Are You Happy
Kel flexed her cramped, ink smeared fingers. The reports were on their way to their destinations and the pounding in her head had lessened. Wiping them off on her breeches she stiffly moved through to her room to find Dom reclined on her bed, head propped on the wall. His boots were kicked to the floor, his jacket hung over a chair, and his tunic with it. He was relaxed, the lacings of his shirt loosened and his hair mussed, but his eyes were keen on her the moment she walked into the room.
Kel knew he still wanted to talk, it was plain by the determined look in his eyes and the set of his jaw, but she walked past him to the dressing room. Tugging off her breeches she slid out of her own tunic and shirt. Placing them aside to remember to wash she pulled on her night shirt. When she stepped back out Dom opened his mouth to say something, most likely a grievance, but she cut him off.
"You die." He looked at her stunned, his mouth still open but the words limp on his tongue. "In the dreams, you die. Every one dies."
Dom moved over on the bed, allowing her space to sit down next to him. She did but didn't fold into him. "A never ending war, no victory, no remorse." Her lips tightened. "You put yourself in the way of a killing machine's claws to be shredded. Raoul got a lance through his chest. Everyone is slowly slaughtered in ways I've seen since I was a page and ways I fear. People who don't belong on the field, people who do, it doesn't matter. I've seen Tobe," her voice cracked. "I've dreamed he was killed on field with me. The refugees, old friends, and villagers are there fighting. And I try to make it stop. I try to change the dream. It's like the whole time I'm screaming at myself to stop, but I never hear because I'm in the middle of it all." He felt her tremble slightly, but she held her mask steady. "It lasts all night. It feels like it lasts for a night, not just a short dream that I'd forget in a few days. Before I told you it hurts. It really does. The moment my eyes open I feel frozen. I feel every blow that I took in the dream until I think I'm really going to die. But then I don't."
It was mute in the room for a long moment before Kel turned to face Dom. Her eyes were hollow, her lips pale. "Are you happy now?" she asked.
Slowly Dom went numb. The dead feeling started at his heart and spread through his chest, down his arms and to his fingers. He reached out his frozen hand to rest on her cheek, but Kel pulled away. "No," he said, his voice slightly raspy. "No Kel I'm not happy."
"No?" Kel asked. Her mask began to slip slowly and Dom's deadened body crippled further. Bewilderment and perplexity colored her eyes though the rest of her face remained neutral. Trepidation and worry were barely visible in her stare. "What do you want from me Dom?" She asked weakly, her voice rendered to a whisper.
Commitment. Adoration. Sentiment. Emotion. Fervor. Love.
"Nothing Kel. I don't want anything from you." Dom said rather then listening to his whim. "I just want you to be able to trust me. I want you to tell me things, even if you think I have no interest." When he moved to touch her again he was glad to see she didn't move back from him. "I want to be part of your life Kel. I want to know what happens to you and I need to know if you're in trouble or hurt or frightened or anything that upsets you. I'd love to hear the things that make you happy as well, not just things like this." He took a moment to go over what he was going to say next. "Kel, you know I care about you. You understand that, right?"
He watched as heat rushed to her cheeks. "You've said so before." She mumbled quietly.
"But do you believe it?"
He saw her struggle with herself. "I know." She finally answered. "But you don't need to worry for me. I'm not your problem, I can handle myself." She smiled at him. "I'm a big girl Dom."
He grinned back at her, lightening the mood. "I know. But that's not going to make me any less anxious."
Kel shook her head. "I'm a good girl," she said jokingly. "You don't have to worry about me getting into trouble."
Dom looked at her thoughtfully. "There is a saying. Good little girls make extremely wild women." He looked at her accusingly. "You're no longer a little girl, Keladry."
She pushed his shoulder. "I've never done anything considered wild, Dom."
He arched his brow. "Really? I thought you've been on an unruly rampage since you turned eighteen."
Kel turned her body so it was pressing into his. Grinning, she slipped her arm up his. "How so?"
"Well, for one you helped build a camp, which is an extreme really considering your carpentry skills. Then you go temporarily insane and race off the Scanra to save a group of refugees which resulted in Milord having to secretly send my sorry excuse for a squad after you. Not to mention that Esmond fellow, Seaver, Meathead, Hollyrose and his cousin chased after you followed by little Tobe and Owen. You really began to get a following when Sergeant Connic and his group joined Neal's rescue party. Any way, then you kill two threats to the Tortallan crown and return to Tortall with the abducted children and refugees. Not only did you run a wild rampage but the punishment was to simply build a new refugee camp which would be your second already and only at age nineteen." He took a deep breath then let it out and gave her a smoldering look. "Not to mention the past few nights. That is just another example of what happens when twenty years of innocence explodes."
Kel gave him a measuring look, her lips pulling into a smile. "Well, I knew I had some fans but Sir Domitan I never knew you were one of them."
"I'm hopelessly devoted." He teased, wrapping his arms around her and rolling over so she was on top of him.
Kel dropped the small reserves of her mask. "I'm not sure I remember what happens when my innocence explodes." She murmured before his mouth caught hers.
Kel's legs were putty when she tried to stand what seemed, to her, like hours later. She let herself fall back on the bed and jostle the mattress, causing Dom to chuckle. She swatted away his fingers when he ran them up her stomach and sat up, grabbing her night shirt and pulling it back on. She swatted him again when he mumbled a complaint.
"It's too cold." She told him as she lay back sideways on the bed. Dom nodded and tugged on his breeches, falling back next to her. "So, what did Milord want?"
Dom looked at her incredulously. "After what we just did that's what you want to say." He shook his head, smiling. It quickly turned to a frown. "He wants half my squad to go after the riders to the capital and Mastiff. He doesn't want any attacks on them, especially the one headed to the capital." He rubbed his eyes, suddenly tired. "We leave tomorrow."
He looked over to Kel when she didn't say anything. Slipping a hand around her shoulders he pulled her to him. "I'll be back soon. A week or less."
She sighed, snuggling into his side. "Just don't kill yourself, alright. I don't want to loose any men. It's bad for the camps defense."
"Is that all you think of me as, Protector? A soldier?" Dom teased.
"Yes." She said solemnly, but there was humor under laying her tone.
Dom made a noise between a growl and a purr in the back of his throat and Kel yelped when he tucked his long nose under her jaw. "Are you sure?" He mumbled into her skin, hot breath sending ripples through her nerves. When Kel repeated her earlier answer she squirmed when he made the noise again causing his lips to vibrate against her neck. His hands slipped up her arms, holding her down to the bed. "Tell the truth Kel."
"So maybe I like you a little more." She wiggled under him and Dom let his hands run from her arms down her sides, making her shiver. His fingers dug into her hip bones and he pulled her closer to him. Kel gasped at the sudden memory of them a few minutes before.
"I need more then that." Dom grinned. Kel's hands fisted at the sound of his voice and her beating heart. Damn it, he was enjoying this. Worse then that so was she. Her heart fluttered and her eyes stung as a hollow tone filled her ears.
All chaos broke out inside of Dom. He held her harder then he had before, his need tightening around her. His hands moved from her hips and he sunk his fingertips into her hair. He felt her body reacting under him without meaning to, her leg pushing against him to tug down his breeches. He looked at her face and saw the fire begin to burn in her eyes, the fire he was denied every time they were in the act by her closed lids.
When she shut her eyes Dom lifted himself completely off of her, holding his body over hers. A smile tugged at his lips when he heard her groan in exasperation. "Open your eyes." It came out as more of a command then he meant it to, but she complied. The chaos took over his mind as he looked into the swirling bits of green and brown. He felt his heart try to rip itself open, words butting their way to his lips. He hushed himself against her collarbone and felt her arching forward.
In mid kiss Kel took hold of his shoulders and pushed him back. Dom grunted and looked down at her, his eyes feverish. She avoided his gaze, keeping her eyes downcast as she wiped the corner of her swollen lips with her finger. "I thought you came here to talk." The corner of her mouth twitched and she was sure he caught it, figuring she was teasing him.
"You're no fair." He huffed. Rolling off of her he collapsed on the bed. "But you're right, I did."
"Well?"
Kel watched him as he pushed his hair back from his face, her fingers itching to do it herself. "What did the centaur tell you?" He asked as he readjusted his rumpled breeches. They hung low on his hips in danger of falling off when he moved.
Kel leaned back, catching her breath and righting her shirt. "The creature, he called it a Manticore. Apparently there is an old legend about it." Looking at the ceiling Kel relayed everything Ezhno had told her. She shrugged. "Really right now it could be anything. But oddly enough I believe what he said. I think it's the creature from the story." She frowned. "There's something about him that worries me." She admitted.
"The Manticore?" Dom asked. He turned his head and caught Kel's face. "Oh, so you mean the centaur." He grunted; a noise of disgust she never heard him make before. "Of course. What did he say?"
Kel shook her head, her hair fanning out on the bed and a clump flopping into her face. Dom's fingers twitched and he raised him hand only to get it off the bed by inches before putting it back down. "It's not like that. Just something Blackhoof said about him. They apparently found him. He wasn't part of the herd. Well, he has been for a while now. At least Blackhoof made it sound that way."
"And that bothers you?" Dom asked, looking a little lost.
Kel shook her head again, and this time Dom couldn't stop his hand from brushing back her hair. She turned to face him, smiling. His heart sped till her face went solemn again. "Blackhoof mentioned something about how Ezhno would rather think of humans as monsters then decent people, but then he says Ezhno's friendly to me. That he likes me." Kel saw Dom as his head snapped to the side. She made a face. "I didn't mean like that and neither did he. Blackhoof was just implying that he doesn't totally hate me, which I'm not even sure is true."
Dom nodded stiffly, his jaw set. Why was he scared about loosing her when she wasn't even his? He shook his head at himself inwardly. He was a mess to fall for a dreamer. "Out of the company, Kel, Ezhno would probably take to you the most. Actually most would." He tried a smile but it felt brittle and fake on his lips. He held out his arms, offering her warmth and comfort. "Come on, it's late."
"I'm going on a hunt tomorrow," she said firmly as she settled into his arms. It was almost like she was ordering herself to do so. Dom suppressed a chuckle. "I want these immortals gone." She sighed as she rested her head on his outstretched arm. "I hate how everything's suddenly complicated. It feels like I was still just the Owns squire last year. It feels like the war shouldn't have progressed this far." She buried her face in his shoulder, muffling her voice and forcing Dom to be soundless so he could hear. "I'm so tired. I miss the days when we laughed at nothing and just had a good time."
"That's part of growing up." He smoothed a hand over her hair only mussing it more. "Those moments still exist. You just have to look and work harder to find them." He kissed her on the lips gently, so sweetly Kel began to tremble. "Go to sleep." Dom advised and cocooned them in blankets.
Dom pecked her on the lips the next morning as he stalled walking out the door. "What are you telling them?" Kel asked. She knew that the Own slept close. They would know if he had left or never showed up.
Dom chuckled. "I didn't even need to make up a lie for them. They already assumed I made a lover out of one of the refugee girls." Kel looked at him with a raised brow and he shrugged. "I never said anything to them. I just let them believe it."
"Which is as good as lying." She sighed, letting her head lull to the side. She shook herself to wake up more. "It doesn't matter. It's not like I want them to know." Dom's face showed his obvious hurt. A sudden pang of regret hit her and she became frantic to reassure him, but why would she have to? He shouldn't care if they knew or not. He wasn't courting her. Another pang hit her.
Before she could say something his face took on the frozen, passive expression that made her stomach tighten with dread. "The men are nitwit, ignoramus ganders." The frost in his voice made Kel stiffen. "They haven't noticed a thing. Neither have any of your friends or the refugees. Your good name won't be sullied."
"What good is left of my name, that is." Kel added. She clasped her hands behind her back to keep them from giving away any of her emotions by rubbing her forehead or reaching out to touch the cuff of his shirt. "It's not just my reputation I'm worried about Dom. It's yours too. I know not everyone in the Third likes me. I don't want you loosing friends because of this." She waved at the air between them.
"Friends that can't accept that aren't friends of mine."
A smile tugged at her lips. "Well, you still need their respect. To work together you need them to listen to you."
"Just because I'm sleeping with you, they shouldn't be upset!" Dom's control buckled and he shouted. "You're far more respectable then any of those fat-headed-"
Kel covered his mouth with her hand. "Dom, please." She met his eyes squarely. "Calm down. They can't be that bad." She let him go.
Dom took in a deep breath and let it out as a sigh. "Let's just say if ignorance was really bliss they must all be orgasmic." He relished the look of shock that flicked across her face and chuckled when she hit his arm.
"Why in such a mood lately?" She asked, keeping her voice light. "Are you upset with me for something? Was there something else I said?"
Dom's face was regrettable and Kel almost wanted to cry out in relief. He wasn't mad at her!
"It's not you, Kel." He rubbed his face. It was her actually, both of them really. His last reserves of self-discipline and control were running thin and there was the chance that at any point of time he would grab her and shake her so hard her eyes would roll to the back of her head while he screamed his fidelity. He had built a wall around his heart, but it had fallen while he slept with Kel curled in his arms. He needed time to collect himself again.
He looked at her and smiled but it didn't help much. His eyes said the saddest apology the world had ever seen which made Kel spike into misery. His sadness was suddenly hers and they both felt terrible. This was a fantasy, they were with the person they loved, but why was it killing them?
Because none of it was real.
"Kel, there was something I wanted to ask you last night that I forgot in all the…-" He broke off not knowing what to say. "Well, when we got distracted." He grinned.
"What?"
The grin faded and his face was slowly freezing over. "Why didn't you tell me about the Manticore when it happened? Why didn't you tell me you got attacked yourself instead of having the men tell me? I didn't know what to believe and what to ignore. You know they lie through their teeth about immortals they've seen and they came back spouting about some crazy thing that sprung for your face. They never said anything about wounds or bones. All they would talk about was how terrible the corps smelt and how fast Ezhno had been."
Kel fidgeted, moving from one foot to the other. "I'm fine Dom. You can see that for yourself."
"But that doesn't answer my question." His voice was steely. "Why didn't you tell me? You had all night to say something."
"Because if you didn't know then you couldn't care." Her voice was pitched low, hoping he would miss the words and just not say anything. She was out of such luck and his fingers slid under her chin, lifting it so they could stare into the others eyes. Kel flinched and pulled her face away. Dom let her go without protest.
Kel moved further from the door and Dom. "You need to get down there else wise you'll be the last to show. What'd they ask then?"
Dom grabbed her arm when she turned and tugged her back to him. He let himself fill with ecstasy as her breath warmed his neck. He kissed her pleasantly, gently folding his lips over hers. When he let her go Kel glared at him. "You like doing that, don't you-" Dom pressed his mouth to hers to silence her. In truth, he did like twirling her around for a kiss.
He let her go and watched her dazed look for a bit before collecting his things. Before he opened the door he kissed her warm cheek. "I want to care, Kel. I do care. And I find pleasure from it." He squeezed her awkwardly around the shoulders in a one armed hug. "Be good, and don't kill anyone who doesn't deserve it. If I come back and fine an extra scar on you I'll be very, very upset."
The moment Dom left the room his stomach tightened and his mood soured again. He had to take a moment to collect his breath. If he didn't he would hit the first person who came up to him. Lately it seemed he was just starting fights just to feel something. It was like he had to feel the blood rushing in his veins to know it was there. He looked down at his hands and the crescent scars carved into his palms from his nails. He listened to the noises coming from Kel's room, leaning against the wall next to the door. There was the sound of soft foot pats and a few taps. She was using her glaive, he was sure of it. He was starting to grow familiar to the sounds of her practice dances seeing as he woke up to them a few times.
He looked down at the shinny pink scars again. Kel was cool but cruel in a way. Dismissive to the thought that he might actually care about her more then something to just keep him warm. She was completely able to hide her true distress from him. It was going to make him sick with worry about her on the rode.
The horn called and he could almost hear the men complaining. Pushing the last of his thoughts of Kel back he ran, taking the back ways to the barracks to get his things.
Kel didn't wait long to go out on a hunt. She strapped her glaive to her back, hooked Phoenix into her belt and began to saddle Peachblossom. That was when Raoul found her.
"I ran into Dom this morning." He commented casually, leaning against the stall. "He was running a bit late to meet up with his men." Kel just looked at him blankly, knowing he was going somewhere. Raoul pushed back his thinning dark curls. "He mentioned you saying you were going out on an immortal hunt." He grinned, his eyes dancing. "Aiden's squad is getting their gear on. They'll be down here in a bit to get their horses then you'll be heading off to meet up with Blackhoof and some of the stallions from the herd."
Kel looked at him incredulously. "Raoul…sir, no. I was-"
"Going to go out alone?" Kel was silent. "I'm getting Drum. Don't even bother trying to ride out ahead of us. There are people on the wall watching for you." He walked off.
Sure enough when Kel waited at the front gate there were men watching her from the wall. By time they met with the herd she was simmering with annoyance. She saw the centaurs that were to go with them. Raoul dismounted and went over to the group of man-like creatures. Most of the men stayed mounted, though some did merge with the rest of the herd to talk while they waited for Raoul and Blackhoof. Kel slid form Peachblossom's back, her nerves fraying while she listened to the squads banter. Any other day she would have joined in with the jokes and laughter, but that morning she didn't want to be one of them.
Per usual, when Kel blended with the herd she was pulled into one of the groups. A few jittering mares took a hold of her arms and butted up against her as fillies pranced around them. The mares gabbed questions about the fort, the attractive squad, and the capital city where she trained. It wasn't hard to tell, at times, that she wasn't just talking to foreigners. They pushed against her as they led her to a patch of ground clear of ice and snow, shaded from the bright sun. Settling there they reached out to play with her hair, touch her skin and smell her clothes like she was an exotic article. Their curiosity reminded her that they were liminal beings, not only human but a beast as well. Being a part animal hybrid, with a fraction of their behavior still matching that of a wild and untrained horse, Kel was considered an oddity to them.
She saw them pull out beads and strands of thread from pouches. While they continued to chat the mares took strands of her hair and began braiding them, entwining the colorful threads and beads with the hair. One of the fillies took her hand and studied her fingers before making a bracelet of sweet grass around her wrist. With nimble fingers she pulled out more and more grass from another one of the pouches and laced them through the bracelet. The little centaur girl twirled the grass around one another and Kel's hand till it reached her fingers. Her little fingers moving fast she worked the woven grass into a fingerless glove. Taking Kel's other hand she did the same.
Kel pulled back her hand and wiggled her fingers. They moved freely and the grass surprisingly made her palms warmer. She looked at the little filly that flipped a tuff of sun bleached hair from her face like it was a forelock. "Thank you." The centaur smiled and Kel was surprised by the sharpness of her teeth. She looked back down at her hand again.
Suddenly the mares around her stood, moving away from Kel. She looked around at them, noting the pointed grins on their faces. Kel looked at the little filly that had gloved her hand. The girl was giggling sharply as she trotted to hide behind a chestnut mare. She peeked behind the older female's tail, peering impishly at Kel.
Kel barely got to her feet before she felt the group begin to rumble and hear some of the herd shout. Turning around with a frown she saw that the crowd around them rip open. A youth pulled up snow and ice and he raced to them, grinning and laughing with glee. He looked over his shoulder and Kel saw another stallion follow after him, racing to keep up while another pushed out of the herd, equally gleeful.
"Catch up!" The first centaur yelled to them. Kel stood there in shock, watching them race straight to her. She wasn't expecting him to grab her and when he took her arm she screamed, turning so it wouldn't dislocate from her shoulder. With little effort the centaur half turned his human body, grabbed her under her other arm with his other hand and dragged her onto his back. Withdrawing his one hand he held her down with his other to keep her steady while he galloped off, heady away from New Hope and the herd.
Kel slipped from his hold and turned so she was no longer on her back. She tried not to teeter on the centaurs back or to scream. He was going so fast. Faster then she had ever gone on any horse.
She hadn't even gotten a chance to sit in a proper position before she felt an arm wrap around her waist. She yelped when she popped from the centaurs back, but not like when she was jousting. The only pain was the pressure on her ribs as the arm around her tightened and dragged her onto another back.
The wind burned in her eyes and she shut her eyes against stinging tears. The centaur now carrying her laughed heartily and changed direction, making Kel jostle on his back. She wrapped her arms around his human waist to keep herself on.
"You'll have to go faster then that!" The centaur called to the one who had formally been carrying her.
"Not as fast as you'll have to go!" She heard him call back.
The centaur carrying her grunted and she felt them slow till he stopped. Kel slid from his back but when her feet made contact with the ground her knees gave way and she fell forward. Silently she thanked the little filly for the odd glove like grass hand warmers. She hadn't noticed how tightly knit the strands of grass were till she noticed they didn't rip or fall apart as they ran across ice and gravel. Dom wouldn't have a reason to be upset over another cut on her palm thanks to them.
"We were just playing keep away." She heard the centaur and looked up to see the last person she wanted to.
Ezhno barely glanced at her before he looked back to the younger centaur. "With the human?" he asked frostily. Kel shuttered. It reminded her too much of Dom when he was being unreceptive.
The centaur's voice sounded like strangled defiance. "We were just playing around."
"She's weak. She's not like others of our kind. Just because she's light enough to ride doesn't mean you should throw her around." Kel looked at his disbelievingly. He looked at her from the corner of his eye and she thought she saw amusement. He turned back to the youth in front of him, probably no younger he was then by two years.
"You wouldn't let us go on the hunt." He snapped defensively. "We just wanted a little fun." The other youths nodded agreement, casting glares at Ezhno.
Ezhno snorted, blowing hot air in the other's face, and pushed past him as a horse would do to a misbehaving colt. He reached down and took Kel's arms like the others had, his grip surprisingly gentle, and hoisted her onto his back. "That was Blackhoof's decision. If it were mine I would gladly let you come. The herd seems to be getting a bit too thick in my opinion, and you would make good bait to lure any adversary to us. But Blackhoof insists on keeping you away from the action so you can safely stay with the herd."
When he turned to head back to camp Kel stopped him. "Wait," she struggled, her head spinning. "At least let me sit up right. I can't take riding like thing."
She could feel Ezhno roll his eyes through the back of his head. "Very well, but get situated quickly. They're going to think something happened."
"Like what?" She asked as she swung her leg over him so she was straddling his back. If felt weird to sit like that on him, knowing him and having had conversations with him. Sure she spoke with her horses, but they never talked back. "That I was kidnapped by a group of your stallions?" She watched the younger centaurs as they galloped back at a faster pace.
"Precisely." He muttered as he sped up his own pace. Kel panicked briefly before she gripped his shoulders, holding herself steady. "I don't want to be the one to blame if your men start setting fire to our things."
"The Own wouldn't do that." She protested, her voice tottering on violence. She heard Ezhno huff. "We've worked with centaurs peacefully before and the men are already taken with the herd."
Ezhno looked over his shoulder, dark eyes glittering as he looked her. "It looks more like we've taken to you." He glanced down at the grass clad hand gripping his shoulder, then her braided hair. "But that doesn't mean a thing. Are you saying you've never killed one of my kind?"
Kel gritted her teeth. "I'm sure you already know that I have." His lip gave a satisfied curl and he faced forward again. "But," Kel continued, "I remember you mentioning killing one of my kind as well. Why would it be wrong if I did the same?"
"I had a reason." He seethed. "He was taking one of our young."
"And I killed a centaur, the only one I've killed, because he stole on of our young. A little girl that he had tied in ropes and carried off during a raid. It was a fair fight if not him having the advantage of hoofs to kick out with. I fought him on the ground with my glaive while he fought with a cutless and throwing-axe. I was blinded for part of the fight when he kicked dust and rock in my face. He got to kick my stomach into my throat, and I got to sink eighteen inches of blade into his waist."
She felt his spine harden at her last words. "And when was this exactly?" He asked.
"Around six years ago when I was fourteen. We were in Harefield and I was blocking an escape route from the town when there was an attack. He had taken the child and along the way obtained a baby griffin." She caught his eyes when he glanced back at her. "I had my reasons too. We're not that different."
He chuckled, the noise supposed to sound harsh but only succeeding to come out stale. "A noble child has little to recognize with a wild immortal."
Kel pursed her lips. "Well, you got me there. But The Girl, Lady Knight, Protector of the Small, and Yamani Lump have a lot to recognize with an immortal."
"Such as?" he sneered.
"People have tried to get rid of me before." She twirled a soft, white feather one of the mares had attached to the end of a braid. "I've been a stranger in a foreign realm. I'm the girl who wasn't wanted for so long." She grinned. "The girl who didn't have a place, didn't belong, wouldn't do what she was supposed to. I changed that. I found where I belonged." Kel shrugged. "Just like you. Joining into a family you didn't know and now learning to be the next herd chief-"
Kel was cut off from what she was about to say when she was jerked forward. Ezhno had stopped in his tracks and reached back. He wrapped his fingers around her ankle and yanked her from his back. Kel gasped as he held her by her leg just above the ground, the muscles in his arms barely straining.
"Shut up." He said through gritted teeth. His eyes were hard onyxes looking down at her with distain. "Who told you that?" Kel bit her lips together, a silent refusal. His hand tightened on her ankle and she felt her bones whine as they groaned together. "Tell me."
"No one told me anything." Kel said while she tried to push her hair back from where it tangled in her face. Her arms fell limply over her head.
Ezhno tossed her unkindly back onto his back and began moving again before she could get situated. She held onto him, gripping into him with her nails. He didn't seem to notice and barked a scornful laugh. "Stupid, prideful humans. You never learn when to keep your mouths shut."
Kel didn't reply to that, proving him wrong and keeping her breakfast down. Ezhno ran right up to Blackhoof and Raoul when they rejoined the herd. Kel slid from his back and teetered a little, blinking to shed the tears caused by the wind. Her ankle throbbed but she didn't take any weight off of it, too prideful to show it hurt.
"Well," Raoul didn't seem amused and neither did Blackhoof. They both shot Ezhno a look like it was his fault the stallions had decided to play with the human girl. "Let's hunt."
I would have posted sooner, but I was on vacation. No one can party like a drunk person can party. Well, it's actually more entertaining to be the only sober person around. And the only person who can stand upright. And the only person who doesn't drown in their drink.
By the way if you're having issues imagining the immortals, in this fic and in Tam's stories, I hope you do realize she didn't make up half of them. I've learned that people have been deluding themselves to believe so. If you need a visual you can just Google them sillies. Some of them don't go by the names in the books, like a Stormwing which is really a Harpy, but a lot do. A Manticore has pics too, but I'd stick to the illustration in The History of Four-footed Beasts. That is the illusion I used, not the stupid animated looking ones. Just, like, look it up on Wikipedia.
