Disclaimer: I hate disclaimers! *covers ears and sings "My Lady's Eyes" at
those who want disclaimers until they cower in fear*
Reviewers! Have cupcakes!
Darkfyre: You review so often! It makes me feel so loved! *gives Darkfyre random gift-ribbon to put on head* Twin axes? Um...Liluye chose them. She didn't want a sword. And axes are cool...and they double as wood- choppers! Plus, Liluye used to chop the wood on her farm, so she already has axe-calluses. The energy-thing? Well, remember, Kree's a bondbird. They're built to bond to someone. His training is also less strenuous, since he's naturally a fighter. Kree, as a Tayledras bird, has a bit of ability to pull node-energy, much as he wants to deny it. (not much at a time, though...) As for the "Wild Ride," I did that mainly so you could see his training...and Kree likes having Liluye around. In his head. Strange birdie...
Cerulean Sky: Thankees! *bows*
Vreader: *gives cupcakes*
Kierseth: Actually, I got the idea from the Tortall books in Squire...I just elaborated a bit. And as a side note, the red chalk balls-in battle, they'd be these balloon-type things with magicked liquid in them. Like water balloons with acid...except this acid is magical.
Lia Bates: It's where I got the idea, but it's Squire. Helia is 20, Liluye is 17, and Kree is about two. Even though you didn't ask that. Thanks for reviewing.
Snowfire: Right. *nods* I'll read it after I write this chappie.
Hawk-sister: I think I've mentioned this...gold-brown with a bit of red in the right kind of light. The great lady herself? You feed my ego! *bows* *hands over the pastries* No, I'm not going to bring Liluye to Valdemar...cause if I did that, reviewers would want to get her Chosen, and we have enough Valdemar fics, and not enough Rethwellan fics, don't you think?
Muse responsible: Rrissa!
Onto the story! (Yay! I did it for once!)
------------------------------------------------------------
After several weeks with the Wanderers, both Helia and I had adjusted to the strenuous living program. Kree had taken to it as if he were born to it.
Today, I was taking Kree out to hunt.
On foot, Kree and I made our way out of Wandersrest and headed into an empty field.
I launched Kree and looked back at Wandersrest. [It's well enough here...but I can't wait until we can actually go and see the world.]
Kree wheeled above me as I meandered through the field, trying to scare up a rabbit or two.
:Riders come.: said Kree, turning sharply to the left and kiting towards the road.
Curious, I abandoned my search for rabbits and went to stand at the side. Kree landed on my arm a moment later.
Several minutes passed before a troop of riders rounded a hill and came towards Wandersrest.
"Who are they?" I asked Kree, who was trying to get a good bearing on them with his sharper eyes.
:Wanderers home!: said Kree.
"Then that must be Wendell at the front," I said, and peered intently down the road.
A cheer rose from the riders as they accelerated to a trot.
A moment later, a strain of song drifted towards me, nearly drowned in hoofbeats.
Kree said, :They sing, "You might see us wandering under the sky, in rain, in hail, in sun, in snow-":
I recognized it as the Wanderer's official song, composed by one of the Healers with a bit of talent at minstrelsy.
"Our foes never do know when we draw nigh, We strike high at their price, and then they know woe..." I finished.
[I'm not sure if I'm right...I'll check later.]
The column rode nearer. A few of them stood in their saddles-it was only when Kree sat straighter that I noticed they were staring at me.
The man at point, mounted on a nondescript dark bay, peeled off towards me.
Dismounting, he held out his hand. "I'm Wendell. You must be Liluye-Thera sent a messenger to me once you hired on. And if you are Liluye, then this is Kree."
I blinked at my Captain, who was over six feet, with brown-blonde hair and grey-green eyes. Wendell bowed genially to Kree, who, chirring, bowed back.
"Yes, I'm Liluye," I said, finding my voice.
Wendell replied, his eyes dancing with enthusiasm, "Can you tell me about your bird? How did you train him to sit so quietly without jesses? And what is your weapon of choice?"
Blinking at the barrage of questions, I answered, "I favor twin axes or a bow. Kree here is from the Pelagirs. He's about as intelligent as an average human, and we speak mind-to-mind."
"And you can look through his eyes?" asked Wendell.
"I can join mind-to-mind for scouting forays."
"Brilliant," breathed Wendell. "Other than the size, he'll be a perfect spy."
Kree said, :Tell Captain I like him.:
"Kree says he likes you," I said, "I try not to argue with anything that has those big of claws."
Kree chirred again and leaned to nibble my ear.
"Ah-I think the rest of the Wanderers want to get home," I mentioned, glancing at the still train of riders, all watching us.
"Very well," said Wendell, becoming Captain once more. Mounting up, he rode back to point.
I launched Kree as the Wanderers rode past. He winged into the air, giving a ringing cry, and skimmed the earth just ahead of Wendell.
I watched them until they rode in, then called Kree back to hunt.
__________Candlemarks Later_____________
I sat at the recruit's table in the mess hall, chatting animatedly with Helia, Leon, Jaonsen, Frayley, Necia, and Tuvya over our dinner. All seven of us-eight with Kree-were new recruits training for scouting. At the other end of the table sat the recruits who wanted to be light skirmishers, listening in.
"Acres and acres, and it's all mine!" said Necia, causing the table to erupt in laughter at the bawdy joke.
:How many Hawkbrothers does it take to make a mating circle?: said Kree.
I repeated it obediently...
:Only one, but he has to be flexible!: crowed Kree triumphantly.
Blushing, I repeated the last bit again, and the table erupted in laughter again.
:Bird, you're going to get me in trouble one of these days,: I said to Kree.
He ignored the comment.
Wendell stood up at the officer's table and called for our attention. "Attention please!"
The entire mess hall went quiet.
"First of all, you've done a wonderful job of bringing in recruits and training them, Thera. I look forward to seeing their capabilities on the training field."
Wendell pointed at my table, with the rest of the new recruits. "Wanderers, meet your new partners! Thera, I understand that most of these fine young people at that table are training for scouting and skirmishing?"
Thera nodded. "Well, let's welcome them in!" finished Wendell.
A storm of clapping erupted from the rest of the tables. Most of the people at my table blushed.
:Bondmate!: called Kree.
I flung up my arm. Helia, knowing this move, leaned away.
Kree swooped in the open window and landed on my arm.
:Bird, you are such a show-off.:
:Attention good. Stand!:
Sighing, I stood. "Well, lookie here! It's a birdie!" called one of the officers who'd ridden in that day.
Wendell stood again. "I forgot to mention that. Wanderers, this is our last, but not least, recruit-Kree the hawk-eagle from the Pelagiris! Liluye?"
Knowing that this was for me to talk, I flinched inwardly. I'd never been good at talking to groups of people larger than 10.
Kree said impatiently, :Captain say talk, so talk!:
"This is Kree. And before you ask, I didn't train him-he decided to come to me. Like a mage's familiar, I guess, but I'm no mage, so I wouldn't know. I found Kree-or rather, he found me, when I was hiking through the outer fringes of the Pelagiris. I wouldn't go in there if I were you-only the heroes, mages, and stupidly lucky get out. I'm just stupidly lucky, I guess...um, thank you. Go back to bed, bird," I added to Kree, launching him into the air.
He circled around the dining hall several times to more applause, then swooped out the window.
Finishing eating quickly, I slipped out of the room before the meal was over, wanting to avoid questions.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
OK. That didn't go in the direction I expected. Ah well.
I'm going to ask your opinion on something. What would you do if I made Liluye shaych? You don't usually see shaych girls in Misty fanfiction...with notable exceptions, but I won't go into that. So, would you:
a) Freak out, flame me, and run away screaming
b) Continue reading the story anyway (indifferently)
c) Respond positively
Just want to know your opinion...even though I think we're open-minded enough around here. Look at all the Van/Stef fluff fics we have around here!
Reviews please!
~Fireblade K'Chona
Reviewers! Have cupcakes!
Darkfyre: You review so often! It makes me feel so loved! *gives Darkfyre random gift-ribbon to put on head* Twin axes? Um...Liluye chose them. She didn't want a sword. And axes are cool...and they double as wood- choppers! Plus, Liluye used to chop the wood on her farm, so she already has axe-calluses. The energy-thing? Well, remember, Kree's a bondbird. They're built to bond to someone. His training is also less strenuous, since he's naturally a fighter. Kree, as a Tayledras bird, has a bit of ability to pull node-energy, much as he wants to deny it. (not much at a time, though...) As for the "Wild Ride," I did that mainly so you could see his training...and Kree likes having Liluye around. In his head. Strange birdie...
Cerulean Sky: Thankees! *bows*
Vreader: *gives cupcakes*
Kierseth: Actually, I got the idea from the Tortall books in Squire...I just elaborated a bit. And as a side note, the red chalk balls-in battle, they'd be these balloon-type things with magicked liquid in them. Like water balloons with acid...except this acid is magical.
Lia Bates: It's where I got the idea, but it's Squire. Helia is 20, Liluye is 17, and Kree is about two. Even though you didn't ask that. Thanks for reviewing.
Snowfire: Right. *nods* I'll read it after I write this chappie.
Hawk-sister: I think I've mentioned this...gold-brown with a bit of red in the right kind of light. The great lady herself? You feed my ego! *bows* *hands over the pastries* No, I'm not going to bring Liluye to Valdemar...cause if I did that, reviewers would want to get her Chosen, and we have enough Valdemar fics, and not enough Rethwellan fics, don't you think?
Muse responsible: Rrissa!
Onto the story! (Yay! I did it for once!)
------------------------------------------------------------
After several weeks with the Wanderers, both Helia and I had adjusted to the strenuous living program. Kree had taken to it as if he were born to it.
Today, I was taking Kree out to hunt.
On foot, Kree and I made our way out of Wandersrest and headed into an empty field.
I launched Kree and looked back at Wandersrest. [It's well enough here...but I can't wait until we can actually go and see the world.]
Kree wheeled above me as I meandered through the field, trying to scare up a rabbit or two.
:Riders come.: said Kree, turning sharply to the left and kiting towards the road.
Curious, I abandoned my search for rabbits and went to stand at the side. Kree landed on my arm a moment later.
Several minutes passed before a troop of riders rounded a hill and came towards Wandersrest.
"Who are they?" I asked Kree, who was trying to get a good bearing on them with his sharper eyes.
:Wanderers home!: said Kree.
"Then that must be Wendell at the front," I said, and peered intently down the road.
A cheer rose from the riders as they accelerated to a trot.
A moment later, a strain of song drifted towards me, nearly drowned in hoofbeats.
Kree said, :They sing, "You might see us wandering under the sky, in rain, in hail, in sun, in snow-":
I recognized it as the Wanderer's official song, composed by one of the Healers with a bit of talent at minstrelsy.
"Our foes never do know when we draw nigh, We strike high at their price, and then they know woe..." I finished.
[I'm not sure if I'm right...I'll check later.]
The column rode nearer. A few of them stood in their saddles-it was only when Kree sat straighter that I noticed they were staring at me.
The man at point, mounted on a nondescript dark bay, peeled off towards me.
Dismounting, he held out his hand. "I'm Wendell. You must be Liluye-Thera sent a messenger to me once you hired on. And if you are Liluye, then this is Kree."
I blinked at my Captain, who was over six feet, with brown-blonde hair and grey-green eyes. Wendell bowed genially to Kree, who, chirring, bowed back.
"Yes, I'm Liluye," I said, finding my voice.
Wendell replied, his eyes dancing with enthusiasm, "Can you tell me about your bird? How did you train him to sit so quietly without jesses? And what is your weapon of choice?"
Blinking at the barrage of questions, I answered, "I favor twin axes or a bow. Kree here is from the Pelagirs. He's about as intelligent as an average human, and we speak mind-to-mind."
"And you can look through his eyes?" asked Wendell.
"I can join mind-to-mind for scouting forays."
"Brilliant," breathed Wendell. "Other than the size, he'll be a perfect spy."
Kree said, :Tell Captain I like him.:
"Kree says he likes you," I said, "I try not to argue with anything that has those big of claws."
Kree chirred again and leaned to nibble my ear.
"Ah-I think the rest of the Wanderers want to get home," I mentioned, glancing at the still train of riders, all watching us.
"Very well," said Wendell, becoming Captain once more. Mounting up, he rode back to point.
I launched Kree as the Wanderers rode past. He winged into the air, giving a ringing cry, and skimmed the earth just ahead of Wendell.
I watched them until they rode in, then called Kree back to hunt.
__________Candlemarks Later_____________
I sat at the recruit's table in the mess hall, chatting animatedly with Helia, Leon, Jaonsen, Frayley, Necia, and Tuvya over our dinner. All seven of us-eight with Kree-were new recruits training for scouting. At the other end of the table sat the recruits who wanted to be light skirmishers, listening in.
"Acres and acres, and it's all mine!" said Necia, causing the table to erupt in laughter at the bawdy joke.
:How many Hawkbrothers does it take to make a mating circle?: said Kree.
I repeated it obediently...
:Only one, but he has to be flexible!: crowed Kree triumphantly.
Blushing, I repeated the last bit again, and the table erupted in laughter again.
:Bird, you're going to get me in trouble one of these days,: I said to Kree.
He ignored the comment.
Wendell stood up at the officer's table and called for our attention. "Attention please!"
The entire mess hall went quiet.
"First of all, you've done a wonderful job of bringing in recruits and training them, Thera. I look forward to seeing their capabilities on the training field."
Wendell pointed at my table, with the rest of the new recruits. "Wanderers, meet your new partners! Thera, I understand that most of these fine young people at that table are training for scouting and skirmishing?"
Thera nodded. "Well, let's welcome them in!" finished Wendell.
A storm of clapping erupted from the rest of the tables. Most of the people at my table blushed.
:Bondmate!: called Kree.
I flung up my arm. Helia, knowing this move, leaned away.
Kree swooped in the open window and landed on my arm.
:Bird, you are such a show-off.:
:Attention good. Stand!:
Sighing, I stood. "Well, lookie here! It's a birdie!" called one of the officers who'd ridden in that day.
Wendell stood again. "I forgot to mention that. Wanderers, this is our last, but not least, recruit-Kree the hawk-eagle from the Pelagiris! Liluye?"
Knowing that this was for me to talk, I flinched inwardly. I'd never been good at talking to groups of people larger than 10.
Kree said impatiently, :Captain say talk, so talk!:
"This is Kree. And before you ask, I didn't train him-he decided to come to me. Like a mage's familiar, I guess, but I'm no mage, so I wouldn't know. I found Kree-or rather, he found me, when I was hiking through the outer fringes of the Pelagiris. I wouldn't go in there if I were you-only the heroes, mages, and stupidly lucky get out. I'm just stupidly lucky, I guess...um, thank you. Go back to bed, bird," I added to Kree, launching him into the air.
He circled around the dining hall several times to more applause, then swooped out the window.
Finishing eating quickly, I slipped out of the room before the meal was over, wanting to avoid questions.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
OK. That didn't go in the direction I expected. Ah well.
I'm going to ask your opinion on something. What would you do if I made Liluye shaych? You don't usually see shaych girls in Misty fanfiction...with notable exceptions, but I won't go into that. So, would you:
a) Freak out, flame me, and run away screaming
b) Continue reading the story anyway (indifferently)
c) Respond positively
Just want to know your opinion...even though I think we're open-minded enough around here. Look at all the Van/Stef fluff fics we have around here!
Reviews please!
~Fireblade K'Chona