kk guys, some notes: Nerezza = "darkness" in Italian, and this is the Night
Lion's name. I thought it was super cool, 'cause then his name is
Darkness, the Eater of Worlds. (You're gonna find out all you need to know
about Nerezza in the next chappie, be patient!) Also, a reminder:
Sconosciuto = "unknown" in Italian = Connie! Can you tell I LOVE Italian?
Also, since school is in gear (and I am procrastinating right now) I think
I'm only going to get chapters up once every week, and I'm still looking
for someone to beta! It takes longer when you have to read it over like 20
times yourself.
~~Nine~~
Numair, in his Sashad disguise, walked easily towards the emperor's office quarters. Stopping in front of the dark wood doors, he raised his hand and rapped briefly with his knuckles. Kaddar's voice drifted out from within.
"Come in!"
Numair grasped the handle and pulled the door open, only to find his most esteemed and royal emperor sitting on the floor with a puppy in his lap. The small brown and black dog was wriggling in delight as Kaddar scratched its neck, crooning nonsense words to it.
"Imperial majesty," Numair said, as was appropriate, and he bowed down low, his disguise's powerful body bending easily at the waist. Kaddar looked up and smiled, saying, "Honorable Mombisu! Oh please, you must find those titles old and dusty. If our countries are to settle their trade dispute, then we must become friends." He rose gracefully from the floor, depositing the puppy in a soft circular bed as he did so.
"Wise words, majesty."
"It's Kaddar, please. Now, down to business."
Kaddar moved around his desk and settled himself in a simple high-backed chair. He motioned for Numair to seat himself in a slightly more ornate cushioned chair that was in front of his desk. Numair sat, wondering why he had chosen the trade disagreement as his reason for being at court. It had been easy enough to convince them of his identity a few days ago, but he hadn't thought the emperor would take steps to work out a union between the nations so quickly. Numair didn't feel it was appropriate for him to be settling these two country's problems.
"All right, so, let us begin." Kaddar shuffled some parchments around on his desk in a very business-like manner, before folding his hands together and meeting Numair's eyes.
{Here we go,} thought Numair, as he prayed to all the Gods he knew. {Please let me represent Umbaqui well.}
~~~~
Kaddar folded his hands and looked into Sashad's eyes, ready to commence the negotiations, but then he noticed something odd. Sashad's eyes were the wrong color. He stumbled on his next words.
"I – I was – um – well, all right, the problem is..." But then he trailed off. Sashad raised an eyebrow at him, and Kaddar suddenly noticed that his eyes were, in fact, the right color. {Must've been my imagination,} Kaddar thought, blinking rapidly a few times before continuing.
~~~~
Daine returned to her rooms with her mind full of Connie's remarks. The Night Lion was taking over countries? There was more than one world? The worlds had *balance*? She wished Connie had stayed longer and told her more, but Daine was aware that Gods had work to do too. Still, being involved with yet *another* God was bound to be exhausting.
Had a confusing day? Zek asked from where he was curled on the silk covered pillows that crowned Daine's bed.
Extremely. She blushed at the thought of Kaddar in bed, *naked* for the Gods' sake, and decided to omit that fact. Instead she said, Another God has singled me out. Goddess, rather.
Zek sat up and looked at her. Who?
She said her name was Sconosciuto, Connie for short. Um, she appeared to me as a cat with all cream fur and one green eye, one blue eye.
Not Connie! Ai Daine, you're in for it.
Why? What sort of goddess is Connie? How do you even know about her?
*Everyone* knows about Connie. She's Carthak's equivalent to Kyprioth, the trickster God of the Copper Isles. Daine, if you're involved with her... Zek trailed off ominously.
What's so bad about her? Tell me!
Nothing's *bad* about her, she's just trouble in God form.
Which is bad.
Sometimes.
Horse Lords! Give me a straight answer!
Daine, I – Zek sighed and shook his head, before continuing. I don't think there *is* a straight answer to give. If she decides to help you, that's good, but she must be involved for some reason that is a benefit to her. That's just how Sconosciuto is.
Daine groaned and dropped her head into her hands, her hair curling out through the fingers she massaged into the edges of her scalp.
Zek, what have I gotten myself into?
A whole load of horse dung, that's what.
~~~~
The Night Lion flowed stealthily along at the backs of the stalls of the market. The many scents of Prey squabbling over their useless merchandise caused his nostrils to twitch, and he barely held himself back when a small girl-child stumbled and fell behind a booth for a moment. She didn't notice him.
Turning onto another narrow street, the Lion picked its way daintily through the human trash that lay about, wrinkling its muzzle in revulsion.
{The Prey is disgusting!}
It wound around one more trash barrel standing haphazardly in the tiny lane and came upon a door. Pushing it open with his head, he entered the dark room at the back of a local butcher shop. It smelled distinctly of meat and the Lion's mouth watered even more. He would have to hunt tonight.
"I see you've finally decided to grace me with your presence, worthless cur."
The Lion started, silently upbraiding itself for letting anyone sneak up on it, even the Master. Although the Master was powerful, *no one* should have been able to sneak up on the Night Lion.
"You choose to remain silent? Well, we'll see about that."
A vague figure appeared in the shadows, and stepped forward into the dim crescent of light thrown down from a medium-sized hole in the ceiling. The beam glistened in the prematurely silver hair of Prosper D'Ore, the wizard from Gaulerie. Blinding flashes of white sprayed from his rings as he brought his hands up in front of his face and murmured something. The Lion felt the atmosphere grow heavy, and then a sharp smell of electricity filled the room. The wizard's hands wove skillfully downwards through the air and came to a stop at waist-level with a tiny black lion cub resting on the palms. The cub
{*My* cub!}
was asleep, and as the Lion watched, Prosper raised a finger and stroked the downy fur on the top of its head. Then, unexpectedly and viciously, he grabbed a minute ear and wrenched it backwards with all the force he could muster. The cub's eyes flew open wide, wider than the Lion had thought possible, and it's mouth gaped in a silent red yelp.
Stop! The Lion cried out, restraining itself from leaping forward and taking the Master down. He'd tried that once before, and knew that the Master always had some sort of shield up that prevented the Lion's attacks on his person.
Prosper released the ear and allowed the cub to lie trembling in his hands. He looked up and met the Lion's terrible eyes, made gentle with fear.
"Nerezza, my friend, I knew you'd come around."
Raising one hand, the Master snapped long pale fingers and the cub disappeared. He stepped out of the crescent of light and approached Nerezza, his smile deceptively calm. The Lion could smell sharp spikes of anger coming off of the Master. The gigantic animal cowered in fear before the wizard.
"Now, talk to me about this... *wildmage*." Prosper's brows drew downward as he thought of Daine. The stupid bitch was going to ruin his plans. It'd taken him long enough to capture and subdue Nerezza, the Eater of Worlds, as it was, and he didn't want some spoiled Tortallan brat messing with his careful preparations.
The Cub? Oh, Master, she is losing her powers. I felt that myself! The spell you placed on her is working well. She tried to control me, Master, like you said she would, and it didn't work! At first I felt like I should do as the Cub said, and then nothing happened, and I went on with my work. She thinks she can talk to me and that I am like any normal lion, but –
"Enough!" Prosper hissed, swiftly tiring of the Lion's babble. He swung a hand around and slapped Nerezza across the nose. The Lion was confused and angry, but he cringed backwards, thinking of his cub that could be lying helpless in the Master's hands.
"All I want to know about her is if the spell is working. It is; I can tell from your useless information. Now, about the Emperor, you managed to bite him? Break the skin maybe? Knick him at least?"
I did, Master.
Prosper clapped his hands in delight, almost like a child, and chuckled softly.
"Oh good! Then the spell I prepared for him specially is in his blood already. All I have to do is set off the trigger and our most esteemed emperor will fall deathly ill... and there'll be nothing anyone can do about it."
Master, you are truly the smartest Prey alive, I –
He recoiled again as the wizard kicked him hard on the chin.
"I am not prey!"
Suddenly Nerezza's cub was in Prosper's hands again, and all the Lion could do was watch.
~~~~
Reviews!!! (Answers, anyway. I hope y'all remember what you wrote!) And remember, HELPFUL criticism is always appreciated!! ;-)p
Mango Sam- I love it too! Yay! You don't realize how nice it is to get compliments, thank you so much. AND you're a K&D fan! W00t! I don't know if Numair counts as a triangle, I am so in love with K&D that I think he'll just be a friend. Still, I astounded myself with the ingeniousness (Is that a word? Ah, can't be bothered) of my plan (i.e. the fact that he is Sashad) and I hope this chapter is soon enough to keep you from going mad! Luck to you as well.
GeminiAngl06- Hoorah that you remembered your password! AND I LOVE ITALIAN!!! But that should be fairly obvious by now, heehee. Anyway, isn't the French word for hyperactive, hyperactive? (Feminine is hyperactif) ANYWAY, I wrote more! *pats self on back* This is getting harder, but now that I have a cruel, mean, cub-torturer, it should get a lil' more interestin' for me! :-) I'm thinking I might have Nerezza go for Daine when she's not expecting it, and Donnie boy saves her. Instant friendship! (Hopefully) I like Connie too!
ellabelle1- I read your story, and I really like it. GET WORKIN' SISTER!!! Anyway, lesser Gods are fun, and I hope that I make her god-like enough. It's a little harder than I thought it would be. Connie was a spur of the moment thing, 'cause I was tryin' to get that chapter to go as long as I could. I am most definitely NOT going to have N&D!!! This is a K&D fic!! :-)p I love Kaddar too much to jeopardize his standing with Daine by throwing Numair into the mix. He's more like... the concerned parent. As for the Lion, you know his name, but you will have to wait to get the details 'til the next chappie, when Numair meets with his informant! That dude will know everything. At least you know his name, eh? I hope this update is soon enough!
Magician- Yes, D&K!!! I love them to death. I hope this fic stays original for you! And I love Nerezza too; he's really a big old softy who just wants his cub back. But, he was quite evil before his cub, you'll see in the next chappie. Gah! I'm not meaning to build suspense like this, 'cause then what if chappie 10 doesn't live up to its expectations? Oh well, c'est la vie!
Kore Yan- Friends is nice! Did you read GeminiAngl06's review answer? That's how I think they should become friends. What do you think of that? Anyway, I'm tryin' to think of another potentially romantic, or whatever, but sort of embarrassing scene for Daine to be in. Do tell if you get any ideas!
~~Nine~~
Numair, in his Sashad disguise, walked easily towards the emperor's office quarters. Stopping in front of the dark wood doors, he raised his hand and rapped briefly with his knuckles. Kaddar's voice drifted out from within.
"Come in!"
Numair grasped the handle and pulled the door open, only to find his most esteemed and royal emperor sitting on the floor with a puppy in his lap. The small brown and black dog was wriggling in delight as Kaddar scratched its neck, crooning nonsense words to it.
"Imperial majesty," Numair said, as was appropriate, and he bowed down low, his disguise's powerful body bending easily at the waist. Kaddar looked up and smiled, saying, "Honorable Mombisu! Oh please, you must find those titles old and dusty. If our countries are to settle their trade dispute, then we must become friends." He rose gracefully from the floor, depositing the puppy in a soft circular bed as he did so.
"Wise words, majesty."
"It's Kaddar, please. Now, down to business."
Kaddar moved around his desk and settled himself in a simple high-backed chair. He motioned for Numair to seat himself in a slightly more ornate cushioned chair that was in front of his desk. Numair sat, wondering why he had chosen the trade disagreement as his reason for being at court. It had been easy enough to convince them of his identity a few days ago, but he hadn't thought the emperor would take steps to work out a union between the nations so quickly. Numair didn't feel it was appropriate for him to be settling these two country's problems.
"All right, so, let us begin." Kaddar shuffled some parchments around on his desk in a very business-like manner, before folding his hands together and meeting Numair's eyes.
{Here we go,} thought Numair, as he prayed to all the Gods he knew. {Please let me represent Umbaqui well.}
~~~~
Kaddar folded his hands and looked into Sashad's eyes, ready to commence the negotiations, but then he noticed something odd. Sashad's eyes were the wrong color. He stumbled on his next words.
"I – I was – um – well, all right, the problem is..." But then he trailed off. Sashad raised an eyebrow at him, and Kaddar suddenly noticed that his eyes were, in fact, the right color. {Must've been my imagination,} Kaddar thought, blinking rapidly a few times before continuing.
~~~~
Daine returned to her rooms with her mind full of Connie's remarks. The Night Lion was taking over countries? There was more than one world? The worlds had *balance*? She wished Connie had stayed longer and told her more, but Daine was aware that Gods had work to do too. Still, being involved with yet *another* God was bound to be exhausting.
Had a confusing day? Zek asked from where he was curled on the silk covered pillows that crowned Daine's bed.
Extremely. She blushed at the thought of Kaddar in bed, *naked* for the Gods' sake, and decided to omit that fact. Instead she said, Another God has singled me out. Goddess, rather.
Zek sat up and looked at her. Who?
She said her name was Sconosciuto, Connie for short. Um, she appeared to me as a cat with all cream fur and one green eye, one blue eye.
Not Connie! Ai Daine, you're in for it.
Why? What sort of goddess is Connie? How do you even know about her?
*Everyone* knows about Connie. She's Carthak's equivalent to Kyprioth, the trickster God of the Copper Isles. Daine, if you're involved with her... Zek trailed off ominously.
What's so bad about her? Tell me!
Nothing's *bad* about her, she's just trouble in God form.
Which is bad.
Sometimes.
Horse Lords! Give me a straight answer!
Daine, I – Zek sighed and shook his head, before continuing. I don't think there *is* a straight answer to give. If she decides to help you, that's good, but she must be involved for some reason that is a benefit to her. That's just how Sconosciuto is.
Daine groaned and dropped her head into her hands, her hair curling out through the fingers she massaged into the edges of her scalp.
Zek, what have I gotten myself into?
A whole load of horse dung, that's what.
~~~~
The Night Lion flowed stealthily along at the backs of the stalls of the market. The many scents of Prey squabbling over their useless merchandise caused his nostrils to twitch, and he barely held himself back when a small girl-child stumbled and fell behind a booth for a moment. She didn't notice him.
Turning onto another narrow street, the Lion picked its way daintily through the human trash that lay about, wrinkling its muzzle in revulsion.
{The Prey is disgusting!}
It wound around one more trash barrel standing haphazardly in the tiny lane and came upon a door. Pushing it open with his head, he entered the dark room at the back of a local butcher shop. It smelled distinctly of meat and the Lion's mouth watered even more. He would have to hunt tonight.
"I see you've finally decided to grace me with your presence, worthless cur."
The Lion started, silently upbraiding itself for letting anyone sneak up on it, even the Master. Although the Master was powerful, *no one* should have been able to sneak up on the Night Lion.
"You choose to remain silent? Well, we'll see about that."
A vague figure appeared in the shadows, and stepped forward into the dim crescent of light thrown down from a medium-sized hole in the ceiling. The beam glistened in the prematurely silver hair of Prosper D'Ore, the wizard from Gaulerie. Blinding flashes of white sprayed from his rings as he brought his hands up in front of his face and murmured something. The Lion felt the atmosphere grow heavy, and then a sharp smell of electricity filled the room. The wizard's hands wove skillfully downwards through the air and came to a stop at waist-level with a tiny black lion cub resting on the palms. The cub
{*My* cub!}
was asleep, and as the Lion watched, Prosper raised a finger and stroked the downy fur on the top of its head. Then, unexpectedly and viciously, he grabbed a minute ear and wrenched it backwards with all the force he could muster. The cub's eyes flew open wide, wider than the Lion had thought possible, and it's mouth gaped in a silent red yelp.
Stop! The Lion cried out, restraining itself from leaping forward and taking the Master down. He'd tried that once before, and knew that the Master always had some sort of shield up that prevented the Lion's attacks on his person.
Prosper released the ear and allowed the cub to lie trembling in his hands. He looked up and met the Lion's terrible eyes, made gentle with fear.
"Nerezza, my friend, I knew you'd come around."
Raising one hand, the Master snapped long pale fingers and the cub disappeared. He stepped out of the crescent of light and approached Nerezza, his smile deceptively calm. The Lion could smell sharp spikes of anger coming off of the Master. The gigantic animal cowered in fear before the wizard.
"Now, talk to me about this... *wildmage*." Prosper's brows drew downward as he thought of Daine. The stupid bitch was going to ruin his plans. It'd taken him long enough to capture and subdue Nerezza, the Eater of Worlds, as it was, and he didn't want some spoiled Tortallan brat messing with his careful preparations.
The Cub? Oh, Master, she is losing her powers. I felt that myself! The spell you placed on her is working well. She tried to control me, Master, like you said she would, and it didn't work! At first I felt like I should do as the Cub said, and then nothing happened, and I went on with my work. She thinks she can talk to me and that I am like any normal lion, but –
"Enough!" Prosper hissed, swiftly tiring of the Lion's babble. He swung a hand around and slapped Nerezza across the nose. The Lion was confused and angry, but he cringed backwards, thinking of his cub that could be lying helpless in the Master's hands.
"All I want to know about her is if the spell is working. It is; I can tell from your useless information. Now, about the Emperor, you managed to bite him? Break the skin maybe? Knick him at least?"
I did, Master.
Prosper clapped his hands in delight, almost like a child, and chuckled softly.
"Oh good! Then the spell I prepared for him specially is in his blood already. All I have to do is set off the trigger and our most esteemed emperor will fall deathly ill... and there'll be nothing anyone can do about it."
Master, you are truly the smartest Prey alive, I –
He recoiled again as the wizard kicked him hard on the chin.
"I am not prey!"
Suddenly Nerezza's cub was in Prosper's hands again, and all the Lion could do was watch.
~~~~
Reviews!!! (Answers, anyway. I hope y'all remember what you wrote!) And remember, HELPFUL criticism is always appreciated!! ;-)p
Mango Sam- I love it too! Yay! You don't realize how nice it is to get compliments, thank you so much. AND you're a K&D fan! W00t! I don't know if Numair counts as a triangle, I am so in love with K&D that I think he'll just be a friend. Still, I astounded myself with the ingeniousness (Is that a word? Ah, can't be bothered) of my plan (i.e. the fact that he is Sashad) and I hope this chapter is soon enough to keep you from going mad! Luck to you as well.
GeminiAngl06- Hoorah that you remembered your password! AND I LOVE ITALIAN!!! But that should be fairly obvious by now, heehee. Anyway, isn't the French word for hyperactive, hyperactive? (Feminine is hyperactif) ANYWAY, I wrote more! *pats self on back* This is getting harder, but now that I have a cruel, mean, cub-torturer, it should get a lil' more interestin' for me! :-) I'm thinking I might have Nerezza go for Daine when she's not expecting it, and Donnie boy saves her. Instant friendship! (Hopefully) I like Connie too!
ellabelle1- I read your story, and I really like it. GET WORKIN' SISTER!!! Anyway, lesser Gods are fun, and I hope that I make her god-like enough. It's a little harder than I thought it would be. Connie was a spur of the moment thing, 'cause I was tryin' to get that chapter to go as long as I could. I am most definitely NOT going to have N&D!!! This is a K&D fic!! :-)p I love Kaddar too much to jeopardize his standing with Daine by throwing Numair into the mix. He's more like... the concerned parent. As for the Lion, you know his name, but you will have to wait to get the details 'til the next chappie, when Numair meets with his informant! That dude will know everything. At least you know his name, eh? I hope this update is soon enough!
Magician- Yes, D&K!!! I love them to death. I hope this fic stays original for you! And I love Nerezza too; he's really a big old softy who just wants his cub back. But, he was quite evil before his cub, you'll see in the next chappie. Gah! I'm not meaning to build suspense like this, 'cause then what if chappie 10 doesn't live up to its expectations? Oh well, c'est la vie!
Kore Yan- Friends is nice! Did you read GeminiAngl06's review answer? That's how I think they should become friends. What do you think of that? Anyway, I'm tryin' to think of another potentially romantic, or whatever, but sort of embarrassing scene for Daine to be in. Do tell if you get any ideas!