Splintered Dreams
by: Cat Skyfire and Yuuki Miyaka
Chapter One
Ebony was weak. Burns and hunger jarred her mind with pain. Each step was leaden, but she didn't think about it. She just wanted to lay down. Let it end. But her spirit was too strong for that, still.A noise intruded on her stream of pain-filled thoughts. A voice. Human? No...the tongue was elfin. She looked around as the voice became louder.
"Do you think you could stop standing there and get me down?"
The dark huntress looked up in surprise, then choked back a laugh and blinked.Up ahead was a male elf. A vine trap had his leg, and he dangled several feet above the ground, twirling gently in the breeze. A wolf lay next to his dagger, grinning a lopsided grin."Did you get caught in your own trap?" she asked impudently, trying to push down the fear of being around another elf. The teasing words were a form of armor that protected her.
"No..." His voice had a tired sound to it. "Smell it and you'll find human."
She went over to the trap, looking it over, then smiled in satisfaction. Easy enough to cut him down. The hard part would be keeping him from bumping his head as he fell.
"Just slice it...I can land on my own..."
Ebony turned to face the other elf, her eyes icier than the white-cold. "I. Don't. Hurt. Elves."
The bearded face twirled slowly in front of her. "That's fine. Aim for the vine, then." His voice had the exasperated sound of someone who had been dangling for awhile.
Gripping the vine in one hand, she used the other to find her knife from her belt and slice slowly through the vine below her hand. As the plant gave way, Ebony grabbed onto the vine tightly, using her own strength and weight to keep the vine from moving too quickly. As the vine slipped up, she rose with it. And the other elf slipped down.
With the grace of the elves, the stranger turned agilely. While he didn't land on his feet, neither did he land on his head. He took up his own knife and cut the vine from his leg, then rubbed the place. Sheathing his knife, he looked up. "Thanks for your -" His words died away as he saw how she looked. "What happened to you?!"
"What does it matter? Good hunting to you." The words were obviously a dismissal. But for a brief moment, the stranger could see the misery in her eyes.
"Whoa!" he called, rising to his feet and putting a hand out towards her. "You helped me...maybe I can help you?" She glanced at him, seeing him as more than a dangling figure for the first time. A part of him reminded her of Strongbow. The slim, yet strong, features. Yet different. Above a designed headband, his blond hair was short and shoved forward. He was bearded, marking him as an elder wolfrider. The face fur came down from the corners of his mouth, and, like his hair, seemed pushed forward at the chin. In his left ear were two rings, both of silver. What truly amazed her, however, was the look of concern in his blue-grey eyes. "Hey...something's wrong. Let me help..." He took a step forward.
At his words, she merely hunched her shoulders down, continuing the trek away from him. One hand came up briefly to touch the burns on her right cheek, and her back shivered. "Nothing's wrong that you could ever help with. Leave me be." It was Strongbow's cub she had failed. And this elf who had approached her brought everything back.
"Now, you don't know that..." His voice was soothing, and a tiny bit chastising. "For one thing, I can help you find shelter from the storms that will hit shortly."
"LEAVE ME BE!" Her words held a distinct Challenge to them.
The stranger considered her angry words for a moment, then straightened. "No."
"Owl Pellets!" Ebony swore. "I don't need you. I don't want you around. So let me alone!" He was everything she had left behind, all rolled into one. Soul brothers and teacher, Strongbow, Cutter, and Skywise. And she was afraid of him.
"No," repeated the stranger again. "You need help. I'm the only one around. So I'm it. Do you want to do this the easy way, or the hard way?"
Straightening up to her full height, Ebony looked regally delicate. Or at least, she did until the stranger took into account the wiry strength in her arms and legs. "Are you Challenging me, Cub?"
"I don't know your age, and you don't know mine. Better keep your cubbing to yourself. If I have to, I'll challenge you. I'm limping, and you're hurt bad too, but one of us is bound to win." He paused. "BUT...I'd much rather you LET yourself be helped."
"No one can help me." Her tone was final and miserable.
"Now, tell me, how can you know that? You haven't let me try."
"I know." She turned away, her jaw tightening to hold back the tears of pain.
"Look...I owe you a debt, of sorts. The High Ones know how long I'd have dangled there... And I don't even know who to thank... What's your name?"
"I am called Cubkiller." Her tonetriedto be defiant. Instead, it came out bleak.
He blinked. "And who called you that?" His voice was tender.
"The mother of the cub I killed." Now, she sounded angry. "Leave me be!"
"And what did your own family call you?" He persisted.
"I have no family."
"Everyone has family."
"Then go to yours and leave me alone!"
The stranger took three steps and gently took hold of her shoulders, looking down into her eyes. "No. You're hurting too much to let be. Now, come with me, the rains are about to start."
She twisted away from him, her eyes wide and panicked. "Get away from me! Go away!" As she yelled the words, something inside of her broke. "Don't touch me! Everything that touches me dies. . . "
"If so...I'm already doomed. And there's no reason to leave you then," He gently tried to take hold of her arm and tug her. "Come...the storms will be heavy."
"Why?" she whispered softly.
The male shrugged. "I don't like seeing anyone in this much pain."
She regarded him steadily for a long moment, then looked away, her chin tilting up slightly.
"...Did I mention I'm stubborn?"
At his words, her lips curled up in a smile that did not reach her eyes. "Did you mention your name?"
A flash of lightening crossed a rapidly darkening sky. "Nope. Stormseer."
"Figures," she mumbled. "That's why you've been going on about a little rain."
"It's not going to be a little rain... It's almost like there was a huge fire and the sky is weeping..." He blinked, realizing her burns more fully. "But you know about that... Come..."
The reference to fire made her tense so tightly that Stormseer was in pain from watching.
"Come." The tone was more urgent this time.
She nodded, allowing him to lead her away.
Stormseer tapped at the wolf with his toe, and the mass of shaggy light grey fur rose. "Can you ride?"
"I'll walk." Seeing the wolf again made her think of Blackbriar. She sighed. Her wolf-friend was either dead or with the others by now. At least he wasn't with her. The Cubkiller. The Monster.
"All right..." He walked slowly, using the wolf to help him. He limped, trying not to hurt the ankle he dangled from more. After several minutes, they reached a cave. "After you..."
She walked in silently, folding herself into a sitting position. Gripping her pant leg with both hands, she used her remaining strength to tear strips from it, until she had a neat long ribbon of leather. Without speaking, she motioned for him to sit beside her. When he did, she took his ankle in her hands, feeling around to see if it were broken.
"Ah!" He was resistant as she gently pulled the high boot from his foot. The ankle was swollen and purple, but did not seem broken.
Her touch was surprisingly gentle for all her earlier gruffness. She finally bound the foot gently. "I'd rather not take chances," she explained softly.
He winced, acting as most males did when having wounds tended. "Why not?"
"Because soon I won't be around. With an injured foot that didn't properly heal, you might find yourself in worse places than a human's trap. You might find yourself in their cookfire."
"I thought I was already doomed?"She looked away, stung by his words."I'm sorry..." he paused. "Look...I can't call you Cubkiller. You seem too nice. Do you have another name?"
"Ebony." The word was soft, almost seeming a memory of itself.
"Ebony..." His tone was soft as well, but gentle. He looked at her for a moment, trying to really see her.
Her hand came up again to touch the burns on her right cheek, and she turned fully away from him.
He turned his body to follow her movements.
She raked a slender, pale hand through her short, dark curls, curls which seemed to have a mind of their own. And her black eyes stared at the wall of the cave, the only emotion in their gaze one of misery. She was slender, delicate, yet with a wiry strength that kept her alive. Added to that wiry strength was a determination that telegraphed its presence.
Stormseer blinked. Even gaunt and burnt, she was a beauty. Gaunt... He came to his senses. "You must not have eaten in days, Ebony," The name was said with a softness again. "I'll get you some food...."
"I've eaten enough, thank you."
"Oh...really? When was the last time you ate?"
"This evening." She didn't mention that all she'd had were a few leaves from one of the three edible plants she knew of.
"...And let me guess...it was a heavy meated haunch of a ravvit?" His voice had a tinge of sarcasm to it.
"Your words don't suit you," she said, her annoyance with him obvious.
"Look, you look too thin. Are you trying to starve yourself, or has the game been that scarce?"
She chose not to answer, instead rising and prowling around the cave like a caged wolf.The cave was undecorated, but in the back, there were furs, and something good cooking on the banked coals of a fire."Where is your tribe?" she finally asked, looking at him curiously.
"Off towards the cold sun comes up... At the edge, where forest meets cave. Several of us have gone off to discover....' He quieted himself. "Nevermind..."
"Elves shouldn't leave their tribes. It's not the Way."
He hesitated. "...Cubs have been disappearing. Some of us are trying to find out why."
Her eyes flew to his. "Cubs?" she choked. Held in the black pools of her gaze, he found worry and fear for the children.
He nodded slowly, before breaking away his gaze to look at the floor. "We're not the only tribe with the problem... We ... our tribe has several splinters... Each have lost cubs... No bodies. No bones. Just gone."
"And you're trying to find out why."
"Yes."
"Well, you won't do anyone any good if you end up swinging from trees by a human's trap." Her face shuttered closed, and her gruffness returned.
"...Well..." He cracked a smile. "I usually TRY to avoid that."
"I'll help you."
Stormseer blinked, and he glanced up at her. "What?"
"I'll help you." She looked at him impatiently.
"Why?" The word was a simple statement of bewilderment.
"They're cubs," she stated, as though that explained everything. And perhaps to her it did, he thought.
"...So....?"
"So they're cubs. End of story. I'm helping you."
"...Why would someone called 'Cubkiller' want to help?"
Ebony bit her lip to keep the pain of the name away. She wouldn't let it bother her. She wouldn't. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she failed to notice the small trickle of blood slipping down from the bite in her lip to her chin.
Stormseer stood, swaying slightly when he tried to put weight on his injured foot. He approached her, and, with his thumb, wiped at the trickle of blood. "Tell me what happened."
She shivered slightly at his touch, but shook her head. "No." she whispered.
"Yes." His voice was soft, gentle, yet commanding.
"You're not my chief. You won't command me," she said hotly.
"Where is your chief, then?"
Her gaze shifted to the ground behind him. "I have no chief."
"A lone wolf, then?"
She simply stared at him, blinking back the tears. Why was he able to get to her like this? Not even Crossbow's death had hit her this bad. And yet, here she was, spilling her soul to a stranger.Stormseer didn't think. He saw the tears, and tried to gently enfold the unhappy elf in his arms.She allowed the embrace for a single moment before breaking out of his arms. "Don't touch me." She was angry.
"I'm sorry...you seemed to need it."
"I need nothing and no one."
"...Now say that like you believe it."
Her hand flashed out, stopping just short of his cheek. "I hate you," she said coldly.
He lashed out his own hand, pressing hers against his cheek and holding it here. His eyes glimmered. "Amazing how quickly you can hate someone..."
She stood there, a deer seeing danger, afraid of not moving and afraid to move.Stormseer wondered what he was doing. Why was he playing wolf and ravvit with this maiden? If she wanted to leave, why didn't he let her? And why did her hand feel so good against his cheek?She tugged gently against his grip, the movement barely noticeable.He let her hand go, but found himself missing its warmth.
For a long moment, she stared into his eyes. Then, wetting her lips, she spoke. The words were barely breathed, and near-silent. "I don't hate you . . ."His gaze held hers, trapped. He couldn't speak. Couldn't think. What was going on?
Her chest tightened. For a few seconds she wondered about the pain, until she realized that she hadn't been breathing. Her first real breath was shuddery. She reached out tentatively, touching his chest with the barest tips of her fingers. The feel was like moths against his skin.
Stormseer didn't move. He felt as if Ebony were a young doe, and if he moved, he'd frighten her away. His breathing was shallow, and all he could do was watch, and feel the heat from her fingers drive straight into his heart.She took a step closer to him, bringing her hand down on his chest in earnest. She couldn't understand fully what was happening between them, and she didn't want to.Stormseer felt himself slide into the Now. The anger of moments ago was gone. All he felt was the warm hand of the beautiful elfin maiden. He brought up his hand, sliding on finger along her cheek and up her ear.
As his finger touched her right cheek, the one ruined by the fire, she came back to herself with a start. "Don't. Please." she said, looking away from him as her hand came up to cover the damaged skin. Her body shuddered a few times as she tried to bring herself back under control.
"I...I'm sorry... I didn't mean...." His voice wavered, and the look in his eyes was distant.
She shook her head slowly, a tremulous smile forming on her lips. "It's not your fault . . ." she whispered. "You don't deserve that."
"I...it's just...you're so beautiful..." His voice was soft, almost awed.
That earned him a jaded regard. "Nonsense." She was still having trouble getting over the magic she had felt with him, but she knew what she truly looked like. In the first days after leaving the WolfRiders, she had come upon a small pond. Though the water seemed black with all the ash, she could see well enough to understand the fiery pain in her cheek. A large blister had formed over the burn, and the blister hurt to touch. Now, the blister was all but gone, and she knew that there would be a scar. Shewantedthere to be one.
Stormseer just shook his head, he knew the truth. She WAS beautiful.
A smile touched the corner of her mouth, and her gaze warmed to him slightly. Trying to end the spell once and for all, she moved away from him, sitting close to the fire. "Are you one of Two-Spear's descendants, then?"
He shook himself, to break the spell as well. "My tribe broke off from the Huntress."
"Skyfire? Ahh . . ." Ebony smiled softly. Tribal history was something she could concentrate on easily, thanks to Longbranch. She grinned. "I always liked the weavings of hers, best. I understand her."
"Aye... A few of her people felt the wanderlust..."
"And has that continued down through the chiefs?"
"To a point, I suppose. Would you like to see our healer?"
"Why?" Her question was guarded. "I'm not ill."
"Your burns..."
Her jaw tightened, and she looked away. "I'll keep them. They will always remind me." Of what, she didn't say. But just as she had been a living reminder of Madcoil's carnage to her tribe, so would the scars be a living reminder of the humans and Warbler to her.
He shook his head. "I've a feeling you'll always remember. You don't need damage to prove it happened."
"I'll keep them."
Stormseer considered, but decided not to argue with her on the point now.
Ebony regarded Stormseer with some confusion, as though she were trying to figure out a particularly difficult puzzle.
Stormseer caught her puzzled look. He leaned against the cave wall, taking the weight from his injured foot. "What are you trying to figure out?"
"Why does it bother you?"
He shrugged. "It's not an expression I'm used to... My people know me inside and out, I suppose."
"I . . . I don't understand."
He eased himself over to the fire and sat, wincing slightly. "You look like you're trying to figure me out or something... It's new to me."
Ebony glanced over at the mouth of the cave, grimacing at the downpour. "I could get you some willowbark, if you're in that much pain."
He shrugged. "I could also dunk it in the cold water. I'm just not used to dangling by my leg for so long..."
"For so long, huh? So you do this often?" Her grin was almost impish. For some reason, she was becoming very comfortable here.
"Well...some of my tribemates are...tricksters. It's not hard to get caught intheirtraps, because they have the cunning of elves. It's stumbling into a human trap AND losing my blade." He looked sheepish.
"Where did you lose your blade?" Her eyes turned deadly serious.
"It slipped from my sheath when I was yanked up by my ankle..." He tapped the handle in its sheath once more. "Just out of reach..."
"So that's the one you were talking about. I thought another elven blade was out there for the five-fingers to find." As she said the words "five-fingers," her voice turned colder than he'd ever heard before.
"Not a fan of the humans?" Stormseer asked.Ebony's jaw clenched, and he saw bloodlust enter her eyes for a brief moment before she turned away from him altogether."...I didn't mean to upset you..." He sounded contrite.
"Don'teverask me that again."
He hesitated a moment, then said, with deliberate lightness. "I probably will. I'm curious."
"Don't."
"Ever met a friendly human?"
"They don't exist." Her words were tinged with bitter disgust.
"I don't know if I'd agree. I know a few good ones."
"I'll get the bark," Ebony said abruptly, standing.
"...Um...thanks..." Stormseer wondered what Ebony would do when they met one of the few useful humans he knew.
She stepped out into the downpour, instantly getting drenched. Though her visibility was nil, she swiftly managed to locate the bark from touch alone, a skill imparted to her from Rain. When she finally returned, she looked like nothing more than a drowned wolf. And the leathers she wore weighed her down considerably.
Stormseer took the bark from her, dropping some into a cup lying on the fire coals, to steep. "You look cold...c'mon, let's get you out of those wet leathers..." Gently, he started to pull the leathers from her.
She wrenched away from him. "I'm not a cub. I can handle this on my own, thank you."
For an instant, he was tempted to cross his arms and glare at her. Then he reached forward gently, again. "C'mon...let's get you out of those wet leathers," he repeated. "It's hard to get out of the sodden ones. Let me help."
She knocked his arm away. "Leave me be!" she snapped angrily.
"Why won't you let me help?" he demanded, a little hurt.
"I don't need your help. Ever."
"Everyoneneeds help sometime!"
Her fingers struggled to undo the knot at the top of her tunic, and finally she gave up. She yanked the thing over her head, spreading it out carefully on a rock in the corner. Her pants followed suit, and she curled up into a small ball on the floor, her knees against her chest as she sat. She stared up at him coldly. "I don't need you."
With difficulty, Stormseer managed to keep from smiling as she fought with her tunic. Somberly, he walked over to his furs and pulled one up, gently wrapping it around her. It was warm from the heat of the fire.
"Once the cubs are found, I'll be on my way," she stated, unnecessarily.
He nodded. "If you move on top of the fur, it will be warmer...your skin is too much like ice."
"I'm fine. Thank you." The last words were vaguely grudging.
Pulling the fur around her shoulders, his hand brushed against her shoulder. The heat radiating from the hand was a stunning contrast to the cold of her own skin, damp from the rain.
"Don't. Please . . . " She didn't want to get caught up in his presence again.
"Don't what....?" His voice was soft, soothing. For the moment, all he could think about was that she was cold. He lay his hand on her shoulder, trying to warm even a tiny part of her.
She jerked away. "Don't touch me."
"What...what's wrong?"
"I don't want anything from you," Ebony reiterated firmly. This elf didn't listen in the slightest.
"But you're so cold..."
"Nothing."
"...And you won't let me help..." He sighed, trying to understand why this disturbed him so.
"I don't need your help." She said the words slowly, as though to a confused cub. "I don't need anyone's help."
"But I need to help."
She glanced back up in surprise. "Why?"
"...Because..." He seemed reluctant to add more. "I just ... do."
"Well you can help me most by leaving me alone."
He shook his head. "...I...don't think so..."
She stared up at him for a long time, saying nothing. Her expression was a solemn mix of fear and confusion and need. He reached for the cup in the coals, being careful of its warmth, and sipped the bitter brew. "Thank you for the bark..." He sat next to her, near, but not moving away. Ebony stood in frustration, moving back over to the furs. After glaring at him, she curled up in the furs, quickly drifting off to sleep.
Stormseer watched as Ebony drifted into sleep, a huddled form. He sipped the bitter bark tea and glanced over to the coals. What about this strange, gaunt, injured elf so enflamed him? Was it Recognition? No, he thought, shaking his head gently. He heard no name, felt no undeniable hunger. Just...a wanting. He thought for a moment, and wished he could ask his father, Farsight, for advice. Or his mother, Moondance. But he knew he couldn't go back yet. Not without some proof that he was useful...something to redeem himself.
He looked again at the sleeping elf, and slowly pulled another fur over, laying down next to her, praying to the High Ones for sleep to come to him.
Despite the idea that she was a Wolfrider, or had been, she slept more like a cat. Curled up in an impossible position, she looked extremely comfortable. But when her body felt his warmth, it shivered slightly before moving to lay curled against him. He swallowed, but gently lay an arm around her, pulling her just a hair's breadth closer, offering what warmth he could. To his surprise, he felt himself drift off, at last.