Disclaimer: Look, if I made this stuff up, it wouldn't be on FANFICTION, now would it? Take a hint. Not mine, all Mercedes Lackey's doing, except for partial plot bits and characters.
The last Chapter was satisfactory, I hope. I tried to make it nice and long. Six whole pages on my Word program. This is a new record for me. I'm not too sure where this is going right now, but I have a sketchy plan, and I think its shaping up well. I think we can expect to see Laran and Kelsin through circuit riding and into a well deserved teaching post. Well, at least through their internship, if I'm not getting ahead of myself. All constructive criticism is loved, complements are reread until my computer explodes.
PrettyKittyOreo: ^.^ Thankies! I'll try to update as fast as I can, but I have school, so it'll probably be a bit slow on the weekdays.
LoneGunGirl88: Why thank you! Actually, if what I have been told is true, there is another one floating around in the bottom of the R rated section. It hasn't been updated for months though, and there's only one chapter. It's a real shame, really. That one looked really good.
Wizard116: Why thank you! *grins*
Crinzin: Heh *blushes* did I? Just goes to show you how much I DON'T know about horses. Oh well…Companions are special, maybe they do ;)
Note: Not all the reviews that show up in my email inbox seem to be showing up on FanFiction. If anyone knows what's up with that, let me know?
In case you hadn't figured it out, Fara is a reincarnation of Gala. We couldn't be so cruel to Lan as to stick him in a whole new time with nobody to understand how much he misses his Lifebonded, now would we? I was going to stick Van or 'Lendel in there, but Gala seemed to fit better. Anyway, on to the new chapter, which I don't like that much, by the way. I need to get to the Choosing, already! That's when the interesting part starts. Maybe a few "Kalira" PoV's too.
Chapter 3: ClassesLan frequently wondered what he had been thinking, those first few weeks, to agree to another round of classes. As soon as he had been able to gallop across Companions Field without tripping over his own hooves, he had been scheduled for special one on one attention from Rolan in the morning and Eilin in the afternoon.
It was times like these when he wished he had hands. It had started from his very first day of lessons and spiraled swiftly downhill from there.
Fara woke him with a nudge, sticking her nose into his stall and prodding him until he got up. Her nose was long and smooth, reminding him of Kalira, causing a stab of mental agony as he wondered where she was, coincident with a feeling of physical discomfort as Fara continued to prod him. Even a soft nose isn't exactly a comfortable thing to be prodded with. He groaned slightly.
:Too early to be up. What is it, Fara?:
:Ah, you must have forgotten, love. Today's your first day of classes.:
Lan swore to himself. 'Tripe! I DID forget!'
:Do I have to go, Fara? I don't want more classes.:
:It's your Duty as a Companion, remember?: Purple amusement colored Fara's MindVoice as she tinged the word Duty with the ironic accent that made it an icon, rather than a word.
:Duty calls, then?: Lan asked rhetorically, standing up and heading for Companions Field. He could find his own way around by that point, although sometimes he still tried to get himself lost just for the joy of frolicking in the grass trying to get back.
:Go meet Rolan in the Grove, then.: Fara sent, purposely not following him or leading him there. One of the hardest lessons for a young Companion to learn was just how much they had to stand on their own feet, or hooves, as the case may be. Even a Herald, self sufficient as they were, always had their Companions, but a Companion, although Soulbound to their Chosen beyond any other bond known, must always hold themselves slightly apart. The keepers of secrets and knowledge. They would be their Chosen's friends, loves, yes, but there would always be that small separation.
When Lan reached the Grove, Rolan was already there waiting for him, unmoving and majestic as the statue further in the city of Baron Valdemar's Companion. His tail and mane, shining like silver, waved a little in the breeze, but if not for that, he could have been merely a Companion figurine, of better quality than those sold in the Marketplace, but as still and placid.
:Now, Laran, you must be instructed in the fighting techniques that will keep you and your Chosen alive in any sort of danger. What would you do, for example, if I did this?:
Rolan suddenly, and without warning, charged at the younger Companion, knocking him off his hooves. Laran reared, trying to perform a fighting move he had learned from someone. A Herald. Olo, Ono, something like that. Funny how his memories blurred. His techniques and history learning was as good as ever, but all personal details were almost gone, as though they had only been a pleasant dream.
Rolan did not give him time to contemplate this further. :Youngling, that was not acceptable. Now you see why we teach our Companions thusly. The skills you learned as a Herald are simply not suitable for your life as a Companion.:
Lan felt a deep sense of betrayal and confusion. 'My old life, everything I was for sixteen years means nothing to them? Everything I worked for, everyone I loved, all of it is gone.'
Rolan, sensing some of Lan's internal turmoil with the Empathic senses common to the Monarchs Own Herald and Companion.
:Youngling, being a Herald wasn't easy, how can you expect being a Companion to be easier?: He Sent harshly, hoping to shock Lan out of his self-pitying mood.
Seeing that it was having no effect, only pushing the young Companion further away from him, he tried to show the sympathy that he felt in his MindVoice. :Lan, I understand that this is hard for you. It is hard for all of us. This is the worst of it now, though. I promise you, the first ten years are the worst. After you Choose, you will be happier among us. Now, I have a new idea. I wish for you to think upon your Lifebonded. Surely you can remember her. Kalira. Remember the way she moved to shield you from those assassins? Try to imitate that.:
Now that he had been reminded, Lan did indeed remember that occasion. This time, as Rolan charged him, instead of rearing, he held his ground until the last moment, then abruptly swerved aside, adroitly dodging Rolan's charge, but tripping over his hooves and landing on the grass.
:Good, Laran. You catch on quickly, I see. Now, let's try this again. What would you do if I attacked you, say, like this?:
By the time Rolan announced that they had progressed far enough, Lan was trembling with exhaustion. He was taking a cooling walk around the Field when Rolan paced up beside him.
:Now that we have finished with that part of your education for today, we have another part. You may have noticed that you were projecting, most notably that time when I first met you. You must work on your shields. By the time you are Chosen, no one, not even your Soulbound partner should be able to break your shields or get around them unless you specifically intend it so. I believe that this is because your centering and grounding, as much else about you, is still focused on your Herald form. Now, I want you to take down all of your shielding and start again. Find your center, ground. I know you know how to do this, you just need to relearn it.:
Lan was grateful for the chance to rest his body, but the grueling mental exercise was nearly as bad. Grounding and Centering over and over again, until not even Rolan's strongest mental Push could budge his shields, and no probe could penetrate them. By the end of the "lesson," he felt as though his eyes would close then and there, and he would topple over onto his side like a rigid wooden horse toy, rather than a real live Companion.
After a short respite for Lunch, however, it was back to lessoning, this time with Eilin, Companion to the Riding Instructor at the Collegium.
Where Rolan was brawny and dignified, giving an impression of being larger than he was, Eilin was entirely different. She was small, for a Companion, but by no means weak looking. Every movement she made pronounced her lithe grace, the way she frisked as though she was no more than a foal herself betrayed her happy nature. When it came to lessoning, however, Eilin was all business.
:Show me how you walk, Lan, is it? Yes, Lan. Show me how you walk, Lan.:
Lan paced forward across the field, bracing himself firmly on all four hooves and deliberately planting each hoof to reduce the chance of an unfortunate "accident".
:Nope!: Eilin Sent cheerfully. :Nobody is going to believe that you are a nearly divine being with a gait like that. Remember how nobody trusts a slovenly Herald? Well nobody trusts an ungraceful Companion, either. Now, watch how I do it.:
Eilin paced across the field, head and tail held high, each step speaking of deliberate grace and authority.
:Now, try and do it like that.: She Sent.
Lan tried, he really did. He lifted his hooves up high, trying to imitate the stately grace exhibited by other Companions, when an ill timed move sprawled him on the grass for the second time that day.
'Not doing too well with the hooves thing, am I?' Lan thought wryly, encountering a sudden sense of déjà vu as he looked up at his teacher from the grass.
:Up again!: Eilin Sent, in a chipper and upbeat tone that was getting more annoying by the minute.
If Lan had been a Herald still, he would probably have fallen backwards into the grass and refused to move, for a few minutes, at least. As it was, he was sorely tempted to refuse to go anywhere. Then he remembered Kalira.
:The faster I learn this, the faster I can go on Search for her. If I get ready, I'll only have to wait for her, but if I don't learn this, they might not let me go.:
He sighed a sigh of despair and wearily stood up for another attempt.