I don't own anything. I just like to write. Enjoy
Darkling Encounter
A cheater streaked across the open plain, closely followed by a puma while an eagle swooped overhead, shrieking with the joy of flight.
Witterquick transformed back to human and laughed as the others caught up.
"Slow coaches." He teased.
Chase swiped at him playfully before transforming, herself. Witterquick dodged easily.
"Are you sure this is the right place?" Chase asked.
"Merklynn said it was the tree on this field." Arzon said. "Now all we have to do is collect the nuts."
"Merklynn's requests are always so..." Chase struggled to think of the word.
"Weird." Witterquick supplied.
"I was going to say unfathomable. But weird works just as well."
The three of them set to work gathering the evil smelling nuts from the tree. They were tough to shift, they clung to the tree and had to be grasped firmly with both hands in order to budge them. By the time all the Knights had finished they were holding hands away from their faces in an attempt not to smell them.
"There is a stream over that way." Arzon pointed. "I saw it as I few over."
"Eagle eyes does it again." Chase commented as she and Witterquick followed Arzon.
They rinsed their hands in the cold stream water, taking the time to splash each other as well.
Chase gave a cry as Arzon dumped water down her neck then again as Witterquick followed suit.
"Hey! Two against one is not fair!" She protested splashing them both. They lay on the bank, too busy laughing to be bothered about the water.
"You obviously picked the wrong team." Witterquick told her still grinning. He casually trailed his foot in the water flicking her with tiny droplets. "I guess we should take these nuts to Merklynn."
Chase shared a smile with Arzon; Witterquick never could sit still for more than a few moments.
"I'll take them." Arzon said stretching and preparing to transform to his eagle totem. He picked up the bag of nuts holding them at arms length from his body to try and avoid the smell. "It doesn't take all three of us to carry them to the shrine."
"Are you sure?" Chase asked him.
Arzon nodded. "Just make sure you two behave while I'm gone." He gave them a large wink them changed into an eagle. He soared into the sky with a cry, circled, banked, and then swooped down to grasp the bag on nuts from Witterquick's hand.
They watched him flap his powerful wings to gain height, then fly steadily towards Merklynn's shrine.
Witterquick turned caught Chase and swung her round. "So... What exactly does 'behave' mean?"
Chase laughed as he kissed her neck.
"I don't think that this is behaving."
"No?" Witterquick studied her for a moment. "How about this?" He trailed kisses from her neck up to her ear.
Chase fought to keep her grin off her face. "I don't think so."
"How about this?" With that he caught her lips in a powerful kiss that made the rest of the world fade from view.
The sound of laser blasts brought the world back into sharp focus. They sprang apart both assuming battle positions.
Mortdred and Duncan roared past them in the Dagger Dart. Duncan's fury was clear on his face. He wrestled the controls from Mortdred and turned the craft for another attack.
"He knows!" Chase shoved Witterquick down as the Dagger Dart swooped over them, cutting the sky where they had been standing.
"You have to get out of here." Chase hissed in Witterquick's ear as they watched the plane gain height before turning for another attack. The lasers scorched the ground as they ran.
"There's nowhere to go." Witterquick replied. The single tree in the centre of the plain was the only cover for miles. "I can't just leave you." He told her, covering her with his body as they were forced to the ground again.
They heard Duncan's cry of rage as he shouted at Mortdred. Mortdred was complaining against this continued attack, but Duncan was too incensed to heed him.
Chase glanced back at the stream. "Cover me." She commanded Witterquick and drew her power staff.
Trying to ignore the scene around her she chanted the phrase that bound the power of her staff. "Lake, tide, rain by the hour, lend to me now water's power."
Her power staff burst into life, the water sprite looked down at her benignly. She looked at Chase, saw the Dagger Dart and smiled a thin smile. Feeding off Chase's own feeling for the Darkling Lords and Duncan especially she bared her teeth.
Twin jets of water shot skyward from the river and smashed against the craft causing it to shake violently. Mortdred gave a small moan of fear and pulled the Dagger Dart up. Duncan was swearing at him but Mortdred's sense of self-preservation was stronger than his fear of the other Darkling Lord. He turned the plane back the way they had come. The water spirit sent two more pillars of water shooting after him before she flickered then vanished. Duncan would not be so easily dissuaded. Still cursing Mortdred he leapt off the Dagger Dart and charged towards Witterquick. His heavy battle-axe rang when it clashed with Witterquick's metal boomerang.
"You have no right to her. She is mine!" Duncan grated as he found himself face to face with Witterquick.
"She will never be yours." Witterquick shot back at him before leaping back from Duncan's wild swing. They circled each other warily each looking for an opening or weakness.
"Leave, Duncan." Chase stepped up beside Witterquick, her sai held ready in her hand.
The look Duncan gave her was enough to chill her bone. Lust and loathing held equal place in his emotions as he glared at her.
"He touched you." He spat the words at her.
Witterquick stepped into his line of vision again. "And he is still here."
Duncan leapt at him with a roar, but Witterquick lightly side-stepped his attack. Duncan swerved at the last second and his axe struck Chase's sai. She deflected the blow then leapt lightly aside as he tried for a second. Duncan's third blow was met by Witterquick, forcing him to leave Chase if he wanted to defend himself.
There was a rumble as the Dagger Assault Vehicle came into view.
"Your master is here." Chase taunted Duncan as he swung at her.
"Duncan!" They all heard Darkstorm rage. "Get back here! I have no time for your petty squabbles!"
Duncan turned to glare at his leader. "Darkstorm I am busy."
Witterquick touched Chase's arm then changed into a cheater, she followed his lead and cheater and puma raced across the plain. Duncan looked back too late and yelled his fury after them.
O
"Well at least that solves the problem of Duncan finding out about you two." Feryl said. He and the other Knights sat round the table having supper.
"Leave it to Feryl to find the best in any situation." Cryotek laughed slapping the smaller Knight on the back. Feryl almost landed in his supper.
"Darkstorm is going to have to learn to keep Duncan in line." Ectar commented. "He never listens to him, even in battles."
"Beats me why he became a Darkling Lord in the first place." Witterquick shrugged.
"Well Merklynn gave him his totem power. And he couldn't very well become a Spectral Knight could he." Arzon pointed out. "What other choice was there?"
"Darkstorm would never allow us to have the advantage of superior numbers in any case." Leoric told them.
"It would upset his sense of fair play." Galadria added making them all laugh.
"They'll fight it out between them." Chase said.
"I don't know who I feel more sorry for. Duncan or Darkstorm." Witterquick agreed.
"Feeling sorry for a Darkling Lord. That's something I never thought I'd feel." Ectar grinned.
"Well I made it to Merklynn's shrine alright. And he was very grateful for the nuts, though why I'm not sure." Arzon told them. "To bad I missed out on all the fun."
Chase laughed while Witterquick told him: "You can join us next time. I'm sure there will be no shortage of opportunities to make a mockery of the Darkling Lords."
Leoric rose from the table. "Goodnight friends. I am glad that the day has not proven too dangerous for any of us. We have a meeting with the Botanical Gardening Committee tomorrow. So all of us should sleep well to be fully prepared for that."
"Give me a meeting with the Darkling Lords any day." Cryotek groaned bringing a laugh and murmur of agreement from the others. They all rose and headed their separate ways. Witterquick held Chase back while the others left the room.
"Hey." She chided him, pulling away, but not enough to make him let her go. "I need my sleep even if you don't. I don't relish the meeting tomorrow."
"I can think of something I would much rather be doing than listening to the Botanical Gardening Committee." His breath was hot as he whispered in her ear. She could feel the hairs standing up on her neck as he placed a kiss just under her right ear and then her left.
She knew that she should stop this and get some sleep, but couldn't resist asking coyly: "What would that be?"
"Well it starts here." Witterquick kissed her neck again. "And it ends... Somewhere around here." He captured her lips in a gentle kiss that made her want to melt.
She leaned into him and heard him moan low in his throat. The kiss ignited in a flame of passion that left her head reeling. Her hands coiled around his neck and she ran her fingers through his hair, winding the blonde strands into tight curls. Witterquick held her to him with one arm while the other ran up and down her left side, drifting down to her hip then back up. She couldn't feel his touch through her armour, but the idea of it left her tingling.
They heard a loud cough. Ectar stood in the doorway. "Leoric mentioned that we should all get a good nights sleep."
Witterquick groaned hanging his head so that it rested on her shoulder. Chase looked sheepishly at Ectar. "Just going."
She gave Witterquick a shove in the right direction then headed down the corridor that led to her room. Witterquick watched her go then turned with a sigh to the other end of the hall where the corridor led to his room.
"What did I do to end up with you acting as a parent?" He asked Ectar.
Ectar grinned mirthlessly. "Just good luck I guess."
0
Witterquick lay in his bed thinking of Chase. She made him wild. She was so effortlessly erotic. All the more so because she was totally innocent of the way that she behaved. She had no idea how her kiss could effect him, although she was starting to learn. He smiled to himself, today hadn't turned out too badly. Although thinking about Duncan made him furious. How dare he claim Chase as his? He would never be allowed near her, he vowed to himself. Forcing himself to think only of Chase he recalled their kiss earlier. She could make him feel like he was on fire; just a touch was enough to ignite his passion for her. He rolled over then sat up, he was never going to sleep with Chase floating around in his mind. He got up, dressed then went to knock on Arzon's door.
"Enter." Arzon looked up as Witterquick walked in. "Can't sleep?"
Witterquick shrugged. "Too much going on in my head."
"You mean to much of one person going on in your head."
Witterquick shot him a look.
"Ectar isn't the only one who noticed that you and Chase had stayed behind."
"Ectar." Witterquick sighed.
"He's her uncle. More than that since Chase became one of the Spectral Knights. How do you expect him to act?"
"Like he trusts me."
"He trusts you."
Witterquick made a disparaging noise.
"He trusts you to keep her safe. Trusting you not to hurt her emotionally, that may be to much trust."
"I'd never hurt her."
Arzon shrugged. "Never is a very long time."
"You think I'm going to hurt her?" Witterquick rounded on him. "I wouldn't, I couldn't."
Arzon didn't answer him. Witterquick sighed, his anger left as quickly as it had arrived. "You think to much."
Arzon nodded. "And you could do with thinking a little more sometimes."
Witterquick accepted the criticism. "Sometimes."
"So... You and Chase are getting on alright then?"
Witterquick couldn't stop the smile from spreading across his face. "Oh yeah."
Arzon laughed. "You are so smitten."
"I know. Sickening isn't it."
"Very."
"This must be why Cryotek and Galadria are always making goofy eyes at each other."
Arzon shook his head. "What are we going to do with you?"
"I don't know." Witterquick thrust out his chest. "Kill me now?"
Arzon laughed and threw his pillow at him.