The Cathach
Chapter 11
Okay, I've pulled myself out of my psychedelic Hallucinations long enough to work on this fic. I must admit, I have been neglecting it. I got carried away with some other ideas, but now I only have one other work in progress so I can concentrate more on this one. Usual warnings, usual disclaimer.
The Fianna troop continued their long trek to Tara to confront the High King. Duo was riding Wing with Heero and Quatre was on Heavyarms with Trowa, but only two of them were delighted with the arrangement. Duo felt a little bit lonely behind the captain, having no one to talk to, and Heero's close proximity to the braided soldier was making him feel uncomfortable.
Trowa was enjoying the situation immensely. Quatre was sitting in front of him, and to hold the reins the auburn haired boy had to reach around the Alicorn's slender waist. And feeling Quatre's body rub up against his thighs made the journey a lot more interesting, to say the least. By now, the rest of the team knew of their relationship, but Heero had warned them not to flaunt it too much. Still, it was nice having his lover so close to him.
Quatre turned out to be a capable navigator, having been exploring the entire country for years. He was leading them through an old trail that many immortals had used before they had been wiped out, and at this rate they were assured to be in Tara within a few days. They had to stop when the reached a fork in the trail. Wufei snorted angrily along with his horse.
" Well, which way now?"
" Um, would we rather face a griffon or a dragon?"
" What the hell are you talking about, blondie?"
" If we go right, we'll encounter an old griffon's lair. If we go left, we might see a dragon."
" He's right. I can hear them from here."
" Personally, I'd choose the dragon. As long as we don't wake it up or anger it, we should be safe."
" I can handle a dragon. Left it is."
They continued down a rocky mountain trail, and soon enough they came across a large cave with the sounds of heavy snoring echoing from inside. Wufei frowned and muttered to himself. They were under strict instruction not to wake or disturb the sleeping dragon in any way, as much as the Asian soldier was itching for a fight. Although dragons were considered demons and not true immortals like Duo or Quatre, the demon blood inside of most of the species had been diluted over the years. Many just stuck to forests and mountains away from humans.
The dragon that Wufei had killed at the age of thirteen had been responsible for destroying his village, and had carried off and eaten the girl he had been arranged to marry. Although, quite frankly, Wufei wasn't that disappointed about his wife. He was more annoyed that the girl had been carried off while making supper for the soldier. In retaliation, Wufei had cooked and eaten the dragon's flesh, and so the protective scales of the creature's skin had blended seamlessly with Wufei's own. Unfortunatly, it had also given him a thirst for combat.
A loud crash sounded from behind the travelers, and they looked around to see a large, honey-colored dragon cornering Wufei. Her angular blue eyes narrowed at him, and the strange, spiraled double frills on her head rose and fell as she snarled at the soldier, who had just drawn his sword. He looked rather pleased.
" Do your worst, dragon!"
" Believe me, I will! I smell the blood of a kinsman on you!"
" Yeah, I eat creatures like you for breakfast! Literally!"
" Then I'll do the same to you!"
The dragon knocked the sword out of Wufei's grip and grabbed him, dangling him in the air like a cat with a mouse. The Fianna figured that they'd have to intervene before they lost a member of the team. Quatre jumped down off of Heavyarms and approached her.
" Please, Miss, couldn't you let him go?"
" No way! He ate one of my kind, I'll eat him!"
" You don't have the guts, onna!"
" You'll have a pretty good view of my guts where you're going, boy!"
" You can't eat him! He's got dragon's skin. He'd be impossible to digest!"
" All right, I'll just rip him to pieces!"
" But we need him!"
" Not as much as my kind needs revenge! And I'm sure you can understand this, Alicorn! His kind butchered your kind!"
" Can't we negotiate this, immortal to immortal?"
He had swayed her. Quatre had traveled the entire length of the country and come across many creatures, including dragons. He knew that they were notoriously vain and liked to consider themselves immortals. And they were very susceptible to flattery. The dragon beamed and set a fuming Wufei down, then introduced herself as Sally to the bemused Fianna.
Several hours later, the Fianna left Sally's cave, minus an old book of alchemy that had belonged to J. Sally had agreed to take it instead of Wufei. On the way out, she slapped the Asian's rear with her claw, winked and called him 'muffin.' Wufei refused to say anything for the rest of the trip.
* * * * * *
" Are we there yet?"
" No."
" Are we there yet?"
" No."
" Are we there yet?"
" NO!"
" All right, no need to shout."
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…Are we there yet?"
" Duo, for the love of…"
" What's that?"
The top of a single spire fell into the travelers' vision, a sign that they were approaching Tara. They rode in the direction of the spire, only to find that the trail forked again and lead through either dense forest, or barren wasteland.
" How do we know which way to go?"
" We send a scout."
" The scout could get lost in that forest, and the wasteland goes on for miles!"
" I've an idea!"
" Well, do share, Maxwell!"
" Me and Quatre can fly above the trails and see which one gets us there."
" That's not a bad idea. I'm amazed."
" Haw haw. Ever the wit, Wuffie."
" Get going. We haven't that much time."
" Okay! Let's go, Q."
Quatre dismounted and shape-shifted quickly. When Duo was secured on his back, the Alicorn's huge white wings stirred the air and both immortals were thrust towards the sky.
* * * * * *
" Lord Treize."
" Yes, Lady Une?"
" Enemies are approaching swiftly. I cannot predict who or why, but my sources say that they are dangerous."
" How many?"
" I can only detect two, approaching. Too fast to be on horseback."
" How many griffons lie dormant near Lough Derravaragh?"
" Seven, sir. Maybe more, I cannot be certain."
" Send as many as you can to greet our visitors."
" Yes, sir."
Lady Une walked over to a shallow pool of water, ripped her canine tooth across her thumb and let a few drops of blood hit the surface. As she began a chant, the blood spread until the whole pool was an unearthly crimson.
* * * * * *
A few miles away, a beast with the head of a vulture, the body of a panther and bat's wings opened it's glowing red eyes, then released a harsh, guttural cry to others of its kind. The message was very simple.
The hunt is on.
