A/N: I would like to thank CrAzYhOrSeGiRl88 for her continued support. I
know my other reviewers are probably all very mad at me for not writing,
but I am touched to know I have a very faithful reviewer. Thank you so
much!
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When Numair supported Daine out of his room almost an hour later after they had talked over everything that had happened, she still felt woozy, and her knees shook. Leaning heavily on him, she managed to wobble to the couch, where she sank down gratefully. Numair leaned down to kiss her hair, and when she smiled up at him, he put his finger to his lips, an answering grin on his face. Then he strode out to the door, where exited shouts could be heard, along with animal sounds of every nature. Numair was met with an escalation of the noise, mixing to form a cacophony of sound. Daine clapped her hands over her ears, and mentally told her friends to be quiet; she was coming. Instantly, the hubbub died down, and a loud, hearty laugh was heard after a muttered comment. Daine tried to stand, but failed miserably, so she crawled the short distance to the door on hands and knees, feeling naucious, her head spinning. She was exhausted when she finally reached it. Pulling herself up the doorframe like a baby, she somehow managed to move through, and sank down against the wall outside.
Instantly, the air reverberated with happy yips, squeaks, trills, purrs, and neighs. A seemingly endless flow of the People moved up to her. Zek on her shoulder, mice in her pockets and up her sleeves, birds and bats (specially woken for the occasion) in her hair, Cloud standing guard close by, dogs and foxes wagging their tails and licking her face, and cats, wild and tame, purring as loud as they could and rubbing against her. Her mind buzzed with their relieved welcome back and she laughed out loud before reminding them all to keep it down. The whole colony settled down around her and she saw that there really weren't as many as she had thought from the ground. Still, a little over a hundred People were assembled, outlined by the rising moon. Daine suddenly thought how savage the tableau looked, and blushed.
"Here we've been trying to keep them all out for an hour, and then you do it in a moment," Medaio grumbled. But laughter was his only answer, and after a moment, they were all laughing in relief and happiness.
But it didn't last long. Daine noticed that Numair was looking worriedly at her, and realized that she must look awful after crawling on the floor. She looked at him and gave a wobbly, reassuring smile, though she wasn't sure she should, she still felt so sick. She reached up a trembling hand and he clasped it in his two large ones. She felt the warmth and it gave her strength. Soberly, she looked up at them all, lighted by a full moon and standing together in the night air. They, too, were looking at her expectantly, as if waiting for her to say something. So she did.
"What did I miss?"
Medaio exchanged a slightly apprehensive glance with Damae, and then started to relate the last days' events. When he was done, Daine leaned back against the wall, shutting her eyes briefly against the wave of new information. When she opened them again, they were filled with certainty. In the blink of an eye, Daine had become the leader. They could see it in the determinedness of her face, in the way she sat straighter, and in the way they themselves waited for what she would say. For Daine, a plan had formed in her mind instantly, and she explored it carefully before speaking.
"Medaio," she said, turning to him, "hypothetically, how long would it take for me to recover without help?"
He hesitated, then said, "A week, give or take a few days." Daine nodded calmly, and then asked,
"And, hypothetically, of course, what if you helped me?"
Medaio thought hard and Daine could feel the warning squeeze of Numair's hand, but she ignored it.
"I could persuade some of my magic to stand in for your life force," Medaio said slowly, as if wanting to make everything perfectly clear, "which is what you need to be strong. But, it can only be temporary-after a day or two I'll have to take it back, or your body will really start to react badly to what it rightly sees as 'foreign', and you'll get sick-how sick, I can't say. Actually, you'll probably feel the effects even before then, but they'll be very minor. I hope."
Cutting off Numair, who looked about ready to protest, Daine made her decision and said, "We'll have to risk it. I'm going to station the People where they can alert us as to how the troops are doing. Tonight, I'm going to go try to anti-magic the controlling bonds the mage has. Medaio, I'll be ready in a few minutes." With that, Daine closed her eyes and sent the birds out with orders to spread out along the army's path; dogs, cats, and their wild cousins were dispatched to scare them during the night; and mice were shed everywhere with orders to stay close in case she needed them. When she was through, Numair impatiently pulled her to her feet, shaking her slightly by the shoulders. Daine's head spun and she hung in his grasp as her stomach lurched and she felt ready to throw up. She had just now noticed the pain in her shoulder and side, and it intensified with the rough handling. Her eyes unfocused for a brief second and she felt horrible, and wondered why Numair would try to make her worse.
"Daine, are you crazy?" he asked in an urgent whisper, "Don't do this! It's dangerous, you only just woke up, and you're definitely not strong enough to do this! You could get killed! I won't let you go-under any condition. I'm still you're teacher-you have to listen.
Daine looked up and focused on his face, a little hurt that he refused to understand and let her make this decision.
"Don't you trust me? I can do this, Numair! I know it's dangerous but we have to try, we can't let this man win. Please, just let me go." She couldn't manage any more at the moment-her voice felt funny.
Numair's response was to clasp her tightly in his arms, which brought on another slight spell of dizziness but also warmed her inside and out. "I'm sorry magelet," her murmured in her ear, "I'm just worried, that's all. This is all a little overwhelming. I didn't mean to shake you." He was immediately forgiven, and she kissed him quickly on the cheek, turning away before she saw the sad smile on his face and the tears in his eyes. Medaio was ready. He beckoned her over and put both hands on her shoulders, at the same time holding her up. Daine saw him close his eyes, concentrating hard for a while, and then suddenly relax a little. Just then she was filled with energy and felt ready to face things again. Even though, it felt- strange. It was not her energy. She stood up straighter just as a small itch started on her chest. Knowing that it must be one of the side effects, Daine tried to ignore it.
"All right. I should be back by dawn. Don't wait up for me-we all need rest. If you're awake when I come back you'll be in trouble. I'm going as a bat. Put my clothes in Numair's room afterwards, please. And turn around." They did so, and Daine was out of her clothes and shrinking in seconds. Daine the bat proudly perched on each of their heads for a moment, and then flew off into the night.
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It didn't take long to reach the other army. Daine had flown quickly, the landscape clear as she 'saw' with sound. Other bats recognized her and came to join her, so that soon she was flying in a friendly bat swarm. They guided her-many of them had recognized the camp as they hunted moths and mosquitoes. When she, too, recognized it, she half-folded her wings and plummeted down from the flurry of wings and furry little bodies to the main tent. Sending a mental thank-you to her friends, she came down next to the tent, where all was silent.
Daine had practiced a little with Numair, and so knew how her anti-magic worked, though she had never attempted something as big as this. Changing back into herself, she crouched, naked, in a shadowy corner where she was hidden from sight. Then, she meditated. Reaching for her core, she found the new magic that intermingled with her wild magic. It was a sickening, deep red color that reminded Daine strongly of blood, and she remembered the sweet, cloying smell of it, vaguely wondering if the anti-magic smelt the same way. Shaking of her disgust, she mentally grabbed hold of a strand of magic. Opening her eyes, Daine saw the translucent white strands that ran from thousands of soldiers into the tent behind her.
Now for the hard part. Sweating in concentration, Daine guided her strand towards one of the white ones. She touched hers to his, and blood red ran along the strand, infecting it-and burning it away. The next careful touch worked the same way, and she did the next 100 or so. By then she was tired and ready to stop-only determination kept her going. Smiling in triumph, Daine infected almost 500 'leashes' before the mage woke up.
He woke with a roar, and blinking light blazed everywhere. Daine panicked. He must have felt the changes in his controls! Blind with fear, she changed back into a bat and launched herself upwards.
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Kaddar was resigned. The only course he could take, it seemed, was to attack the force. Sighing in defeat, he gave the signal with regret. Mithros knew what was to become of it!
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When Numair supported Daine out of his room almost an hour later after they had talked over everything that had happened, she still felt woozy, and her knees shook. Leaning heavily on him, she managed to wobble to the couch, where she sank down gratefully. Numair leaned down to kiss her hair, and when she smiled up at him, he put his finger to his lips, an answering grin on his face. Then he strode out to the door, where exited shouts could be heard, along with animal sounds of every nature. Numair was met with an escalation of the noise, mixing to form a cacophony of sound. Daine clapped her hands over her ears, and mentally told her friends to be quiet; she was coming. Instantly, the hubbub died down, and a loud, hearty laugh was heard after a muttered comment. Daine tried to stand, but failed miserably, so she crawled the short distance to the door on hands and knees, feeling naucious, her head spinning. She was exhausted when she finally reached it. Pulling herself up the doorframe like a baby, she somehow managed to move through, and sank down against the wall outside.
Instantly, the air reverberated with happy yips, squeaks, trills, purrs, and neighs. A seemingly endless flow of the People moved up to her. Zek on her shoulder, mice in her pockets and up her sleeves, birds and bats (specially woken for the occasion) in her hair, Cloud standing guard close by, dogs and foxes wagging their tails and licking her face, and cats, wild and tame, purring as loud as they could and rubbing against her. Her mind buzzed with their relieved welcome back and she laughed out loud before reminding them all to keep it down. The whole colony settled down around her and she saw that there really weren't as many as she had thought from the ground. Still, a little over a hundred People were assembled, outlined by the rising moon. Daine suddenly thought how savage the tableau looked, and blushed.
"Here we've been trying to keep them all out for an hour, and then you do it in a moment," Medaio grumbled. But laughter was his only answer, and after a moment, they were all laughing in relief and happiness.
But it didn't last long. Daine noticed that Numair was looking worriedly at her, and realized that she must look awful after crawling on the floor. She looked at him and gave a wobbly, reassuring smile, though she wasn't sure she should, she still felt so sick. She reached up a trembling hand and he clasped it in his two large ones. She felt the warmth and it gave her strength. Soberly, she looked up at them all, lighted by a full moon and standing together in the night air. They, too, were looking at her expectantly, as if waiting for her to say something. So she did.
"What did I miss?"
Medaio exchanged a slightly apprehensive glance with Damae, and then started to relate the last days' events. When he was done, Daine leaned back against the wall, shutting her eyes briefly against the wave of new information. When she opened them again, they were filled with certainty. In the blink of an eye, Daine had become the leader. They could see it in the determinedness of her face, in the way she sat straighter, and in the way they themselves waited for what she would say. For Daine, a plan had formed in her mind instantly, and she explored it carefully before speaking.
"Medaio," she said, turning to him, "hypothetically, how long would it take for me to recover without help?"
He hesitated, then said, "A week, give or take a few days." Daine nodded calmly, and then asked,
"And, hypothetically, of course, what if you helped me?"
Medaio thought hard and Daine could feel the warning squeeze of Numair's hand, but she ignored it.
"I could persuade some of my magic to stand in for your life force," Medaio said slowly, as if wanting to make everything perfectly clear, "which is what you need to be strong. But, it can only be temporary-after a day or two I'll have to take it back, or your body will really start to react badly to what it rightly sees as 'foreign', and you'll get sick-how sick, I can't say. Actually, you'll probably feel the effects even before then, but they'll be very minor. I hope."
Cutting off Numair, who looked about ready to protest, Daine made her decision and said, "We'll have to risk it. I'm going to station the People where they can alert us as to how the troops are doing. Tonight, I'm going to go try to anti-magic the controlling bonds the mage has. Medaio, I'll be ready in a few minutes." With that, Daine closed her eyes and sent the birds out with orders to spread out along the army's path; dogs, cats, and their wild cousins were dispatched to scare them during the night; and mice were shed everywhere with orders to stay close in case she needed them. When she was through, Numair impatiently pulled her to her feet, shaking her slightly by the shoulders. Daine's head spun and she hung in his grasp as her stomach lurched and she felt ready to throw up. She had just now noticed the pain in her shoulder and side, and it intensified with the rough handling. Her eyes unfocused for a brief second and she felt horrible, and wondered why Numair would try to make her worse.
"Daine, are you crazy?" he asked in an urgent whisper, "Don't do this! It's dangerous, you only just woke up, and you're definitely not strong enough to do this! You could get killed! I won't let you go-under any condition. I'm still you're teacher-you have to listen.
Daine looked up and focused on his face, a little hurt that he refused to understand and let her make this decision.
"Don't you trust me? I can do this, Numair! I know it's dangerous but we have to try, we can't let this man win. Please, just let me go." She couldn't manage any more at the moment-her voice felt funny.
Numair's response was to clasp her tightly in his arms, which brought on another slight spell of dizziness but also warmed her inside and out. "I'm sorry magelet," her murmured in her ear, "I'm just worried, that's all. This is all a little overwhelming. I didn't mean to shake you." He was immediately forgiven, and she kissed him quickly on the cheek, turning away before she saw the sad smile on his face and the tears in his eyes. Medaio was ready. He beckoned her over and put both hands on her shoulders, at the same time holding her up. Daine saw him close his eyes, concentrating hard for a while, and then suddenly relax a little. Just then she was filled with energy and felt ready to face things again. Even though, it felt- strange. It was not her energy. She stood up straighter just as a small itch started on her chest. Knowing that it must be one of the side effects, Daine tried to ignore it.
"All right. I should be back by dawn. Don't wait up for me-we all need rest. If you're awake when I come back you'll be in trouble. I'm going as a bat. Put my clothes in Numair's room afterwards, please. And turn around." They did so, and Daine was out of her clothes and shrinking in seconds. Daine the bat proudly perched on each of their heads for a moment, and then flew off into the night.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
It didn't take long to reach the other army. Daine had flown quickly, the landscape clear as she 'saw' with sound. Other bats recognized her and came to join her, so that soon she was flying in a friendly bat swarm. They guided her-many of them had recognized the camp as they hunted moths and mosquitoes. When she, too, recognized it, she half-folded her wings and plummeted down from the flurry of wings and furry little bodies to the main tent. Sending a mental thank-you to her friends, she came down next to the tent, where all was silent.
Daine had practiced a little with Numair, and so knew how her anti-magic worked, though she had never attempted something as big as this. Changing back into herself, she crouched, naked, in a shadowy corner where she was hidden from sight. Then, she meditated. Reaching for her core, she found the new magic that intermingled with her wild magic. It was a sickening, deep red color that reminded Daine strongly of blood, and she remembered the sweet, cloying smell of it, vaguely wondering if the anti-magic smelt the same way. Shaking of her disgust, she mentally grabbed hold of a strand of magic. Opening her eyes, Daine saw the translucent white strands that ran from thousands of soldiers into the tent behind her.
Now for the hard part. Sweating in concentration, Daine guided her strand towards one of the white ones. She touched hers to his, and blood red ran along the strand, infecting it-and burning it away. The next careful touch worked the same way, and she did the next 100 or so. By then she was tired and ready to stop-only determination kept her going. Smiling in triumph, Daine infected almost 500 'leashes' before the mage woke up.
He woke with a roar, and blinking light blazed everywhere. Daine panicked. He must have felt the changes in his controls! Blind with fear, she changed back into a bat and launched herself upwards.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Kaddar was resigned. The only course he could take, it seemed, was to attack the force. Sighing in defeat, he gave the signal with regret. Mithros knew what was to become of it!