NOTE! So sorry it's taken so long. Majorly expensive computer problems, and
therefore this fanfic has been (sob!) quit for a short period of time.
HOWEVER, Tess Oakley is BACK and ready to GO! ENJOY, my loyal readers,
ENJOY!
Chapter 22:
"That's it! We must be lost!" Caramon groaned, on what seemed like the first sunny day in centuries. He flopped to the ground, bent double, panting with the heat of the day. Alira set her pack down; obviously, this was going to be their next rest stop. Raistlin, hunched forever in his robes, quietly brought himself to a sitting position on a local stump.
"How can we be lost? I thought you knew the area!" he accused Alira, pointing a finger at her. She arched an eyebrow in response.
"I do know the area. But this.this isn't it!" she yelled back, finally voicing the tiny, subconscious naggings that had been with her for days.
"What!" Caramon yelled.
"It is as she said, brother. This is not the area. Something is at work here." Raistlin whispered from the shadows he somehow emanated even at noon on a cloudless day.
"I hate it when you say someTHING. What do you mean something." Caramon snapped, trapped within his typical armor.
"What else can put us all in an area we are unfamiliar with without us realizing it? A god.or a goddess.put two and two together, brother, and tell me who you think is responsible." He hissed. Caramon looked stunned, and his jaw suddenly when slack. The answer popped in her head.
"Takhisis." She said immediately.
"I dunno." Caramon said at the exact same time. Raistlin snorted.
"Takhisis, brother. Takhisis."
They didn't move from their "rest point", preferring to make a fire and sulk. All of that walking.all of that food.all of that energy and time wasted! It wore hard on each of them, and none of them were exactly in the mood for talking, though one question pounded at their minds. Finally, it took a particularly hard nip from Mischief to force Alira to speak.
"What do we do now? We can't just stay in one spot, she's sure to find us!"
"She'll find us no matter what we do! I'm surprised she hasn't come for us yet! She's probably making us starve.or something." Caramon moaned, thinking about starvation, the one thing that could cow him.
Then it clicked in Raistlin's mind. Neutral as always, he spoke again.
"It cannot be Takhisis. If it is, she wants something from us.all of us, else she would have simply taken who she wanted. There is something all of us need to do in order to solve this." He said, voice like silk in the dark.
"What do you propose we do?" Alira asked him calmly, looking at him straight.
"If I knew, I would have said. I must be allowed time to think, leave me be!" he said dramatically, retreating into himself. Alira blew out an annoyed sigh and stroked Mischief.
"At least you seem sane." she said to the fox, chuckling at the irony of her statement.
Caramon snored as Raistlin pondered. Alira was irritated by the loud, snorting sounds coming from Caramon's direction. If it weren't for his snoring, she would have been asleep by then. She poked the fire, idle.
"Why aren't you asleep?" Raistlin whispered. Alira almost didn't catch his question, lost as she was in her own thoughts.
"Snoring." She replied. Mischief was a bundle of warmth at her feet.
"You need your rest."
"What do you care?" she shot back, bitterly, without thinking.
"You need your rest." He repeated. Alira cursed him, taking care to pitch her voice just loud enough to reach his ears. A sardonic smile touched his lips, which were just visible in the firelight. Alira's heart fluttered with remembered memories of that smile broadening and softening.but those memories warped, and soon it was the wicked, lizard- like face of a draconian leering at her. She shivered.
"Have you dreamed lately?"
"What do you care?" she repeated.
"Does the draconian still haunt your dreams?" he hissed, wounding her. She turned her face from him.
Unknowingly, she responded in a whisper, "Yes."
Raistlin felt it. He had felt it before, and recognized it. Lunitari was there. It felt rather like a child being caught by his mother while persecuting his little sibling. Raistlin sucked a breath in, surprised at his goddess's sudden attitude change toward him. He had been one of her favorites, yet now her anger was palpable. Silently, he questioned her. Swiftly, she revealed all to him. Suddenly understanding, his eyes widened.
"Why do you tell me this now? Why not before? Why do you tell me all?" he raged suddenly. Her answer was surprising.
Alira felt tears spring to her eyes like biting needles. Her jaw quivered, though she tried to stay it with her tongue. Another shiver racked her body. She felt an increase in the heat of the flames, yet saw no visible change. She waited a long time before the heat went down. Alira, her mind consumed by other worries, ignored the temperature change. But she couldn't ignore the sudden attitude change.
"Alira?" Raistlin's voice was hard as ever, yet this time did not carry the poison of its last words. She remained silent.
Raistlin hacked, sounding more like he was choking than he was coughing. "I.am.sorry." he managed. Immediately, a red flag went up in Alira's mind. Raistlin would never have said that.not of his own volition.
Scrambling for Caramon, she yanked a dagger free of its sheath near him, not surprised at his silence. Alira held it poised in front of her, ready to strike. The look on Raistlin's face was one of confusion. Then she attacked.
Vaulting upwards, she sprang upon him and tackled him to the ground. Raistlin made no move to offend himself, and she easily pinned him to the ground, the dagger at his throat.
"Move, and I kill you!" she spat. Raistlin looked disgusted, which threw Alira off.
"What do you think you are doing? Release me!" he said, promptly breaking off into a coughing fit. Naturally, he was having difficulty breathing with the part-elf above him, pinning him to the ground.
"What does Takhisis want!" she asked, pushing him against the ground harder.
In a display of strength Alira did not think Raistlin possessed, she found herself flipped on her back, with the blade reversed and Raistlin's glimmering face above hers. She opened her mouth to protest, just as he brought his down to silence her.
The kiss was long, and deep, and completely surprising.
"You're not a draconian." she whispered in wonder just as they surfaced for air.
Chapter 22:
"That's it! We must be lost!" Caramon groaned, on what seemed like the first sunny day in centuries. He flopped to the ground, bent double, panting with the heat of the day. Alira set her pack down; obviously, this was going to be their next rest stop. Raistlin, hunched forever in his robes, quietly brought himself to a sitting position on a local stump.
"How can we be lost? I thought you knew the area!" he accused Alira, pointing a finger at her. She arched an eyebrow in response.
"I do know the area. But this.this isn't it!" she yelled back, finally voicing the tiny, subconscious naggings that had been with her for days.
"What!" Caramon yelled.
"It is as she said, brother. This is not the area. Something is at work here." Raistlin whispered from the shadows he somehow emanated even at noon on a cloudless day.
"I hate it when you say someTHING. What do you mean something." Caramon snapped, trapped within his typical armor.
"What else can put us all in an area we are unfamiliar with without us realizing it? A god.or a goddess.put two and two together, brother, and tell me who you think is responsible." He hissed. Caramon looked stunned, and his jaw suddenly when slack. The answer popped in her head.
"Takhisis." She said immediately.
"I dunno." Caramon said at the exact same time. Raistlin snorted.
"Takhisis, brother. Takhisis."
They didn't move from their "rest point", preferring to make a fire and sulk. All of that walking.all of that food.all of that energy and time wasted! It wore hard on each of them, and none of them were exactly in the mood for talking, though one question pounded at their minds. Finally, it took a particularly hard nip from Mischief to force Alira to speak.
"What do we do now? We can't just stay in one spot, she's sure to find us!"
"She'll find us no matter what we do! I'm surprised she hasn't come for us yet! She's probably making us starve.or something." Caramon moaned, thinking about starvation, the one thing that could cow him.
Then it clicked in Raistlin's mind. Neutral as always, he spoke again.
"It cannot be Takhisis. If it is, she wants something from us.all of us, else she would have simply taken who she wanted. There is something all of us need to do in order to solve this." He said, voice like silk in the dark.
"What do you propose we do?" Alira asked him calmly, looking at him straight.
"If I knew, I would have said. I must be allowed time to think, leave me be!" he said dramatically, retreating into himself. Alira blew out an annoyed sigh and stroked Mischief.
"At least you seem sane." she said to the fox, chuckling at the irony of her statement.
Caramon snored as Raistlin pondered. Alira was irritated by the loud, snorting sounds coming from Caramon's direction. If it weren't for his snoring, she would have been asleep by then. She poked the fire, idle.
"Why aren't you asleep?" Raistlin whispered. Alira almost didn't catch his question, lost as she was in her own thoughts.
"Snoring." She replied. Mischief was a bundle of warmth at her feet.
"You need your rest."
"What do you care?" she shot back, bitterly, without thinking.
"You need your rest." He repeated. Alira cursed him, taking care to pitch her voice just loud enough to reach his ears. A sardonic smile touched his lips, which were just visible in the firelight. Alira's heart fluttered with remembered memories of that smile broadening and softening.but those memories warped, and soon it was the wicked, lizard- like face of a draconian leering at her. She shivered.
"Have you dreamed lately?"
"What do you care?" she repeated.
"Does the draconian still haunt your dreams?" he hissed, wounding her. She turned her face from him.
Unknowingly, she responded in a whisper, "Yes."
Raistlin felt it. He had felt it before, and recognized it. Lunitari was there. It felt rather like a child being caught by his mother while persecuting his little sibling. Raistlin sucked a breath in, surprised at his goddess's sudden attitude change toward him. He had been one of her favorites, yet now her anger was palpable. Silently, he questioned her. Swiftly, she revealed all to him. Suddenly understanding, his eyes widened.
"Why do you tell me this now? Why not before? Why do you tell me all?" he raged suddenly. Her answer was surprising.
Alira felt tears spring to her eyes like biting needles. Her jaw quivered, though she tried to stay it with her tongue. Another shiver racked her body. She felt an increase in the heat of the flames, yet saw no visible change. She waited a long time before the heat went down. Alira, her mind consumed by other worries, ignored the temperature change. But she couldn't ignore the sudden attitude change.
"Alira?" Raistlin's voice was hard as ever, yet this time did not carry the poison of its last words. She remained silent.
Raistlin hacked, sounding more like he was choking than he was coughing. "I.am.sorry." he managed. Immediately, a red flag went up in Alira's mind. Raistlin would never have said that.not of his own volition.
Scrambling for Caramon, she yanked a dagger free of its sheath near him, not surprised at his silence. Alira held it poised in front of her, ready to strike. The look on Raistlin's face was one of confusion. Then she attacked.
Vaulting upwards, she sprang upon him and tackled him to the ground. Raistlin made no move to offend himself, and she easily pinned him to the ground, the dagger at his throat.
"Move, and I kill you!" she spat. Raistlin looked disgusted, which threw Alira off.
"What do you think you are doing? Release me!" he said, promptly breaking off into a coughing fit. Naturally, he was having difficulty breathing with the part-elf above him, pinning him to the ground.
"What does Takhisis want!" she asked, pushing him against the ground harder.
In a display of strength Alira did not think Raistlin possessed, she found herself flipped on her back, with the blade reversed and Raistlin's glimmering face above hers. She opened her mouth to protest, just as he brought his down to silence her.
The kiss was long, and deep, and completely surprising.
"You're not a draconian." she whispered in wonder just as they surfaced for air.