What Decisions Can Bring to Be
Okay. One of my best friends is Turtle Babe. She has been writing a great story about Chot. He too is my favorite elf and I've been dared by Turtle Babe to write a Chot story of my own. Challenge accepted!
This will be quite an alternative universe fic since I've brought back a character that many will be surprised by and there will probably be yaoi later in the story. Also, I made Dodia's son a tiny bit younger than what was represented in Barry Blair's "Fire Eyes" just as Turtle Babe did. She has given me permission for that part of my story being similar to her own.
I own nothing. Nothing.
Chapter One
There was a strange, yet familiar, scent on the air. In fact, there were two scents. The tribe stilled and found cover to figure out their next step. Dart stayed hidden before creeping over to his chief. His new tribe was in Cutter's lands for a brief visit and they were out on an extended hunt together away from the palace.
"Ember, do you smell it?" Dart whispered urgently as his chief remained silent, "Is that scent what I think it is?
"Yes. Elves. Two of them and coming this way fast," Ember finally spoke looking behind her, "Scouter?"
"I see them, but they are covered from head to foot with furs," Scouter described squinting in the distance, "I'd swear the two are Go-Backs judging from the cut of their furs and leathers. Both are carrying spears and have heavy packs on their backs. I don't think that they know we are here, but both are moving with caution."
"Do you think they are friendly?" Freetouch asked looking cautious and thrilled all at the same time.
"I don't know," Ember bit out, shaking her head, "I worry to find that they are not, but maybe the two need help. Elves do not usually react badly to other elves, but I am remembering Surge of the Wavedancers reaction to meeting my father. What do you think, Tier?"
"Ember, many elves had come my way before you and your tribe arrived on the plains," Tier admitted as his lifemate nodded, "All were friendly. What do you think? Do we risk approaching these elves?"
The whole tribe waited as Ember considered the figures in the distance that had become clearer to see with each of their steps.
"Let's see who they are," Ember finally agreed, "Tier, Dart, and Scouter, with me. The rest of you hang back and watch. Pool, keep an arrow notched in case the two are unfriendly. I only want anyone to come out once I howl, understood?"
"Aye," the tribe chorused together.
The chosen four loped off on their wolves in plain sight so that the strangers could see them coming. The two elves slowed their steps and readied their weapons as Ember led her Wolfriders forward.
"Who are you?" a rough, male voice demanded as Ember stepped from her wolf, "What is this? An attack?"
"I am Ember, Chieftess of my tribe of Wolfriders," Ember began staying still, "These are a few of my tribemates. We mean you no harm and just wanted to greet you so you knew we were here. Who are you strangers?"
"Go-Backs," the same voice bit out, "Wolfriders, you say? Long has it been since I've seen your tribe, Girl, but at that time it was led by another elf with hair the color of early morning sun."
"That would be my father," Ember admitted as the elf pulled down the fur across his face and removed his hat, "My father is Cutter the Kinseeker, Blood of Ten Chiefs. He has his tribe here and my tribe is only here on a visit."
Dart gasped at the older elf's features as he dismounted from his wolf to get a better view.
"Chot?" Dart whispered as the elf's head whipped in his direction.
"You! You speak my faunt's name," the elf bit out as he advanced, "Is my faunt with you? Is Chot here? Is he, Boy?"
"Um…no," Dart denied as the elf cursed and looked back to his companion in anger, "You're Chot's father?"
"He is," the other elf stated as he removed his fur and hat to reveal himself, "Hello, Wolfrider. Remember me?"
"Zey!?" Dart and Scouter said at the same time as Zey smirked for a moment.
Dart was at a loss. How was the Go-Back still alive? Dart dumped his body to be eaten by carrion birds himself long, long ago.
"Back-biting scavenger! You took my Shushen from me and so many others within the Sun Village!" Dart growled pulling his sword out, "Why are you here? How are you still alive? Kahvi killed you. Scouter and I watched you die."
Zey sighed and fixed Dart with an angry stare.
"I was mortally wounded, yes," Zey snapped pulling his shirt leathers aside to show the sword scar, "But you and your villagers overlooked one detail, I wasn't dead yet because Chot still lived and then you doomed me to a half-life for more years than I care to relate."
"What does that even mean?" Scouter demanded as Zey rolled his eyes.
"I don't give a fish-poking hoot about hearing a story," Chot's father snarled as Zey grew silent, "I greet you, Chieftess Ember, but I want to know your name, Boy. Who are you?"
Dart blinked when the older elf pointed at him while he put his sword away.
"I am called Dart. I am a Wolfrider who lived for many years within the Sun Village."
"I see," the Go-Back grunted as he walked forward while dropping his spear and pack to the ground, "The very Dart who led my faunt across the desert and sea?"
"Yes."
"The Dart who brought my faunt to what is called the forevergreen?" the Go-Back continued to question drawing closer as Dart nodded, holding his ground, before gasping as the elf grabbed his shirt and yanked him forward, ignoring the growls of the wolves around him as he snarled in the Wolfrider's face, "What the double-cursed, frost bitten, dull-bladed kind of a leader are you to leave one of your tribe behind? Where is my son, Dart? Where is my faunt?"
Dart scrabbled to get free as his band rushed forward to help. The elder Go-Back was strong and would not be pulled away. The Wolfriders were stunned when Zey came to help as well.
"Henrik, stop," Zey ordered, trying to pry the elf's hands off of Dart, "Not helping things here. Let him go. Henrik, stop this right now. Let Dart go. Let him go now before you get us eaten by wolves! That won't help us find Chot!"
"Pfaugh! Mucking troll scum!" Henrik roared releasing Dart as he stalked away in a rage, "Snow-brained good for nothing!"
Dart blinked as Henrik found a boulder to sit on and turned his back on everyone angrily. Every line of that build was Chot's including the wild mane upon this elf's head, pulled back with a thick band just like his son. It was almost like looking at Chot himself, but Henrik was wider across the chest and a bit taller than his cub.
"I apologize for Henrik," Zey offered as Dart glanced at him in surprise while the elf bent to retrieve his and his comrade's spears, "We've been looking for the faunt for a long time and Henrik is getting more and more frustrated. He wants his son. My comrade is very angry at you, Dart, and you deserve his ire."
"Um…okay," Dart huffed straightening his leathers, "Is that really Chot's sire and why are you still alive, Zey? Plus, why are you also calling Chot a faunt? Yun told me that Chot and she were older than you."
"My comrade is Henrik who is surely Chot's father to any who has working eyes. Chot and Yun slept in preservers' wrappings, as I've been told by Henrik ,while I was still basically kicking. I have lived more years than either of them now which makes me the elder," Zey chuckled before sobering and glaring at Dart angrily, "I survived because my life is tied to Chot's. Chot lived and thus, so did I. Know that I am just as angry with you as Henrik, but I have no right to my anger since I have also taken dear ones from you. I apologize for the pain I caused, but I thought you and the 'honorable' Sun Villagers looked out for all elves. Did you leave the faunt behind in that twice-cursed forevergreen just because he shares no wolf blood with you unlike Yun? Did you, Dart?"
"No!" Dart hissed before grunting as Ember grabbed him by the ear.
"I think we all need to talk," Ember bit out as Zey sized her up, "Let's hear your story so that Dart can tell his."
"Fine," Henrik spat as he stalked over and snatched his spear from Zey and jerked his pack back on his back, "I wish to hear more of Dart's story because none of this makes much sense to me. I want to know why he abandoned my son."
"I didn't abandon Chot," Dart denied before groaning as Ember twisted his ear.
"Come. We are on a hunt and have a temporary camp set up," Ember insisted as Zey and Henrik followed, "Tier, go ahead and alert the others that we are coming back with visitors. I am assuming that you two will not be a danger, correct?"
"Not to your tribe," Henrik sniffed, "Can't promise the same to the one called Dart. I will issue a challenge if I find my faunt was truly wronged by that elf as I think he was. That is the best promise I can give, Chieftess."
"Ember?" Tier asked as his lifemate scowled before nodding at him to go.
"Fair enough," Ember agreed releasing Dart's ear, "I trust you won't have to challenge. Dart is honorable and wouldn't abandon anyone under his command."
"Not what I heard," Zey whispered softly to Dart as the Wolfrider snarled.
Henrik and Zey were met with curious gazes with the exception of Dewshine, who glared angrily. She too remembered Zey and held him responsible for the suffering he brought to the Sun Village. Ember introduced her tribe before taking a seat with the two Go-Backs following.
"Who is to go first?" Ember asked as Henrik snarled his lip and looked away.
"I will," Henrik voiced as eyes turned to him, "My job for my tribe was as a long distance scout and I was one of the best. Then I was blessed with a faunt of my own after the war for the palace. As most already know, my faunt's name is Chot. My boy was too young to leave alone so I raised him for most of his early years and left the scouting to others for a while since his mother passed early. I was then called on and reluctantly left my faunt with Urda to see if I could track Kahvi for the tribe since times were growing worse between us and the trolls. My journey took me far and when I returned years and years later with no success, I discovered that Urda had been killed by a troll ambush and Zey had taken over as chief in her stead. I was also told of Zey's and Chot's attempt to get a piece of the High One's palace and how none had returned. My faunt is dear to me so I left my tribe to find my boy."
"He found me instead," Zey began as Dart sat up to hear this part clearly, "My body had been dumped by you and your Jackalriders far, far from the Sun Village with the rest of the Go-Back dead, Dart. Do you remember? I heard you curse my fellow Go-Backs, but know this, I regret my actions to this day. That is neither here nor there for this story. I was still alive and dragged myself to a cave to die in peace."
"How were you still alive?" Scouter pushed as Zey sighed, "What did you mean that you were alive because of Chot?"
"Stupid elves. Don't you know anything?" Henrik snapped as Zey rolled his eyes at the elder.
"Hush. Most do not know what you knew and taught me," Zey urged before turning back to the Wolfriders, "You have heard of recognition, but there is more to that than just making young. Henrik knew because he has memories from before even Kahvi. Chot and I had been close from the moment we met, but never did I know that we were bonded until I crawled into a cave to try and die. I couldn't and the agony was worse than anything I had dealt with. I couldn't heal properly. The pain was mind-numbing and I survived on snakes and lizards while the pain drove me slowly mad."
"He was stuck in half-life," Henrik sighed looking to Zey before slapping him hard in the side of the head as the younger squawked, "Serves you right for leading my faunt so sloppily. Kahvi had every right to defend her braids, Dung Head."
Dart looked between the two Go-Backs as they bickered in shock. What was this? The elder Go-Back looked back up and scoffed irritably at the Wolfrider tribe.
"Confused?" Henrik asked as most of the tribe nodded, "Two elves can bond more firmly than anything you've poking seen before. I knew that wolf-chief Cutter and his little, silver-haired friend were the same during the war for the palace, though I think neither realize the truth. A bonded elf cannot truly leave this world without his soul match. Zey lived a half-life because my faunt slept within a preserver cocoon. This red-haired idiot couldn't die, but he also couldn't heal."
"Then one day, the pain lifted and I began to heal finally," Zey explained, "It was slow and Henrik found me. He cared for me as I learned to live again and felt my mind return from the madness."
"Couldn't leave you like I found you," Henrik breathed, shaking his head, "Once I knew that Zey was going to live, I left him to rest and finally reached Sorrow's End, but there was no one there. I found out by capturing a fluff-headed preserver floating about that humans had attacked and the Sun Villagers were forced to leave their home. I also was told that Chot had been preserved and then healed prior to the village abandonment. I was none too happy to be told that my faunt had been taken to the forevergreen by a warrior called Dart. I released the pestering bug and ran to gather Zey. It was the bug's story that let me know what had happened to Zey and my son. The two need to be one again or there will be consequences due to their bond. So, Dart, where is my faunt?"
All eyes turned to Dart as he swallowed uncomfortably. He knew that Henrik wasn't going to be happy with the story of what happened so long ago. Dart began his tale of the forevergreen and finished with Chot leaving to find Jethel prior to the palace coming to bring the small tribe out of danger.
"Let me see if I got this right, Dart. You not only left my faunt, but another babe and a she-elf carrying young. And you thought this to be a good poking decision to make?" Henrik gritted out as Dart blinked in shock at the words.
"They could have answered the call of the palace," Dewshine pointed out to defend Dart, "Sunstream was worried for them and asked, but the High One said the palace only goes after the ones who heed the call."
"Chot can't send well," Zey gasped as anger and panic tinged his words, "The faunt would also never leave a child alone out in unfamiliar territory even if he heard the call of the palace. How could you just leave a child and two comrades behind?"
"What other choice did I have?" Dart snarled back, "I needed to get the others to safety that minute and…"
"And then you needed to march your comely rump back out of the palace to find the rest of your tribe! Or is that too much to ask to be done for one of my tribe?" Henrik interrupted as he stood angrily, "Thanks for nothing, Hardly-a-Chief. Zey, we leave now. The palace is near and I want my son found. We go."
"Aye," Zey agreed quickly rising before stopping at a hand on his arm.
"Wait," Ember urged, "Where do you think you two are going? You can't just walk into the palace like this."
"I can and so can Henrik. We are elves too and the Wolfriders do not get to control who gets to seek out the place. That is our right as it is also yours, Chief Ember," Zey sniffed pulling his arm away while Ember balked at realizing that she had indeed set herself up as if she had any right to bar others from the palace, "I know the Sun Villagers are there. Henrik and I have met several roaming elves who were once of the Go-Backs. These elves told us a lot of what we know about the faunt's journey through bits of stories and gossip from Kahvi's daughter and other travelers. I have to make up for what I've done. I've got to apologize to the Sun Villagers, but I must find Chot as soon as possible. That is the most important task right now."
"Why?" Dart asked as Zey turned to him.
"Because he is growing ill without me," Zey whispered as Dart froze, "He and I have been apart too long. Our bond is close and my absence is causing Chot problems. I can feel it deep inside, but I'm too far away to reach out to Chot. The faunt doesn't even know what is pulling at him. Henrik, we leave."
"Wait," Dart called as the two Go-Backs stopped, "I'll go with you. You are right. I shouldn't have left Chot, Dodia, and Jethel without trying to search for them. Allow me to help. Let me go with you."
To be continued…