Sorry for the late update guys, I just came back from a vacation, to get right back to work. I was really busy, especially with finding a job! I'm really sorry!
The Colored Forest – Chapter 3
When Ichigo went to his room for the night, he found sleeping clothes lying at the foot of his bed. He slipped into them and pulled back the expensive covers and climbed into the large bed. He lay on his stomach and his eyes roved over the carvings on the polished wooden head board. No story resided in the shaped wood, only tangled vines and leaves furrowed into it. As he looked at the patterns Ichigo's eyes drooped, heavy laden with exhaustion.
His tired mind managed to come up with blurry thoughts; what would he do to stop the Gods from making the storms? And if he and his brother succeeded would the humans become brave and venture off into the forest?
With these anxious thoughts in his head, Ichigo fell into a restless slumber.
Ichigo awoke to the sunlight slipping in from the window, the curtains were still drawn, but light seeped in from an opening, making Ichigo realize he had slept late. Ichigo could see the small dust particles floating in the draft of light. They meandered aimlessly, having no direction, going nowhere. Ichigo let out a puff of air and the seamless flow was disturbed, and the dust flew in every direction.
He took his time getting out of bed, a heavy feeling of lethargy hanging over him, reminding him of the fitful sleep he'd had the night before. He went to the washroom and noticed that there was a ceramic tub full of water, and it was still hot. He stripped himself of his clothing and climbed into the warm water. He scrubbed himself down with soap and rinsed himself off. He leaned back in the soapy waters and took a deep breath of the humid air.
The thoughts that plagued him the night before had not been forgotten after the night's sleep. He had no clue what he was going to do to stop the storms. But he knew one thing; the key to doing it would lie in pleasing the two Gods who saved the forest.
He climbed out of the tub and grabbed one of the drying cloths that were neatly stacked on a wooden cabinet beside the tub. He dried himself off and when he walked back into the room, there was another tunic on the bed. This one was blue. Bemused, he put on the tunic and walked out of the room. He made his way down the hall to the dining room, barely remembering where it was. He walked through the doors, seeing Grimmjow sitting at the table, spoon feeding Uryuu. Ichigo held back his laughter as he looked at Uryuu, who was glowering murderously at Grimmjow. The blue haired man had a taunting grin adorning his face, telling Ichigo that the god was having a good time.
When the plate was empty Uryuu huffed and hopped off the chair and walked toward the door. He paused briefly in front of Ichigo and bowed, leaving the redhead confused.
"Ichigo, come. Sit down and eat," Grimmjow said, before getting up from his seat, and walking through another set of doors, leaving Ichigo alone. He sat down in the chair beside Grimmjow's and waited for him to return.
Grimmjow came back with a plate in his hand, which he set down in front of Ichigo. "Have some breakfast, you haven't eaten," he said.
"Thank you," Ichigo said, and took a bite. Just like the night before the food was delicious and Ichigo ate every bite.
"Did you like it?" Grimmjow asked, leaning back in his chair.
"Yes, I really did. Give my compliments to the cook." Ichigo replied, placing his fork and knife on the plate. Ichigo looked at his empty plate and wondered whether or not the fae had food to eat when they had half a burned forest. What a horrid thing it was, not having food. He knew what it was like to go hungry, for his family had gone through it. Many of the families from the Rukon subdivision had.
He wished dearly that it was not so, he wanted to know yet at the same time he didn't. He did not have the gall to ask, either. He wished that many of the things that happened to the Gikleurde had not happened at all. But it had. He could do nothing for it, for turning back time was impossible, despite all the magic in the world. He looked up at Grimmjow who was looking back at him, unblinkingly.
There was something different about the redhead. He did not have the same fire that he had the day before, and Grimmjow did not like it at all. He looked sad, Grimmjow thought. He thought about what could be ailing the man. Perhaps it was the tale of the Strijd li Vërus. He told him the night before and then he woke up with an overhanging gloom about him. This convinced Grimmjow. Yes. He took Ichigo's hand and gently pulled him from the seat.
"Let me show you something," Grimmjow said, letting go of the redhead's hand, he walked toward the door. Ichigo followed quickly, not wanting to be left behind in the castle, which might as well have been a labyrinth, for all he knew of it.
Ichigo guessed they must have gone to the side of the palace because they reached a spiraling stairway that he assumed led to the top of the tower. They reached the top and Ichigo walked into what might have been Grimmjow's study. Books lined the walls, high up to the towering ceiling and a desk resided in the far corner. Papers littered the elegant wood and a red feather quill sat beside the unrolled parchment. He walked over to the desk and bent over to get a better look at the feather.
"You can pick it up, if you want," Grimmjow said, startling Ichigo. The redhead picked up the quill and nearly dropped it when he felt the heat emanating from it. He held it up in the light coming from the open window and twisted it slowly in between his thumb and index fingers. The fibers of the feather glittered in the light like a fire…
"It's a feather given to me by a phoenix, after I saved what was left of the forest. He gave it because with my water the remains of the fire were extinguished."
Ichigo looked at the feather with awe; he had only heard of the phoenix, and that they mostly represented death and resurrection for they lived for five hundred years, then burst into flames and from the ashes another phoenix arose.
"What did your brother receive from the phoenix?" Ichigo asked, still examining the feather.
"He didn't, he received a single hair from a unicorn's mane, for carrying the swiftest wind across the land," Grimmjow answered, looking at Ichigo.
Grimmjow stepped closer to a door at the far side of the room, and opened it. He held out his hand in invitation, showing Ichigo out the door. Ichigo carefully set down the feather on the desk and walked through the threshold into the outside, looking around him in wonder. He could see the farthest reaches of the forest, and nearer to the castle he saw that Uryuu was outside and playing with the animals of the forest. The small boy laughed when a doe nuzzled his cheek and Ichigo smiled fondly.
Grimmjow smiled; he knew that would get Ichigo out of his pool of depression. It didn't bother Grimmjow that the redhead was human. The resentment and hate he felt for the humans for the things they had done had dispersed long ago. After that he just used his powers to keep them away, and as far as possible from his people and their home.
His smirk grew, "You feel better yet? You were acting like a real woman," he told Ichigo. He crossed his arms and waited for the outburst he knew was to come. He looked to his left, and was met with fiery amber eyes.
"I am not a woman, nor do I act like one! I've seen many grown men cry when they lose family members; sometimes they even shed tears for their comrades. Yet, as you can see I did not cry," he hissed, leaning in as he made his point.
"Is the destruction of the Gikleurde not a good enough reason to shed a tear?" Grimmjow asked, turning to face Ichigo and leaning a hip against the balcony.
Ichigo looked across the forest, thinking about his answer. He had been in the forest for merely two days, yet he had grown to love it and it's creatures like he loved his city. Of course the bloodshed would get to him, he valued life, be it his enemy or a friend. He didn't kill for pleasure; he only allowed death when the dire need came for it. His brother, for example, he would kill and be killed to spare his brother's life. Yet, he knew that all the fae blood that was spilt was to save this beautiful forest. So indeed, he did think the War of Tears was worth a shed tear.
"It is," he said simply, looking away from the forest and toward the man standing beside him. No, he wasn't a man, he was a god; a god that had brought the Gikleurde from its knees, to stand tall and strong, without an enemy in sight.
"But there is no reason to anymore, the forest is flourishing like a flower under the sun. The creatures in it are happy and content." Grimmjow looked at Ichigo, "Most of the fae that live now weren't even alive during the Strijd li Vërus, they don't know of the bloodshed. As cruel and unnecessary as it was, it is what brought us to what we are now."
Ichigo looked back at the forest, lifting a hand to stray off the light of the setting sun. He didn't really find that he could say anything to that. It was the plain and simple truth. Sometimes sacrifices had to be made to make it to something better. The fae made theirs and they were reaping the benefits.
The day passed with relative ease, Ichigo spent some time with Uryuu, in the front of the castle. He found that the boy was much more intelligent than he let on. He knew of the Strijd li Vërus, and of the destruction human kind had wreaked upon the fae.
"I read from Master Grimmjow's library," the boy said, "The books revealed to me why the Masters of the forest were even here. For why did a forest full of magical creatures need guardians, with all the power it has?"
Ichigo had not responded and merely continued looking in the direction of the forest. He was delighted to find that the boy was not angry at Ichigo for what his ancestors had caused, just at the ancestors themselves.
Hours had passed and Ichigo and Uryuu walked into the dining room for dinner, surprised to find that it was full of people. He saw his brother across the room with Renji and a woman that Ichigo did not recognize. Grimmjow approached him, clad in leather armor. Ichigo was puzzled when he noticed that the weapon at the God's waist did not have a blade, it was a mere hilt.
"The blade only forms when I need it, it is made from water," Grimmjow said when he noticed Ichigo's confused stare; he pulled the hilt from the leather strap it hung from and handed it to Ichigo. The redhead examined it closely, running his hands on the sapphire that was embedded in the silvery rain guard. He handed it back and Grimmjow who put it back where it belonged at his waist.
"Come, you should put your armor on for this dinner." Grimmjow murmured and walked from the room. Ichigo looked down to where Uryuu stood beside him, only to find the boy gone, his eyes skittered across the room landing on the boy on the far side of the room talking with Orihime and Rangiku. Seeing that the boy was safe, Ichigo walked out of the room after Grimmjow.
When Ichigo walked into his room, Grimmjow was there, looking out the window at the setting sun. Ichigo was reaching into the chest at the foot of the bed when Grimmjow grabbed his arm.
"Come with me, I have much else to show you," Grimmjow said, grabbing a hold of Ichigo's hand and pulling him out of the room. When they walked out the castle's front doors night had already fallen, and the moon caste a silvery glow unto the forest. "Good," Grimmjow mumbled, walking forward into the shade of the trees. Ichigo followed hurriedly, not wanting to be left behind.
The Gikleurde was very different during the day than it was at night. The trees were not colorful; everything glowed in silver and grey. Whatever the moonlight touched shined like silver, and the patches of shade stood out in great contrast to the lit forest floor. He bent over and picked up a fallen leaf. It looked faintly purple in the moonlight, but it still glittered like metal.
They walked for a half hour before Grimmjow stopped, motioning behind him for Ichigo to stop, too. Ichigo stood as still as he could, but slowly turning his head every which way to try and find what made them stop. He nearly jumped a foot in the air when a light began to drift from in between the trees. Suddenly Ichigo dared not move, for there coming from behind a clump of trees was a glorious white stallion, stepping silently in the dark of the night. He noticed the beautiful gleaming horn atop the horse's head and belatedly realized that it was no ordinary horse, that it was a unicorn.
Grimmjow slowly lifted a hand, which the unicorn quickly nudged with his black nose. Grimmjow ran his hand up the horse's long snout, his other hand coming up to pet its nose. The unicorn nickered lowly, bumping his nose against the God's cheek. Its deep and knowing blue eyes flitted over to where Ichigo stood.
Ichigo was startled when something nudged his back, and he whirled around and nearly gasped in awe. Another unicorn stood, proud and head raised high, before him. This one was different, with black fur instead of white and red eyes instead of blue. He looked up at the iridescent ebony horn and wondered what it would feel like to touch it. The unicorn whinnied impatiently and Ichigo lifted a hand and rubbed it over the horse's forehead. He noticed a sparse amount of silvery hairs in the center of the horse's forehead, and he gently ran his fingers over them.
"These two are the grote paarden. Or, the Great Horses, as you would call them. They rule over all, unicorn and common-horse alike," Grimmjow whispered, "They are wise beyond their species, and may as well have known you all your life, for what they can tell of you."
"You mean to say, they can tell what a person is like, despite having not known them?" Ichigo asked, still petting the black unicorn's gleaming coat.
"Yes. Why do you think they are here? They would not reveal themselves let alone let you touch them, if they did not think well of you," Grimmjow said, looking at the redhead. Ichigo felt a blush creep on to his cheeks as he looked into those deep blue eyes. He decided that they looked like a blue poppy blossom in the spring green. Rukia would always set a vase full of them on the twins' window sill every chance she got.
Ichigo jumped when the black unicorn pushed his muzzle into his back and wouldn't stop till Ichigo walked forward and stood before Grimmjow. He looked up at the God, who looked back at him, his eyes roving over the redhead's face. Ichigo's heart was beating so hard it was pounding in his ears and it embarrassed him when he thought that perhaps, with the short distance between them, Grimmjow could hear it, too. Grimmjow leaned forward, slowly, unhurriedly inching closer, so that their lips where centimeters apart. Ichigo took in a deep breath though his nose, breathing in the scent of the forest. The warrior belatedly realized that it was not the forest he smelled, but the scent of tempered leather and fresh pine coming from Grimmjow.
Their lips touched and they stayed that way for a while, not moving an inch. It was Grimmjow who gripped Ichigo's forearms and tilted his head to get better access to the redhead's mouth. Their mouths moved and their bodies shuffled closer, each small step bringing them closer, till they had no room in between them. It wasn't a dance, nothing of the sort in fact. It was a sensual and synced battle, tongues warring against the other, fighting, writhing, and twisting within the space of their wet mouths.
They parted slowly, having no real reason to rush. Ichigo rested his forehead on Grimmjow's shoulder, and jumped slightly when Grimmjow wrapped his arms around his waist.
They thought about what they'd done, long and hard. For what would become of a God with an attraction to a mortal human?
It's a little short! I'm sorry. But I wanted to at least give you something! :3
Please review!
AkurnaSkulblaka