The Cathach
Chapter 9
Missie has been neglecting this fic! Not really, though, I needed time to recover from the strain of writing my first lemon, which turned out to be more like a lime. Oh Well. Here goes. Will have 1+2 soon, don't worry.
The troop of Fenians continued the long trudge back to Mhac Fheirme at midday, all pretty somber except for Trowa, who was in an uncharacteristically good mood. He was actually smiling!
Duo was whistling softly to himself and swinging his legs back and forth, occasionally brushing up against Quatre's haunches.
/Ouch! /
" What's with you?"
/ Nothing. Just a little tired./
" Your stomach bothering you?"
/ No, it's not my stomach./
Duo caught a brief grin from Trowa, and felt a little irate.
" Hey, Trowa, are you sure you know how to handle animals? My horse is a little groggy this morning."
" Don't worry about it. Just go easy, it's still a bit tender."
Duo frowned, and leaned over to whisper in Quatre's ear.
" You gonna be okay for the rest of the journey?"
/ I'll be fine. It's almost sundown anyway, so we'll be setting up camp./
" Okay, if you're sure. But be careful, I don't like the way Trowa acts around you."
/ I can handle it, don't worry so much./
Soon enough, they did set up camp, and Trowa took all the horses, Quatre included away to find water. After about an hour, Duo got worried and went to look for them.
Trowa buried his face in the soft cushion of blonde hair resting on his shoulder, ignoring the raucous shouts of Way to go, Bossman! and Put it away! coming from Heavyarms and Shenlong. Wing, Heero's white stallion, graciously ignored them and turned his attention to the water they had gone to find. Trowa wrapped his long black cloak around him and his immortal lover, deciding that they were both to drained to head back to camp just yet.
He breathed in the scent of the blonde's hair, and murmured into his ear.
" I love you."
" How do you know?"
Quatre looked up at him curiously with wide, shifting turquoise eyes.
" What?"
" How do humans know that they're in love? How do you know that you love me?"
" I just know. It's hard to explain. Haven't you ever loved someone?"
" Many times. It's never been returned, though. Humans seem to have a different idea of love than I do, and my immortality got in the way."
" If you weren't sure, then why did you sleep with me?"
" It felt right. It still does. Is that what love means to you?"
Trowa breathed a sigh of relief.
" Yes, it sounds like it."
Just then, they heard a rustle in the undergrowth, and a familiar sounding voice reached their ears before they could cover up what they had been doing.
" Hey, Trowa, I heard your voice! What's taking so long.............GAAAAHHHHH!"
Duo burst out onto the riverbank to confront a sheepish-looking Quatre and Trowa trying to pull his pants on. Immediately thinking the worst, he rounded on Trowa with a dagger.
" Duo, let me explain...."
" I don't need to hear your excuses! I'm not gonna sit back and let you take advantage of my buddy! Sure, he's cute, but you're a FENIAN! Why couldn't you keep your hands to yourself, you rotten piece of..."
Quatre, wrapped in Trowa's cloak, tried to restrain the enraged faerie.
" Duo, calm down. It's not what it looks like!"
" Yeah right! I know what goes through their perverted little minds! You and me, pal..."
" DUO! We're in love!"
" Huh?"
For once, the braided Fenian was speechless. He glanced from Trowa, who was staring adoringly at Quatre, to the blonde, who was looking at him beseechingly. Suddenly, a huge grin broke across Duo's face, and he picked up the smaller immortal and danced around with him for a few minutes.
" WOOOOO! My little Quatre's all grown up! And with great taste in men, I might add! Taking on the old ball-and-chain, eh, Tro? Imagine what your kids would look like.... Screw that, it's not possible...."
Duo continued to rant while Quatre and Trowa stared, surprised by his reaction. Finally, he stopped and turned back to them.
" We'd better get back! We stay out here any longer the other two might think we were having a threesome! Now there's an idea..... Hah! Don't look so shocked, Quat, I'm only kidding."
After Quatre shape shifted and Trowa gathered the other horses, they headed back to camp.
Heero was getting more than a little agitated, although you couldn't have seen it by looking at his face. Although they were now approaching Mhac Fheirme, Duo had made the trip a nightmare. He'd make really strange comments, laced with innuendo, then give a donkey's bray laugh at his own jokes. Wufei had shouted angrily at him more than once, and Heero had reprimanded him several times. They all heaved a sigh of relief when they reached the entrance gates to Mhac Fheirme....
...... then all stared in shock at the ruins of the once enormous castle.
The building had been razed to the ground, including stables and the crop fields beyond. Heero was first to regain composure.
" Spread out and look for survivors!"
Silently, the four Fenians split up. Trowa rode Heavyarms over the rough rubble of the courtyard leading to the main living areas, Wufei searched the crop fields and barns, Duo guided Quatre into the ruined stables and Heero entered the still partially intact banquet hall. A gleam of silver caught his eye, and he dismounted to examine it. He felt a strange lump form in his throat as he realized what it was.
J's silver arm.
J had told Heero about how he had lost his arm in a battle against a legendary tribe of immortals known as the Tuatha De Danann. The old man had reminisced about facing the group's leader, Cuchulainn, alone on the battlefield. After losing his arm to the immortal's sword but still refusing to give up, Cuchulainn had deemed him an honorable opponent and withdrew his army. The arm, made of pure silver, was a gift from the faerie as a sign of goodwill. For it to be lying here, discarded in the rubble could only mean that J was dead.
Swallowing the obtruction his throat, Heero prepared to call the others together to decide what they would do, when he heard commotion from outside. He quickly mounted Wing and goaded the animal outside, to where Trowa and Wufei were staring open-mouthed at the sky, while Trowa tried to restrain Duo's frenzied horse. Heero turned his own gaze to the sky.
Duo was more than a hundred feet above them, struggling in the grasp of an enormous demon. The monstrosity had a jackal's head, obscured by four long fangs protruding from its top lip. Its body was a sickly green and gray color, wrinkled and leathery with no muscle, just fat and bone. Its neck was surrounded by a ring of matted, stringy gray fur, which connected, to two huge leathery wings. Its arms were thin pieces of jagged bone that looked fragile, but were topped by long metal claws and were clutching Duo in a vice like grip.
Heero found himself panicking, which at any other time he would have berated himself for allowing such emotion to surface and get to him. But his full concentration was on the braided soldier.
What were they going to do?
Chapter 9
Missie has been neglecting this fic! Not really, though, I needed time to recover from the strain of writing my first lemon, which turned out to be more like a lime. Oh Well. Here goes. Will have 1+2 soon, don't worry.
The troop of Fenians continued the long trudge back to Mhac Fheirme at midday, all pretty somber except for Trowa, who was in an uncharacteristically good mood. He was actually smiling!
Duo was whistling softly to himself and swinging his legs back and forth, occasionally brushing up against Quatre's haunches.
/Ouch! /
" What's with you?"
/ Nothing. Just a little tired./
" Your stomach bothering you?"
/ No, it's not my stomach./
Duo caught a brief grin from Trowa, and felt a little irate.
" Hey, Trowa, are you sure you know how to handle animals? My horse is a little groggy this morning."
" Don't worry about it. Just go easy, it's still a bit tender."
Duo frowned, and leaned over to whisper in Quatre's ear.
" You gonna be okay for the rest of the journey?"
/ I'll be fine. It's almost sundown anyway, so we'll be setting up camp./
" Okay, if you're sure. But be careful, I don't like the way Trowa acts around you."
/ I can handle it, don't worry so much./
Soon enough, they did set up camp, and Trowa took all the horses, Quatre included away to find water. After about an hour, Duo got worried and went to look for them.
Trowa buried his face in the soft cushion of blonde hair resting on his shoulder, ignoring the raucous shouts of Way to go, Bossman! and Put it away! coming from Heavyarms and Shenlong. Wing, Heero's white stallion, graciously ignored them and turned his attention to the water they had gone to find. Trowa wrapped his long black cloak around him and his immortal lover, deciding that they were both to drained to head back to camp just yet.
He breathed in the scent of the blonde's hair, and murmured into his ear.
" I love you."
" How do you know?"
Quatre looked up at him curiously with wide, shifting turquoise eyes.
" What?"
" How do humans know that they're in love? How do you know that you love me?"
" I just know. It's hard to explain. Haven't you ever loved someone?"
" Many times. It's never been returned, though. Humans seem to have a different idea of love than I do, and my immortality got in the way."
" If you weren't sure, then why did you sleep with me?"
" It felt right. It still does. Is that what love means to you?"
Trowa breathed a sigh of relief.
" Yes, it sounds like it."
Just then, they heard a rustle in the undergrowth, and a familiar sounding voice reached their ears before they could cover up what they had been doing.
" Hey, Trowa, I heard your voice! What's taking so long.............GAAAAHHHHH!"
Duo burst out onto the riverbank to confront a sheepish-looking Quatre and Trowa trying to pull his pants on. Immediately thinking the worst, he rounded on Trowa with a dagger.
" Duo, let me explain...."
" I don't need to hear your excuses! I'm not gonna sit back and let you take advantage of my buddy! Sure, he's cute, but you're a FENIAN! Why couldn't you keep your hands to yourself, you rotten piece of..."
Quatre, wrapped in Trowa's cloak, tried to restrain the enraged faerie.
" Duo, calm down. It's not what it looks like!"
" Yeah right! I know what goes through their perverted little minds! You and me, pal..."
" DUO! We're in love!"
" Huh?"
For once, the braided Fenian was speechless. He glanced from Trowa, who was staring adoringly at Quatre, to the blonde, who was looking at him beseechingly. Suddenly, a huge grin broke across Duo's face, and he picked up the smaller immortal and danced around with him for a few minutes.
" WOOOOO! My little Quatre's all grown up! And with great taste in men, I might add! Taking on the old ball-and-chain, eh, Tro? Imagine what your kids would look like.... Screw that, it's not possible...."
Duo continued to rant while Quatre and Trowa stared, surprised by his reaction. Finally, he stopped and turned back to them.
" We'd better get back! We stay out here any longer the other two might think we were having a threesome! Now there's an idea..... Hah! Don't look so shocked, Quat, I'm only kidding."
After Quatre shape shifted and Trowa gathered the other horses, they headed back to camp.
Heero was getting more than a little agitated, although you couldn't have seen it by looking at his face. Although they were now approaching Mhac Fheirme, Duo had made the trip a nightmare. He'd make really strange comments, laced with innuendo, then give a donkey's bray laugh at his own jokes. Wufei had shouted angrily at him more than once, and Heero had reprimanded him several times. They all heaved a sigh of relief when they reached the entrance gates to Mhac Fheirme....
...... then all stared in shock at the ruins of the once enormous castle.
The building had been razed to the ground, including stables and the crop fields beyond. Heero was first to regain composure.
" Spread out and look for survivors!"
Silently, the four Fenians split up. Trowa rode Heavyarms over the rough rubble of the courtyard leading to the main living areas, Wufei searched the crop fields and barns, Duo guided Quatre into the ruined stables and Heero entered the still partially intact banquet hall. A gleam of silver caught his eye, and he dismounted to examine it. He felt a strange lump form in his throat as he realized what it was.
J's silver arm.
J had told Heero about how he had lost his arm in a battle against a legendary tribe of immortals known as the Tuatha De Danann. The old man had reminisced about facing the group's leader, Cuchulainn, alone on the battlefield. After losing his arm to the immortal's sword but still refusing to give up, Cuchulainn had deemed him an honorable opponent and withdrew his army. The arm, made of pure silver, was a gift from the faerie as a sign of goodwill. For it to be lying here, discarded in the rubble could only mean that J was dead.
Swallowing the obtruction his throat, Heero prepared to call the others together to decide what they would do, when he heard commotion from outside. He quickly mounted Wing and goaded the animal outside, to where Trowa and Wufei were staring open-mouthed at the sky, while Trowa tried to restrain Duo's frenzied horse. Heero turned his own gaze to the sky.
Duo was more than a hundred feet above them, struggling in the grasp of an enormous demon. The monstrosity had a jackal's head, obscured by four long fangs protruding from its top lip. Its body was a sickly green and gray color, wrinkled and leathery with no muscle, just fat and bone. Its neck was surrounded by a ring of matted, stringy gray fur, which connected, to two huge leathery wings. Its arms were thin pieces of jagged bone that looked fragile, but were topped by long metal claws and were clutching Duo in a vice like grip.
Heero found himself panicking, which at any other time he would have berated himself for allowing such emotion to surface and get to him. But his full concentration was on the braided soldier.
What were they going to do?
