Eclipse of Dusk
By: Hseru
Warnings: Shounen ai later on 1x2 3x4 5x? (poor Wuffers)
Disclaimer: I own not Gundam Wing, but I do own the world the G-boys traverse. Fear my god power.
Chapter 2
Slowly, and silently, Heero moved around the fire to where Wufei slept. The eyes were visibly gone, but he could still feel them watching him from all around. It was all together unnerving; he didn't know how many of them there were, whatever they were.
Kneeling beside Wufei, he whispered the sleeping warrior's name, just loud enough to bring him from that sleep.
He could feel Wufei tense under the restraining hand Heero'd laid on his shoulder as his eyes snapped open, but didn't protest as the look they exchanged explained all it needed to. Getting to his knees, Wufei slipped his twin blades soundlessly from their sheaths as Heero moved to wake Quatre.
Unsure as to how the little mage would react to being woken so abruptly, Heero placed a hand over his mouth as he shook him awake, immediately forcing Quatre's eyes to meet his, and realize it was Heero, so he wouldn't struggle. Removing the hand, Heero then lifted it to his lips, signaling silence. Quatre nodded, laying a hand on the smooth, six foot long birch bark staff he kept always on his person, and which had been resting beside him as he slept. The top was fitted with a fist sized clear crystal with a jet of deep blue running through its center, though at the moment he kept it down as Heero hurriedly explained what was happening in as short a way as possible. The little blond nodded his understanding, and prepared himself for rapid-fire spell usage should it come to that.
Heero could still feel the eyes on him while they did this, and it caused the hairs on the back of his neck to prickle uncontrollably. He vaguely wondered what would be so foolish as to stay while they prepared to defend themselves. Even though they moved with unmatched stealth, they had already been spotted. It was a mystery he hoped to soon solve.
Then, as if the thing watching had suddenly vanished, the feeling disappeared. Heero blinked, eyes once again piercing the darkness for any sign of the thing, or things.
Nothing.
The three of them spread around their camp site, careful to keep within both sight and hearing distance. Each one of them came back empty handed. There were no tracks, no traces of anything there, but even Wufei trusted Heero's sharp instincts, and knew the rest of the night would pass sleepless.
Now wide awake, the three of them settled next to the fire again, adding more wood to keep it bright and cheery despite the coldly quiet night around them.
"What was it?" Quatre asked quietly, first to break the unnatural hush that had gathered over them and the area.
"Hn.... not sure...." Heero replied with a grunt, eyes still scanning the darkness.
"Something that suddenly became afraid of us in the end..." Wufei said, eyes switching between the outer forest and the two others.
"What do you mean? How could you tell?" The little mage asked.
"...You can smell fear." The dark haired warrior answered.
…
The next day, the three of them searched once again for traces of what had visited them the night before, but again, nothing was found. Whatever it had been, it was damn stealthy.
Something else that had bothered Heero, was the fact that the horses had not reacted at all to whatever it had been. Checking on the beasts had revealed them silently standing grouped together, half asleep. No panic, no nervous shifting. Nothing to denote that they were afraid in any way.
It was just another disconcerting thing to add to their rapidly growing list of uncertainties.
The task of rolling up the blankets and repacking the saddle bags was undertaken quickly, and they set out to be away from the place before night again found them.
All during the morning, the three of them would periodically be seen shifting to look in odd directions, to an outward observer they would look extremely paranoid, but each felt eyes upon them more than once, and it was an uncomfortable feeling they'd rather have remedied, even if it meant facing their follower or followers.
It was some time around midday when they actually caught sight of what followed them. Entering a rather large copse of aspen trees, Heero leading at the front, Quatre in the center, and Wufei bringing up the rear, Heero's destrier was suddenly brought up short by the appearance, as if by magic, of a tall, willowy man aiming a powerful longbow at them. Quatre and Wufei reigned in their mounts when they saw he'd stopped, and found themselves flanked by several other tall young men aiming longbows at them. Before fear gripped his heart, Quatre marveled at the strength doubtless required to pull those thick yew bows, then he curbed his thoughts and tried to ready a spell for defense against such weapons.
He suddenly found an arrow practically three inches from his chest as one of the men moved forward, a brunette tall enough to do such a thing without aiming way upwards. A single crystal evergreen eye peered warily up at him, the other supposed eye covered by a brace of bangs that stuck out awkwardly against gravity.
"I would advise against that." Was all he said in a naturally lilting tone, and the little mage nodded, gulping slightly. Inside, he wondered how the man could see to aim his bow, much less with the accuracy his stance belied.
Heero's eyes never left the man in front of him. Elf, he mentally corrected himself, now noticing the slight tilt of the clear crystalline eyes, and the pointed ears that stuck delicately from the thick mane of pale blonde hair. No wonder the horses had not reacted to their presence. Even if they had been sensed, elves had a calming air that made them part of the natural demesnes they traversed. It would have seemed like no more than a passing animal of the forest to the mounts.
"What business have you here?" Came the chiming tones of the elf before him.
"The trade routes are open to all who wish to pass them, are they not?" Heero replied starchly.
"Aye, that they are, but you are not traders, and they are the only ones still willing to pass this way." An obviously distrustful tone was there.
"Hn..."
"True, we are no traders, but we still have free passage of this way." Wufei spoke up from the back, highly annoyed at this untimely interruption.
"There has been word passed through that spies are sneaking into the Eastern lands while this dragon holds sway over the routes." The elf said, coming straight and almost painfully to the point. "How know we that you are not these spies? Soldiers, as I take you to be with your weaponry and aid of a trained mage, have no business simply passing through."
"We aren't spies...." Quatre spoke up, spooked by such an accusation to do so.
"We were sent by the Lord of Havrel to destroy the dragon you speak of." Heero said in a tone that would normally have brooked no argument, though at best it was only persuasive when it was plied against an elf.
Still distrustful, the lead elf did, however, order the lowering of his contingent's bows, and a score of arrows were simultaneously un-nocked and stored away in full quivers upon the back of each elf, though there was no doubt in anyone's mind that they could be brought to bear again at a moment's notice.
"What luck has two humans and a mage against the likes of one of the most powerful dragons living?" The elf asked pointedly.
The slight look of surprise, or as close to surprise as the stoic Heero could manage, told them that this was news to the three.
"How do you know this?" Wufei asked, taking the lead.
"Tis a black dragon." The elf replied, as if that should answer everything. At the blank looks he received, he guessed he would have to explain. Stupid humans.
"Know you nothing of dragons?" He began in a churlish tone. "When a dragon is hatched, they are as colorful as the rainbow, but as they age, their colors grow simpler, to more solid colors, and often deeper in hue. The older a dragon, the more solid the color, and the more devastatingly powerful they become. This dragon you foolishly seek to bring down is solid black. There is no other powerful as it now living in this plane of existence."
Quatre's eyes got round at this, as he was the only one of the three of them that seemed capable of showing emotion.
Heero nodded grimly, shooting a glance back at Wufei, who nodded his silent agreement. They had felt something was not right in these circumstances, and this had to be some part of it. No one in their sane mind would willingly go after something so powerful, but the two of them were not necessarily known for their rational sanity either, so it was absurdly fitting.
The elf had watched the silent exchange, reading some part of it, but neither of them knew how deep as they angled their attention back to him.
"So you say you were sent by Havrel's Lord?" He asked to clarify. Heero nodded in reply. The elf paused, as if thinking of the possibilities to himself, then he resumed. "I feel the need to tell you that we too are on hunt for this dragon. The Eastern countries are feeling the pinch of the trade problems, and they feared that Havrel or one of the other Westerners could have had some small part with it's newly chosen homestead. So they sent us as the necessary task force."
Heero raised a brow, his only response.
"We, however, have a plan of action for driving the beast away, and have no intention of killing it unless it can't be reasoned with."
"Reasoned with?" Quatre spoke up in confusion. "Surely you don't think to parley with it?"
The elf angled cold blue eyes to the blonde mage. "Dragons are wise far beyond our understanding. With their age also comes advanced understanding. There have been documented times when a dragon has simply been appeased enough for it to be asked to leave. We do not know if this one will be willing to give up such a prosperous holding, but if so then there is no reason to kill such a wondrous thing. There are so few left to begin with, the lessening of their race by this one, if it can even be accomplished, would be devastating." He narrowed his eyes in emphasis. "Humans and other glory seekers such as yourselves have nearly whipped out their grandeur, attacking the young and vulnerable ones that have not grown into their ability for understanding."
Heero and the other two digested this new bit of information. Then he spoke up.
"Just how old do you think this dragon to be?"
The elf looked over at him.
"At least and probably more than three thousand years old...."
-----------------------------------
Woo! Chapter two, and the inspiration's still running strong. Pray that it lasts, and I might actually complete a story!
Thank you to all those who reviewed for me!! ^_^ They really make me feel loved and ready to continue writing.
A quick after note, all my next chapters might not be up quite so fast, but I'm writing in such a way that I have a good bit (almost all at the moment) of the next chapter written before I post the next one. Ok, that's all.
Review, Review!!