Okay, readers, I tell you now, I don't start stuff I don't finish when it comes to fanfictions. So, though there may be a long wait between chapters, this WILL be finished. Promise. :D
So, reviews before we get straight to it...
Wait, only one? You readers wound me. Oh, my poor little author ego!
Kindro15: Oh, trust me, the conclusion is definitely coming along. Everything's going to be thrown into motion like a train of dominos when the first one is tipped in the next chapter. The thing of short chapters is… well… like my version of a break. ^^" See, life's been really busy for me, so I've been trying to get these things out about as fast as I can write them. U.U Sorry about that.
And, now, on to the story.
No sooner had Nythera closed my bedroom door behind her than I ran my fingers through my hair, taking a deep breath.
The time for mourning is over. It's time to take action.
Kai flopped down in his bed, lay his massive orange head on his paws, and watched me as I moved about the room. To many people, I suppose, his clever jade eyes would have been quite unsettling. However, I had (in recent years) spent more time around him than other people, leading me to not be bothered by it any longer.
I dressed quickly in my preferred robe; a deep purple one. However, perhaps due to recent events, the edging on this one was not black, but white.
Strange, I thought briefly, I still seem to care how I look to my enemy even though I'm going to d—
I stopped that thought dead in its tracks, no pun intended. I don't need more negative thoughts right now. Yes, I was going to win; I wouldn't let myself think otherwise. The phrase 'I'll win no matter what or die trying' had a new, deadly meaning to it now.
But if you die, whispered my subconscious softly, in a slightly fearful tone, then it's over. Past and future, both disappear in the blink of an eye. There is no coming back.
"What choice do I have?" I murmured out loud to thin air as I slid my feet into my white flats.
Several, that side of my mind continued to whisper urgently. As long as you live to fight another day, there is always a chance!
"Not this time."
I was not going to allow myself any room for doubt. When I left my house, I left Kai outside with the order to not follow me. This wasn't his battle, but it was mine. And besides, afterwards… I shook myself mentally. He would be fine. If he was going to go to any person after this, he would go to either Cysero or Rolith. I trusted both of them with my trusted pet… and I trusted Kai to not try to eat either of them. After this, I bit my lip slightly, wondering if I even knew how to find Vayle. With a surge of frustration, I realized I didn't.
But I wasn't going to let something so simple stop me from killing her. She'll have a base. She'll have somewhere to go after all this… a secret hideout. A place to recover. We ran into her around Moonridge and Amityvale, it must be around there, my mind continued seamlessly, not missing a beat. It will be someplace dark, secluded, solitary. She's not the type to hang around others, or gloat, or be praised. She would be alone, wherever her hideout is. And now I have to find it. I had begun walking along the narrow trail through the woods while I thought, and used everything I knew about the bitch to understand her workings. When it came to enemies and understanding their workings, because of my understanding of human nature, I was damn near flawless, and all too often I was ruthless. Then again, it was times like these that I didn't mind.
As I walked through Falconreach, avoiding people and staying to the shadows, I considered methods of killing Vayle that I hadn't previously thought of. Of course, there was the frequently-available (and most likely technique) magic, but with me, it was kind of a given.
But my training isn't finished.
"Damn," I muttered under my breath as I began the trek up the path around Falconreach tower. If my training isn't finished, then there's no way I'll be able to beat her…
I was about to banish the thought when I realized: I can't run away from the truth anymore. That's not going to help me get anywhere.
Strange how it took me so long to discover that.
The griffin looked up as I approached, dark amber eyes homing in on my figure as he always did. I cautiously stepped closer before reaching up to whisper in his feathery ear.
"Can you do me a favor, loverboy?" I breathed, and he flicked his ears as he dipped his head slightly. A new, more intelligent (and just a little bit frightening) gleam entered his bronzed eyes, and I met his gaze squarely as he put his head much closer to mine, inspecting my face in much the same way a human would. I've said before that animals were sometimes more clever or rational than some people, and I've also mentioned that the griffin was one of them.
After a long moment, he seemed to sigh, almost, and moved his wing so that I could scramble (in the most dignified way possible, of course) into his ruby-and-gold saddle. "Thanks," I murmured as I secured my arms around his neck. Then he stood, getting a running start off the small wooden platform that was precariously perched on the edge of the bluff before launching himself with breathtaking power into the sky. As I carefully looked down over my shoulder, I was able to watch Falconreach growing ever smaller until it disappeared, blocked from view by a cloud. The griffin took me steadily higher, up and up.
I had never gotten airsick. Maybe this was why I preferred riding the griffin to walking, being in a wagon, or—Lore forbid—riding a horse.
With a faint smile as it seemed like the wind swept all of my conflicting thoughts right out of my mind, I turned my face gently into the soft feathers on the griffin's neck. It was my first real, honest smile in… weeks. It felt delicious, particularly as the cold of winter bit into my cheeks, ears, and nose. This is one of the best feelings in the world, I decided then and there. Cold, fresh air, here at the top of the world…
Seized by a sudden rush of giddiness as my troubles just dropped away as though they were the ones dragged down by gravity, I dared to open my eyes all the way when I pulled my face away from the griffin's neck. The force of the wind he was propelling us against made my eyes water badly, but I didn't close them, only blinking infrequently as I slowly unwrapped my arms from where I had a death grip. Strange, I decided, how I would trust an animal to not let me fall 6000 feet, but I wouldn't—no, couldn't—trust a person to not let me fall three feet.
I tilted my head back, letting the wind whip my hair around. I had left it down, having had no incentive to wear it up, and I was sure I was going to pay for it later beause it would be so tangled. Later…. If there was a later.
I just pushed this thought out of my mind, into this little hole at the back of my head where I could worry about it when I had time. I'd dig everything out at some point to deal with all of it, separately and one piece at a time in an organized, orderly manner. Somehow, though, I got the feeling that method wouldn't stick. With my mind always trying to fly in half a dozen directions at once, I was rarely able to focus on any one thing for very long.
I was dragged unceremoniously back to reality when the wind whistling in my ears and around us lessened, and I got the faint sensation of falling. Where my hair blew behind me, it also began to blow upwards. A thrill of fear and excitement made my heart manage to slip an extra beat into its rhythm.
We're descending.
There's no turning back.
This is it.
Really quick, the chapterly advice… Uh… Well, dang. I can't really think of anything good. O.o
Maybe I've said it before, maybe not, but STUDY HUMAN BEHAVIOR. It probably sounds really bizarre, but I did it last year. I sat on the bench in a park and just peoplewatched. (Some people birdwatch, I peoplewatch.) Take the time to look—actually look—at how people walk, talk, and do things. For instance, I was watching a young couple. The guy would whisper in her ear, she would smile, blush, and mumble something back. I think the man found it quite endearing, to tell you the truth, because it just made him grin. Can't you see this happening?
Another thing, when there were 3 girls running around (they looked like they were 9-10), a bee buzzed around one's head. She screamed (I swear my ears were ringing) and took off. One followed her, and the other dropped, ducking the bee.
So, learn human behavior, mannerisms, habits, etc.
