Aether Winds
Chapter fourteen- Phoenix Rise From the Ashes
By- IceWind
A/N:
This is my first fanfic for The Protector of the Small books by Tamora Pierce. The names, places, things, ect, all are credited to her. The word Aether goes to Juliet E. McKenna, but the way I use it and the gem idea is all mine. This fanfic is set in an alternate universe. I.E: Joren is NOT dead, Cleon and Kel are not together (hehe), and other incidents that have I messed up on and don't feel like making it exactly like the book. Please REVIEW *grins* and as long as its not flames on how Kel and Cleon should be together or something of that trivial nature, flames are fine. This story is PG-13 for anything that might come up lol.
IceWind: *hums softly and grins* Wow! I'm on chapter fourteen already! Yay!!!!
Kaori: *dumps a bucket of cold water on her, she snickers evilly*
Raen: *groans and sighs* oh boy…
IceWind: *glares darkly at Kaori and grabs her by the tail, kicking her into a boulder* HA!
Raen: *ignores them and smiles at the readers* Err… just read k?
Kaori: *flies up and slams into IceWind, they both begin to fight*
Tallina starfire: *blinks* You didn't like the kissing scene? It's okay lol, I'm not good at writing romancy stuff! And no I'm not getting them together yet; I opt for the second option! MWAHAAHAAHA! I REFUSE to be typical and predictable!
E. L. Madison: *gives her an odd look* Yes he dies… but this is an AU fic! Alternate reality ROCKS! Hehe so he's ALIVE and KICKING!
Sweet Thang: (not writing full name down!) Yes I'm a fan of Sulia Serafines… *suddenly stops dead* YOUR KIDDING? AHH! *pouts and begins to cry* It's not THAT alike is it? I've only read her ICBW and the second ICBW none of her other fics. Is it REALLY like hers? *runs around screaming*
Caitie: *gives her an odd look* You'll be lucky if I get you guys to the elves in 3 chapters! *grins* I happen to take things slow… *sighs*
Lady kithandra: *lips twitch and she giggles* doesn't it ALWAYS have to be AU? I mean in the books Joren is DEAD and gone! *wails softly* And if it was regular they won't ever fall in love in the first place!
Catchfire: *grins* My other story has Kel… and she STILL aint normal! *laughs* It won't have another world in it (I THINK) errr If I tell anything else I'd give the plot line away! Oh another thing, if you want to know if Raen lives or dies… read the chapter! You like the kissing scene? *goes wide-eyed* Really? YAY! Thanks!
A hem, in writing all of the notes to the different people up above *points and giggles* I was insanely hyper since I had eaten LOTS AND LOTS of CHOCOLATE! I write the stories first then answer questions and stuff afterwards, soo… the chapter aint going to be cheery.
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Kel stared into the fire, huddling in one of the travel blankets that Joren had bought in Morian. Her thoughts were filled with worry and confusion, Raen… I hope your okay… She reached over and threw another branch into the small fire, wondering if anyone would be able to see the smoke. Then why the heck are we building a fire? Her thoughts were tinged with irritation as she clasp her gem in one hand and tried to do something magical so that no one could detect the smoke. Her eyes closed and she began to concentrate.
Joren glanced at her and shrugged to himself, the silence getting slightly on his nerves, damn, too used to Mindelan talking. Ever since the 'incident' at the town, they hadn't been exactly comfortable with each other. He brushed back a strand of his hair and took his eyes off of Kel, looking darkly into the small fire. The hell is wrong with Mindelan? It was only a kiss! And I had to do it anyway; those two people were getting suspicious.
A soft silvery glow surrounded her hand that cupped her crystal; Kel then concentrated on the fire, tugging upon power from herself and things around her. An almost transparent beam of light hit the fire and surrounded it, the smoke emitted become lighter until it finally disappeared into who knows where. She opened her eyes and gave a small smile of victory; it's becoming easier, I guess I need to practice more. Then I'll be able to do what Raen did without trying. She looked at Joren, wondering what his reaction and what he would say would be.
He looked at what she was doing with an almost expressionless face; finally he gave a slight nod, saying for the first time since the incident in town, "You did something right, Mindelan." He raised a brow when he saw that she didn't answer him, and spoke once again, "What the hell is wrong with you Mindelan?" He kept his voice low so that they wouldn't be heard by anyone, or anything. Irritation appeared in his eyes when he noticed that she was still not answering him. He spoke one last time, his voice curt, "It didn't mean anything, we'll just go how we have been doing. It's not like it's a big deal." His ice-blue eyes held hers until she nodded.
She transferred her gaze to the fire, thoughts annoyed, it's not like I expected anything else, he thinks too highly of himself. I'm just worried about Raen… she breathed out a soft sigh and looked back at Joren, murmuring softly, "Do you think Raen's all right?" Her hazel brown eyes looked at him worriedly.
Joren shrugged and gave a swift glance around, "I don't know, maybe, maybe not. Though I thought that the cat would take better care of himself then lose to a human." He rolled his eyes, thinking about the hizar's arrogance. Inwardly he wondered about how Raen was doing himself, more out of curiosity then anything else. To get his thoughts off of the plight of the hizar, he took out a dagger and began to clean it to get the red-brown specks of rust out.
Kel frowned at him; he could show more concern than that, though if he did… then he wouldn't be Joren would he? As she watched him clean his dagger a sudden thought sped through her mind and she hurriedly put a hand at her waist, grabbing the Silver Falcon and drawing it out of a sheath. She looked at it and breathed a sigh of relief, a smile playing on her face. It laid perfectly in her hand, nothing wrong with it, the blade gleaming slightly from the fire's light.
He looked up from his work and raised a brow, I thought she was worried about her cat. "What are you so happy about Mindelan? I don't see anything good about our situation right now." His voice seemed to be too sharp since she gave him an annoyed glare and spoke in an icy tone.
"Raen's okay," her eyes betrayed her voice by sparkling happily at the thought, "See?" Kel showed him her silver dagger; her unbroken and whole silver dagger. "The Silver Falcon doesn't even have a scratch on it."
He looked with some confusion upon the dagger, finally asking, "Are you feeling okay? It's just your dagger," He looked at it, trying to find out why she was showing it to him in the first place.
Kel breathed out a sigh of frustration, calmly explaining it to him; "Part of the knowledge I gained was about this dagger and Raen's chain. If either broke it signaled that the other has died, get it Stone?" She smirked in satisfaction as the information was digested by him, "So all we have to do is wait and he'll come to us like he said," she gave a nod to herself as she spoke that sentence.
With a shrug, Joren acknowledged the information, before asking with some curiosity, "But should it have taken him this long to defeat green-eyes and come back to us?" Mentally he told himself, no not us, Kel only. He wouldn't go back to me; I'm not his bonded. Briefly he considered what it would be like to be bonded to another creature.
No, it would have taken longer the usual mind-voice of the hizar was weak and shaky, fading in and out at inconstant rates. Slowly he emerged from the dark brush, his form low to the ground and uneasy, legs feeling as if they would collapse from under him at any second. Blood streamed from the multiple gashes and cuts on his body, and one leg was up, him unable to put any weight upon it.
"Raen!" Kel's eyes widened at the sight of all of his blood. Hurriedly she began to slice pieces of cloth to bind his wounds, walking quickly towards him with concern shining in her eyes. Quietly she kneeled down next to him and winced at the site of his wounds, "What happened?"
Joren gave a frown at the sight, walking over himself. Without a word he took some of the cloth pieces from Kel and began to clean the wounds, staying well away from the leg that was up. Inwardly he was furious, at who, he didn't even know himself; it could be the person who was trying to capture them, or it could be directed at the hizar.
Raen winced as the cloths made contact with his body, pain lancing through his entire being. A low hiss emerged from his muzzle as he struggled to answer his Mistress's question without being seen as too weak, It… is a long story Mistress, I shall tell you after you and the boy are done binding me up He flattened his ears against his head and gave another low hiss as Joren tugged on a bandage to make it tight.
She gave a sigh and a nod in agreement, moving over to his hurt leg. A soft gasp escaped from her mouth as she saw the stark white of part of the bone jutting out from the skin at an odd angle. She didn't want to try to do anything with that, she was no healer. Softly she called out, "Raen… I… I don't think I can do anything with this leg, only a healer could do this right."
The hizar bowed his head even lower in thought, finally coming to a decision. He raised his head and locked eyes with Kel, gaze warm and trusting, Mistress, I shall put myself to sleep, set the bone then He vainly tried to ignore the pain from his wounds, blood pooling around his feet.
Joren winced slightly, but then smoothed over his expression into one of complete nonchalance. I hope the cat knows what he is doing, it has to be a deep enough sleep so that he doesn't suddenly wake in the middle of it, grudging admiration rose in his eyes, okay, so the cat has more guts then I thought, let's see what Mindelan would do now. He looked over at her and calmly raised a brow, "Well Mindelan?"
Kel bit her lip lightly, eyes going from Joren's emotionless ice-blue ones to Raen's trusting dark-blue. She then looked down at his leg and shuddered slightly, before giving a slight nod, "I'll… do it." Quickly she gathered up the makeshift bandages and laid them next to her in easy reach. She gave a shaky smile towards Raen and waited.
Raen gave her a comforting look and dropped down to the ground, flinching only slightly in the descent, refusing to show any more pain then he has to. With a tranquil sigh his gem glowed a soft silver, enveloping him and placing him into a deep sleep. His ears dropped down and his tail stopped moving, chest rising up and down peacefully.
With an uncertain look, Kel moved over to his broken leg, dreading to do this. Softly she whispered to herself, "What if I screw up? I'm not a healer." As her hands neared the leg she stopped moving, looking at Raen's prone form with fear.
Fuck, with a slightly annoyed look Joren went over to Kel, muttering to her, "Look Kel, you have to do this. That over-grown cat trusts you, I don't know why, you'd probably be his and mine's death one day, but he does. Now stop acting like such a coward and just set the damn bone!" Shit, why the hell do I care? …I don't, we just need to get going and she's obviously not going to move until the cat is better.
She looked up at him in shock, his words registering on her mind, with a scowl she replied, "Fine!" Before she lost her nerve she gripped the leg and as quickly as she could, began to put it in place, unconsciously using psy magic to push the bones into the correct place. Her gem glowed a soft purple, but she was to absorbed into her work to notice. As she finished setting the bone, she hurriedly began to bandage the leg and hoped that it would heal okay.
The clearing they were in was quiet as she worked, only the occasional bird song breaking into the air. Kel finished bandaging Raen's leg with a relieved sigh, I think that I did it right… I hope anyway. She looked up at the waiting Joren and breathed out softly, "Thanks." Of course he just roughly shrugged it off and muttered to her, "We are on a mission, make sure the cat is well enough to travel in the morning," that said, Joren walked over to the fire and sat down beside it, looking into it broodingly.
~
Raen opened bleary eyes into a fire with no smoke rising from it. Mentally he raised a brow at the sight and felt a surge of pride coursing through him, Mistress's work. She used the elements fire and air to accomplish that trick, or was it just air alone? He pondered to himself about it until he suddenly remembered something. Quickly he looked down at his light foreleg and his eyes shone approvingly, very nice work on the leg, I have to remind myself to congratulate Mistress. His ears pricked as he gave a sweeping glance around, spotting an almost asleep Kel and a keeping watch Joren, Mistress? Boy?
Kel's head jerked up from it's resting position and she looked over at the hizar with a smile, "Your up Raen! How are you feeling? You've only been out for five candle-marks!" Relief was apparent in her jubilant voice.
Joren whirled around quickly at the sound and relaxed, scowling at Raen, saying curtly, "Your better, good. Now stop calling me boy!" Annoyance flared in his eyes before he placed a stoic expression on his face, just watching the ebony hizar.
With a mental smirk, Raen answered him coolly, I will as soon as you calling me a cat, I am a hizar! The greatest species on this planet! Seeing the rather confused look of Kel's face, and the smirking Joren, he expelled a sigh, Never mind I suppose, so… Joren, do we have a deal? His eyes locked on to Joren's for a while before Joren gave a shrug.
"I guess there are worse things then calling a cat a hizar," his smirk grew wider at the plainly frustrated hizar. Finally he decided that he annoyed the hizar enough for now and asked the question that Kel had asked earlier, "What happened?" he added onto the question, "Who were those men and why were they after us?" Suspicion rose in his eyes, "The only ones that knew we were even on this planet is you yourself Raen."
Kel remained silent as she watched her bonded and Joren converse with each other, as she heard the suspicion in Joren's voice, she added on hastily, "We know it wasn't you…" she ignored the soft 'speak for yourself' that came from Joren, "But how? And who were they?"
Raen frowned mentally and mind-spoke softly into their heads, It would be better if I showed you both rather then told you… Please Mistress he turned his head towards her, You would understand much better if I showed you both
Before Joren could answer back to the hizar angrily, she spoke up quickly, "Fine Raen, we trust you." That sentence effectively cut off what Joren had originally planned to say.
"Kel!" his voice was not the calm and collected voice it usually was, and Joren knew it. "The hell do you think your doing, talking for me? I trust him as much as I trust anyone else!" He fell silent as soon as the words escaped from his mouth.
"Well…" her voice was soft, "It's about time you started to trust somebody, and you might as well start with Raen and I" She looked up at him pleadingly, "Please Joren, you know that this way would also take the less amount of energy out of Raen and would be quicker to do. We would also get more answers this way, we are taking the information right from Raen's head!" She didn't really know where the information came from, but she knew it wasn't from Raen, she would have been able to feel it. "Please?" Joren, stopped being so damn stubborn and for once in your life do something I know would benefit all of us!
He gave a frown and a glare at her and the hizar, …whatever, he voiced his thought emotionlessly, "Whatever, just hurry up before I change my mind," he crossed his arms and waited, soft tinges of light coming through as dawn approached.
Raen inclined his head in a wordless thanks, Please sit down, I don't want either of you to fall over when I start this As soon as they sat down he began to concentrate on his memories, I shall first show you how I came to be on that road, hurt like I was, it pertains to what you want to know… His gem glowed a bright silver and two beams of light emerged, one hitting Kel in the forehead and the other hitting Joren in the forehead. He closed his eyes as he began to concentrate on the memory, whispering one last thing, You shall see it as I saw it
~Memory Sequence~
The ebony black hizar stood proudly on the mountain leg, the wind playing through his fur. His dark blue-eyes swept from each of the assembled ten hizars below him, pride clearly shining through. He spoke in a great commanding mind-voice, We are the mighty hizars of the Eclipse Guardian pack! The hizars below him gave soft roars in agreement, We are the collection of the finest hizars the world of Medea has ever seen and no human shall take that from us!
~
{In a type of limbo, Kel and Joren floated through Raen's thoughts and memories, both concentrating greatly on the scene. Somehow they were both able to speak and see each other even though the hizars around them could not.}
~
Raen looked from each hizar to another, gazing deeply into their eyes, I am the pack leader Raen! Son of the mighty Rashikath and the clever Poldera! I swear on the seven gods that I will not fail this task I have been given. We shall defeat the demon Takashi and make him rue the day he messed with the hizars!
All around him the assembled hizars raised their noses into the air and gave a ghostly howl, blood lust running through each and every one of them. Even the week old pups joined in, pride for their species apparent. Their ebony fur glistened in the sun, the gems on their heads sparkling brightly.
~
{Kel looked at Joren, eyes understanding, ~Those are Raen's pack, Eclipse Guardian. I don't understand what they are going on about though~
Joren gave a slight shrug at her, thinking to himself, ~Something must have happened to them if the cat is not with them anymore~
A disembodied voice echoed through their heads, the deep mind-voice belonging to Raen. He too was watching, and reliving, these memories, ~Do not call me a cat! And continue to watch, all will be revealed in due time, this I promise~
They all turned to watch the unveiling scene}
~
The noble form of the hizar straightened, eyes looking down at his pack with wisdom, Takashi has defeated the Rising Sun pack, the Desert Wind pack, and the Falling Rain's pack, but he shall never defeat us! The strongest pack of them all! Scorn entered his eyes at the thought of Takashi, His mageries will never be able to defeat our pack. And we WILL avenge our brothers and sisters!
The hizars below him began to talk angrily to each other at the mention of Takashi and his magic, all of their eyes blazing with ferocity. Each one looked upon Raen with hope and guidance, willing to follow their leader anywhere he needs them to be.
Raen's mind-voice bellowed into the other hizar's minds, Quiet! they settled down instantly, each one's gaze riveted upon his form, Takashi's crimes shall not go unpunished, and when we find his master, he will also pay for what he did He was deadly serious as he continued to speak. Be careful my pack, this man has even taken on elves and won, even though it was unfair battles. He has acquired those that he has defeated powers, and because of that will not be taken down easily
One hizar padded out from the crowd and walked up into the front of Raen, her fiery red eyes locked onto his form as she spoke, How my great one? How could he have bested the elves and taken their power? I did not think that it was possible! Will he take our power as well?
Never Adrienne his gaze was firm, He cannot take hizar's powers, but elves are close enough to humans that he is able to pilfer theirs. To accomplish this he must kill the elf and take their gem He paused as furious hisses emerged from the other hizar's muzzles, as much as they disliked elves, they held a kind of mutual respect for each other. He puts their gems around his neck as necklaces, to control the power inside them he must warp the original power until the gems have no recollection of their former owners and must bond to him. Their powers would remain the same as before only now they are tinted with evil and are more powerful due to the fact that Takashi's master puts his own black energy into them
Adrienne hissed lowly, backing up until she is within the crowd once more, eyes enraged as she spoke once more, We will stop them great one, under your command we will succeed!
~
{Kel looked down at the scene with shock emanating from her. Her transparent hand cupped the gem around her throat and held it tightly, she looked at Joren and spoke harshly, ~This must be what happened! A fight with Takashi made Raen so hurt when we first found him!~ Suddenly her voice was shaky and she mummered, ~But what happened to his pack?~
Joren looked at her, lips tightly against each other, even he felt a sense of rage against this Takashi person, and he didn't even really like hizars. Finally he answered her, ~I guess we will find out, but even as dangerous as this Takashi character is, what about his master? How evil must he be to give the orders to do so? How much power must he have to be able to have done what he has done?~
~You are right Joren~ Raen's voice ran through their minds once more even if they couldn't see him, ~As bad as Takashi is… I dread meeting his master. What will happen then is up to the seven gods to decide. You shall see what happened to my pack Mistress…~ The mind-voice sounded strained as he said the last sentence, giving off chills own Kel's and Joren's spines. The scene in front of them seemed to suddenly fast forward until it abruptly stopped, leaving them with a whole new scenario to look at…}
~
Death… Blood and the dead were all the remained. Around his beaten and battered body Raen could see the remains of his pack in broken pieces, severed limbs, and pools of blood. In the middle of all of this was a man with eerie light green eyes and dirty blond hair, a mocking smirk on his face. Not a speck of blood appeared on his form, nothing… he was not hurt except for a slight gash in his side… and even that had never bleed.
Raen closed his eyes, unable to look anymore, willing himself to just die right then and there, I have failed you… mother… father… my pack. I have failed to the demon of Acrolish, how was I to know that he would be this powerful? To defeat every single one in my pack? His eyes snapped open again as he saw the man stride into a cave, his mind screamed a vicious, NO! He struggled to get up, muscles and limbs straining, panic so clear in his eyes. No! Do not go in there! Please! No!
A mocking laugh filled the air and the man returned from the cave… but this time with three squirming week old pups in his arms, each one frantic and trying to escape. "So the great Raen is reduced to begging, how… weak of you He struck out and kicked the hizar in the side, eyes glinting in satisfaction as Raen cowered. One of the pups in his arms gave a furious hiss and bit his hand angrily, drawing only a drop of blood until the wound closed a second later.
The hizar looked furious, but was unable to do anything, in a frenzied mind-voice he called to the pup, Stop is Mirali! Just… stop! His eyes widened in horror as Takashi gave a malicious laugh and took the pup by the neck, easily holding to the other two with his other hand.
"So weak and helpless they are," Takashi's green-eyes seemed to glow as they looked down at Raen's prone form, "Little one… you made a dear and costly mistake that sealed your fate," at that he smirked and with a quick movement from his wrist… broke the little pup's neck. Marali's form became limp and swung in Takashi's hand. The man laughed chillingly, dropping the pup in front of Raen's form, unmoved when Raen gently nosed the pup.
Raen looked at the pup with deep sorrow, My son… my dear brave son… dead… by this monsters hand, he looked up and glared at the man, unable to do anything because he held his other two children in his arms. Lowly he spoke, growling angrily, Why don't you just finish me off? You have killed my pack already demon, why don't you finish the job? His body ached and cried out, all he wanted to do was to die and be with his loved ones once more in the death god's realm.
The man smirked and said softly, "Why not indeed?" As quickly as he spoke, he unmercifully killed the other two pups in his arms, one by breaking the neck as he had done to Mirali, the other by suffocation. He grinned maliciously at the grieving hizar in front of him and dropped the other two pups down on top of their brother. "So now all that is left is you, funny, I thought that your pack would be more of a… challenge. I suppose that the stories were wrong about how you were invincible," his eyes glinted.
My children… Raen's heart seemed to stop, my beloved children are dead, killed by this monster, he looked up and gave a challenging glare at Takashi, Just kill me already why don't you?! He did not look like the proud hizar he was before, instead… he looked broken, without life even though his own life did not end yet.
~
{A scream ran through Raen's and Joren's mind, ~NO! We have to help Raen! We have to…~ Kel looked in horror at the scene, eyes wide and translucent body shaking. She tried to run over to help Raen and the pups but… she went right through them. ~Raen's pups… they and his pack… they all died!~
Joren's arm shot out and grabbed hers before she did anything foolhardy, he pulled her back towards him and gave a sympathetic scowl down at her, ~You can't do anything to help Kel! We are in Raen's memories, this has already happened and you can't do anything to stop it! Now stop being a fool, Raen brought us here to listen, watch, and learn~
She struggled against him, shouting in his mind, ~You don't understand! I feel Raen's pain magnified ten more times then you do! We are bonded! I feel everything as if I am Raen, I am there and I just watched my children and pack die! I can't… oh Joren…~ She beat against him weakly, tears streaming down her face. ~I feel… I feel as if my world has ended with their deaths, as if I can't do anything else, as if I am worthless for I could not protect them~
He shook his head, little flecks of anger in his eyes, ~No Kel, you are just feeling Raen's emotions at that time! Put up a mental block and you wouldn't feel as much pain as you do! You and Raen and two separate beings!~
Raen's mind-voice spoke to them all softly, ~I am sorry Mistress that I cannot help you, please listen to Joren for what he says is true. You are feeling what I have felt… and feel now. I am truly sorry Mistress~ With that he erected a mental block in her mind to keep her away from most of the pain from his emotions, for him to it was hard, he was reliving something which he wished to forget. But unlike her, he couldn't erect a mental block, for them to see his memories, he must feel everything as if it was happening right then. All the pain, the horror, and the sorrow, he felt it as if it was still new and fresh.
Kel struggled against the emotions until she could take control of herself again, her eyes though… they still wept tears of sorrow that vanished in thin air as they fell down. ~…Thank you Raen…~ she looked up Joren and tried a shaky smile, ~You also Joren, thank you
Joren just released her arm and stepped away from her, not saying a word. He returned his gaze back onto the scene, keeping a glacial expression on his face as he continued to watch}
~
Raen lay on the ground, head down, uncaring if he looked weak… for he was, he couldn't even protect his own pups against Takashi. Quietly he waited for the final strike that would end his own life with something akin to relief.
"No," that one word echoed into the air from Takashi's mouth. His lips twisted into a cruel grin as he looked down at Raen, "You shall not die today… I won't kill you, instead I'll let some humans do it." He gave a soft laugh into the air, "I will let some human who finds your nearly dead body to kill you for me, that will bring you humiliation enough." He smirked strangely, "You have been the first to actually harm me, and for that you must pay." He was of course referring to the gash at his side.
The hizar looked at him, eyes wide, that is… the humiliation of dying not on my enemy's hands, but instead of some bystander who has a grudge against hizars…He gave a swift glare at Takashi, eyes burning in hate, The dishonor…
Takashi grinned at the response, "Of course, I know how hizars work and what they hate the most… being beaten in a battle and being humiliated," he chuckled softly, "And one is already complete the other will be accomplished very very soon." He kneeled down and smirked as he stroked the hizar's head, Raen unable to do anything. "I almost feel sorry for you!"
Raen gave a vicious hiss at Takashi, trying to struggle as the man picked him up with ease. How… this is not normal! No HUMAN should be able to defeat me… us so easily! Why is it my fate to die such a dishonorable death?
The man went over to his dapple-gray horse and threw Raen over the rump, spooking the horse until he viciously tugged down on the reins. He mounted and rode off several miles until he reached a mildly busy road, one that was traveled on about twice a week. Takashi laughed once again as he dumped Raen's body to the side of the road, talking lowly to him, "Well goodbye Raen of the Eclipse Guardian pack, to bad you weren't more of a challenge to me!"
The hizar weakly lifted his head and wished that he could die before someone else found him… yet his honor code as a hizar claimed that they must never kill themselves, that bastard probably knew that, which is why he made up this little plan. I shall probably die in a couple days time by some human who stumbled upon my body… He closed his pain filled dark blue eyes and tried to drift off into sleep, dimly hoping he'll be killed quickly.
~End Memory Sequence~
Kel jerked her head up and gave a shudder, eyes filled with anguish. With shock she brought one hand up to her cheek to feel the slight dampness… of her tears. I haven't cried in so long… so very long… Raen! She looked at him and found his trembling body, she could feel his pain and misery as much as her own. Quickly she moved over to his side and gently laid her hand upon his head, calling out softly, "Raen?"
Ice-blue eyes followed her movement, Joren sunk deep into his own thoughts, who knew that the hizar had to go through that kind of hell… damnit, I'm getting soft, he breathed out a soft sigh, oh well… With that he moved over next to Kel, looking down at Raen with a tinge of irritation, "Hey cat!" It's not like I'm going to change anytime soon, a smirk slowly went up to his face.
Raen slowly opened his eyes, his pain still in them. Relief entered his gaze as he looked upon Kel and Joren, for a moment he had almost forgotten that this had been a memory transfer. Mistress… and Joren who-should-not-call-me-a-cat, haughtiness once again tinged his mind-voice, I shall be fine…
A smile appeared on her lips before it vanished as she once again thought about what she had found out about her bond's past, "Raen… really, are you okay?" Concern was clear in her hazel brown eyes.
The hizar gave a nod until another thought occurred to him, I am not done yet though! I have yet to give you the details of my fight with Takashi!
Joren raised a brow, "Your fight?" suddenly the memory of what Takashi looked like struck him, "That man, Takashi, he was the same one from the tavern! One of the three guys that was looking for us… the leader of them." His brow furrowed as he continued to think to himself, finally he had to ask, "Did you bring them to look for us?"
"Joren!" Kel's indignant voice broke through his thoughts, "Raen would never lead them to us! Takashi was the one who hurt him and his pack, why would he do that?" Irritation appeared in her eyes as she looked into his with accusation.
He spat out back at her, "Do you really believe that I am as heartless as that?" she fell silent, just watching him, "I meant that since he didn't die that they are looking for him and consequently us!" He didn't know why he felt such anger when all Kel did was ask a question.
Stop! Raen's mind-voice was weary, Mistress, I knew what he was going to ask, and he wasn't accusing me of bringing them to go after you Kel didn't speak, she just looked at Joren apologetically, And for your question he turned his bright gaze to Joren. No, it is for a different reason, one that I cannot tell you yet, I… am sorry He expelled a mental sigh in their heads, Now… may I begin the fight sequence? The one I had with Takashi after you left the tavern?
Kel and Joren both gave a nod and closed their eyes once more, wondering what would happen this time… and what they will see. Kel felt a sense of foreboding, while Joren felt that something was missing… yet each of them didn't know what, and they couldn't do anything about it, not yet anyway. So they both just concentrated on Raen and his memory, willing for what had happened to show up in their minds once more.
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A/N:
IceWind: *blinks once, then twice* Oh wow! Hehe. How did you guys like THIS chapter? *she smiles* It may have been a little boring I know, with just a memory sequence, but did I do it okay?
Raen: *sniffs deeply* My entire pack… my KIDS were killed! How could you?
IceWind: *sweatdrop* It was dramatic Raen! I'm sooooo sorry! *winces at the glare he throws her and sighs* Oh well… I'll save the fight sequence memory thingy, for next chapter! *grins* Now, about the other story I'm going to start writing… I've decided to hold off until Aether is almost done. Let me just tell you that I'm not close to being done with Aether yet, do you guys know how many plot thingies I put into this story??? I have to answer all the questions, defeat all the bad-guys, get them back to Tortall, STILL find out what the Scanrans are up to… hehe ^.^ You get my point.
Raen: *lies down and closes his eyes* my poor, poor little pups…
IceWind: *she pointedly ignores him* Welll…. I hope you guys keep reading, and remember to review! Lol, ja ne!
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Facts:
Seibutsu Bond: A bond between a creature and a humanoid. It is less powerful then a life-bond yet it is strong none the less. The bonded can thought-speak to one another and they also feel the others emotions. If one of the bonded dies, the other feels a deep and wrenching pain in themselves, but they don't die also.
Seibutsu Items: These are the items that Raen and Kel got when the bonding was over. Kel had gotten a dagger and Raen a chain. If one of them breaks it symbolizes that one of the bonded has died.
Hizar: A highly intelligent species who are organized like wolf packs with a dominant male and female. All hizar are black and look like large cats, panther sized. They are lithe and graceful, all of them agile and fast. Each one has their own type of magic and that type, and power, is shown by the color of the gems on their forehead. When using their power the hizar's eyes turn that color. The types of gems are fire, water, earth, air, light, dark, ice, lightening, psy, and a silver unknown color. The alpha males must have the silver kinds of gems to lead, the alpha females can have any kind and are chosen by the males.
Jerogil: A type of creature in the world of Medea. They are usually peaceful animals and tend to stay away from others except their own kind. Their color range from black to a muddy gray and they have large eyes for seeing at night. Their tails are curved like a monkey's and can pick things up in that fashion. All over their body they have hard plates for armor, something not easily dented or broken through. Running along their backs is a series of sharp spikes.
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My e-mail address is flyby311@hotmail.com and put Aether Winds, so I know what the e-mail is about. Anything you want to add/criticize/comment/whatever you guys just review it… please? Thanks for listening to me ramble for that you get a tootsie pop *hands person a tootsie pop*
Raen and Kaori (hizar and rabblite) are MINE! GET IT? MINE!!! *they sweatdrop in the background* no stealing or else I'll blow you up! MWAHAHAHA! Also any other made up characters in the story are mine to, if you want to use any of them please ask before doing so, same goes for Raen and Kaori. ALSO, the poems that appear in the story are also mine (duh) I'll tell you if I use any that aren't. BYE NOW!