Aether Winds
Chapter twenty-nine- A Horse is a Man's Best Friend
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: ^^; No comment?

Larzdinn: This… is not updated soon. Am so bad. Would hang self except then I wouldn't be able to write anymore o.o;;; *squeaks* Blueberry jello? Nuu… o.o WILL TRY! ^^;

Cami of Queenscove: *sweatdrop* Because I didn't think of it? Also, Kel doesn't want to seem weak to other people, I just don't see it in her personality ^^; Dominatrix? KEL? O.o;; Joren wouldn't go for that, I don't think so anyway ^^;

Tbiris: Livejournal… is like this online journal. Look it up in google or something, it's a HUGE community ^^ Tonshi doesn't have her necklace, she just can't reach her powers with her mind and thus she can't use them. And why? Dunno *pokes Tonshi and whimpers as he scowls at her* Maybe he's a secret coward? *sniggers* He'll show up though.

Shakiya: Umm… I'll update A Single Choice soon. ^^;

Raen Lee: *giggles* Raen isn't exactly a cat… but close to it!

Loony: *blinks* And here I thought I made Kel too 'kick-ass'. ^^; And… I didn't know Medea was in that… hmm…whatever ^^ Yeah, I know there are a lot of grammatical errors *her fault because she doesn't double-check her work* but it's almost done and I would hate to take up your time. ^^

Shinigami Clara: Even after the war with Maggur (which doesn't happen in this story ^^;;;;) I'm sure people still discriminated against her *shrugs* Just the way the world works I guess.

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With quick movements, Daine suddenly leaped out towards the carzo in tiger form, tail lashing wildly, a feral look in her usually calm grayish eyes. Apparently it surprised the creature, since the carzo reeled back and halted for a moment, allowing the tiger to lash out with its claws and tear long rents into its chest. Not that it would stop the other creature of course.

A flash of insight came to Kel, horribly useless as she would be in this particular fight, it would be better if she somehow got Arctic Wind out of the cell since the horse was perfectly capable of fighting as well. Her grip tightened slightly on her dagger as she yelled wildly, "Daine! Move it away from the door! I've got to get Arctic out!" She lunged out of the way of a wildly swung tentacle, ignoring the screams of protest that was coming from her wounds.

Those she could attend too later, she had a fight to finish first.

Faint awe appeared in her hazel eyes as she watched Daine and the carzo duel; both slashed quickly, both reeling away in dangerous maneuvers to avoid being hit. But the carzo had the advantage it seemed, for it had more weapons than Daine did, especially those wicked serrated teeth and the tail that lashed out of nowhere to score a light gash on Daine's side.

But understanding lit into those intelligent tiger eyes, and Daine suddenly lunged backwards, a teasing swipe of the claws causing the carzo to leap after her. Six manic yellow eyes gleamed with bloodlust, almost unaware of Kel creeping closer towards the door, her hands moving towards the latch and fumbling it.

Almost.

Squeals came from inside, Arctic hearing the commotion and voicing her rage. Something heavy suddenly slammed into the small of Kel's back. She slammed into the door and buckled over, loud gasps coming from her mouth as she felt the object that had hit her jerk her slightly. Jerk me…? Realization spread through her eyes as she suddenly understood that it was the carzo's tentacle that had hit her and was now stuck on her clothes.

Whirling around and ignoring her protesting muscles, her dagger slashed down quickly on the tentacle, Silver Falcon clutched within her hand, nearly severing it before it retracted quickly. A dark smile graced Kel's lips as she returned to her task and finally opened the door, freeing the horse within.

Kel smiled faintly as Arctic thundered out, squealing loudly as she bore down upon the unsuspecting carzo. At a good time as well, since the creature had about to thrust his tail into Daine's body, the girl-turned-tiger panting heavily covered with blood.

Arctic danced away from the first strike from one of the tentacles, head suddenly striking at the second one, the one that Daine had damaged. A bite from her powerful jaws at the spot where Daine had hit the carzo and the limb was torn off, Arctic whipping around and lashing out with her forelegs, pent up rage being released upon the creature before her.

Daine scrambled out of the way of what promised to be a bloodbath, blood, her and the carzo's, dripping from her orange fur and splashing the ground. It was awe-inspiring what the Kalyrath horses could do when completely enraged, and more than a bit terrifying as well.

Kel sagged against the stone walls, feeling several jut in her back as she stood there, grimacing but unable to look away from Arctic who battled with the carzo as if it was Tonshi himself. It is, she thought inwardly, rather amazing what Arctic can do… She watched silently as Arctic dodged a strike and then the horse moved in, powerful legs striking out and slamming into the small head. Dazed, the carzo wheeled and blindly struck to no avail, the horse just moved slightly and struck again and again and again, not content to leave the creature dead, but to make it into the bloodiest corpse as well.

If it wasn't so disturbing, Kel might have laughed. She could even feel the hysterical laughter well up inside her now, struck faintly amused by the site of Arctic pounding the carzo into the ground. Why she was amused? Well, she herself didn't really know, and did not much care either. Helplessly she clutched at the wall and closed her eyes.

Seconds… minutes? ticked by and suddenly Kel was aware of a slightly wet and sticky muzzle gently nuzzling the side of her face. Her hazel eyes opened a crack only to peer into the deep blue of Arctic's eyes, comforted by the presence of the horse.

"You okay Kel?" A ragged sound escaped from Daine's throat, the girl sounded weary and in pain, as she most certainly was.

Kel just clutched Arctic closer, fatigue enclosing around her as she murmured softly, "Yeah, fine."

"We can't stop you know. We have to keep moving… and this is where our road splits once again."

Just giving a soft sigh in response, she cuddled the horse and looked towards the somber looking Daine who was already back in her human form, body covered in scratches and bruises. Kel shook herself inwardly, deciding that she felt more tired than she should, and straightened, "Yes… you have to go to Fort Wyrln, right?"

Daine gave her a worried look, the other girl looking around helplessly before she nodded, "That's right. And you have to get there as well, I'm sure Joren and Raen are waiting for you." She spoke her next words slowly, more to herself than to Kel, "I'm sure that you'll be fine… Of course you'll be fine…"

Before Daine could go on, Kel interrupted her with a wan smile, "Of course. Now go, they're waiting for you."

Casting another concerned look towards Kel, Daine ran a hand through her wild hair, grimacing slightly before she queried, "Why didn't you just use your magic, Kel? What did that bastard do to you?" Her gaze flickered down towards the side, away from the other girl as she continued on, "I didn't ask before because… well… I was certain you had a good reason for not bringing it up." She fell silent.

Kel gave a ragged sigh, her hand involuntarily coming up to grip the single white gem. Try as she may, no spark of energy seemed to rise from her and she shook her head, "Tonshi -the Great Evil- took it away, blocked it… I'm not too sure." She gave the cheeriest smile that she could, though it didn't seem to deter Daine's growing look of concern, "Don't worry. I've lived without magic for most of my life, I can do it again."

Her gaze flickered towards Arctic who was pawing the ground and looking remarkably serious, "Arctic?"

Suddenly the white horse shoved her nose against Kel's shoulder and closed her eyes, a faint glow rising from her and enveloping Kel as well. It hovered around them both, and Kel's hazel eyes widened in surprise before they closed as well.

Energy rode through her body, pure energy. It filled her senses and gave her focus; strength returning little by little until Arctic broke the connection with a tired nicker. Hesitantly Kel raised her hand and laid it upon the horse's soft nose and smiled softly, "Thanks."

"What did she do?" Curiosity shone in Daine's eyes.

Experimentally, Kel looked at her hand and flexed the fingers slightly, still feeling the tingles of pain but finding it lessened from before. She shifted her body weight from side to side slowly, a pensive look on her face before she finally smiled at Daine, "Arctic transferred some of her energy into me… isn't that right, Arctic?" She glanced at the horse that nickered and bobbed her head. Kel chuckled softly and continued on, "My wounds don't feel as bad now either… how strange."

Her eyes flickered around the cavern, a thoughtful look sliding over her face as she spoke to Daine; "We'll split up as soon as you show me the way out of here. This cavern isn't… normal." She paid no attention to Arctic who nickered and moved back towards the room where the horse had been trapped in. "It's bright and airy, no water, it's nothing like a normal set of caves."

"Right, no worries…" Daine suddenly looked towards where Arctic had disappeared, "Where did she go?"

An idea flickered inside Kel's head, one she voiced, "Why don't you ask her?" Really, idly she wondered why she hadn't thought of the idea before. Perhaps because it never came up? She gave an inward shrug and leaned her head against the rock wall, breathing out slowly. Yes, she was feeling better, but she was nowhere near her full power, especially since Tonshi had managed to cut off the link to her magic.

Damn that… that… God! She mentally groused to herself, getting more and more irritated with the current state of affairs though she kept quiet, a blank mask once again appearing on her face. When I find Tonshi again, I'm going to rip out his innards and feed them to the pigs. I'll have Raen tear out his limbs one by one… Getting more and more into the mental image, a faint smirk crept up her face.

"Umm… Kel?" Daine's voice broke through the other girl's slightly maniacal thoughts.

-and… Kel blinked and looked towards the Wild Mage again, "Yes, Daine?"

A sly smile spread across the other girl's features, a teasing look lighting in her eyes, "You had a rather frightening expression just a while ago. Perhaps you're picking more up on Joren's habits than you thought you were?" She broke into giggles at Kel's surprised face, feeling a slight weight lift off of her shoulders when Kel joined in a couple of seconds later. The laughter was faint, and strained, but it was there never the less.

~

"How is that man… Ryan is it? doing, cat?" Joren's gaze flickered downwards towards the reclining hizar, expression pensive as his gaze surveyed the fort. A grimace appeared as another wave of injured soldiers was brought in, protected by several others mounted on horses.

Raen got up and stretched lithely, muscles rippling under his slightly mussed coat, Rather well for a human, as to be expected since he was coached by one such as I The hizar almost seemed to preen under his self congratulations, He'd make a fine leader for a small group. Not for a large one though, he'll be better leading a group where he knows everyone and their strengths and weaknesses

Joren gave a slow nod, thoughtfully looking over the wall of the fort towards where the enemy was camping for the moment, probably gearing up for another attack. He spoke in a slightly absentminded tone, "Well, if he survives then I'll make sure that someone feels fit to promote him." A spasm of pain flickered through Joren, one that made him reel slightly and gasp out.

Boy? Worry was apparent in the hizar's mind voice, Raen's head moving towards him, almost unconsciously.

Shaking his head, he waved off Raen's advances, murmuring lowly, "It's the strain from the bond, you know that as well as I do. Nothing can fix it until Kel gets back here… if she gets back that is." Joren steadied himself against the stone wall then, shaking his head as if that would clear any lingering pain. "It's not so bad," he muttered, "It just appears out of nowhere though and hits me. I'm fine."

"Do you have such little faith in Auntie?" A soft, melodious voice was heard, making Joren and Raen whirl around in slightly surprise. Arylanth walked towards them fluidly, her clothes now cut in a more practical manner, made for warfare and times of hardship. She had a hard expression set upon her features as she focused her sharp gaze upon the man and the hizar.

"Truthfully?" Joren drawled out softly, refusing to be optimistic when it was clearly against his nature, "I don't know if the operative the king sent would be enough to get her out of where ever she is currently. I do not hold much stock in believing in miracles." He spat out the last sentence, annoyed at himself and the elf queen across from him.

Arylanth frowned, her gaze moving from the duo towards the area beyond the fort's walls, expression going thoughtful as she eyed the curling of the smoke that signaled the enemy's position. So many enemies… she wondered idly if they would survive. But we have to, for the good of this world and mine… she reminded herself.

Turning her attention back to Joren, she spoke quietly, yet forcefully, "I do though. So please, desist in spreading those kinds of opinions around, I will not condone you lowering the men's morale." Her lips thinned at the answering silence but she went on speaking, "When do you think that they'll attack next? They seem to be waiting for something… or wearing us down, I don't know which."

"It's bad if they were just waiting for something, then that implies that they aren't trying hard," Joren said, a vaguely troubled expression on his face, "Maybe both… What does Raoul say? Or Numair, though the mage wouldn't be the greatest tactician."

They aren't certain, but my opinion is that it's probably both. Have any of you felt the presence of the Great Evil? Apparently Raen had no qualms with saying 'Great Evil' for the God's name, They are probably waiting for him then… That means another has command right now… The tone of his mind-voice darkened, Probably Takashi… that bastard A soft growl escaped his maw as Raen's tail lashed in agitation.

"Shh…" Arylanth tried to comfort the hizar, "It's no good to get so riled up over Takeshi. You'll meet in the battle field, I'm sure of it." Her expression clouded up as she spoke in a slightly stiff voice, "The psy elves have foreseen it."

Excitement flared in the dark eyes of Raen, Truthfully? Do they see the outcome of the battle as well?

A slight hesitation, but she shook her head, "No, I'm sorry, Raen. All I can say is that we give you the best of luck in the approaching encounter."

Suddenly the sound of running feet sounded, and all three of them looked towards the running hizar, the one called Yari. She skidded to a stop in front of them, mind-voiced loud with urgency, Come! They are attacking! A full attack this time, we think that the Great Evil has arrived!

Joren cursed and raced off to find Raoul, Raen rapidly following at his heels.

~

Kel bent lowly over Arctic's back, silently urging the horse into greater speeds as they crossed the terrain. She had her glaive and several other assorted weapons that were hers, found in the same cave that Arctic had resided in, the Kalyrath horse being the one to inform her. Well, inform her by shoving her in that direction, it all worked out.

She and Daine had split in front of the opening of the cavern, and the Wild Mage had informed her of the direction in which she had to go. To her surprise, it wasn't that far off from her current position, and she'd probably reach the Fort soon enough, a day or two at the most. Hopefully that was.

"Up for a tiring ride, Arctic?" she breathed out softly into the horse's ear, watching it flick back towards her.

Arctic gave a snort, one Kel thought of as an agreement, and the horse's stride lengthened slightly, going as fast as she dared without compromising her endurance greatly.

This is why everyone should have a horse that thinks, Kel thought to herself absentmindedly, feeling the wind whip past her as she and Arctic raced along at a quick speed, They can determine how fast you can go themselves without you having to guess for them.

~

Joren hacked through the enemy soldiers and creatures with a sort of maniacal glee, watching blood spray around him. He urged Demon Wind to greater fury, the ebony horse lashing out at anything near them, hooves deadly to anyone who came close. A great team, they seemed to mow down enemies, be it from a burst of ice, a slash from a sword, or the hooves and teeth from Demon Wind.

Wrenching himself to one side, his hand clasped around the gem that lay at the hollow of his throat, focusing on a nearby jerogil as a feral smile appeared on his lips. Suddenly the air seemed frigid and great ice spears ripped up through the ground to skewer the creature from the belly upwards.

Ignoring the creature after the task was done, Joren moved on, Demon seeming to read his mind as the Kalyrath horse ripped through the enemies to appear at Raen's side.

The hizar was like a demon in battle, covered in blood and scratches. He darted in and out around the enemies, moving too fast for them to get a fix on him, ripping so quickly and at such precise places that most of who he hit fell or died.

What is it, boy? Raen's mind voice was distracted as he wove in and around the enemy soldiers, ignoring the creatures since they took longer for him to kill, and thus more risk for him if he slowed down to fight. Instead, he left those up to Joren. He leaped and slashed at the unprotected throat of a soldier, getting a light spraying of blood, he sprang away and moved on to the next one, never halting in his movements.

Joren was like him, sword singing with the blood and deaths of his enemies, Demon Wind and he moving almost as one as they struck and killed a charging carzo. Momentarily pausing to catch his breath, Joren yelled out, "They seem to be retreating!" His foot lashed out to kick a carzo in the head, before Demon whirled around and lashed out with his forelegs, connecting solidly. A sickening series of cracks were heard as the carzo fell down onto the ground, dead.

Giving chase, Raen sped after a few of the remaining enemy soldiers, speaking to Joren even as he disemboweled them, or hamstrung their horses, Yes, we should leave to the Fort now, the rest of our soldiers can deal with the remaining enemy Following his own advice, Raen whirled around and began running swiftly back to the fort, refusing to show that he was hurt.

Kicking Demon lightly, Joren found that he didn't need to have done that since the horse had already started to follow the hizar. A faint smile curved his lips as he murmured, "Without consulting me?"

The hizar was correct, Chosen

Shrugging slightly, Joren couldn't help but chuckle, "Fine, but don't tell the cat that I agreed. Stupid creature doesn't need a bigger ego."

We wouldn't want it to get as big as yours now, do we?

Impulsively, Joren flicked one of Demon's ears and scowled.

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IceWind: Am a bad, bad girl. *hangs head*

Raen: *thwaps her with his tail*

IceWind: *squeals and twitches* Yes, yes, I know I haven't updated in months. ^^; Don't worry, there's probably going to only be one more chapter and an epilogue after that. O.o Wow! I would make it exactly 30 chapters not counting epilogue… whee?

Kaori: *throws a bucket of water at her*

IceWind: *wails* I take so much abuse! ^^; Anyway, I'm rather sure that the next chapter won't take me… *whispers* four months *coughs*

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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.

Elves: They are tall human like creatures with pointed ears. They all live extremely long lives and each one has magic gems, such as the ones the hizars have, only their powers are stronger. They are a peace-loving race, but they will fight if they have to. They have one king and one queen, both who watch over their lands justly.

Soul Mates: Soul mates are extremely rare in any type of creature. Two people share one soul, literally. They can feel their beloved's emotions and in some occasions, talk to each other mind-to-mind. If one dies, the other dies also because half of their soul just died. You do not know you have a soul bond until you and another acknowledge your feelings for one another, you may go through your entire life without knowing that you have a soul bond. As soon as you acknowledge it, your souls connect and you cannot stay away from the other in a great distance for very long or else you get weak and might even die after an extended period.

Kalyrath Horses: These are extremely intelligent living beings with high stamina and running speed. These horses all have blue eyes, in varying shades, but it is all blue to symbol their purity. They chose their rider, and only one person is allowed to ride the kalyrath horse that is bonded to you unless you are soul mated to a person. Occasionally, there pops up a human/humanoid that can talk to their kalyrath horse, and the horse can talk to any of its kind up to a certain distance. Kalyrath horses are in-tune with their rider and it's rare for any none elf to bond with one since they usually only dwell in Elfin land. They are adept at fighting with their chosen and can be extremely protective depending upon their nature. It is said that they were a gift from the great mother goddess of the elves and they cannot be subvert by any dark magic for that reason.

Aether: The last element, the other nine elements are- fire, water, air, earth, psy, lightening, ice, dark and light. This element is the strongest by far and rare for hizars, extremely rare for elves. It controls all of the elements and its color is always silver for hizars and either a silver or white for elves. White is the most powerful, but none knows why. Aether is not an element known too much about, especially for the elves, all they could discern is that it has something to do with stars… The last elf to have this kind of gem died in a great battle, saving the world of Medea from certain doom.

Carzo: Vicious, mainly amphibious creatures that lived in the world of Medea before being brought to Tortall by the Great Evil -or Tonshi-. They are of a mottled green and blue color, with six yellow eyes. They stand at around a tigers' height at the shoulder with two tentacles on the side of their small and slightly blunt head. Carzo have long webbed feet -strangely able to run quickly still on land- and gill slits on the side of their body. It has a long, thin tail, sharp, which could cut through a multitude of things, the least of which is flesh. They have long, jagged, serrated teeth, made for tearing and ripping. They usually live in pods of about five, and they move so quickly together that it is hard to site one and focus upon it because it then drops back and blends back into the pod.

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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 some snickers. *hands person some snickers*