See de flaming sheep go down de hoooole...
See the sheep get abducted by the alien spaceship...
See Baa Baa Black sheep make sheep blush...
Don't mind me. It's amazing how much amusement I can derive from a purple horned yellow cotton ball screenmate.
When I am dreaming I don't know if I'm truly asleep or if I'm awake,
When I get up I don't know if I'm truly awake or if I'm still dreaming.
- "Dream", Forest For the Trees
The Words Between - part 5
For the next two days, Kyn wished avidly that Sianni had not been so quick to stop him the night he was Chosen. He could see, he could hear, he could feel; all the annoying details that indicated he was conscious and held a corporeal form were there, but he found very little reassurance that he wanted to stay that way from the signals he was receiving. He would have ignored them completely if he could, escaped into dreams or visions, whichever presented itself first, if a certain healer wasn't constantly interrupting his attempts to shut off the world. He was alternately grateful and needled by her presence; things seemed to be a little better when she was around, but she was also constantly prodding him to eat, drink, or just 'stay with her'...as if the un-Herald would let him go anywhere.
On the third day, she left. He couldn't remember anything of the third day, and thought himself lucky not to. He would have preferred not to remember the fourth day either, but by then the healer was back, and she was refreshed and prepared to drag him kicking and screaming through the candlemarks again. Well, whimpering, if he wasn't quite up to kicking and screaming.
At least - when he had wits enough to ponder it in one of his more lucid moments - she hadn't tried to ply him with more questions beyond the ones concerning his wellbeing. Perhaps Alberich had finally managed to instill some sense into her - such as rightly fearing the un-Herald's wrath on further infractions.
Kyn didn't really believe that, though, even when he was at his most delirious.
Six days, and Nadia suddenly pronounced him past the worst of it for now and unceremoniously left. A few heartbeats later, the taciturn Melidee entered after a brief knock to announce her imminent appearance. Trembling, rank with fever sweat, weak as thrice-brewed Kilfer's Flower tea, he was all but half-carried by Melidee into the baths and then left to his own devices along with a set of new clothes. The Herald seemed even less inclined to talk than Alberich if possible, which Kyn was quite content with at the time. Saddled with the indignity of needing a prop and barely remembering to keep his eyes focused on where he was placing his feet, he wasn't in the mood for small talk. It was an almost companionable silence that trailed them to the baths and back; without Nadia's curiosity, Alberich's suspicion, or even his own need to gather more information about his immediate situation. When he was returned to his room, the place had been aired, the sheets changed, and a light repast of thin, wafer-like bread slathered with a bland meat paste and fruits laid out on the bedside table. Melidee left him again, and with curiosity prodding mercilessly, he shuffled over to the door to open it to a thin slit, examining the foyer beyond. There was no one there, not even Melidee who must have waited in the outer room before to have arrived so promptly when Nadia left.
The internal debate over whether he should leave now was a brief one at best. Even if he had not committed himself to the role of Herald trainee, he didn't think he could make it to the stairs without planting his face into the floor, much less make it off the collegium grounds altogether. Thinking sourly that the Heralds had probably expected as much and thus didn't bother posting guards, he stumbled back to bed, took a half-hearted bite out of one of the fruits, and barely remembered to pull the sheets over himself.
It was fully dark before he awoke again, and on cue, there came a soft knock. He still had a tendency to turn and stare at the door for a moment before remembering that whoever was on the other side was waiting for his response. He didn't know why they bothered, especially since the attempt at giving him some modicum of privacy was ruined by how they always seemed to know exactly when he was awake or ready for company.
Melidee opened the door upon his assent, prepared with a thick, gray woolen cloak draped over her arm along with a lighter one already clasped around her shoulders. "Ready to be reacquainted with Sianni?" she asked.
He eyed the cloak that was obviously intended for him and asked, "Why?"
"It helps smooth out the bonding process if the ones involved are having...difficulties." She shrugged, shaking out the cloak and proffering it toward him with a thin-lipped smile. "And she misses you. Now are you going to be a good boy and go visit, or make her come to you? She might make it through the door, but by then, I don't think you'll have enough room to twitch a foot."
A Companion trotting up two flights of stairs and stuffing herself into the room? A suspicious poke in the direction of Sianni yielded an altogether unsatisfactory answer, and considering how obviously insane everyone at the collegium was, he was quite convinced that it was not only highly possible she would try something like that, but that it was all but assured. Sliding out of bed without another word, he took the cloak and wrapped it around himself, washed his face, and followed the Herald out of the room. Melidee solicitously paced him as she indicated the way with short gestures, somehow managing to stay close enough to offer an arm if he needed it without managing to seem hovering. Again, there were no words exchanged beyond those that were absolutely necessary.
Kyn eventually determined that he liked her the best out of all the Heralds he'd met so far, even more than the reserved un-Herald, who was too much of a threat for Kyn to ever be completely comfortable around. Her questions had been abrupt and far too focused for his peace of mind during their first meeting, but he could understand what had prompted them, and now, it was like she was a completely different person. There was a serene sense of things moving as they willed, without urgency, without pressing need to drive events. He could remember specific instances that had felt like this, moments in which he thought he had been the most content.
The manse had a barely visited and nearly forgotten garden, more a courtyard than anything else, surrounded on two sides by the manse itself and forbidding stone walls on the rest, the blocks set high enough that the place was left in shadow for the majority of the day. But Kyn never minded. Sunlight felt more of an interloper than the near-twilight gloom. Delicate things grew there, ferns and fronds and snowflake-ornate blossoms, that drew their greatest appeal from the mystery of pre-dawn's dew and nightfall's bruised and dying light. Neglected and wild, they spilled over the carefully laid boundaries of long ago gardeners to fill the space with their spicy, pungent odor of moisture and last year's mulch. Willows trailed their branches to the ground like the hair of grieving widows, scrabbling at the moss-covered walks or their lower-statured brethren with each slow shift of the humid air. Dwarf maples with serrated leaves that flashed a spectrum of red-orange-yellow hues to rival a fire's in autumn rubbed their branches together in soft susurrations at a mouse or bird's passing. In one corner, a stagnant pond that expanded and shrank with the seasons and rains reflected the sky's moods with a dark, mirrored surface, unmarred but for a bright green collar of algae like patina on bronze, the only place where the sun might reach without running a gauntlet of hungry leaves and straining branches.
But it wasn't the beauty that Kyn appreciated. He would have been hard pressed, actually, to describe what exactly resided in the garden, beyond a riotous blend of every shade of green imaginable. It was the feeling of absolute stillness in the place that he craved. Where time held no sway beyond the longer-lived seasons governing the garden's cycles. No demands, no tasks, no objectives. No lectures, no lessons, no criticisms. Isolated, abandoned, its simple existence was enough to justify its place in the world. He would stand by the leaning bole of a willow's black trunk, and watch the clouds skid across the pond's glassine surface, or merely stare into the illusory depths if nothing was reflected in the faux-dark waters, made obsidian in the wall's shade.
There was some measure of that feeling in Melidee, of ambient noise and distractions absorbed, their presence unknown until one noticed their lack. Or rather...there was that feeling in her right now. Going over what he could recall of the night of his Choosing, Kyn couldn't help but worry at the impression that it had not been like this then, this feeling of being...shielded, and what could have caused the change.
:Or maybe you're just unnaturally paranoid and see her as the least threat, either with a blade or with her tongue.:
Stumbling over the threshold leading out of the building into the night-bound fields, he scowled at the ghostly shape waiting just beyond the nearest walkpath. Shrugging away the hand Melidee had automatically extended as soon as he had faltered, he stalked up to Sianni as best he could on wobbly legs and planted a finger on her forehead, right between the eyes. "You should learn to keep your opinions to yourself, especially when you know they won't be appreciated," he growled.
Sianni gazed at him with limpid blue eyes, remaining meekly still under his finger but for a lazy flick of her tail at some night insect. :You just haven't learned how to appreciate them yet. But I'm patient.:
As he glowered, Melidee coughed discreetly and asked, "Sianni, you'll be all right watching him tonight?" At the Companion's slight dip of her head in assent, the Herald bid a good evening to them and left without a backward glance.
As soon as the woman was out of earshot, Kyn directed toward Sianni, "They're actually going to go through with this? Put me with all the other trainees?"
:I thought that's what you wanted. That it was part of your plan.:
His scowl deepened at the near mockery. He wasn't about to call her on it though, and make himself look the bigger fool by asking confirmation on her too deliberately guileless question. "Maybe it is. But what do the others know about me? I can't imagine you've managed to convince everyone into believing I should be welcomed with open arms."
:Nobody has been told anything. You are just another trainee to everyone you will meet in the course of your classes or lessons, with the exception of Alberich who will be monitoring your skills with the weapons.:
He arched his brows high and drawled, "I didn't think dissimulation was supposed to be in a Herald's repertoire. How did you convince the guards to let me leave with you?"
She tossed her head with a snort, flicking her forelock back. :There's no need to be deliberately offensive. We told them that we were on business concerning the queen's safety. That you were a Herald trainee, in the wrong place at the wrong time. And then we let them draw their own conclusions.:
"So they think I was taken to be tried under your own laws as a trainee for plotting against the queen?"
:They think that you are a witness to a plot against the queen who needs our protection. Which, in a way, you are.:
Kyn drew the edges of his borrowed cloak close, crossing his arms beneath with the fabric fisted so that it enclosed him completely in its space. They have everything all figured out. So what's left for me to do now?
:If you're cold, I can help,: Sianni offered, taking a step closer and nudging him in the chest with her nose.
Kyn swayed and scowled at her. "I don't need your help."
Sianni turned her head slightly to focus one amused, sapphire orb on him. :Oh really?: And she shoved him - hard - with her nose.
He thought he might have yelped ignominiously, but for the life of him, he couldn't figure out how he could have done that when he was lying stretched out on his back, the stars swirling in the night sky above him, his body gone nerveless when the air had been knocked out of him by the unexpected fall and without the resource to draw another breath. A white head with a wispy forelock falling into impossibly blue eyes interposed itself into his field of vision. :Would you mind leaning forward just a little, Chosen? I wouldn't want to sit on you, although I daresay I wouldn't do as much damage squashing your head as breaking your hand.: Numbly, he coughed, blinked his eyes clear, and then did as told, disentangling himself from the cloak long enough to push himself into a sitting position. Stately as a queen holding court, Sianni maneuvered herself behind him and folded her legs, managing somehow to snug her bulk against his back without squashing his head as threatened or anything else in the process. :You may lean back, you know. I won't break.:
He bit back a retort that it wasn't worry about her breaking that had kept him stiff-backed and reluctant. But the tumble he'd been given had upset his orientation more than he would like to admit, and he gingerly relaxed, finding himself settling all too familiarly into the slight indentation between her shoulder and barrel. A slight wriggle, a possessive curl of her neck...
And suddenly, it was as if his entire being 'clicked' into place, when he had been subtly off-kilter from the world his entire life. It was like being in the garden, or with Melidee, the world creeping back in when she had left and him not noticing until now, only this was infinitely better. It was belonging...and blessed stillness...it would have been alarming, if it hadn't felt so right.
:I will be your pond, your garden, your haven, Kyn. I will be everything and anything you need that I can possibly be, always, whenever you have need. I promise.:
For once, he felt no need to protest, either her presumption or the eavesdropping.
"How is your reading?"
"Fine."
"How is your penmanship?"
"Fine."
"And your figuring?"
"Fine."
The man behind the desk sighed, leaned back, and folded his hands across a trim stomach. But for the ring of salty-pepper hair around a bald dome, the pair of spectacles tucked up on top, and the ink stains on his squared fingers, he might have looked just as comfortable out on the field drilling as Alberich. "Perhaps a different method of questioning is required to gain an accurate assessment of your abilities," he noted dryly.
:He doesn't waste time, does he?:
:Be kind, Kyn. You're not making it any easier for Herald Tantris.:
"And please do stop chatting. I know you're excited about being Chosen, and having your own Companion, but we need to find out which classes to place you in as soon as possible. I promise you'll have plenty of time to get to know your Companion later - or rue the day they found you, if they're a gossipmonger like mine."
Kyn blinked.
Sianni's Mindspeech was laced with amusement as she crowed, :Oh, but isn't he! Khanflass always has the juiciest tidbits...:
Kyn tried to suppress a reflexive scowl and said stiffly, "I beg your pardon, Sir. I will try to keep it to a minimum." Accusatorily, he sent, :I thought you weren't broadcasting.:
:I'm not. But you are. Tantris doesn't have Mindspeech, so Khanflass must have tattled.:
I am? Kyn barely had enough time to give Sianni the mental equivalent of a gawk at her second sentence before Tantris harrumphed, gave him a pointed look, and Sianni abruptly withdrew with an embarrassed apology. "All right, now that I finally have your undivided attention," the Herald continued on an even flatter note than before, though his smile was sharp enough to draw blood. "Would you mind reading this for me?" He tipped his chair perilously far, seemed to know to the exact fraction of a degree he could maintain its equilibrium at without tipping over, and chose a text off the bookcase behind him without ever turning away. Straightening his chair again with a sharp thunk as its forelegs settled, he unselfconsciously brushed off the dust that had accumulated on the tome and pushed it across the table toward Kyn.
Kyn rose from his own seat halfway across the room from Tantris, and glanced over the title. "Which part would you like me to read?"
The man waved a hand unconcernedly, near-black eyes watching him intently. "Open it to whichever page you like. It doesn't matter."
Kyn's mouth quirked as he ducked his head, pretending to be concentrating on the volume as he opened it and hiding the sardonic twist to his half-smile. "And so it was," he immediately began reciting, "that in the fourth year of Roald's reign, that Selephious of Baroness Genlaine's court was caught in adulterous liaison with the baroness' cousin Count Lonfriss' maiden daughter, for which the brother of the maiden in question challenged with swords on point of honor. On a casual note, let this observer state now that a duel seems a somewhat tardy remedy, and more of a treatment of the symptoms - the stigma of relations out of wedlock - than of the cause - the lack of proper attention paid by the maiden's family, who then - after the fact - compounded their error by paying all too much. This is to say nothing of the poor lady wife who had been wronged by her husband's faithlessness. But, to return to the event to be related by this chapter, this was the germ of the conflict that Herald Mirriglass encountered three years later, which had by then flowered into a feud of truly glorious proportions..."
"That's enough."
Kyn obediently stopped, closed the book, and took a step back from the desk. Clasping his hands behind him, he tightened his fingers about each other until he was sure the knuckles were white with the strain, feeling the expected itch begin along his bones and joints. Ever since the fevers and agues had abated, he had been alternately saddled with an unnatural lassitude or an almost jittery energy. It was the latter that was currently afflicting him, and he had to fight the urge to pace, to pick up one of the objects spread across the Herald's desk to play with, or just to chew on something - simply to be rid of the pins-and-needle sensation crawling over his skin.
Tantris' brows drew down until they were nearly meeting, a single shelf of gray-blue hairs as bristly as those on a boar's chin. "Five plus three."
"Eight," Kyn replied promptly, eyes focused on the empty space in the shelves where the book had been taken from.
"Fifteen subtracted from forty."
"Twenty-five."
"Six multiples of eight."
"Forty-eight."
"How many handkerchiefs should a gentleman carry?"
"Two, for emergencies. One for a lady's, and one for his own."
Finally, the broad grin that spread across Tantris' face was one of true mirth. "I see you've read Leafchaser's Wayward Travels." A pause, and his brows rose as one. "You say you are not gentry or nobility."
"No, Sir," he replied levelly, still focused on the empty spot.
"Were you fostered by a noble family? Tutored with their children, perhaps?"
"No, Sir." He considered his options briefly, and allowed another truth to slip through and hopefully appease the man's curiosity and hurry the interview along. "The man I lived with...he abhorred ignorance." Master had also detested the manner-less, and disliked explaining himself when he felt the knowledge should be obvious to the educated. The decision to school Kyn in subjects beyond the merely physical ones that would be necessary in carrying out his tasks however, also served a second purpose beyond soothing Master's sensibilities. It would not do for Kyn to be sent on an assignment for documents or books he couldn't recognize, or ledgers that he couldn't scan and note the discrepancies in. Though that skill was double-edged...Kyn would not have been so eager to browse the contents of what he was supposed to be carrying back if he didn't believe that Master had absolute trust in his loyalties.
The thick lips twitched, a dimple making a surprise appearance before Tantris levered himself out of his chair. "Well, you owe him a debt of favor. You'll be placed directly into the more advanced classes, and we'll see how it works out. If all goes well, you should finish most of your academic requirements well ahead of time."
Kyn bowed his head politely, nodded in all the correct places while instructions were given, and obediently shook the Herald's hand when it was extended. Ushered out the door at the conclusion of the meeting, he stopped, right there in the middle of the hallway, the closed door at his back. :Sianni.:
:Yes, Kyn? How did your meeting go?:
Ignoring the intent to distract thinly disguised as curiosity, he asked bluntly, :What was that about my broadcasting?:
It was interesting hearing someone attempt to send the impression of clearing their throat through Mindspeech. Considering that Sianni was physically incapable of making a sound like that, it was even more interesting to see - or hear, in this instance - the sort of human habits she had picked up :Well...you are. I apologize for not bringing this up earlier, but recent events have been...distracting. I imagine one of the first lessons Herald Tantris suggested concerned the training of your Gifts? Either your Mindspeech's emergence had remarkable timing, or your recent 'illness' served as a catalyst, bringing it out of latency. Whatever the reason, the symptoms of its shift into activeness was masked by the last week.:
His jaw tightened. :And this 'empathy' that Nadia mentioned. Is that going to spontaneously emerge sometime soon as well? What other surprises are there?:
:I don't know,: she replied in wistful apology. :Nobody really knows what exactly will trigger a Gift or when it will happen. As for what else you might be capable of...you will find out when you are officially tested.:
Releasing a long breath, he shook himself, a long shiver starting from the base of his spine running to the top of his head, before turning to his left. :I don't suppose you have a stop-gap solution for my broadcasting until these lessons Tantris prescribed start?: He didn't fancy having his side of the conversation spread across the collegium grounds. Lengthening his strides to their maximum as he approached the bend in the corridor, he was nearly jogging by the time he rounded the corner and was abruptly stopped by Alberich's arm across his chest.
:I can show you the basics, and more if given time. I would also offer you my carrots to save your fingernails, but I'm afraid I slobbered a bit last night when I went for a midnight snack.:
He wrinkled his nose in disgust, remembered the thumbnail that had strayed into his mouth and was being rapidly pared down to the quick, and shoved both hands behind his back as he looked expectantly up at the un-Herald. :I did not need to know that.:
:Yes you did. Now pay attention; Alberich's not just acting as escort today.:
Kyn resisted the urge to snap back that it was she who had interrupted first as he arched one brow at the weaponsmaster expectantly.
Alberich smiled thinly. "Warned you she did, I see. Also in one of your phases you are?" Kyn nodded shortly, gritting his teeth at the unintentional patronization. The un-Herald tilted his head with a strange look, as if reading Kyn's thoughts - who knew, perhaps he had - and turned without warning to lead the way out of the building. "Then enjoy this you probably will."
Kyn wasted little time pondering the un-Herald's words as he hurried to catch up to the other man's strides, uncharacteristically long with little regard to what pace he had to set in order to keep up. Still, it was a joy to be in motion, and Kyn had no complaints except for the unexplained mystery presented by the weaponsmaster. :What is he talking about, Sianni?:
:You'll find out soon.:
No help from that quarter. Trotting and walking in combination as he alternately caught up and fell behind Alberich, Kyn remembered to keep his fingernails away from his teeth and tried to distract himself with the places they passed toward Companion Field. The glitter of sunlight off the windows of a five story building in the distance he didn't recognize, a pair of butterflies flitting across a small garden to their left, the near invisible stitches that mended various tears and wears in the un-Herald's uniform. Anything and everything was enough of a subject to hold his attention for at least a few heartbeats.
He was successful enough that he almost walked into Alberich's back when the man stopped before one of the pseudo-stables that dotted Companion Field, stepping swiftly around so that it would seem he had intentionally maintained his momentum for that very purpose instead of having merely been inattentive. By now, he was nearly bouncing on his toes with the unnatural rush of energy.
"Inside," Alberich motioned with a hand, following word with action as he stepped through the wide double doors that were kept open at all times except in inclement weather, and then only to be closed by the Companions themselves using cleverly designed handles and clasps. Following, Kyn absently noted the silence that came only from complete non-occupancy, a pitchfork leaning against a near wall and a bale of hay only half-strewn in a stall. At least one worker had been hustled out on short notice, and no Companions in sight or earshot -
:I'm here. Along with Alberich's Companion, Kantor.:
He looked out the doors with eyes narrowed in suspicion as the two Companions moved into sight from a copse of trees to the left. At a leisurely walk, they would arrive within the space of a few breaths. "What's going on - " Kyn began as he turned to face Alberich again, and felt his entire body seize up with the adrenaline rush as he saw the knives in the un-Herald's hands.
The weaponsmaster watched him with a clinical eye, noted the instinctive reaction to place an obstacle at his back - a wall, in this case - body tensed for action, balance lowered and arms half-raised, ready for defense. Nodding in approval, he extended one of the blades forward, holding it by its tip, hilt away from him. "Calm. Merely to test your skills I wish before deciding where to place you."
Kyn shuddered, sucked in a deeper breath, and slowly uncoiled to take the weapon gingerly. "To test me?" he asked, uncertain of the man's objectives - and was given no response except a sudden flash of light off the gleaming edge of the weaponsmaster's remaining knife streaking toward him. Lips peeled back in a silent snarl, off-balance as he was immediately put on the defensive, he nevertheless responded in like manner as ingrained training dictated.
Dodge to the left, bring up his own blade to block even before he had a steady grip on it, let the un-Herald's strike merely kiss the edge and deflect aside, rather than meet it head on and risk losing his only weapon to the shock on an unsure hold. Shuffle two quick steps left, his feet never leaving contact with the sawdust-layered ground, giving himself more room to maneuver as the bigger man rushed forward in an attempt to pin him against the wall. Confirm the grip on the knife, shift so that the blade followed the line of the forearm, thumb tucked against the pommel's edge, and adjust the stance so that he was ready to defend vital parts with his left arm while the weapon was readied to strike for openings.
Alberich gave him precious few to work for. A blur of steel that came impossibly from the one little blade sped toward him, and Kyn was hard pressed to deflect it with his coordination still unrecovered and the illness-bred jitteriness playing havoc with his timing. But this was what he had been trained for, the entire purpose of his life; to have a target, and then to eliminate it.
Dip the shoulder, let the body follow through, sliding to the right even as his arm flicked out, striking for the lung...blocked. Already backpedaling away from the expected counter, he twisted desperately aside and brought his blade around again to deflect it past him, and then another deflection as the failed strike was brought back with a viper's speed to catch him on the counter swing, and then a complete miss as he finally moved fast enough to evade the un-Herald's reach.
A sudden lunge forward, left arm sweeping in and then out, letting it take the cut meant for his torso as he focused on the telling stroke for the neck...evaded. Continuing to push the advantage, he matched his opponent's steps back, an elbow into the man's side serving as distraction as he waited for another opportunity - there. A thrust up beneath the sternum for the heart.
Blocked.
At every turn, he was either blocked or evaded, even as he soon realized that he might have been dead many times over if Alberich had chosen to push for the kill. Still, he was used to being bested, by his teachers if not his victims. In fact, he found a strange comfort in the heart-stuttering rhythms of light glancing off metal and steel striking steel, the shuffle of soles across the ground and the harsh sounds of hastily drawn breaths. This was the familiar in a time of unprecedented upheaval in his life. This had been routine.
And suddenly, in the space of a twist, two replacements of the feet and a sharp strike, it was over. Kyn retreated rapidly out of Alberich's reach, nursing a numbed and now-empty knife hand, flushed and with an altogether wild gleam in his eyes, he was sure. It was only then that he realized that the 'cuts' he had received along his left arm when the limb had been used as a shield were not there at all - the edges and points of the knives were blunted, a fact that Alberich had withheld and then distracted him from noticing with his attacks.
He had the satisfaction of seeing the un-Herald wipe a light sheen of sweat off his forehead with his sleeve and hear the deeper-than-normal breaths. The man was unbelievable with the knife, and he had at least given himself an accounting that the weaponsmaster had noticed and would remember. Kyn did not move as the un-Herald approached slowly, careful to show that he meant no threat, and straightened respectfully as the man reached for his left arm, trying to bring the frantic pace of his own heart and breaths down to normal.
Puzzled by the man's actions, he let him take his hand and elbow, and Alberich pushed up the sleeve to reveal the fine network of white scars that criss-crossed the skin all around, faded from time and all but invisible on the already pale background. The weaponsmaster seemed unsurprised by this, a standard tactic when facing an experienced opponent being to sacrifice a nonessential part of the body as shield, but there was a soft hiss of surprise when he turned Kyn's arm over and traced the thicker, deeper scars on his wrists.
"Tried to take your own life before?"
Kyn shook his head as the un-Herald took his right wrist as well, turned it over to reveal the same marks along the veins, sans the scars from knife duels. "Master took some blood before. Not much," he added quickly, eyes flicking up toward the man's expression with sudden suspicion.
Yes, he saw disapproval there, along with surprise; the unfavorable kind. Even more, though, he saw a worry that seemed wholly alien to the weaponsmaster's features. He felt unaccountably shaken by that trace emotion, as if its presence on a face that had rarely carried it was a powerful foreboding in and of itself. "Blooded you, he did," Alberich stated darkly, before dropping Kyn's arms and taking a step back, meeting his gaze. "Taught well you were, and learned well you did. But still thinking like an assassin you are; waiting too long for the one clean strike. Most of all, little of engagement you know, and your strikes are intended all for death, never injury alone. Thus will you not join my regular classes, until you have learned otherwise."
Kyn's brows furrowed as he tried to follow the weaponsmaster's reasoning. Know little of engagement? Waiting too long for the clean strike? He could understand not wishing to throw him into the midst of other trainees in weapons practice for fear of his injuring someone through sheer reflex alone, but he could not make the connection between the strategy the un-Herald had just described with his occupation as an 'assassin'.
:He means that you tend not to engage the opponent, but always seek to dodge and slip away. You keep your distance until you find the one opening that would lead to a sure, quick death. While this might work well for your previous occupation where you are allowed one strike and one strike alone and thus had to be absolutely sure that it would count, as a would-be Herald, you'll have to learn to defend yourself in every situation up to and including open battle, and that way of fighting can quickly work against you.:
Kyn nearly strained his neck, whipping his head around to stare at the Companion watching from the doorway alongside Sianni. He had never heard Kantor Mindspeak, but he was sure that it was he who had just spoken to him.
"Here we will meet every other day," Alberich continued as he collected Kyn's dropped knife, tucking it along with his own blunted weapon away on his person somewhere, hiding them as neatly as any streetside magician earning coin for bread. "Assuming I am that you have received training in other types of weapons? Test all of these I will, and attempt to retrain you to use less lethal practices - or, at least, to use them with discretion. Sometimes enough it is to merely wound the opponent, or it is necessary to wear them down. Right now, none of these you can accomplish."
Kyn's face hardened. He fancied he had more control than that. But for the sake of the smoothest relationship possible with the un-Herald, he suppressed his indignation and merely nodded.
Pausing in the doorway, Alberich added, "Wait in your room you'll need to in a candlemark's time. Nadia wishes to observe your progress." And with that last message cum warning, the weaponsmaster left, taking his Companion with him with an unexpectedly gentle touch to Kantor's neck.
:You should rest, now that you've worked off most of that nervous energy,: Sianni suggested gently, taking a step toward him and stretching her nose out to nuzzle his left wrist. He was surprised when he found that she was right; he felt much less inclined to bounce off the walls now, rather than merely float as his body tried to make up its mind whether to be crushingly exhausted or to approximate the 'normal' state he had been acquainted with before entering the collegium. :I will be taking a nap too,: Sianni added as if her participation would encourage him to do the same. Perhaps it did, he grudgingly admitted as he recalled that first night he had spent with her out on the field. But no; he should wash, and perhaps eat before he was due for his appointment with Nadia. Nodding her head in understanding, Sianni gave him a last, gentle butt of her head before she ambled off in the opposite direction from Kantor and Alberich.
The sun was starting to sink toward the treeline. Kyn's stomach grumbled though he didn't feel particularly hungry, actually felt slightly nauseated by the thought of food. Nevertheless, if he didn't want Sianni nagging at him - and then Nadia when the healer found out - he better scavenge something from the kitchen on his way, and he stepped out of the stables to do so.
The breeze shifted. Just a soft breath of air that was noticeable only for the slight chill of drying sweat and the scents it brought with it. There was the smell of something smoldering; not strong enough to have come from an uncontrolled fire, yet still heavy enough to be unmistakable. Perhaps leaves shed from trees preparing themselves for winter had been collected from the private garden, set to flames to either preserve the garden's appearance or to keep some stray spark from bringing it all down to cinders along with the buildings nearby. The thoughts flitted through his head like the butterflies he had observed earlier, touching coyly here and there, yet never settling. They danced instead around the central image that had overtaken him with the first whiff of burning vegetation - a vision, strong enough to steal his breath and squeeze his heart with an invisible fist.
The city. He had to go into the city, right now. Master was waiting.
Head thumping to the same rhythm as his heart, he turned blindly around to face the section of the field into which Sianni had wandered into, and tried to send as nonchalantly as possible, :Would they let me off the grounds?:
There was a sleepy, puzzled, wordless thought of query before she replied, :You are not a prisoner here.:
No, he wasn't, but he had not missed the fact that there was always someone nearby if not outright within sight; Alberich, Melidee, Dheeran, and of course, Sianni. Almost, he thought they only used someone he recognized just to make sure he was aware that he was being watched, rather than because they were the only ones who supposedly knew of his history. But he wasn't about to argue the point right now, and started for the nearest path.
All walks eventually led to the gates that dotted the walls surrounding the core of Haven. Whoever had designed the collegium and palace grounds had kept utility alongside aesthetics in mind when the walks were laid; weaving in and around the grounds, providing a deceptive feeling of expansiveness and de-emphasizing the artificial nature of the landscaping, they eventually led one into another until the last brought the walker to a gate. Kyn took advantage of that fact when he had yet to memorize the grounds completely, his pace kept down to a fast walk only because he didn't want to appear flustered and out of breath before the guard or guards that would be posted at his destination.
A quick nod of greeting from Kyn, a flick of the guard's eyes to his Trainee's grays, and he was allowed through with only a blurred wish of good eve. Kyn barely registered the words, breezed by without reply, and took only a quick look around to orient himself before heading toward the western quarter of the city. He spared only enough thought for the hawkers and vendors redoubling their efforts for a last sale at the end of the day to be annoyed by them. The pedestrians hurrying home from work or errands were nothing but obstacles, the increasingly complex maze of side streets and alleys as he entered the poorer district a nuisance he would have gladly throttled the city architect for. And then...he abruptly stopped, breath hitching, not caring when someone from behind nearly ran into him with the sudden halt and sidestepped with a grumble.
:Kyn?:
There had been...something. A scent. Half familiar, and far too tantalizing. Sucking in a sharper, deeper breath, he turned his head to left and right, searching.
:Kyn, what is it? Are you all right?:
There. It came from over there... :Yes. Go back to your nap; I just thought I saw something.: Without waiting for a reply, he turned his attention elsewhere, pretending distraction, and Sianni reluctantly let him be.
He didn't have to pretend very hard, though. The scent had become heavier, an acrid tickle in the back of his throat, almost enough to make him either cough to get rid of even that trace amount or to breath in as much as possible and saturate his lungs with it. An alley...two turns...one made in error before he found his way to a narrow space between an old chandlery that had shut down a week or two ago and a textiles shop. There, a bundle of rags was huddled against the wall with a familiar cane propped against what might be a shoulder, and before it, a small metal bowl. One that did not contain coins or other knickknacks that might be offered a beggar. Instead, something smoldered within, blackened and withered, tiny red embers gleaming at the bottom. Kyn drew in a ragged breath and rasped, "Master."
The rags shifted, and a clear blue eye observed him from within. "You've strayed." The voice was soft, the accent cultured, words delivered smoothly with an unconscious tone of command beneath the disapproval.
And there was no surprise that Kyn had found his way here, on this day, at this time. There was no question in his mind that Master had arrived here and settled himself little more than a candlemark ago at most. The man would not have tolerated the squalor longer than that.
Kyn's eyes lowered to the bowl of their own volition, and he swallowed thickly as dream-vision visited reality. "I'm...sorry."
A hand emerged, the good left one, and patted the space beside the seeming beggar. Master, despite the locale and his disguise, had fastidiously cleared the area he was sitting in of the most noisome trash, then spread relatively clean papers across the rest. Still, Kyn lowered himself to the ground with the same gingerness that might be better given to the most fetid swampland.
"I will not accept excuses. Only reparations."
Hanging his head and closing his eyes, half to keep from meeting Master's cyclopean gaze and half to breath in more of the tantalizing curls of smoke, Kyn murmured, "I understand. What would you have me do?"
There was a soft scrape of wood as Master drew his cane to him. "Though you entered at an inopportune time, you are still in the right place."
The words were enough to distract Kyn away from the hypnotizing scent, to lift his head as he blinked owlishly at the man beneath the rags. "That's where my next assignment was to be? In the collegium, or the palace?"
"Do not think too much," the admonishment snapped out, a rasp haunting the sharper registers until Master remembered to lower his voice again. "You are exactly where you need to be. Further details will be forthcoming in the coming weeks."
In other words, Kyn had managed to position himself where even Master could not have hoped he would be able to in his wildest dreams. He had been Chosen. He was a Herald Trainee. He was as good as invisible within Valdemar's capitol, with alibis that were all the stronger for the truth behind them. Even with the fog that seemed to have taken up residence where his brain was, Kyn was wise enough not to push the point that he had outstripped expectations with Master in this mood, but merely lowered his head further in penitence. Besides, it was Kyn's fault in the first place, playing unintentional deserter.
Master pushed himself up with the aid of the cane, a smooth hitch and lunge that had been practiced for over two decades to hide the effort that the simple action took. "You will visit this quarter of Haven once every two weeks. I will expect the usual report."
As Master tap-dragged his way out of the alley, Kyn stared down at the remains in the bowl, uncomfortably grateful that the man had left it behind for him.
Megan: Lol. Wow. Some of that's just too close to the mark to not be funny, especially after this chapter. =) (Though, I think all that tends to start sounding like fortune tellings after a while - where they make such general remarks, that you can't help but find some sort of event that'll fit with the details tweaked a bit.) Thank you for the note. I never thought to look up what 'Kyn' meant or implied, but I'm even happier with it now after I've read all that background info.
ola - grins Hint received. ^_~ Hope it was worth the wait.
Oy. 3+ months of relative inactivity, and then an entire weekend devoted to skiing and learning snowboarding? I can barely type now. But, even more dangerous to my writing than that, is the full time job along with the beginning of the spring quarter at the local university. While I'm only taking one class through extension, I've had five years to forget the basics. Soooo...I'll most likely be posting even slower than the snail pace I've kept before. My apologies to the avid readers of this fic, and I hope you'll continue to check in every once in a while to read the new postings.