Title: Lawbreaker's Eyes
Author: I_nv_u50
Rating: PG13
Disclaimer/Claimer: Characters so far are mine, but the world is Mercedes Lackey's.
Warning: Slash (m/m) ahead.
Author's Notes: Nyeh ^^ good fast chapter. And hopefully I can start being regular with this story again. I really want to get this trilogy done ^^;;Alex Lyons3 ~ I'm glad you enjoyed it ^^ Thanks for reviewing, hope you do it again!! ^^
Stee ~ Yea, thaelin's got an attitude! XD Thanks for reviewing, hope you do it again!! ^^
Sukura ~ I'm glad you're enjoying it ^^ Thanks for reviewing, please do it again!! ^^
Kouryuu Sanomi ~ they are, aren't they XD Thanks for reviewing, please do it again!! ^^
colie ~ want me to lend you some boots? XD with guaranteed site-kicking action! Special offer today :D author alerts work on ff.net? O.o;; er… wonder what I'm doing wrong O.o;; nyeh, yeah, coan has a friend :D and there's rough patches, but they stay friends even after they become more!! Does it count as a spoiler if you know what's going to happen? XP shame. Poor coan. I'm not sure he's equipped to handle kylan and thaelin. Brynn's pretty normal, so he should be all right, but for first friends… jeez, poor guy O.o; heh ^^ for some reason, dads don't seem to like that kind of thing. Makes me wonder where all this popularity for lesbians with middle aged men comes in if they can't handle girls liking gays O.o;; … er… yea O.o;; I don't think that had a point, so forgive me ^^;; nyeh, that's fine ^^ Thanks for reviewing, hope you do it again!! ^^
ola ~ WB!! Here's another two chapters for you, so how's that for an apology? XD lol yep ^^ there will definitely be something there, but they're friends first, seeing as coan hates people, and thaelin's still hopelessly in love with a presumed dead guy. Ack, talk about soap operas XD heh ^^ they all kinda grow on you, I guess ^^ Thanks for reviewing, hope you do it again!! ^^
T.T so few reviews T.T I'm gonna have to go into advertising! Mwaha!! Well… probably not, but oh well… hopefully I get the readers back if I update regularly…? Cause I will. Promise. I'll finish this trilogy if it's the last thing I do XD then I can start on the next valdemar story or I can find a new fandom… Hmmm… I was thinking maybe a one sided, one shot, shang li/ping from Mulan? It's a gay couple in Disney! Well, sorta… seeing as they didn't marry. But imagine, the true story it's based on must have had a gay couple for at least a while O.o;;; oh, the possibilities XD
… so that's next on line. If anyone cares XD
if not, well then, read, enjoy and please please please review!!??
Ja ne!! ^^
Walking out of the stables relatively early, Coan paused. There was some sort of emotional disturbance in the middle area of the Field, which was strange, since he didn't often Feel Companions' emotions. Given that he knew he wasn't the only trainee who came to bug their Companion so early, he decided quite easily that it was a trainee, and made to continue on his way, the decision that it had nothing to do with him coming equally easily.:Now hold on a minute, little love.: Faolan chided quietly. :How do you know it's none of your business?:
"Because I'm not there," Coan said over his shoulder into the stable. "If I were there, I'd be obligated to help, but I'm not."
He could hear Faolan's disgusted snort a few minutes before the annoyed Companion stalked out, his hooves ringing down the aisle. Coan dodged out of the way before he could get nipped, experience having taught him that it wasn't a pleasant encounter if Faolan didn't mean for it to tease.
The Companion stopped in front of him, lowering his head to shove his forehead against Coan's chest. :It is your business now, Coan.:
His name. Faolan was serious. Taking the hint, Coan sighed and carefully pushed Faolan's head away, careful not to do it too hard or Faolan would nip him. "All right," he sighed again. "All right. But you give me a ride there then."
The emotions escalated somehow, and Coan bit his lip as he swung up onto Faolan's back. His empathy now made it a requirement to help, and it stung, the knowledge that he would have helped even without Faolan's interference.
Faolan whickered a laugh again, his previous high spirits returned now that Coan was making an effort.
"Tally ho," muttered Coan, and Faolan neighed loudly before cantering towards the middle of the Companion's Field.
Once a huddled figure and Companion were in sight, making it clear that they were the pair in question, Coan squinted slightly, trying to bring the identity into range. It would do no good if he got there, and the trainee was one of the sullen types that didn't like him because he ignored them most of the time.
After a moment, his straining eyes succeeded and he blinked. "Isn't that Jesalis?"
:Yes.:
"Then that's Thaelin. What made him so upset?"
Faolan didn't have an answer, but in the rapidly depleting distance, Jesalis raised her head and whinnied. The figure on the ground lifted his head as well, and Coan was close enough to see Thaelin attempt a grin when the other trainee saw them coming.
He was astonished to see the attempt work, especially since he could Feel the raging emotions in the other boy. But to look at the face, you'd never imagine it…
Faolan skidded to a stop a few feet away, and Coan scrambled off, only to stand motionless in a sudden awkwardness. That face… it was an obvious mask. He felt guilty for having broken it, for having picked the lock, especially since it was obvious that Thaelin didn't want anyone else to know how close he seemed to be to break down.
Faolan shoved him with his muzzle.
Coan blinked over his shoulder at his Companion hesitantly, then slowly knelt down beside the still kneeling figure, although Thaelin wasn't huddled into himself now.
"Heyla, Coan," Thaelin chirped happily. "Fancy seeing you here."
Coan regarded the other boy steadily, increasingly confused. How could he sound so happy when Coan knew he was so upset?
Thaelin's grin faded into a concerned smile when Coan didn't reply or smile back. "Coan? Are you all right?"
"I am," Coan managed to get out, shooting a quick glance at Jesalis for confirmation. The female Companion bobbed her head silently. Coan turned back to Thaelin. "But you're not."
Thaelin tried to laugh it off, his face flushing slightly. "That's silly. I'm fine."
Coan remained unconvinced. "Thaelin," he reminded the trainee softly, "remember where you met me?"
"Yea," Thaelin replied, his smile getting confused. "In the Healer's House. So what?"
"Do you remember why I was there?"
Thaelin looked blank for a moment. "No, I don't, sorry. Lots of stuff was happening, and I –"
Coan held up a hand, interrupting him. "It's fine, Thaelin, I don't expect you to remember. I'm an Empath. I go there to help out with people who are too miserable to heal themselves properly."
Thaelin's expression remained blank for a few moments more before realization dawned. He flushed. "So then… So then…"
Coan nodded, still feeling guilty. "You're not all right, are you."
He couldn't make it a question.
Thaelin began staring at the ground, picking jerkily at the grass. A distinct feeling of awkwardness and fear was beginning to surface, and Coan took their arrival like a direct blow to the gut. He didn't want Thaelin to be scared of him! But… he didn't know what to do.
:Touch him.: Faolan prompted. :Put your hand on his shoulder or something. Tell him that he has nothing to be scared about, but show him as well.:
Helplessly, Coan complied. He tentatively rested his hand on Thaelin's shoulder, unable to hide the almost flinch he reacted with as Thaelin's emotions poured over him full strength.
He might have whimpered, because he rarely touched people, so was unused to having double his own emotions in his body, but Faolan anchored him, helped him shield so that while not all the emotions were out, he could at least tell which ones were his.
Thaelin was staring at him in shock. "What – What was that?"
Coan blinked at him, equally surprised. "What was what?"
"That," Thaelin murmured softly. "What you just did… I don't feel so bad anymore."
Coan blinked at him. "Huh?"
Thaelin was beginning to smile, relieved. "What did you do? I feel… almost happy now. I didn't think I would, after what had happened."
Coan couldn't seem to make himself understand. "I don't understand," he told them all. He was beginning to feel dizzy.
Thaelin's face was growing concerned again, and fuzzy. "Hey, Coan, are you all right? You don't look so good, you're all pale and –"
There was a sudden moment of complete and utter vertigo: the world spun around twisted, crooked on it's axis, and then everything went black.
Coan woke up to soft voices that echoed slightly in the darkness, with dozens of separate and softer emotions battering at him from outside a barrier that he couldn't remember placing up against them.
There was only one person who could… or rather, only one thing that could.
:Faolan? Where is everybody?:
Faolan's sudden excitement drifted through. :Coan! You're awake! You've been out of it for a day or so, we were getting really worried!:
:What happened?: Coan asked slowly, his mind whirling, trying to keep thoughts straight when they seemed determined to mix and merge together until he didn't know what he was thinking.
:That was one of the first times you've touched somebody who hasn't been physically wounded as well.: Faolan told him, his mindvoice soothing and helping the thoughts disentangle. :We're not sure, but we think because the emotions weren't tied to help him recover physically, they were pulled towards you as well. You weren't prepared, and we were both too surprised to get the shield up in time, so you blacked out.:
:How's Thaelin?: Coan asked, distantly interested. It was nice, floating in darkness which, now that Faolan had joined him, reminded him very very vaguely of that first moment when their souls had connected.
:He's extremely worried about you.: Faolan replied. :and he feels terribly guilty as well, although Jesalis is beginning to convince him that because he didn't mean for it to happen, it wasn't his fault.:
:It was though.: Coan murmured mentally. :If he hadn't been feeling that, I wouldn't have touched him, and-:
Faolan snorted, interrupting. :Don't be silly, Coan. –You– should know that no one can help what they feel.:
:I guess…: Coan muttered.
There was a short pause, and he floated some more peacefully, before a tendril of clear thought came to him. He spoke up again. :Faolan? When I touched him… He felt so grieved.:
:I know.: Faolan replied softly. :I felt that through you, remember.:
Coan accepted this without reply. :What do you think has happened to him?:
:Why are you so curious about him?: Faolan asked, his tone interested. :It's not like you.:
Coan shrugged mentally. :I don't know. He just…
:Interests you, I know. You're going to have to ask him yourself, if you want to know why he felt so grieved. You know Jesalis won't tell me.:
:No.: Coan agreed. :She'll tell you to butt out again. But I don't think he'll tell me either. He's still somewhat afraid of me, you know.:
It hurt, in some vague way, to realize that he scared Thaelin simply because he could see what Thaelin was desperate to keep hidden. He wasn't sure if Thaelin would still want to be his friend, and that thought made his chest sting and his body tight, like it was trying to expel his soul. He forgot how to breathe. He wasn't sure there was air in this darkness either, and now it really was dark, not that vaguely comforting sea of black that reminded him of being Chosen.
Now it hurt, it made his body ache like one big bruise, made him gasp for air that didn't exist here and made hazy gray splotches explode behind his eyes.
:Coan! Chosen, just relax, I know it hurts, but this is necessary, just relax and remember to breathe!:
He wanted to ask what to breath, because there was nothing, he was nothing, and he didn't know how to exist anymore than he knew how to relax or stop hurting.
A tug pulled at his mind, and he followed automatically, not knowing why he should obey. But he did, and when the gray splotches became seas of mist and fog that obscured his vision completely, he remembered how to breathe again.
"He should be waking up now," said a strange voice belonging to someone he couldn't immediately place.
"It's a good thing Faolan was there to help or he wouldn't have followed you."
"It's a better thing that he did," said the first voice again. "Coan, I know you're awake. I know you can hear me. Don't move yet, and don't open your eyes, all right? I'm Healer Jolan, and you're in the House of Healing right now. We haven't been able to figure out exactly what happened to make you black out, but the best we can see is that you absorbed all the negative emotions of one Trainee Thaelin when you touched him. He's all right, in fact, he's waiting until you're ready to see him so he can apologize, but it wasn't his fault. It wasn't your fault either. It was an accident, and one we hope to never repeat. Although," Jolan added slowly, "it might come in useful, if you can absorb emotions. We'll have to look into that, once your shields are better and you're feeling fully healthy again."
A hand lightly rested on Coan's forehead, and smoothed back his hair. "Don't talk yet. Sleep."
Coan stared lazily out the window. His sight had returned to him a few candlemarks before, and Faolan was making faces at him from the garden, which wasn't very man, given the horse shaped head and body, but his efforts amused Coan anyway.
"You look ridiculous," he told the unabashed Companion raspily, and winced at the sound of his own voice.
:And you sound ridiculous.: Faolan countered, his tone amused. He made another face.
Coan chuckled weakly. :I think I'm stuck with talking like this for a while.:
:I don't mind.: Faolan replied brightly. :Considering you do that way more anyway.:
Coan sniffed with mock haughtiness. :Are you saying I'm amusing?:
:No.: laughed Faolan. :Merely implying it!:
Coan snorted, a sound that didn't hurt so much, considering it was mainly made through his nose.
Faolan sent an image of hands applauding. :Oh, very good! Now let's see you whicker.:
:Maybe later.: Coan yawned, hiding another wince as that hurt his throat as well.
Faolan looked like he was entertaining some mischievous thought, but then he stopped and lifted his head, turning his neck to stare at the garden surrounding the Healing House. :Jesalis is coming. Thaelin's on her back. Are you up to seeing him?:
Coan sighed softly. :That depends. Is he still scared of me? I don't want my first friend to be scared of me.:
:Your first friend wasn't.: Faolan reminded him gently. :Your first friend still adores you. And if you're that worried about him being scared of you, I can shield you enough so you can't feel his fear – if he's even feeling it.:
Coan smiled at the reminder. :I love you too. And no, it's all right. I don't know if he's scared or not, but we might as well talk it all out. It's the only way he'll lose his fear if he – is – afraid, isn't it?:
There was a short pause. :When did you get so smart?: teased Faolan. :All right, little love. Good luck then.:
Coan didn't reply, choosing instead to send a mental hug to his Companion as the door was pushed open slowly, and a head tentatively got poked around.
Coan smiled at the nervous face as well, searching for fear as Thaelin offered an anxious smile and came in, closing the door behind him.
There was none.