A/N- Ok so... I'll keep this breif.... I don't own Misty Lackey does and more power to her!
Chapter 6- What Happened-
Firesong waited that night for 'Flame to return to the ekele. Midnight came and passed with no sign of her. Ayren came and settled into a tree near Aya and ruffled his feathers looking like he was settling in for the night. SIlverfox had gone into the ekele to rest a short time before and Firesong was starting to get annoyed. Aya was showering off false sparks and sitting patiently waiting with his bondmate. He cast accusing eyes at the eagle who stared back unblinkingly. "Where is she?" He asked the bird, doubting he'd get a response.
:She's avoiding you,: Ayren sent back calmly. :You've hurt her by your careless remarks and she's avoiding you.: Ayren began to preen his feathers, not saying anymore.
'Avoiding me?' Firesong thought to himself. He sighed in exasperation at himself. He had made several careless remarks to her but he hadn't meant to hurt her. In fact the reason he was waiting up was to apologize to her! :Ayren, do you know what happened?: He honestly didn't expect a response and the one he got was not the one he wanted.
:No,: Ayren replied. Firesong could feel Ayren's distress at that. :She sent me to tell k'Vala vale that she would be arriving in a day or two and would need a place to rest and some supplies. Since Starfall had left, she would be safe. I was returning to her when it happened.: The deep fear that he had felt at that time radiated into Firesong. He wouldn't ask the bird anymore. However, Darkfire was just outside in Companion's Field perhaps the horse could tell him more.
So thinking and with Aya riding his shoulder, he stepped out of the vale and walked toward the field. Darkfire stood under a tree close to the entrance, grazing. :Darkfire, could I talk to you?: He sent to the stallion.
Darkfire raised his head and stared at the Adept with knowing eyes. He seemed to take measure of Firesong before he answered. :What can I do for you?: He went back to cropping the grass but you could tell his attention was on Firesong.
:Can you tell me what happened?: Firesong's distress colored the words. He was really beginning to worry about his sister. Not just that, she hadn't come back to the ekele but that he had, unintentionally, hurt her severely. Her entire life had been a struggle. He felt he'd burdened her with his misunderstanding of her.
Now amusement colored the words coming from Darkfire. :You wish for me to tell you what your sister will not?: Firesong knew he heard a slight snicker in there. :Ask your sister, Adept. She is the only one who can help you.: With a distinct snort at Firesong's arrogance he turned back to his grazing.
The last words were given as a barb and struck. Firesong had heard the sneer in the mindvoice. :You WILL tell me something!: He Sent, his temper flaring. Aya left his shoulder for the tree above.
Darkfire raised his head and looked at Firesong. :Tell me why I should do that?: He asked, perfectly calm. A small breeze ruffled his mane and rattled the beads dangling from Firesong's mask.
Firesong began gathering some of the local magical energies around him. Not enough to be noticed, but enough to begin. :Tell me, you shadowed demon! I can do nothing to help if I know nothing!:
Darkfire snorted again. :When you knew something, you did nothing. You allowed her to be tossed from the vales. You allowed for her to be exiled with no home and no one to turn to. All the family she has left now is me and Ayren.: He turned his back on the mage showing his contempt and began grazing again.
"How dare you!" Firesong said through clenched teeth. He gathered more energy around him prepared to force the information from the horse if necessary. "You will tell me!" He blasted the ground in front of Darkfire with a small ball of energy.
Darkfire reared back with a snort and turned a very angry eye on the seething Adept. :I will tell you nothing MAGE!: This last was tinged blood red as he reared up on his hind legs prepared to strike Firesong down, uncaring of the magical energies that he wielded. Suddenly Rolan was between them, pushing Darkfire back. Aya came down to rest on Firesong's shoulder again, showering off more false sparks and nuzzling his face to get his attention. He let the energies go, calming himself. Silverfox came out and stood next to him. He looked worried.
The sound of running feet caused all of them, man and beast alike, to turn and look toward the salle. 'Flame came racing across the grounds, easily vaulting the fence. She raced to Darkfire's side and began stroking his head. Firesong noticed that the stallion was sweating and quivering where he stood. He nuzzled his face into 'Flame's chest, his shaking beginning to subside. Firesong could not hear what she said to the stallion. He did feel her anger though.
He didn't have to be an Empath to feel the anger radiating from her. Silverfox stood next to him, waiting patiently as only a kestra'chern could. Firesong could see, beyond the edges of his mask, Alberich standing watching the scene with that rock hard face of his that had earned him the name "Stone-Face". Rolan began backing away as he saw, 'Flame get Darkfire under control and Firesong's anger begin to cool.
Before she faced Firesong, 'Flame sent Darkfire with Rolan to another part of the Field. She stepped over to Alberich and whispered something to him. He didn't seem to like it but he nodded and left. Then with a great sigh, 'Flame turned toward her brother. She merely nodded toward the vale and began walking. Firesong followed her mutely, his anger still simmering. Silverfox followed as well.
Once they were both inside, before Firesong could say anything, a mage barrier erected itself behind him and around the ekele. He hadn't even felt her drawing the energies to her. "Now, brother dear, why don't you blast me with that ball of energy you tried to hit Darkfire with?" Firesong had never seen her so angry. She seethed with it. Anger radiated around her like an aura. She cocked an eyebrow at him when he did nothing. "So, you're mage enough to terrify a horse but not stand toe to toe with another?"
Silverfox stepped to the side. "'Flame this will do nothing...." He began, all of his training racing through his mind to try to diffuse the situation.
She didn't look at him. "No, it won't. All it will do is destroy one of us and release my secret that my brother seems so intent on getting." She released a breath slowly, calming herself. She ripped off the over shirt she wore, revealing her sleeveless one beneath. With another breath she summoned a mage light. "Do you want to know what happened, Firesong?" She asked menacingly. She raised her tight shirt so that it was rolled just beneath her breasts. "This is what happened." She had revealed thin white lines that criss crossed her belly. When she turned around to show them her back, they could see the exact same lines there as well.
Suddenly he didn't want to know. Firesong opened his mouth to say so but she turned back at that moment and Silverfox put his hand on Firesong's arm. The mage looked at his love who shook his head slightly. When he looked back at his sister he could see that he no longer knew her. Shining out of her eyes were so many things he couldn't identify them. The most prominent though scared him. There was fear and sadness there, but there was also madness. A madness borne of loneliness. It had laid there barely concealed now it came to the fore, blinding her to all else.
"You want to know what happened? I'll tell you." She fixed her shirt but didn't put the other back on. She faced him squarely holding herself together when anyone else would have fallen apart.
"I was two days out of k'Vala vale. I was going to go in and resupply and sleep a night in a real bed." She shook her hair loose from its braid, showing her to be much younger than many people thought. "That night Ayren was gone. I had sent him ahead. I thought my skills were enough to keep me safe. I was wrong. Almost dead wrong. There were people in those woods, searching for the Hawkbrothers of legend, wanting to use one to focus a spell. They found me.
"When I woke they had me tied in a small building. They had stripped me of all my weapons, bound my hands and feet, and somehow blocked me so I could not use magic." Her voice had barely raised above a whisper but he could hear the pain, rage and helplessness she had felt. "I don't know how long I was there. They didn't feed me, barely gave me water. Finally they came for me when I was so weak that I couldn't fight.
"There were 12 of them. All of them shone like Adepts to me but whether they were or not I don't know. They strapped me down to a raised piece of earth tieing me with leather thongs. By then I was so weak I couldn't fight. They had all their horses around them and had used Darkfire as a pack horse and for me." She shuddered a bit in memory. The barrier she had erected didn't waver however. "When the sun set, they were ready. They stood around me in a circle and began chanting. Again I have no idea what they were saying or even if I knew the language. All at once, my blocking was gone. I tried pulling energy to me to help me escape but I was too weak. They raised their energies and began funneling it through me. Then," She paused taking a deep breath of control. "Then a Storm broke. How they didn't know it was there or maybe they were going to use that energy too. The spell they were working backlashed, killing all of them and their horses. It scarred me and changed Darkfire. I lay there dying until scouts found me from k'Vala. When I was back to myself, finally, I was in k'Vala. I had red hair and I had a stallion that could Mindspeak but wasn't a Companion. That's what happened. K'Vala couldn't figure out what to do with me so they sent me here, after speaking to several other vales. Now I'm the Tayledras ambassador to Haven. You want to know what else happened brother dear?" Firesong almost flinched at her tone but held himself steady. "I was told never to ask of another vale. Not even if I were dying would I be welcome." She shut her mouth abruptly and the barrier dropped. In strode Kero and Alberich along with someone in Healer green. Firesong didn't know what was happening until Alberich broke into a jog, shoving him out of the way and barely catching 'Flame before she collapsed.
Alberich and the Healer quickly left the vale. Firesong made to follow but was brought up short by Kero's sword. "Haven't you done enough?" Firesong merely looked at her, totally confused about what was goin on. "You pushed her into something she wasn't ready for. You're lucky this happened last time so she knew what was coming. It almost killed her last time." She sheathed her sword with a snap and turned on her heel, leaving Firesong and Silverfox staring after her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!
There now you know what happened. Well most of it anyways... there will be more description as time goes on. 'Flame just wanted Firesong to have the bare facts. But she will be reliving it later. And in much greater detail! We promise!
So reviewer thanking time-
HawkSister- Not evil any more am I? LOL so tell what you think now!!
Darkfyre- Did that tell you a bit more? Does that tell you the bare facts of it?
Fireblade- Scratch Krathnae again for us- the next few chapters are gonna get complicated.
OK Kyrette Now you can dictate more-
:Thank you. Now As she let it be known earlier this is just the bare facts for right now. There will be much greater detail later. But I couldn't have her go into great detail and collapse now could I?: *wearing an evil grin* :Our stone-faced weaponsmaster seems to have a soft spot for her doesn't he? Well. He does have a thing for resourceful younglings. Think of Skif Very resourceful lad. So we will post but for now my poor secretary MUST have her football and I am looking forward to a day of scratches and rest. Enjoy and keep reading!:
*Turning to leave* :Oh and one more thing. There is a very nice looking button down on the left side of your screen. it is used to submit reviews please use it. If not I may have to go on strike. Have a good day all:
Ok so he's a bit uppity today what do you expect he's looking forward to time off! He loves Sundays. Junk food no writing and scratches all day long... so R&R plz!!
Cat
Chapter 6- What Happened-
Firesong waited that night for 'Flame to return to the ekele. Midnight came and passed with no sign of her. Ayren came and settled into a tree near Aya and ruffled his feathers looking like he was settling in for the night. SIlverfox had gone into the ekele to rest a short time before and Firesong was starting to get annoyed. Aya was showering off false sparks and sitting patiently waiting with his bondmate. He cast accusing eyes at the eagle who stared back unblinkingly. "Where is she?" He asked the bird, doubting he'd get a response.
:She's avoiding you,: Ayren sent back calmly. :You've hurt her by your careless remarks and she's avoiding you.: Ayren began to preen his feathers, not saying anymore.
'Avoiding me?' Firesong thought to himself. He sighed in exasperation at himself. He had made several careless remarks to her but he hadn't meant to hurt her. In fact the reason he was waiting up was to apologize to her! :Ayren, do you know what happened?: He honestly didn't expect a response and the one he got was not the one he wanted.
:No,: Ayren replied. Firesong could feel Ayren's distress at that. :She sent me to tell k'Vala vale that she would be arriving in a day or two and would need a place to rest and some supplies. Since Starfall had left, she would be safe. I was returning to her when it happened.: The deep fear that he had felt at that time radiated into Firesong. He wouldn't ask the bird anymore. However, Darkfire was just outside in Companion's Field perhaps the horse could tell him more.
So thinking and with Aya riding his shoulder, he stepped out of the vale and walked toward the field. Darkfire stood under a tree close to the entrance, grazing. :Darkfire, could I talk to you?: He sent to the stallion.
Darkfire raised his head and stared at the Adept with knowing eyes. He seemed to take measure of Firesong before he answered. :What can I do for you?: He went back to cropping the grass but you could tell his attention was on Firesong.
:Can you tell me what happened?: Firesong's distress colored the words. He was really beginning to worry about his sister. Not just that, she hadn't come back to the ekele but that he had, unintentionally, hurt her severely. Her entire life had been a struggle. He felt he'd burdened her with his misunderstanding of her.
Now amusement colored the words coming from Darkfire. :You wish for me to tell you what your sister will not?: Firesong knew he heard a slight snicker in there. :Ask your sister, Adept. She is the only one who can help you.: With a distinct snort at Firesong's arrogance he turned back to his grazing.
The last words were given as a barb and struck. Firesong had heard the sneer in the mindvoice. :You WILL tell me something!: He Sent, his temper flaring. Aya left his shoulder for the tree above.
Darkfire raised his head and looked at Firesong. :Tell me why I should do that?: He asked, perfectly calm. A small breeze ruffled his mane and rattled the beads dangling from Firesong's mask.
Firesong began gathering some of the local magical energies around him. Not enough to be noticed, but enough to begin. :Tell me, you shadowed demon! I can do nothing to help if I know nothing!:
Darkfire snorted again. :When you knew something, you did nothing. You allowed her to be tossed from the vales. You allowed for her to be exiled with no home and no one to turn to. All the family she has left now is me and Ayren.: He turned his back on the mage showing his contempt and began grazing again.
"How dare you!" Firesong said through clenched teeth. He gathered more energy around him prepared to force the information from the horse if necessary. "You will tell me!" He blasted the ground in front of Darkfire with a small ball of energy.
Darkfire reared back with a snort and turned a very angry eye on the seething Adept. :I will tell you nothing MAGE!: This last was tinged blood red as he reared up on his hind legs prepared to strike Firesong down, uncaring of the magical energies that he wielded. Suddenly Rolan was between them, pushing Darkfire back. Aya came down to rest on Firesong's shoulder again, showering off more false sparks and nuzzling his face to get his attention. He let the energies go, calming himself. Silverfox came out and stood next to him. He looked worried.
The sound of running feet caused all of them, man and beast alike, to turn and look toward the salle. 'Flame came racing across the grounds, easily vaulting the fence. She raced to Darkfire's side and began stroking his head. Firesong noticed that the stallion was sweating and quivering where he stood. He nuzzled his face into 'Flame's chest, his shaking beginning to subside. Firesong could not hear what she said to the stallion. He did feel her anger though.
He didn't have to be an Empath to feel the anger radiating from her. Silverfox stood next to him, waiting patiently as only a kestra'chern could. Firesong could see, beyond the edges of his mask, Alberich standing watching the scene with that rock hard face of his that had earned him the name "Stone-Face". Rolan began backing away as he saw, 'Flame get Darkfire under control and Firesong's anger begin to cool.
Before she faced Firesong, 'Flame sent Darkfire with Rolan to another part of the Field. She stepped over to Alberich and whispered something to him. He didn't seem to like it but he nodded and left. Then with a great sigh, 'Flame turned toward her brother. She merely nodded toward the vale and began walking. Firesong followed her mutely, his anger still simmering. Silverfox followed as well.
Once they were both inside, before Firesong could say anything, a mage barrier erected itself behind him and around the ekele. He hadn't even felt her drawing the energies to her. "Now, brother dear, why don't you blast me with that ball of energy you tried to hit Darkfire with?" Firesong had never seen her so angry. She seethed with it. Anger radiated around her like an aura. She cocked an eyebrow at him when he did nothing. "So, you're mage enough to terrify a horse but not stand toe to toe with another?"
Silverfox stepped to the side. "'Flame this will do nothing...." He began, all of his training racing through his mind to try to diffuse the situation.
She didn't look at him. "No, it won't. All it will do is destroy one of us and release my secret that my brother seems so intent on getting." She released a breath slowly, calming herself. She ripped off the over shirt she wore, revealing her sleeveless one beneath. With another breath she summoned a mage light. "Do you want to know what happened, Firesong?" She asked menacingly. She raised her tight shirt so that it was rolled just beneath her breasts. "This is what happened." She had revealed thin white lines that criss crossed her belly. When she turned around to show them her back, they could see the exact same lines there as well.
Suddenly he didn't want to know. Firesong opened his mouth to say so but she turned back at that moment and Silverfox put his hand on Firesong's arm. The mage looked at his love who shook his head slightly. When he looked back at his sister he could see that he no longer knew her. Shining out of her eyes were so many things he couldn't identify them. The most prominent though scared him. There was fear and sadness there, but there was also madness. A madness borne of loneliness. It had laid there barely concealed now it came to the fore, blinding her to all else.
"You want to know what happened? I'll tell you." She fixed her shirt but didn't put the other back on. She faced him squarely holding herself together when anyone else would have fallen apart.
"I was two days out of k'Vala vale. I was going to go in and resupply and sleep a night in a real bed." She shook her hair loose from its braid, showing her to be much younger than many people thought. "That night Ayren was gone. I had sent him ahead. I thought my skills were enough to keep me safe. I was wrong. Almost dead wrong. There were people in those woods, searching for the Hawkbrothers of legend, wanting to use one to focus a spell. They found me.
"When I woke they had me tied in a small building. They had stripped me of all my weapons, bound my hands and feet, and somehow blocked me so I could not use magic." Her voice had barely raised above a whisper but he could hear the pain, rage and helplessness she had felt. "I don't know how long I was there. They didn't feed me, barely gave me water. Finally they came for me when I was so weak that I couldn't fight.
"There were 12 of them. All of them shone like Adepts to me but whether they were or not I don't know. They strapped me down to a raised piece of earth tieing me with leather thongs. By then I was so weak I couldn't fight. They had all their horses around them and had used Darkfire as a pack horse and for me." She shuddered a bit in memory. The barrier she had erected didn't waver however. "When the sun set, they were ready. They stood around me in a circle and began chanting. Again I have no idea what they were saying or even if I knew the language. All at once, my blocking was gone. I tried pulling energy to me to help me escape but I was too weak. They raised their energies and began funneling it through me. Then," She paused taking a deep breath of control. "Then a Storm broke. How they didn't know it was there or maybe they were going to use that energy too. The spell they were working backlashed, killing all of them and their horses. It scarred me and changed Darkfire. I lay there dying until scouts found me from k'Vala. When I was back to myself, finally, I was in k'Vala. I had red hair and I had a stallion that could Mindspeak but wasn't a Companion. That's what happened. K'Vala couldn't figure out what to do with me so they sent me here, after speaking to several other vales. Now I'm the Tayledras ambassador to Haven. You want to know what else happened brother dear?" Firesong almost flinched at her tone but held himself steady. "I was told never to ask of another vale. Not even if I were dying would I be welcome." She shut her mouth abruptly and the barrier dropped. In strode Kero and Alberich along with someone in Healer green. Firesong didn't know what was happening until Alberich broke into a jog, shoving him out of the way and barely catching 'Flame before she collapsed.
Alberich and the Healer quickly left the vale. Firesong made to follow but was brought up short by Kero's sword. "Haven't you done enough?" Firesong merely looked at her, totally confused about what was goin on. "You pushed her into something she wasn't ready for. You're lucky this happened last time so she knew what was coming. It almost killed her last time." She sheathed her sword with a snap and turned on her heel, leaving Firesong and Silverfox staring after her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!
There now you know what happened. Well most of it anyways... there will be more description as time goes on. 'Flame just wanted Firesong to have the bare facts. But she will be reliving it later. And in much greater detail! We promise!
So reviewer thanking time-
HawkSister- Not evil any more am I? LOL so tell what you think now!!
Darkfyre- Did that tell you a bit more? Does that tell you the bare facts of it?
Fireblade- Scratch Krathnae again for us- the next few chapters are gonna get complicated.
OK Kyrette Now you can dictate more-
:Thank you. Now As she let it be known earlier this is just the bare facts for right now. There will be much greater detail later. But I couldn't have her go into great detail and collapse now could I?: *wearing an evil grin* :Our stone-faced weaponsmaster seems to have a soft spot for her doesn't he? Well. He does have a thing for resourceful younglings. Think of Skif Very resourceful lad. So we will post but for now my poor secretary MUST have her football and I am looking forward to a day of scratches and rest. Enjoy and keep reading!:
*Turning to leave* :Oh and one more thing. There is a very nice looking button down on the left side of your screen. it is used to submit reviews please use it. If not I may have to go on strike. Have a good day all:
Ok so he's a bit uppity today what do you expect he's looking forward to time off! He loves Sundays. Junk food no writing and scratches all day long... so R&R plz!!
Cat