Part 3
Heero reached the clearing to find it completely empty of animal and fae life. In fact, aside from the crashing of the waterfall it was also completely silent. Heero stepped out into the clearing to have a better look. He reached the center, right by the edge of the lake, but that didn't help at all. He noted with a mild amount of alarm that a thick fog was beginning to tumble out of the waterfall and by the time he reached the center of the clearing he could barely see past the edge of the trees.
The fog moved across the clearing like a living creature, its long treadles snaking past the trees into the forest. Heero didn't like it. It didn't take a village wise woman to figure out that the fog was magic, and just standing in the middle of the magic fog was one of the stupidest things a human could do. Heero quickly turned to leave, not wishing to be caught in the fog especially since he couldn't see a thing. But as he took a step forward his knees gave out and he crashed ungracefully to the ground. The exhaustion of chasing after the shapesifter and not getting any sleep since hit him hard and as a result his body refused to move to his whim. Heero could do nothing but just lay there as the mist crawled over his body, growing deeper and thicker. Finally, mercifully, the word went black.
**
All around him there was white. Heero opened his eyes to a world of mist and fog so thick he could barely see past the tip of his nose. He sat up slowly and looked around, trying to find any indication of where he was, but there was nothing but white. Slowly Heero sat up and rubbed his head, shaking it to clear the haziness in his mind. He felt very light headed and slightly dizzy so he didn't dare move, rather he decided to sit until it faded.
As he at there, waiting for his mind to clear, he felt something soft across his shoulders. Shoulders? Heero's eyes widened as he suddenly realized he was naked. The soft thing on his shoulders began to slowly drift down his chest with feather-like touches. Heero tried to jerk away but instead a shiver moved through his body as the feather-soft touch brushed against one of his nipples. Heero gasped quietly as a second…. Touch appeared on his neck. Instinctively Heero leaned back his head as the touch brushed softly over his neck, making his hair prickle up. It felt as if someone's mouth was there, lightly blowing a cold breath over his skin, the breath of a close lover.
Conscious thought faded away and the idea that he might possibly be in danger completely disappeared. Instead Heero's breath quickened as more strange feather-like touches tantalized and teased his body. His eyes drifted shut and he leaned backward to the ground, finding it felt like the softest of clouds in the mid-day sky. Heero was sinking, sinking in sensations and bliss but he didn't care. All he wanted was more. The touches and sensations throughout his body felt like the sweetest of drugs and each made him yearn for more and more. He didn't want the sensations to end, they were too pleasurable.
Lying back completely he sighed softly as the touches danced over his body. The touches moved down lower and he felt them move very very close to his arousal. One of the touches wrapped around him and began to lightly squeeze, Heero responded with a low moan as it began to move up and down, stroking him into ecstasy. He didn't care what was going on, he just didn't want it to stop!
Suddenly something smacked Heero upside the face and his cheek began to burn. Heero's eyes shot open but still all he could see was white fog and mist. He blinked and gasped as the touches renewed their pleasing assault on his body with renewed energy. Heero's eyes began to drift shut again when the force smacked the other side of his face and then suddenly he found himself sinking in water!
In an instant the touches were gone and he was surrounded by water and reclothed. Heero blinked in surprise and scrambled with his hands and legs, trying to find air before he drowned. As he struggled something grasped the back of his tunic and pulled him to shore. Heero collapsed to the ground coughing up water and gasping for air.
"Man, you humans are stupid!"
Heero coughed once more and quickly wiped the water away from his eyes with the back of his hand. Brushing away his soaking bangs he glanced up at the voice. "Duo?" he choked in surprise.
The violet-eyed elfin boy watched him quietly, perched next to him in the grass. The mist was gone with out a trace and the clearing looked exactly like the day he'd stumbled there seven years ago. Night was long gone.
Heero took a deep breath to calm himself.
"That's twice I've saved you," Duo pointed out with a grin.
"Hn," Heero agreed reluctantly.
Duo shrugged and stood up, non-candidly brushing his hands on the side of his white shift. "Don't worry about it, I won't pick up on those favors now, but," Duo turned and locked eyes with Heero. "You *do* owe me, human."
Heero nodded slowly.
"You humans are so stupid!" Duo declared again, offering Heero his hand and pulling his to stand. "Do you have a hobby of trying to kill yourself?"
Heero's eyes narrowed and he glared at Duo, who only grinned back.
"So what are you doing back here, after my warning?"
Heero shrugged but didn't lose the glare. "I'm supposed to bring the panther back with me, dead."
Duo's grin faltered and his eyes narrowed just slightly. "Let me get this straight, you want me to hand over one of my kind so you can kill him?" Duo laughed. "Need I restate the extent of your intelligence?"
"I know you won't give him to me," Heero agreed flatly.
"Of course not!" Duo shot back.
"Then do you have a better idea?" Heero continued.
Duo frowned and tugged quietly at the end of a lock of his long hair. "You could just tell them you killed Fei but couldn't bring him back."
Heero shook his head. "They wouldn't believe me."
Duo smirked. "They would if I broke both your arms in the 'fight'."
Once again Heero shook his head. "They'd want me to lead them back through the woods to the body."
Duo threw his arms up in the air in exasperation. "Well that's just great! So how do you propose we fix this? We can't have your entire village marching into this clearing after Fei, it'll be a massacre."
Heero frowned and leaned back against the large boulder near the lake, deep in thought. What could he do? Anything short of bringing the panther-boy's head on a stick had the potential to throw him into suspicion or the two races into a bloody war. Both outcomes should be avoided at all costs, and yet if it weren't for those stupid myths meant to scare children…
"You could talk to them," Heero said softly.
Duo's eyebrows shot up. "Oh, smart one human, sure why not? I'm sure they'd believe me." Duo rolled his eyes, his voice thick with sarcasm. "As if a human would ever believe anything I'd say."
"I do," Heero stated softly without even really intending to speak out loud. But as soon as the words escaped his lips he realized how true they were, he did trust Duo. Duo went silent and his eyes widened slightly.
"You do?" he muttered in confusion. "Why? Why would you believe me? Why do you believe me?"
Heero's eyes darted to concentrate on the water and he shrugged, unsure of himself. In truth he really wasn't sure why he trusted Duo, only that he did. He shrugged again. "Because you fixed my knee," he offered lamely. Those words sounded fake, and forced. They weren't the truth, he knew the truth went far beyond the simple healing of a childhood wound, but he couldn't quite place it. He just wasn't sure.
"Your knee?" Duo tilted his head and looked straight at Heero. For the longest tie that's how the two stood, in silence. Heero's eyes concentrating on the lightly rippling water of the lake while Duo's violet eyes concentrated on his face, as if there were words painted across Heero's face in a foreign language and Duo was trying to read them. For the longest time they just stood like that, not saying a word. Then, silently, Heero turned and met Duo's gaze. Immediately it was as if some spell had been broken and Duo looked away quickly with a shrug.
"Yeah, it might work. In any case me talking to them would be better then you killing Fei. Just…" Duo smirked. "Just promise me your brother won't shoot me this time."
Heero nodded.
Heero reached the clearing to find it completely empty of animal and fae life. In fact, aside from the crashing of the waterfall it was also completely silent. Heero stepped out into the clearing to have a better look. He reached the center, right by the edge of the lake, but that didn't help at all. He noted with a mild amount of alarm that a thick fog was beginning to tumble out of the waterfall and by the time he reached the center of the clearing he could barely see past the edge of the trees.
The fog moved across the clearing like a living creature, its long treadles snaking past the trees into the forest. Heero didn't like it. It didn't take a village wise woman to figure out that the fog was magic, and just standing in the middle of the magic fog was one of the stupidest things a human could do. Heero quickly turned to leave, not wishing to be caught in the fog especially since he couldn't see a thing. But as he took a step forward his knees gave out and he crashed ungracefully to the ground. The exhaustion of chasing after the shapesifter and not getting any sleep since hit him hard and as a result his body refused to move to his whim. Heero could do nothing but just lay there as the mist crawled over his body, growing deeper and thicker. Finally, mercifully, the word went black.
**
All around him there was white. Heero opened his eyes to a world of mist and fog so thick he could barely see past the tip of his nose. He sat up slowly and looked around, trying to find any indication of where he was, but there was nothing but white. Slowly Heero sat up and rubbed his head, shaking it to clear the haziness in his mind. He felt very light headed and slightly dizzy so he didn't dare move, rather he decided to sit until it faded.
As he at there, waiting for his mind to clear, he felt something soft across his shoulders. Shoulders? Heero's eyes widened as he suddenly realized he was naked. The soft thing on his shoulders began to slowly drift down his chest with feather-like touches. Heero tried to jerk away but instead a shiver moved through his body as the feather-soft touch brushed against one of his nipples. Heero gasped quietly as a second…. Touch appeared on his neck. Instinctively Heero leaned back his head as the touch brushed softly over his neck, making his hair prickle up. It felt as if someone's mouth was there, lightly blowing a cold breath over his skin, the breath of a close lover.
Conscious thought faded away and the idea that he might possibly be in danger completely disappeared. Instead Heero's breath quickened as more strange feather-like touches tantalized and teased his body. His eyes drifted shut and he leaned backward to the ground, finding it felt like the softest of clouds in the mid-day sky. Heero was sinking, sinking in sensations and bliss but he didn't care. All he wanted was more. The touches and sensations throughout his body felt like the sweetest of drugs and each made him yearn for more and more. He didn't want the sensations to end, they were too pleasurable.
Lying back completely he sighed softly as the touches danced over his body. The touches moved down lower and he felt them move very very close to his arousal. One of the touches wrapped around him and began to lightly squeeze, Heero responded with a low moan as it began to move up and down, stroking him into ecstasy. He didn't care what was going on, he just didn't want it to stop!
Suddenly something smacked Heero upside the face and his cheek began to burn. Heero's eyes shot open but still all he could see was white fog and mist. He blinked and gasped as the touches renewed their pleasing assault on his body with renewed energy. Heero's eyes began to drift shut again when the force smacked the other side of his face and then suddenly he found himself sinking in water!
In an instant the touches were gone and he was surrounded by water and reclothed. Heero blinked in surprise and scrambled with his hands and legs, trying to find air before he drowned. As he struggled something grasped the back of his tunic and pulled him to shore. Heero collapsed to the ground coughing up water and gasping for air.
"Man, you humans are stupid!"
Heero coughed once more and quickly wiped the water away from his eyes with the back of his hand. Brushing away his soaking bangs he glanced up at the voice. "Duo?" he choked in surprise.
The violet-eyed elfin boy watched him quietly, perched next to him in the grass. The mist was gone with out a trace and the clearing looked exactly like the day he'd stumbled there seven years ago. Night was long gone.
Heero took a deep breath to calm himself.
"That's twice I've saved you," Duo pointed out with a grin.
"Hn," Heero agreed reluctantly.
Duo shrugged and stood up, non-candidly brushing his hands on the side of his white shift. "Don't worry about it, I won't pick up on those favors now, but," Duo turned and locked eyes with Heero. "You *do* owe me, human."
Heero nodded slowly.
"You humans are so stupid!" Duo declared again, offering Heero his hand and pulling his to stand. "Do you have a hobby of trying to kill yourself?"
Heero's eyes narrowed and he glared at Duo, who only grinned back.
"So what are you doing back here, after my warning?"
Heero shrugged but didn't lose the glare. "I'm supposed to bring the panther back with me, dead."
Duo's grin faltered and his eyes narrowed just slightly. "Let me get this straight, you want me to hand over one of my kind so you can kill him?" Duo laughed. "Need I restate the extent of your intelligence?"
"I know you won't give him to me," Heero agreed flatly.
"Of course not!" Duo shot back.
"Then do you have a better idea?" Heero continued.
Duo frowned and tugged quietly at the end of a lock of his long hair. "You could just tell them you killed Fei but couldn't bring him back."
Heero shook his head. "They wouldn't believe me."
Duo smirked. "They would if I broke both your arms in the 'fight'."
Once again Heero shook his head. "They'd want me to lead them back through the woods to the body."
Duo threw his arms up in the air in exasperation. "Well that's just great! So how do you propose we fix this? We can't have your entire village marching into this clearing after Fei, it'll be a massacre."
Heero frowned and leaned back against the large boulder near the lake, deep in thought. What could he do? Anything short of bringing the panther-boy's head on a stick had the potential to throw him into suspicion or the two races into a bloody war. Both outcomes should be avoided at all costs, and yet if it weren't for those stupid myths meant to scare children…
"You could talk to them," Heero said softly.
Duo's eyebrows shot up. "Oh, smart one human, sure why not? I'm sure they'd believe me." Duo rolled his eyes, his voice thick with sarcasm. "As if a human would ever believe anything I'd say."
"I do," Heero stated softly without even really intending to speak out loud. But as soon as the words escaped his lips he realized how true they were, he did trust Duo. Duo went silent and his eyes widened slightly.
"You do?" he muttered in confusion. "Why? Why would you believe me? Why do you believe me?"
Heero's eyes darted to concentrate on the water and he shrugged, unsure of himself. In truth he really wasn't sure why he trusted Duo, only that he did. He shrugged again. "Because you fixed my knee," he offered lamely. Those words sounded fake, and forced. They weren't the truth, he knew the truth went far beyond the simple healing of a childhood wound, but he couldn't quite place it. He just wasn't sure.
"Your knee?" Duo tilted his head and looked straight at Heero. For the longest tie that's how the two stood, in silence. Heero's eyes concentrating on the lightly rippling water of the lake while Duo's violet eyes concentrated on his face, as if there were words painted across Heero's face in a foreign language and Duo was trying to read them. For the longest time they just stood like that, not saying a word. Then, silently, Heero turned and met Duo's gaze. Immediately it was as if some spell had been broken and Duo looked away quickly with a shrug.
"Yeah, it might work. In any case me talking to them would be better then you killing Fei. Just…" Duo smirked. "Just promise me your brother won't shoot me this time."
Heero nodded.