29

"Sherlacks." Rhiannon said to the small group with her, in the wood shed where they had a moment alone "they are… tricksters. Capable of hiding in plain sight, appearing small and unimportant… sometimes even as old decrepit little men or ancient women on walkers… they are to what they seem. We have a Sherlack in our midst and if nothing else… do NOT… I repeat do NOT challenge him. When cornered they… swing. They can hide in plain sight…"

"Like us?"

"No. Yes... they…"

The door of the shed swung open and Ianto stood there glaring at his sister with open anger "Rhiannon… you are not doing something I might find offence at are you?"

She blinked "Ah… no?"

Ianto stared at her silently.

"I am sorry… but a Sherlack is like having a fox in a hen house" she finally said. "They are born tricksters and half of them are known to be light fingered…"

"A fox in a Bear Pit is a different thing all together and he knows full well what we are too!" Ianto sighed "Leave him alone. He is my friend and not one of the naughty kind… like any breed there are a few that ruin it for everyone. Anyone… I mean anyone who speaks to him or treats him in any way other than a welcome visitor who deserves respect I will be pissed."

"Of course brother" she said softly, knowing by the way his chin was tucked into his chest that he meant it. Owen was touched as pack.

.

.

"So we left them behind" Gwen was telling some others "I felt so wrong like we were abandoning them. I wish there was a way we could have helped them more."

"You could have stayed" Jack said as he walked past, an apple n his hand "we didn't exactly kidnap you."

"Rhys wouldn't stay, I had no choice. You saw to that." She said as he walked away.

"Didn't have to come" came the distant repeated reply from him.

.

.

"There are some problems brewing" Ianto said as he walked over to Jack who was running his thumb over the blade of an axe.

"I know… she might get this blade to her throat if the bleeding heart thing doesn't stop" Jack muttered, then looked at him "Huh? Sorry… are we talking about the same thing?"

"You give me yours and I will give you mine" Ianto said, gaining a leer.

"Gwen."

"Ah. Rhiannon."

"Really? Great. Maybe… maybe a best of three? Start with a mud pit, move to a greased pig wrestling math and then they can choose either swords or guns for the last duel to the death. Winner gets to make the rules." Jack leaned back "What do you think? Rhiannon or Gwen?"

"Rhiannon would kill her by sitting on her head and suffocating her in the mud within minutes" Ianto sighed "Even in human form."

Jack snorted with amusement. "Her boobs might save her!"

"Ah… yes… that old chestnut… well… chest" Ianto rolled his eyes.

"Rhiannon's problem is…."

"Owen. The Sherlack."

"Ah. Really? He is the most docile one I have ever met and some are really not co-habitable with others. Do I need to talk to her?" Jack asked.

"No… I did" Ianto smiled, then he asked "And yours?"

"She wants to save the other village still and thinks we signed their death warrant by abandoning them" Jack placed a round of wood on a wood block and took a step back, rolling his shoulders as he lifted the axe.

"Want me to talk to her?"

"I did… you might scare the piss out of her" Jack replied as he swung, the axe whacking in the wood and splitting it neatly. Jack grinned as he placed another round on the chopping block and turned to watch Owen racing past with a rabbit in his arms.

Ianto took the axe and swung, the blade going through the round of wood and the block, cleaving everything including the cement beneath it. The head of the axe now buried several inches under the dirt.

"oops."

Jack laughed as he took the handle of the axe and started to struggle with it, wrenching it from the dirt then staggering back "Easy there slugger. That's not someone's head ya know."

"Sorry… I am a bit… tense." Ianto shrugged as he looked around "Maybe a walk to the river will calm me."

"River?"

He smiled softly now as he pointed "That way, through the copse of threes, a river. Deep enough to swim in if you don't mind only waist height, down river there is a fishing spot where it is deeper. Soothing to watch the water ripple on past sometimes."

"So… like a breathing exercise, you watch the water?" Jack asked as he fell into step.

"Harbingers love water. We are naturally adept in it… why all the rain in this part of the world is so soothing for us. Why we chose Wales and the UK in general. Lovely weather, greed and clean… and rain. Only a mad dog would go out in the mid day sun ... we don't like the heat" Ianto said as he motioned up with his hand "the temperatures do not get too high.. we do not like extreme heat."

"Mad dogs and Englishmen" Jack said to himself and Ianto laughed softly.

"Exactly."