Forest Murmurs
Disclaimer: I own Little/Eleece, the Collegium wolf pack, and the rogue wolf. Vanyel and company are copyright and property of Misty and them peoples.
Chapter 6
The beast trembled under the power of his master's voice, bowing down in the forest even though his master was not there. It was better, for if he was, he would have been more damaged than this.
" You let her get away." His voice was quiet now, and the beast knew that if he did not cower and weep as the master exected, his voice would get louder.
: You said unless I could see her. She was not there, to my eyes.: He said honestly, and knew that his master would not be angered at him parroting his words back to him, only if he changed the words and used them against him would he be angry.
" True." That one word held worlds in it and he could almost see his master putting his hand to his chin, only he had never seen his master in the flesh before. " In that case, so you do not fail me again."
The beast howled in pain as a mage lance came down in his mind, searing paths and tunnels of himself. He lay there twitching in agony as fire raged through his mind and made every movement ache as if he was freezing to death. But as soon as it had come, the pain was gone, and he could stand up and see without the haze of anger or pain clouding his eyes. He blinked a few times and saw that the lights that danced in front of him were little copper specs, the birds and squirrels in the trees.
" Now that you can see what the girl does, and she does see this amazing show of lights when she chooses to, whether she is hiding from you or not, you will be able to see her. The next time you see her, whether in dreams or reality, you will kill her."
As slowly as his master had come, he left, withdrawing from the bird that he had chosen to inhabit to speak to his beast. The bird was killed instantly, and the beast leapt upon it with hungry glee. He just wished that his master had chosen to be an elk next time, so he wouldn't have to deal with eating the little featherheads anymore.
" I know why he wants me." Eleece said, her voice strong with emotions held delicately under control.
" Moondance brought up the subject of the wolves and their mating seasons. Well, I think that the wolf is looking for a mate." She said, making an inward face at the idea.
" You?" Savil asked, nearly sputtering up her mouthful of water.
" Well, look at all the evidence! I'm the only female that has not been mated in the pack! I am female! He attacked Terick because he thought he was me!" She ran out of things to say, if only because they were things that she could not tell them, they would not understand. " He's only after me."
" Only after you?" Savil's face was incredulous. " Let me tell you something, if he were only after you then what you've got on your back would be all over your body!"
" Could you show me these wounds? I had known that you were wounded, but not where they were." Moondance asked. " If there was some kind of magics on him, I may be able to tell from your wounds."
Her tunic tied up the back, since the Healers checked on her every once in a while to make sure that they weren't getting infected or anything. " Terick?" She turned her back to them and the boy stood, undoing each of the laces with tender care.
Her back was a mess of scars, some still pink and healing. Most of the scars were in the middle of her back, but there were a few rows down her shoulders and on her lower back. " He broke a rib, so they had to set it, but it's alright now. I feel them, but they aren't painful anymore." She shrugged and Starwind hissed in anger. " What?"
" Do that again, but keep it like that." Moondance asked calmly, and Eleece did so. " Bastard!"
Eleece shoed away from the man and half turned to see his angry face. He pointed a finger at her and it shook, his whole beind shook. " Your scars are not just anything. When you shrug, it becomes evident that there is a picture there. That attack on you was no accident, and I think that the beast is not the only factor in this anymore."
" What kind of picture?" She asked breathlessly as her mind raced to try and figure out who would be trying to kill her.
" A wolf, leaping for the attack." Vanyel said, now looking at it.
The rest of her scars, the old ones, marred the image a little, but it was there. The wolf had not a face, but a head and upper body, with a small scar making the tail down by her left hip. Savil quickly looked at it with her Mage Sight.
" It's like how you described the wolf's mind. The red and black streaks are there, and more." Savil was amazed to see that the girl brimmed to the point with what she had described as wild magic, copper-gold and shining brighter than flame.
" Why did you not tell us?" Vanyel asked, sadly tired and dissapointed.
Eleece knew what they saw. She felt thier magic brush her senses and knew that they saw the wilderness that she held inside her, the magic that enabled her to speak with the wolves and other animals, that gave her the ability that made it possible for her to heal them of any wound. She felt like a bird ready to break through the brush because it had been frightened, but her wolf side made her stay and face her attackers, though her human side told her that she was not being attacked, only found out.
" You wouldn't understand what it means. What I can do, what I have done." She took a breath and expelled it, calling Sky to her as she sat on her bed. She let the tunic hang open in the back, secured by one tie. " Why I had to run away from my home."
Savil felt rather maternal, the girl just brang it out of everyone around her. " You can tell us. Unless you killed someone-" The stricked look on the girl's face told her that she had said the wrong thing.
Sky crawled up into her lap and put his head under her hand, obviously telling her something. Whatever it was, it made tears creep from her eyes and down her cheeks, but she said nothing nor made any noise until Terick moved and knelt in front of her. " It will be easier if you just tell us. Everyone in this room can cast a Truth Spell, some better than others, but still..." He let his sentance trail off and then spoke again. " If you think that I will think any less of you, you're wrong-"
Eleece pushed him away with amazing strength, gritting her teeth and trying not to howl in frustration. " My family! It was my family that I killed! Are you happy now? Every single person in our village that didn't run away got slaughtered by me!"
She gripped one hand in the bedsheets while the other slowly stroked Sky, as if the pup gave her some reassurance, or better to say, a grip on her sanity.
" My father," Her voice was quiet and hushed now and she stared at her feet. " He was not a nice man. Far from it. If he was not taking my mother painfully in their room, he was beating my brothers for petty things. For some reason, he never touched my sisters and I, but this one night."
She took a breath and visibly steeled herself, sitting up straight but never taking her eyes off her feet. " It was the night of my thirteenth birthday. My mother made a great feast for the whole Hold because we were the richest family on the land, and I would be married off to whatever man that my father deemed favorable."
" I did something wrong. I don't remember what it was, but it made him angry and he hit me in front of the whole Hold! Something in me snapped and I changed and leapt at him. I tore his throat out and everyone started screaming and I went for them. The ones that were smart and ran were saved, but my family; oh gods, my sisters and brothers, even the baby. My grandmother and the aunts. The second and third wives had not been allowed to sit with us, so they got away. But anyone and everyone that I had loved, I had killed."
Vanyle thought that it was very unsettling that she was not crying. She was totally indifferent. But it didn't make her any more of a monster than he was. He had acted that way when he was on the Border, but he hadn't known most of the people he had killed, not cared for them in any ways like she had.
" You changed? Into what?" Terick asked, and Sky started to berserk.
: You can't show them! They'll kill you! Humans always kill wolves! No! Mama no!: Eleece was the only one who heard his words, but she dispassionately ignored him as she stood up and let her skirt slip to the ground.
Her body shook slightly as golden fur started to grow out of her skin and her bones snapped and popped as they formed and reformed into the smaller bones of a wolf. She fell to all fours and howled in pain as her muzzle grew and lengthened, her claws ripping out of her fingers and her joints shortening themselves. Little gave one last long scream that Sky echoed as her transformation came to a shuddering finish and she stood there, tall and proud.
Everyone drew away from her, looks of amazement and horror on thier faces. Little looked at Terick and it saddened her to see that he had taken to cowering in a corner of the bed, arms around his knees and tears streaming down his face. She slowly walked to him and sniffed him, the fear radiating off him in waves that she could smell. She placed her paws on the edge of the bed and licked at his face, whining softly. Terick yelped and stuck out at her and she wheeled away.
Little heard the sound of a whinny; Terick had called his Companion. She knew that the only way out of the room was the window, and there would be a very mad horse waiting for her. She would be lucky to even hit the ground before she was torn to peices, but she had been lucky before.
Vanyel saw it before anyone else did. Yfandes wouldn't get there in time for her to ward off Terick's Companion. She would get killed.
Little turned her dark green eyes to the rest of the group, who were still frozen. She bent and licked Sky across the face, then wheeled and leapt out of the window. Terick was startled out of his stupor and ran to the window. " No! Eleece, no!"
Little saw the Companion, felt the rage coming off of him like a powerful waterfall smashing into her. She saw the dark figure dart out of the forest and knew that the Companion was not the only thing she had to worry about. The beast had been waiting, and he had seen his chance, and was taking it now.
His legs started running after his mind did, but soon caught up. She had left the confines of her safehold, and she was now ready prey for him.
He would not fail his master this time.
Disclaimer: I own Little/Eleece, the Collegium wolf pack, and the rogue wolf. Vanyel and company are copyright and property of Misty and them peoples.
Chapter 6
The beast trembled under the power of his master's voice, bowing down in the forest even though his master was not there. It was better, for if he was, he would have been more damaged than this.
" You let her get away." His voice was quiet now, and the beast knew that if he did not cower and weep as the master exected, his voice would get louder.
: You said unless I could see her. She was not there, to my eyes.: He said honestly, and knew that his master would not be angered at him parroting his words back to him, only if he changed the words and used them against him would he be angry.
" True." That one word held worlds in it and he could almost see his master putting his hand to his chin, only he had never seen his master in the flesh before. " In that case, so you do not fail me again."
The beast howled in pain as a mage lance came down in his mind, searing paths and tunnels of himself. He lay there twitching in agony as fire raged through his mind and made every movement ache as if he was freezing to death. But as soon as it had come, the pain was gone, and he could stand up and see without the haze of anger or pain clouding his eyes. He blinked a few times and saw that the lights that danced in front of him were little copper specs, the birds and squirrels in the trees.
" Now that you can see what the girl does, and she does see this amazing show of lights when she chooses to, whether she is hiding from you or not, you will be able to see her. The next time you see her, whether in dreams or reality, you will kill her."
As slowly as his master had come, he left, withdrawing from the bird that he had chosen to inhabit to speak to his beast. The bird was killed instantly, and the beast leapt upon it with hungry glee. He just wished that his master had chosen to be an elk next time, so he wouldn't have to deal with eating the little featherheads anymore.
" I know why he wants me." Eleece said, her voice strong with emotions held delicately under control.
" Moondance brought up the subject of the wolves and their mating seasons. Well, I think that the wolf is looking for a mate." She said, making an inward face at the idea.
" You?" Savil asked, nearly sputtering up her mouthful of water.
" Well, look at all the evidence! I'm the only female that has not been mated in the pack! I am female! He attacked Terick because he thought he was me!" She ran out of things to say, if only because they were things that she could not tell them, they would not understand. " He's only after me."
" Only after you?" Savil's face was incredulous. " Let me tell you something, if he were only after you then what you've got on your back would be all over your body!"
" Could you show me these wounds? I had known that you were wounded, but not where they were." Moondance asked. " If there was some kind of magics on him, I may be able to tell from your wounds."
Her tunic tied up the back, since the Healers checked on her every once in a while to make sure that they weren't getting infected or anything. " Terick?" She turned her back to them and the boy stood, undoing each of the laces with tender care.
Her back was a mess of scars, some still pink and healing. Most of the scars were in the middle of her back, but there were a few rows down her shoulders and on her lower back. " He broke a rib, so they had to set it, but it's alright now. I feel them, but they aren't painful anymore." She shrugged and Starwind hissed in anger. " What?"
" Do that again, but keep it like that." Moondance asked calmly, and Eleece did so. " Bastard!"
Eleece shoed away from the man and half turned to see his angry face. He pointed a finger at her and it shook, his whole beind shook. " Your scars are not just anything. When you shrug, it becomes evident that there is a picture there. That attack on you was no accident, and I think that the beast is not the only factor in this anymore."
" What kind of picture?" She asked breathlessly as her mind raced to try and figure out who would be trying to kill her.
" A wolf, leaping for the attack." Vanyel said, now looking at it.
The rest of her scars, the old ones, marred the image a little, but it was there. The wolf had not a face, but a head and upper body, with a small scar making the tail down by her left hip. Savil quickly looked at it with her Mage Sight.
" It's like how you described the wolf's mind. The red and black streaks are there, and more." Savil was amazed to see that the girl brimmed to the point with what she had described as wild magic, copper-gold and shining brighter than flame.
" Why did you not tell us?" Vanyel asked, sadly tired and dissapointed.
Eleece knew what they saw. She felt thier magic brush her senses and knew that they saw the wilderness that she held inside her, the magic that enabled her to speak with the wolves and other animals, that gave her the ability that made it possible for her to heal them of any wound. She felt like a bird ready to break through the brush because it had been frightened, but her wolf side made her stay and face her attackers, though her human side told her that she was not being attacked, only found out.
" You wouldn't understand what it means. What I can do, what I have done." She took a breath and expelled it, calling Sky to her as she sat on her bed. She let the tunic hang open in the back, secured by one tie. " Why I had to run away from my home."
Savil felt rather maternal, the girl just brang it out of everyone around her. " You can tell us. Unless you killed someone-" The stricked look on the girl's face told her that she had said the wrong thing.
Sky crawled up into her lap and put his head under her hand, obviously telling her something. Whatever it was, it made tears creep from her eyes and down her cheeks, but she said nothing nor made any noise until Terick moved and knelt in front of her. " It will be easier if you just tell us. Everyone in this room can cast a Truth Spell, some better than others, but still..." He let his sentance trail off and then spoke again. " If you think that I will think any less of you, you're wrong-"
Eleece pushed him away with amazing strength, gritting her teeth and trying not to howl in frustration. " My family! It was my family that I killed! Are you happy now? Every single person in our village that didn't run away got slaughtered by me!"
She gripped one hand in the bedsheets while the other slowly stroked Sky, as if the pup gave her some reassurance, or better to say, a grip on her sanity.
" My father," Her voice was quiet and hushed now and she stared at her feet. " He was not a nice man. Far from it. If he was not taking my mother painfully in their room, he was beating my brothers for petty things. For some reason, he never touched my sisters and I, but this one night."
She took a breath and visibly steeled herself, sitting up straight but never taking her eyes off her feet. " It was the night of my thirteenth birthday. My mother made a great feast for the whole Hold because we were the richest family on the land, and I would be married off to whatever man that my father deemed favorable."
" I did something wrong. I don't remember what it was, but it made him angry and he hit me in front of the whole Hold! Something in me snapped and I changed and leapt at him. I tore his throat out and everyone started screaming and I went for them. The ones that were smart and ran were saved, but my family; oh gods, my sisters and brothers, even the baby. My grandmother and the aunts. The second and third wives had not been allowed to sit with us, so they got away. But anyone and everyone that I had loved, I had killed."
Vanyle thought that it was very unsettling that she was not crying. She was totally indifferent. But it didn't make her any more of a monster than he was. He had acted that way when he was on the Border, but he hadn't known most of the people he had killed, not cared for them in any ways like she had.
" You changed? Into what?" Terick asked, and Sky started to berserk.
: You can't show them! They'll kill you! Humans always kill wolves! No! Mama no!: Eleece was the only one who heard his words, but she dispassionately ignored him as she stood up and let her skirt slip to the ground.
Her body shook slightly as golden fur started to grow out of her skin and her bones snapped and popped as they formed and reformed into the smaller bones of a wolf. She fell to all fours and howled in pain as her muzzle grew and lengthened, her claws ripping out of her fingers and her joints shortening themselves. Little gave one last long scream that Sky echoed as her transformation came to a shuddering finish and she stood there, tall and proud.
Everyone drew away from her, looks of amazement and horror on thier faces. Little looked at Terick and it saddened her to see that he had taken to cowering in a corner of the bed, arms around his knees and tears streaming down his face. She slowly walked to him and sniffed him, the fear radiating off him in waves that she could smell. She placed her paws on the edge of the bed and licked at his face, whining softly. Terick yelped and stuck out at her and she wheeled away.
Little heard the sound of a whinny; Terick had called his Companion. She knew that the only way out of the room was the window, and there would be a very mad horse waiting for her. She would be lucky to even hit the ground before she was torn to peices, but she had been lucky before.
Vanyel saw it before anyone else did. Yfandes wouldn't get there in time for her to ward off Terick's Companion. She would get killed.
Little turned her dark green eyes to the rest of the group, who were still frozen. She bent and licked Sky across the face, then wheeled and leapt out of the window. Terick was startled out of his stupor and ran to the window. " No! Eleece, no!"
Little saw the Companion, felt the rage coming off of him like a powerful waterfall smashing into her. She saw the dark figure dart out of the forest and knew that the Companion was not the only thing she had to worry about. The beast had been waiting, and he had seen his chance, and was taking it now.
His legs started running after his mind did, but soon caught up. She had left the confines of her safehold, and she was now ready prey for him.
He would not fail his master this time.