PART 2
"What do you want?" came the growled reply as Heero relaxed just a trifle.
"Hey, I just came back to get my cloak. I didn't - MMPH!" Duo teetered precariously for balance on his perch as he was hit full-force by a Heero- projected cloak. After a few minutes of muffled struggles, Duo finally overcame the vicious garment in a slightly exaggerated battle and managed to wrestle it over his shoulders, fixing the clasp with a little *click*. Leaning in, his foot had barely touching the floor before he felt the cold prick of a blade against his chest. His eyes followed up the length of the blade to find a slightly ruffled Heero on the other end, glaring at him icily. "H-Hey...let's not get hostile here. I -" "Shut up. And get out."
"No need to be so rude," Duo sniffled as he backed out of the window a little, fluffing his bangs. "I was just gonna thank you." A moment of rare silence ensued, then finally he blurted, "Have you ever had your fortune told?" Caught off-guard, Heero double-blinked and shook his head, backing away to resume his seat on the wooden bench. "Well....would you like to have it read? I'm pretty good, y'know." Risking a lean in, a foot landed silently on the floor followed by the second, and soon Duo was stretching in the warm room. "I could -" He cut off with an "Eep" as Heero's sword was drawn again, and the advancing steps stopped leaving a nervously grinning Duo only a few feet away. "Okay...well, I suppose I could do the fortune-telling from a distance. You could make good money like that....that sounds like a good idea...." Duo lapsed into thoughtful mutters, the curve of his chin held between thumb and forefinger. "Sending fortune-telling messages back and forth with a teleportation spell....yeah...we could call it 'Tele-tellers....' 0ne silver for the first reading, five coppers for every reading after that..."
The whole time this one-sided conversation was going on, Heero found himself staring at the boy. He was beautiful, in the way that a well- crafted sword was beautiful. Or a rare crossbow. Then again, probably in the way of anything truly deadly. Tch...he found himself comparing things to weapons too often. In this case, though, the comparison seemed accurate enough; he moved like all of his muscles were on tightly-wound gears, each one pulling unnaturally so that his hand seemed to know what it was doing before the arm did; his eyes seemed to turn before his head did. Something about the boy reminded Heero of a creature in his dreams..his dreams...oh god.... Muscles tensed as brief flashbacks surfaced from the back of his consciousness, his vision fluttering and flickering with purple lights. Purple haze...purple eyes....
Everything went black for a few seconds, and his body jarred with a stifled impact. When the light returned he found himself on the floor, the black cloak draped across him as Duo held his head up off the floor. He was leaning over the prone body, worry in his eyes despite the amused grin on his lips. "You dead...?" Heero replied with his usual grunt, and the braided figure gaze a mock-pout. "I suppose that means I can't have my way with you and take all your valuables, huh?" He earned another glare for that comment, but the beautiful boy only smiled; it seemed all he was capable of. "So what happened? I'm not that boring, am I?"
As Duo guided him to his feet Heero pulled away, his eyes never leaving the floor. What was that? What just happened? His head felt as though it were about to explode and his vision was slightly blurred. While his mind was elsewhere, his ears slowly focused on the prattling boy to find that he was indeed telling his fortune. He looked up to see Duo holding his hand as one finger slowly traced the lines, sending shivers down his spine.
"Let me see...you're going to meet someone, it looks like. A girl. Er....and you're probably not going to like her. Some kind of royalty, I think. It looks like she's going to be at your final destination." He snickered, then his finger stopped on a line just above his wrist where the pulse was, and for the first time since they'd met the smile fell from his lips.
"What?"
No reply.
"What is it?"
No reply.
Jerking his hand away, Heero muttered and pushed the boy back, narrowing his eyes. "Get out of here. Now."
"B-But...Hee-chan...it's really important. I-I mean, the line there says -"
The sword was drawn and raised again, the point resting on the hollow of the boy's throat. "Get. Out."
Duo swallowed hard and inched back a little, but a knock on the door distracted both of them. "Heero? Are you alright? I heard something...did you fall?" Unmistakably Quatre, the voice was muffled by the door which emitted a little rattle as the locked door latch was tugged at. This time the voice was a bit more urgent. "Heero?! Is something wrong?"
Heero glared at Duo, then gestured towards the window. "Out." His voice rose slightly and he turned to the door, moving over to unlock it. "I'm fine, Quatre."
***
The troupe made their way through the forest paths, the silent Trowa at Quatre's side as Heero led, letting WuFei bring up the rear. Though three of the four were hardly used to showing much emotion, it was obvious in the silence of the body language that they were indeed happy. The abandoned cabin had been comfortable enough but it was good to be out of the confined space after four days of being trapped by the storm. The silence was broken first by WuFei who came up closer to Quatre.
"We should start looking for shelter soon. We've made good time but it's getting dark."
Nodding, Quatre glanced over to Trowa who replied, "The town is only an hour ahead. We can find lodging there."
"Do you think it's safe to go into a town? People may already know we're coming; there are plenty of people who wouldn't like you to be successful, Lord Quatre."
"WuFei, I wouldn't worry so much if I were you." Quatre's trusting smile bored into him, and WuFei fell back a few paces to bring up the rear once more. "Not everyone is against everything, you know. This plan will work perfectly...if you stop calling me 'Lord.'"
Sputtering a bit in what might actually be called embarrassment, WuFei grumbled, "But *I* wasn't the one introducing everyone to total strangers. What if he was a spy? Or worse?"
"Don't be silly, WuFei. Duo was good...couldn't you see it in his heart? He had kind eyes." They walked on a few steps before Quatre added, "I'm sure we'll see him again, and you'll see. He'll be a big help to us."
Heero was his usual quite self throughout the conversation behind him, but instead of scanning his surroundings his gaze was clouded and lost. He kept staring at the hand Duo had been reading; what did he see that disturbed him so much? Something bad enough to make that beautiful face frown...the glittering eyes darken. God...why couldn't he keep his mind on the world around him? Raising his gaze to the road ahead, there was a rustle in the bushes. He skidded to a halt and extended his hand to his side, silently motioning for the others to stop as well. A metallic ring heralded his sword being drawn and he started forward slowly, half-crouched in a defensive position.
"There are eyes from everywhere," Trowa whispered. Quatre and WuFei risked a discrete glance around but saw nothing; they weren't surprised. The quiet and withdrawn priest often saw and heard things, but more likely than not they were figurative; it was just a matter of sitting down and figuring out the riddles. It was a shame they didn't have time.
As Heero continued on away from the party and towards the source of the initial movement, WuFei sidled closer to the priest and prince. The next actions passed in seconds, but they were economy-size seconds; each one seemed to last forever.
No sound warned of the figure leaping from the trees; it simply emerged in a silent explosion and landed beside the startled trio. A long staff was drawn back, and a complicated motion from a pale hand released a long, thin, curved blade - it was a scythe! The blade swung around in a smooth arc, though it was only apparent at the last possible second that it was never going to hit Quatre. WuFei could have waited until the last possible second, but it was part of his training to act at the *first* possible second. As soon as the blade was withdrawn he drew his own sword and lashed out, landing a glancing blow on the scythe's handle which sent it flying wide and around, the white hands unable to stop the swing before it disappeared into the tan and brown robes of the priest...
Jerking the scythe free the dark figure scuttled back and eyed WuFei from beneath the darkness of the hood as a frantic Quatre tended to the gash in Trowa's side. The would-be assassin turned and disappeared into the trees, followed close behind by WuFei. Heero came up beside the two, but barely gave them a glance before he disappeared into the underbrush behind the fleeing figures.
***
Duo ran. Oh gods, he ran. Shit shit shit...he'd meant to botch up, but he didn't mean to hit that priest guy. That can't possibly be good karma. He knew these woods well, and could almost make the narrow leaps between the branches with his eyes closed, but the momentary lapse in his wits sent him off-course and he found himself bursting from the cover of the trees and into a clearing by the riverbank. Cursing vehemently, he glared at the swiftly-moving river as though it had personally offended him and looked back over his shoulder to where the Chinese boy was fast gaining. Okay, we'll just stand him down right here, right? Right. He'll understand, right? Riiii~iiight...
"Assassin! I knew it!" WuFei landed beside him and panted for breath, sword extended towards him. "Who are you working for?"
"Working for?! No one! It was just a joke! Just joking, that's all -"
"Liar! Who are you working for?!"
"Look...I didn't..I mean...." He mumbled a bit, then extended his arms wide in a gesture of peace, though he still clutched the scythe tightly - this guy looked ready to explode any minute now. "I can't tell you, okay? But I botched on purpose....all I had to do was attempt, right? The guy's really nice...I don't want to hurt him."
WuFei circled slowly, then nodded just subtly enough to show he understood. "Given. You're not going to hurt him. And you still won't tell me who you're working for?"
That smile returned as Duo crossed his arms and shrugged. "Sorry...that's a no-no. But these negotiations are really something, huh? Who'd have thought one boy could cause such a raucous?"
"Ignorant...." WuFei snorted. "Prince Quatre has settled more treaties and sealed more negotiations than many, only because he's not afraid to get out and risk his life for his causes."
"Eh..so you say," Duo shrugged, "but there are few causes worth dying for; for one thing, you'd be too dead to enjoy the benefits."
***
The dreams. I have to stop the dreams. Make them stop. Make them stop. Everything hurts...my brain hurts, my soul hurts. Wrong wrong they're wrong I have to make them stop....
Heero raced through the trees after the two, sweat stinging in his slightly bloodshot eyes. Even his sword felt strangely heavy in his hands, as though it were too much for him to bear. The only sound other than the panting and thrum of his own heart was the crunch of twigs and leaves underfoot.
The dreams. I have to stop them. Have to stop them. Have to stop him.
And suddenly he burst out of the tree line, sword drawn.....
"Eh..so you say," Duo shrugged, "but there are few causes worth dying for; for one thing, you'd be too dead to enjoy the benefits."
"You insolent, degrading -"
"NOT THE DREAMS!! STOP THEM!"
WuFei looked up from Duo to find Heero advancing on him fast, ready to strike. Duo turned at the delirious scream from Heero, but before he could bring up his scythe the sword hit home. Duo's body jerked, shock registering on the beautiful face as he let out a softly choked whimper and slumped against Heero whose sword was buried to the hilt. Heero was shaking as he released the sword's handle, and Duo crumpled slowly to the ground, those delicate white fingers clenched around the sword piercing his chest.
"Please....stop them...stop the dreams....."
"What do you want?" came the growled reply as Heero relaxed just a trifle.
"Hey, I just came back to get my cloak. I didn't - MMPH!" Duo teetered precariously for balance on his perch as he was hit full-force by a Heero- projected cloak. After a few minutes of muffled struggles, Duo finally overcame the vicious garment in a slightly exaggerated battle and managed to wrestle it over his shoulders, fixing the clasp with a little *click*. Leaning in, his foot had barely touching the floor before he felt the cold prick of a blade against his chest. His eyes followed up the length of the blade to find a slightly ruffled Heero on the other end, glaring at him icily. "H-Hey...let's not get hostile here. I -" "Shut up. And get out."
"No need to be so rude," Duo sniffled as he backed out of the window a little, fluffing his bangs. "I was just gonna thank you." A moment of rare silence ensued, then finally he blurted, "Have you ever had your fortune told?" Caught off-guard, Heero double-blinked and shook his head, backing away to resume his seat on the wooden bench. "Well....would you like to have it read? I'm pretty good, y'know." Risking a lean in, a foot landed silently on the floor followed by the second, and soon Duo was stretching in the warm room. "I could -" He cut off with an "Eep" as Heero's sword was drawn again, and the advancing steps stopped leaving a nervously grinning Duo only a few feet away. "Okay...well, I suppose I could do the fortune-telling from a distance. You could make good money like that....that sounds like a good idea...." Duo lapsed into thoughtful mutters, the curve of his chin held between thumb and forefinger. "Sending fortune-telling messages back and forth with a teleportation spell....yeah...we could call it 'Tele-tellers....' 0ne silver for the first reading, five coppers for every reading after that..."
The whole time this one-sided conversation was going on, Heero found himself staring at the boy. He was beautiful, in the way that a well- crafted sword was beautiful. Or a rare crossbow. Then again, probably in the way of anything truly deadly. Tch...he found himself comparing things to weapons too often. In this case, though, the comparison seemed accurate enough; he moved like all of his muscles were on tightly-wound gears, each one pulling unnaturally so that his hand seemed to know what it was doing before the arm did; his eyes seemed to turn before his head did. Something about the boy reminded Heero of a creature in his dreams..his dreams...oh god.... Muscles tensed as brief flashbacks surfaced from the back of his consciousness, his vision fluttering and flickering with purple lights. Purple haze...purple eyes....
Everything went black for a few seconds, and his body jarred with a stifled impact. When the light returned he found himself on the floor, the black cloak draped across him as Duo held his head up off the floor. He was leaning over the prone body, worry in his eyes despite the amused grin on his lips. "You dead...?" Heero replied with his usual grunt, and the braided figure gaze a mock-pout. "I suppose that means I can't have my way with you and take all your valuables, huh?" He earned another glare for that comment, but the beautiful boy only smiled; it seemed all he was capable of. "So what happened? I'm not that boring, am I?"
As Duo guided him to his feet Heero pulled away, his eyes never leaving the floor. What was that? What just happened? His head felt as though it were about to explode and his vision was slightly blurred. While his mind was elsewhere, his ears slowly focused on the prattling boy to find that he was indeed telling his fortune. He looked up to see Duo holding his hand as one finger slowly traced the lines, sending shivers down his spine.
"Let me see...you're going to meet someone, it looks like. A girl. Er....and you're probably not going to like her. Some kind of royalty, I think. It looks like she's going to be at your final destination." He snickered, then his finger stopped on a line just above his wrist where the pulse was, and for the first time since they'd met the smile fell from his lips.
"What?"
No reply.
"What is it?"
No reply.
Jerking his hand away, Heero muttered and pushed the boy back, narrowing his eyes. "Get out of here. Now."
"B-But...Hee-chan...it's really important. I-I mean, the line there says -"
The sword was drawn and raised again, the point resting on the hollow of the boy's throat. "Get. Out."
Duo swallowed hard and inched back a little, but a knock on the door distracted both of them. "Heero? Are you alright? I heard something...did you fall?" Unmistakably Quatre, the voice was muffled by the door which emitted a little rattle as the locked door latch was tugged at. This time the voice was a bit more urgent. "Heero?! Is something wrong?"
Heero glared at Duo, then gestured towards the window. "Out." His voice rose slightly and he turned to the door, moving over to unlock it. "I'm fine, Quatre."
***
The troupe made their way through the forest paths, the silent Trowa at Quatre's side as Heero led, letting WuFei bring up the rear. Though three of the four were hardly used to showing much emotion, it was obvious in the silence of the body language that they were indeed happy. The abandoned cabin had been comfortable enough but it was good to be out of the confined space after four days of being trapped by the storm. The silence was broken first by WuFei who came up closer to Quatre.
"We should start looking for shelter soon. We've made good time but it's getting dark."
Nodding, Quatre glanced over to Trowa who replied, "The town is only an hour ahead. We can find lodging there."
"Do you think it's safe to go into a town? People may already know we're coming; there are plenty of people who wouldn't like you to be successful, Lord Quatre."
"WuFei, I wouldn't worry so much if I were you." Quatre's trusting smile bored into him, and WuFei fell back a few paces to bring up the rear once more. "Not everyone is against everything, you know. This plan will work perfectly...if you stop calling me 'Lord.'"
Sputtering a bit in what might actually be called embarrassment, WuFei grumbled, "But *I* wasn't the one introducing everyone to total strangers. What if he was a spy? Or worse?"
"Don't be silly, WuFei. Duo was good...couldn't you see it in his heart? He had kind eyes." They walked on a few steps before Quatre added, "I'm sure we'll see him again, and you'll see. He'll be a big help to us."
Heero was his usual quite self throughout the conversation behind him, but instead of scanning his surroundings his gaze was clouded and lost. He kept staring at the hand Duo had been reading; what did he see that disturbed him so much? Something bad enough to make that beautiful face frown...the glittering eyes darken. God...why couldn't he keep his mind on the world around him? Raising his gaze to the road ahead, there was a rustle in the bushes. He skidded to a halt and extended his hand to his side, silently motioning for the others to stop as well. A metallic ring heralded his sword being drawn and he started forward slowly, half-crouched in a defensive position.
"There are eyes from everywhere," Trowa whispered. Quatre and WuFei risked a discrete glance around but saw nothing; they weren't surprised. The quiet and withdrawn priest often saw and heard things, but more likely than not they were figurative; it was just a matter of sitting down and figuring out the riddles. It was a shame they didn't have time.
As Heero continued on away from the party and towards the source of the initial movement, WuFei sidled closer to the priest and prince. The next actions passed in seconds, but they were economy-size seconds; each one seemed to last forever.
No sound warned of the figure leaping from the trees; it simply emerged in a silent explosion and landed beside the startled trio. A long staff was drawn back, and a complicated motion from a pale hand released a long, thin, curved blade - it was a scythe! The blade swung around in a smooth arc, though it was only apparent at the last possible second that it was never going to hit Quatre. WuFei could have waited until the last possible second, but it was part of his training to act at the *first* possible second. As soon as the blade was withdrawn he drew his own sword and lashed out, landing a glancing blow on the scythe's handle which sent it flying wide and around, the white hands unable to stop the swing before it disappeared into the tan and brown robes of the priest...
Jerking the scythe free the dark figure scuttled back and eyed WuFei from beneath the darkness of the hood as a frantic Quatre tended to the gash in Trowa's side. The would-be assassin turned and disappeared into the trees, followed close behind by WuFei. Heero came up beside the two, but barely gave them a glance before he disappeared into the underbrush behind the fleeing figures.
***
Duo ran. Oh gods, he ran. Shit shit shit...he'd meant to botch up, but he didn't mean to hit that priest guy. That can't possibly be good karma. He knew these woods well, and could almost make the narrow leaps between the branches with his eyes closed, but the momentary lapse in his wits sent him off-course and he found himself bursting from the cover of the trees and into a clearing by the riverbank. Cursing vehemently, he glared at the swiftly-moving river as though it had personally offended him and looked back over his shoulder to where the Chinese boy was fast gaining. Okay, we'll just stand him down right here, right? Right. He'll understand, right? Riiii~iiight...
"Assassin! I knew it!" WuFei landed beside him and panted for breath, sword extended towards him. "Who are you working for?"
"Working for?! No one! It was just a joke! Just joking, that's all -"
"Liar! Who are you working for?!"
"Look...I didn't..I mean...." He mumbled a bit, then extended his arms wide in a gesture of peace, though he still clutched the scythe tightly - this guy looked ready to explode any minute now. "I can't tell you, okay? But I botched on purpose....all I had to do was attempt, right? The guy's really nice...I don't want to hurt him."
WuFei circled slowly, then nodded just subtly enough to show he understood. "Given. You're not going to hurt him. And you still won't tell me who you're working for?"
That smile returned as Duo crossed his arms and shrugged. "Sorry...that's a no-no. But these negotiations are really something, huh? Who'd have thought one boy could cause such a raucous?"
"Ignorant...." WuFei snorted. "Prince Quatre has settled more treaties and sealed more negotiations than many, only because he's not afraid to get out and risk his life for his causes."
"Eh..so you say," Duo shrugged, "but there are few causes worth dying for; for one thing, you'd be too dead to enjoy the benefits."
***
The dreams. I have to stop the dreams. Make them stop. Make them stop. Everything hurts...my brain hurts, my soul hurts. Wrong wrong they're wrong I have to make them stop....
Heero raced through the trees after the two, sweat stinging in his slightly bloodshot eyes. Even his sword felt strangely heavy in his hands, as though it were too much for him to bear. The only sound other than the panting and thrum of his own heart was the crunch of twigs and leaves underfoot.
The dreams. I have to stop them. Have to stop them. Have to stop him.
And suddenly he burst out of the tree line, sword drawn.....
"Eh..so you say," Duo shrugged, "but there are few causes worth dying for; for one thing, you'd be too dead to enjoy the benefits."
"You insolent, degrading -"
"NOT THE DREAMS!! STOP THEM!"
WuFei looked up from Duo to find Heero advancing on him fast, ready to strike. Duo turned at the delirious scream from Heero, but before he could bring up his scythe the sword hit home. Duo's body jerked, shock registering on the beautiful face as he let out a softly choked whimper and slumped against Heero whose sword was buried to the hilt. Heero was shaking as he released the sword's handle, and Duo crumpled slowly to the ground, those delicate white fingers clenched around the sword piercing his chest.
"Please....stop them...stop the dreams....."