Disclaimer: Lost Girl belongs to Showcase or SYFY and I am only playing in their universe.
A/N: Okay first of all, I can't say enough about your loyalty to the Lost Girl characters of the New Eyes stories. Your reviews were so touching, you literally had me wanting me to reach through the screen and give you a hug. SO here *hug* - there you go. I can't say more without giving things away, but know I appreciate you letting me know what you think about the story and how things are progressing. It is only chapter four so we have a ways to go.
The sunlight came through the window like a laser beam. The curtains had been ripped down and the east facing windows were bright with morning light. Lauren opened her eyes and then shut them tightly blocking out the unwelcome intrusion. Her mind immediately began to race, Hilde and Bruce were they okay? What had happened to them? The answers to these questions hit fuzz patches in Lauren's brain as what remained of the sedative she had been given got in the way. Still the doctor forced herself to remember. The memories now came in violent flashes before her closed eyes. They had been attacked. The first three had been killed but then some fae named Roldan and two others had ridden in from the canyon. Did Hilde call him brother? Hilde, oh god she had been taken, the breath caught in Lauren's chest and she had to force herself to relax.
Lauren shook her head and then regretted it. What had Roldan done to her? He had used his power to pull on her fae nature. Was something like that even possible? The scientist in her raced to process that thought and Lauren had to take deep breaths to calm down. There was a fight, as tired as she was she had somehow shifted to her cat and fought back. She had hurt him. There was a savage pride in that thought. Roldan had won but paid a high price. Lauren remembers he was going to kill her for what she had done but then there were sirens and they, there were two of them Lauren recalled, they had left her and taken off with Hilde to who knows where.
The doctor took inventory. She began by moving her toes and fingers, shifting to legs and arms. Her eyes worked as she had detected light, she listened and heard the morning calls of the birds, So far so good she told herself. When the last of her fae power had been destroyed it had left her reeling. All of her senses went into overdrive trying to make up for what had been lost. She had returned to human so fast that she could not even manifest clothing to cover herself. Stupidly she had called to the Earth, even dug her hands into the soil hoping to return her power. There had been police. God, Lauren winced at the idea of them finding her severely confused, naked and trying to talk to the earth. Hell she was lucky they didn't lock her away in some institution.
How did she get home? Bo. Bo has come for her, held her and told her everything was going to be okay. Bo told her that she loved her, Lauren fought the tears that were threatening. God she loved Bo too. Twisting her head slowly she felt sore but no shooting pain. Would the others know what had happened to her? How would they react? Think of something else Lauren told herself. Opening her eyes, the doctor looked at the ceiling and focused on more simple observations.
Lauren felt warm and comfortable, safe would gone for a while, but comfortable was a good start. Turning she found herself looking into Bo's open eyes. The succubus was watching her with concern but also something more, relief maybe. Bo was going to say something but Lauren shook her head. Instead the doctor reached out and ran a hand down her lover's face, a thumb over her lips to finally drift fingers off her champion's chin. Lauren's sense of touch was working. She pulled in a deep breath and felt some tightness. Her ribs were sore but not to the point of being something she would have to worry about.
Steeling herself Lauren then reached deeper looking for what she knew was no longer there. She felt her heart beat and her breath move in and out. The minor injuries of her body made themselves known. She had a headache and her shoulder and hands hurt. There was the itch of cuts and scrapes on arms, legs and back. What was missing were the extra things. Her awareness of the land around her the nature fae would have picked up. The sounds and smells that she would normally sense from her feline form were muted or gone altogether, the feel of energy dancing around her skin that her succubus allowed her to enjoy. That was all gone. Rage flared inside her and Lauren turned, sitting up so quickly she almost fell out of bed. She needed to do something, things were such a jumble her brain was on overload. Lauren needed to move that is what always helped.
The doctor started to scramble around the room. She was throwing on her running clothes. "Lauren?" Bo asked cautiously. The doctor would have grabbed for anything wear but in the mess of the room the only clothes that were available were the ones hanging on the back of the door. She was almost out of the room when Bo grabbed her arm. "You will need these." She held up socks and shoes. Grabbing them and not looking at the succubus she stumbled to the bed and threw on the last of her gear. With a mumbled thank you the doctor was out the door.
Making her way down stairs she exited onto the porch and saw Dyson sitting a ways off by Bruce's head which was sticking out of the ground. The wolf sniffed once but did not say anything. He nodded for Lauren to take off and she did, running with all her might she dashed off on her normal morning path. This was the doctor's way to handle pain. Right now she was not a doctor, she was not a daughter, she was not a fae, she was just Lauren. She was the Lauren of right now and needed time to think about what that meant. As she pounded off on the dirt path, the doctor didn't feel the two sets of eyes watching her go.
"She is human again." said Dyson quietly.
Bo let out a sigh, fighting with everything she had not to chase Lauren down and bring her back. "She was always human." The succubus answered, and the wolf considered that but did not say anything. "How's Bruce?" Bo asked finally.
A grin touched the wolf's handsome features, "Much improved. Kenzi stayed with him most of the night. He started mumbling and she was able to get some water and some of that god awful cure-all into him. I think the dirt would taste better myself. She said we will pull him out later today after she gets some sleep. With Lauren back maybe she can offer some help." Bo shrugged as if she didn't know what Lauren would be up to. They needed Lauren to tell them what happened if she could, but how they proceed would be up to the doctor.
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The night had not been as bad as Hilde had anticipated. Her spell had been a damn good one if she said so herself. Had Lauren or Bruce been trapped inside would have made the spell perfect. As it was she was caught by her own talents. Testing the bars she found that she could lean against them but not reach anything through the spaces. To sleep she tied her sleeves together so her hands would not swing out. The good news was the same rules applied to things coming through the bars. They would be cut into pieces so she was in no danger of being stabbed or shot with a weapon. Starving to death might be an issue, but her brother would not be feeding her anyway. What had made the evening almost pleasurable was watching her brother deal with his wounds.
The hag had been helpless as she watched her brother use his terrible power on Lauren. Remembering when she herself had been subjected to the boy's evil talents the first time she had stood up to her father and his warped view of fae society. She had very vivid memories of the watching the thick golden stream that moved like silk ribbon being pulled from her. The pain was intense but the feeling of emptiness was worse. Being powerless for the first time in her life had left her reeling.
As her brother had begun to pull the fae from Lauren, Hilde had known that something was very different. First of all there was no ribbon. The strands were yellow, blue and green braided with a bright brilliant white. In Lauren's books they had called the shape a helix. Where normally he could grab the whole nature of a fae and pull, this stream itself fought the disruption breaking apart as he grabbed a section only to reconnect again when he adjusted his grip.
Roldan focused on the green strand and that somehow triggered a protective response in the doctor. In shock Hilde watched as the feline form erupted from her daughter and fought viciously. Fae were general helpless in her brother's clutches, not Lauren, she fought with all her might. Roldan was raked with strong claws and bit in the shoulder by strong teeth. He had lost his grip and ended up slashing his hands desperately though the spiral. He certainly paid for his attack.
In the end the most her bother had done was break the stream into pieces. In a last tug, Roldan had snapped away a muted white spiral with tiny wisps of color drifting in chaos, but it was abrupt end again nothing like the hag had witnessed before. Her brother claiming success as he staggered away bleeding and lacking one eye. Hilde remembered how Lauren described the fae DNA fighting for their part for her. She had just witnessed the manifestation of that statement. It made her wonder just how successful her brother had really been in removing her daughter's fae.
Hilde had no reference being without fae powers so when she had her fae ripped away, the hag's natural dependence on balance was so disrupted she wandered for several years before she was able to begin to rebuild her life. But Hilde had recovered from her brother's attack. When she had rebalanced her life and accepted herself for what she was, her fae nature returned. She awoke one day stronger than ever as if her nature was just waiting for her to figure a few things out and then ease its way back to her.
Hilde thought hard, Lauren knew what it was to be human. She had become fae against her will but had adapted to what was forced upon her. Hilde figured that like herself, Lauren would have to accept what she was now to regain the fae pulled from her. There was also the fact that Lauren would have to want to be fae again. Hilde could only pray that she did as she was her only hope of escape for her child.
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Lauren was tired, sore and breathing hard as she made it to the place where she, Hilde and Bruce had faced the second set of attackers. She was seated on the fallen oak that was now mostly burned away but still large enough to support her. Facing the canyon that had brought the danger, the doctor fought to see what they had missed. She thought of how Hilde had tried to protect her. Lauren's heart began to pound in her chest as she fought down the fear for her little mother. The monsters that had her were dragging her back to face her father. The child she carried at risk too. Lauren picked up a rock threw it in frustration and anger.
As a human she lacked the strength to battle those that had taken Hilde captive but she was the only one that could pass through the cage to free the hag. Lauren let the thought touch her mind that being only human now she wouldn't be enough anymore and then cursed. That was something she thought she had moved on from. Bo came to mind and she felt herself go cold. She would have to go back to watching her lover go elsewhere to fulfill her needs. Did she really have the strength to do that? Would Bo go anywhere else to feed? This was so unbelievable. They were back to the same problem that had always faced them as a couple.
There was a crunching sound and Lauren jumped. She spun around coming to her feet in fighting stance and then stilled her motion as she saw two shapes moving out of a patch of untouched grass. A little more than a foot tall, four inches of that given to the pointed hats they wore. It was a little surprising how like their garden decoration cousins they looked. The outfits were not as colorful as the plaster models but the beards were there as was the body shape. Two gnomes were now giving Lauren a wary look from the edge of the grass.
The pair eyed Lauren for a moment as if trying to decide if they really were going to go through with their plan. Finally they moved forwards and walked directly towards the doctor. Lauren was surprised, she was human now and should have had a scent to send these guys running for their lives but they were approaching and looked to be holding things in their hands.
Trying to appear less threatening Lauren returned to her seat on the oak and waited. The two moved closer till they were finally at her feet. They had armfuls of small rocks, which they promptly dropped into a neat pile. One was obviously older and he pointed out towards the north and the younger one ran off faster than Lauren would have expected. The older gnome looked up at her with his hands on his hips. He looked over the log as if he was considering something, then he took a careful look around. Rolling his eyes he held up his hands as a child would that wanted to be picked up. Lauren obliged and the tiny white bearded man nodded his thanks and then took a seat right next to Lauren.
"Hello," she said finally as they little man had not made a sound. The gnome raised an eyebrow and then touched two fingers to his hat. About that time the youngest of the pair came racing back with something in his hand. It was the rock she had thrown in anger. Placing the rock in the pile, the second gnome looked over the log, then moved to the side and climbed up. As he approached he was dusting black soot off his shirt looking unhappy. Lauren watched as a grin touched older gnome lips and she fought not to let out a laugh. For a while it was Lauren sitting between the two visitors looking over the burnt fields. Lauren turned to speak but both men motioned to the land and held up hands in a 'what happened' gesture.
"I know. This is a good place. We will get it back into shape, I promise. You will have a home for as long as you…" Lauren said thinking that they were worried about their home. The older gnome shook his head and then made his way to crawl on her arm and then placed a hand on her chest directly over her heart. The little man then looked at her with concern. The younger one leaned in and mirrored the look of his friend.
"Oh, I don't know…" Lauren was a bit taken back as the two visitors seem to be worried about her. The older man motioned to the young one who quickly made his way down to the ground and grabbed a few rocks. He placed them next to one another then held up a rock to Lauren. The older gnome climbed off her arm and then nudged the doctor motioning for her to take it. Careful to watch out for the small man, she stood and then took the rock she placed it in line with the other. Quickly the young gnome followed with another. Lauren took the next offered rock and placed it and so on till the line was done. The two little men looked extremely pleased, like they had just given her some very important information.
Lauren looked at the straight line of rocks. They were trying to tell her something but she was too mixed up right now to get it. The old gnome started to look for a way off the log. The doctor made a side move with her foot that kicked a few of their stones out of line. As the younger one dove to correct the pattern, Lauren quickly grabbed the gnome on the log and sat him on the ground. Turning after resetting the rocks the young gnome eyed them both suspiciously as he looked from his dirty shirt to the clean attire of his partner.
The older gnome walked to the row of rocks and took one out of the middle one. He handed it to Lauren he pointed to her and then the rock and then the line. He then patted her hand, touched his hat again and smiled. Their job done they began to walk away. The duo had almost reached the grass line when Lauren yelled out and the gnomes turned. She held up the rock so they could see it and then placed in the line. The two gnomes nodded in approval and disappeared into the grass. Lauren shook her head, had two gnomes just tried to tell her that she could set everything back in order. Turning to run home, a smile touched her lips, perhaps they had told her just that.
xxxxXXXXxxxx
"Sit down Bo Bo, Lauren will be back. Better yet grab a corner of this will you?" Kenzi said as she was attempting to spread out a sheet next to the mud pit. Ignoring their need to know what had happened, Bo, Kenzi, Dyson and Bryan were working on getting things back to some type of order around the farm. Bruce had started to show signs of discomfort and so they were now getting ready to get the ogre out of the mud and into a bed inside.
Dyson and Bryan were adding water to the mud to loosen it up and make the removal of the big guy easier. "You are an interesting lot." Said Bryan. He and Kenzi had become fast friends and where Bo and Dyson had scarcely said a word, the dwarf and the druid had done their best to fill the awkward silences. Bryan talking of life and what it was like for him in the open lands and Kenzi with the rundown of the group she called family. "This Lauren, she is a doctor for fae and humans. Talented girl, she should be able to support your…" he stumbled trying to recall Kenzi's phrasing.
"Bad ass druid healing skills," she said with a smile.
A barking laugh and Bryan said, "Yes, that was it. She will be able to support…those."
Dyson turned slightly and that was enough for Bo, she looked and saw that Lauren was on the lane and running back towards them. The succubus could not keep the look of relief off her face. "Call me when you are ready to move Bruce okay? I need to find some things in my room." and then instead of moving towards the doctor. Bo turned and walked into the house.
"Aw Crap." mumbled Kenzi as she watched her best friend walk away. "I hate it when those two fight. I hope this isn't about Bo not being there for the battle. Lauren is really protective of Hilde and Bo couldn't help it, the damn door disappeared."
Dyson looked to Kenzi and then realized that she didn't know that Lauren had been more than physically attacked. He was on his way to tell her, but Lauren arrived on scene first. The doctor seeing the others looking rather uncomfortable said, "Can I help?" She was then immediately hit by Kenzi and pulled into a huge hug then a rapid pat down by the druid.
"You seem okay Hotpants, you have cuts and bruises. You groaned when I hugged you. Are your ribs hurt?" The druid started to pull her shirt up in her frenzy to look her woman over. Dyson pulled the druid back from her medical assessment, and he too hugged the doctor. Bryan stood to the side and tried to look like he was not incredibly uncomfortable.
"Hi Dyson, and easy their Kenzi," said Lauren taking in the caring looks of her friends. "Most of my injuries are inside. Thanks though, what's the story with Bruce? Looks like the mud bath had pulled out a lot of the toxins from the insect bites. He is lucky you found him. All I could do was…" the doctor looked down and had to gathered herself before speaking again. "All I could do was get him out of harm's way during the last attack."
"Can you tell us about it? Where is Hilde Lauren?" asked Dyson carefully.
A flash of anger then sorrow crossed her eyes, "She is held captive by her brother. I was … unable to stop them from taking her with them." Bryan let out a curse and that brought the new comer to her attention. Her eyes were cold as she assessed him, "Who is this?"
"This is Bryan and he is on our side." Said Kenzi quickly not wanting the doctor to go all kitty and kick their new friend's ass.
"My Lady, Kenzi meant to say that I am now on your side. I was the one that opened the rock road to your property." He dropped to a knee. "I am at your mercy."
Lauren took a fast step forward but Dyson was their first, "Easy Lauren. The man was under orders from The Grand Lord, Hilde's father. He could not refuse if he had wanted to. He has also been a huge help with Bruce. He knows where they are taking Hilde." With that Lauren stopped.
"Is Bo okay with him being here?" said Lauren eyes still flashing, but she had now registered that the succubus was nowhere to be seen.
"Bo has not really been able to concentrate on much except you for a while." said Dyson. "But yes after she killed two demon fae, she then determined that he was safe to be here." Lauren looked startled at that bit of news. "We need to help Bruce then we need to sit down and talk about what has happened. Everything that happened." Pulling hard out of the wolf's grip the doctor nodded.
"Welcome." She said quietly towards the still kneeling dwarf. "Thank you for helping Bruce."
"At your service." Bryan replied with equal seriousness.
There was a quiet moan and everyone turned towards the ogre. "We need to get him out of there okay." Said Kenzi. The group could always count on her for focusing on the here and now. The mud made getting a hold of the big man tough. Dyson and Bryan were on either end and Lauren and Kenzi were there to help. "On the count of three," Kenzi said and then started yell numbers. On three they pulled and would have failed if was not for Bo who appeared suddenly stepping into the deepest of the muck and heaving to free the ogre's midsection. Once out of the mud Dyson and Bryan could handle the weight and the others stepped aside.
"Bo Bo to the rescue," panted Kenzi holding up her muddy hand for a high five. The succubus just grabbed the hand and gave it a squeeze, not leaving her friend hanging but not celebrating either. She then walked off to find the hose. There was no nice way to rinse the mud off everyone but the garden hose. Everyone was mud free but cold as they worked to clean up Bruce. Lauren took over as the lead physician. Kenzi wanted no part of a naked Bruce. She stayed with Bryan as Dyson, Bo and Lauren stripped away the soiled clothing and got a good look at the ogre's wounds. Finally getting him wrapped in a clean sheet and up into his own bed. The doctor pushed the others out of the room and did what she does best, take care of her friends. Dyson grabbed Bo and they walked to sit on the porch with the others.
Lauren emerged about forty minutes later with a soft smile. Walking straight to Kenzi she gave the girl a huge bear hug. "You did really well. The mud and whatever else you added leached the toxins and pulled most of the stingers from the bites out of his body. His systems are still recovering from the amount of damage he took, his breathing had been compromised the most." Lauren flashed on the man with foam on his mouth as he battled the swarm demon. "Bruce should make a full recovery but it will take time. You will need to create something to help with that, something he can breathe in to help his lungs. Observe him and then make your next move, Healer."
Kenzi was beaming with the praise, "You and I will be on it. Tag team medical care."
"No," said Lauren. "I have to go after Hilde. You will have to be the one to care for him."
Dyson shifted, "Is that a good idea?" he didn't mean it to be an unkind statement but Lauren was a human now.
Not understanding Dyson's question, Kenzi retorted fast, "Do you doubt my skills? The Doc just said that I have got some …"
"No," said a voice from just off the porch that made everyone jump. Tamsin was standing there, "He had doubts on whether a human should go after Hilde. Am I right?" The blonde joined the surprised group on the porch. "The magical travel spell had been lifted. Peggy sends her regards. I'll be glad when Hilde's back and we have a secure passage way again." Dyson and Bo looked at the valkyrie. The phrasing of the words caught both their attention. Tamsin nodded quickly a message that they would talk later.
"Trick and Vex send their greetings. Lauren they are glad you are safe." The blonde continued. "They are very worried about Hilde. News of the incident at the shack has spread. The trip by plane, all of it. The natives are stirred up to say the least. Everyone wants to know who the big bad is now."
"Human to go after Hilde," Kenzi hadn't been listening to the rest what Tamsin said, she was the only human of the bunch, her eyes widened. She shouted out cutting off all other conversation, "Okay, I'll do it. I just will need someone to tell me which way they took Hilde and I will…"
"Not you Kenzi," said Lauren and took her hand. "Me. When I was attacked one of the fae, Hilde's brother, ripped apart my fae. He made me human again." Kenzi gasped but none of the others seemed surprised.
"You were always human." Said Bo quietly. It was the first words she said since Lauren had left the bedroom that morning. The doctor looked at her with a question and then turned back to the group. Bo was not sitting next to her and had kept her distance all day, but the succubus had never taken her eyes off Lauren, not once.
The group sat quiet for a while, Lauren finally began again, "Hilde is being held in a protective spell. Short version is when things got really bad in the fight she tried to protect me, Bruce too. It was unlikely we were going to survive the attack and there was the baby to think about so I caught the spell and redirected it back to her."
"Impressive," said the valkyrie, "If Hilde was trying to protect you it must had been a good spell."
Lauren smiled, "Yes, It was. From what I could make out she channeled most of her power into a protective cage. Anything tries to get through gets cut into pieces. I watched an arrow burn away on contact with the cage and a man was killed as he was pushed into it." The group shifted uneasily except for Bo who was sitting looking at the doctor.
"After I protected Bruce, they tried to kill me with the cage but I just passed through the bars. The spell was made for me and I am the only one that can remove Hilde from the cage without killing her in the process. Then there is the problem of the baby." Lauren was speaking quickly as she was reliving the events as she talked about them.
"What about the child?" asked Bo and Dyson at the same time.
Lauren could not help but look into the succubus's eyes. "If the baby is born in the cage, it will recognize the child as a separate fae and … react." Bo's eyes burst with blue for an instance and then she pulled her power back.
"Crap," yelled Kenzi and she stood fast then moved into Dyson's arms to be held. "We can't let that happen. Doc, you and Bo have to go and get her. Right now!" Twisting in the wolf's arms she said, "Bryan can you show them the way?"
"I can but I can't follow them through to the other side. Twas part of the bargain I made, I can't return to the open lands." The dwarf looked troubled. "I have the map to the Grand Lord's Castle and can offer the horses and gear. It is the best I can do."
"The Grand Lord," said Tamsin fast. For just a moment her the skull-like features of her power were visible. The valkyrie had been put in a seven hundred year time out by Odin for showing weakness. She was not set to regain her full strength for the length of her punishment. But she was what she was and the amount of distress she had to have felt to reveal her true nature must have been extreme. "The man is a bastard. Damn it. He has powers that are similar to a valkyrie's attack, instead of doubt it is more guilt and regret, I have lost friends in battle to the fae. I would be worthless in this fight."
"Were you planning on coming along?" said Bo quickly. There was a touch of something dangerous in her voice.
"Well," Tamsin looked rather wary now. "Lauren was attacked on your watch, you might need back up at the very least. Then there is the fact that she is only human now and…"
"No," said Bo flatly even her eyes did not flash, "Thank you for your assessment of the situation. Your offer of…. help is appreciated." Lauren's eyes were wide with anger at what Tamsin had just implied. Before the doctor could go off on the blonde in defense of Bo, the woman continued.
"Then Dyson. He had been useful in the past." There was a half grin on the valkyrie's face, "and he is good in a fight too."
"No," the succubus nodded once towards the wolf. He nodded back and tightened his grip on Kenzi. Bo said quickly "This is a rescue operation not an invasion…"
"I was not talking about warriors, Bo." said Tamsin, "Vex is understanding and will…"
Standing up with a snap, Bo said sharply, "Lauren and I will be leaving in one hour. Bryan can you have the horses ready. Please let Lauren know what we need to supplement the gear you will provide and our food and water needs. Kenzi I need to speak to you." Bo turned and left the porch without a look at anyone. Kenzi looked at the others and then ran after Bo who was walking towards the woods.
Lauren stood as Kenzi rushed by moving to join them but Tamsin grabbed her arm. "Don't bother Lauren." Whirling on the valkyrie, Lauren hit the woman hard and glared as the fae was taken back a step or two. Touching her lip and feeling the damage the doctor had done, Tamsin grinned slyly and said, "I guess I deserved that. Do you feel better?"
"Not really," snarled the doctor, "Bryan let's see those horses." Lauren shot off the step without another word heading in the opposite direction of her lover. The dwarf was following close behind her as she stepped out.
Dyson walked up beside Tamsin, "Okay, that's not how I would have done it." He handed a rag to Tamsin to dab the blood from her mouth. "You just spilled their inner most thoughts out into the open in a pretty harsh way. Do you really think that will make them deal with them?" Tamsin's eyes twinkled with mischief.
"It was Vex's idea. There is not time for them to fiddle fart around each other's feelings. We need them strong and healthy now. More importantly we need Hilde back soon." Said the valkyrie.
"Do you want to tell me why you really are here?" said Dyson.
Starting to walk towards the house, "As soon as they leave, let's check on Bruce." Dyson followed behind not happy with the bad feeling that was building in his stomach.
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"Okay anytime now Bo, anytime." Said the heavy breathing druid who was cursing everything about the situation. The succubus just kept walking without a word. Kenzi was about to just call a halt to this trek into the woods when Bo came to a stop. She turned and looked at her out of breath friend and sighed.
"Sorry," Bo muttered and walked to a grouping of rock, she motioned for the little druid to take a seat and rest.
Looking at her boots and seeing the scuff marks on the perfect black leather, Kenzi narrowed her eyes, "Sister I know this is an emergency, but it better be worth my shoes." Bo could not help but smile at the remark which was why Kenzi had said it. "Can you tell me what is going on or do we have walk to the city to have a drink at the Dahl first?"
"I could use a drink now." Said Bo with a harsh laugh. Running her hands through her hair, "Kenz, I am scared. Tamsin had a point about me letting Lauren be…"
Kenzi hit Bo hard in the shoulder, "Shut up. Just shut up. Not your fault and you know it."
"Ow," said the succubus rubbing her arm. "Okay not my fault." Bo sat next to Kenzi for a few more quiet minutes, "I have an idea of what Lauren is feeling right now. It has stirred up a bunch of things I thought I was over. When the Wanderer held me captive he drained me so low I lost the ability to call my power. Like Lauren I didn't have a way to reach normal. It is a scary feeling. When I watched her this morning I just sort of froze, stuck in my own memories." Bo swallowed hard and kicked a patterned in the dirt.
"You going to tell her that?" ask Kenzi. "You should you know."
"Lauren has always been human, her fae just mixed into her being and made her more." Said Bo. "It is something I could always sense, I just need to convince her she will be fine. Fae or not fae, she will be fine. It is not her I am worried about really."
Bo stood up and then moved to a different rock and pushed hard to make it roll. Underneath the stone there was depression with a bag in it. Moving the bag to the top of the rock, Bo pulled it open and a silver bar fell out. Kenzi, who had moved to stand by Bo, reached out to grab the metal. Bo caught her arm, "Only I can touch this right now." Kenzi's eyes widened as the metal began to glow blue with chi energy then fade at the nearness of Bo's hand to the brick.
"This is a touchstone, a real one. Trick gave it to me after the council fight and the Wanderer business. I didn't let anyone know but I was having some trouble after that. I was starting to obsess about not having enough energy, being drained again. Lauren picked up on something and had Hilde start working with me about managing my chi, but we never talked about my fears. I did talk to Trick and he gave me this. It was my grandmother's. She had a druid make it for her, to store extra chi in before she went into battle. It accepted me because we were related I guess because it worked. I hid it out here and would sneak away to put chi into it. I felt it was a weakness I had to hide but I pretty soon I felt better knowing that this was here. I could start to relax. I don't use it as much now. I have much better management skills after a year of training. It is more of a habit now than a necessity."
"Not so much anymore huh?" said Kenzi. Bo felt she needed her stored up energy now. Then it hit her, "You will not be able to feed off Lauren like when she was…damn that sucks. What do you need from me?"
Bo dug into her pocket and pulled out two rings and a coin. "Okay druid, I need you to make these touchstones."
"Okay, just like that, no problem, three touchstones coming up." Kenzi looked at Bo with skepticism. What did the druid know about creating touchstones?
Bo smiled, "Put that tattoo of yours to work, druid. Get out of the kitchen and live a little."
"But I like the kitchen," muttered Kenzi but none the less she placed her hand over the three metal objects. After a moment the druid said, "Give me your knife. We need a drop of your blood and my blood." Bo hesitated but then gave it over. Kenzi then held out her hand and made a small cut and then motioned to Bo. The succubus pulled out a different knife and cut her hand. The two drops of blood fell on each object. Kenzi said, "Pull the chi out of the drops of blood and then focus on removing any chi in the objects."
"What?" said Bo.
Kenzi scowled, "Just do it. Remember I don't always understand what I am doing with this stuff so just go for it." Doing what she was told Bo focused on the tiny drops and pulled. To her surprise the amount of chi she pulled was quite large and when she finally finished she had a bit of a buzz from the extra energy. Seeing that Bo had pulled back, Kenzi frowned and placed her hand over the objects again careful not to touch them. "That's it. These are now new touchstones."
Bo looked apprehensive then she took a deep breath and reached for the silver bar that held a year's worth of stored chi. If she messed this up all that energy would be destroyed. Placing a hand on the bar, Bo's eyes flashed as she pushed chi from the bar into each object. When she was finished she staggered a bit at the effort she had just used. Without a word she put a cord of leather through the rings. She then held them to her neck and asked Kenzi to help her tie them off. Not touching the rings she used the cord to place them under her shirt.
"What about the coin?" Kenzi asked, "Do you have a pocket we can knock it into." She had noted how Bo was careful not to lay hands on the other two objects.
Bo smiled, "Take it, that one is yours."
Kenzi's eyes widened, "What are you talking about? You need…"
"What I need is to make sure my family is safe. I'm not sure what the hell is going on. Tamsin was acting so strange, there is more to her showing up than offering to be my feeding partner on a rescue mission. I have to go with Lauren, you need to stay with Bruce. You can use this," She pointed at the coin which Kenzi had yet to touch, "as an extra way to protect yourself. You touch that and you control the energy it holds. I want you to have it." Kenzi reached down and picked up the coin and it sent a buzz through her hand. Seeing the druid looking at the round piece of metal, Bo smiled, "Don't worry you're a badass druid, you'll figure it out."
The succubus started walking back, Kenzi shoved the coin into her pocket. Then druid's head then snapped up, "Bo Bo," she yelled as she ran catch up. "Just why are you walking around with two rings in your pocket?" The succubus just kept walking.
