[A/N] Hey! I finally have computer privileges back! ^-^! So, I'm giving
you guys another chapter just for that! ^-^! Hey! I have tried to
italicize all of the lyrics, but on ff.net it doesn't show up that way and
I don't know why, sry!! And thx to all those who reviewed! It means a
lot! **Btw, Mikhail's name (in this story) isn't pronounced the same as it
is in Russia, (as someone pointed out) it is pronounced differently. (Meek-
hail) Is how it is pronounced!! Savvy?
Chapter Nineteen – Anguish
They took their time traveling back to Silverymoon, not wanting to pressure their companion's many injuries. They had managed to find a pair of leggings that Drizzt could wear, since they had not been able to savage his, having found them cut into thin strips next to his boots in the room he had been kept in. His shirt and tunic hid most of the bandages covering nearly his entire chest and abdomen.
After that first night, the companions realized, by looking at how thin Drizzt had become since they had last seen him, just what the drow had been doing to him. His thick hair was tangled and matted, his ebony skin covered with layers of dirt, dust, dried blood, and bruises. His normally brilliant lavender eyes had seemed to loose their sparkle, and he shrunk back, mostly remaining quiet while they traveled. His silence, though normally it was how he usually remained, disturbed them. Drizzt refused to talk about what had happened during that long month, was it a month?, with any of them, but Catti-brie could see, whenever she looked into his eyes, something that scared her.
It was as if he was afraid to tell them something, afraid about what had happened in those caves.
After the second day of slow, steady travel, the group stopped for the night. After they had set up camp, Drizzt had gone into the woods, mumbling something about not being hungry. As soon as Regis had finished making that night's stew, Catti-brie filled two bowls and followed in the direction that Drizzt had gone, knowing that he had only wanted to be alone, but after another day of silence, she was worried about the drow.
It took her a little while, but she found him in a small clearing about three hundred feet from camp. His lavender eyes were gazing up at the millions of stars in the sky, tears shining silver in the moonlight as they fell down his thinned, black-skinned cheeks. Catti-brie approached him quietly, thinking that the normally alert ranger would pick up the quiet steps.
Drizzt was visibly startled when she laid a hand gently on his shoulder, letting out a soft hiss of pain. He turned surprised lavender eyes on the woman. She looked at him for a few seconds, worry clearly evident in her clear blue eyes. Offering her a smile that looked more like a grimace, he looked back at the brilliant stars. His voice was soft.
"Cat, can I please be alone?"
"No." Her voice was determined. He had hardly eaten anything since they had found him, and he was going to eat something, whither he wanted to or not. Her tones made him turn his gaze back to her, where she was standing with two bowls of steaming stew, one held out to him. "Ye haven't eaten hardly anything since we found ye, and ye probably hadn't eaten anythin' since the last time we saw ye. And ye have to eat something, Drizzt or I'll be suren to force it down yer throat meself, that I'll promise ye."
He smiled genuinely for the first time in days, carefully taking the bowl from the fiery young woman. With a smile on her face, Catti-brie laid a blanket on the ground and motioned for him to sit down next to her. Drizzt sat down next her and smiled as she rested her head on his shoulder lightly, careful of the still raw welts decorating his back and shoulders. It was nice to be alone with him.
They ate in silence, both of them looking up at the sky. Quickly finishing his portion, Drizzt nibbled lightly on the warm bread that Catti-brie had also brought with her. A small smile crossed his lips, his voice so soft that she had to lean closer to the ranger to hear.
"I never thought I'd see any of you guys ever again." He looked into her sapphire eyes as he said this, fighting back tears. "Never thought I'd see the stars, or anything other than the cold cells of that mountain." She felt him shiver. "I thought he'd just kill me down there, Cat."
She looked up at him, surprised. He had never before confessed to any of them, at least that she knew of, something like that. Gently, Catti-brie cupped his cheek in her hand, looking into emotion-filled eyes that she had known for so long. She could tell that he was fighting back tears.
"But they didn't, did they?" She said softly, resting her forehead against his. "Ye're still here, and they're all gone, ye don't have to be worryin' 'bout them no more. They're gone."
He sighed, looking at her face in the dark. How many timed during that long month had he yearned to be able to see her again? To see all of them again? And now, he finally had that chance, and he was hesitating. Catti- brie could see that thoughts were whirling through his mind, and he was thinking hard about something.
"I know Cat." He sighed, getting his slender fingers tangled in his matted white hair. "I know, its just," he sighed again, "I don't know." He seemed to close n on himself, hugging his knees tightly to his chest, tears sparkling in the corners of his eyes. "Some of the things they did to me, I will never be able to forget, will always be able to see and feel in my dreams.
"Once you are tortured by a drow, you never forget it Cat, ever."
The last part was so soft, Catti-brie wasn't even sure she had heard it. Those people had done something else to him besides the whips and beatings. Now that she thought about it, there must've been a reason that his leggings, when they had found them, had been cut into thin strips.
She knelt in front of him, cupping his gaunt face in her hands, looking deeply into his lavender eyes. Never before had she seen him behave like this, and it scared her.
"There's somethin' that ye're not tellin' us, Drizzt." Her voice was soft and there was a worried tone to it. "And it's scarin' all of us that ye've been keepin' so quiet. We'll all help ye, all ye have to do is ask."
He sighed, looking away. He didn't know how to explain it, not right at this moment. "Cat," he said softly, closing his eyes with another sigh. "I just, what happened down there, I just don't want to talk about right now, that's all." He rested his chin on his knees, looking up into her eyes. "It's all really hard to explain, I'm sorry if it's caused you guys so much worry, but I just don't want to talk about it with anyone at this time, is that alright Cat?"
Catti-brie hugged him in the darkness, careful of that lashes and bruises decorating his body. "O' course it's all right," she said quietly. "Ye just have to be tellin' us first."
He smiled slightly, hugging her tightly back, burying his face in her neck to hide the tears. "Thank you Cat. I guess I didn't realize how much I needed to tell someone that. Thank you."
Smiling, she pulled back slightly, looking again into his brilliant lavender eyes, their color showing more of their usual sparkle. "I love ye, Drizzt Do'Urden, and I'll always be here for ye."
Before Drizzt could say anything, her lips met hers in a soft kiss. His eyes widened slightly in surprise, then closed as he leaned into the kiss. The kiss deepened until they finally pulled apart, both of them gasping softly for breath. Catti-brie smiled slightly, not saying a word and she rested her head on his shoulder.
He smiled slightly, resting his head atop of hers. "I love you to, Cat, I love you to."
[A/N] AAAAAAHHHHHHHH! Another sappy chapter!! **Sob.** Where are they all coming from?? **Starts beating romantic plot bunnies over the head with books, screaming like a maniac.** **Discreetly coughs into hand.** Okay, I'm now sane, sorry. Please, review! It means a lot! **Turns and starts beating romantic plot bunnies again.**
Chapter Nineteen – Anguish
They took their time traveling back to Silverymoon, not wanting to pressure their companion's many injuries. They had managed to find a pair of leggings that Drizzt could wear, since they had not been able to savage his, having found them cut into thin strips next to his boots in the room he had been kept in. His shirt and tunic hid most of the bandages covering nearly his entire chest and abdomen.
After that first night, the companions realized, by looking at how thin Drizzt had become since they had last seen him, just what the drow had been doing to him. His thick hair was tangled and matted, his ebony skin covered with layers of dirt, dust, dried blood, and bruises. His normally brilliant lavender eyes had seemed to loose their sparkle, and he shrunk back, mostly remaining quiet while they traveled. His silence, though normally it was how he usually remained, disturbed them. Drizzt refused to talk about what had happened during that long month, was it a month?, with any of them, but Catti-brie could see, whenever she looked into his eyes, something that scared her.
It was as if he was afraid to tell them something, afraid about what had happened in those caves.
After the second day of slow, steady travel, the group stopped for the night. After they had set up camp, Drizzt had gone into the woods, mumbling something about not being hungry. As soon as Regis had finished making that night's stew, Catti-brie filled two bowls and followed in the direction that Drizzt had gone, knowing that he had only wanted to be alone, but after another day of silence, she was worried about the drow.
It took her a little while, but she found him in a small clearing about three hundred feet from camp. His lavender eyes were gazing up at the millions of stars in the sky, tears shining silver in the moonlight as they fell down his thinned, black-skinned cheeks. Catti-brie approached him quietly, thinking that the normally alert ranger would pick up the quiet steps.
Drizzt was visibly startled when she laid a hand gently on his shoulder, letting out a soft hiss of pain. He turned surprised lavender eyes on the woman. She looked at him for a few seconds, worry clearly evident in her clear blue eyes. Offering her a smile that looked more like a grimace, he looked back at the brilliant stars. His voice was soft.
"Cat, can I please be alone?"
"No." Her voice was determined. He had hardly eaten anything since they had found him, and he was going to eat something, whither he wanted to or not. Her tones made him turn his gaze back to her, where she was standing with two bowls of steaming stew, one held out to him. "Ye haven't eaten hardly anything since we found ye, and ye probably hadn't eaten anythin' since the last time we saw ye. And ye have to eat something, Drizzt or I'll be suren to force it down yer throat meself, that I'll promise ye."
He smiled genuinely for the first time in days, carefully taking the bowl from the fiery young woman. With a smile on her face, Catti-brie laid a blanket on the ground and motioned for him to sit down next to her. Drizzt sat down next her and smiled as she rested her head on his shoulder lightly, careful of the still raw welts decorating his back and shoulders. It was nice to be alone with him.
They ate in silence, both of them looking up at the sky. Quickly finishing his portion, Drizzt nibbled lightly on the warm bread that Catti-brie had also brought with her. A small smile crossed his lips, his voice so soft that she had to lean closer to the ranger to hear.
"I never thought I'd see any of you guys ever again." He looked into her sapphire eyes as he said this, fighting back tears. "Never thought I'd see the stars, or anything other than the cold cells of that mountain." She felt him shiver. "I thought he'd just kill me down there, Cat."
She looked up at him, surprised. He had never before confessed to any of them, at least that she knew of, something like that. Gently, Catti-brie cupped his cheek in her hand, looking into emotion-filled eyes that she had known for so long. She could tell that he was fighting back tears.
"But they didn't, did they?" She said softly, resting her forehead against his. "Ye're still here, and they're all gone, ye don't have to be worryin' 'bout them no more. They're gone."
He sighed, looking at her face in the dark. How many timed during that long month had he yearned to be able to see her again? To see all of them again? And now, he finally had that chance, and he was hesitating. Catti- brie could see that thoughts were whirling through his mind, and he was thinking hard about something.
"I know Cat." He sighed, getting his slender fingers tangled in his matted white hair. "I know, its just," he sighed again, "I don't know." He seemed to close n on himself, hugging his knees tightly to his chest, tears sparkling in the corners of his eyes. "Some of the things they did to me, I will never be able to forget, will always be able to see and feel in my dreams.
"Once you are tortured by a drow, you never forget it Cat, ever."
The last part was so soft, Catti-brie wasn't even sure she had heard it. Those people had done something else to him besides the whips and beatings. Now that she thought about it, there must've been a reason that his leggings, when they had found them, had been cut into thin strips.
She knelt in front of him, cupping his gaunt face in her hands, looking deeply into his lavender eyes. Never before had she seen him behave like this, and it scared her.
"There's somethin' that ye're not tellin' us, Drizzt." Her voice was soft and there was a worried tone to it. "And it's scarin' all of us that ye've been keepin' so quiet. We'll all help ye, all ye have to do is ask."
He sighed, looking away. He didn't know how to explain it, not right at this moment. "Cat," he said softly, closing his eyes with another sigh. "I just, what happened down there, I just don't want to talk about right now, that's all." He rested his chin on his knees, looking up into her eyes. "It's all really hard to explain, I'm sorry if it's caused you guys so much worry, but I just don't want to talk about it with anyone at this time, is that alright Cat?"
Catti-brie hugged him in the darkness, careful of that lashes and bruises decorating his body. "O' course it's all right," she said quietly. "Ye just have to be tellin' us first."
He smiled slightly, hugging her tightly back, burying his face in her neck to hide the tears. "Thank you Cat. I guess I didn't realize how much I needed to tell someone that. Thank you."
Smiling, she pulled back slightly, looking again into his brilliant lavender eyes, their color showing more of their usual sparkle. "I love ye, Drizzt Do'Urden, and I'll always be here for ye."
Before Drizzt could say anything, her lips met hers in a soft kiss. His eyes widened slightly in surprise, then closed as he leaned into the kiss. The kiss deepened until they finally pulled apart, both of them gasping softly for breath. Catti-brie smiled slightly, not saying a word and she rested her head on his shoulder.
He smiled slightly, resting his head atop of hers. "I love you to, Cat, I love you to."
[A/N] AAAAAAHHHHHHHH! Another sappy chapter!! **Sob.** Where are they all coming from?? **Starts beating romantic plot bunnies over the head with books, screaming like a maniac.** **Discreetly coughs into hand.** Okay, I'm now sane, sorry. Please, review! It means a lot! **Turns and starts beating romantic plot bunnies again.**