Cain had listened silently to the tossing and moaning coming from one of the tents. About an hour ago, they had all stopped and he was grateful for the silence. Though they hadn't been loud, anyone passing by would have heard them and come to investigate. He was trying to settle back against the tree he was leaning against, but a zipper opening in one of the tents caught him off guard.
Tilting his head up slightly, Cain watched as Teagan made her way from the tent, zipped it closed and sat near the fire. He watched her carefully incase she tried to bolt again, but she was just staring into the fire. Teagan sat there quietly for a few moments before she finally looked up at Cain.
"I have no idea what has been happening. The moment I woke up, they seemed to calm down…" Teagan said.
"I seriously doubt that and there is no sense in you going without sleep." Cain replied, "Try and get some more rest."
"No thanks." Teagan said, shaking her head. She got out the piece of paper she had 'brought' back with her and began to study it. Curious, Cain grunted as he pushed from the tree to sit next to the young woman. He peered over her shoulder to see not letters, but some strange forms.
"They're called glifts. Markings of an old language." Teagan supplied, letting Cain take the parchment.
"Looks like something from the ancients, but can you read it?" Cain wondered, handing it back, "Glitch could barely make them out."
Teagan smiled, "I barely can, but some look familiar. I was really into learning old history back home. I can only make out two lines… here. I pick the gilded apple from the iron tree; I wipe the rust from my brow. I think it's a poem or something."
"So what's that mean for us?" Jeb asked, causing the two to jump.
"I don't know, it could be nothing more than someone's work that the Witch and that man are taking out of context." Teagan replied after catching her breath, "That… or a warning."
"Jeb, you taking over?" Cain asked, changing the subject.
"Yeah, you could use a quick nap." Jeb smiled.
"Teagan, come on. You're in my tent and you are going to sleep." Cain said.
"Don't force her dad. We'll keep each other company. She'll be working on that for awhile anyways." Jeb replied.
"Promise, we'll be quiet, too." Teagan nodded.
"Alright, see ya two in a bit." Cain yawned, slipping into his tent.
Jeb watched his father disappear before turning his attention to Teagan. She was reaching into the tent she was sharing with the Princesses and pulled out a pen and piece of paper. She sat next to the fire again as Jeb ended up against the same tree as his father, watching the young woman.
Teagan was deep in thought, scribbling down notes and making marks. Jeb was getting confused and tired watching her so he looked up at the sky. Watching the moon and stars dance in front of a black veil as the clouds drifted by. After a few moments, Jeb chanced a glace at Teagan.
He could tell she was getting tired, but knew not to try and argue. Even next to the fire, she was shivering and Jeb raised and eyebrow when she glanced at him. Teagan looked back down to the papers and up to Jeb before rising from her spot. She walked over to Jeb and sat next to him by the large trunk of the tree.
"This is all I've got for now." Teagan supplied, handing Jeb the papers.
Jeb eyes roamed over the two pieces, noticing that the young woman was only able to get basic words, mostly I, my, to, the… simple ones like that. Though the more he thought about it, Jeb believed she was right about one thing. It had to be more of a poem or someone's rambling thoughts rather than some hidden message for the end of the O.Z. Handing it back, Teagan folded and stuffed the papers into her back pocket.
"You done?" Jeb asked surprised, "Figured you work on that for awhile."
"I have for nearly an hour or two. Plus, it's giving me a headache more so I can't think straight." Teagan replied with a shrug.
The two sat in silence for a while, watching the sky and the forest around them. Jeb thought of something he wanted to ask and turned to Teagan to see the young woman fast asleep. The pieces of paper were just barely in her hand so Jeb folded them up and placed them into his pocket.
Looking back up into the night sky, Jeb watched the clouds and noticed how thicker they were getting. Either tomorrow was going to be gloomy or there was a storm… and a flash of lightening confirmed, "…a storm… Hopefully it won't slow us down too bad."
Before long, he was asleep like his companion beside him. Though it didn't last as thunder rolled in, shaking the ground beneath him. Shaking awake, he felt a pressure on his legs and saw that Teagan had repositioned herself. Her head lay near his knees and her back to him. Hearing movement around the tents, Jeb looked over in time to see his father coming from one of them. He nodded a good morning, but his father was smiling at the two.
"At least she got some sleep." Cain said, "Wake her up, time to pack and head out." He added, glancing up at the sky before making his way to the other two tents. He hit the side of the tent where Glitch and Raw were sleeping, hollering in.
A muffled, though quite irritated reply called back out. Jeb stifled a laugh as he sat up and shook Teagan's shoulder. Her eyes flashed open, sitting up quickly and looked around like a frightened animal. Teagan's eyes darted around until she turned to Jeb. She gave a muffled apology before getting up and heading to the tent she shared with the Princesses.
Jeb and Cain watched her disappear, glancing at one another. Cain shrugged, going back to his tent and taking it down. Jeb stretched as he rose from the ground, heading to help Glitch take down the other tents.
Everyone was staying pretty quiet, as they disassembled the campsite. Everyone was keeping busy, but DG and Raw both could feel the tension in the air. Especially since Teagan was refusing to look at anyone. DG knew something had happened either last night or early this morning and planned to find out.
"Storms rolling in. We need to get as far as we can today." Cain said, breaking the silence, "Teagan, you need to ride with either myself or Jeb. We need one horse for supplies only now. We're still a few days away from the Tower and may need to lose a few of the horses." He added, tugging a rope and securing the last pack.
DG took Cain aside, making it seem as if they were checking over the campsite, "Hey Tin Man… what's going on?"
Cain sighed, rubbing the back of his neck, "All three of you were having nightmares last night. Teagan woke up, which somehow caused you and Az to sleep better. She stayed out here with Jeb and myself the rest of the night. Not sure when she fell back asleep."
"Then why is she avoiding all of us?" DG asked, looking back to the others.
"Not sure, maybe she'll calm down once we're on the road." Cain replied. He looked around the campsite, seeing nothing that would cause suspicion. At least nothing that would suggest that a band of people had been there. Looking back to the horses, Cain realized that if they were going to head to the tower, seven horses would be noticeable.
"Ladies, pick a partner. We're losing three of the horses." Cain announced, walking back to the others, "Once we get closer, we hide the horses and go on foot."
"I'll go with Glitch." Azkadellia chimed up, walking to one of the horses. Glitch smiled, heaving himself onto the saddle then helped Azkadellia up and behind him. Raw and DG took another horse, knowing Cain or Jeb needed to be rider free, plus DG didn't want to be around either if something happened last night.
"Jeb or me, Teagan." Cain said, jumping onto his horse.
Jeb was waiting next to his horse, looking at the young woman who stared between the Cain men. Sighing, she walked to Jeb and shrugged. Jeb helped Teagan get on his horse before climbing in front of her. As the group headed out, Jeb leaned forward so he could get Teagan's papers from his pocket before he handed them to her.
"Keep yourself busy. See if you can find anymore…" Jeb shrugged as Teagan took the parchments.
"Yeah, maybe I can get somewhere besides the basics." Teagan replied.
"The basics?" Jeb have turned to give her a confused look.
"Yeah, basic words like the, and, a, to… stuff like that. I found all of them. It's the longer, more specific words now." Teagan replied, comparing the notes.
"Well, don't dwell on them too much in one day. We have at least two to go before we even reach the Tower." Jeb said, turning to face the front again, following his father.
Teagan stayed quiet, turning to her notes and using Jeb's back as a table. Jeb couldn't help, but smile as he felt her scribbling away. She obviously found something and he hoped it would help them soon. He didn't like how she was so quiet while the others were deep into conversation.
Teagan turned to see Glitch and Raw riding side by side and all four talking and laughing with one another. None of them seemed to notice as DG was explaining to Glitch about spirits and ghosts. Apparently, the Outer Zone had never really had them… at least, not in the good form.
Turning back to her parchments, Teagan realized she had unveiled another few lines. My hand is copper, my brow is lead. Suffer me in a red patina, swept along in a molten flow to a sad eternity. So she now had the first two of five sections complete and giggled at her achievements.
"I take it you got somewhere?" Jeb asked, turning slightly towards her.
"Yeah, but it still is a mystery until I get the others." Teagan replied, folding the papers and shoving them into her pocket, "The rest can wait until we stop, right?"
"I don't see why not?" Jeb shrugged, "Hey, I remember what I was going to ask you before you fell asleep. We saw you singing to your niece, but could or would you sing that now?"
"Jeb, I don't think this is the right time for that." Cain said, shaking his head.
"Come on Cain. We all want to hear it." DG chimed in to which the others added their approval, "Please? If we scout around, make sure no one is around?"
"That would alert someone… fine." Cain sighed, "Teagan, you might as well do it now. While we are still relatively safe."
Teagan smiled and it took her a few moments before she gained enough courage to sing the song. She sang it a few times, to let the others actually hear and understand what she was singing. When she finished, the others, even Cain had thought she had done a good job.
Teagan was about to explain the song when gunfire erupted. The horses reared and pranced about in fear as other horses burst through the surrounding trees. Cain and Jeb did their best, shooting the lead riders as Glitch and Raw spurred their horses away.
Though it was a futile attempt as the group was soon surrounded, guns aimed at their heads. One rider, a smug look on his face rode up to Jeb and stared at Teagan.
"Hello sister. We're here to escort you to the Tower."
AN: kshen. homestead. com/ ffnet. html You'll have to remove the spaces and link let's you hear and see the song Teagan sings.
It is called Fiona's Lullaby from Secret of Roan Inish.