Part seven: Broken Consorts
Note: Damn yearly technical problems in ffnet has gotten worse ----*mutters a curse* happens every year -.- Anyway "/"- at the beginning and the end of sentence. Means a trail of thought. Whee!! Another chapter up. -Ravenous
"Raven has nothing to do with this? Let him go?"
Van found himself staring straight to the older youth's face. It was nearly night fall, and he just woke up---he just slept in one of the cots inside Irvine's tent, and the rest of the soldiers have made camp. The day's event has come into him now, and the first thing that greeted him is Irvine's frowned reaction.
"Take your time; you might have under gone some shock." Irvine mumbled, seeing he is not getting any answer except Van staring at him like he had grown an extra head.
"I did recall a lot, thank you very much." He snapped, and the defiant tone caught the older boy into quite a surprise, "What's the big idea of attacking me anyway? I could have been killed you know."
"Who said it was ONLY about you?" Irvine retorted, "You are with Raven right?"
Van didn't answer for a moment, then looked firmly Irvine to the eye, "-and if I am?"
"It sounds like you are trying to save him." Irvine replied, carefully removing his one magnifying eye patch. Doing so means he is dealing with serious business. The other boy suspected that it's not good news, Irvine is glaring down on him like he wants to smash him right there. "You just said it before you passed out and demand a ceasefire. 'Don't hurt him; he has nothing to do with this.' What shit is that Flyheight?"
"It was nothing. He meant no harm way back there."
"So he was with you then."
"Yes!"
"For how long?"
Van wanted to lie, but under a pressure like this he is a bad liar. "Few days,"
"Why stay for him a few days when you can---"
"Because it's none of your fuckin' business, Irvine! It's very complicated, you wouldn't understand!" Swearing indignantly, Van quickly sat up so his face is level on Irvine's and their eyes did battle. He is defending Raven, it is odd. And the older boy could not understand why. They stared to each other for the longest time; none of them breathe a single word. After few more minutes, it was Irvine who first to break the ice,
"Here," he tossed an ice pack that almost hit the boy's face, "I think you still need to rest."
Irvine went out the tent and the other youth made a long painful sigh. Van never intended to lash out to the other pilot that way, but he couldn't bring himself to say anything else. Too many things had happened during those past few days, and it's not easy to put them to words.
What will he say? 'Hey Irvine, I accidentally met Raven in the cruise that I went to, and he seems pretty nice if you get to talk to him. Even if he destroyed several military fortresses, he seems to be sorry about it--- after all he is only human. Nah, he won't buy it.' Too stupid, the older youth will think he have gone mental. 'Maybe--- Irvine! Raven saved my life out there, I owed him big time.' Nope, not reasonable enough either.
He was still clutching the melting ice pack that Irvine threw at him, still cocooned deeply in his thoughts. 'I know--- Irvine, Raven can be trusted for now, he didn't lay a finger or did anything while he was with me.' Then a mild blush crept to his cheeks, his grip at the ice pack tightened as he recalled the events that occurred between him and the gray haired pilot with the pale pallor. 'Didn't do anything while with me--- yeah right.'
"What are you doing? It's melting!"
Van was cut off from his reverie, and looked up blinking to Irvine, "What?"
Irvine shot him a glare, folding his arms firmly to his chest. "You are sitting up with that expression on your face and I thought you are not feeling well."
"I didn't say anything about not feeling well."
Irvine made a weary shrug, and sat down at the stool near Van's cot. Without speaking a word, he brought one palm to the other boy's forehead and tried to feel his temperature. Van wasn't used to close physical contact with his comrade, and flinched a bit when Irvine placed the back of his hand alternately at both sides of his neck.
"Irvine, I told you I'm fine!" he complained, and tried to move the annoying hand away. "I don't have a fever!"
"I've guessed you might have one."
"What makes you think so anyway?"
"People say senseless things when they're feverish." Irvine replied dryly, "I just don't get it why you ARE trying to defend Raven. It seems whatever impact had threw you on the ground that day must have shaken your senses."
He intended to avoid the subject matter, but he can't. Irvine was staring right at him waiting for an answer. There they go again.
"Well?"
Before he can answer, he was saved by a big bang. Literally. There came an explosion and another, simultaneously just outside where the small group had set camp. The ground shook upon impact, and soon enough, chaos starts to ensue. The small group of soldiers starts gathering in their army jeeps and tried to search the area frantically for the enemy, while two more re-piloted their red horns. Only those two red horns and the lighting saix are the only combatant zoids in that area.
Irvine cursed, got up quickly and veered out the tent, "Now what the hell is that?"
"Mister Irvine, it seems we are being attacked by a red zoid."
"The genobreaker?!" He and Van both replied in surprise, Irvine glanced at the dark-haired pilot, finding proper words to ask him, "Do you know HOW the hell did that punk tracked the camp down?"
"No!" he looked straight at him, "Are you accusing me, Irvine?"
/I didn't say anything of accusing you---/
"Well, what are you waiting for? Let's go out there before this place burns down!" Irvine shouted, and runs toward his lighting saix. There is only room for one "You go out there while I find him, defend the camp--- whatever! Just don't go running away this time, okay?"
"Of course not, why should I?" The words sound less audible as he spoke them. He was pretty sure it was the genobreaker attacking them, but he was wondering why Raven would try to destroy a small camp. There is nothing much important in the camp, and he seems pretty helpless there himself. There are no other combatant zoid left in the area, and it will be further useless, if he armed himself with a rifle and open fire at a zoid that was known to fly in extreme speed and burn down military fortress in a snap.
/What the fuck would I do now? /
Too confused what to do, he resorts to scouting around the area--hoping a clue will lead him into something. Van felt foolish as he went deeper into the dark grassy woods, thinking he is just trying to get himself away from the area and not doing anything to help out there.
And then it came,
He heard some twigs on the grounds snap and rustling of thick grass, before he knew it, a figure from the bushes have leapt out of nowhere and tackled him from behind down to the ground, with arms enveloping him into a squeeze. Van struggled mightily at the assailant's grasp, and attempted to draw his melee weapon he kept hidden in his trousers, so he can dodge the attacker to the stomach from behind.
"You wouldn't want to do that if I were you," the familiar voice ordered softly, it's hand quickly grasping to where he was about to grab the melee weapon, and he shuddered when he felt a wet kiss being placed teasingly at the crook of his neck and the tongue trails lightly to his ear. It was then, glimpsing to his shoulder he recognized the bob of gray hair.
"Raven!" the word came out more of a gasp than a shout of recognition, as Raven turned the smaller pilot around and gave him a deep passionate kiss. It lasted for several seconds, before Van tore away his mouth from his.
"What's wrong?" Raven frowned, seeing the other pilot's face getting dark and disappointed. "Are you not happy to see me?"
"Why should I? You are trying to destroy and burn the camp down!"
"Who said I'm going to raze it to the fucking ground?" he replied hotly, "That's just my diversion; I'm doing it so I can get you!"
Van paused and stared at the pallid face, there is a certain trembling on those last few words, and he can see the indigo eyes narrow in a certain emotional restraint. Raven cocked his head, and then looked away, trying to look impassive. "Yeah, you heard me right---" He whispered, "Didn't you remember before I threw you inside Shadow? I promise that I'll be back---to get you."
He was touched somehow, at those words. "Raven?"
"If you are asking for an apology, I'm not sorry for doing it."
"No," he replied. "I appreciate the sentiment and all but---you don't have to cause all this chaos just to see me." He can't fault him either; IT must be the only way he knew. He gazed out to the camp, beginning to worry what will happen to Irvine and the others.
Raven can however read his expression like an open book and approached the other boy, placing an arm over his shoulder. "Don't worry. Shadow got instructions not to kill or maim anyone. After all, like I said, it's just a diversion---even how tempting it might be." He continued, "Because if I do, I know you would eventually hate me."
He placed another arm to Van's shoulder, holding the boy in a tight embrace, snuggling his pallid face to the back of the teen's exposed neck. Van tried to broke away with an uneasy laugh, "Raven, when did you become concerned of what I feel?"
The arms pulled away, forcing once again to face him, his indigo eyes now full of dead seriousness. "I think I cannot give reason enough for that."
Van lifted an eyebrow, folding his arms to his chest. "Explain?"
"When----" he muttered a curse, unable to meet that expectant wide onyx- like gaze. Raven felt naked confessing what he honestly feeling is right now, and secretly wished the ground might as well swallow him up that moment than Van hears him speak. "It's this feeling--- it isn't the reason that I will give to you that is important, but this feeling that I want you to feel."
Too deep, he realized. Since the pilot just gave him a puzzled look. "What?"
Raven shrugged with a lazy smile, and thanked the skies that Van wasn't that perceptive to what he just confessed. He leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the forehead and tucked a finger underneath his small chin, leveling his indigo eyes, drowning to that wide dark pools---
"I'm acting like a fool because of you, Flyheight."
*****
Van re-surfaced very much later back at the camp, and as Raven promised, everything seems spared and the geno breaker has disappeared as fast as it have came. Although for now things look like a mess, it is good that no one was hurt during the attack. Everyone was tired for having stayed all night that they all took a rest immediately. It was only him and Irvine who are awake early in the morning.
"Except for the two red horns, I think they'll need a major total repair after getting crushed by the pinchers." Irvine replied, as the younger pilot asked him for casualties. "Its strange, it seems to ignore all my attacks. As if it's only intention is to lure those red horns and just intimidate the rest of us like hell. What does he wants from you anyway?"
"Don't ask me." Van rubbed his sore neck, as he changed into his uniform inside the tent that he and Irvine shared.
"Oh yeah I forgot, you are just hiding by the woods. YOU don't know anything that has happened of course."
"Am not!"
"Is to!"
Irvine paused and fixed a perplexed assessing look, as the younger pilot proceeds to zip up his uniform top. Van hates it when Irvine stares at him in longest time and WORSE if he is watching him dress up. Well he can take it as long as he doesn't call him "sugar bear".
"Is that a hickey I am seeing on your neck?" Irvine blurted out.
Van froze; he didn't know Irvine could be that perceptive. He nearly made out with Raven last night, he can't help it when the taller youth confessed in such sweet words and his actions definitely much sweeter that he succumb to the charm. He seemed to really care for him, because even in the heat of passion, Raven does not want to take Van down the muddy grassed ground after several passionate kisses here and there---and some bites. He tried to act casually, "Heck, how would you know it is hickey anyway?" Van forced a silly grin, "You've got one before?"
"Well, I have my first---hey! I'm asking YOU! You answer my question!"
Van returned him a bored look, "It's not a hickey, and it's a bug bite I got from the woods, okay?"
Irvine has never really trusted Van's instincts the very moment the younger pilot woke up in the camp. He pressed forward and inspected closely Van's neck, stopping him from getting fully dressing up in his uniform. He is starting to get embarrassed, "Hey, knock it off! Why won't you believe me?"
"It seems to be quite big for a bug bite, how come you got some bruises along with it?"
"Because IT is a really BIG nasty bug bite!" he protested, swiping Irvine's hands off. "Besides, where would you get an idea that I'm going to get a hickey, right in the middle of the woods while the camp was being attacked last night?"
Irvine blinked, Van supposedly is right, Where would he get a silly idea anyway? A voice in his head seems to tell it has something to do with Raven- --but why would Raven hit on Van is the craziest presumption he could think of. But still, he sensed there is a strange bond that developed between two rivals and he is determined to find that out.
Or he'll be damned if Col. Schubaltz didn't order so.
-Continued-
Time for a review! *claps and points at review stats*
Note: Damn yearly technical problems in ffnet has gotten worse ----*mutters a curse* happens every year -.- Anyway "/"- at the beginning and the end of sentence. Means a trail of thought. Whee!! Another chapter up. -Ravenous
"Raven has nothing to do with this? Let him go?"
Van found himself staring straight to the older youth's face. It was nearly night fall, and he just woke up---he just slept in one of the cots inside Irvine's tent, and the rest of the soldiers have made camp. The day's event has come into him now, and the first thing that greeted him is Irvine's frowned reaction.
"Take your time; you might have under gone some shock." Irvine mumbled, seeing he is not getting any answer except Van staring at him like he had grown an extra head.
"I did recall a lot, thank you very much." He snapped, and the defiant tone caught the older boy into quite a surprise, "What's the big idea of attacking me anyway? I could have been killed you know."
"Who said it was ONLY about you?" Irvine retorted, "You are with Raven right?"
Van didn't answer for a moment, then looked firmly Irvine to the eye, "-and if I am?"
"It sounds like you are trying to save him." Irvine replied, carefully removing his one magnifying eye patch. Doing so means he is dealing with serious business. The other boy suspected that it's not good news, Irvine is glaring down on him like he wants to smash him right there. "You just said it before you passed out and demand a ceasefire. 'Don't hurt him; he has nothing to do with this.' What shit is that Flyheight?"
"It was nothing. He meant no harm way back there."
"So he was with you then."
"Yes!"
"For how long?"
Van wanted to lie, but under a pressure like this he is a bad liar. "Few days,"
"Why stay for him a few days when you can---"
"Because it's none of your fuckin' business, Irvine! It's very complicated, you wouldn't understand!" Swearing indignantly, Van quickly sat up so his face is level on Irvine's and their eyes did battle. He is defending Raven, it is odd. And the older boy could not understand why. They stared to each other for the longest time; none of them breathe a single word. After few more minutes, it was Irvine who first to break the ice,
"Here," he tossed an ice pack that almost hit the boy's face, "I think you still need to rest."
Irvine went out the tent and the other youth made a long painful sigh. Van never intended to lash out to the other pilot that way, but he couldn't bring himself to say anything else. Too many things had happened during those past few days, and it's not easy to put them to words.
What will he say? 'Hey Irvine, I accidentally met Raven in the cruise that I went to, and he seems pretty nice if you get to talk to him. Even if he destroyed several military fortresses, he seems to be sorry about it--- after all he is only human. Nah, he won't buy it.' Too stupid, the older youth will think he have gone mental. 'Maybe--- Irvine! Raven saved my life out there, I owed him big time.' Nope, not reasonable enough either.
He was still clutching the melting ice pack that Irvine threw at him, still cocooned deeply in his thoughts. 'I know--- Irvine, Raven can be trusted for now, he didn't lay a finger or did anything while he was with me.' Then a mild blush crept to his cheeks, his grip at the ice pack tightened as he recalled the events that occurred between him and the gray haired pilot with the pale pallor. 'Didn't do anything while with me--- yeah right.'
"What are you doing? It's melting!"
Van was cut off from his reverie, and looked up blinking to Irvine, "What?"
Irvine shot him a glare, folding his arms firmly to his chest. "You are sitting up with that expression on your face and I thought you are not feeling well."
"I didn't say anything about not feeling well."
Irvine made a weary shrug, and sat down at the stool near Van's cot. Without speaking a word, he brought one palm to the other boy's forehead and tried to feel his temperature. Van wasn't used to close physical contact with his comrade, and flinched a bit when Irvine placed the back of his hand alternately at both sides of his neck.
"Irvine, I told you I'm fine!" he complained, and tried to move the annoying hand away. "I don't have a fever!"
"I've guessed you might have one."
"What makes you think so anyway?"
"People say senseless things when they're feverish." Irvine replied dryly, "I just don't get it why you ARE trying to defend Raven. It seems whatever impact had threw you on the ground that day must have shaken your senses."
He intended to avoid the subject matter, but he can't. Irvine was staring right at him waiting for an answer. There they go again.
"Well?"
Before he can answer, he was saved by a big bang. Literally. There came an explosion and another, simultaneously just outside where the small group had set camp. The ground shook upon impact, and soon enough, chaos starts to ensue. The small group of soldiers starts gathering in their army jeeps and tried to search the area frantically for the enemy, while two more re-piloted their red horns. Only those two red horns and the lighting saix are the only combatant zoids in that area.
Irvine cursed, got up quickly and veered out the tent, "Now what the hell is that?"
"Mister Irvine, it seems we are being attacked by a red zoid."
"The genobreaker?!" He and Van both replied in surprise, Irvine glanced at the dark-haired pilot, finding proper words to ask him, "Do you know HOW the hell did that punk tracked the camp down?"
"No!" he looked straight at him, "Are you accusing me, Irvine?"
/I didn't say anything of accusing you---/
"Well, what are you waiting for? Let's go out there before this place burns down!" Irvine shouted, and runs toward his lighting saix. There is only room for one "You go out there while I find him, defend the camp--- whatever! Just don't go running away this time, okay?"
"Of course not, why should I?" The words sound less audible as he spoke them. He was pretty sure it was the genobreaker attacking them, but he was wondering why Raven would try to destroy a small camp. There is nothing much important in the camp, and he seems pretty helpless there himself. There are no other combatant zoid left in the area, and it will be further useless, if he armed himself with a rifle and open fire at a zoid that was known to fly in extreme speed and burn down military fortress in a snap.
/What the fuck would I do now? /
Too confused what to do, he resorts to scouting around the area--hoping a clue will lead him into something. Van felt foolish as he went deeper into the dark grassy woods, thinking he is just trying to get himself away from the area and not doing anything to help out there.
And then it came,
He heard some twigs on the grounds snap and rustling of thick grass, before he knew it, a figure from the bushes have leapt out of nowhere and tackled him from behind down to the ground, with arms enveloping him into a squeeze. Van struggled mightily at the assailant's grasp, and attempted to draw his melee weapon he kept hidden in his trousers, so he can dodge the attacker to the stomach from behind.
"You wouldn't want to do that if I were you," the familiar voice ordered softly, it's hand quickly grasping to where he was about to grab the melee weapon, and he shuddered when he felt a wet kiss being placed teasingly at the crook of his neck and the tongue trails lightly to his ear. It was then, glimpsing to his shoulder he recognized the bob of gray hair.
"Raven!" the word came out more of a gasp than a shout of recognition, as Raven turned the smaller pilot around and gave him a deep passionate kiss. It lasted for several seconds, before Van tore away his mouth from his.
"What's wrong?" Raven frowned, seeing the other pilot's face getting dark and disappointed. "Are you not happy to see me?"
"Why should I? You are trying to destroy and burn the camp down!"
"Who said I'm going to raze it to the fucking ground?" he replied hotly, "That's just my diversion; I'm doing it so I can get you!"
Van paused and stared at the pallid face, there is a certain trembling on those last few words, and he can see the indigo eyes narrow in a certain emotional restraint. Raven cocked his head, and then looked away, trying to look impassive. "Yeah, you heard me right---" He whispered, "Didn't you remember before I threw you inside Shadow? I promise that I'll be back---to get you."
He was touched somehow, at those words. "Raven?"
"If you are asking for an apology, I'm not sorry for doing it."
"No," he replied. "I appreciate the sentiment and all but---you don't have to cause all this chaos just to see me." He can't fault him either; IT must be the only way he knew. He gazed out to the camp, beginning to worry what will happen to Irvine and the others.
Raven can however read his expression like an open book and approached the other boy, placing an arm over his shoulder. "Don't worry. Shadow got instructions not to kill or maim anyone. After all, like I said, it's just a diversion---even how tempting it might be." He continued, "Because if I do, I know you would eventually hate me."
He placed another arm to Van's shoulder, holding the boy in a tight embrace, snuggling his pallid face to the back of the teen's exposed neck. Van tried to broke away with an uneasy laugh, "Raven, when did you become concerned of what I feel?"
The arms pulled away, forcing once again to face him, his indigo eyes now full of dead seriousness. "I think I cannot give reason enough for that."
Van lifted an eyebrow, folding his arms to his chest. "Explain?"
"When----" he muttered a curse, unable to meet that expectant wide onyx- like gaze. Raven felt naked confessing what he honestly feeling is right now, and secretly wished the ground might as well swallow him up that moment than Van hears him speak. "It's this feeling--- it isn't the reason that I will give to you that is important, but this feeling that I want you to feel."
Too deep, he realized. Since the pilot just gave him a puzzled look. "What?"
Raven shrugged with a lazy smile, and thanked the skies that Van wasn't that perceptive to what he just confessed. He leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the forehead and tucked a finger underneath his small chin, leveling his indigo eyes, drowning to that wide dark pools---
"I'm acting like a fool because of you, Flyheight."
*****
Van re-surfaced very much later back at the camp, and as Raven promised, everything seems spared and the geno breaker has disappeared as fast as it have came. Although for now things look like a mess, it is good that no one was hurt during the attack. Everyone was tired for having stayed all night that they all took a rest immediately. It was only him and Irvine who are awake early in the morning.
"Except for the two red horns, I think they'll need a major total repair after getting crushed by the pinchers." Irvine replied, as the younger pilot asked him for casualties. "Its strange, it seems to ignore all my attacks. As if it's only intention is to lure those red horns and just intimidate the rest of us like hell. What does he wants from you anyway?"
"Don't ask me." Van rubbed his sore neck, as he changed into his uniform inside the tent that he and Irvine shared.
"Oh yeah I forgot, you are just hiding by the woods. YOU don't know anything that has happened of course."
"Am not!"
"Is to!"
Irvine paused and fixed a perplexed assessing look, as the younger pilot proceeds to zip up his uniform top. Van hates it when Irvine stares at him in longest time and WORSE if he is watching him dress up. Well he can take it as long as he doesn't call him "sugar bear".
"Is that a hickey I am seeing on your neck?" Irvine blurted out.
Van froze; he didn't know Irvine could be that perceptive. He nearly made out with Raven last night, he can't help it when the taller youth confessed in such sweet words and his actions definitely much sweeter that he succumb to the charm. He seemed to really care for him, because even in the heat of passion, Raven does not want to take Van down the muddy grassed ground after several passionate kisses here and there---and some bites. He tried to act casually, "Heck, how would you know it is hickey anyway?" Van forced a silly grin, "You've got one before?"
"Well, I have my first---hey! I'm asking YOU! You answer my question!"
Van returned him a bored look, "It's not a hickey, and it's a bug bite I got from the woods, okay?"
Irvine has never really trusted Van's instincts the very moment the younger pilot woke up in the camp. He pressed forward and inspected closely Van's neck, stopping him from getting fully dressing up in his uniform. He is starting to get embarrassed, "Hey, knock it off! Why won't you believe me?"
"It seems to be quite big for a bug bite, how come you got some bruises along with it?"
"Because IT is a really BIG nasty bug bite!" he protested, swiping Irvine's hands off. "Besides, where would you get an idea that I'm going to get a hickey, right in the middle of the woods while the camp was being attacked last night?"
Irvine blinked, Van supposedly is right, Where would he get a silly idea anyway? A voice in his head seems to tell it has something to do with Raven- --but why would Raven hit on Van is the craziest presumption he could think of. But still, he sensed there is a strange bond that developed between two rivals and he is determined to find that out.
Or he'll be damned if Col. Schubaltz didn't order so.
-Continued-
Time for a review! *claps and points at review stats*