Another short chapter for you guys!
Seriously, I feel like such a slacker writing a 2k WC chapter instead of 7 or 8. That's okay, though! There's a reason I'm making them short!
Review Responses:
I'm awesome and y'all know it: I'm excited about the big battle. :) I already have it all planned out, too!
Connet: Lolol silly dads don't understand... 'Sokay.. Mine would probably give me the same reaction.
Arenhai: *evil cackle* I'm so evil. You'll despise me at the end of this chapter! xD
peachycupcake: Don't worry! They're short chapters! ;)
Aeschielle: Information overload! xD I miss Unaril..
Sonya-Valentine: You... You..- YOU OBLITERATED HIM? Even his ASHES? My goodness, now what am I gonna do now with no Garrosh to kill, hmm?!
Zarabethe: I miss Unaril too... He was one of my favorites; I can't even begin to describe how conflicted I was when I killed him. xD
Anyways, this is Lucian's POV now. It'll switch back soon, I just wanted to mix it up a bit. :)
After pouring his fifth refill of brandy, Lucian took a sip of the biting fruity beverage, then set his glass down on the wooden table beside him. He studied Sarion for a moment in the dim candlelight, seeing no lie in the man's eyes but still unable to accept his words as truth. Leaning back in his chair, Lucian placed his fingertips together, deep in thought, until he finally spoke up. "I still see no correlation between the sleeping spell and your claim to seeing Unaril in your dream," he murmured, shaking his head.
"But it wasn't a dream, Lucian," Sarion pleaded while leaning forward, bracing his elbows on the table and giving Lucian a convincing look. "I'm telling you, I know what I saw. I wasn't sleeping; I was in an actual world. A realm, much like that of the Emerald Dream."
Lucian cocked his head, giving his friend a confused stare. "But you never sought to find out where you were?"
"I knew exactly where I was," Sarion said, "I knew the name of the place, how I got there, everything. Only issue is, now that I'm gone, I remember almost nothing of the world other than its basics."
"And..." Lucian furrowed his brow. "You think you saw Unaril?"
"I know I saw him," Sarion was becoming more and more exasperated, but he still held a light expression with a hint of excitement. "Not only that, but I spent the whole day with him."
"Day?" Lucian asked. "Sarion, in case you've forgotten, you were down for an entire month."
Sarion's brows tensed and he squinted his eyes, perplexed. "No, I was gone a day, at best."
"A month," Lucian said slowly, "You were gone a month."
"I..." Sarion began, then huffed loudly and sat back in his seat again, placing a hand to his forehead. "This is all so confusing."
Lucian chuckled quietly, then thought a moment. "So, if this world really is... real," he began hesitantly, "What is Unaril doing there?"
Sarion's head jerked back up and he almost immediately regained his excited demeanor. "That's the best part," he said, leaning forward again, "It's the tree."
Lucian just gave Sarion an expectant, confused look, so Sarion continued, "Unaril is preserved in it. His essence, spirit, whatever you'd like to call it; it's now a part of the tree. I think that by burying him within its roots, you managed to keep him from... moving on."
This time it was Lucian's turn to rub his temples. What kind of old magic had he dabbled with now? This was only going to add to the stress he already had with everything that was going on around him, and there was no way he'd be able to focus on anything other than this until he'd discovered the truth. If Unaril really was in some sort of separate spirit world and Lucian would be able to visit that world by nothing more than merging with a tree, Lucian wouldn't be able to help it: he'd have to see it for himself.
That is, if what Sarion was saying was true. Lucian knew the man would never lie to him intentionally, but he also knew that Sarion's mind could be fragile or confused. The spell Lucian had performed on the man was a doozy, and who knows? Maybe his dreams had been intensified just like his slumber had.
Then again, the reasoning behind Sarion's claim to seeing his brother was somewhat solid; it was highly possible that Unaril had been contained by the giant tree. Lucian had never heard of such a thing, but that didn't mean it was impossible. Magic has endless possibilities.
Lucian drummed his fingers on the wood of the table as he thought all this to himself. The room the two of them were in was dark, save for a single lit candle lamp that only just managed to illuminate both of their faces. Norivana had gone to bed hours earlier, as had the majority of the tribe members, and the men were trying to speak quietly to avoid waking anyone, even though they were only on the first floor of the tree.
"I want to try it," Lucian finally said, "I want to see it for myself." If there was a chance he could see Unaril, his best friend to whom he had never managed to send a true goodbye, he'd leap for such an opportunity.
Sarion nodded encouragingly, his smooth horns reflecting the candlelight as he did so, "I'm telling you, I know he's there."
"Only one way to find out," Lucian said, tightening his brows.
"When are you going to try it?" Sarion asked, looking surprisingly excited at the idea.
"Soon as possible," Lucian replied, "Edoril or I will teach Lena how to administer the spell."
Sarion raised his brows, "You think she's able? Maybe you should consult Catalpa."
Lucian smirked and gave Sarion a look. "You know Catalpa will stop me the moment she gets wind of what I'm doing. No, Lena should do it. She's the most capable person in this tribe," Lucian said, "I wouldn't be surprised if she ended up surpassing my skill level within a mere few years. She'll be great."
Sarion shook his head, giving Lucian a 'what-are-you-waiting-for' smile and a shrug. "Looks like you're set then."
"Appears so," Lucian said, downing the rest of his drink and then stretching his arms out wide. He yawned, then stood from his seat. "For now, though, I'm going to get some rest."
"I'll see if I can too," Sarion said as he stood, "I've got a good feeling about this."
As Lucian pushed his chair in, he smiled. "Me too, Sarion." He patted his friend on the back before turning to the ramp and heading upstairs. He did his best to keep his boots from clunking too loudly against the wooden floor as he quietly eased Norivana's door open, then stepped inside, closing the door behind him with a subtle 'click'. He'd been sleeping in Norivana's room every night, even after his own had been completed; she'd put up quite a fuss when she thought he'd be sleeping a whole level up in the tree, and he certainly didn't mind sleeping there with her instead. It had become somewhat of a silent understanding that this was 'their' room now, not just hers.
The woman stirred slightly but stayed fast asleep, but rather than getting right into bed, Lucian stretched widely, then walked out onto the balcony. Argyle, who was resting on the far end of the railing, hooted quietly and ruffled his feathers before inspecting the air around him. The owl caught sight of something, prey most likely, and took off through the air like a bullet, then dropped almost ninety degrees straight toward the ground and dipped out of sight.
Lucian stared on through the darkness, smiling to himself and letting his mind wander. Apparently, Sarion had seen Unaril. Real Unaril. The Unaril. And there was a possibility that Lucian could see him too, thanks to the spell. He knew Catalpa would sock him a good one when he woke back up, but that wasn't what he was really worried about.
He was worried more about Norivana. What would be her opinion on this? Or rather, what if she said no, what if she said don't do it?
A tiny part of his mind kept nagging at him, telling him it was a bad idea, that it was bad timing, that the choice of not discussing it with her would come back around to bite him, etcetera. Lucian shrugged those thoughts away. It's easier to seek forgiveness than permission, right?
...Right?
He rubbed his eyes. Perhaps it was the many glasses of alcohol he'd had that night pulling at his inhibitions, or perhaps he truly was contemplating this. Either way, it didn't matter right now. Tonight, he wanted to sleep off the effects of his drinks, and that was it. Whatever he ended up deciding, he wanted it to be when he was well-rested, and more importantly: sober.
Lucian hummed a quiet tune as he sat down on the edge of the large bed, loosening the straps on his boots and shucking them to the side, followed by his shirt, which he tossed into a makeshift hamper beside the far wall. He craned his neck, turning to look at the small, sleeping woman curled up in the covers. He smiled, noting the way her fiery hair was tangled over her face and across her pillow, and how she had inadvertently claimed ownership over the entire bed. She was lying diagonally and had managed to wrap all four corners of the blanket around herself, sprawling one arm over onto Lucian's side of the bed and one leg onto her own, effectively taking up more-or-less the entire space.
Still smiling, he shook his head in amusement. The woman did this every night, or at least, every night that he was late to bed. He'd come up here to find her sprawled across the whole thing, snoozing comfortably. An extravagant sleeper... He'd expected nothing less.
Careful not to jostle her too much, he eventually managed to unwrap her from her blanket cocoon and slide her over to her side of the bed, then he himself lied down, wrapping the blanket over himself. Norivana mumbled something incoherent in her sleep, squirming around in the blankets and ending her gibberish with a word that sounded like it should be an actual word, but wasn't. Lucian grinned to himself, laughing internally, and he reached over, wrapping one arm around the oh-so-articulate woman and finally falling asleep.
It was just before the crack of dawn two days later, and both Edoril and Lena were giving Lucian questioning looks.
"This is your last chance to change your mind," Edoril said, giving Lucian a smile laced in warning, "I'm sure you'll be fine, but you know we won't be able to wake you for nearly a month, and I don't know how well Norivana will take it."
Lucian smiled, then repeated a phrase that had popped into his alcohol-induced head two nights ago. "Easier to ask forgiveness than permission," he said, shrugging, "Besides, I'll be back before she even begins to miss me."
"Alright," Edoril just shook his head and stared at Lucian with a very unconvinced expression. "Just warning you: Hell hath no fury."
Lucian hesitated for only a moment, feeling conflicted. Norivana wouldn't be upset about it, would she? All he was doing was a quick spell to see if what Sarion was saying was true. Not only that, but he'd be back in a month... That was no time at all! Why would she be upset if he was sleeping for a month? She'd surely understand...
...Then again, that raised a new question: If he wasn't anticipating her being upset, why hadn't he told her about it?
He waved the thoughts away, smiling at his dad.
"It'll be fine," he said, shrugging and sitting down in the designated spot, leaning his back against the bark of the tree. It was surprisingly smooth, and Lucian relaxed back as Lena stepped in front of him, giving him one last warning look before shrugging and pulling out a clean knife from her belt. She dragged it across her hand, wincing slightly as crimson blood began to drip from her palm, down into the lush grass. She began the spell, doing an impressive job for just one day of study, working even faster than Lucian had when he'd done it.
She reached the hand forward, which was now twisted in wood and bark, and the last thing Lucian saw before suddenly drifting off to sleep was the wooden tendrils enveloping him into the tree.
Uh oh...
This twist has a purpose.. I promise. ;)
