Chapter 18:
Raistlin didn't truly care. He didn't understand half of what she said, but he caught the gist of it. And he didn't like it. But, as he predicted, Caramon arrived a few minutes after her tell-all session, ignorant of what had just passed. However, Caramon was just barely intuitive enough to tell that something was very different. That night, as he bed down near his brother, he chanced something he had never tried before. A certain conversation that he had normally avoided at all costs with his brother.
"Raist." he whispered, too loudly.
"Yes, Caramon." He replied wearily. Alira slept quietly, lost in enigmatic dreams.
"Well.when I was gone.you know. Earlier today." he started, stumbling over his words in a desperate attempt to be as eloquent as his brother.
"Caramon, if you are attempting to find euphemisms to make this easier on yourself, you know already that you've failed. Just say it."
Caramon did as he was told, managing to bluntly get everything "off his chest". He couldn't see his brother in the night, from where he lay, and had no idea how his brother reacted to his idea.
"Caramon, you oaf." He whispered. Even Caramon could hear the tiny bit of pain in his brother's voice, which was usually so well concealed.
"Your.first?" Caramon asked incredulously. Usually he didn't prod such matters, and so he had absolutely no idea about Raistlin.
"No, you fool!"
"But.second?"
"Silence! Sleep, Caramon." He snarled, the tiniest bit of truth seeping through his tone.
"Never?!" Caramon exclaimed, way too loud for comfort.
Raistlin didn't respond.
Nor did he when Caramon prodded again.
Caramon slept.
Alira was walking when she stopped paying attention to where she was walking. Although Mischief tried to warn her, she still stepped into the trap, and fell hard. It was the kind of trap set for medium-sized animals. Alira fell straight through, and hurt her leg. Alira screwed her face up in pain as Mischief whimpered and nipped at her. Caramon wasted no time getting to her, while Raistlin watched from the shadows of his hood.
She found herself hoisted into the air by the large warrior, and being carried into the trees. Raistlin followed silently, while Mischief made a nuisance of himself with his constant sounds of distress and his darting between Caramon's legs. Setting her down, he examined the wound, poking it gently with a huge finger. He didn't know his own strength, and got her a bit too hard, she bit her lip and drew a hissing breath.
"I'll take care of it, you can only make it worse." Raistlin said, waving Caramon off. Obediently, he backed away and watched as Raistlin's deft fingers probed the injury, gauging. Alira flinched and bit her lip when she felt him touch her. His skin burned like flame.
"Broken. Caramon, go get me a straight stick about this long." Raistlin gestured, sending Caramon off. Caramon, not wanting to waste time, drew his sword and used it to hack a piece of a fallen tree to the size Raistlin had demanded. Raistlin snorted.
"Fool." He muttered, taking the wood and setting it against her leg, judging.
Raistlin was always well-prepared, and he managed to find a long roll of cloth in his robes.
"Hold still. This will be extremely painful." Raistlin ordered Alira, obviously used to being instantly obeyed. She braced herself, knowing exactly what he meant to do.
But he didn't do it, instead, he gave Caramon a swift, knowing look. Before Alira could protest, Caramon gripped her leg firmly and pulled. She screamed, and the forest echoed with the sound.
Caramon winced, apologizing with a look. Alira smiled at him, though her smile faltered. Raistlin stepped back in, and quickly began setting her leg into a tight splint. This time, when she pulled away from Raistlin's touch, he ignored it with a grim, silent pull of his lips.
"You won't be able to walk well. We'll get you a horse as quickly as possible. In the meantime, you will have to make do."
Alira pulled herself up, ignoring Caramon's offered hand, and experimented with hobbling around. Each step hurt, and it put her in a foul mood. Mischief whined and looked up at her. Without a notice, Raistlin swept the fox up off the ground and dumped him swiftly in Alira's arms. Mischief didn't have time to bite at Raistlin, which he obviously wanted to do. Alira clutched him tightly, glaring at Raistlin.
"Thank you." She said stiffly, hobbling wretchedly a few steps before falling. Caramon laughed, then stopped suddenly. Tears sparked in Alira's eyes, and Mischief yelped and licked her face frantically. When a hand reached down to grip her arm, she flung her hand upwards and slapped the unwary helper.Raistlin.
But she missed, and only managed to hurt her leg more, somehow. Raistlin caught her hand and helped to haul her to her legs.
"Caramon, you fool! Get over here and help!" he snapped, but by the time Caramon rushed over, Alira was already on her unstable legs.
Mischief grunted a bit unhappily, and Alira turned her attention to the little fox, realizing that he wanted to be picked up. Caramon had a vacant expression on his face, then grunted, scratched his chest, and reassumed his duties about camp.
Alira made several poor attempts to walk, yet again. Frustration was the immediate reaction, followed by a very unsettling feeling of helplessness. She gave an exasperated cry as she felt herself falling forward again, but caught herself this time.
Caramon and Raistlin were both staring at her now, expectantly. She could feel a red blush, this time a result of hot anger mingling with embarrassment, spread from her neck up.
Holding herself as straight and stiffly as she could, she dried a dignified stumble yet again, refusing to give up with them watching her with such amusement. Tears sparked in her eyes when she nearly fell again. Alira fiercely forbade crying to herself.
Caramon was confused by her stubborn refusal of help. It was reminiscent of Raistlin, but Alira wasn't like Raistlin. It baffled him why she behaved a little like him at this moment.
Raistlin, however, was sadistically amused by her efforts.
Alira was ready to smack both of them.
Finally, Raistlin sighed and beckoned to Caramon, whispering something in his ear. Caramon nodded vigorously and disappeared between the trees, obviously going to get something. Alira watched Raistlin suspiciously, and he regarded her calmly. When Caramon returned, he held a relatively straight tree branch that had its leaves and little branches cut off clumsily. Alira, strangely, felt both glad and angry at him for taking such a liberty. No, not Caramon, Raistlin. It was Raistlin's idea. Caramon, as usual, just did his "duty".
However, common sense prevailed, and Alira accepted the act of kindness with a hesitant smile. The rough staff was a huge improvement on Alira's first few attempts, and before long she could walk fairly well with the aid of the new tool.
But she could have sworn that Raistlin had a ghost of a smile barely shadowing the corners of his lips that night.
p Authoress Note:
I want to thank everyone here for being SO outrageously supportive and wonderfully fanatic about the fic. I'm about as proud of you guys for your support and great maturity as I am of my fiction, which has already taken a life of its own, as all good little children will do.
I promise you guys, I will not just leave this fiction. I will keep it until it's work is done, and I just really wanted to thank all of you guys for reading this.and those who like it get a huge hug! (sorry if any of you guys are actually guys.and I accidentally call you a girl.I'm super bad w/ genders on the internet)
I'd like to thank Pen for a certain sparkle of inspiration that has turned into a bundle of mischievous genius.
IceBlade for her lovely and ego-supportive reviews that always bring a grin to my face. Don't worry about being at a lack for words, for that lack will someday inspire your creativity! Aaaand, I'm sorry, no yaoi here.though there may be a special little surprise with Raist and Caramon and Alira.
Spiritz for her boosting comments and timely reviews that always seem to appear right during a time when I have a bit of a self-esteem drop.
Ironi Numair for your very first review (and all the ones after, too, of course!) that complimented one of my favorite "children".
UndeadBallerina for her lovely little comments.don't worry, there will be more tension to come!
Shannon Holmes, for falling in love in the beginning, and sticking around. Love and Peace, and a Blessing right back to you.
Raistlin the Black, I hope you're still out there.but thanks for that one review!
Alexia S. Ludwit.yes, I know they travel abnormally quickly.its all a part of the plot.buahahahahahahahaha.and I put it in there because I hate it when traveling takes forever.ah, well. Thank you so very much for your constructive criticism and comments.
Anubis04, thanks for your noticing the spacing, I rarely read my work after I post it, so I didn't know.I'm afraid I don't know how to stop it.I'm going to experiment.please notify me if it works! Thanks!
Laurika, thanks for taking time to review.don't worry, I'll keep on writing, though I have to admit I've slowed down considerably!
Mendy, here it is! LOL, thanks for reading!
And finally, Asrimal, for taking the time to read and give his opinion.
I just really wanted to make sure you all knew how much I appreciate that you take your time to read this, rather than going out and reading some of the really good stuff by actually PUBLISHED authors, LOL. Big hugs all around, keep reading, and have fun!
Raistlin didn't truly care. He didn't understand half of what she said, but he caught the gist of it. And he didn't like it. But, as he predicted, Caramon arrived a few minutes after her tell-all session, ignorant of what had just passed. However, Caramon was just barely intuitive enough to tell that something was very different. That night, as he bed down near his brother, he chanced something he had never tried before. A certain conversation that he had normally avoided at all costs with his brother.
"Raist." he whispered, too loudly.
"Yes, Caramon." He replied wearily. Alira slept quietly, lost in enigmatic dreams.
"Well.when I was gone.you know. Earlier today." he started, stumbling over his words in a desperate attempt to be as eloquent as his brother.
"Caramon, if you are attempting to find euphemisms to make this easier on yourself, you know already that you've failed. Just say it."
Caramon did as he was told, managing to bluntly get everything "off his chest". He couldn't see his brother in the night, from where he lay, and had no idea how his brother reacted to his idea.
"Caramon, you oaf." He whispered. Even Caramon could hear the tiny bit of pain in his brother's voice, which was usually so well concealed.
"Your.first?" Caramon asked incredulously. Usually he didn't prod such matters, and so he had absolutely no idea about Raistlin.
"No, you fool!"
"But.second?"
"Silence! Sleep, Caramon." He snarled, the tiniest bit of truth seeping through his tone.
"Never?!" Caramon exclaimed, way too loud for comfort.
Raistlin didn't respond.
Nor did he when Caramon prodded again.
Caramon slept.
Alira was walking when she stopped paying attention to where she was walking. Although Mischief tried to warn her, she still stepped into the trap, and fell hard. It was the kind of trap set for medium-sized animals. Alira fell straight through, and hurt her leg. Alira screwed her face up in pain as Mischief whimpered and nipped at her. Caramon wasted no time getting to her, while Raistlin watched from the shadows of his hood.
She found herself hoisted into the air by the large warrior, and being carried into the trees. Raistlin followed silently, while Mischief made a nuisance of himself with his constant sounds of distress and his darting between Caramon's legs. Setting her down, he examined the wound, poking it gently with a huge finger. He didn't know his own strength, and got her a bit too hard, she bit her lip and drew a hissing breath.
"I'll take care of it, you can only make it worse." Raistlin said, waving Caramon off. Obediently, he backed away and watched as Raistlin's deft fingers probed the injury, gauging. Alira flinched and bit her lip when she felt him touch her. His skin burned like flame.
"Broken. Caramon, go get me a straight stick about this long." Raistlin gestured, sending Caramon off. Caramon, not wanting to waste time, drew his sword and used it to hack a piece of a fallen tree to the size Raistlin had demanded. Raistlin snorted.
"Fool." He muttered, taking the wood and setting it against her leg, judging.
Raistlin was always well-prepared, and he managed to find a long roll of cloth in his robes.
"Hold still. This will be extremely painful." Raistlin ordered Alira, obviously used to being instantly obeyed. She braced herself, knowing exactly what he meant to do.
But he didn't do it, instead, he gave Caramon a swift, knowing look. Before Alira could protest, Caramon gripped her leg firmly and pulled. She screamed, and the forest echoed with the sound.
Caramon winced, apologizing with a look. Alira smiled at him, though her smile faltered. Raistlin stepped back in, and quickly began setting her leg into a tight splint. This time, when she pulled away from Raistlin's touch, he ignored it with a grim, silent pull of his lips.
"You won't be able to walk well. We'll get you a horse as quickly as possible. In the meantime, you will have to make do."
Alira pulled herself up, ignoring Caramon's offered hand, and experimented with hobbling around. Each step hurt, and it put her in a foul mood. Mischief whined and looked up at her. Without a notice, Raistlin swept the fox up off the ground and dumped him swiftly in Alira's arms. Mischief didn't have time to bite at Raistlin, which he obviously wanted to do. Alira clutched him tightly, glaring at Raistlin.
"Thank you." She said stiffly, hobbling wretchedly a few steps before falling. Caramon laughed, then stopped suddenly. Tears sparked in Alira's eyes, and Mischief yelped and licked her face frantically. When a hand reached down to grip her arm, she flung her hand upwards and slapped the unwary helper.Raistlin.
But she missed, and only managed to hurt her leg more, somehow. Raistlin caught her hand and helped to haul her to her legs.
"Caramon, you fool! Get over here and help!" he snapped, but by the time Caramon rushed over, Alira was already on her unstable legs.
Mischief grunted a bit unhappily, and Alira turned her attention to the little fox, realizing that he wanted to be picked up. Caramon had a vacant expression on his face, then grunted, scratched his chest, and reassumed his duties about camp.
Alira made several poor attempts to walk, yet again. Frustration was the immediate reaction, followed by a very unsettling feeling of helplessness. She gave an exasperated cry as she felt herself falling forward again, but caught herself this time.
Caramon and Raistlin were both staring at her now, expectantly. She could feel a red blush, this time a result of hot anger mingling with embarrassment, spread from her neck up.
Holding herself as straight and stiffly as she could, she dried a dignified stumble yet again, refusing to give up with them watching her with such amusement. Tears sparked in her eyes when she nearly fell again. Alira fiercely forbade crying to herself.
Caramon was confused by her stubborn refusal of help. It was reminiscent of Raistlin, but Alira wasn't like Raistlin. It baffled him why she behaved a little like him at this moment.
Raistlin, however, was sadistically amused by her efforts.
Alira was ready to smack both of them.
Finally, Raistlin sighed and beckoned to Caramon, whispering something in his ear. Caramon nodded vigorously and disappeared between the trees, obviously going to get something. Alira watched Raistlin suspiciously, and he regarded her calmly. When Caramon returned, he held a relatively straight tree branch that had its leaves and little branches cut off clumsily. Alira, strangely, felt both glad and angry at him for taking such a liberty. No, not Caramon, Raistlin. It was Raistlin's idea. Caramon, as usual, just did his "duty".
However, common sense prevailed, and Alira accepted the act of kindness with a hesitant smile. The rough staff was a huge improvement on Alira's first few attempts, and before long she could walk fairly well with the aid of the new tool.
But she could have sworn that Raistlin had a ghost of a smile barely shadowing the corners of his lips that night.
p Authoress Note:
I want to thank everyone here for being SO outrageously supportive and wonderfully fanatic about the fic. I'm about as proud of you guys for your support and great maturity as I am of my fiction, which has already taken a life of its own, as all good little children will do.
I promise you guys, I will not just leave this fiction. I will keep it until it's work is done, and I just really wanted to thank all of you guys for reading this.and those who like it get a huge hug! (sorry if any of you guys are actually guys.and I accidentally call you a girl.I'm super bad w/ genders on the internet)
I'd like to thank Pen for a certain sparkle of inspiration that has turned into a bundle of mischievous genius.
IceBlade for her lovely and ego-supportive reviews that always bring a grin to my face. Don't worry about being at a lack for words, for that lack will someday inspire your creativity! Aaaand, I'm sorry, no yaoi here.though there may be a special little surprise with Raist and Caramon and Alira.
Spiritz for her boosting comments and timely reviews that always seem to appear right during a time when I have a bit of a self-esteem drop.
Ironi Numair for your very first review (and all the ones after, too, of course!) that complimented one of my favorite "children".
UndeadBallerina for her lovely little comments.don't worry, there will be more tension to come!
Shannon Holmes, for falling in love in the beginning, and sticking around. Love and Peace, and a Blessing right back to you.
Raistlin the Black, I hope you're still out there.but thanks for that one review!
Alexia S. Ludwit.yes, I know they travel abnormally quickly.its all a part of the plot.buahahahahahahahaha.and I put it in there because I hate it when traveling takes forever.ah, well. Thank you so very much for your constructive criticism and comments.
Anubis04, thanks for your noticing the spacing, I rarely read my work after I post it, so I didn't know.I'm afraid I don't know how to stop it.I'm going to experiment.please notify me if it works! Thanks!
Laurika, thanks for taking time to review.don't worry, I'll keep on writing, though I have to admit I've slowed down considerably!
Mendy, here it is! LOL, thanks for reading!
And finally, Asrimal, for taking the time to read and give his opinion.
I just really wanted to make sure you all knew how much I appreciate that you take your time to read this, rather than going out and reading some of the really good stuff by actually PUBLISHED authors, LOL. Big hugs all around, keep reading, and have fun!