Cookxenya: *pounces onto the scene* Well hello every body! I'm Baaa-aaack! Didja miss me? Due to the nagging of a certain persistent muse, along with a rather inspirational piece of music, I am now ready to write the next chapter of _I'm a Companion Now?_ ! Since Jedren has been so Ivery/I insistent, he gets to help me write an extra, extra, EXTRA long chappie for those of you who have been protesting the lack of chapter length!

Jedren: *rolls eyes and smirks*



Cookxenya: *looks suspiciously at Jedren then shrugs and states the disclaimer*

Disclaimer: Velgarth, Valdemar, Companions, Heralds, Kyree, and all related ideas, as well as anything else you recognize from any of her books belong to Mercedes Lackey. Xxenya is mine. The plot is, I think, mine. The idea has been used before, but the PLOT is mine.

Cookxenya: Now, if no one has any objections, we'll get on with the story! *Listens for objections, but there aren't any* Ok then, here goes!

~Thoughts~

: Mindspeech:

"Talking"

*Chapter 4 - Grove-Born*

I listened for a reply, not really expecting one. I heard birds tweeting, leaves rustling, a far off neigh, and a distant drumming. The drumming neared and turned out to be the hoof beats of the most magnificent stallion I had ever seen. His coat was, of course, a lovely slivery-white, his hooves silver, and he had these deep, dark, blue eyes. His crest (neck) was arched high, his long silky mane whipping in the wind of his passage. His powerful muscles pushed him along in a graceful canter. His nostrils were flared as he breathed, his tail was held high in a banner, and his ears were pricked my way.



My jaw dropped ~Oh my…. He is so…gorgeous!~ I thought with what was rather close to awe.

His mind voice, which was in the low tenor range, snapped me out of my thoughts as he halted a few feet away from me. : Hello.: he greeted me politely. :I would much appreciate it if you did inot/i yell so loud. You are disturbing the foals that are trying to sleep.: He told me.



I scrambled to my feet. Or at least, I Itried/I to scramble to my feet; instead, I ended up lurching up and over onto my face. I was mortified, to say the least. However, I valiantly tried again, much more carefully and slowly this time, and successfully gained my feet. : Hello.: I meekly stated, : My name is Xxenya. I'm sorry I yelled, I was kind of in shock; I don't know where I am or what happened. I didn't use to be a horse.: I explained apologetically, head down, and ears drooping.

I caught an impression of mingled humor and annoyance from him. : Well, since you are new, I'll let it slide.: He said gently. : However, there are some things you'll need to learn. First and foremost, we are bnot/b horses! We are Companions, avatars of the star-eyed. We are nothing like horses, except in body. However in intelligence, we are at least as smart as the average human, usually smarter. Also, we are far faster, stronger, more agile, et cetera. Come on, I'll explain as I show you around.: He said, and started walking in the direction he had come from. Gingerly, I followed him, trying Inot/I to think about how handsome he was. A warm breeze sprang up, making the trees rustle, and our manes and tales flutter. The stallion flicked an ear back to make sure I was following, he continued with his lecture. : We Companions also differ from horses in that we are always white with blue eyes and silver hooves. This coloration results from the high level of magic we handle on a daily basis. We are pretty much immersed in the magic. For one thing, there is our close proximity to the heart stone that Vanyel Ashkevron formed in the castle. There is also the fact that several key ley-lines pass through Companion's Field. Added on to this is the fact that we Companions tend to use magick on rather frequent basis. We use magic for many things. We use it to ease reaction headaches in our Chosen, to erase the memories of things that people around us should not have heard. For example, if one of our chosen found out that we are sometimes reincarnated heralds, we would block that memory. We also use a certain amount of magic to find our Chosen, as well as for a myriad of other uses. We do try to be as sparing with the use of magic as circumstances allow, however.:

Suddenly, as we passed under the last few trees of the Grove, he started. : I'm sorry, here I am lecturing you, and you don't even know my name. I Apologize. Let me introduce my self,: he bowed his head toward me cordially.: My name is Taver, I am the Grove-Born stallion, and the Monarch's Own companion. My Chosen is Talamir, the King's Own Herald. Or at least, he will be, if we can ever get him out of that dratted tent. He's only recently Chosen, so he's currently a Trainee. You see, he comes from a horse-trading family, so at the moment, he can't sleep indoors.: Taver sighed in exasperation.: Well, he'll have to get over it eventually.: Taver shrugged resignedly. We started walking toward a river as Taver continued with the lecture.

: Now, the main reason we Companions exist is to help, Choose, and guide the Heralds of Valdemar. The Heralds do many serve Valdemar and the Star-Eyed in many capacities. They act as judges, spies, teachers, couriers, detectives, soldiers, seers, and the like. One of the things that set Heralds apart from most humans is their overall honesty, selflessness kindness, and loyalty. Also, there are their gifts, such as Foresight, Farsight, Firestarting, Fetching, Mindspeech and so on. Here at the Collegia, they get intensive training in things such as weapons training, history, manners, geography, and the list goes on.:

By this time, I had had the chance to get comfortable walking, as well as get over my infatuation with Taver. I was getting rather bored with his speech, as I already knew most of it, having read most of Mercedes' books. And he wasn't really putting it in a very interesting form; he was mostly just listing things now. So, I waited until he had finished a sentence, and was pausing to breathing, and spoke up. : Grove born, thank you for explaining all of this to me, but I already know most of it. I know about the more common Gifts, and I know mostly what a Herald does, and I have a basic grasp of what a Companion is. I generally understand how the Collegia work. I also know who Vanyel was, as well as Lavan "Firestorm" Chitward. I know about the Mage Wars, and I know who some of the Monarchs were. I know how Valdemar was formed, and where Companions came from. What I don't know is most of Valdemar's history, and Geography, and how one finds one's Chosen and so on. Could you maybe talk about that instead? : I asked.

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Well, that's it for this chapter! I tried to make it long and interesting, but I just couldn't, sorry!

Now thanks go out to Jedren, my muse, who helped me write me, and to all the nice reviewers, who get brownies today!

Akima Skylar-Thanks! I'm planning on it! Have a brownie!

Calicat- Well, you have a good point there, but Xxenya is a rather big fan Of Mercedes Lackey's, and she's rather obsessed with Companions and all things Valdemar. It was mainly just a lucky guess. Have a brownie!

Oceanmate-Will a brownie work? And here's the next chappie! I'm trying to make the chapters longer, and I'm making Isome/I progress, I hope. Thanks!

Hawk Mate- Yeah, poor thing! Have a brownie!

Wizard116- Humph. Well, I had less "talking shit" this chapter, happy? You don't get a brownie.

Anything- Thanks! Yay, I inspired somebody!! Now my work is done. But I'll keep updating, because, I want to find out what happens next, too! Have a brownie!

So, that's it for this update! Please review! And remember what Thumper said. " If you can't say nothing nice, don't say nothing at all." If you have constructive criticism, please try to say it nicely.