Disclaimer: "Sticks & Stones" is © by Fantango. All characters that have appeared on Xena: Warrior Princess belong to their respective owners Renaissance Pictures/Universal Studios/Studios USA. No profit is made or intended from the writing of this fiction.

Couple: X/G
Rating: NC-17. Violence, Drama, Humour, Action, Romance, Adventure.

Setting: Season 6 (EP #13)

Summary: A Canon Paleo-Uber. Back when you had to beat it to eat it. Gabrielle and Xena have always known their karmic souls to be connected through time, and their future incarnations prove just that, but could the same be said for their previous? Delve into the misty old age of 50,000 years B.C.E. to discover a journey before time and unleash your inner wild.

AN: Written exclusively for the fans! Please note this is a fiction adaptation based on the unproduced script of the same name by Joel Metzger. This episode was never filmed. However, the script was available online for some time. View comments by Rob Tapert and Joel Metzger here: (www.) shows/xena-warrior-princess/sticks-and-stones-7137 78/trivia/item-2771095


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~ Chapter One ~

Creature Comforts


Amphipolis... The city is a prosperous and peaceful little place to be really, much like the Ionian island of Corcyra.

In the distance, Xena carries a keg of ale into the thralls of her Mother's tavern, wanting to recall the last time it has held this particular sense of sereneness.

Much to her dismay she only finds them leading back towards those moments, the same ones in which Athena was intent on blasting down to the ground while Ares was nothing but willing to offer his hand.

It was pretty chaotic back then, and what's more, is the fact these images continually claw their way inside her mind, drowning its victim in the abysms of Hell, to that distinct adventure in time.

Heck, he'd been there, sensed her arousal, felt the warmth and movement of her hips if not the desire that lingered like a flame in the sound of her moans.

And yet, she denies it, afraid the truth and its intimacy will trouble the Bard, or worse, wound her in a way she has never intended.

"I felt something." The words are a steady reminder inside her head.

"Are you going to re-open the tavern, Xena?"

The Neighbour's voice brings her back though, as if saving Icarus from the Sun and its burn.

"Thinking about it. Why, is your throat getting dry?"

"Always..."

He's opening the gate when a voice from behind..., waving her hands as.

"Tell Gabrielle I have those herbs she wanted!"

A firm nod of polite recognition does the trick, however, enough is enough; she needs to cast these trepidations aside.

They're sitting on a table, at opposite ends when she finds them; the lotus position must be remarkably popular this year, because it looks as though Gabrielle is walking her Niece through some kind of Mehndi type moves or something?

"You've got to be very aware of your body... open your mind..." The calmness of the communiqué surrounding the tavern draws Xena's attention faster than lightning before the storm.

"How am I supposed to clear my mind?" Strange, but Sarah's inquisition seems to reflect her own; the meaning is different, but the words still danced to a particular tune.

"You can't think about it. You just let it happen."

A gentle approach is all she needs to catch their attention,