CHAPTER 1::
FOREST JUST OUTSIDE KOUAN::
Flik squinted through the bright sunlight at Viktor who was leaning over him. He must have fallen asleep while Viktor was hunting he supposed. He remember the dream he was in the middle of. He wondered about Tir. You couldn't really call it a dream since it was something of a memory. Not something he thought to himself it was a memory. He had been there, he had lived it, and he kept living it over and over in his dreams.
It had been five and a half months since Viktor had met up with him and they escaped the collapsing castle together and they had been wandering aimlessly ever since. Not that Flik really minded, he enjoyed adventures. All he cared about at that moment was how to get Viktor to tilt his head just slightly to the right to block the sun.
"I leave you alone for less then two hours to get something to eat and you fall asleep? Don't you sleep at night?" Viktor asked dropping his two freshly killed rabbits on Flik's lap.
Flik wrinkled his nose a little at the mess on his legs. "Actually no." He said pushing the rabbits to the ground. "I don't sleep at night. Since you decided that the night time was my time to stand guard." Flik replied with a hint of resentment.
"Hey you said you didn't sleep anyway. Said you haven't slept at all since Ode.... since... the war started." Viktor quickly finished.
"Since Odessa died? I slept fine at the beginning of the war."
"It's not anyones fault you know."
"Viktor come off it. It's my fault. She told me to protect the hideout. And when it got attacked I took the troops and ran. She rushed in there because she thought someone was going to be hurt down there."
"She rushed down there because she thought you were down there."
"Either way I don't want to talk about it. I'm hungry. What have you got?" Flik paused looking at the kills. "Rabbit? Who's cooking?"
Viktor looked down at him and tapped his chin with his index finger. "Hmmm... when was the last time I cooked?"
"Fine, fine I'm up, I'm cooking. Hey toss me the bag of seasons we bought in Kouan will you?"
Viktor rummaged through his pack for a moment before pulling out a leather pouch. He leaned over and handed it to Flik who was trying very desperately to get a fire going.
Flik looked down at the wood. It had rained the night before and the hot sun had failed to dry everything out properly. He was left with some damp wood, an old flint and no way to make a good fire.
"This is never going to work...." He said mostly to himself.
He looked around for something he could use. His brown eyes scanned the area for something dry. He found nothing that he felt he could afford to lose. A couple packs, food, hay for when they get some horses. Of course the rabbits, and gear. His mind failed him for something to use. He looked over at Viktor who was searching for a knife to begin skinning the rabbits.
"You miserable human. Just use the damn hay. Its not like you have horses right now."
Flik's head snapped up in surprise and his eyes darted around the area before falling on the sword leaning against the big pine tree they had camped under. He cocked his head to the side for a moment, before standing up. He carried the flint over to the sword.
"Would you like to give it a try? I would be happy to let you do it." Flik said holding out the flint. "Please be my guest."
The Star Dragon Sword smirked slightly at Flik. "Oh please I do not preform meager human tasks. Thats below me." He stated matter-of-factly.
"You know, I should take you to the Great Forest and have you melted down." Flik said with a sneer. "And i don't need you to light a fire. I can do it myself." Flik looked around a bit more desperately now. The last thing he needed was to be proven wrong by a sword. He looked at his hand. A thought hit him. Lightning sets things on fire. He reached down to remove his glove.
Hoping that his plan wasn't going to fizzle out he raised his hand into the air, ready to preform the exact magical attack he was named for. Hell they didn't call him "Flik of the Blue Lightning" for nothing. With a flash, a bolt of lightning struck the little fire pit and ignited the wood into an orange flame.
Flik looked over to the sword with a smile. "Look at that. Fire. And I still have hay for when we get horses."
The Star Dragon Sword snickered and closed his eyes.
"Oh. You got a fire. Nice work. I finished skinning the rabbits, I cut them up too and removed most of the bones. You want to season them now?" Viktor asked rising to his feet.
"Yeah. Might as well. No sense seasoning them after we cook them you know?"
"Yeah makes sense. As you said."
Flik leaned over and sprinkled a bit of seasons on the freshly cut meat. Each piece that was seasoned was put onto a stick by Viktor to be roasted over the fire. Flik liked this little set up. He put the seasons on Viktor put the meat on sticks Flik cooked them. They ate. It was quite a simple little routine they had going.
Odessa would laugh at the sight of them cooking, Flik thought to himself as he continued seasoning. He could picture her face. Her green eyes would shine with that intense light that very few people had. She would smile and look at him and she would say something about how he never ceased to amaze her. She always said things like that to him. It used to get under his skin, which is why she did it he supposed. But it was one of those things he had come to miss. That along with everything else about her.
The way she felt when he touched her. The way her hair blew in the wind. The way she would wrinkle her nose at him when he said something stupid. The way she would hold him after they spent the night together. Flik swallowed down the lump that was forming in his throat. He wasn't over her death he realized. And he wasn't sure that he was ever going to be.
"Flik?"
He looked up slowly, not wanting her face to go away.
"Ummm... I might be wrong but i think the ground is seasoned enough." Viktor pointed to the dirt by Flik's legs.
He looked down at the light dusting of seasons he had covered the ground in.
"Really I think its good." Viktor said. "Are you okay?" He asked seeing the look on Fliks face. "You look like you just saw a ghost.
Flik shook her image out of his head. "Yeah I'm fine. I was just letting my mind wander. I must be more tired then i thought." He laughed and Viktor shrugged. He knew Viktor didn't believe his sad attempt at a lie but he didn't say anything about it and thats all Flik really cared about. The fact that the subject wasn't pushed further then he wanted it to go. Viktor was good like that. He knew when to push an issue and when to let it lay.
"So Viktor, where are we off too next?" Flik asked after a moment of silence.
"Well i figured we'd head towards Garan. Then after that I thought we could head to Jowsten. I hear that the mayor of Muse is looking into hiring some mercs."
"You know what for?"
"No, not really. But it doesn't really matter. It'll be potch coming in."
"Thats true." Flik said. "Thats very true." He thought for a moment about the trip. "Thats going to take us some time."
"It wont be too bad. I did some thinking and if we pick up some horses in Antei and travel at a pretty steady pace it should only take about a year. Maybe a year an a half."
"Do you really think she'll need mercs in a year?"
"Who knows but at least we have a plan. Its better then wandering around looking for trouble. Besides your over thinking this. Just trust me. We can deal with tomorrow when it gets here. No need to worry about it now. Especially when we have such nice rabbits cooking." Viktor twisted the sticks over the fire to cook them evenly.
The two finished cooking their rabbits and started on the eating process. It was getting dark already but the fire left enough light for them to continue talking and joking for a while with no worries about bears or anything of the like coming after them. They cleaned up their area and Flik headed to his look out log as he liked to call it.
He had thought about her. And that meant when he was awake all alone his mind would find its way back to her. He wondered if this was normal. To think about someone so much. Someone who was never coming back. He sat on his log and poked the fire with a stick. Little embers flew in the air. A million fireflies dancing on the warm spring air. Flik sighed. She loved fireflies.
She used to say "How does something so small hold so much beauty?" and he would usually just go along with her. Humor her because he had more important matters to worry about. Like whether the imperials were close, what their next move was. He realized as he stared un-seeingly at the fire that he knew a side of her no one else would ever know. The side of her that was a woman and not the leader of a growing army.
FOREST JUST OUTSIDE KOUAN::
Flik squinted through the bright sunlight at Viktor who was leaning over him. He must have fallen asleep while Viktor was hunting he supposed. He remember the dream he was in the middle of. He wondered about Tir. You couldn't really call it a dream since it was something of a memory. Not something he thought to himself it was a memory. He had been there, he had lived it, and he kept living it over and over in his dreams.
It had been five and a half months since Viktor had met up with him and they escaped the collapsing castle together and they had been wandering aimlessly ever since. Not that Flik really minded, he enjoyed adventures. All he cared about at that moment was how to get Viktor to tilt his head just slightly to the right to block the sun.
"I leave you alone for less then two hours to get something to eat and you fall asleep? Don't you sleep at night?" Viktor asked dropping his two freshly killed rabbits on Flik's lap.
Flik wrinkled his nose a little at the mess on his legs. "Actually no." He said pushing the rabbits to the ground. "I don't sleep at night. Since you decided that the night time was my time to stand guard." Flik replied with a hint of resentment.
"Hey you said you didn't sleep anyway. Said you haven't slept at all since Ode.... since... the war started." Viktor quickly finished.
"Since Odessa died? I slept fine at the beginning of the war."
"It's not anyones fault you know."
"Viktor come off it. It's my fault. She told me to protect the hideout. And when it got attacked I took the troops and ran. She rushed in there because she thought someone was going to be hurt down there."
"She rushed down there because she thought you were down there."
"Either way I don't want to talk about it. I'm hungry. What have you got?" Flik paused looking at the kills. "Rabbit? Who's cooking?"
Viktor looked down at him and tapped his chin with his index finger. "Hmmm... when was the last time I cooked?"
"Fine, fine I'm up, I'm cooking. Hey toss me the bag of seasons we bought in Kouan will you?"
Viktor rummaged through his pack for a moment before pulling out a leather pouch. He leaned over and handed it to Flik who was trying very desperately to get a fire going.
Flik looked down at the wood. It had rained the night before and the hot sun had failed to dry everything out properly. He was left with some damp wood, an old flint and no way to make a good fire.
"This is never going to work...." He said mostly to himself.
He looked around for something he could use. His brown eyes scanned the area for something dry. He found nothing that he felt he could afford to lose. A couple packs, food, hay for when they get some horses. Of course the rabbits, and gear. His mind failed him for something to use. He looked over at Viktor who was searching for a knife to begin skinning the rabbits.
"You miserable human. Just use the damn hay. Its not like you have horses right now."
Flik's head snapped up in surprise and his eyes darted around the area before falling on the sword leaning against the big pine tree they had camped under. He cocked his head to the side for a moment, before standing up. He carried the flint over to the sword.
"Would you like to give it a try? I would be happy to let you do it." Flik said holding out the flint. "Please be my guest."
The Star Dragon Sword smirked slightly at Flik. "Oh please I do not preform meager human tasks. Thats below me." He stated matter-of-factly.
"You know, I should take you to the Great Forest and have you melted down." Flik said with a sneer. "And i don't need you to light a fire. I can do it myself." Flik looked around a bit more desperately now. The last thing he needed was to be proven wrong by a sword. He looked at his hand. A thought hit him. Lightning sets things on fire. He reached down to remove his glove.
Hoping that his plan wasn't going to fizzle out he raised his hand into the air, ready to preform the exact magical attack he was named for. Hell they didn't call him "Flik of the Blue Lightning" for nothing. With a flash, a bolt of lightning struck the little fire pit and ignited the wood into an orange flame.
Flik looked over to the sword with a smile. "Look at that. Fire. And I still have hay for when we get horses."
The Star Dragon Sword snickered and closed his eyes.
"Oh. You got a fire. Nice work. I finished skinning the rabbits, I cut them up too and removed most of the bones. You want to season them now?" Viktor asked rising to his feet.
"Yeah. Might as well. No sense seasoning them after we cook them you know?"
"Yeah makes sense. As you said."
Flik leaned over and sprinkled a bit of seasons on the freshly cut meat. Each piece that was seasoned was put onto a stick by Viktor to be roasted over the fire. Flik liked this little set up. He put the seasons on Viktor put the meat on sticks Flik cooked them. They ate. It was quite a simple little routine they had going.
Odessa would laugh at the sight of them cooking, Flik thought to himself as he continued seasoning. He could picture her face. Her green eyes would shine with that intense light that very few people had. She would smile and look at him and she would say something about how he never ceased to amaze her. She always said things like that to him. It used to get under his skin, which is why she did it he supposed. But it was one of those things he had come to miss. That along with everything else about her.
The way she felt when he touched her. The way her hair blew in the wind. The way she would wrinkle her nose at him when he said something stupid. The way she would hold him after they spent the night together. Flik swallowed down the lump that was forming in his throat. He wasn't over her death he realized. And he wasn't sure that he was ever going to be.
"Flik?"
He looked up slowly, not wanting her face to go away.
"Ummm... I might be wrong but i think the ground is seasoned enough." Viktor pointed to the dirt by Flik's legs.
He looked down at the light dusting of seasons he had covered the ground in.
"Really I think its good." Viktor said. "Are you okay?" He asked seeing the look on Fliks face. "You look like you just saw a ghost.
Flik shook her image out of his head. "Yeah I'm fine. I was just letting my mind wander. I must be more tired then i thought." He laughed and Viktor shrugged. He knew Viktor didn't believe his sad attempt at a lie but he didn't say anything about it and thats all Flik really cared about. The fact that the subject wasn't pushed further then he wanted it to go. Viktor was good like that. He knew when to push an issue and when to let it lay.
"So Viktor, where are we off too next?" Flik asked after a moment of silence.
"Well i figured we'd head towards Garan. Then after that I thought we could head to Jowsten. I hear that the mayor of Muse is looking into hiring some mercs."
"You know what for?"
"No, not really. But it doesn't really matter. It'll be potch coming in."
"Thats true." Flik said. "Thats very true." He thought for a moment about the trip. "Thats going to take us some time."
"It wont be too bad. I did some thinking and if we pick up some horses in Antei and travel at a pretty steady pace it should only take about a year. Maybe a year an a half."
"Do you really think she'll need mercs in a year?"
"Who knows but at least we have a plan. Its better then wandering around looking for trouble. Besides your over thinking this. Just trust me. We can deal with tomorrow when it gets here. No need to worry about it now. Especially when we have such nice rabbits cooking." Viktor twisted the sticks over the fire to cook them evenly.
The two finished cooking their rabbits and started on the eating process. It was getting dark already but the fire left enough light for them to continue talking and joking for a while with no worries about bears or anything of the like coming after them. They cleaned up their area and Flik headed to his look out log as he liked to call it.
He had thought about her. And that meant when he was awake all alone his mind would find its way back to her. He wondered if this was normal. To think about someone so much. Someone who was never coming back. He sat on his log and poked the fire with a stick. Little embers flew in the air. A million fireflies dancing on the warm spring air. Flik sighed. She loved fireflies.
She used to say "How does something so small hold so much beauty?" and he would usually just go along with her. Humor her because he had more important matters to worry about. Like whether the imperials were close, what their next move was. He realized as he stared un-seeingly at the fire that he knew a side of her no one else would ever know. The side of her that was a woman and not the leader of a growing army.