Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon or the Arthurian Legends. I do, however, own Akebono and the creation of Avalon as a world in itself.
"Heavens above! The reason why I'm so jealous of you is obvious enough! If you weren't so damned attractive physically, do you think my heart would beat almost to suffocation whenever I see you speak to someone?
If you don't realize how attractive you are in that way, let me tell you, other people do, and have told me so…."
~Violet Trefussis~
This is dedicated to all my wonderful reviewers. I couldn't have made it this far without you guys. Thanks so much.
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Chapter 7:
Eclipse of the Silver Moon
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Sounds of diminishing parties and drunken slurs still drifted up through the narrow window near Makoto's bed, but for the most part, a blanketing silence now covered the castle.
It was for that reason that Makoto wondered what had awoken her. Nothing was stirring in the senshi's joint chambers, and Minako still had yet to join her in bed. The still bloated moon hung suspended in the sky as servants scurried below its rounded surface in an ineffectual attempt to clean the large courtyard of debris before morning. Even now, it was nearly light, and still it looked as though most would be sleeping soundly through the day. A long night would lead to an even longer hangover.
Disentangled herself from the blanket wrapped around her form, Makoto rose from the bed to pad softly to the window. Sore muscles groaned in protest, but the complaints were nothing compared to the vicious howling they had raised the previous day. A good night's rest, for Makoto had not truly slept during her fitful turning, had done her body well. Her wounds had mended almost completely, no doubt thanks to some outside form of magical healing, and only the soreness of overuse was left within her bones. Even now, with the brilliant moon still overshadowing the soft light of the rising sun, Makoto felt well rested and far more awake than she had been moments before. The cool breeze whistled through the narrow opening in the wall refreshed her flushed skin and lightly tossed her sleep tangled hair. Calm had descended upon the war ravaged land.
A snorting inhalation jolted Makoto from the window and she leapt backwards quickly, falling into an undignified sprawl on her back.
"Baka," she cursed herself with breathless vehemence, setting a heated glare on the unfortunate object that had tripped her after her startled jump. She found herself looking at a gnarled, oaken staff resting tangled within her ankles. Muttering another string of inappropriate and uniquely inventive curses, Makoto wrapped an angry hand around the ornate piece of wood and stood.
The next time the snoring echoed through her room, Makoto was proud to say that she did not jump. Stumbling, of course, did not count.
Deciding that braving whatever horrible beast might be making that annoying racket and potentially waking it was better than simply standing idly in front of the open window. Creeping cautiously through the cracked door, Makoto slipped into the large antechamber connecting her and Minako's room to that of their friends. There, laying spreadeagled on the couch, she saw the sprawling form of her blonde friend, mouth gaping as she noisily inhaled more air before expelling it in a snorting rush through her nose. A thin trail of drool led to a nice sized puddle on the floor. Makoto had found her monster, a walking blonde disaster by the name of Minako.
From further within their rooms, Makoto could hear the unmistakable snores of her blonde princess, a harmonious backdrop to Minako's loud snorts. Makoto now knew where her friends were at any rate. They had returned home, the beautiful child of Venus had merely left her friend undisturbed in their room. Smiling motherly at her slumbering friend, Makoto pulled the thick wool blanket up to the blonde's chin, ensuring that the chill of the room did not penetrate her mumbled dreams. Turning silently, Makoto returned to her room, staff still in hand, and began to dress. She had no desire to wake her friends after they had obviously had a long night, but she also did not wish to be cooped inside a noisy room where only she had to be silent. The dragon hide pants and tunic she had worn yesterday for the battle were gone, and a gaudily decorated dress now lay in its place. Makoto tried desperately to hold in her reflexive gag as she held the pink monstrosity at arms length. With a disgusted sigh she let the offending material drop to the ground.
"I'd rather go nude," she told the horrendous puddle of fabric on the ground, before turning and marching to the large, wooden dresser situated on the other side of the room, praying for it to be full.
Makoto let out a sigh of relief once she found it lined to near bursting with all manner of dresses, only dresses, but compared to the 'thing' on the floor, any article of clothing would be welcome. Selecting a simple, complementary dress from the closet, she slipped it on. Matching, comfortable emerald slippers followed on her feet, amazingly enough, both fit perfectly on her frame. Both dress and shoes were made from the same hardy, expertly crafted material. It was not coarse to the touch, but it would be hard to tear the fabric. The skirt only flared slightly, and came to rest just above the ground, hanging freely and fluidly around her ankles. The simple bodice was unembroidered and consisted merely of bunched gauzy material overlaying the same thread that the skirt was woven from. The dress came slightly off shoulder with two modest straps securing it firmly in place around the curve of her shoulder. Makoto ran her fingers through the tangled knots of her mane after smoothing down ruffled fabric.
Quickly grabbing her carven staff for no other reason than the comfort it gave her to carry the magical item, Makoto silently exited the senshi's chambers, entering the hall and randomly turning down a hall she thought might lead outside.
After several wrong turns and occasional directions, she was not disappointed. She had exited the keep on the same side that Toshinokou had previously led them out on. In the distance, Makoto could see the stretch of wall that would lead to the forest beyond the castle walls.
A sudden pulse went through the wood beneath her hands, and Makoto's breath caught in her throat. She could see magnificent beasts with membranous wings and iridescent scales sunning themselves on the upper battlements of the castle. Numerous dragons had take over guard duty along the wall and were lazily absorbing the pale sun's rays, basking in the new day's dawning warmth.
A pang similar to the one she felt in the staff, throbbed within her heart. She could just now see, the pale rising blue sun eclipsing the silver moon as day conquered night. Blue against silver. Akebono...
Her heart now hammered in her chest, and she was sure that anyone near her would be able to hear it. But the servants moved obliviously by, working quickly and thoroughly in an effort to finish by the noontime meal. No one would miss her before then. Most of the senshi would still be sleeping off the effects of last night, and the castle was big enough that it would take a while before she would be found missing from its confines.
She could go find answers within the trees; she could find Akebono, although she did not know where to look. But she was also fairly sure that, he would be able to find her if nothing else. She just knew he would be able to. He had to...
Decision made, Makoto crept guiltily towards the stone wall surrounding Kochi.
She stepped in front of the gray stone of the walls of the castle, her hands twisting in nervous knots clasped in front of her fluttering stomach. Slowly, she raised her shaking hand to the wall, mimicking the same position and posture she had see Toshinokou use earlier. Her palm hovered an inch above the stone, and she knew as soon as she made contact with the wall there would be no turning back. Another tremor ran through her body as she contemplated exactly what it was she was about to do. Emotions were surging and welling up inside of her, conflicting and fighting for supremacy.
This is wrong! Her mind screamed, and she could not help but agree. She was running from her friends, running away, and that was not her style. But even as the thought crossed her mind, she knew she was only lying to herself. It was not running from her friends that scared her, it was running to Akebono. She was afraid of the emotions stirring just beneath the surface; emotions he evoked in her; emotions that were causing her hand and body to shake in fear of being acknowledged. She closed her eyes, body swaying in indecision.
Then her eyes shot open. Her hand had brushed against the cold stone, and its frozen texture penetrated to the very depth of her soul. A gasp passed her parted lips from both surprise and fear. She had unconsciously made her decision, but even as her subconscious had decided; her conscious thought had agreed. She could not turn away now. To do so would be cowardly, and Kino Makoto was anything but. Makoto also knew that the answer to the way to quell her storm of emotions lay beyond that door of solid stone. She had to resolve her feelings, and only by leaving the confines of her ornate prison could that be done. Only by searching out Akebono could she find her answers. This had to be done. There was no way around it.
Even as she began the chant she had heard Toshinokou saying, she found her thoughts wishing and hoping that it would not work, but at the same time, she prayed against all odds that it would work. She needed it to work in the same breath that she needed it to fail. By wishing for its failure, her nerves were calmed, but by her hope for success, her voice gained strength and passion. When she had first hit upon the idea to use the side door out of the castle, doubts had descended upon her mind rapidly. But in the struggle for control over her emotions, her doubts seemed almost insignificant.
There were countless possibilities for error. Toshinokou was a mage, a person skilled in magic, and it had taken all of his concentration to create this side door. Makoto did not even know if the door had been a permanent installment in that particular section of wall, or if Toshinokou simply had know a spell for creating a door from solid stone anywhere in the castle. If that were the case, Makoto was not sure if this would work. She knew from experience with using her "Supreme Thunder," or other such elementally based attacks that it required a connection almost to element itself to perform it. She had to feel the electricity flowing through her veins, and then it had been willing to obey her plea. At the moment she was finding it hard to envision the stone wall flowing through her veins and following her orders. But she concentrated nevertheless. Forcing her rebellious thoughts from her mind and focusing on her contradicting hopes.
"Kochi, Greatest Kingdom of Avalon, split your stone, open your doorway, create the portal, and allow us passage." Her voice was soft from fear of being heard or noticed, but strong in its resolve. Her eyes were closed once again both in fear of seeing the wall still remain a wall and in concentration.
Unconsciously, the hand in which Makoto held the wooden staff dropped forward. Its gnarled wooden head resting against the stone. The result was almost instantaneous. A luminous crack raced along the wall straight towards the sky, before taking a sharp, ninety degree turn and following the horizontal, then turning sharply a second time and impacting the ground with a resounding crack, as the stone split to form the backlit outline of the stone door. Makoto's eyes snapped open, failing to notice the gray mist once again being absorbed into the wooden staff in her hand because of the all encompassing fear that took a hold of her. She could see the guardhouse coming alive at the sudden noise. Makoto's situation did not approve from there. The stone portal in front of her groaned loudly as it swung outwards, opening on magical hinges of crumbling stone. Wasting no time, Makoto ran through the opening, her lithe form disappearing into the black of the night, the forest's grasping fingers of shadow reaching for and swallowing her greedily.
Makoto did see the sad eyes of the Time Mistress watching her from a darkened window as she was consumed by the darkness surrounding the gray castle, the stone portal sealing behind her retreating back, or the castle's soldiers cursory and perfunctory perusal of the ground where Makoto had stood seconds before. Setsuna turned from the scene, pulled back the cover on the bed, and laid down without so much as a sound beside the still slumbering senshi of Saturn, wise and mournful eyes closing in sleep.
* * *
The gray mist weighed heavily upon the green boughs, draping lazily across branches like limp Spanish moss and decorating the moist ground like a carpet.
Makoto was walking steadily deeper into the fog laden forest, her tall form slipping easily into the obscuring curtain of shimmering haze. She had no direction, but her heart was giving her a purpose. The aimless wandering farther into the forest's depths was spurred by a blind trust that the silver dragon she had befriended would be able to find her. She was after all, walking through countless miles of gray mist, through Enmu himself. Akebono was a silver dragon, and if what Toshinokou had said was true, then he should be able to find her, no problem, within the mist.
Makoto had been walking for a good thirty minutes by now, and although she knew that Akebono would not be anywhere near within sight of the castle, she was afraid of traveling too far from the large stone building. She could still see its tallest towers and spires rising above the tree line, no longer dominating the sky as it had when she had first passed its walls, but still intimidating nonetheless.
The gentle babble of a small stream drew Makoto's attention away from her possible problem and towards its soothing murmur. Winding a narrow path through the leafy growth, the clear water rolled gently down smooth rocks and past fallen logs. It began in a large outcropping of rocks that would surely be visible to the castle, but that Makoto had never noticed. The large, round stones were slippery where the bubbling spring fell in a steady trickle down their slope, but were rough hewn and provided excellent handholds closer to the right of the stream. It would be impossible to scale the rock pile at the rear for the sheer height that it reached; however, closer to the stream, only a few feet separated a gentle, rocky grade from the green ground. Even in her dress and slippers, Makoto found the climb quick and simple, and then after cautiously picking her way from rock to rock, she reached the plateau where the stream sprung from its underground well. The clear water seemed even more pure higher in the clean air and closer to the blue sun. The rock outcropping was actually much larger than she had originally expected, but only a small part of it jutted above the top canopy of the mighty trees that surrounded the stone. The hardened oaks that shielded the gray rock and naturally formed caves from prying eyes looked far older than the rest of the forest with their wide trunks and gnarled limbs, speaking of far less innocuous times. Even the jagged edges that had not been worn down by the brook's continual journey appeared to have an age and wisdom to them that was sorely missing from the greener parts of the mighty forest. Their appearances were more careworn and weary than the green sprigs of summer grass appeared, yet their vitality and inner strength bespoke of a deep power, rumbling far beneath the surface like turbulent water with a beguiling glassy surface. Dark in its depths but with a strength in its roots that could not be matched. An old relic of days long since gone, not past its prime, but neither containing its once majestic glory, still a keeper of long forgotten secrets from forgotten times. Even the darkness of the caverns situated at the rear of the rock formation promised surprise and revelations from dead worlds.
The sun above her was just now beginning to rise fully from its cover of green limbs and the warmth and heat it provided chased away the chill of the clinging mist. Its comfortable presence atop this near perfect paradise convinced Makoto to stretch out indolently along the spongy moss-covered ground. Mission not forgotten, although its utter futility weighed heavily upon her pained heart, merely diminishing to a wishful plea.
She closed her eyes the gentle rays of the morning sun and allowed her still fatigued and sore body to succumb, once again into a peaceful haven of sleep. Dreams floating like mist through her mind. Upon waking, she would scream in fright, but between waking and sleeping, that is neither here nor there. Screams matter not within Elysion's fields.
* * *
The golden sun that cut through the morning's foggy blanket was the first clue that Makoto had. She was no longer in Avalon, that much was obvious. Although, she still did not think she could be on earth. Thick clouds stretched for as far as the eye could see with the only visible gap being the one that the small sun peeked through, the same sun that lighted earth, only in much smaller detail, burning from much farther away. Makoto could not understand how anything so far from the planet could possibly be warm enough to heat the air. But the temperature around her was perfect, neither too sultry nor too frigid.
The weather, however, was the least of her worries. Avalon's gray mist clung like grasping fingers to her green dress and obscured her vision of all but the sky above, and even that was disconcerting. The voluminous red clouds rumbled with the continual din of thunder, the sound of a storm that would not die, and Makoto could not see the very ground upon which she stood.
The sun above her was beginning to dry the air and thin the moist curtain of fog that surrounded her, but what it revealed was like nothing Makoto had ever seen.
She was in the clouds, floating in a city of gold. The sun glinted off the streets and buildings in a shining radiance, and the entire city looked as though it were burning among the stormy clouds. Trees and gardens bursting with blooming flowers poured over walkways, draped along sidewalks, and framed every corner of the bustling city. A palace made of what looked to be white gold was framed against the endless horizon of forked lightning and broiling columns of red and white.
As soon as Makoto's eyes drifted towards the upper pinnacle of the burnished castle, gleaming from the revealed golden sun, she felt drawn towards the emerald green crystal lodged in a halo of twined gold, silver, and bronze circlets. Her eyes could now only see the emerald, held like a beacon above the city, in a place of reverence and power, and then, before she could even comprehend what had occurred, Makoto stood directly in front of the beautiful stone, a strong desire to touch it overwhelming all common sense. She reached forward slowly, steady hand outstretched and her finger descending ever closer.
"Stop!" a giggling voice yelled from behind, and Makoto spun, startled. A young girl of no older than six, ran laughing and shrieking from what looked to be a flying serpent. Belatedly, Makoto realized why the scaled monster seemed so familiar.
It's body looked to be carved from jade crystal, but the fluidness of its movements belied the gem-like sparkle of its scales. This was not a snake, but a nearly identical replica to the dragon she called upon for her attack, sans lightning, and it was frolicking with a small child. Neither of whom seemed to take any notice of her presence. Just like her previous vision, apparently only select few could see her.
"Juno!" a woman's voice cried from below, her scolding tones ascending the spiral stairway that led to the tower. The woman who appeared in the doorway, face scowling in a look of castigation was obviously the child's mother. Even if the green hair was a striking contrast to her child's own earthly locks, the eyes glowed with the same intensity. "Juno, how many times must I tell you that the Emerald Heights is not a place for children's play."
Looking appropriately contrite, the pouting child bowed her head as she came to rest beside her jade colored friend, her small, delicate ivory hand resting on the glinting scales of the dragon's back.
"And you, Arashi, I expected better from my daughter's caretaker. You at least know of the importance of this sacred place." The playful beast ducked his head at her tone, letting loose a sorrowful whimper and reminding Makoto more of a dog than a magical dragon.
The imposing woman heaved a sigh and kneeled before her daughter. "Perhaps I should have better explained to you why this tower is off limits." Gently lifting her daughter under her arms, she set the girl atop of one of the battlements along the wall, holding her firmly in place as the small serpentine dragon came to rest obediently at their feet, lounging in an indolent position like a faithful pet. With a wide gesture of her arm, she indicated the entirety of all that could be seen from the tower, her hand sweeping along the clouds as she did so. "All this that you see is protected by this sacred stone. It grants us Zeus's power over nature and his own strength. You can hear the song of the trees and their wise counsel, daughter, but have you ever wondered why this is so? Certainly no other Jovian can hear their words. Why then daughter, do you think we can?"
"... that green rock? It lets me talk with Antai-mama?" The young child asked, understanding beginning to dawn in her eyes as she let them wander out beyond the high walled sides of the golden city, down to below the line of clouds where Makoto could just see brushing along the underside of the city, grasping limbs of giant trees. Their trunks so huge that the city was nearly dwarfed by their sheer size. Rising level to one edge of the floating palace and its surrounding city, was a great, sprawling tree, nearly as wide as the golden town itself. Makoto had mistaken it for a forest at the edge of the golden metropolis. But, in reality, it was a tree of its own, growing straight from the planet's obscured ground and rising so high that its base was hidden amongst the clouds.
"Hai, that it does. It is also what allowed Antai-sama to grow in the first place. The hallowed 'green rock' as you call it, keeps the thunder at bay and the trees alive in a place where they could not normally grow."
"But... but..." the child argued, face scrunched up in confusion, "How come Awo-lus doesn't get a rock then. How does he live on Oh-ranus then?"
Smiling gently at her child, the young woman answered, "Aeolus does have a stone, although his is far different from ours. And you have been to Uranus, child. You have seen their cities, protected by magic from the planet. And you have also seen our planet, transformed by magic. Our stone controls nature and can then control our planet, Aeolus's stone, however, controls only the wind, air, and heavens, they cannot change their entire planet's nature."
"Well then how come Sere gets to," the young child pouted.
"The Moon Kingdom does not need to control their environment, they, like Earth, already live in a place where the sun warms their land and the earth is fertile with new growth. I'm sure you remember Maia's palace beneath Mercury's surface, Freya's golden city on Venus, Eos with her sandstone castle among the oasis, you, little Juno, with your floating castle among the clouds," she teased her daughter, tweaking her nose lightly, "the dark castle of Lady Saturn, Uranus's city among the sky, ruled by Aeolus, Salacia's Neptunian ocean home, and Lady Pluto's cold Gate of Time. You have seen your friends' homes and have seen the magic that binds them. Watch closely little Juno, and see this 'rock' that will one day be yours." The tall woman stretched out a graceful hand towards the raised pedestal where the emerald stone sat within its frame of precious metals. The stone pulsed once in acquiescence before winking out of sight. The still pulsing crystal then appeared in the mother's elegant palm. She held her hand out to the small child, and the young girl, eyes wide in childish awe and curiosity, reached out a tiny hand to run her chubby finger down the crystal's smooth faceted surface. Her mouth dropped open in surprise as the thrill of the crystal's power pulsed through her in tune to the beat it cast in her mother's palm.
Makoto could almost see the feeling that spread through the girl, her emotions were so freely and innocently displayed across her face. The child's eyes were closed and her breathing a steady lull, as a sudden wind tossed the bangs from her forehead, revealing a pulsating green symbol. Thunder rumbled in the distance and a great wind howled along the underside of the city, its melody singing through the leafy branches of the large trees whose gentle tapping against the metal side of the city and rustling of jostling leaves tinkled like silver bells through the clear air. A storm began to gather along the horizon, one of immense proportions, with tumultuous clouds alternately swelling and shrinking as it expanded along the planet. The clouds grouped together in a frothing mass of seething red, streaked throughout with random forks of purple light that would occasionally leave its heavenly confines to strike downwards in a jagged line to the uppermost branches of the trees, who, for the most part, went unaffected. Nature's savage beauty was being unleashed by the barest touch of a six year old child.
A child who had begun to sing in the most beautifully flowing language that Makoto had ever heard. The syllables rolled off her tongue like crystal droplets of clear water, sharp and lucent in the thin air. The answer she received was no less beautiful, albeit in a nearly opposite way. Makoto was sure that the two voices floating in the clean air were speaking two entirely different languages, but even if they could not understand the words each were singing, the sheer tone with which they sung expressed an emotion into a physical manifestation. The second voice appeared to have a stronger undercurrent, a melodious harmony balanced with a husky overtone, the smokey, graveled sound blending perfectly with the child's high, clear song of innocence. Age merging with youth, knowledge converging into innocence as that naivety transformed into wisdom, a paradox fusing into perfect sense. Two opposites completing a whole.
The entire, ancient forest had joined in a chorus to counterbalance the single piercing song of the child's voice. A celestial choir of earthen, aerial, and human music.
The sun was disappearing as the crystal began to slow its brilliant pulsing to a dull throb, a continual comforting presence, not the earlier flashing beacon. Even as the crystal's color and intensity faded, so too did the girl's voice, dropping and sinking to lower notes of parting filled with darker undertones of fatigue. The young girl's eyelids were drooping as the clouds converged across the golden sun's surface and the once brilliantly glimmering streets of sleek gold languished to a dull sheen of dark yellow. Clouds began to encroach along the streets, filling crevices and clutching at the brighter edges of the city until the lower levels were completely blanketed in a gray mist. The great oak the grew alongside the floating city had its limbs cloaked in a mantel of silver-gray and the white gold castle was dulling to a slate gray as fog rolled in along its outermost edges, slowly climbing the central spire.
Grasping tendrils pulled at the battlements, devouring color and sight as even the reflecting emerald crystal dulled to a colorless stone. The mist stole the child's breath just as it stole the shades of varying hue until Makoto was sure she was the last one remaining at the tower's crest.
Then, even she began to fall, the fog parting and pulling before once again enveloping and suffocating in its blanket of dreams and hazy recollection. Even now as the mist encroached along her memory, the words and images were fading from Makoto's mind just as the mist had leeched the color from the environment, until only the haunting melody of nature's chorus lingered like a fading figment in her imagination. Not even the tune existed within her mind now unless she unconsciously began to duplicate the melody in a distracted humming, and even then, the strongest memory left in the fog's wake were the vibrant emotions evoked by the girl's experience with the crystal and the feeling poured into the vibrant song. Elysion was fading from her mind, and Makoto would always regret never being able to capture that beautiful moment of time, hold onto the memory of that song, for its perspective and intensity would never again be created in the same intimate details with which she had witnessed it for as long as she might live.
* * *
The haze that lingered in Makoto's mind had transferred to the world around her. It was the only logical explanation should could think of for the mist that fogged her memory and vision.
Groaning indulgently, Makoto stirred further, forcing her protesting muscles and clouded thoughts to function in waking her up. She sat up slowly, hands rubbing the sleep from her eyes before she opened them. And screamed.
Had Makoto not been sitting, she would have fallen just as the reason for her scream was doing now. The elf that had stood in front of her was stunning, but upon waking and seeing the blue eyes directly in front of her face, she had done the only thing that her fogged brain could reasonably conclude to do, and that was scream. It had worked surprisingly well. For even while she was scrambling to her feet, the elf sprawled along the ground, long braided hair in disarray, was shaking his ringing ears in an effort to clear the dull tone.
Makoto made a frantic grab for the staff lying by her feet, brandishing it in front of her threateningly. The elf on the ground was still shaking his head wearily, allowing Makoto the respite she needed to calm her racing heart and taunt nerves. The unsettling feelings the dream had left in its fading wake had disturbed her far more than she was willing to admit.
The man was rising now to his feet, and Makoto immediately regretted not attacking when he was vulnerable. This stranger was tall, easily towering a head or more above even Makoto, and his features were far more intimidating when gazing down upon her rather than being scrunched in dazed confusion. The elegant ridges of his highly arched cheekbones and finely sculpted brows were aristocratic to an extent, but when coupled with the sharply pointed ears, shimmering eyes, and soft smile, the features made the elf appear more chivalrous than snobbish. The soft, creamy complexion of his skin and the long, silver braid of hair trailing down between his shoulder blades coming to rest about mid thigh would have made him seem feminine had it not been for the broadness of his shoulders and powerful looking arms. His physique was strongly built, not overly muscled but neither lanky, and wondrously enticing with his well toned chest and powerful but slim build, and, had it been any other situation, Makoto would have leapt at him in a second. As it was, the elf was lucky that Makoto had become wary of magical beings now and did not attack it so quickly.
While Makoto seemed, to the elf, to be content to watch, wary of his presence but not in aversion to it, the male elf began to take a slow, deliberate step forward. His mistake lay in being the one to make the first move.
Makoto jumped quickly into action, his motion stimulating a response in the form a sharp swing of her staff. Only a swift, ungainly leap backwards saved the elf from having wood meet flesh. His rapid retreat caused him to overcompensate, body tipping precariously away from her, nearly toppling over in his haste to avoid being caught at the receiving end of her wrath. Then, before the man could tumble completely onto his back, a pair of thin, membranous wings spread with an rushing gust of air to swiftly catch his falling form. The back draft of their sudden deployment sent him into the air for a brief moment, floating gracefully before landing, catlike, in crouch, torso bent forward and wings spread low over the ground. His low posture reminded Makoto more of a dangerous beast than the elegant elf he had previously appeared. Now with hands curled into talon-like claws and teeth bared into a snarling visage of animalistic protectiveness, the pseudo-elf seemed, to Makoto, far more dangerous and yet strangely elusive and alluring. Then, almost as realizing where he was, the winged man's face smoothed into a look of repentant sorrow, twin fangs just barely peeking beneath the thin line of his lips. He stood in one fluid motion, unfolding his body, straightening upright, and neatly closing his wings on his back.
"I'm sorry Mako-chan, I didn't mean to startle you." Makoto stiffened abruptly, her entire body becoming rigid with tension and surprise.
She took a few fearful steps backward before leveling her staff at the imposing figure in front of her, eyes flashing in confusion and warning. "Who the hell are you and how do you know my name?"
"Don't... don't you recognize me Mako-chan?" He asked, almost painfully, and Makoto narrowed her eyes in suspicion and skepticism.
"I think I most certainly would have remembered a guy with wings." She replied sarcastically, her voice mockingly light.
"Well, I was most certainly not humanlike the last time we met, so any oversight on your part is excusable," he teased comfortably, as though speaking with an old friend.
"What do you..." But she trailed off, not completing the sentence as she allowed her eyes to wander across his features in a mild perusal. Ignoring the more human aspects of his features, she looked to the large bat-like wings, folded lazily across his muscled back, membranous silver matching the silver of his hair. And Makoto suddenly realized that he could not be an elf, for all the elves she had seen thus far had only varying colors of blonde hair. Some were nearly white in color, while others were closer to spun gold, but none had the brilliantly shimmering silver that was loosely braided into a thin tail of hair. Long wisps of the silver escaped from the plaits and fell to frame his angled face, hair so perfectly silver and iridescent that it shone like a flowing cascade of thinly spun metallic thread.
Then Makoto, now that she was concentrating on features other than the more potentially dangerous ones, found the most striking of all of his features. A twin pair of compassionate eyes, so blue that they rivaled Avalon's sun for their purity, and yet with a depth that belied the calm surface which shimmered, wavered, and shone with an inner light. A light and look that Makoto was all too familiar with. This was the same pale blue that had haunted her waking thoughts and dreams, azure eyes lined with silver, the silver in this case coming from loose tendrils of hair, not scales. But the penetrating gaze was the same nonetheless, no matter where it was coming from.
"Akebono-kun..." she whispered, voice emphasizing more her tone of surprise rather than any doubt.
"Hai, young one, I told you our paths would cross again. I did not, however, believe that you would come actively looking for my company."
Makoto blushed slightly, but smiled nonetheless, "What can I say... I'm... rather impulsive..."
"You follow your heart, not your head. That is an admirable, if underappreciated trait." Akebono told her gently, an awkward silence descending upon them after his words.
"Akebono-kun... you're not... You are... How did..."
"It is good to see you again as well," Akebono replied so softly that Makoto could not tell whether his tone was teasing or something else entirely.
"What are you?!" Makoto mentally slapped her forehead as soon as the words left her mouth. Brilliant, she mocked herself bitterly.
Akebono's chuckle was low at first, echoing lightly around the stone plateau before growing in volume and fervor, transforming into a full-bodied, deep throated laugh of mirth. Makoto joined in shortly after, finally lowering the oaken staff and approaching Akebono with tears of laughter streaming down her cheeks. She impulsively flung her arms around the taller man's neck, and Akebono abruptly stopped laughing, stiffening at the sudden touch. Makoto reached up and dried her tears before stepping back, watching him expectantly.
"I assure you, Mako-chan, that I am a dragon. A silver one as you, no doubt, observed. And I have no doubt that you know by now what exactly that entails. I can't control Enmu, as most humans seem to imply in their explanations, but he does grant my wishes. His power is mine, and mine is his. Enmu, of course, is also my friend, one whom I know well and intimately." He told her, pausing briefly to let her absorb the information.
"You don't look much like a dragon," Makoto quipped lightly, question coloring her voice.
Another short spasm of laughter met her pronouncement. "No, I suppose I don't. Well there are reasons for that. What you are seeing, as most everything in Avalon, is an illusion. My dragon form is my first form, the way in which I am strongest and most comfortable, and the form in which I am most in tune to Enmu's presence. As a dragon, I am more an extension of him than a wielder of his magic. It was also that form in which Enmu gave his children, the Elder Brethren of dragons, their first taste of magic. He made for us this second form you see as well because Enmu, in his loneliness and mischievousness, wanted to create a companion that was superior to Gaia's children that she had created. Of course, he couldn't very well compare dragons to humans if they did not have a few similar characteristics. He wanted a being equivalent to humans but far superior to them as well. That is why we have two forms. One for magic and illusions and life among other dragons or with Enmu, and the other for interaction between humans or any other such thing that requires a small, inconspicuous body."
"I hate to tell you this Akebono, but those wings aren't too inconspicuous. Besides, if you hate humans so much and avoid them or their dwellings like a plague, why do you even use that form." Makoto attempted to keep the bitterness from her voice, but after hearing Toshinokou tell her that all dragons believed themselves superior to man, and then hearing it spoken undeniably from Akebono, she could not keep her disappointment from showing. Really, this should not bother her. It was not as though she had known Akebono long, but to hear his rejection of her based solely on her species, not even considering her qualities as an individual, hurt far more than Makoto was willing to concede.
"I do not hate humans as you believe me to," Akebono told her softly, closing the gap between them in one stride. "I merely am stating all that Enmu has told me. And I, personally, believe what my god has to say. But just because he made us superior to humans in his eyes does not mean that we are better than them in all ways. We do have far longer lives, much more powerful magic, and better minds, in most cases. But I have yet to see anyone with hearts such as you humans. Dragons do not know these ranges of emotions that you feel, this strength that it gives you is foreign to us. You all love freely and yet far more truly. I could not understand before, but I am beginning to now." Akebono told her, taking another step closer, bridging the remainder of the gap between them and never once removing his eyes from hers.
Makoto could feel his breath ghosting along her cheek. Its presence lingered like a lover's caress along her skin, sending burning currents along her inflamed nerves.
Makoto's sharp intake of air was the only sound that the two heard.
She was lost. Drowning in his intense eyes, the color so vibrant against his pale, silver dusted skin that they glowed. Neither broke eye contact as the world around them
faded into obscurity, falling away into black oblivion.
He was gorgeous. At first glance, Makoto had believed him to be an elf, but now as she looked closer, the differences between the two were glaringly obvious. While Akebono was gorgeous, he was not beautiful. His appeal came more from a sharp handsomeness that overshadowed even beauty. His attractiveness was more from his confident aura, prominent traits, and the luring depths of his eyes rather than any softness.
Reaching a strong, slim hand upwards, Makoto let her fingers trail along the prominent ridges of his cheekbones. The features of a dragon could be seen, hidden just beneath the misleading surface. The ferocity, the feral glint, and the inhuman regality, all features had remained, not transformed, merely transmuted. Now with a human comparison for draconic characteristics, it was easy to tell that dragons were all angles. Their face and body were an accumulation of jumbled angles, none blending, merely joining. The sharp angles of his cheeks joined the line of his chin into the sloping plane of Akebono's brow and pointed ears, the apex of his ear coming to a far finer point than the nearly shell shaped figure of an elf's.
In elves, although their features were striking, like those of Akebono's, they were not handsomely strict. Elves had more beauty than masculinity, with blurred edges merging smoothly into gentle slopes and rounded corners, no sharp angles or stern features, just a nearly childish aura of mischievousness. They had a femininity in their characteristics that spoke of communion with nature and nature's own natural beauty.
Akebono had control of nature. His face was a commanding presence, noteworthy for its perfect lines and angles, creating an austere handsomeness, that although in comparison to an elf's flawless beauty was nothing of distinguishable importance, was in itself compromised of an appeal all its own. That, when coupled with the domineering presence of mind and firm confidence of self, was a charm too alluring to bypass. His looks would turn any girl's head, and his eyes and bearing would hold the attention there for all eternity, far longer than an elf's ephemeral charm.
There was a confidence about his bearing that spoke of majesty and power and elegance, a royal presence of mind and body. If any one person Makoto had ever met was a prince, this man-dragon standing in front of her certainly was one.
She could not even remember when her hand had fallen from Akebono's smooth skin. It had been cool to the touch, with a nearly silvery metallic sheen that was eerily reminiscent of his cold-blooded, scaled form. He was gorgeous.
"... beautiful..." Apparently Akebono's mind was running along similar lines as his pale, cool hand came to rest on her cheek next, tone and actions mirroring the reverence on his face. Its long, elegantly arched fingers with nails sharpened nearly to the point of talons and slender, graceful movements alluded to the power behind the noble appendage. Makoto leaned into the touch, sighing as all her earlier fears were displaced, and worries about any feelings she had not wanted to acknowledge for a gargantuan reptile vanished along with Akebono's previous appearance.
"Ake-kun," she whispered in a breathless voice, eyes closing of their own accord as the transformed dragon's lips slowly descended on her own. Wings of silver scales
folded to enclose both in a veiled sanctuary. And Avalon's sun rose above the tree line to glare unmercifully down on the pair, both oblivious to the world around them as
they found solace and peace in the arms of one another, neither one caring what the day would bring. Reality faded from their senses and ceased to exist as the two fell more
deeply into each other, each ignorant of what their coupling would mean and what their forsaken love would bring. For even as their love blossomed and sighs of
contentment filled the silent, observant trees, Destiny cast her hand, and a sole, dark cloud cast a pallor over the surface of the pale blue sun.
Author's Notes:
The end is slowly drawing nearer. Only a few more chapters to go. I hope you guys enjoy the ride, we're about to hit the downward spiral very soon.
