he make Hal see this? It didn't seem like he realized that it had been three months or more since they had last lain together...
"Hal..." Val whispered, his voice quavering. Both men rose to their full height, and the prince trembled as Halvir looked down at him with an irked frown. Val closed his eyes and swallowed. Summoning all of the courage inside of him, he spoke quietly from his heart. "I don't want to stifle the things that make you who you are... The last thing I want is to change you into someone else, or take command of you. As much as I hate it, I'll wait here for your return; but at the risk of sounding selfish once more... all I ask is that you come back soon. Promise me you will. For three months I've gone without your touch, and I've borne it with as much patience as I can muster, but... I..."
Val couldn't finish, and turned his back on Hal as he felt tears springing to his eyes. Crap, he couldn't cry in front of everyone! That was such an improper thing for a noble prince to do... He rubbed the tears out of his eyes, but more came to take their place as he stared at his arms. Black twisting tattoos were forming on his skin again and he gritted his teeth. He was in so much emotional turmoil over Hal that the demon was trying to emerge in his defence. Val took a deep breath, trying to still his wildly raging negative feelings, but he could sense the magician standing there behind him and his presence wasn't making it easy. He lowered his arms to his sides and clenched his fists hard enough to turn his knuckles white.
"Look, just go already Hal. I won't stop you."
More hot tears slipped down his cheeks, but Val didn't reach up to brush them away. He stood there rigidly, waiting for Hal to leave so that he could break down and sob in the solitude of the forest. His pride wouldn't allow anyone but Halvir to see his weakness. Even so, today he didn't want anyone to be around him when he cried - not even his lover.
The silence deepened between them, but Val didn't hear the sorcerer's footsteps trudging off towards his horse. Kiba was still peacefully nibbling on the same patch of grass, his uniquely clawed feet gripping the ground like a cat ready to pounce. His owner was nowhere near him. Val was seconds away from demanding what the hell Hal was still doing here when two slender arms came around him from behind, pulling him into a deep, gentle embrace.
"H-hey..." Val placed his hands on top of the skilled ones that knew the curves of his body so well. A sudden flush of warmth spread through his cheeks as he stood, remembering. "Hal, you haven't left yet? I already said..."
"I heard what you said."
Soft lips pressed passionately against the back of his neck, and Val shuddered. Tingling sensations travelled intensely along his spine, the feeling lingering in his bones for what felt like ages and branding his soul with its possessive imprint. Slowly his eyes slid shut.
"Hal..." he muttered, biting his lip to keep from making any spontaneous noise. Fangs tore into the soft skin and a tiny droplet of blood oozed out, but he didn't feel it. "What... w-what are you...?"
"These lips," Hal muttered against the prince's skin, "will make you a promise, here and now."
"A... a promise...?"
Hal moved his mouth sensually along Val's neck as he turned him round in his arms, sucking particularly hard in one sensitive spot at the base of his throat. Val groaned as his breath escaped his parted lips in short bursts.
"Yes, a promise of the utmost significance. I promise on my life, Valdrigr, that I will return early today. Nothing will stop me from walking straight into your arms and giving you what you so desperately want..."
Hands that had been clenched together around the youth's middle gradually began their descent underneath the waistline of his pants, pausing to caress his upper thighs near his manhood. It sprung to attention expectantly, awaiting the sorcerer's exquisite touch, and he growled when those magical hands didn't move any lower.
"I want it now!" he said fiercely, digging his claws into his lover's shoulders. "You can't seriously assume that I'll wait here tolerantly all damn day after what you just did!"
Hal's face, which rarely showed any humor, held a bit of amusement as he removed his hands from the demonic prince's body and pried his deathly grip away from him. Val moaned wretchedly from the loss of contact and frowned as the other man chuckled at his reaction.
"I'm afraid you will have to wait, at least for a little while," Hal answered, patting Val's cheek sympathetically. "If I don't leave soon, all of the shops will be closed before I can get us anything."
"Well, you didn't have to go and arouse me like that if you weren't intending to finish the job..." he grumbled, crossing his arms and turning his head away from Hal sulkily. The sunlight filtered through the leaves on the branches of the surrounding trees, casting a speckled light on the contours of Valdrigr's face and accentuating his pout cutely. He was completely unaware of just how gorgeous an appearance he had, and just how magnificent of a body he was graced with. His lean muscles rippled under his flawless skin with each movement. Then those eyes, those brilliant blue eyes, cast a sidelong glance at the wizard and in their depths swam so much love, yearning, lust...
Was such beauty an inherited trait of his bloodline? If so, centuries of perfect breeding had created the handsomest, no, the absolute sexiest young man in all of existence.
Hal reached out on impulse and grabbed his lover's chin, turning his face to him and bringing it closer. Their lips were only a short distance apart, such a teasingly short distance.
"Who said that I wasn't going to finish the job...?" Hal asked, leaning in fractionally. Val watched him draw closer through half lidded eyes, his breath catching in his throat. When next he spoke, their lips scarcely touched. "I don't leave any job unfinished... I would never receive the spoils if I did."
"Hal..." the prince muttered, his tone rigid from the presence of an unimaginable amount of restraint, "you're burning daylight. It's time to go."
The sorcerer nearly pulled that smouldering body closer, almost said to hell with supplies; that starving those barbaric 'friends' of theirs would cause less harm than good... But the noble Prince Valdrigr was right. And he had, after all, made a solemn promise that would most certainly be fulfilled upon his return. So, careful to mask his sigh of disappointment, Hal brushed his fingers gently across his lover's cheek before pulling back and once again reaching for the old saddlebag.
This time Val stooped down to help; and although the sudden burst of reassurance that had blossomed in him was acting like a powerful sedative on the persistent negativity of his thoughts, he couldn't quite stop himself from thinking that this outcome he had settled for would become the big, pain-ridden episode that he was expecting - and simultaneously dreading. Since he had failed to convince the magician to let him tag along (if only he had the ability to read Halvir's thoughts!), tonight he could be faced with consequential emotions that he hadn't ever wanted to feel again. It was hard to be completely pessimistic however when Hal had made his pledge sound so attainable – and even more agreeable. The slight smile on the older man's face proved just how confidently he felt about the matter. Halvir never smiled unless he had a good reason to.
"I suppose that you are right, Val. I've disregarded certain... problems... for longer than was necessary. That isn't fair, neither to you nor to me," he admitted as he swung his lengthy frame into the saddle and took up the reins, "but I'll be there and back so quickly that you'll hardly notice my absence, trust me."
"Are you sure about that? How can I take what you said fully to heart after enduring three months of total avoidance? You didn't even realize you were avoiding me until I pointed it out to you!"
Hal turned Kiba around with a quick jerk of the reins that made the beast rear up with a whinny, flashing another heartening smile that made Val's insides flop. The horse snorted loudly, chomping at the bit and tossing his head, eagerly awaiting the race to come. The sorcerer shouted over his shoulder before he spurred Kiba on, "Like I said, you just have to trust me! I will be right back! I promise!"
"You had better be..." the prince grumbled, a worried frown creasing his brows. In a matter of minutes Halvir's receding outline had dissolved into the pastel blue of the horizon, dragging all of Valdrigr's newfound hope in the dirt behind him.
Val sighed heavily, resting his chin on his fist as he sat by the crackling fire. That stupid sorcerer sure didn't know how to tell time. He doesn't know how to keep his promises either, he thought bitterly, remembering what Hal had said earlier that morning. It didn't matter that he had given his word to return before nightfall, or that Val had been sitting here impatiently all day long. His arousal hadn't dimmed over the time since Hal had left, and he was starting to get antsy. He looked up at the small half circle of the sun as it descended lower and lower behind the mountains. His heart seemed to be sinking along with it, and he stared down at his feet miserably. He had promised, hadn't he? So why... why wasn't he here yet? It would be dark soon; he could already see the first twinkling of stars overhead.
"You'll hardly notice my absence..." he repeated, and then scoffed. "I can't believe I let him feed me those lies! Maybe there was honor in his words until he caught sight of some mystical junk that means nothing to anyone but him... I am such a fool for believing he would return at a decent hour. I am even more the fool for letting him go alone without taking someone to distract him from his superfluous pastime, to remind him of the oath he gave to me. I should have sent Rulca with him; even Mars would have sufficed, but no... I had to let his roaming touch sidetrack me to the point of stupidity!"
Val had thought that he could live with this side of Hal – the obsessive collector that, once his attention had been caught by something rare, pursued his interests with the unwavering stamina of someone truly self-absorbed and then promptly forgot all else. Over the time they'd spent traipsing about the countryside, he should have been at least somewhat used to Hal's irritating ways by now. But no matter how accepting he was of the magician's peculiar personality quirks, it couldn't stop the stirrings of despair in his heart. Once he had been so dedicated to breaking the curse and saving Val, and now it seemed like all of his concentration had been drawn to other things that mattered much less, but was that just his princely selfishness taking hold again? That stupid wizard had told him that his hobby wasn't going to interfere with their relationship, at least not much, but could Val truly believe that? Could he actually put any faith in that man's promises, especially once he came across some fancy relic that had caught his eye?
He frowned, reached for a nearby stick, and poked the charcoaled logs in the fire. They rolled around in the ashes, producing clouds of sparks that crackled to life and sprayed into the sky. He watched them rise as a rapidly spreading unease settled in his soul.
He wanted to believe in him. He needed to believe in him. Val was growing so desperate that he was doing everything in his power to convince himself that his lover would be back any minute. It was kind of late but it wasn't so late that he'd be forced to assume that Hal was blowing him off; and it was true that when Halvir made promises he didn't usually make light of them, right? Besides, this promise was 'of the utmost importance'. Maybe he's finally begun to desire me again! The prince's eyes slowly slid shut as he began to imagine Hal moving like the wind, silver hair flowing like a flag behind him as he ran straight into the awaiting arms of his beloved and...
Suddenly something terrifying pushed its way into his mind, something that gave Val reflexive shudders and quickened his pulse. What... what if he was in trouble? What if Hal was being ambushed right now while Val sat here having mixed feelings and nobody was there to rush to his aid? He took in a sharp breath as panic stabbed at his heart. What if Hal was dying!? Maybe he had been on his way to the camp this very second and then monsters came upon him! If he died, it would be because Val had asked him to come back early. If he dies tonight... it's completely my fault... Tears threatened again, but Val held them back with sheer force of will. No... No, calm yourself. Just think rationally. His imagination was running off again, he was sure of it. Hal wasn't a simple traveller – he was one of the most powerful magicians that existed in the world. Even the elderly wizards of Serusadel, the great ones who had taken Hal in and raised him as a child, were afraid of his might. There was no way he'd let himself get caught in such a poor situation... just breathe...
"Val...?" Rulca muttered, stirring sleepily from where he lay beside the prince. One eye popped open a little reluctantly, and he stretched his paws with a yawn. "You okay...? I thought I heard something..."
Val let out a shaky breath and forced a smile onto his face. Everyone had turned in early tonight, and he didn't want to wake them with his premature fears.
"Yeah, I'm okay," he said, reaching out to pet the bunny's ears softly. "Don't worry about me, you go back to sleep."
The mystical beast didn't seem convinced, but he was too tired to argue. Slowly his eye slid shut, his breathing evening out until the peaceful quiet of the night air surrounded them anew. Val let out a sigh as he stared at his hand. It still looked normal, and he was thankful that he had managed to control himself enough to prevent the demon from coming out. He let his hand linger on the rabbit's soft ears for a while as his thoughts whirled around his mind like a taunting carousel. This always happened when Hal was gone. He would get to thinking, and then crazy ideas and scary circumstances would pop into his mind before he could get a hold of himself. He became a basket case every time that bastard left him alone, but he couldn't help it. Hal tells me that I worry too much, but... I can't stop myself from doing it. It's not so easy when you're sitting here alone and the one you love is miles away... and I have no way to get to him in time if he's hurt...
The prince hastily cut his thoughts short and stopped breathing for a moment. He had heard something unusual, so he closed his eyes and listened intently. For a long minute there was nothing but the symphony of nature playing against his ears. The wind had abruptly picked up, rustling through the trees, shaking the leaves and making it hard for his ears to pick up any sort of sound. He sat as still as stone, and once the wind died down a little he heard it again: some kind of howl. But it didn't sound like any wolf that Val had ever encountered before... Rulca had heard something a second ago, was this it? Shortly after that he heard a cry. His eyes snapped open, his face stricken.
No... I-it can't be... Hal...!?
A horse whinnied irately, and he could hear the heavy thud of it slamming its front legs down onto something. Repeatedly it struck, making something howl with pain from each stomp. Could Kiba be crushing the life out of something? Val rose to his feet and turned in the direction of the noises. He couldn't see anything through the deep darkness of the forest; yet he knew that if he was hearing everything this clearly that they couldn't be too far off. Rulca rolled onto his side and his ears twitched slightly. The racket coming from the woods was most likely what had disturbed his sleep before, but this time he didn't wake. Val had taken two anxious steps towards the din when he heard another cry, weaker than before.
"Hey! Is anybody listening!? Val!"
Ice ran through his veins when he heard the urgency in Hal's voice. It really was Hal... and he really was in danger...
Val gritted his teeth, snatching up Ygg Veilund from where it leaned against a stump, and rushed out into the shadows. How could he have been so careless!? Hal was always the cautious one, chiding Val whenever he did anything too irresponsible. But... maybe he had been distracted by other thoughts, caught off guard...
"Don't worry Hal, I'm coming!" Val shouted, trying to keep his voice steady and confident, "Just hold on!"
Hal didn't reply, and Val pulled the sword out of its sheath to slice through clingy branches and thick shrubbery while he ran. This part of the forest was quite dense, but Val was in such an intensely focused state of mind that even the trees that clustered in his path fell to Ygg Veilund. After a while his pace slowed down, his wildly swinging sword arm grew sluggish and his lungs felt as if they were on the verge of collapsing, yet still he ploughed onward. No amount of exhaustion was going to prevent him from rescuing the sorcerer from whatever peril he was in. He took a shallow, wheezing breath, raised his eyes to look further on for any indication that he was going the right way, and saw Kiba's nostrils flaring heatedly through the gaps between the trees.
I'm almost there... Just a few more feet...
He was panting hard when he finally burst into the clearing and saw Kiba towering over a bloody mass of limbs. He tiredly ran up to the body and glanced at it. Whatever it used to be, it was long dead and unrecognizable. Kiba had mashed the creature into a meaty pulp in order to save his master, and Val couldn't have been more pleased to see such a sight.
"Good job, Kiba," he said softly, out of breath as he patted the horse's flank. Kiba snorted and clawed at the earth nervously. Something was wrong... where was Hal?
He felt the sudden wave of relief quickly giving way to a more sinister feeling as he stepped to one side, knelt and examined the dead body more closely. The aura here was so dark, so full of death... surely it was only coming from the creature that Kiba had killed...? Judging from where it lay now, it couldn't have had a decent opening to attack Hal. Then... where was he?
"Hal...?" he called into the muggy, stagnant air, rising and casting a fleeting look at the empty saddle before returning his sword to its sheath. His pace sped up worriedly, all traces of weariness erased from his limbs as he literally sprinted around the horse. "Hal, where are you!?"
When Val reached the other side, he could feel his heart grind to an excruciating halt.
The tall, elegantly thin form of Halvir was sprawled out on the ground, his limbs flung asunder. He must have been forcefully bucked from Kiba's back when the horse panicked. His staff lay beside him and his silver hair spread across the ground in a shimmering blanket, cloaking his slender shoulders in its pearlescent glory. Claw marks stretched in various shapes and sizes along Hal's bare skin, and there were large tears in his clothes from where this monster had attacked when he lay vulnerable. So that damnable monster had gotten a hold of the wizard after all – or maybe those marks were the handiwork of a larger group. It was then Val noticed the massive rock, perched beside the older man's head like a grisly vulture, and saw the reddish smear painted across it, wet and dripping; near the base of his skull, the silvery threads had become tarnished with the presence of fresh blood. The pool of crimson around him sickened the prince. He shook his head swiftly, not wanting to believe his fears had become reality.
"No... Hal... Hal!" he cried, dashing over to him and throwing himself down onto his knees beside the sorcerer. He lifted Hal's torso into his lap, cradling his face delicately in his hands. "Hal... Halvir! Speak to me! Say something, anything!"
Val's eyes ran over him in wild alarm, watching like a hawk for any movement, but Hal seemed barely alive. The magician didn't move, didn't speak; the rise and fall of his chest was undetectable. His eyes remained closed off to the surrounding world, rendering him completely unconscious. Val let out a grief-stricken howl, bowing his head over his lover, his hands trembling as he smoothed back the bangs and took in the sight of Hal's pale, lifeless face – a picture he had prayed endlessly never to see again. He could feel the demon attempting to merge with his aching soul as it raged on like a dark tornado inside his heart, feeding on his vile emotions, trapping his entire being within its churning currents and swelling, growing big enough to burst forth from his chest. His body shook violently from the overwhelming force of it.
"Hal, I was too late... I... I couldn't protect you..."
The prince clenched his teeth as tears he was fighting to stop poured relentlessly out of him. Nothing less than a miracle could stop the deluge of anguish that frothed and foamed against the walls of his innermost core. Hal, that eccentric wizard who had loved him through every kind of hardship, was comatose and might never awaken again. He sobbed loudly, burying his face in the wizard's chest and hugging his limp body close. Val was too devastated to register that his lover's blood was smeared all over his hands, his clothes, and now his face. He didn't even notice the black stripes washing over his body, the claws extending, his fangs growing sharper. Soon, too soon, he would lose all control over his own sanity.
"I can't survive without you Hal... I... I'd rather die here with you than go on by myself!" he rasped, grasping the sides of Hal's face urgently. "If you're dying... if you aren't going to keep your promise to me, then I'm going to make sure that I die alongside you!"
With his one hand still resting on Hal's cheek, the other tugged Ygg Veilund free from its sheath with swift precision and aimed the pointed tip directly at his own heart. Val took one final look at the tranquil features of his partner, committing every single crease in his face to memory, and silently squeezed his eyes shut. Two large drops rolled down his cheeks as he accepted the firm pressure against his skin, and he could have sworn he heard the immobile body in his lap take a sharp breath as he pushed the sword point further into his skin. The cold metal drew blood and brought with it a bitter sting that Val embraced willingly. Just one shove, and then the nightmare would be over. The demon would have to find itself a new host, and he would be free to find Hal in the next life. They could spend eternity together without worries or fears, the perfect ending to a twisted tale.
His fingers tightened around the hilt of Ygg Veilund as the demon objected the action, trying in its subtle way to convince the prince to loosen his grip on the cursed weapon, to forestall his imminent death. Val gritted his teeth, his knuckles whitening as he struggled to keep his hand steady.
"You can't stop me from doing it. No matter how badly you want to remain inside me, my desire to be with Halvir is stronger!" he muttered under his breath to himself, to the demon that his body housed. "This is where the journey ends for him... and I am truly ready to follow..."
He flexed the muscles in his arm, steeling his mind against the protests of the beast within as he moved to spear his heart and release himself from the misery of a life without Hal. Suddenly, the hilt was ripped from his hand. Vaguely he heard the metal of the blade collide with a rock somewhere behind him, but that detail was unimportant. His eyes shot open, widening in complete shock as he stared down at Hal, who only a second ago had appeared to be knocking on death's door.
"H-Hal... you... you're not...?"
The rest of the words died on his lips when he saw the look he was receiving.
"I swear I've never seen such idiocy in my entire life..." the older man said, clouting Val across the head with a powerfully clenched fist. "The next time you decide to kill yourself, you'd better make damn sure that I'm dead first!"
Val's face was a portrait of sheer emotion as he massaged the throbbing spot on his head. Hal... he isn't leaving me... h-he's really okay... It was almost unbelievable to be thinking those words after he had seen the life draining from the wizard's body. He had lost so much blood, and where he had hit his head on that rock... How could he even be here right now? It wasn't his fault that he had taken Hal for dead! Certainly he had looked the part for this whole escapade, not even bothering to do anything to show Val that he was still alive. He fixed a potent glare on the sorcerer, but he couldn't maintain the façade for long; the tears just wouldn't stop, even though there was no need for them.
"Don't even start with me, you bastard!" the prince shouted, gripping his lover's face and kissing him hard. When he pulled back he was shaking from the amount of emotion overflowing in his heart. His hands never left Hal's face, not for an instant, holding him close as if they were finally being reunited after a long absence. "You scared me half to death! All this time I... I-I thought..."
I thought you were gone forever... There was no way he could finish that sentence out loud, but Hal's compassionate stare showed his understanding. He sighed and reached both hands up to cup Val's cheeks soothingly. The stubborn youth tried to turn away, but Hal held him fast and forced him to look him in the eyes. The two of them sat there holding each other, their foreheads touching and eyes probing deep into the depths of their souls, communicating their love in a way that words could never express. Gradually Hall took a deep breath, letting his thumbs lazily caress Val's face, and shook his head in disbelief.
"Honestly Val... your constant worrying is causing you undue pain, you know that? Do you expect me to die from a simple smack on the head? Me?"
"You were bleeding all over the place!" Val snapped, his fangs gleaming in the pale moonlight. "Kiba was standing over a monster that he had beaten into oblivion, and you were unresponsive when I came to your side! What the hell else was I supposed to think!?"
"What did I tell you earlier today? I made a promise to you, Val. Nothing will keep me from you."
"Then why... why did you call for my help? If you had the situation under control, why demand my presence immediately?"
"I needed you to hurry and calm Kiba down before he ran off after the rest of those curs that scared him."
Hal had said this with the same amount of composure as usual, which in turn made Val glare venomously back at him. Could he never show anything more than tranquil certainty? Of course not, because Halvir was a brilliant wizard who could do no wrong. He always knew best. He never cracked under pressure; never let his emotions take hold of him. Plus, if that wasn't bad enough, he ended up using other people's emotions to further his own plans. They never even suspected that they were being used in the first place! The prince's annoyance turned to blazing fury as Hal's impassive, irreproachable expression implied that he had done nothing wrong all this time. The silence stretched on longer than necessary, forcing everyone present to feel the powerful tension in the air. Kiba snorted and shook his mane worriedly.
"That was why you called me?" Val muttered with a dreadfully calm edge to his voice. His hands slid from the sorcerer's face to his shoulders and gripped them mercilessly tight. "You put fear into my very being and nearly made me take my life... just so I could care for your horse?"
"Now let's not overreact, Valdrigr," Hal retorted with a disapproving frown. "I had no hand in making you take your life. That was entirely your decision, and a poor one at that."
Val tried to pull away from him, but the older man still held onto his face firmly. The prince snarled angrily, his demonic side becoming more and more visible as he spoke.
"You called to me knowing I would be fretting like a mother hen over you, and even worse you let me believe you were dying so that I would pick up the pace! Damn it, you of all people should know how I feel about being used like that! I could rip your throat out here and now for all the anguish you've caused me!"
"You wouldn't." Hal's stare was even, and Val saw some of his own stubbornness mirrored in the wizard's eyes. If he were feeling anything but rage, he might have been touched to see it.
"If you don't let go of me this instant, we'll soon find out!" Val snapped, and before he could prove Hal otherwise, the magician was kissing him.
Dawn crested the hill with a slow lethargy, bathing all three of the dozing companions in a dull orange glow. The trees stood immobile in the waking light. Not a creature stirred, not a breeze blew. The only sound to be heard for miles in either direction was the quiet babbling of a nearby brook. Everything in the wilderness was holding its breath, plants and animals alike, awaiting the coming of the morning and with it the energy needed to endure another day.
It was this peaceful portrait that Rulca gazed upon as his eyes languidly opened. He took in the scenery while he allowed his body to bask in the pristine warmth of the sun, giving himself a rare moment to feel refreshed; to feel like, for once in this life, all was well. There hadn't been many times when he had felt like that. It was easy to remember all of the negative things – all of the deaths, destruction, misery... Those were traumatic events and they stood out above everything else, no matter how much you tried to tuck it away and forget. Rulca would never forget his first master, the one who had died at the shrine. It was a lonely and unforgiving period in his life, and for the first time he had wished that he could die. Anything was better than living alone for so many years in an abandoned building, watching helplessly as his master's body rotted away into nothing but a pile of bones. Of course he had struggled through it, surviving for as long as possible. It was not so easy to kill a mythical beast such as he was. He could never bring himself to commit suicide, just as he couldn't wipe those memories from his mind, not with the most powerful magic or the strongest potions. Those pages in his past were permanent, and they had helped to change him into what he was now.
But that didn't mean that everything he had seen was all doom and gloom. His new master, Val, was wonderful. He was kind, thoughtful, generous and loyal. He treated Rulca like a treasured friend more than a magical beast, which was something that the rabbit cherished above all else. He couldn't have picked a better master if he had been given a choice. It didn't even matter to him that Valdrigr wasn't a wizard - gaining a true friend was more important than that. And since that day when they had become acquainted, Rulca had promised himself that he would try to look on the positive side as often as he could. He had never looked back – not until just now, in fact. He smiled, and mentally added this sunrise to his list of perfect moments. It was good to keep track of things like that, especially when he was facing such nasty monsters day in and day out.
Speaking of nasty monsters... He stretched his paws out in front of him, curling his back into a low arch, then straightened out. He turned his head towards the others. Halrein and Mars were sleeping in their cots, snoring heavily; but Hal's bed was still empty. Where was that rude wizard, anyway? Hadn't he told them he was going to come by early last night? The prince's bed was also disturbingly empty, and Rulca frowned with anxiety. He had sensed the worry in him yesterday when he had woken up in the middle of the night. Val had tried to reassure him, told him to go back to sleep, and he had. But... something still hadn't been right. What had startled him out of his sleep? He had heard something, or thought he had heard something, but what... what was it?
"Halrein, Mars, wake up!" Rulca floated over to each of their sides and shook them gently in turn, his whisperings buzzing insistently in their ears. "Hal's still not here, and Val's gone too! I'm worried... we should go look for them, don't you think?"
Both of the companions stirred, groaning and waving him off sleepily before rolling onto their other side. Neither of them appeared to be eager to go and join Rulca on his search, so the rabbit huffily turned his back on them and started off in the direction of the woods. If no one else cared enough to wake up and help him look for their friends, then he would go find them himself.
"Lazy good-for-nothings," Rulca muttered bitterly to himself, "I guess it's all up to me again..."
But before he got even two whiskers into the forest, he heard voices murmuring quietly amongst themselves – and they were coming this way. He stopped and perked up his long, floppy ears, doing his best to listen attentively to what was being said.
"Everyone is going to be suspicious, Hal. They're going to wonder about where we both were last night." It was Val! Thank goodness he was okay, but he sounded truly exhausted. Hal apparently was with him too. That was a good thing - the stupid wizard had probably protected him from all manner of monsters - but it still didn't explain what they had been doing all night long. "We should get our story straight before we get too close to the camp. So I was thinking – "
"No stories, Val. We tell them the truth. It's that simple."
Yep, that was the deep, self-assured voice of Halvir all right. Nobody else in the world holds themselves in such high regard as that guy does... Rulca rolled his eyes at the thought as the conversation continued to heat up.
"What? You can't be serious!"
"Val, if there's one thing about me you should know it's that I'm always serious."
"Yeah well, so am I! I'm absolutely not going to tell them what happened between us last night! There's no way you can make me say it!"
"Fine, I won't make you say it. I'll tell them myself."
"ARGH!"
The little rabbit's curiosity was piqued. Something happened between those two last night, eh? Of course he could never ask them outright; Val would deny that anything had ever happened, and Hal would threaten to cook him on a spit if he ever asked the question again. They would never tell him the particulars. The only thing he could do to satisfy his hunger for the truth was to keep listening in and hope that one of them might divulge the information he wanted. They were starting to come into view now, and Rulca whipped his head around, searching anxiously for a place to hide before anyone saw him. There was nothing but trees surrounding the campsite, so he scooted behind a particularly thick trunk and poked his little beady eye out from behind it. Now he could see Val's face, and his arms were crossed, his cheeks flushed as he stared at the ground.
"Look Val, either you tell them or I do. I honestly care not which. No matter what, the truth will be revealed."
"No way, I-I can't tell them the truth! I mean, how could I possibly explain what you... what we... It's just too awkward!"
"Really?" the sorcerer drawled, and Rulca saw his long arm slide around the prince's waist, making him blush even worse. But he didn't push Hal's arm away. "It sure didn't feel awkward when we were in the heat of the moment."
"It's awkward talking about it, Hal!" Val exclaimed loudly, burying his face in his hands. Rulca cocked his head confusedly for a moment. Then his face began to burn as the many possible, and occasionally improper, meanings of the statement flashed through his mind unbidden, accompanied by images which the rabbit wished he had never tried to imagine. "That's what I meant! How could I possibly keep a straight face when telling our friends about... you know?"
"It really isn't as hard as you make it out to be."
Val pulled his hands away and glared potently at his partner, the voluminously spreading redness coating his entire face.
"Of course you would think so! Hal, aren't you even the least bit worried about what others will think of this relationship we share, or what others will think of us?"
"No, and this is why." Hal gently pulled Val closer against him as they walked, allowing him to pillow his head on his shoulder. Rulca saw how Val visibly relaxed in the wizard's arms, and watched as the barest traces of a smile drifted across his features while the former kept talking. "I love you more than anything on this earth, and I am not ashamed of it. In fact, I am rather proud of my fondness towards you. Whenever I hold you in my arms, I want to climb to the highest peak of the tallest mountain and shout to the world my love for you because I know you are mine alone, that no other being in this life could replace you in my heart. People might not approve, and they might even be disgusted by it; but all that matters to me is what you think of me, and of us. No one else's opinion factors into it."
Hal smiled then, a sincerely adoring smile that Rulca had never seen before, making his countenance look even more handsome with the effort. He glanced down at the young man nuzzled against his neck, seeing the tenderness there, and his smile deepened even more.
"So... tell me, are you ashamed of loving me?"
"Of course not... Accepting my feelings for you was the best choice I've ever made."
"And why is that?"
Val was silent for a moment, thinking of the proper words to answer him. His eyes narrowed for a while, and then his arms slowly slipped around Hal's waist and embraced him as their eyes met.
"Now I know that I am never alone..." he replied with the sweetest smile. "You will always be there for me to count on Hal, even though you occasionally piss me off and get on my nerves. In the end, deep in my heart I know you will stand by my side for as long as I need you... as long as I want you..."
"Is that so?"
"Yeah..."
"Hm."
"Just so you know, I mean to have you by my side forever," Val added with a grin. Hal grinned back, releasing his grip on the youth and fondly mussing his hair.
"I have the same intention as well. You won't get rid of me that easily."
"Good, it's a promise then," Val replied, and laughed heartily. It warmed Rulca's heart to see the love blossoming between the two, and even though he would have to keep this knowledge a secret from everyone – including them (especially them!) – he considered himself blessed to know. Love was a wonderfully magical thing, and it pleased him to see his master so effervescently happy in Hal's company. After the immeasurable tragedies that they had all been exposed to, Val deserved to feel good about at least one thing in his life. It was also good to know that at least one person could stand that man's arrogance and at the same time love him for it.
But even so, he couldn't bring himself to banish the regret of his quite healthy, active imaginings. Love was one thing, but he wasn't about to subject himself to hearing them both relate tales of sexual exploits. That would make all parties uncomfortable – well, all except for Hal apparently. Rulca had previously had no idea, until just now, how perverse his brain could actually be when confronted with such steamy allusions.
That's what happens sometimes when you listen in on conversations that aren't supposed to involve you...
Rulca could hear them slowly getting closer and closer, and he panicked a little. There was really nowhere for him to safely hide and continue to eavesdrop on them, and he knew that he shouldn't be eavesdropping on them at all, but...
"So should you tell them or should I?" Hal asked at length as they approached the edge of the woods. Val's gaze darted over to him alarmingly.
"What?"
Right at that instant the duo emerged into the camp, and Rulca chose that moment to come out and greet them, acting like he hadn't heard a single thing. It was more challenging than he had thought it would be, since he could see in his mind's eye both the prince and the magician's faces contorted in the most pleasurable of agonies as he endeavored to speak to them with unaffected civility.
"Hey you two, there you are! Uh... I was wondering where you went off to! I woke up this morning and... neither of you were in your beds. I was real worried, you know... Were you gone, ahem, all night...?"
Val opened and closed his mouth a few times, all excuses being lost on him, so Hal came to his rescue.
"There's no need to worry about where we were or what we were doing," Hal replied easily as he brushed past the bunny. "Val was in danger, and I protected him."
"Right... yes, okay... Forgive me for not putting too much stock in the words you spit forth, wizard."
Hal wasn't affected by the statement in the least. Instead of coming up with some sort of retort to counterbalance the rabbit's insolence, his gaze lingered on Val for what felt like an eternity and the prince's face burned from the sudden attention.
"By the way Val..." he added, a sly grin gracing his handsome features, "make sure not to forget the kindness that I offered you, and I expect to have it paid back in triplicate someday very soon. Don't forget your promise now..."
Val could see in his eyes the deeper meaning of his words. His face grew even hotter as the wizard chuckled and walked back into the camp.
So that's the kind of truth you meant...
Rulca looked from Val to the long silvery hair swaying across Hal's back, and allowed feigned confusion to cloud his face.
"What does he mean, Val? What promise?"
Val simply sighed.