Chapter Fourteen
Shade followed the scent of deer, stopping only when his intended prey had come into sight.
The animal's head was down, its ears swivelling back and forth, listening for any danger. It hadn't yet sensed his presence yet...easy prey.
He was about to sneak closer and go for the kill when the animal fell quite dead, an arrow lodged through its neck rupturing veins and killing it instantly.
Shade felt like growling at the misfortune of having his kill taken from him. Until, that is, the elf stepped out from hiding, a wolf trotting along at her side.
Something about them seemed all too familiar....
Lying in wait until the Elf had neatly taken her kill and put it over the back of a horse nearby, Shade didn't leave his spot hiding in the shadows until the wolf at the elf's side had left.
Stepping out cautiously, making sure he wasn't spotted by the quickly departing elf, he sniffed around the spots where the two companions had been.
Shade growled then, deep in his throat. He knew both scents, but hadn't seen either two in a long time.
Lyavain and Colt.
The betrayal made was still fresh in his mind though....
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Wulfgar was in a panic by the time he had made it back to the Palace. He raced to the room where he and his friends had played cards and immediately ran into an irate Bruenor.
"Why they be needin' me now is beyond me guessin'!" The dwarf growled out, pacing the room, where he noticed Catti-brie and Regis were too.
He hurriedly walked over to the woman and halfling, each step closer making him dread their reactions...especially that of Catti-brie.
"I lost him! In the marketplace...he ran away and I couldn't find him." He mumbled out fast, before having to repeat the sentence slower so everyone could understand him.
"Ye be meanin' ter tell us that Drizzt be runnin' around Silverymoon, on his own?" Catti-brie demanded more than asked.
Wulfgar just nodded.
Catti-brie stared at him, before closing her eyes. "What happened?" She asked, calm despite what she had just been told.
"He...wanted to buy a bow. It was a strange idea and I have no idea why he wanted one, but he got all angry when he missed the table to put it back. He made quite a spectacle of himself before he took off...."
Bruenor frowned before joining in the conversation. "Well, best ye be goin' ter find the durned elf then. I have enough of me own problems ter be worryin' overmuch for one who can look after themselves."
Those words helped calm Wulfgar down almost immediately. He knew Drizzt could still fight, it was just that being blind now...
Sighing, the barbarian just nodded, before wandering back to the infirmary to visit Delly. He would give the drow a little time to himself before going off to find him.
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Drizzt was falling asleep. He knew the invitation to stay was nothing but politeness on this strange elf's part, but the couch he was balled on with Thomas was too comfortable.
His eyes slipped closed to the voice of the child and was soon lulled asleep completely by the continuous noise.
A shake to his shoulder woke him up an hour later. Groggy and a little turned around, it seemed natural to state his unease. "Where am I?" He asked, the question coming out more a whine than anything else.
"Celanil's house. Ye helped her son home, remember?" Came the familiar voice of Bruenor.
"You must have been exhausted..." Came the worried voice of Wulfgar.
Drizzt thought that a strange thing to think. He had been sleeping peacefully at nights nowadays and had done nothing to warrant exhaustion.
"Thanks for coming to pick me up." With a stretch, Drizzt got to his feet and reached down to look for his weapons. They weren't there.
He began to nervously move his hands along the couch he had fallen asleep on, trying to find them. It was five more minutes before Wulfgar handed them to him.
"Where were they? Why were they moved?!" Drizzt asked, his eyes narrowing his eyes.
"You were going to cut someone with them where you were...honestly, you do not have to carry them wherever you go." Came the familiar Elven voice of Tarathiel from behind him.
Blinking, he shrugged, an apologetic smile making its way across his features. "Sorry, an old habit I have had since childhood."
Silence hung over the room then, uncomfortable and heavy. With a shrug, Drizzt held out one of his hands and waited.
"Well, I only be here to be tellin' yeh that I be goin' back to Mithral Hall. There's trouble at the mines that I'm needed for." Bruenor stated, before grumbling under his breath about the nonsensical things he had to do because he was a King.
Drizzt half-listened to the tirade, but mostly he went about feeling for someone else too grab hold of. He was ready to go back to the Palace now.
He grabbed hold of a thin wrist and smiled. "Tarathiel?" he asked, happy when the elf he was holding responded to the name. "I'm ready to leave now."
Celanil cleared her throat, before smiling somewhat forcedly at the blind drow. "Thomas seems to like you. Feel free to stop by and see him at any time."
Bowing slightly, Drizzt thanked her and her invitation, before getting a better hold on his elf friend's arm and disappeared out the door with his friends following close behind him.
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Lyavain made her way home, Colt easily loping at her horses side, tongue lolling out of his mouth more like a domestic dog than the wolf he was.
Seeing the trees evening out and her home in a small clearing, she halted her steed, hopped off the mares back, carefully brought the felled deer to the ground and sent the horse to forage in the surrounding woods.
The deer was skinned, hopefully the hide would be good enough to make into a new set of leather armour. Her last had been ruined in a skirmish not too long before her peculiar guests had arrived at her home.
Colt made his way inside, sniffing about the kitchen, waiting for his large share of fresh meat. Frowning at her wolf companion, she shooed him out of the house, grabbed enough meat to last a while and let Colt have the rest.
She was about to cook her own dinner when she heard a yelp cooming from outside. Running to where she had heard the noise, she found Colt lying in a pool of his own blood.
Crying out loud, she quickly called her horse to her and sent off for Silverymoon. In her haste, she forgot to look at what might have done this to her companion. In her shock, she forgot that she was a Healer.
In her rush to the one place she knew someone would help her, she didn't bother to see if she was being followed.
A/N - Yipes, I am so sorry for not having this out sooner, but first I had the dreaded WB, then I had started to write several other stories, some chaptered, others one shots.
All up, by the time you get this, know that I am currently working on 8 other stories, not including this one, luckily some of them are one shots...
Anyhoo, a big thank you to all who reviewed, and an even bigger one to all who decided that the wait wouldn't steer them away from reading and enjoying...at least I hope you do at any rate.
Thanks to chickens, Fox-Demon-Girl, Starknight, fanfic-demon, DarkElf, Em Starcatcher, RangerDo'Urden (twice!), She-cat, -Kuusuru-, singvogel, BelleDayNight, darkestdrow, chichiX, Sirithiliel and Zarbok for reviewing the last chapter...don't think the next chapter will take quite this long.
Oh and BelleDayNight, I have now officially read The Lone Drow. Sort of screwed up my perception on this story with what happened to poor Tarathiel...
Okay, I have finished my little babbling bit now.
Shade followed the scent of deer, stopping only when his intended prey had come into sight.
The animal's head was down, its ears swivelling back and forth, listening for any danger. It hadn't yet sensed his presence yet...easy prey.
He was about to sneak closer and go for the kill when the animal fell quite dead, an arrow lodged through its neck rupturing veins and killing it instantly.
Shade felt like growling at the misfortune of having his kill taken from him. Until, that is, the elf stepped out from hiding, a wolf trotting along at her side.
Something about them seemed all too familiar....
Lying in wait until the Elf had neatly taken her kill and put it over the back of a horse nearby, Shade didn't leave his spot hiding in the shadows until the wolf at the elf's side had left.
Stepping out cautiously, making sure he wasn't spotted by the quickly departing elf, he sniffed around the spots where the two companions had been.
Shade growled then, deep in his throat. He knew both scents, but hadn't seen either two in a long time.
Lyavain and Colt.
The betrayal made was still fresh in his mind though....
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------
Wulfgar was in a panic by the time he had made it back to the Palace. He raced to the room where he and his friends had played cards and immediately ran into an irate Bruenor.
"Why they be needin' me now is beyond me guessin'!" The dwarf growled out, pacing the room, where he noticed Catti-brie and Regis were too.
He hurriedly walked over to the woman and halfling, each step closer making him dread their reactions...especially that of Catti-brie.
"I lost him! In the marketplace...he ran away and I couldn't find him." He mumbled out fast, before having to repeat the sentence slower so everyone could understand him.
"Ye be meanin' ter tell us that Drizzt be runnin' around Silverymoon, on his own?" Catti-brie demanded more than asked.
Wulfgar just nodded.
Catti-brie stared at him, before closing her eyes. "What happened?" She asked, calm despite what she had just been told.
"He...wanted to buy a bow. It was a strange idea and I have no idea why he wanted one, but he got all angry when he missed the table to put it back. He made quite a spectacle of himself before he took off...."
Bruenor frowned before joining in the conversation. "Well, best ye be goin' ter find the durned elf then. I have enough of me own problems ter be worryin' overmuch for one who can look after themselves."
Those words helped calm Wulfgar down almost immediately. He knew Drizzt could still fight, it was just that being blind now...
Sighing, the barbarian just nodded, before wandering back to the infirmary to visit Delly. He would give the drow a little time to himself before going off to find him.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------
Drizzt was falling asleep. He knew the invitation to stay was nothing but politeness on this strange elf's part, but the couch he was balled on with Thomas was too comfortable.
His eyes slipped closed to the voice of the child and was soon lulled asleep completely by the continuous noise.
A shake to his shoulder woke him up an hour later. Groggy and a little turned around, it seemed natural to state his unease. "Where am I?" He asked, the question coming out more a whine than anything else.
"Celanil's house. Ye helped her son home, remember?" Came the familiar voice of Bruenor.
"You must have been exhausted..." Came the worried voice of Wulfgar.
Drizzt thought that a strange thing to think. He had been sleeping peacefully at nights nowadays and had done nothing to warrant exhaustion.
"Thanks for coming to pick me up." With a stretch, Drizzt got to his feet and reached down to look for his weapons. They weren't there.
He began to nervously move his hands along the couch he had fallen asleep on, trying to find them. It was five more minutes before Wulfgar handed them to him.
"Where were they? Why were they moved?!" Drizzt asked, his eyes narrowing his eyes.
"You were going to cut someone with them where you were...honestly, you do not have to carry them wherever you go." Came the familiar Elven voice of Tarathiel from behind him.
Blinking, he shrugged, an apologetic smile making its way across his features. "Sorry, an old habit I have had since childhood."
Silence hung over the room then, uncomfortable and heavy. With a shrug, Drizzt held out one of his hands and waited.
"Well, I only be here to be tellin' yeh that I be goin' back to Mithral Hall. There's trouble at the mines that I'm needed for." Bruenor stated, before grumbling under his breath about the nonsensical things he had to do because he was a King.
Drizzt half-listened to the tirade, but mostly he went about feeling for someone else too grab hold of. He was ready to go back to the Palace now.
He grabbed hold of a thin wrist and smiled. "Tarathiel?" he asked, happy when the elf he was holding responded to the name. "I'm ready to leave now."
Celanil cleared her throat, before smiling somewhat forcedly at the blind drow. "Thomas seems to like you. Feel free to stop by and see him at any time."
Bowing slightly, Drizzt thanked her and her invitation, before getting a better hold on his elf friend's arm and disappeared out the door with his friends following close behind him.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------
Lyavain made her way home, Colt easily loping at her horses side, tongue lolling out of his mouth more like a domestic dog than the wolf he was.
Seeing the trees evening out and her home in a small clearing, she halted her steed, hopped off the mares back, carefully brought the felled deer to the ground and sent the horse to forage in the surrounding woods.
The deer was skinned, hopefully the hide would be good enough to make into a new set of leather armour. Her last had been ruined in a skirmish not too long before her peculiar guests had arrived at her home.
Colt made his way inside, sniffing about the kitchen, waiting for his large share of fresh meat. Frowning at her wolf companion, she shooed him out of the house, grabbed enough meat to last a while and let Colt have the rest.
She was about to cook her own dinner when she heard a yelp cooming from outside. Running to where she had heard the noise, she found Colt lying in a pool of his own blood.
Crying out loud, she quickly called her horse to her and sent off for Silverymoon. In her haste, she forgot to look at what might have done this to her companion. In her shock, she forgot that she was a Healer.
In her rush to the one place she knew someone would help her, she didn't bother to see if she was being followed.
A/N - Yipes, I am so sorry for not having this out sooner, but first I had the dreaded WB, then I had started to write several other stories, some chaptered, others one shots.
All up, by the time you get this, know that I am currently working on 8 other stories, not including this one, luckily some of them are one shots...
Anyhoo, a big thank you to all who reviewed, and an even bigger one to all who decided that the wait wouldn't steer them away from reading and enjoying...at least I hope you do at any rate.
Thanks to chickens, Fox-Demon-Girl, Starknight, fanfic-demon, DarkElf, Em Starcatcher, RangerDo'Urden (twice!), She-cat, -Kuusuru-, singvogel, BelleDayNight, darkestdrow, chichiX, Sirithiliel and Zarbok for reviewing the last chapter...don't think the next chapter will take quite this long.
Oh and BelleDayNight, I have now officially read The Lone Drow. Sort of screwed up my perception on this story with what happened to poor Tarathiel...
Okay, I have finished my little babbling bit now.