A/N: Sorry for the delay in updates, I had exams, but school is out for the summer so I should get this story finished. This is Chapter 5, and hopefully it should help with the plot. There is fluff in here, but not a lot. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: None of this belongs to me.
Flickering Flames: Chapter 5
The Stormwings advanced, teeth bared, eager for the taste of blood whether it was still flowing or not. Dani shifted her weight, tightening the grip on her dagger. Steel feathers clicking, the immortals approached, bloodlust in their eyes.
A sudden burst of magical light flooded the copse, and a crisp, irritated voice that Dani knew well exclaimed, "This won't do. This won't do at all." The Stormwings stood paralyzed, while Dani and Rhia were free to move. Immediately, Rhia crossed quickly to the kudarung's side, kneeling by the red roan's head and soothing the mare.
The light dimmed and Kyprioth appeared, looking more displeased than Dani had ever seen him. He glared at the Stormwings, his aura flaring, brown eyes almost black with smoldering anger.
"Get out of my sight!" The god ordered, voice cold. The Stormwings muttered to themselves, but they dared not disobey a god, especially the sovereign god of the Isles. Mumbling soft curses, the Stormwings took flight awkwardly, struggling to right themselves in air, leaving their stench behind.
Dani's eyes watered at the smell, but after it had cleared, she looked to the Trickster, annoyed. She wasn't irritated because he had saved them; she was annoyed by his sudden appearances and even more sudden departures.
"What are you doing here?" She demanded crossly, glaring.
"I couldn't let a flock of blood-thirsty Stormwings attack my Chosen vessels, now could I?" The god retorted.
Seeing Dani's unwavering glare, he seemed impressed by her audacity, and his gaze softened. He flashed her a quick grin, his anger melting away.
"Not that you needed saving," he reassured her, and Dani snorted.
A soft groan emitted from the kudarung drew their attention away from their sparring match, and both Dani and the god turned.
Rhia bent over the mare, softly running her hands over the red roan's face as she tried to soothe the winged horse. The wounds on the mare's side still shone with a fire-red blood, contrasted by the muddy-brown blood that had dried in rivers down the her side.
Kyprioth easily crossed to the mare's side, kneeling down to run a hand, glowing faintly with his godly aura, over the mare's head. The mare sighed, then relaxed, the panicked look in her eye fading to calm.
"Poor girl," Kyprioth murmured, his dark eyes pained. Dani watched, surprised by this human emotion from a god, as Kyprioth straightened, his godly aura growing and stretching around him. "She'll listen to you now," he told the girls. "She knows you want to help her little ones."
Dear Goddess, please help us. Dani silently prayed as the god disappeared. Rhia's cry next to her brought her back. "Dani!"
Dani watched, then hurriedly knelt down near the mare's head as another contraction rippled across the mare's flank. The mare breathed heavily as Rhia positioned herself near the tail end, shedding her jacket and holding it ready, revealing the undyed shirt underneath. Dani did the same, tossing her jacket to Rhia as the mare gasped in pain.
"Take it easy," Dani murmured as the mare's wings fluttered in silent protest. She had assisted in many births, so she knew they might have to wait. She glanced at the sky, but hurriedly glanced back down as the mare squirmed again and tried to lurch to her feet, causing the blood to flow anew from her wounds.
"Take it easy." Dani soothed again, but she broke off at Rhia's soft yelp of excitement.
"Here it comes!" A second later, a kudarung foal slid out, covered in a birth sac. Rhia hurriedly cleaned off the sac with her jacket, revealing a milk-white kudarung filly, immature wings folded onto her sides, sticky. Cleaning off the filly's nose and mouth, Rhia allowed the small creature to toss her head and suck in air.
A ripple passed over the mare's side, followed by another. Dani frowned, then looked at Rhia. "Is there another?" She asked, and Rhia nodded.
"There must be." Sure enough, the mare groaned again, and a second sac-covered foal emerged. Grabbing Dani's jacket, Rhia cleaned the sac off, revealing a palomino colt, the beginnings of a white blaze on his small face. The pale palomino wings that were folded to his side twitching softly in the breeze, still sticky from the birthing sac. Cleaning off the colt's nose and mouth, Rhia set him next to his twin and watched as they blinked open twin sets of amber eyes and looked around.
Sighing softly, the mare closed her eyes. Dani waited, then realized the mare's flank no longer rose and fell. Her face white, she looked up at Rhia, her eyes changing to a pale gray with sadness. Rhia's green eyes were watery and huge in her pale face, and she looked down at the foals the kudarung had entrusted to them.
Wiping away the tears that threatened to fall, Dani looked from the foals to Rhia. She realized that if the foals weren't fed soon, they'd die. Standing up, she looked sadly at the mare's prone body, then approached the foals.
They squeaked as she approached, blinking long-lashed eyes at her. A smile curled her lips at how cute they were, and then she scooped up the palomino colt, settling him into her arms. Rhia followed suit with the filly, and she looked at Dani questioningly.
"Flame might take them," she explained, her eyes still gray. She thought of her chestnut mare, who had lost her own foal just weeks before. She still had plenty of milk and maternal instinct to spare.
Rhia nodded, then set off at a brisk pace for the palace, Dani hurrying behind.
"This might not work," Dani warned as they opened the door to Flame's stall. The chestnut mare looked up at their entrance, snorting. Dani placed the palomino colt on the hay, approaching her sensitive mare slowly.
"Hey, girl, we've got a nice surprise for you," she crooned, rubbing the large white blaze on her horse's face. Without turning, she beckoned Rhia forward. Flame turned her head at the movement, and seeing the bundle that Rhia held wrapped up in a blanket, stretched her neck, sniffing inquisitively.
Dani turned to scoop up the palomino colt from where he had been lying, but to her surprise, he was standing shakily on his feet swaying. He blinked large amber eyes surrounded by gold lashes, then took a few halting steps. His wings—which Dani had mistaken at first glance to be palomino like the rest of him—shone as a soft gold in the sunlight that reflected off them.
Dani's breath caught as the colt's legs crumpled underneath him, but the hay cushioned his fall. The colt blinked again, looking distinctly surprised at being on the ground again, making Rhia giggle at his expression.
The filly, just as shaky as her brother, wobbled over to him and collapsed next to the colt. Intrigued by the foals now, Flame walked over to the two, who squeaked at her approach. Dani held her breath, hardly daring to hope. Would her mare accept the foals?
A minute passed, then two. Slowly, Flame lowered her head and snuffled at the two foals. They leaned into her touch, then squealed indignantly as she lipped at their wings curiously. The look she gave Dani when she raised her head said plainly, What did you do to these poor foals?
Dropping her head for a further inspection, Flame seemed to make up her mind. Nudging first the filly, then the colt, to their feet, she waited until they stood, wobbling. When they stood tall, she nudged them to her side whereshe let them nurse.
Dani let out the breath she'd been holding, a grin spreading across her face. She looked at Rhia, who was looking as relieved as Dani felt. The other girl watched Flame clean the foals, her green eyes shining.
Rhia reached out and brushed her hand along the palomino's back. "Yes, Adish," she cooed as the colt's tail swished happily, "you'll be okay now."
"Adish?" Dani echoed, surprised at the choice of names.
Rhia nodded, then gestured to the filly. "That's Tarala." Dani nodded, the silence only broken by the foals' soft suckling noises.
Rhia watched them a moment more, then asked, "How are we going to get them back to Tortall?"
Dani grimaced, wondering the same thing. "I don't know," she confessed. "That's Shyam's decision." With that, she slid out of the stall, back to her chores.
Shyam stared at the sight in front of him in shock, then recovered. "No, we cannot keep them!"
Rhia stared up at him, green eyes imploring. "Please, Shyam!" She begged, pleading from where she sat in the hay, the two kudarung foals watching the drama unfold from either side of her.
"If we don't take them, they'll die!" She cried, seeing the indecisiveness in his expression.
Shyam stared at her, his mind in turmoil. His resolve was weakening, especially when Rhia stared at him like that: green eyes huge, cheeks pink from their heated argument, her chestnut hair tumbling out of its hold to nestle against her face becomingly.
"Can't some other mare foster them?" He asked weakly, knowing that he was going to lose this argument.
Rhia shook her head, concealing a smile at his weakening resolve. "No," she said emphatically, "Flame has bonded with them. If we took them now she would attack us. And besides," she added as an afterthought, "there are no other mares at the moment that don't have foals of their own."
Shyam sighed, knowing he had lost. "Fine, we'll take them home with us." He muttered, not at all happy at the thought of trying to transport five horses instead of three on the trip home.
"Thank you!" Rhia squealed joyfully, bouncing up from the hay and pulling Shyam into a hug. Shyam's brain melted under her touch, and he held her gently, closing his eyes and inhaling the sweet scent of her hair.
"How touching," a familiar female voice commented from nearby, mockery in every syllable. Shyam's brain snapped back into action, but he couldn't place the voice; he was still too addled by Rhia's nearness to think straight.
Pulling away, Rhia stepped away from Shyam and fixed the speaker with a glare. "What do you want, Junai?" She snapped as the crow-girl let herself into the stall. Shyam wondered at the open hostility between the two girls as they glared at each other.
Junai passed Shyam, brushing her hand down his arm as she did so. "Hello, Shyam," she purred, one eye on Rhia. She hid a triumphant smile as she saw Rhia fairly bristle with jealously and protectiveness.
Shyam watched the two, ignoring Junai hand on his arm and her greeting, a little confused as to what was going on. Junai inspected the kudarung foals, then turned to Rhia.
"Did you steal these two?" She asked dangerously, and Rhia shook her head.
"I didn't steal them," she retorted, "their mother was dying, so I delivered them and the mare entrusted them to me."
"How do I know you're not lying?" Junai snapped back, her hazel eyes glittering.
"Ask the Trickster," Rhia shot back, "he was there, and I heard the mare's voice in my mind, asking me to care for her foals."
Junai fell silent, subdued by this information. Finally, she raised her gaze to Rhia's, and they glared at each other, hazel against green. Junai was the first to back down.
"I don't have time for this," she snapped in disgust, "some of us have actual chores to do, instead of playing with foals all day." With that, she swept from the stall, but not before sidling up to Shyam again.
"Bye, Shyam," She purred, resting her hand on his arm again, "I'll be by later." Shyam didn't meet her gaze or even acknowledge she was there; he was watching Rhia. Thwarted, Junai swept from the stall, her golden-black hair streaming out behind her.
Shyam shook his head, wondering what exactly had just taken place. "Rhia?" He asked, confused. Rhia wouldn't look at him, and she was staring at Tara's soft milky coat as if it held all the answers in the world.
Pawsteps alerted Shyam to Mingan's approach. Wolf-brother? He asked, picking up on the urgency of the wolf-dog's gait, what's wrong?
He heard Mingan's mind-voice, but it was unusually calm. Nothing's wrong, pack-brother, the wolf-dog reassured him, but Bright Eyes wants to see you. She has something for you. Smiling at Mingan's nickname for Aly, Shyam turned to leave.
As he opened the stall door, the Shang Wolf turned back. "Rhia?" He asked, "are you coming?"
Without turning to look at him, Rhia murmured, "No, I think I'll stay here and watch over the foals for awhile."
Concerned by her lack of communication, Shyam crossed to her side and rested his hand on her shoulder. "Rhia, is anything wrong?"
This time, she looked up at him and offered at weak smile. "No," she murmured, "I'm fine." Shyam would've questioned her further, but he could feel Mingan approaching, so he let himself out of the stall without another word.
He found the wolf-dog waiting outside the stall, head cocked, ears erect. Shyam started towards the entrance to the stables, Mingan at his side. They walked in silence until Mingan commented, There seems to be something troubling your mate. Did you comfort her?
"Of course I did." Shyam said aloud, "and I would have--" He halted as the wolf-dog's words hit him full force. "Wait," he demanded, "what do you mean, mate?"
Mingan stared up at him, amusement sparkling in his golden-brown eyes. It isnot a good idea to keep Bright Eyes waiting, he informed the Shang Wolf, then trotted on, leaving Shyam to wonder what exactly his friend had meant.
Shyam leaned over, concentration furrowing his brow as he went about his tasks. Shadows crept into the stable as the sun went down, casting faint pink and red rays that danced across the hay-strewn floor and then disappeared.
Holding the lit match, Shyam placed it next to the wick, and watched as the tiny flickering flame jumped from match to candle. He shut the door of the lantern and hung it on its peg, blowing out the match and stowing it in his pocket. Not realizing how late it was, he looked around and saw he was the only one in the stables, save the horses.
He stretched, yawning. It had been a long day, and he still had to check the horses one last time before he went to bed. The light was fading, so he pulled the lantern from its peg and made his way around to all the stalls.
Patting the last horse, Shyam decided to check on the kudarungs; after all, they were partially his responsibility now. His mind full, he wandered towards Flame's stall. Reaching the stall, he leaned against the door and looked in.
Flame was on her feet, her head slowly swaying as she slept. Her bright chestnut coat caught the last of the sun's rays and turned them into copper lights that created a dappled pattern. At her feet slumbered the two kudarung foals, tiny flanks rising and falling with each breath. And there, with her head pillowed on Tara's tiny white flank lay Rhia.
Shyam blinked a few times to make sure he wasn't dreaming, and then opened the stall door. Setting the lantern on a ledge, he padded over to Rhia's side and dropped to his knees beside her. Resting his hand on her shoulder, he gently shook her awake.
"Rhia?" He whispered. "Rhia, wake up!"
Rhia stirred, and her green eyes opened sleepily. She yawned, and her eyes closed again. Shyam shook her again, but she was too deep asleep to stir. Knowing that he couldn't leave her there, and that he was tired and wanted to sleep, Shyam scooped her up gently in his arms. Rhia stirred at this movement, wound her arms around his neck, nestled her head against his chest, and went back to sleep.
His heart thumping at the contact, Shyam reached out with his Gift and surrounded the lantern, and with a quick spell it rose to light his way. Hanging itself back on its peg, Shyam blew it out before exiting the stables using the servants' entrance.
Entering the servants' quarters, Shyam wove his way around cots and sleeping bodies, his eyes drooping with exhaustion. In his arms, Rhia slept on, only stirring as he tripped over someone and almost dropped her.
Locating her cot, Shyam set her down gently, removing her belt and boots before covering her up. Finding an extra cot leaning against the wall, he pulled it down and dragged it over next to Rhia's cot. Sleepily, he noticed that Dani's cot was empty, and he idily wondered where she was.
Pulling the other cot flush against Rhia's, Shyam sat down on its edge, staring at Rhia's faint outline in the dark. She stirred, and he brushed away the hair that had fallen into her face. The need for sleep was overpowering him, and before he knew what he was doing, he had grabbed an extra blanket, kicked off his boots, unhooked his belt, and covered himself up. Unlacing his shirt, he lay down, and stroked Rhia's hand comfortingly.
Rhia stirred in her sleep again, moving closer towards him unconsciously, and before Shyam could wonder what would happen in the morning, he was asleep, a blissful and deep sleep devoid of all dreams.
A/N: So, what do you think? Are they going to get caught? What did Aly tell Shyam? Review, and I'll update faster! If there are less than five reviews, I might not update at all! Please review, and no flames!