((Hi again! I know this took, like, forever, but... Well, things have been hectic. Homework, getting a new PC, things of that nature. It's true what they say, yo. Sophomore year -is- harder than freshman year.
Disclaimer: No, I don't own FY. I do own Rei and Hikari, and technically the idea of Motoki belongs to me. Oh, and Cheyenne belongs to Otaku-no-Miko.
Warning(s): Violence. Not strong violence, pretty mild, but still... If you don't likey, you no ready!))
Chapter Nine: Manifestus Fatum
Chichiri paused, cocking his head to the side, listening carefully. The hollow drumming of hooves on hard-packed soil was approaching. Fast.
Twitch barreled into the clearing as if all the demons of hell were chasing him. His muzzle was flecked with froth, eyes rolling madly in their sockets. Some scrap of sanity and recognition must have remained in the gelding's mind; he stopped his mad rush in the middle of the clear expanse, pawing the ground nervously.
Chichiri approached Twitch hesitantly, holding a hand up to the frightened horse. The gelding nuzzled his palm, whickering softly.
The mage murmured to the horse gently, checking him for any injuries. "You head back to Mt. Reikaku no da," he said, freeing the horse of bridle and saddle.
After a moment of indecision Twitch chose freedom.
Chichiri sighed, shaking his head. So much for a peaceful life after the war. Picking up Rei's ki patterns, he disappeared with a rush of displaced air.
.::0::.
"Chey! Don't leave me!"
The woman stood silently, a look of infinite sadness in her sea-glass green eyes, ebony tresses blowing in a breeze that surrounded only her.
Rei ran toward her, reaching out desperately for her elder sister.
"Chey!"
No matter how fast she ran, her sister was always out of reach. Chest tight with frustration and unshed tears, Rei stopped, watching her sister's form fade into the distance.
She sank to her knees with a sob...
...And opened her eyes.
A shaft of sunlight invaded the darkness, falling across her face. As Rei's eyes adjusted to the darkness her situation became apparent. The room was no more than a wooden box, inexpertly hewn slats allowing a small amount of light in. The air was stale; filled with the pervasive stench of horse-sweat and blood.
Blood... her blood, Rei realized as a large lump on the back of her head made itself known. They must have knocked her out and dragged her to... wherever this was.
Through the haze left by the less-than-gentle treatment of her skull, Rei's mind started making connections. Slavers... horses... caravan. Caravan! That was it! There must have been at least a dozen of these boxes - no, carts, her mind corrected - each with it's own cargo.
It was all a little surreal. Coming from a world where slavery was practically unheard of made it almost impossible to believe that she was indeed in a slave caravan. Not only in a slave caravan, but merchandise as well.
Slaves...
Deep within her, something began to burn. A deep sense of anger at this injustice to her people. Rei became consumed with the need to something -anything- to stop this.
Sapphire eyes opened wide, glowing bright in the darkness.
.::0::.
Li sighed. It was just his luck to be chosen for guard duty while all the other slavers got to spend the night in the local brothel. He had heard it was a good one, too.
A flash of bright white light from one of the carts caught his attention. There was complete silence...
Then the cart imploded with the crack of breaking timber and the screech of metal strained past its limit.
In the center of the destruction stood a woman, lit with an inner fire like a blinding white beacon.
His eyes were caught by the creature's hypnotic blue gaze.
Those who harm my people must suffer the consequences.
The voice in his head was melodic, gentle. Completely the opposite of the hostile message that had been delivered. It filled him with a sense of peace. Everything would be alright. The pain of living would end soon.
The ethereal woman moved towards him, reaching out a light-edged hand.
Without any conscious thought, Li moved towards her as if his feet were not his own.
She touched her lips to his, and Li slumped to the ground, heart forever still.
Turning to the caravan, she raised her arms high above her head. With a twitch of her fingers, the carts fell apart, the debris tumbling through the air to form a slowly rotating ring above her head.
The slaves watched her carefully, dull eyes showing a small spark of hope as they wondered if this was a demon - or an angel.
Go now. You are free.
They fled like frightened deer, the order speeding their feet.
She dropped her arms, the debris falling around her form.
As a final act she plucked three strands of white hair and planted them in the ground at her feet.
Protect this child.
Like a supernova in reverse, the light faded from her body, hair turning raven-wing black once more.
Rei fell forward slowly, all energy drained from her. She was asleep before she hit the ground.
.::0::.
Chichiri glanced around the clearing suspiciously. Someone -or something- had ambushed Rei here, that much was obvious. There were signs of a struggle in the center, Twitch's hoof prints digging deep scores in the moss.
Arrows.
He knelt beside the feathered shafts, pulling one out of the ground and examining the point. It was strange. Flattened instead of beaten into a three-dimensional triangle. No. That was wrong, too. Not flattened, but mass produced. There were still rough spots around the edge that hadn't been filed off when it was removed from the mold.
There was only one place that had adopted that technique.
"Qu-dong..." he murmured.
.::0::.
Rei woke in a ring of angry faces. How she'd gotten out of the cart was a mystery to her. All she remembered was anger... and power, surging through her and sweeping her consciousness away like a rabbit in a flash flood.
She sat up and looked around at the debris lying around her. Her eyes fell on the prone form a few feet away.
'My god... Did I...?'
The leader of the slavers stepped forward. "Alright, wench, what did you do?!"
Rei shook her head dazedly, backing away from him. "I...I..."
"Answer me when a speak to you!" he shouted, backhanding her sharply.
The tang of blood in her mouth brought Rei out of her daze. Her eyes flashed dangerously. How dare he?! She sprang to her feet and stood glaring at the slaver, fists clenched in fury.
"You will not touch me again!"
He snorted, advancing on her with a snarl. "Wanna bet, teme?"
The ground in front of his feet began glowing. Rei noticed this and froze, eyes widening.
"Well?" the man sneered, taking the sudden change in her expression as fear and stepping forward threateningly.
There was a blinding flash of pure light. When it faded, three creatures were standing between the slaver and Rei.
They were beautiful, to say the least. They had flaming red manes running from ears to haunches, white tiger pelts and the build of the ancient Smiledon. Their long tails lashed behind them as they paced between the mob and the woman, mouths pulled back in snarls that revealed quicksilver teeth.
Later, Rei would wonder why she hadn't been terrified, but for now she knew an opportunity when she saw one.
She took it and ran.
((Done done done. Well, whaddya think? Fairly short, I know. And all the little things that you might find confusing right now shall be Explained. Yes, explained with a capital 'e'.
Time to do reviews!
Youko Demon: Alrighty! Here's an update for ya, and maybe you should read my other 'fics t'tide you over, ya?
Marquel: Glad you like! More about Rei's past in this chapter, and there will be still more to come as the story unfolds! Don't be sad! Here, have a Hikari plushie! (throws a plushie unicorn)
Opaaru Tsuki: You rock! Ahem. So, you love the dark, too, huh?
Otaku-no-Miko: (shudders) The Cleaver....
Wolfdog21: Hope this chapter meets up to my old standards. Hmm... Sorry, but this one is a bit of a cliffie too... Gomen!!
That's all, minna! I just have one request: Tell your friends about me!! Oh, and may I mention that I have a website now? I'm looking for some fanart, people! Ja ne!))
Disclaimer: No, I don't own FY. I do own Rei and Hikari, and technically the idea of Motoki belongs to me. Oh, and Cheyenne belongs to Otaku-no-Miko.
Warning(s): Violence. Not strong violence, pretty mild, but still... If you don't likey, you no ready!))
Chapter Nine: Manifestus Fatum
Chichiri paused, cocking his head to the side, listening carefully. The hollow drumming of hooves on hard-packed soil was approaching. Fast.
Twitch barreled into the clearing as if all the demons of hell were chasing him. His muzzle was flecked with froth, eyes rolling madly in their sockets. Some scrap of sanity and recognition must have remained in the gelding's mind; he stopped his mad rush in the middle of the clear expanse, pawing the ground nervously.
Chichiri approached Twitch hesitantly, holding a hand up to the frightened horse. The gelding nuzzled his palm, whickering softly.
The mage murmured to the horse gently, checking him for any injuries. "You head back to Mt. Reikaku no da," he said, freeing the horse of bridle and saddle.
After a moment of indecision Twitch chose freedom.
Chichiri sighed, shaking his head. So much for a peaceful life after the war. Picking up Rei's ki patterns, he disappeared with a rush of displaced air.
.::0::.
"Chey! Don't leave me!"
The woman stood silently, a look of infinite sadness in her sea-glass green eyes, ebony tresses blowing in a breeze that surrounded only her.
Rei ran toward her, reaching out desperately for her elder sister.
"Chey!"
No matter how fast she ran, her sister was always out of reach. Chest tight with frustration and unshed tears, Rei stopped, watching her sister's form fade into the distance.
She sank to her knees with a sob...
...And opened her eyes.
A shaft of sunlight invaded the darkness, falling across her face. As Rei's eyes adjusted to the darkness her situation became apparent. The room was no more than a wooden box, inexpertly hewn slats allowing a small amount of light in. The air was stale; filled with the pervasive stench of horse-sweat and blood.
Blood... her blood, Rei realized as a large lump on the back of her head made itself known. They must have knocked her out and dragged her to... wherever this was.
Through the haze left by the less-than-gentle treatment of her skull, Rei's mind started making connections. Slavers... horses... caravan. Caravan! That was it! There must have been at least a dozen of these boxes - no, carts, her mind corrected - each with it's own cargo.
It was all a little surreal. Coming from a world where slavery was practically unheard of made it almost impossible to believe that she was indeed in a slave caravan. Not only in a slave caravan, but merchandise as well.
Slaves...
Deep within her, something began to burn. A deep sense of anger at this injustice to her people. Rei became consumed with the need to something -anything- to stop this.
Sapphire eyes opened wide, glowing bright in the darkness.
.::0::.
Li sighed. It was just his luck to be chosen for guard duty while all the other slavers got to spend the night in the local brothel. He had heard it was a good one, too.
A flash of bright white light from one of the carts caught his attention. There was complete silence...
Then the cart imploded with the crack of breaking timber and the screech of metal strained past its limit.
In the center of the destruction stood a woman, lit with an inner fire like a blinding white beacon.
His eyes were caught by the creature's hypnotic blue gaze.
Those who harm my people must suffer the consequences.
The voice in his head was melodic, gentle. Completely the opposite of the hostile message that had been delivered. It filled him with a sense of peace. Everything would be alright. The pain of living would end soon.
The ethereal woman moved towards him, reaching out a light-edged hand.
Without any conscious thought, Li moved towards her as if his feet were not his own.
She touched her lips to his, and Li slumped to the ground, heart forever still.
Turning to the caravan, she raised her arms high above her head. With a twitch of her fingers, the carts fell apart, the debris tumbling through the air to form a slowly rotating ring above her head.
The slaves watched her carefully, dull eyes showing a small spark of hope as they wondered if this was a demon - or an angel.
Go now. You are free.
They fled like frightened deer, the order speeding their feet.
She dropped her arms, the debris falling around her form.
As a final act she plucked three strands of white hair and planted them in the ground at her feet.
Protect this child.
Like a supernova in reverse, the light faded from her body, hair turning raven-wing black once more.
Rei fell forward slowly, all energy drained from her. She was asleep before she hit the ground.
.::0::.
Chichiri glanced around the clearing suspiciously. Someone -or something- had ambushed Rei here, that much was obvious. There were signs of a struggle in the center, Twitch's hoof prints digging deep scores in the moss.
Arrows.
He knelt beside the feathered shafts, pulling one out of the ground and examining the point. It was strange. Flattened instead of beaten into a three-dimensional triangle. No. That was wrong, too. Not flattened, but mass produced. There were still rough spots around the edge that hadn't been filed off when it was removed from the mold.
There was only one place that had adopted that technique.
"Qu-dong..." he murmured.
.::0::.
Rei woke in a ring of angry faces. How she'd gotten out of the cart was a mystery to her. All she remembered was anger... and power, surging through her and sweeping her consciousness away like a rabbit in a flash flood.
She sat up and looked around at the debris lying around her. Her eyes fell on the prone form a few feet away.
'My god... Did I...?'
The leader of the slavers stepped forward. "Alright, wench, what did you do?!"
Rei shook her head dazedly, backing away from him. "I...I..."
"Answer me when a speak to you!" he shouted, backhanding her sharply.
The tang of blood in her mouth brought Rei out of her daze. Her eyes flashed dangerously. How dare he?! She sprang to her feet and stood glaring at the slaver, fists clenched in fury.
"You will not touch me again!"
He snorted, advancing on her with a snarl. "Wanna bet, teme?"
The ground in front of his feet began glowing. Rei noticed this and froze, eyes widening.
"Well?" the man sneered, taking the sudden change in her expression as fear and stepping forward threateningly.
There was a blinding flash of pure light. When it faded, three creatures were standing between the slaver and Rei.
They were beautiful, to say the least. They had flaming red manes running from ears to haunches, white tiger pelts and the build of the ancient Smiledon. Their long tails lashed behind them as they paced between the mob and the woman, mouths pulled back in snarls that revealed quicksilver teeth.
Later, Rei would wonder why she hadn't been terrified, but for now she knew an opportunity when she saw one.
She took it and ran.
((Done done done. Well, whaddya think? Fairly short, I know. And all the little things that you might find confusing right now shall be Explained. Yes, explained with a capital 'e'.
Time to do reviews!
Youko Demon: Alrighty! Here's an update for ya, and maybe you should read my other 'fics t'tide you over, ya?
Marquel: Glad you like! More about Rei's past in this chapter, and there will be still more to come as the story unfolds! Don't be sad! Here, have a Hikari plushie! (throws a plushie unicorn)
Opaaru Tsuki: You rock! Ahem. So, you love the dark, too, huh?
Otaku-no-Miko: (shudders) The Cleaver....
Wolfdog21: Hope this chapter meets up to my old standards. Hmm... Sorry, but this one is a bit of a cliffie too... Gomen!!
That's all, minna! I just have one request: Tell your friends about me!! Oh, and may I mention that I have a website now? I'm looking for some fanart, people! Ja ne!))