Landslide

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Part 14
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The world was silent and solemn with the weight of newly fallen snow when Tir awoke to see Flik sitting alone beside the barely smoldering fire. Such a sight shouldn't have immediately disturbed him, but Souleater had further heightened the amount of natural empathy he'd been born with, and so he could read emotions even when he didn't want to.

He didn't want to right now.

Even as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes, pieces of Gremio's actions from the night before - lingering memories of an embrace and whispered sentiments - crept back into his mind, and he knew.

"He's gone..." he murmured flatly.

Flik hadn't realized that Tir was awake, and so he started slightly at the sound of his voice, moving from the fire to sit at the edge of his blankets beneath the evergreen. He didn't ask how Tir knew - he had the feeling he would have known too, had it been Viktor. As soon as the name entered his mind, he pushed it away - it wouldn't do him any good to doubt his own actions this early on. "Viktor's with him."

"While we were both asleep?"

It would have been easier to lie and not face his young friend's wrath, but if there was one thing Flik tried to pride himself on, aside from his skill with a sword, it was honesty. "No. I was awake."

"And you let them..." Tir would have spat these words out had he been more rude, but he wasn't, and so they came out as a choked up whisper.

"I did..." Flik hesitated, and then reached a hand out to touch Tir's shoulder. "But I did it for a selfish reason. I needed-"

Tir had already shrugged off Flik's hand at this point, rising to his feet and beginning to pack his things. "I don't care why you agreed to it."

Flik recoiled slightly at the harsh tone, but reminded himself that Tir's anger wasn't truly directed at him. "I won't explain then. I'll just let you know that I am leaving for Warrior's Village, and I would be glad if you'd join me."

"No."

"No?" It was the answer he'd been expecting... but he'd been expecting it in a tearful and melodramatic way. In fact, this completely cold and unemotional reaction was worrying him more than if Tir had thrown a childish, weeping tantrum upon the discovery that Gremio had left him behind.

"No." Thoughts and words and feelings surged up in Tir as he continued to pack in silence, and eventually Flik did the same. In Tir's mind, he replayed the words of previous conversations, mentally reread the words of that letter... After everything they'd been through, how could Gremio choose this moment to leave him behind? It left him angry and shaking on the inside. And thinking further on the knowledge that this entire journey was unpredictable, he knew that it could... it might... be the death of him. Again. Again without even a chance to say goodbye. Goodbye?! NO! This entire quest...had been about... making it so they'd never have to say goodbye...

"Tir..." Flik finally started again as he stamped out their fire. "If you won't come with me, then what will you do?"

"Follow them."

Flik shook his head sadly. "I don't think you'll be able to. They've got hours of lead on you, and they can cover their tracks better than just about anyone else I've ever known. You'd likely get yourself killed and for what?"

"So then we'd at least both be dead."

There was a speck of emotion in that statement and Flik figuratively leapt on it. "You can't think that way... you have to believe he's going to come back to you again. He loves you."

Is that what I hope for? Tir turned away, not wanting Flik to see the tears finally welling in the corners of his eyes. He took a deep breath and started walking, but true to his friend's words, there was no visible path at all. Too much of the newly fallen snow was marred and drifted by the wind outside the edge of the forest and too uneven within. He finally stopped and looked back at Flik, who had followed him for the moment. "Even if he came back to me... this time he left me willingly, Flik. He. Left. Me. I... I'm not sure I can forgive that, even if... I..."

This time Tir did not shake away the hand that landed on his shoulder. "Come with me as far south as Gregminster, even if you refuse to come to the village. There would be no better place for him to find you than there... or... at least you'd have the means to decide if you wanted to go elsewhere." Silently Flik begged him to accept this compromise, because if he didn't, Gremio would surely prove to be right - Tir would hide somewhere where no one would ever find him.

"I... I'll think about it."

It was the best answer Flik could hope for at the moment, and so the two set off south in silence, Flik's blue eyes gazing back at the open plains just once before the trees had faded into the blurred fog of wind blown snow against an ashy sky.

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The plains were ominously silent as Gremio stepped clear of the trees, his hand on his axe. They'd moved within the forest for a time - moving west, the way Tir would not anticipate them to move if he decided to go after them - before continuing on their way. The land was mostly flat to the north, if not quite enough to see all the way to L'Renouille, and there were no signs of danger for as far as the eye could see.

Twigs snapped behind him as Viktor cleared the last of the forest's underbrush and stepped out into a pale, watery dawn on the plains of what had once been Highland. "Hmm. Well, doesn't look like we'll have any trouble getting there," he muttered. "Unless it snows some more."

There was only a little bit of snow on the ground, barely enough to clear the tall grass, which crunched underfoot as Gremio set out towards the north. "It does look like nasty weather," he commented. "Let's get as far as we can before we're caught in the middle of a storm."

"Storm, huh...?" Viktor muttered, eyeing the dark clouds up ahead as he followed. "Maybe. Flik would know, Mr. Blue Lightning and all... but for all I know, that's going to be blown over by the time we get anywhere near the ruins."

"You could be right," Gremio conceded, shielding his eyes with one hand as he squinted at the clouds. "But I sense something... a feeling as if something is waiting to happen." He thought about that a moment, and frowned nervously as he turned back to Viktor. "Do you feel it too?"

Viktor didn't answer, as he seemed to be preoccupied with the ground beneath his feet. Cocking his head curiously, he glanced around them. "Funny - there's no animal tracks. Maybe they know there's a storm coming, then, and are all hidden back in their burrows or so on."

"Perhaps..." Gremio paused, a shiver running up his spine. They'd walked into a patch of fog, and suddenly Gremio felt disoriented. "Viktor, something is not right here."

Distracted as Viktor was, he had been a fighter for many years, and he snapped out of his thoughts immediately. "What is it?"

"If there aren't any animals around, why do I keep hearing..." Gremio's voice trailed off, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end as he thought of a possible explanation. "Viktor...?"

"Yeah?" The mercenary had his sword in hand now, and had half-turned away from Gremio, surveying the surrounding area suspiciously. Suddenly his eyes widened. "...Shit."

Gremio turned to see what had caused the outburst, and saw the problem immediately; the fog was not only thicker back the way they'd come, but was billowing out of the forest as if a massive fire were smoldering within - and though the wind was blowing towards the west, the fog still billowed towards them.

"Run!" Viktor bellowed, and Gremio followed close on his heels as the two of them tried to outrun the mist, which not only caught up, but seemed to be overtaking them.

It was not long before Gremio skidded to a halt, leaving long trails in the thin layer of snow. "Don't run," he said quietly, pulling his axe from his belt. "This is the rune, isn't it?"

"Yeah - I saw when Leon summoned it at L'Renouille," Viktor panted, skidding to a halt as well and glaring around them at the thickening mist. "And that's why we gotta-"

"What good is running?" Gremio asked simply, trying not to tremble as the mist continued to snake around the two of them. "Even if we could outrun it, I must face it."

"But-"

"Stay back, unless it becomes necessary for you to become involved," Gremio told him. The mist was solidifying before them, though the massive shape was still vague, and only slightly recognizable as some sort of four-legged beast. "This is my battle - and you must stay alive, to go back to Flik even if I don't survive. If I fall, then you must run."

"Damn it, Gremio!" Viktor exclaimed. "You have to-"

"I've made my decision," Gremio told him firmly, his knuckles white on the handle of his axe as the shape before them became more visible, and two massive heads tossed above them. Gremio stepped forward, a pace in front of Viktor. "Think of Flik as you make yours."

There was a hesitation, and then another curse, softer, as Viktor reluctantly did so. "...Tir'll kill me if I let you die."

"I'll come back and haunt you for the rest of your days if you let him know I died," Gremio countered. "Lie to him if you must - and if he ever finds out, tell him I made you. I'd rather have him angry at me than you."

"Don't talk like that," Viktor growled softly. "...Just don't die, and we won't have to deal with any of that."

In spite of his fear as the last of the fog coelesced before him, Gremio found himself smiling grimly. "If I have any say in the matter, I won't - I want to return to my Young Master as much as you want to return to Flik."

From the descriptions Viktor and Flik had offered, it appeared that the Beast Rune was much in the same form it had taken when they'd fought it in L'Renouille - a two-headed wolf creature nearly identical to the one Gremio and Tir had fought off in the forest a few weeks before, but much larger, towering over even Viktor. It tossed its heads restlessly, then stared down intently at the two men through vibrant blue eyes.

Beasts can smell fear, Gremio reminded himself, and resolved that his voice would not tremble before he spoke. "We meet again... Have you accepted me yet, as your master and friend?"

A low growl rumbled from one of the creature's throats, and Gremio tried not to shiver as his hands tightened on the axe. Behind him, Viktor shifted uneasily. "I don't like the way that thing's looking at me... Be ready."

"Of course," Gremio murmured over his shoulder, and turned his attention back to the Beast Rune. "I've heard your call, and have allowed you to test me. Have I passed? Or must you test me again to prove that I am worthy?"

"I don't think this thing knows what you're even saying," Viktor muttered. "Sure doesn't answer..."

"It's lived with humans for centuries," Gremio pointed out in a low voice, keeping a close eye on the creature, which barely moved aside from silver tufts of fur blowing in the wind. "I imagine even if it wasn't more than an ordinary beast, it would have picked up nuances of speech by now, even if we can't understand its responses."

"Responses? It's not doing anything."

"Precisely - it hasn't attacked. Doesn't that tell you something?"

That reasoning seemed to pacify Viktor, and Gremio took his right hand from his axe, lifting it towards the Beast Rune. "If you think it necessary, I will submit to another of your tests. But you know that my intentions are honest and my ambitions humble - I have no desire to harm you. Come forth, for good or ill, and we will decide this."

The rune-creature still did not move, and Gremio furrowed his eyebrows. Was it waiting for him to make the first move?

That theory was put to rest when in a sudden blur of motion, the creature crouched and sprang forward. Gremio ducked, raising his axe to shield himself, and the creature passed over his head, so closely that he could feel the rush of air against his face. He whirled to face it, and his eyes widened.

"Damn it! Get off me!" Viktor had been knocked to the ground, and was pinned beneath one gigantic silver paw, struggling to reach his sword, which lay just beyond his reach. "Come on, Star Dragon Sword - give me a hand here!"

He made a desperate grab for the sword, but the sword rose into the air, evading his grasp. "You must be joking."

Stunned and disbelieving at the unexpected turn of events, Gremio rushed forward himself, raising his axe, and found himself blocked by the Star Dragon Sword. "You humans are so hasty," it muttered.

"You bastard!" Viktor exclaimed, torn between glaring at the Beast Rune, which had lowered one head to peer at him ominously, or the Star Dragon Sword, which effortlessly blocked Gremio's attempts to get past to assist Viktor. "You're going to get this thing to kill me for you!"

"Kill you?" the sword repeated, incredulous. "It's not trying to kill you - even a dense mortal like you should be able to see that. Just look at its tail."

"I can't see the tail - in case you hadn't noticed, I'm kind of in a strange position at the moment!" Viktor shot back.

Gremio, however, was in a better position to see, and his jaw dropped. "...You can't be serious..."

Even as Viktor shouted and struggled to free himself, rolling back and forth as much as he could to avoid the huge jaws that growled and snapped beside his head, the Beast Rune's tail was wagging. Gremio might even have said it was wagging... fondly.

"Viktor..." Gremio began, hardly believing it himself, "...I believe it's... only playing with you."

"Yeah, like a cat plays with a mouse!" Viktor took a swing at the creature's nose with his fist, and found his arm captured between the beast's teeth. "Help me out here, damn it!"

"It's not hurting you, is it?" the Star Dragon Sword pointed out as Gremio lowered his axe. "It just plays rough. Just like you do. It thinks it's found a kindred spirit."

"Kindred spirit, my ass!" Viktor tried to squirm away from the creature's other head, which nudged him with its nose. "Just get it the hell off me!"

Gremio just stared in silent disbelief at the sight - which he thought might be the most absurd thing he'd seen in his entire life. And he had been to General Oppenheimer's garden parties once or twice, he thought vaguely, so that was saying something. Now that he'd noticed the wagging tail, he could almost see where the Beast Rune's frightening snarl actually resembled something more akin to a dog's grin.

Amidst Viktor's loud string of curses and the rumbling growls, suddenly a flash snapped Gremio back to attention, as the Beast Rune began to glow with a pale light, and lowered its heads.

"Damn it! Gremio!" Viktor's voice, up until this point touched with anger or frustration, took on an edge of panic. "What the hell is going on?"

The Star Dragon Sword answered for him, fortunately, because Gremio had no idea. "It's chosen a bearer," the sword muttered - and strange as it seemed, the sword almost sounded uneasy. "It's trying to claim you now."

Viktor's cursing grew even more wild, and the Beast Rune atop him flickered brighter. "What the hell? I don't want this thing to claim me! How do I stop it?"

"'This thing'..." The sword sounded strangely bitter. "So it's not just me."

Viktor's cursing trailed off into incoherent shouts of rage, and Gremio tried desperately to think of something to stop what was happening. He was the one who wanted to claim the Beast Rune - what could he possibly do to turn its attention away from Viktor? Helplessly, he raised his hand again, stepping forward. "You! Stop that at once! It's me you want!"

Viktor's resistance seemed to be working somewhat, for Gremio knew that the attachment of a rune, even a True Rune, took only a few moments when the bearer was willing. But the rune was ignoring his interference, still glowing brightly as it peered down at Viktor, trapped under its paw. "Stop it!" Gremio ordered again. "Come to me instead!"

The rune showed no signs of obeying, and Viktor's shouting grew wilder as the Beast Rune vanished for a split second in a pillar of light, then reappeared, beginning to growl. It had nearly attached itself that time, Gremio realized anxiously, and he could do nothing to prevent it.

All of a sudden, another light flashed brightly, momentarily blinding Gremio, and he threw up his arm to shield his eyes. There was a high-pitched sound like a great yelp, and when he lowered his arm, he found that the Beast Rune had backed away, regaining its former solid form and leaving Viktor panting on the ground a few paces before it.

Between the two of them hovered the Star Dragon Sword, glowing with an unearthly light.

"You cannot take him," the sword told the Beast Rune, in a contemptuous snarl. "That man is my slave."

"Slave!" Viktor exclaimed, his face flushed bright red, but Gremio rushed to his side, motioning for him to be quiet. "Why that rusty-"

"Don't insult it now," Gremio told him firmly, checking him over briefly for any injury. There were a few rips in his sleeve where the rune had taken his arm between its teeth, and traces of blood visible, but nothing that looked serious. "That sword of yours may just have saved you from being bonded to the rune." Viktor scowled up at the sword, but said nothing more as Gremio helped him to his knees in the trampled snow, and they watched the spectacle happening before their eyes.

The Star Dragon Sword's aura glowed a fierce blue, and the Beast Rune now growled in a manner that could never have been taken as playful. "I won't let you have him," the sword replied hotly. "He's mine already, so find your own servant."

The creature growled again, baring fangs and tossing its heads, and the Star Dragon Sword sniffed. "You probably would get on well, yes - but I'll be damned before I let an uncivilized rune like you have him!"

The Beast Rune lunged forward, snapping at the sword with its teeth, but the sword evaded the attack and countered with a ring of blue fire that exploded in the creature's face, nearly blinding Gremio again. "Never!"

Lifting one of its heads, the Beast Rune gave a long, eerie howl, and sheets of fire began to rain down from the sky, causing Viktor to stagger to his feet, clutching his cloak over most of his face as he dragged Gremio with him. "This is getting bad - let's get the hell out of here!"

"No!" Gremio tried to shake off Viktor's grip, turning back to the sword and the beast, engaged now in battle, and partially hidden by bursts of light and darkness as the magic of the two beings clashed. "I came to claim the Beast Rune, and I-"

"This is way out of hand," Viktor yelled over the sound of explosions and rushing flame, grabbing his arm tighter and yanking. "We'll do this some other way!"

"What if one of them destroys the other?" Gremio insisted, pulling away. "If a True Rune is destroyed, it could be disastrous - we have to stop them!"

Viktor reached for him again, but pulled back as a bolt of blue fire streaked between them, having missed its target. "How do you expect to stop them? We can't even get close!"

Gremio hesitated, biting his lip as he turned back to regard the battle, which was far beyond anything he'd ever seen before in terms of sheer power. The light of their magic flashed across the plains, reflecting off the snow as far as the eye could see, and the roar of magical energy mixed deafeningly with the Beast Rune's howling.

"...I don't know," he finally admitted. "I... I never meant for something like this to happen..."

Viktor nodded, his face grim, and took hold of Gremio's arm again. "Let's just get out of here."

Gremio nodded back, and started to follow Viktor back towards the cover of the trees, but a high-pitched noise abruptly broke through the noise of battle, rising to an ear-piercing pitch, causing Gremio to clutch his hands over his ears. Viktor fell to his knees beside him as their surroundings suddenly wavered as if seen from underwater, and a great darkness filled the sky.

The plains seemed to be changing around them, stretching slowly to bizarre proportions and then snapping back to normality, and Gremio lost his balance as well, feeling as if the ground had suddenly been turned on its side. Closing his eyes weakly, he heard the thud of Viktor's collapse as the piercing noise stopped, and all went dark.

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There was a light snow falling when he opened his eyes - and it had been falling for some time, judging from the amount that had gathered on his cloak. Shivering, he sat up, and put a hand to his head as the action caused the plains to spin around him. All was quiet, aside from the sound of the wind, and the sound of breathing nearby.

Carefully opening his eyes again, Gremio crawled the short distance to Viktor's side, and turned his friend onto his back. He was unconscious, yes, but there was no sign of obvious injury, and he groaned faintly as he was rolled over.

So the world had not been destroyed, and they were still alive.

Gremio wrapped Viktor's cloak closer around him, wondering what to do next; they needed to warm up, but he couldn't very well get Viktor all the way to the forest by himself, particularly not when his head still reeled with every motion he made. Another look around provided him with a possible answer, and a dozen questions.

Steam was rising from the ground, perhaps a hundred paces away - in the center of a large circular area where all the snow had been melted away and the ground blackened, just where the battle between the Star Dragon Sword and the Beast Rune had taken place.

The snow had been melted no more than perhaps ten paces from where Gremio knelt, but he did not trust himself to stand, and instead crawled the short distance. The melted snow was beginning to refreeze into ice at the edge, but further in, the ground was still warm, and any snow that had melted had apparently evaporated.

Not having a better option, Gremio returned to Viktor's side, and turned him to lie on his cloak. Even with such an easy method of dragging him, Viktor was larger and heavier than Gremio, and by the time he'd managed to get the two of them far enough into the strange circle to take advantage of the ground's heat, Gremio felt his consciousness beginning to leave him again. Gulping breaths of cool, damp air as he tried to stay upright, at least to the point of hands and knees, Gremio suddenly froze, his breath leaving him entirely, as he spotted movement a short distance away towards the center of the circle, where there had been nothing moments before.

A two-headed silver wolf-beast, only the size of an ordinary wolf once more, lifted one head to look at him, then rested it back on its paws where it lay.

There was nothing intimidating about the creature now; it was not snarling or showing teeth, but lying in the middle of the scorched ground, its ears down, looking weary. Though not a mark could be seen on its body, not a single tuft of fur torn or burned away, its posture was that of a dog that had been beaten, and did not want to invite further abuse.

"You brought it upon yourself, you know," Gremio muttered, but very quietly under his breath. There was no way he could withstand any sort of attack, with his head still spinning as it was.

The beast did not seem offended, though it lifted an ear at the sound of his voice. Gremio hesitated, wondering why it had returned. "...You didn't win this fight, did you?"

A faint whine was his response, and Gremio wondered if he was being very brave or very foolish. "I offered to be your friend," he murmured, blinking back the dizziness that threatened to send him sprawling to the ground again. "I suppose I am not as rough a playmate as Viktor, but at least I am willing... I would be kind to you, and fair... I would not leave you as long as you stayed true to me, and I would not use you to further my own ambitions, for I have none." Bracing himself with one hand so that he did not topple over, he raised the other, beckoning softly. "I will not let you dominate me, but I will not allow anyone else to dominate you, either. Will you accept these terms?"

The creature's ears had swivelled towards him as he spoke, and after a moment's hesitation, it rose slowly to its feet. Padding almost silently through the steam that rose from the ground, it stopped less than an arm's length from Gremio, and peered at him thoughtfully with four blue eyes.

It was actually rather a beautiful creature when it was not posing a threat, Gremio realized, and he cautiously reached his hand a little further towards the beast, ready to pull it back at the first sign of hostility. None was forthcoming, however, and after a moment's hesitation, he removed his glove to place his hand upon the left head of the Beast Rune, slowly stroking the fur.

It felt like no other animal fur Gremio had felt before - thick and coarse, but somehow still sleek - and the beast took a step closer as it bowed its head beneath his hand, allowing him to stroke down the neck, scratch behind the ears as he might any household pet. It responded as a tame animal would have as well, stepping closer to take advantage of the attention, and nudging him with its nose.

The situation was so absurd that Gremio could have laughed, had he had enough strength or breath left in him to laugh. He should have been terrified, but there was no sense of violence about the creature now, and as his vision swirled and grew dim again, he slumped forward, placing his arms around the creature's neck.

The battle to stay conscious was a futile one, but before his senses left him, he felt the Beast Rune sink to the ground, lowering him softly, and curling up at his side. Gremio smiled, and passed out.