Things to know before reading:
--In the trilogy Darian's Tale, the Tayledras called Darian Dar'ian…you probably already know this, but I feel I must express it. I call Darian Dar'ian in quotes, but in the story, his name is spelled…the way it's supposed to be spelled. Mmmhmm.
Kismet of a Changechild
Chapter IV
By Aura Kage
Darkness…only darkness, sweet sable visions and ebony brushes of wind…
Relief from the pain – only silence and tranquillity…
And, rising from the darkness, its outline a darker hue than that of the twilight, a feathered form…and on it studded two rubies of the darkest, most evil crimson-
Talons arched into the night, as large as a tree, hooked and swooping down upon him like a raptor dropping its own talons upon a stunned rabbit, too feared to move-
The claws slammed against the nonexistent ground, ripped it apart with the force of the impact, and the earth shook with pain before cracking, dissolving, and he fell…
Snowsong scared himself awake before he hit the 'ground', and felt his pulse racing with adrenaline. He lied there, shuddering, for a moment, before he became aware of voices in the background.
"It was nothing, of course," a female voice sighed in exasperation. "Just a reaction-headache."
Another sigh. "Of course…what magic were they working this time?"
Snowsong felt his racing heart come to an abrupt stop. Dar'ian.
There was the sound of someone walking…then, "That's just it. They weren't working any magic…any magic so strong so as to make a reaction-headache, that is."
Darian cursed. "That means-"
"That means that someone else is working magic, perhaps near there," the femme interrupted, sounding troubled. "I hope it isn't anything serious, ashke…"
Snowsong wanted to melt through the feather mattress and escape this conversation and setting. That was Keisha – her accent, though hardly distinguished, was proof of that.
There was no response. Snowsong wriggled uncomfortably.
"Oh, Snowsong!" Keisha exclaimed, and the Tayledras scout froze. "You're awake…?"
"Yes," Snowsong replied, staring avidly at the feather decorations on the wall.
"Well, that's good," Keisha said cheerfully. "I didn't think you'd wake up until quite a while yet – you've only been out for a few candlemarks, as it's only afternoon now. Though you'll probably be hungry…" – Snowsong winced as his stomach growled as if on cue, and Keisha giggled – "…so I'll get a hertasi to tend to you while I let you get your rest, hmm?"
"What about…" Snowsong cleared his throat to rid himself of his hoarse voice, and continued. "…Kestri?"
"Oh, she's fine, dear," Keisha told him, still cheerful. "She'll come in if she's up…she got a little of shock when you went unconscious. And you need to get your rest, mind you…that whatever-it-was got you good on the back."
"And…leave the window open? For her?" Snowsong asked, 'her' being Kestri.
"Of course. Now, get your sleep…" Keisha said soothingly, taking Darian's hand – though Snowsong couldn't see her make that movement, being in the position of staring at the wall. Snowsong heard them leave, and laid down in the almost-silence, trying to remember what had happened.
He could remember almost nothing…except for something about 'south,' and scouting, and Kestri being mad at him and…
…leaves in winter?
But one memory stood out like a blotch of darkness in the daytime.
The feathered face of a friend, but eyes that betrayed any peace that the thing had once – or never – had…
Those eyes…Snowsong shuddered, wriggling deeper into the soft blankets and curling into somewhat of a fetal position to retain what warmth he had. It was then he noticed that he had bandages tied around his chest – apparently, his shirt had been removed. He uncurled his arm and felt around his back, feeling remembrance of something happening there.
It wasn't wet…therefore wasn't bloody. Well, of course it wasn't – Healers could stop the flow of blood, couldn't they? Only natural they should have done so to him, Snowsong…still, something itched at the back of his mind to restore that memory of what had happened, and a part of him knew he would remember immediately if only he could feel under those bandages.
But no…he might start the blood flow again, or something…
~
A trickle of awareness filtered through the darkness, enough to wake up the tiny falcon from her sleep. An eyelid lifted to reveal a fierce raptor's eye, and Kestri saw a strange sight – a line surrounded by what looked to be soft wool, dyed gold with hints of green.
The line grew thicker, almond-shaped, and grew smaller as the face that belonged to that eye withdrew, revealing the rest of the catlike visage.
It was the Changechild!
:FEAR!:
Dawnshadow winced visibly into her bed while the kestrel recoiled, screeching distress as her talons raked uselessly against the blanket.
:Could you please not do that, Kestri-bird?: Dawnshadow asked politely, into the bird's mind, exercising her newfound technique. :It hurts me.:
:You hurt me!: Kestri cried, struggling to get to her feet and failing. Concern rippled over the Changechild's face, and a clawed hand reached over to pat the bird reassuringly.
:Don't do that, Kestri-bird,: Dawnshadow said soothingly, running the end of a fingernail gently through the kestrel's crest, making her calm down a bit and give the smallest reluctant croon of pleasure. :You will get hurt.:
:Hurt?: Kestri echoed, remembrance perking at the back of her mind. Then, :Snowsong! Where?:
:Not here,: Dawnshadow said, this time running two fingers through Kestri's earthly plumage. :I don't know where.:
:I know! Must go!: Kestri cried, pecking at Dawnshadow's fingers to ward her away. Kestri struggled comically through the bed sheets, talons raking, wings flapping, before she got to her feet and began walking awkwardly towards the slightly ajar door, wings flared to prepare for immediate flight.
:No, Kestri-bird!: Dawnshadow called out after it, getting up from the bed and leaping to the floor, hands extended to catch the kestrel bondbird. :You might get hurt!:
:Snowsong hurt! Snowsong need Kestri!: Kestri replied firmly, pecking at the cracked door in an attempt to open it. She turned her head sideways and managed to swing the door wide enough to admit her small body. She trotted out and flapped away.
:Kestri-bird! Wait!: Dawnshadow called, stumbling after her. She shivered as soon as she stepped out – it may not have been very cold, but there was a definite difference in the temperature from the inside of the room than outside. Though that cold was almost nothing compared to the fresh, cool air and the feel of earth beneath her feet – paws? – that made her feel an overwhelming sense of free again.
This place was secluded, it seemed, for there were no Tayledras about…or maybe they were just off somewhere else, having a social gathering. No matter…she could just stay out here for a little, just until she could feel…attached to everything else again.
But she never got that chance, for right then, a massive gleaming ivory form trotted towards her, as alien and different as if it were a cloud floating through the forest. Dawnshadow turned towards it instinctively, narrowing her eyes in a gesture of warding, but it came towards her purposefully, glimmering silver shoes making hardly an indent in soil.
Shoes? No…
As it came nearer, Dawnshadow saw easily that it was a horse, though she couldn't bring herself to saw that it was merely a horse. It was far more than that…far more than what she could ever be, far more than the powerful mage that had manipulated her so long ago-
:Not as strong as that,: a soft, gentle voice said at the back of her mind, and Dawnshadow felt a strange feeling – as if someone were taking away something that was troubling her, and placing it in a canister where it would not ever bother her again. The Changechild frowned, brow furrowing, and the horse-like non-horse tossed its head, mane waving like the yawning of a wave rolling towards the shore.
And the non-horse turned an eye towards her, and she felt exposed and weak, lost in those bluer-than-the-sky eyes, glimmering intelligently like every ocean-hued precious stone fused into a single marble and given to this thing of pure alabaster and silver.
:Come with me…my Chosen.:
~
Kestri swooped weakly through the air, searching her mind for her bondmate, an irresistible calling in the back of her mind to go to him, comfort him. She could almost hear him calling again, both hoped and knew he was alright and awake and waiting for her, and did not want to let him down-
She crashed through the slightly open window, one wing grazing the sill, losing a feather or two. She began shrieking as soon as she entered the room.
:Kestri?:
:Snowsong!: Kestri cried out exuberantly, trotting awkwardly towards the bed and flapping onto it with the gracelessness of a cygnet. :Better!:
:You could say that…but not really,: Snowsong replied, indulging in her Mindspeaking. :Still hurt. Need rest.:
:Good. Rest,: Kestri agreed, slashing at the blankets in an effort to get nearer to her bondmate and choose a spot to bed down at the same time. Finally, she lied down on a section of the blanket, sprawled out in a very unraptor-like position with her wings stretched and legs folded beneath her and to the side. Snowsong prodded her mentally, and she sent a feeling of comfort, though there was a little grumbling as kestrels were cavity-nesters, and unlike open-air-nesting hawks, liked to crawl into holes in the trees.
:What happened?: Snowsong asked, feeling whole again, as if Kestri was a bit of him that had been lost and now found. It was odd, surely – Kestri, for one, was his bondbird…she was always there, always in the back of his mind, never 'lost' or 'detached' from him. Yet still he felt that loss when she was away, and only felt truly comfortable when she was near.
:Told Kelvren. Told Nightwind. Woke up with Changechild. Fly here,: Kestri yawned, turning her head to the side and shifting the blankets in an attempt to get more comfortable. :Rest. Sleep. Hurt. Need heal.:
:Alright,: Snowsong agreed, moving his hand over to scratch the kestrel's neck-feathers. She sighed in bliss, and Snowsong gave a small laugh as he allowed himself to rest.
~
As soon as Kelvren and the Companion walked into the Vale, the Companion strode off away from the gryphon with a purposeful gait, and when Kelvren called after him the equine-formed being turned and snorted, as if to say, :Later – my duty to Valdemar is always my first priority.:
Well, whoever his Chosen is, it's going to have to jump on the saddle quick and get moving.
Wait…did that Companion even have a saddle? I thought they always Chose with their finery on. Hmmm…
Kelvren snorted and walked on to Darian's ekele, ears lowering at the prospect of having to enter into his domain normally, instead of flapping down in all his bronze glory. Well…that wasn't important. That Tayledras scout would have been mutilated had the Companion not been there, and some Changecreature loose that could do that amount of damage had to be stopped.
And right at that moment, the gryphon felt like having that thing's flesh between his talons, slashed until it was a nothing more than a mass of crimson-stained meat and liquid…
He found the ekele easily, having been there times before, and also found Darian there – he was outside, talking to Keisha in a hushed voice. Well, however quiet it was, it could still be heard by keen gryphonic ears; they were talking about a reaction-headache, which was probably the result of an Apprentice messing up in his studies.
"Darrrian!" Kelvren called loudly, and the mage turned to the gryphon, surprise mounted on his face that quickly turned into resilience.
"Hello, Kel," Darian said, smiling warmly. "What brings you here?"
"Therrre was an attack on one of the scccoutsss," Kelvren informed him, flexing his talons on the soil.
"Yes, we saw him," Keisha said, frowning. "It looked like a wyrsa got him…that wouldn't be very unusual, though I'm hoping that he got here quickly enough so that I was able to stop the poison from spreading."
"It wasss not a wyrrrsssa," Kelvren said, shaking his head empathetically, wings unfolding slightly. "A Companion sssaved the ssscout, and it would have been killed if it had not, asss the Companion sssaid, 'flew away'. And wyrrrsssa poissson worksss quickly – the ssscout would have been dead if he had been sssslassshed by one. And the ssscout's bondbird told me that the attackerrr wasss an 'evil gryphon'. And-"
"Alright, we get it, Kelvren," Darian interrupted, cutting the gryphon off with a boldness no one but a friend to a gryphon could ever produce. "Let's go talk about it somewhere more private…and you said a Companion saved the scout?"
"Yesss. Like Sssshandi's Companion," Kelvren explained impatiently, his talons now raking an inch-deep crevice in the earth. "He found a Chosssen here and he left Haven to find him, but the Companion sssaid he would be back-"
:And I am,: a strange voice said, filling the three of their minds. They turned to see the equine-like trotting towards them, a short-furred pair of gray arms wrapped desperately around the Companion's neck like a mildly furry necklace.
"The Changechild," Keisha said quietly, turning to face the Companion. "Dawnshadow, is it? And you are…?"
:Kyrrith,: the Companion relied, tossing and inclining his head as if in respect. In truth, he had turned to face his Chosen. :You can let go now.:
Dawnshadow nodded rapidly, dark hair trembling as they were whipped about. She very carefully uncurled her arms around the Companion's neck, with the carefulness that would make one think that if she went too quickly she would be mortally wounded, and drew herself to a sitting-up position, though her eyes were downcast, fully concentrating on the task of dismounting the Companion. With a slowness that was annoyingly irritating, the Changechild lowered herself to the ground and caught her balance, one hand on the Companion.
But her eyes were still downcast.
"Hello," Darian said politely, gently, feeling the tentative emotions from the Changechild as if she were radiating them. "I believe we've met before, haven't we? When you first came here?"
"I am sorry," Dawnshadow muttered, looking to her right.
"For what?"
"For…anything…I did wrong," she said haltingly, scuffing the ground with a foot. Darian noticed with suppressed astonishment that the Changechild looked as if she had not been hurt at all – though those wounds had been deep and serious when she came. So she was a fast healer.
"You didn't do anything wrong," Darian assured, and Keisha smiled next to him, as if amused. "We just need to talk to…ah…Kyrrith for a while."
:So don't worry,: Kyrrith told Dawnshadow privately. :Look up, be nice, smile…:
Dawnshadow obeyed, looking up a hairs-breadth at a time, smiling coyly at the three of them with a reluctance that was almost shouted.
And then her gold-green eyes fell on Kelvren, and her pupils widened to an iris-engulfing point, fur standing on end like a cat arching its back.
And then the strangest thing-
A roar that defeated even the magnitude of thunder, a growl that sent pangs of fear that paralyzed any hearers stone-stiff, glimmering pools of blood illuminated by magelight that grew and intensified until it was as bright and blinding as a tiny sun-
Kelvren screeched as the intensity of the memory caught him and forced his awareness into that past time, and blinked confusedly as he was back into his own body, while Darian and Keisha recovered as well. Dawnshadow gave a strangled cry and collapsed on the ground as if stunned, while Kyrrith stood guiltily behind her, tossing his mane again nervously.
Darian cleared his throat awkwardly.
"Well then…"