A/N: Hikari: Hiya guys~! I wrote something new~! This was supposed to be another drabble, but it just got longer... and longer... and longer, until I had to admit I can't call it a drabble anymore ^^"
But, well, I'll let you to reading and tell more about it later!
Disclaime: If I did own Moira, you wouldn't like it as much~ And once again i'm using Defade's translations~!
The Wolf and the Archer
It was quiet in the part of Ilion he ran to. Only his own, haste footsteps echoed off the walls. It was night time, and he had gotten loose of the place he was sleeping at amongst the other slaves. But he was not running away. Not yet anyway.
No, the reason Elef was running no was completely different. He was scared. Terrified even. What he had seen that day, he could not erase if from his mind.
It was only a little while since he first arrived to Ilion. The first thing he'd seen then after being harshly separated from his sister was the dark shadows tracing the steps of some of the other slaves. He didn't know what they were, so he had asked someone nearby. He had been hit for "saying things that did not make sense". So he'd stay quiet about it.
Whenever he got the chance, he'd observe those whom the shadows followed. It took a while to get the hang of doing so without anyone noticing, but when he did, he'd notice that they were always the weak looking, those who didn't do as well as others. They were the old ones, the ones who couldn't carry quite as much as the others. He'd wondered about that, why were the shadows following them? He'd wondered, since he couldn't ask anyone, as apparently no one else could see them. He'd wondered…
Up until today.
Elef had been looking the whole time. One man had a shadow that followed him exceptionally close. It was odd and the amethyst eyes had followed the man while he worked. The man was old and weak, even more so than many others the shadows followed. He hadn't been able to carry a sack fast enough. Then the man with the whip came.
It had been brutal. For a child eyes, even if the last few days he'd witnessed more than enough of similar things, this was brutal. And while the man screamed and the whip wielding man had laughed sadistically, the shadow closed up. In his horror Elef could had sworn that the shadow smiled. And then…
The man quieted down. The whip stopped striking, but he didn't move. He didn't breathe. And as the child watched, the shadow bended over and picked something up from the man. A glowing orb, it looked like. Deep inside, Elef knew it was more. So much more.
The shadow held the orb high above it, before simply vanishing off the face of earth. The guards shouted and the work resumed like nothing had happened.
The events revolved in his head, round and round, again and again. He finally understood what the shadows were for. He finally understood, but wished he didn't. He wished he wouldn't be able to see the shadows. He wished, he wished so badly…
So, as everyone around him had fallen asleep, Elef had sneaked out. It had been rather easy in the end, there had been a spot that hadn't been guarded quite as well. Once he had gotten far enough, he started running.
He'd run and run, further away from that cursed place he was bound to return. He knew he'd have to, eventually. He knew he wouldn't be able to take care of himself, and that place was the only link to Misia he had that had any hope of finding her. And there was no way he would leave Misia behind!
At some point he stopped running and spotted an alley with no one around. He leaned onto the wall on the alley to catch his breath. Suddenly he noticed that his eyes were moist, and tears had started falling down his cheeks. Again. He'd always been a crybaby. Misia had always been the strong one of the two. She was the one who would drop down from a tree and then just brush it off, while he was crying, scared for her life. And she would always be the one to comfort him and hake him laugh again.
But now, Misia wasn't there. She wouldn't be telling him it was alright, she wouldn't hug him and say everything would be fine. No, she wasn't there. He wouldn't be able to tell her about everything he's gone through, about everything he'd seen and about the shadows and the glowing orb and…
Without noticing he slid down to sit against the wall. She just wasn't there. He missed his twin so much…
"Oy, you okay there?" Elef startled at the sudden voice and looked up. At the street side of the alley stood a boy around his age. He had a longish blond hair on a low ponytail, cerulean eyes that glinted in the bit of light that got through to the alley, and his posture told of great confidence in oneself.
The boy looked at him, tilting his head a bit, waiting for an answer. As Elef realized this, he desperately tried to wipe his eyes dry.
"I'm fine", he sobbed, failing miserably at trying to sound convincing. And dying his eyes didn't go so well either, seeing that every time he thought he managed, new ones were already falling out.
The boy didn't do anything for a short moment, before walking to the wall opposite of Elef, and sitting down to lean against it.
"Ya know, being a man, you shouldn't be crying", the boy said in a carefree, yet serious tone. Elef made an irritated noise, he knew that already. This was just what he needed, some guy mocking him for crying. Could this get any worse?
The blonde stayed quiet for a while again. Then he set his hands behind his neck and looked up to the bit of sky that showed between the buildings surrounding them.
"But I guess I'll let it slide, just this once." Elef looked at the boy again in surprise. He just kept his eyes nailed on the sky, waiting. Elef felt a wave of thankfulness wash over him as the tears filled his eyes again.
A while later the two were walking back towards the build-site. Amethyst eyes glanced at the blonde.
"Um… thanks", Elef said hesitantly. The boy glanced at him in turn and grinned.
"No problem, just don't let this happen again", he said playfully, "A friend of the great archer Orion cannot be a crybaby, you know?"
Elef blinked in surprise. Seriously, this boy kept on surprising him.
"A… friend?" He had known him for, what, fifteen minutes and the blonde was already calling him a friend? The boy, Orion, laughed and looked at Elef.
"Of course! You're the most interesting fellow around here, and I, being the most awesome, won't settle for any less than the most interesting guy as my friend", he said in a matter-of-fact tone. Elef just stared at the boy, wondering just what kind of person had he came to meet. Finally he just shrugged. Any friend in this place was better than nothing.
Realizing that Orion had continued ahead, Elef catched up to him. A little way ahead the two went different paths, as apparently Orion slept at a different part of the site than himself.
"See ya tomorrow... uh... what did you say your name was again?" At this Elef laughed, making the other pout slightly.
"I didn't", he said smilingly. As Orion cocked an eyebrow, he continued, "It's Elefseus."
"Huh. That's too long. I'll just go with Elef", the blonde said bluntly, making the one in question laugh again. Then he turned on his heels and ran to another direction, waving back at Elef. Waving back, the white-and-violet haired boy sighed and started making his way back inside.
/W~A\
"Ya gotta man up, Elef. If you're weak, you'll get picked on", Orion said and wiped some sweat off his forehead. Elef grunted as he set down the bag of dirt he'd been carrying. He knew that, Orion kept on telling him so all the time. It had been a week since they first met, but it already felt like an eternity. Orion was a lot like Misia, in a way at least. Brave and bit of a daredevil. He was a bit self-centered though. Or, well, not only a bit either.
But like Misia, he had a good heart, Elef found. He'd always protect the smaller children, and always looked after others. Even if he did so in his own, narcissistic way.
"Hey, I know! I'll start training you!" The blonde seemed excited by his own idea. Elef looked at him disbelievingly, but was ignored as he continued, "Just think about it, me, Orion, giving you guidance on the path of being a real ma- HEY! Watch it!"
Blue eyes glared at the strong looking man that had pushed Orion aside while passing. The man didn't even bother to look back, a fact that annoyed the archer even further. Elef on the other hand stared at the man for an entirely different reason.
"The nerve of some people, did ya see that? Didn't even bother to apologize!" Orion growled as he raised a fist at the man's back, never seeing the ominous shadow that very nearly clung onto it. It was so close…
"He's dying…" It was merely a mutter, Elef didn't even expect Orion to actually hear his remark.
"He sure as Hades is! Those kinds of guys die fast! I bet someone will beat him up and leave him to rot!" Of course he hadn't gotten Elef's meaning right. He didn't correct the blonde however. He wouldn't probably believe it even if he did.
Orion ranted about the guy for a while after, and Elef wondered whether he had forgotten about the plan of "turning Elef into a man". As soon as he thought of that, he found that it was only wishful thinking.
"That's the kind of guy ya need to learn to protect yourself from, Elef! Good that you have me to help you, eh?" Then the archer launched onto planning exactly what he would teach Elef, while the amethyst eyed boy turned increasingly bothered of the trouble he had entered by meeting Orion.
/W~A\
Orion looked almost ghostly when he approached Elef the next day. This caught his attention, as the blonde was never anything less than cheery. He didn't say anything however, just waited for the other to say what was on his mind. Something horrible was bound to have happened to scare Orion.
The archer swallowed and looked at Elef seriously.
"He… He's dead." When Elef just tilted his head in confusion, he growled and continued, "That man that pushed me yesterday! He really died!"
Realization dawned upon his friend's features, before dimming into grave seriousness. Orion looked at him oddly, and Elef thought that he had probably expected him to break into tears and panic. He probably would have too, if he hadn't known of the man's upcoming death the day before.
"I told you… Didn't I?" Silence fell upon the two as the blonde stared at Elef with mixed emotions. As Elef watched, Orion's features went from confusion to realization and terror before moving onto denial and back to confusion. Had the topic been different, it would have been fun to watch. As things were, Elef didn't feel at all like laughing.
Apparently deciding not to just think about it Orion finally opened his mouth.
"What do you mean by that?" His tone was un-Orion-ishly serious, with quite a bit of suspicion mixed in. Elef sighed at this.
"Yesterday, I said he would die, didn't I?" Orion nodded slowly, suspicion growing to a direction Elef couldn't say he liked.
"Yea, you did. You… you were serious?" As Elef nodded in turn, he could imagine what Orion was thinking. He got the confirmation when he opened his mouth again. "Elef… You didn't…"
"No", Elef said, cutting the other off and amethyst eyes narrowing slightly, "Why would I have?"
"Then how? How did you know?" To his surprise, all suspicion melted off the blonde's voice. He had believed him so easily? Then… Could he possibly believe the real reason also?
But Elef hesitated. What if Orion wouldn't believe him? What if he'd call him crazy and stop being his friend? Elef would be alone again. But…
He had wanted to tell someone about it for a while now. It kept bothering him that he kept on seeing the shadows, more so when he knew what it meant. He would look at the other slaves and see some of them being followed by something they could not see or run away from. Elef looked at Orion, wondering if the risk was worth it.
"I… It's complicated", he said finally with a slightly faster tempo than intended. It wasn't worth it, in the end. He didn't want to be alone in this place, he wasn't strong enough. Soon he would find himself being followed by a shadow, slowly getting closer at closer and reaching out… No, it was impossible. Unfortunately Orion didn't agree.
"What? Complicated? Don't give me that!" It wasn't outright anger, but it might as well have been. Apparently Orion didn't like it when people kept secrets from him, which was clear when he launched onto a rant about trust and friends and secrets.
Now this was a troublesome turn of events. If Elef told him of the shadows, he risked losing Orion's friendship. On the other hand, if he didn't tell, Orion would get mad at him. In the end, the glare the blonde was giving him made him take the risk anyway.
"I see death." The rant died down and blue eyes stared at him once more.
"You what?"
"Well, I guess that not exactly true… I mean that I see shadows following people that are about to die", Elef continued quickly, mentally preparing to hear his friend call him crazy and leave. The blonde stayed quiet for a while, before surprising him once again.
"That's so cool!" Looking baffled, Elef stared at Orion in turn. His eyes were wide and there was a grin on his features. It was so hard to follow the boy's mood swings. And who would have thought that he'd…
"What..?" Elef's voice had grown quiet, so he coughed before continuing, "You… you're not bothered?"
"Why would I be?" Orion's grin changed to an amused smile, "It's not like you can help it, right?"
Elef shook his head warily, making the other laugh.
"But wow, I was right! Ya really are the most interesting guy around!"
The amethyst eyed buy couldn't say anything about that, but for the first time since first meeting him, Elef thanked every god he could remember for having Orion as a friend.
/W~A\
"One-hit kill! 'The bow bends and a flame springs forth, freezing the night sky over' shot!"
The arrow flew through the air with speed that could have matched with a lightning bolt, hitting one of the pursuers, killing him instantly. The shadow following him rejoiced as it lifted the glowing orb off the corpse.
Huh, so that was why, Elef thought briefly before turning to Orion with an irritated expression while guiding Misia towards the exit.
"The name's too long, idiot!" Seriously, the guards would catch them before the blonde could finish one Moira-damned name of a shot! As the archer ran after the twins, he gave Elef an equally annoyed look.
"Hush you! This is the essence of Orion-styled archery!" The two friends stared at each other for a moment, before they started laughing, all three of them.
They finally lost their pursuers after a while, and they headed to the shore, planning on grabbing a boat and sailing to freedom.
"Ah, Elef. You forgot to introduce your friend", Misia suddenly said, and as Elef thought back on the events, he realized that she was right.
"Oh, right. Sorry", he said, not really sure which one he was apologizing to. It didn't matter really, as Orion took the privilege of taking it to himself.
"Yea, ya should be sorry! You're lucky that I'm so forgiving", the archer said with mock irritation. Elef narrowed his eyes, before shaking it off and proceeding with the introductions.
"Misia, this is Orion…"
"Hey, what's with the lame introduction?"
"…and Orion, this is my sister, Artemisia", he finished rather flatly, glaring at the archer. Hearing the girl's name, Orion huffed in what seemed like exasperation.
"Does everyone in your family have such long names?" Says the one who comes up with mile long names for shots, Elef thought and rolled his eyes. The blonde shook his head before smiling again. "Nice to meet'cha, Misia."
"Likewise, Orion", the girl giggled, and they started walking again.
While they walked, the twins catched up on what had happened to each other after being separated. All the while Orion listened intently, while trying to look like he wasn't doing so, looking up at the sky. Elef of course noticed right away, but didn't mind it. He trusted Orion, would trust him with his very life. Even if he was a self-centered git.
Eventually they reached the shore, and luckily there was a boat left unguarded just a little way from where they were. Misia was a bit skeptic about the plan, but, in the end, helped the boys push the boat into the water. Quickly, before anyone could see them, they steered the boat off to the sea.
/W~A\
"Hey, have you heard? The winner of the Olympic Games in Anatolia."
"Ah, it's Orion, the famed archer, right?"
Elef's ears perked at the mention of the name. It had been a while since he heard anything of his friend, so he slowed down his walking to listen in on the conversation of the two workers.
"Yeah, that Orion. He's said to be a prince abandoned due to being born on the day of eclipse", one of the men was saying. Elef had to hold in the chuckle at this. Orion, a prince? He could just see the smugness on the blonde's face if he ever heard that rumor. Who knew, maybe he'd start claiming it to be true. Or maybe it was him who started it in the first place.
That would have been very like him, Elef thought as he bended down in pretense of tying his sandals. The idiot.
"Eh...wonder what the world's coming to…"
As the men continued their chat to another subject, Elef continued walking. He stretched his arms and started thinking about the archer. He wondered what Orion looked like nowadays. A while ago he had heard a couple of women chatting and swooning over the guy, so Elef guessed he'd turned out quite handsome. He wondered whether he'd recognize the blonde if he ever saw him. Maybe. The attitude would be a big give-away at least.
"'Only Moira knows for certain,'...right?" Elef glanced back at the two men as they laughed and continued their work. Right. Milos would have said the same thing.
Speaking of the old man, he had said something about a place called Lesbos, right? Elef had been travelling for quite a while without any clues on Misia. Perhaps this friend of Milos' could help him on the right trail…
/W~A\
The ribbon he held gently in his hand seemed to try and slide off his grasp. It painfully reminded Elef of the owner of the thing, as she had slipped out of his reach, just because he had arrived too late. Why? Why did she have to be the one?
Elef closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He needed to stay strong, for everyone's sake. His men trusted him, general Amethystos, to stay strong. Even if it was hard. Even if…
But he had a source of strength. He had something that still kept him going.
Revenge.
He'd avenge Misia's death, he'd find the ones who did it to her, and he would make them pay.
He was snapped off his thoughts as there was a call from outside of the door of his tent. He quickly put the ribbon away to a safe place before giving a permission to enter.
"Your Excellency, we have caught an intruder in the camp", said the man, a soldier he couldn't quite put a name on. He'd need to practice that. But, first things first.
"An intruder? An enemy spy, correct?" he questioned the man. The soldier hesitated slightly before opening his mouth again. A former slave, Elef realized. One of the newer ones. Probably still hadn't quite gotten used to his freedom.
"Not… exactly, sir. He walked straight in and demanded on seeing you, sir", he said, tensing with nervousness. Elef resisted the urge to sigh. He'd need to pay more attention on former slaves. While their motivation was high and burning, it took time before they got rid of the learned part of them that ordered them not to stand out. He looked at the man and nodded.
"Bring him in, then", he said in a calm tone, and the man showed signs of controlled relief as he saluted and retreated back outside. Not long after Elef could hear shouting outside, even if he couldn't make out the words. At least the guy was… energic? His voice though sounded distantly familiar.
And then the man was brought in with two soldiers on each of his sides.
"Let go of me already! You're ruining my arms!" If that wasn't the most peculiar entrance yet, Elef didn't know what was. In any case, the man, blond now that Elef saw him, was pushed down on his knees. Elef blinked before walking in front of him.
"Well then, who do we have here?" There was a short moment of silence, before the man chuckled and looked up to him.
"Yo, ugly~ Quite the place you got here", he said cheerfully. The men around him froze and looked between the man and their general, worried of his reaction to the words. Elef however just stared at the man for a moment.
Those cerulean eyes, that cocky tone… Suddenly, and to the surprise of the soldiers, Elef smirked.
"In trouble again, Orion?" His amused tone both confused and relieved the soldiers as the blonde grinned.
"Ya know me, general", he said, making Elef chuckle, before nodding at his men.
"It's alright, you may let him go." For a second he was faced with startled stares, before the message became clear and the soldiers released the archer.
"Yea, ya heard him! Now scram!" Apparently taken aback the men left at the command. Elef raised an eyebrow at this.
"Who told you you could order my men around? It wasn't me, that's for sure", he said and the archer smirked.
"Well, of course I have the privilege; I'm your mentor after all!" Elef rolled his eyes before laughing.
"It's good to see you again, Orion", he said while smiling broadly.
"Good to see ya too, Elef. Or…", the blonde said as he looked at the general from head to toe and back, "Amethystos, as ya call yourself now. Seriously, what's with you and over-long names?"
"Like you're the one to talk, mister 'The bow bends and a flame springs forth, freezing the night sky over' shot", Elef chuckled. For a moment Orion looked astonished.
"I can't believe ya remembered that! It's been years", he said and grinned again. Elef smirked and mentally added a point to himself for finally being able to surprise Orion completely for the first time after telling him about the shadows.
"Oh, and speaking of that: How have ya been? Aside from the whole "leading a slave army" thing, I mean." Elef had to think about that, which he soon regretted, as it gave Orion time to continue with his questions.
"And how's Misia? I've been wondering about you two for quite a while now. I bet she's… Elef?" The archer's voice sounded worried when Elef had clenched his hands at the mention of his dear sister. That wound was still so fresh.
Elef turned his back to Orion and walked to the make-shift table that had been set up in the middle of his tent. On it were the plans of the next planned attack, some information on their enemies, along with other things, such as the current problem of getting proper weapons and armory. Leaning to the table Elef seemed to be examining the items on it.
"Why are you here, Orion?" His voice didn't show any of the grief he was carrying inside, he had gotten used to hiding it by now. He wasn't sure whether Orion noticed it or not, however. If he did, he hid it well, as, after a short moment of silence, his answer was of the same cheery kind as always.
"Oh, I heard some things around. An army of slaves, led by 'a man whose amethyst eyes invite death'", the blonde said as he walked around the tent, examining the meager furniture in it, "Had to say it reminded me of you."
"So… You came here basing on a hunch that the general might be me?" While the said general's tone was a mix of amusement and exasperation, he couldn't say that it wasn't something Orion wouldn't do. In fact, he could think of many more senseless things that the archer would do.
The blonde merely grinned, making his friend smile in return.
"What are you up to now, then? I doubt you came all the way here just to see me", he said, raising an eyebrow as the eyes beneath followed the archer's route around the tent. Orion stopped and looked at him rather mischievously.
"I thought you might need some help, ya know. And don't say that you have no need for the best archer in the world!" Elef laughed at this. Couldn't argue with that.
"Right you are, Orion. We certainly need all the help we can get!" Another grin lit up the archer's features.
/W~A\
"I have one, don't I?" The question was sudden, one that made Elef snap back to reality. He glanced at Orion, who was looking at him with eyes that mixed his usual cheeriness with un-Orion-like melancholy. The general didn't need to ask him what he meant. Shifting his eyes back to the shadow some ways away from them, Elef nodded solemnly. The shadow had its metaphorical eyes on the archer.
The blonde sighed and stared up at the sky, reminding Elef of their first encounter back at Ilion. Though now the sky was dyed with reds and oranges of different shades, with only the occasional cloud tainting the smooth warmth. The sun was setting beyond the horizon, painting the sky with those magnificent colors. The light tinted Orion's eyes and hair in the most peculiar way.
"Thought so. This mission will become the death of me, huh?" The assassination of the king of Arcadia had been Orion's idea in the first place. If it succeeded, they would most surely be victorious in the next battle, so Elef had agreed to it when the archer had brought it up. That is, before he noticed the shadow that traced his friend's trail.
"You don't need to do it", he said quietly. They were alone at the moment, so he could let his façade drop for a while. It almost seemed like the shadow glared at him at that sentence, so he glared at it briefly before continuing, "We could send someone else, there are other archers…"
"But none of them have the skill needed for this", the blonde laughed before sighing again. "Besides, dying while taking the life of a king, a former hero, no less… That's more than well enough death for the great archer Orion, don't ya think?"
Elef's shoulders slumped and the amethyst eyes shifted to look at the ground on which the two were sitting on. He suddenly felt like the little boy who cried somewhere in the quiet streets of Ilion again. Many things had changed from that time. He had changed, the whole world had changed. And now that world was taking his last remaining friend away from him.
Orion looked at him from the corner of his eye and smirked.
"Come on, Elef. We're not kids anymore", he said in that same carefree tone he always used, "I'd die someday anyway. We can't change that; ya said so to me yourself."
Elef gave a mirthless chuckle at this. The irony of Orion being the one to tell him that… The general closed his eyes for a moment, before looking up at the archer again.
"Maybe someday we can change Moira's ways…" Orion cocked an eyebrow at this, but said nothing as the cerulean blue gazed back to the horizon.
/W~A\
The next day the wolf said his final farewell to the archer. As Elef watched Orion disappear out from his sight, he felt only slightly melancholic. More than that, he felt angry. Frustrated. And without him noticing, the last bits of understanding and sympathy for destiny were wiped away.
So when some days later Amethystos heard of the famed archer Orion's demise, he merely nodded and started the attack on that hated place that had taken so much from him.
A/N: Hikari: Ah, I feel like I killed Orion all over again ;_;
I've got to say that I have fallen in love with writing Orion during writing this. He has so much energy~! So, this is all about how I wondered about Elef and Orion. Mostly Orion, since his role is kind of fuzzy to me. So I thought: "Gee, I wonder how they met?" The rest is history~ And also I'm basing this on a LOT of theories and headcanon and what-ifs, so if things are confusing, blame them.
And on another note: Yes, I know I'm supposed to be writing Vögelkäfig, but I'm stuck at Torikago . I'l see if I can figure it out, but don't get your hopes up yet...
Bye~!