StarBlaze: Grr. Finals. 'Nuff said.
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The ruffians had been carted off to the proper authority. Dee's mouth twisted in disgust at the thought of anyone attacking a group of defenseless- well, not quite defenseless- children on their way home from school.
Her new ward was still unconscious. They had brought him back to the house of worship where his brother lived, for healing. Dee wished that she had the Gift of Healing to ease this boy; that Mitsukake's Gift had a sort of "all-or-nothing" catch that made Dee uneasy. She wouldn't let him expend all that energy to Heal a few simple burns when the soothing salves she had in her saddlebags would largely do the same thing over a longer period of time. So both she and the boy were swaddled in softly woven bandages, with the balm comforting their burns.
The Suzaku seishi were angry with her. They expected an explanation immediately, especially Hotohori. When she refused point-blanc to leave the boy's side, they demanded that she explain it to them there and now. So, to assist her story, when she discarded her burned clothing, she changed into her Whites.
And now was to be the moment of truth; Dee leaned back into her padded chair, unsure just where to begin.
Hotohori watched the young woman, his eyes cold with anger. Suzaku! How could he have been so stupid? What had driven him to tell her everything? One thing was for sure, he realized as he thinned his lips, he had put his empire into grave danger. If it was necessary, he would have this woman executed. Such were the hard decisions of his rule.
But, his conscience nagged, why would a spy, an enemy, risk her life and cover to save a group of children? He wasn't sure how she had done it, but she had. As an emperor, he should be thanking her, naming her a hero! But she had lied about who she was; she was more than a simple street conjurer. Much, much more.
Hotohori sighed inwardly. The woman was a series of contradictions that made his head spin. He hadn't missed her change of clothing, either. She had changed from her comfortable robes into a strange white uniform.
She sighed and cradled a mug of evil-smelling tea that she had brewed from …something that she had found in her saddlebags along with that burn salve. She took a sip and grimaced; it must have tasted as wonderful as it smelled.
Dee made a face. "Willowbark tea. Nasty stuff, but great for headaches. Ever had it?" The seishi just looked at her stonily. Dee sighed and put her mug to the side. She had finished most of it, and the reaction-headache had subsided until it was bearable. They would not be diverted any longer.
"Well," she began softly, but looking them straight in the eyes. "I suppose I should restate my introduction. Introductions, I should say, for there are two ways that I could introduce myself. I am the White-Winds mage, Journeyman Deirdre. I did not lie when I said I was a magician; I am just not the sort you thought I was.
"I am also Herald Deirdre, out of Valdemar, but you may all call me Dee." She sat there, waiting for their disbelief. Mitsukake stood off to the side, totally unmoved, but six other mouths opened to call her a liar or to voice their doubt.
A young voice cut through before they could make a noise. "I've read of your Valdemar," little Chiriko piped up, "but it seemed too fantastical to be real. I dismissed it as a legend or some sort of fairytale."
"Well, little scholar," Dee said warmly, "it seems that you've saved me candlemarks of explanation. And have you also read of the Heralds of Valdemar?"
Chiriko nodded once, eyes wide. "I didn't much understand, though."
Dee threw back her head and gave a hearty laugh. "Well said, little scholar," she chuckled. "Nobody much understands us, other than ourselves, of course." She smiled encouragingly. "Tell me of your findings, youngling."
Chiriko thought for a moment. "It said something about special men and women who were a sort of…peace-keeping force." He looked at Dee, who just nodded positively. "I didn't much understand about their duties. It would tell about Heralds who were war heroes, and others that acted as judges, and some that saved their people from bandits, natural disasters, or even plagues." Chiriko gazed at Dee skeptically.
"It is the job of Heralds to protect innocent people- whether it is their own people or people of another country- in whatever way we can," she elaborated. It did not escape Hotohori's attention when she said 'we.' "That includes all that you have said and more. We are ambassadors, messengers, scouts, judges, war troops, even assassins, if the need arises. Hellfires, we even help villagers bring in the crops from the harvest, if we have the leisure or the help is sorely needed." Her voice softened again. "Anything that will help innocent people. Please, Chiriko, continue."
:Did I miss anything, Kavor: she sent without showing any outward sign that she was doing so.
:You forgot to mention that the lot of you are stubborn, pig-headed-:
:Kavor!: Dee had to bite her lip to keep from laughing out loud. He just sent a wordless mind-chuckle.
Chiriko cleared his throat before continuing. "I didn't much understand the rest, either. Something about every Herald was chosen by a horse, and they had a companion with strange powers…" he trailed off with a shrug.
"Ah, Companions. Always the hardest part of the explanations." Dee sighed and shook her head. "I don't really understand them. Insufferable, mulish- ow!" Kavor gave her a mind 'kick' that Dee was totally unprepared for.
:Payback's a bitch, horse.: Kavor didn't even deign to answer.
Chichiri looked at her concernedly. "Are you all right, no da? Do your burns pain you, na no da?"
Dee, laughed, though not unkindly. "I'm fine, really. That was just my Companion. He didn't really care for what I was saying about him and his brethren. You all remember my horse, the white stallion?"
"How could I forget?" Tamahome muttered bitterly. Nuriko laughed at Tama's dark expression.
Dee suppressed a smile of her own. "Well, he's no horse. He's my Companion. I'm not sure how to explain it, really." She tapped a finger against her lips thoughtfully. "The Shin'a'in call them leshy'a- spirit- horses. Kind of like the spirit of a human- or something just as intelligent as a human- in a horse-like shape. There's no doubt in my mind that they are here by divine intervention.
"What they do is Chose people who will help Valdemar and protect the innocents that I spoke to you about. They bond with their Chosen in a way like to a lifebond. That's how we choose our Heirs; the next in the royal line that has been Chosen is named Heir. It makes for very uncorrupt Monarchs.
"More often than not, the Chosen have special Gifts in what we call mind-magic. These can be various things; most common is MindSpeaking, which allows us to 'speak' to our Companions. This boy here," she reached over and stroked the hair of her still-unconscious ward, "has both MindSpeech and FireStarting- a very rare and powerful Gift that allows one to set any substance on fire. And because of that, I must stay here and keep my shields on him until I can give him rudimentary training and bring him back to Valdemar."
The boy chose that moment to wake. He shot up into a sitting position, panicked. Dee could See the power flare; she knew that they'd all be up in flames in mere seconds…
And she clamped impermeable shields on him before that could happen. "Easy, sweetling," she said soothingly as she would to a spooked, wild colt. "We aren't going to hurt you, we're here to help." She could feel him battering against her shields; so those were what frightened him. "Stop fighting, little love," she coaxed. "It'll only hurt more. I'm Deirdre. You remember me, don't you?"
He froze everything and looked at her, eyes wide in fright. "You aren't real!" his voice was shrill with terror.
Tasuki opened his mouth to discount this, but Dee raised a hand to stop him. The boy was very fragile right now, after a very traumatic experience and the fiery seishi would do more harm than good.
"I'm very real." Dee kept her voice soft and comforting. She held out a hand. "See? You can touch me. I won't shimmer and fade away, I assure you."
"I heard you in my head," the boy whispered fearfully. "I- I thought I was going crazy or…" he averted his eyes, "or that you were an angel." Dee would have laughed if the boy hadn't been so serious.
Dee rested her outstretched hand gently against the boy's cheek. He started in surprise. She smiled tenderly at him. "It's entirely possible that I am here by some discreet sort of divine intervention. I've learned never to discount that, but I am no angel. Far from, in fact. And see? You can touch me, you can feel my hand can't you?" The boy nodded, and she removed her hand from his cheek only to grip his hand firmly. "I'm very real, and you are not crazy." On a gamble, she added, "Right, Mitsukake?" The man was solid, reliable, down-to-earth- the sort of person this boy probably saw everyday. She hoped the familiarity would put the boy even more at his ease, and if not, Mitsukake was the closest thing they had to a MindHealer.
But she needn't have worried. The boy relaxed completely when the seishi stepped forward at Dee's summons. "Well, if he's crazy," Mitsukake said calmly, "what does that say for Tasuki?"
"Hey!" the redheaded bandit protested, reaching for his tessen. But Tamahome beat him to it, and rapped Tasuki on the head with the large, diamond fan.
The boy chuckled weakly as the two squabbled. "What's your name, sweetling?" Dee asked him, squeezing his hand.
"Blake," he answered, not meeting her eyes.
Hotohori's eyes smarted as he watched the tender scene between Dee and the boy. Suzaku, this woman was amazing! She had gone straight from saying that her Heraldic kin occasionally acted as assassins, to all mothering and feminine as soon as the boy awakened.
He blinked rapidly. Hotohori barely remembered his own mother, but he remembered her acting very similar, when they had been in private. Ever since she had died, he had felt so very alone. Seeing the Herald like this- it was almost like a physical pain in his heart.
Despite his nostalgia, Hotohori didn't miss the oddity of the boy's name. "That is an unusual, foreign name," he said in response.
Blake jumped a bit at being addressed by someone else. "My mother came from a far-away country, sir. She always said that she wished she was back there, for Hardorn was at peace with all of its neighbors."
Dee felt as though a hand clenched at her heart. "H-Hardorn?" she whispered. "Did you s-say Hardorn?"
"Yes," Blake replied. "Did I say something wrong?"
"No, sweetling," Dee murmured distractedly. Dee had feared that she was sent so far away, that no one would be able to tell her how to get back. After all, only Chiriko had heard of her country from an obscure scroll dismissed as fantasy. But if this boy's mother was from Hardorn…!
"Blake, where is your mother?" Dee asked. "I would speak with her." She looked down at her hands and whispered, "I would speak to her about Hardorn."
"I'm an orphan, Lady Deirdre. My mother is dead. She's been dead these past six years."
Dee's heart plummeted. "I'm sorry, Blake," she said, smiling to hide her disappointment. "I didn't mean sadden you." Dammit! The one real lead I'll get to find my way back to Valdemar is in a grave six-years cold.
:You can't blame yourself, Chosen.:
:Can't I, Kavor? Hmmm? I am the mage here, I should have been able to sense that green fog before we came upon it, I should be able to do something about it besides sit around and twiddle my thumbs!:
Kavor snorted in disgust. :Stop wallowing in self-pity, girl! If we're going to play the blame game, how's about this- I should have been able to detect the fog, also. I should have been able to alert you of it before we were into it, rather than letting it muddle my mind. I have a duty to you, my Chosen, and I blew it!:
:Kav-:
:But I am not wasting my time with should haves! Are you a Herald or not, girl? You need to keep a clear head and figure your way out of this mess, if not for your own sake, then for Blake's! He needs you, gods-dammit, and you have a duty to him- a duty to be his teacher, someone he can rely on, until you can get him to Haven! He doesn't need someone who's so wrapped up in what she 'should have done,' that she doesn't have time for him!:
Dee smiled slightly, thoroughly chagrined. :Thanks for the lecture, Kav. I needed that.:
:I know.:
Had he been there, she would have stuck her tongue out at him. But since it would look very odd to all of the others, she wisely kept her tongue in her mouth. Instead, she turned to Blake. "Who do you live with?" she asked.
"My brother," he replied curiously. "Why?"
"How would you feel about traveling with me for a while? You need to be trained, and I'm the best candidate to train you, for the moment. Once I give you rudimentary instruction, I can bring you to my country and get you a teacher better suited to your abilities. We can even visit your mother's homeland along the way. What do you say, hmm?"
The boy only answer was flying into her arms for an engulfing hug.
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StarBlaze: Ach! I really didn't mean to make Hotohori into the main FY character. Things just sort of…happened that way. Ah, well *shrugs* that's the way the cookie crumbles.
