A Death At Hand
One Foresworn
It isn't every day that one finds oneself in the middle of hip-deep intrigue in one's own homestead; rarer still to find oneself clattering across the path of a mutual rival-- even if what the rivalry is for is not actually known to at least one of the involved parties.
"Hey-- look out!" Zero had barely a moment to warn the person in the intended path of his mount-- let alone to realize who it was-- before Daisy was right on top of them, rearing up, front hooves pawing the air wildly as she tried desperately not to connect with the person she could so easily kill. In a flash, the silver-haired youth-- for it was, indeed, Hiead Gner who had inadvertently stumbled across this deadly path-- rushed around the horse, yanking the reins from Zero's loose grasp and tugging sharply downward, preventing Daisy from bolting. The chestnut mare snorted and fought his unrelenting grip, eyes wide with fear at the unexpected situation, but he just glared at her with ruby chips of ice and tugged again, until finally she calmed and settled down, prancing about a bit in nervousness of his presence. She didn't like him; didn't like this human with the smell of death and vengeance on him.
Losing his already tentative balance at his mount's uncharacteristic prancing, and with nothing to keep him from falling-- the reins having been procured from his limp hands just a moment before-- Zero did, indeed, fall-- sideways, and bodily, into Hiead, arms flailing wildly in a useless attempt to regain his stolen balance. Hiead fell to the ground with him, caught up in the brown-haired boy's momentum, a short grunt of pain falling from his lips as they both connected with the ground.
So maybe making that bet that he could beat Clay in a race hadn't been so smart, after all.
Zero grimaced as he found his face pressed uncomfortably hard into Hiead's breastbone, and pushed himself onto his hands and knees, effectively but accidentally trapping the silver-haired youth beneath him for a long moment as he stared down into that unwavering gaze. The brown-haired youth's look was met by another harsh, almost sullen, wine-colored glare from Hiead, and he smirked at that and stood before Hiead had a chance to lash out at him, offering a hand up to the other boy that wasn't taken. At that, he rolled his eyes and threw up his hands in frustration, watching as Hiead stood and brushed himself off almost delicately, if a word of such feeling could indeed be applied to such a person. "Oh, c'mon, I'm not gonna bite, ya know! Or do you even know what the word 'friendly' means!"
"I was not aware that, in your case, it implies 'overbearing', 'tenacious', and 'utterly annoying'," Hiead cocked his head Zero's way and smirked, hands comfortably in his pockets in a casual manner belying the stiff, antagonistic nature beneath the exterior.
"Oh, that's it! I'm taking you down, Hiead!" Zero yelled, lunging for the silver-haired boy's throat in fury, only for Clay's arms to hook under his shoulders and forcibly restrain him, lifting the brown-haired youth up from the ground just enough so that he couldn't charge forward in a blind rage like he so wanted to do. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted Ikhny, sitting sidesaddle on the roan that was pulled up next to Clay's. Damn it! In his rage, he had utterly forgotten about the sandy-haired youth who was oftentimes his conscience, and he greatly disliked being physically held back from a fight, so much so that he struggled violently for a moment, probably landing a few good hits to Clay in the process. Oh well, he deserved it for coming in at just the wrong moment in this little turn of events! Hiead had had it coming to him, anyway! It wasn't like he was just picking a fight with anyone!
Well, not now, anyway...
"Zero! You shouldn't fight like this! You'll get in trouble, both of you! And that'll get me in trouble for not stopping you!" Clay's voice was laced with the strain of holding him back, but Zero paid it no attention, opting instead to send a death glare Hiead's way.
Hiead seemingly ignored it for a moment. Then, in a characteristic move as quick as lightning, he turned and landed a swift punch to Zero's gut, knocking the wind out of him. The chocolate-haired youth reeled, head dropping down to his chest as he sucked in a deep breath, his vision swimming. As he regained his coordination, he resumed his struggles twofold and lifted his head to glare at Hiead again, fire in his eyes. "Coward!" he spat, almost raving, "Why don't you fight me like a man?!"
*"You think it's just you...?!"*
He blinked and stopped moving at the sudden voice in his mind (much to Clay's relief), as Hiead turned and began to walk-- almost saunter-- off. Zero thought he could hear the boy snickering at him, and he growled low in his throat at Hiead's almost inaudible retort.
"Because you aren't worth it."
-----
"Ow."
"What?"
"Nothing," Zero glared at the wall that had felt freezing to the touch, then dared to touch it again, with the tip of one finger. Huh. It felt fine now.
Well, he was still freezing. Zero sighed deeply and flopped backwards on to the bed, narrowly missing braining himself on the knee that stuck out from Clay's cross-legged position. He stared up at the sandy-haired boy's upside-down face sullenly, wishing he had someone to blame beside himself for this mess.
"This is your fault, you know," Clay told him pointedly, looking put out. "Your fault that we're stuck in a room with no insulation for five whole hours!" his voiced cracked at the last, but he didn't seem to notice.
Yeah, like Zero didn't already know that!
He glared and rolled over, pushing himself to his knees and ignoring the ache from various bruised body parts as he did so. "I know that! But how come that coward isn't in here with us! It was as much his fault as mine! He pro... pro... provo-" Crap, what was that word again? "He started it!"
Clay gave him an incredulous look. "You actually want to be locked in a locked room with a twisted psychopath? That's not exactly my idea of a day well-spent."
"He started it!" Zero repeated relentlessly. "It was his fault! He made me want to beat him up!"
"Hmm..." was Clay's only response as he continued to glare pointedly at his best friend. Zero fidgeted and managed to look very put-out, as if he had been the one to be wronged. In all truth, Hiead should have been up in that icy tower with the two teens, suffering like they were, but Zero's father had firmly put down his foot at the notion, on the guise that the young Gner was a guest in his house, and that no matter what the silver-haired youth did to deserve it, Zero was not to get into a fight with his guests.
"Never mind that!" the chocolate-eyed boy literally shouted after an achingly long bout of unnerving silence between the two, where the harsh voice of the wind rattling violently through the eaves was their sole source of comfort. The sudden harsh yell made the sandy-haired youth's heart lurch, then speed up twofold. He settled for glaring indignantly at Zero some more for the indignation on his part.
The brown-haired boy ignored the look as he jumped off from the lone bed and began to explore the small, tower-like room thoroughly, making little inquisitive noises in the back of his throat as he did so. Clay sighed deeply with annoyed chagrin and closed his eyes. He felt a headache coming on, even as he wrapped his arms around himself, hoping to contain what little warmth there was left in his body. At this rate, the two would freeze to death up here!
Well, at least Lady Ikhny hadn't gotten into any sort of trouble, either. Both he and Zero had testified on her part to her father about that; although Zero's 'testimony' had been more of a sullen aside of, "'s wasn't her fault," than anything really solid.
Clay sighed, then shivered again, suddenly made acutely aware that Zero's murmurings had dropped in pitch until they were nothing but additions to the whispering wind, and that, with his eyes tightly shut as they were, he might as well have been all alone up here. He hurriedly snapped his eyes open, only to find that Zero was nowhere to be seen, and a strange, ghostly flurry of chills danced up his spine before he realized that his friend must be behind him. The thought did little to comfort him, however, as his hands wouldn't relax from the tight fists they had formed. Clay realized that he was shaking slightly, and, unbidden, a nervous laugh escaped his lips.
"...Clay?" Zero's concerned voice made him jump slightly, and a muscle in his upper right arm began to twitch.
"Y-yeah...?" his voice was strained, no matter what he did to hide it.
The sound of Zero shifting, behind and to the left of him, and creaking floorboards as the brown-haired youth stood.
A ghostly caress of warm air against the back of his neck, like a lover's heated touch-- much, much closer than Zero could be. Clay's eyes widened impossibly wide, and another bout of violent tremors danced merrily down his spine.
"YEARGH!!"
***********
Sorry for the long delay in chapters, guys. I've actually had this 75% done for awhile, but the rest just wouldn't come to me. I'm really sorry about that. Hopefully I can get the next chapter out quicker than this one... ^.^; And hopefully it will be longer and better than this... er, really bad chapter, too.
Oh, and if any of you are Yu-Gi-Oh fans, would you mind checking out my new fic? It's called Of Pointed Ears and Dancing Fairylight and will have shounen ai in the future (Y/Y, S/J, B/R, perhaps some M/A). I'm really working hard on it, since there seems to be an unusual amount of drivel in the YGO fandom.
Oh, and a small reminder: See that little button down there? Click it and type some stuff in it, and it'll really make the author's day. ^.^
Till Next We Meet,
Nozomi