Daine Fights
Disclaimer: All of Tamora Pierce's original characters belong to her, not me!
"I can't believe I let you talk me into this!" Daine exclaimed to Alanna. Alanna grinned. Daine had joined Alanna's riding group for a quick border patrol on the edge of Scanra. It was still war- ridden, and many of the animals there were in need of Daine's healing.
"Well, the fun hasn't started yet! Wait until we run into the hill bandits. They're rather easy to take care of, as most of them are just homeless Scanrans." When Daine gave her a worried look, Alanna explained that no, they wouldn't be killing innocent men. "These are just bad Scanrans gone worse. Believe me; you'll change your mind when you see how they treat their animals. Small rations, if any and they use the horse crops often. I've also seen them eat their pets, which is utterly revolting." Daine gasped.
"Wait till I have a few words with the forest creatures around here. They'll be sorry!" She said hotly. She hated when owners treated their animals badly. Daine was here to take care of the animals on the border and also to help fight, since Alanna had said it would be easy. Daine didn't know what had driven her interest in the fighting arts, but she was fascinated. Then, after a few weeks of training, she had been ready to come this far with the Lioness.
It was starting to get dark when the group stopped to set up camp, something Daine still watched with amazement. Each person had an individual job, and he or she went about it with no hesitation, no question about what was to be done. Daine's job, as it had been for the last week of camping in the wilderness, was to take care of half of the group's horses. She had to rub them down, remove any hindrances with the horse shoes, and water them. Another would feed the mounts. Sometimes she would help with the hunting, other times with the cooking. She liked it out here.
That night, as the group sat by the fire, she heard an animal's cry for help. Politely she excused herself and followed the animal's voice. At the end of her search, she found an eaglet, fresh out of the nest. It looked as if it had a broken arm, so Daine got to work. First she mended the bone, then the muscle around it, and last the skin. The eaglet, she guessed to be an adolescent in eagle years, had very little fat to cushion any falls. At last Daine opened her eyes. She didn't feel tired, as the healing only took part of an hour to complete. She was getting better at quickening her healing pace.
"Daine, where have you been?" Alanna inquired when Daine returned to camp. Daine explained about the eaglet. Alanna smiled and shook her head, knowing Daine couldn't help being helpful. "Well help me clean up and bank the fire and I'll show you Numair." Daine did so, excited by getting to see her fiancé again. It had been six days since she had seen him last, but he had been in a bad mood about her leaving and hadn't spoken much. Daine hoped he wasn't still pouting.
Building up a small fire behind the tent she shared with Alanna, Daine felt butterflies flittering around her stomach. She still got that feeling every time she saw him. As the flames turned the purple of Alanna's magic, she saw Numair sitting at their kitchen table, poring over a piece of parchment. Suddenly he looked into the fire that had been built in the hearth, seeing Daine. His six foot body got up and knelt by the fire, the black of his magic replacing the orange, red, and blue flames. Although it was summer, Numair kept a fire going in the evenings for communication with Diane. Alanna left them alone.
"Hello love; how are you?"
"I'm fine. How're you? How is everything there?" Their conversation continued in this manner for the next hour. Towards the end, Daine switched the topic to the bandits. "We've found tracks, a few day's old. We're not in any rush, though. It looks like a big band, and they're traveling slowly. My main concern is the animals on the border and with the bandits. Do you know how they treat their animals? It's terrible!" Daine continued for a few minutes, but then suddenly changed the subject.
"What was that piece of parchment you were looking at before you came to talk to me?"
"Nothing, sweet. Mage stuff." Numair said, but Daine knew he was lying. She cocked an eyebrow.
"It was not."
"Noth - "
He was cut off by Daine. "Numair SalmalĂn! Tell me right now what you are up to!" Numair knew by the tone in her voice that he had better show her. Plus she had used his full name.
"It's a map." He sighed and held it up. "It shows me where you are at every moment, and it shows where battles occur, so I'll know if you've been in one."
Daine smiled at his thoughtfulness.
"It's all right, Numair. I'll be fine. I do have the Lioness here to protect me, you know."
"She'd better, or else I'll have to come up there to blast her to pieces!" He joked, but it didn't reach his still worry- filled eyes.
"I'll be fine," she repeated. "Now stop worrying." Alanna had come back, and needed to end the spell. As Daine caught one last glimpse of Numair, she smiled.
"So mote it be," Alanna commanded, and the purple fire vanished, leaving innocent- looking flames behind.