Hello my dear readers. I know this story isn't in very high demand, but it's the one I managed to write a chapter for first. Do you even realize how difficult it is to write a scene full of Russian midwinter cold when you're about to melt from the afternoon heat?
Anyway, I want to tell you all something. You may or may not know that in october last year I managed to finally score a new job. Now I'm quitting. Walking away because I simply can't take the bullying anymore. Not the mean words/cold treatment way, but the "we're friends so you'll do this for me" way. My workload is so heavy and there is no possible way I can handle it all, but any protest I try to voice is met by; "but you're so good at this, surely you can do this as well." I've spent my days trying to fight for myself, to no avail at all. And when I make a mistake, I'm worse than shit, but I still have to do everything and have no choice but to do them.
So as you can see, I haven't been very well lately. Thank God for my boyfriend, who lives further north, asked me to move in with him and look for a new job closer to his home. I'm still exhausted to the core, but now that I finally see an end to this torture, I'm finding the will to write again.
God bless all of you who have put this story on their favourite/alert lists and all of you who have reviewed. I love you all!
Another encounter
Yuuri carefully jumped from tree to tree in the darkness with the sleeping Yura-kun secured on his back. Such a strange encounter. He had been relaxing in the hot spring after his meal when he'd heard strange noises from the vent. It was lucky for Yura-kun Yuuri had been there to catch him. If the boy had landed in the hot water he might have died.
The katsu had also learnt that human children were more honest and curious than the grown ones. But Yuuri also knew humans were the one species he would never figure out, so he had stopped trying. Learning their language however was a good way to protect himself and everyone else living in the mountain and forest.
The human village appeared between the trees and Yuuri slowed. He had spied on them for years and knew who lived where. He hoped to be able to return Yura-kun to his home and sneak back to the mountain. Or he could hope Yura-kun awoke without a noise and he could make it home on his own.
A shadow slipping around the back of the biggest house caught Yuuri's eye and he stopped. He had good eyes and could see fairly well even with the faint starlight, that is why he recognized the human as the one who Silver– Viktor, hung out with the most.
Viktor's friend looked around, then leaned against the wall.
How very odd. The position of the moon said it was past midnight, and while there were always guards around the village, they seldom stood still unless they were in groups. So why would this one, who Yuuri knew was a dancer and hunter like Viktor, be standing still and alone?
But it was a perfect chance, if Yuuri could only jump onto the house's roof he could drop Yura-kun straight into that man's arms.
With the same care as a prey that moves inches in front of a lightly sleeping predator, Yuuri moved between the branches towards one that would put the roof of the house between Yuuri and Viktor's hunter friend, hoping no one would come from the other way. Some people were very keen on catching movements and the torches around the village spread enough light Yuuri would definitely be caught if anybody thought to look up. Still, the trek was made more difficult with the weight of Yura-kun on the monster's back. The branches bent more and the trees groaned a little.
This was the closest to the human village Yuuri had actually ever gone. He was safely out of sight from Viktor's hunter friend, but the fright was starting to get to the monster, and Yura-kun's breathing was starting to change, indicating he would wake in only a minute.
Viktor was frozen, bored out of his mind and Makkachin lay out of reach, greatly ashamed to have peed against the snowy wall when Viktor had spent so much time training him to absolutely not pee inside. Consistency was important in dog training, so even though Viktor couldn't exactly punish the big dog for not being able to hold it anymore, he could try to teach him to pee in the bucket Viktor had for his own waste.
It didn't help right now though because poor Makkachin was still in a state of existential crisis-dog version.
He heard footsteps in the snow outside, and frowned in confusion as they stopped. It had sounded like a single person. Even Makkachin perked a little.
"Viktor. You alive?"
"Georgi," the dancer breathed. "I could use some freedom, and Makkachin could use a long walk, but we live. I'm not stupid enough to sit still in here."
"I've been trying to talk to the chief. There is no way to prove you or Makkachin has been tampered with and that we don't know of a monster that can actually do anything like what he accused you for."
Viktor thought of coming out to his best friend, to tell him a talking valan was hiding in the mountains. He trusted Georgi. But at the same time, the other man was scarred by earlier confrontations with those monsters. Yuuri seemed to be different from those, but Viktor realized it would take a lot to convince Georgi of that.
"Why would you lie?"
The imprisoned dancer looked up at the window, an opening in the wall high above his head that let in both snow and the cold. Of course Georgi would have noticed.
He was about to answer when there was suddenly a thud and scraping noise against the edge of the roof.
"What was that?" Georgi's voice hissed outside.
"It wasn't me," Viktor hissed back, mind racing. Could he have misjudged Yuuri after all? Was the village under attack?
Makkachin was on his feet, ears and nose twisting and tail high. He gave his owner a hopeful face.
Then there was a sudden cry outside, a surprised call from Georgi and then Viktor heard Yura start screaming at the top of his lungs.
"What's happening?" Viktor yelled right before even more voices joined the chaos outside while Yura's voice quickly quietened.
Outside, Georgi watched Yura run away like a startled rat as a group of guards was attracted to the scene.
"What was the whore boy doing here?" Boris, one of the patrol captains, demanded.
Georgi growled. "I don't know, but he fell from the roof."
"The roof? What would that boy be doing on the roof?" Boris suddenly looked more closely at the brunette dancer. "And what are you doing here alone?"
"With the whore boy?" one of the other guards cut in with a knowing tilt to his lip.
Georgi backed away from the wall to look up. He figured that if Yura had really climbed to the roof, there would be a chunk of snow missing from the edge above where he'd been standing. But to his surprise, the snow looked untouched.
"I did hear a sound before. I'll climb to the roof and look for tracks."
The other guards nodded, but looked as if they were just humouring him. Yura was the son of the whore and Georgi knew what "alone with a whore" translated to in everybody's minds, but that didn't bother him quite as much as the strange scraping noise before. Viktor had fought a monster he had never seen before, something had taken care of him and then he had appeared without a single trace in the snow around him. In Georgi's mind that translated into a very crafty monster.
He used a barrel to jump up and grab the edge of the roof. Hurling himself up, Georgi found exactly what he didn't want to find; untouched snow. He carefully made his way to the top, just to make sure, but nothing had touched the snow on this roof since it landed here.
"Found anything?" Boris asked once he was back. He had a slight knowing smirk on his lip, but it died when he took in Georgi's grim face.
"Just like when we went to look for traces around where Viktor woke up. The snow is untouched."
The men looked at each other.
"Go check on Viktor," Boris ordered two of his men.
The silver-haired dancer stood under the window, waiting, hoping for someone to come and tell him what had happened. He had heard someone climb the roof, supposedly Georgi since he was the only one agile enough for the task, but otherwise couldn't make out much.
He heard voices and footsteps outside his cell right before the door to his cold prison flew open. Three men rushed in, weapons in hand, and stopped only because Makkachin started barking and snapping at them.
"You're still here?" one of the men asked stupidly.
Viktor kept his hands up. "Why wouldn't I be?"
They all looked carefully at each other before Georgi and Boris also walked inside.
"You heard a noise from the roof before Yura appeared?" Georgi asked.
Viktor's eyebrows rose in confusion. "Yes."
"Did Makkachin get alarmed?"
At this, the blue-eyed dancer exchanged a look with his loyal dog, who had now settled down somewhat, but still sat between the guards and his human.
"He jumped to attention, but otherwise nothing."
Boris looked at the dog. "If a monster had entered the village, how would he react?"
"Probably by attacking the monster," Viktor said honestly, 'with kisses if it's Yuuri,' he added privately, not quite over the fact the valan had won Makkachin over.
Boris made a face somewhere between confused and grim.
"What did you find on the roof?" Viktor asked Georgi.
The brunette looked him dead in the eye. "Nothing."
There was a message in the word. Something Viktor was supposed to understand, but it took several seconds to connect. They had both heard a noise that definitely came from the roof over Viktor's head, but the evidence had been erased.
It was definitely Yuuri. For some reason Yuuri had come to the village. There was just one thing that didn't add up.
"So… where did Yura come from?"
Georgi let out a deep, frustrated groan. "No idea. He fell from above, from the roof I'd say, but there wasn't a single trace of him up there."
One of the other guards spoke up. "You think something tried to spirit him away?"
A hush fell over the men. In this world that had gone pear-shaped and humans no longer knew everything about it, events like these easily triggered ghost stories.
Boris straightened up and turned to his men. "Warn the other patrols, search the village and count the villagers and their cattle. Someone go find Yurachek and make sure he's unharmed. Viktor will stay here for the moment."
"How long will the moment be?" Viktor hurried to ask before anyone left. The excitement had distracted him for a while, but the cold was still creeping into his bones. If he got much colder he was certain do die.
Boris looked around the room. There wasn't much space for the dancer to move around to keep warm and the window did him no favours. Boris had always liked Viktor, and even though the chief thought a monster might use the silver-haired dancer to get into the village, Boris saw no need for him to be locked up in a place without warmth. It was like he was being sneakily executed rather than held captive.
He turned to Georgi. "Bring some fire and a heated coat."
Viktor could have kissed the other man, and he probably would have if his face wasn't made up of a bushy beard.
"Thank you, Boris," he said instead, with feeling.
Georgi was already out of the room to follow the order, his mind spinning and a possibility growing from the questions. When he returned to Viktor with the firewood and coat, and a hot drink, curtsey of Viktor's fiancée, he felt cold inside.
Viktor didn't seem to notice as he exchanged his coat for the warmed one and sipped the drink as Georgi got the fire started with Makkachin just a little too close.
When the wood finally started catching fire, Viktor sat down by it with Makkachin on his legs and Georgi at his back, wrapping Viktor in his arms to further up his heat. Viktor said nothing about it as this was the most common way for anyone in the village to stay warm.
"What if there is a third one."
Viktor looked up. "What?"
Georgi placed his chin on Viktor's shoulder, staring into the flames with a grim expression.
"You said you woke up in a cave with your wounds treated. I still don't understand that part, mind you. But suddenly you were taken away from the cave while you slept and appeared without any kind of tracks around you. Yura should have been asleep in his own home by the time he dropped on my head… what if something really is trying to spirit us away?"
Viktor was silent as he thought. He knew Georgi was wrong, that this was just Yuuri being way more crafty than the humans could keep up with. But Yuuri wasn't a threat, of that Viktor was certain, and Georgi's theory, while incorrect, would hopefully let the valan slip under the radar.
"Maybe," he said at length. "It's not impossible, I suppose. I mean, we know so little about the world these days."
Georgi grunted unhappily and hugged Viktor a little tighter. Then he suddenly lifted his chin.
"The reason the monster dropped both you and Yura, it must be because you woke up. For whatever reason, maybe it can only carry a sleeping person."
"In fear of detection," Viktor finished with a nod. Good thing this was just a mind-monster Georgi created, because the thought of it actually had Viktor a little nervous.
The brunette nodded and rubbed Viktor's arms as he thought. "I'll keep my eyes open and tell the other patrols they need to peek at the sky and over the roofs once in a while. We can't burden the people more than the situation already does."
"We're hardy people, Georgi," Viktor smiled.
"Doesn't mean we have to make life even harder. I need to leave."
"Okay. Tell Inna thank you for the tea."
Georgi just smiled and left. He suddenly wasn't as worried about this new monster. People normally woke up by themselves when the warmth of their beds disappeared, and if that was all it took for the monster to drop them, they were somewhat safe.
Left alone in his cold isolation once again, Viktor let out a deep sigh, watching the cloud his breath formed. He had lied again. He hadn't had a problem lying to the chief, but lying to his best friend physically hurt. It would have been so much better if Georgi hadn't hated valans specifically. Though Viktor could hardly say he didn't share the resentment. After all; it was a valan that had once killed his father. Georgi had watched it happen, but Viktor had been occupied and only seen the result.
The memory of his father's torn up corpse filled him with cold anger and nausea. He had lied to Georgi that one of those monsters were hiding in the mountain, and he was unable to stop the feelings of resentment towards Yuuri, even though the valan was innocent in this.
"I'm sorry, Georgi. Yuuri," he said out loud.
"What for?"
Makkachin and Viktor both flew off the ground in fright. The room was still as empty as it should be, the snow showing only the marks of Makkachin and Viktor himself.
In the barred window, a dark hand suddenly appeared, from above, slowly reaching down until it could support a weight against the bottom of the window frame.
Without thinking, Viktor leaped onto the wall and grabbed the bars to be able to take a proper look at what exactly was happening.
Yuuri's mask was indeed above the window, hanging upside down… Viktor craned his neck. The outcropping. Somehow, Yuuri must have erased his tracks in the snow on the roof and hidden in the deepest shadow right under the outcropping underneath the roof. There was very little light on this side, seeing as it was facing the forest rather than the village.
The valan reached down with his other hand to support himself as he lowered his face so he could look straight at Viktor. The red mask looked dull in the darkness, and even though he knew it was Yuuri, it still sent chills down Viktor's spine.
"What are you sorry for?"
He must have heard, Viktor realized as he saw Yuuri's ears twitch. They were long, sitting on each side of his head like human ears, but there was no doubt valans' hearing was better than humans.
"A lot of things," Viktor answered the question at last. He looked at Yuuri sadly.
Yuuri looked inside the room. He knew it wasn't good for humans to be exposed to the cold for too long, and Viktor was sitting here with a window without shutters. He had heard the conversation before, but couldn't understand much of it.
"Why are you in here?"
Viktor snorted. "Our leader locked me and Makkachin inside here in fear we would bring more monsters to the village. I told them all I had awoken in a cave with my wounds treated, but that I had never seen a monster."
Which was essentially true, depending on how you looked at it. Viktor didn't really count Yuuri, a valan healer, as a monster.
"Are you punished?"
The monster wasn't a stranger to punishment of any kind. His parents had thought it was the perfect way to teach their children what was wrong and right.
"I guess you could say that, though I haven't done anything wrong," the human muttered.
"Are you cold?"
"A little. My friend was just here with a warmer coat and lit a fire for me. And I have Makkachin."
Yuuri looked at the smile on Silver's face. It looked strained, and his nose and ears had turned white. The monster knew those were signs frostbite. He had seen enough humans without ears and noses, but those tended to look much older than Viktor was.
"Are you punished because you are protecting me?"
Viktor looked up into the holes of the valan's mask. Yuuri's voice sounded soft and sad. Obviously he was putting two and two together despite Viktor's best effort to derail the truth a little.
"It's not your fault," he said softly. "You're innocent, but my tribe will definitely hunt you down if they knew you live so close. My… my friend watched… his father get killed by your race. You are the one kind of… monster… that we fear more than any other."
There was that pause again as Yuuri processed the information. Then he started to move again, slowly, lowering and twisting his body without a sound. Viktor watched as a clawed foot reached down and grabbed the edge of the window. The valan moved very smoothly, without any kind of jerking. It made Viktor realize that despite Yuuri not being a threat, he was still a hunter to the very tips of his claws.
Another clawed foot came down as Yuuri was turning around to face the forest instead, hands and feet gripping the bars for support. Viktor had always thought Valans only had three toes, but now, with the appendages right in front of his nose, he realized there was one more toe at the back of the foot, with a much more crooked talon, which Yuuri used to hook onto the window and press his back against the bars.
That explained how the valan could climb so well. How all of them could probably climb like squirrels. It explained how the valans that had ambushed Yakov's troop before he left Viktor in this village had hidden.
A long tail made it through the bars and Viktor ducked under it. He couldn't see very well, but the tail didn't seem to have either scales or hair, save for the tuft at the very tip. He didn't dare touch it either in fear of crossing some boundary, and his arms were getting really tired hanging onto the window.
Yuuri slipped a hand into a small pouch that hung from a belt around his hips. He came up with a few dark pills and held them out to Viktor.
"They will keep you warm for a while, but only eat one at a time," the valan said.
He really was a healer, Viktor thought as he accepted the pills and dropped to the floor.
Yuuri tensed and leaped from the window, then he was gone.
Makkachin headbutted Viktor roughly so that he dropped one of the pills. The dog went for it, but quickly jerked back. He sneezed twice, and the look he gave Viktor clearly spelled out; "just what is that stuff?"
It wasn't the first time Viktor wished his nose was as sensitive as the dog's. Blind trust was a free ticket to death, but Yuuri had yet to show a single trait that said he was hostile.
And Viktor still vividly remembered the slime. It had healed the burn, but it hadn't been pleasant.
"These will keep me warm, huh?" Viktor spoke out loud. The pills looked innocent, even as Viktor held them up in the light of the fire. Makkachin looked at him as if to say; "you're not eating that, right?"
Taking another leap of faith, Viktor carefully scraped his tooth against the pill.
It was like biting into fire. Viktor flew up and stuffed a handful of snow into his mouth as he quickly shed his coat as sweat started to break out.
"Yup, those will keep me warm," Viktor gasped as his nose and ears started burning unpleasantly. "I don't even want to know what this is."
