Clouds of Dust

Disclaimers: AOS and all its characters belong to Ed Naha and Atlantis. If they were mine, we wouldn't be left with Maeve and Sinbad together only in Fanfiction. Sigh.

Here we are with a brand new project: A fill-in the gap between the two seasons, following the hints given in "Dark Clouds lie ahead". Consider this one as a prequel to that fiction. :)

ENJOY!

Turok stared in wonder at his hands, before clenching his fists.
Alive. The Griffin Egg somehow backfired on his almost-life provided by Scratch magic, and he was back. Whole and Alive.
He stepped between the ruins of the cave in the Skull Mountain he called home for ages, his forehead wrinkled in concentration until he spotted it. Rumina's seering pool.
He quickly freed it from a couple of rock, before waving his hands on it, filling it with a crimson red water.

It was time for vengeance.

***

The celebration was still going on in the small town, gathered around the stand where the Griffin Egg once stood. When Heptor ended his speech, remembering the sacrifice of many men to end Rumina's tyranny on the island, food was brought out of the houses, music was being played joyfully and the crew blended in with the habitants, enjoying the happiness of the night. Maeve only kept quietly in a corner, Dermott perched on her arm, staring absently to the party. The huge fire lit in the middle of the square reflected on her thoughtful face, contrasting with the general euphoria around her. She prayed Sinbad not to mention Rumina's survival to the town, letting them celebrate their small victory. For what she knew, the witch wasn't going to be in condition to cause any damage for a long time... so, there was no need to spoil their joy.

"Such a beautiful lady shouldn't be left alone..."

Maeve snapped out of her thoughts, blinking at the sight of a young man in front of her with two stein in his hands, who smiled sheepishly at her bewildered face.
"Sorry... I didn't mean to scare you. Grog?" he offered.
"You didn't scare me." Maeve huffed grumpily, before taking the stein with her free arm, Dermott chirping while eying suspiciously the man. "And I'm not alone." she added, nodding to the hawk.
"Of course you aren't. There's today hero... It's a beautiful animal, indeed. What's its name?"
"Dermott. And yeah... he's a beautiful... animal." she muttered, bringing the stein at her lips and sipping the grog to hide the discomfort. An animal. Still an animal.
"So hi Dermott, and thank you for your job today. In this village your name will be treasured... and hi to your beautiful mistress, even if I don't know her name, yet."

"Oh Please..."

Maeve chuckled at her broather moan, letting the rather annoyed Dermott free to fly away before nodding briefly to the villager in front of her.
"Maeve. Name is Maeve. And by the way, thanks for the grog." she shyly added, bringing a lock of auburn hair behind her ear.

"Amhir. And you're welcome. That's the least I could do after you saved my life today" Amhir smiled, turning to cast a glance to the people dancing around the fire. "Do you want to dance?"
"Me?" Maeve babbled, wide-eyed. "No." she blurted out at Amhir nodding, smiling nervously "I mean. I don't dance. And... I was kind of waiting for my captain. He had work for me to do." she added, moving her hands in circles to punctuate her work. Where the heck Sinbad was when he was needed?
"Don't worry, I think your captain is currently busy..." Amhir laughed, shaking his head before taking both his stein and Maeve's, placing them on a near bench.
"Busy?" Maeve asked suspiciously.
"Busy. He's quite the hero today, town's girls are queuing to spent some time with him..."
Maeve tensed, stretching out a smile while she clenched her fists.

"Maybe I'll dance with you, after all."

Sinbad finally untangled from the last girl still chasing him, huffing wide-eyed at Firouz who came in his help.
"Thank you, my friend." he sighed, patting the inventor on his shoulder while they walked to the nearest table of food.
"They are surely grateful in this village, aren't they?" Firouz teased him, earning a glare while Sinbad grabbed the nearest plate.
"Almost too grateful..." the captain moaned, looking around himself "Maeve?" he asked when she couldn't spot the sorceress. He reluctantly agreed not to divulge the news about Rumina survival, but that knowledge hit hard on his beloved sorceress apprentice, and he promised himself to keep her company.

Of course, before being kidnapped by half of the female villagers.

"Dancing." Firouz shrugged, nodding to the square.
"Dancing?!" Sinbad echoed his words, staring wide-eyed to the inventor. When he nodded, the captain turned abruptly to scan the people crowding the area until his eyes fell upon a well-known redhead, moving on time with a villager. He furrowed his eyebrows, placing the plate back on the table to cross his arms in front of his chest.

"Keep it in mind. They're just dancing. No bloodshed required." Firouz teased him, grasping an apple. Sinbad threw him a glare, before following the lines of the people dancing to reach Maeve and her partner.
"May I ask you this dance?" he politely asked, smiling to Amhir.
"Weren't you busy, captain?" Maeve asked with a sweet smile.
"Not anymore." Sinbad answered sternly, grabbing her hand as soon as Amhir stepped back, lleading her through the next twirl.

Captain and sorceress kept glaring at each other for some movements, but then the music caught up with them, and they quickly lost themselves in each other eyes, moving in perfect synchrony until the end of the song, the music somehow cleaning the tensions and easing the mood. They stood in front of each other, catching their breath, a small smile on the lips.
"Who knew that the though Captain Sinbad was a dancer..." she mused, smiling slowly.
"And who knew that my resident sorceress apprentice could hit on the local boys?" Sinbad teased back, earning and incredulous glance from the sorceress.
"I wasn't hitting on anybody! The one hitting on everyone is you..."
"I'm not hitting on anybody..."
"Sure, that's why I spent half of the evening waiting for you..." Maeve glared at him, before casting a quick glance to Doubar, Firouz and Rongar, lined up in the nearabout, intently staring at them grinning madly.

"We've an audience..." the redhead muttered, waving her hand to their crewmates. Sinbad sighed, rolling his eyes.
"Truce?" he muttered, before tilting his head in the direction of the path leading to the sea. "I could use some peace..."
"Truce." Maeve chuckled, following him after grabbing her cloak. They walked in silence, slowly approaching a small stone wall on the village boundaries, and Maeve sat on it while Sinbad placed his foot beside her, leaning with his arms on his knee for support.

"So... how are the local grateful girls?" Maeve asked sweetly, crossing her arms, glaring annoyingly at him.
"Didn't we talk about truce? And by the way... Not as much grateful as the local boys... no dancing for me." Sinbad teased back, mirroring her glare. Maeve giggled, nudging him gently on his leg with her elbow.
"Amhir was just keeping me company while you were busy... poor boy, you scared him away." she pointed out, an amused smile on her lips.
"Oh Amhir. Nice name." the captain stretched a smile.
"I think so."
"And by the way... I didn't scare him away." the captain huffed, offended.
"Oh yes, you did. You should have seen your face." the sorceress nodded solemly.
"Did not."
"Did too."
"Did not."
"Did too."

"I'm happy to see that at least you mood is improving..." Sinbad sighed, rolling his eyes. Maeve laughed briefly before shrugging sadly.
"I'm used to delusions... My quest for Rumina's death just goes on. Like thousand times before." She shook her head, glancing to the sky.
"But now it's our quest, Maeve. I meant what I said today." Sinbad corrected her and the sorceress quickly brought her eyes up to his serious face, feeling her heart melt away yet again.
"I know." she mumbled almost shyly, grateful for the night to cover the blush on her cheeks. "You know... Sometimes I wonder how you can trust me so much... " she sighed after a while, shaking her head in discomfort.
"You know how. And why..." he quietly said, meeting again her gaze.
"Yes... I do." Maeve smiled, breathless, staring quizzically at him while he turned to stare at the village. "Something wrong?"

Sinbad tilted his head to have a better view of the path they took, before he shook his head at her.
"No. Just checking for Firouz..." he admitted, smiling at her.
"Oh. Good, because soon or later I have him fried..."Maeve laughed, leaning on his knee.
"Have I told you lately that I love it, when you do magic?" Sinbad mumbled, touching her chin with his thumb.
"Once or twice..." she smiled back, meeting his lips in a blissful kiss.

***

Turok stared at the bowl in front of him, the red water boiling darkly, adding silently the last ingredients gathered in the ruins that once was his daughter lair.
The feather of a hawk.
A fragment of Gryffin Egg.

Turok threw in a fistful of a shimmering powder, grasping then a small rock from the ground.
"Time for vengeance." he laughed, letting the rock splash in the bowl.

***

Maeve parted abruptly from Sinbad, shivering vigorously.
"Maeve...?"
"Nothing. Nothing." she breathed heavily, grinning sheepishly at him. "It's nothing, just a chill..."
"It's the second time today... you need to rest." the captain observed, clutching her hand and dragging her on her feet.
"Sinbad, it's nothing... really. Just a chill." she moaned, tightening her cloak around herself.

"Come on, let's warn the others and I'll escort you back to the Nomad..." the Captain observed, watching her carefully before guiding her after him. "You know, I didn't know I had this effect on you..." he teased after a moment.
"Oh shut up..." Maeve giggled while they headed again the celebration.

***

Turok waved his hand, making the bowl levitate in front of him before misting away with the bowl.
Game was on... and he couldn't spoil the fun to his little girl.

Here we are... and I promise, you'll have the next part of the Curse as soon as I can!