Creature of the Wood - Chapter 2
I shall be thy lover...
I've been alive since time began,
Not beast, not god, and yet not man.
I am the music and the dance,
I am the piper who enchants.
So loose all ties to mortal kind...
My pipes shall play within thy mind.
~Heather Alexander, 'Creature of the Wood'.
* * *
Every five steps or so, the same rock went skittering farthur up the path. Hands shoved deep within the pockets of his jeans, Duo kept his eyes on that rock as he made his way back from the main building of the campus. He hated being depressed... mainly because it happened so often nowadays. He swore his father had sent him here to get rid of him. Heavens knew that if he had to endure much more of this place, he'd curl in and die from the sheer amount of boredom that permeated his reality on a daily basis. Oh sure, screwing with Trowa was fun. The Pooka gave as good as he got, and Duo was pretty certain he'd be the brunt of one of the taller boy's rather sneaky pranks sooner or later. It still drove him nuts though, that he'd been shipped away so that his father didn't have to have his 'embarrassment' son around the Freehold any longer. Very few people saw past the masks he'd set firmly into place, keeping himself well and truly hidden while the smiles and jokes were all that were presented to others. Not even Trowa had gotten that deep into his psyche yet.
"NOW what did you do, Maxwell?"
Duo sighed, turning around and looking at the rigid form that had come up behind him. "Jesus, Wufei, did you two take the same lessons in questioning or what?" At the raised eyebrow, Duo just threw his hands up in the air and continued back the way he'd been heading. "I give UP! It's been a bad day, Wu, don't screw with me right now."
Much to Duo's chagrin, he merely heard the footsteps increasing behind him again. When he whipped around to face his follower once more, he was stopped cold, his lips parted as if to speak. Widened violet eyes met onyx black as he brought his gaze up towards his companion's altered form. Wufei had dropped his human 'seeming' and now stood before him in the form he preferred. The troll's lapis toned skin fairly shimmered in the light of sunset, and his expression brooked no argument whatsoever. Duo found himself taking an involuntary step back as Wufei spoke.
"If you're quite through now?" Wufei waited while Duo simply nodded silently. "Good. I didn't come here to antagonize you about your games, although you definately push me to my limits fending off those who want a piece of your hide on a daily basis." His gaze narrowed faintly and he had to force himself to not smile as he saw his companion swallow hard in nervousness. "What I came here for was to inform you that there were several new students that arrived today from Montessori school."
"That's the one that burned down last week, right?" Duo said, pulling himself back together and letting his natural curiosity take over once more. If Wufei was telling him this, then there was SOME importance to it.
A simple nod was his affirmative answer. "There were quite a few, but there's two in particular that have come to my attention." He left a pause after that statement... just long enough for Duo to nearly crawl out of his skin with wanting to ask... "Apparently there are two of our kind among them. At least one of them is completely unaware of what he is."
Duo's only reaction was shock. "TWO? Oh hells, Wufei, why didn't you tell me sooner? Come on! We've gotta find them!" He started to take off towards the school when he found himself yanked back by his braid, a startled yelp of pain escaping him.
"And WHY do you think I came to you now? I already know where they are."
Duo was willing to overlook the obvious opening Wufei left for teasing, and instead was more concerned with finding out what the troll knew. "Okay, wiseass, WHERE are they?" Wufei's next words almost sent Duo to the ground in shock once more.
"One is currently being moved into Trowa's room. The other happens to be rooming with you."
Duo staggered for a second, images of Trowa's normal demeanor coming to his mind. While he was serious when he wanted to be, he was downright creative AND sadistic when it came to getting even. "Oh shit... someone better warn Fuzzy before he walks in and finds his new bunkmate."
* * *
TBC
I shall be thy lover...
I've been alive since time began,
Not beast, not god, and yet not man.
I am the music and the dance,
I am the piper who enchants.
So loose all ties to mortal kind...
My pipes shall play within thy mind.
~Heather Alexander, 'Creature of the Wood'.
* * *
Every five steps or so, the same rock went skittering farthur up the path. Hands shoved deep within the pockets of his jeans, Duo kept his eyes on that rock as he made his way back from the main building of the campus. He hated being depressed... mainly because it happened so often nowadays. He swore his father had sent him here to get rid of him. Heavens knew that if he had to endure much more of this place, he'd curl in and die from the sheer amount of boredom that permeated his reality on a daily basis. Oh sure, screwing with Trowa was fun. The Pooka gave as good as he got, and Duo was pretty certain he'd be the brunt of one of the taller boy's rather sneaky pranks sooner or later. It still drove him nuts though, that he'd been shipped away so that his father didn't have to have his 'embarrassment' son around the Freehold any longer. Very few people saw past the masks he'd set firmly into place, keeping himself well and truly hidden while the smiles and jokes were all that were presented to others. Not even Trowa had gotten that deep into his psyche yet.
"NOW what did you do, Maxwell?"
Duo sighed, turning around and looking at the rigid form that had come up behind him. "Jesus, Wufei, did you two take the same lessons in questioning or what?" At the raised eyebrow, Duo just threw his hands up in the air and continued back the way he'd been heading. "I give UP! It's been a bad day, Wu, don't screw with me right now."
Much to Duo's chagrin, he merely heard the footsteps increasing behind him again. When he whipped around to face his follower once more, he was stopped cold, his lips parted as if to speak. Widened violet eyes met onyx black as he brought his gaze up towards his companion's altered form. Wufei had dropped his human 'seeming' and now stood before him in the form he preferred. The troll's lapis toned skin fairly shimmered in the light of sunset, and his expression brooked no argument whatsoever. Duo found himself taking an involuntary step back as Wufei spoke.
"If you're quite through now?" Wufei waited while Duo simply nodded silently. "Good. I didn't come here to antagonize you about your games, although you definately push me to my limits fending off those who want a piece of your hide on a daily basis." His gaze narrowed faintly and he had to force himself to not smile as he saw his companion swallow hard in nervousness. "What I came here for was to inform you that there were several new students that arrived today from Montessori school."
"That's the one that burned down last week, right?" Duo said, pulling himself back together and letting his natural curiosity take over once more. If Wufei was telling him this, then there was SOME importance to it.
A simple nod was his affirmative answer. "There were quite a few, but there's two in particular that have come to my attention." He left a pause after that statement... just long enough for Duo to nearly crawl out of his skin with wanting to ask... "Apparently there are two of our kind among them. At least one of them is completely unaware of what he is."
Duo's only reaction was shock. "TWO? Oh hells, Wufei, why didn't you tell me sooner? Come on! We've gotta find them!" He started to take off towards the school when he found himself yanked back by his braid, a startled yelp of pain escaping him.
"And WHY do you think I came to you now? I already know where they are."
Duo was willing to overlook the obvious opening Wufei left for teasing, and instead was more concerned with finding out what the troll knew. "Okay, wiseass, WHERE are they?" Wufei's next words almost sent Duo to the ground in shock once more.
"One is currently being moved into Trowa's room. The other happens to be rooming with you."
Duo staggered for a second, images of Trowa's normal demeanor coming to his mind. While he was serious when he wanted to be, he was downright creative AND sadistic when it came to getting even. "Oh shit... someone better warn Fuzzy before he walks in and finds his new bunkmate."
* * *
TBC
