Chapter 4 : I'm not crazy the voices tell me so.
The air was light despite the soft heat, and he found himself glad of the overhanging branches as he traded a thick carpet of leaves that lined the forest path for a hard packed dirt road that wound through a more traveled section of the woods. The land of his Chosen's birth was beautiful, he decided as he calmly wove his way through the pristine woods. He knew that his Chosen was of noble birth, possibly the son of this territory's lord. He could see that much from their still dormant bond. The boy was young, and strong, older then he was when 'Fandes first chose him; still young though, 19 he'd guess.
Something changed then, the soft feel of worry and annoyance that he'd been feeling from his soon to be Chosen had now morphed into an intense wave of fear and mild anger, which rather abruptly bled into a full panicked terror!
This time he reared in anger, screaming a challenge at anyone who would dare to hurt his Chosen. He launched himself forward into a full Companion's gallop the second his hooves touched the earth again, and they rang out against the ground as he moved onto the hard stone of a nearby road. He ran full out, keeping his pace steady, remembering the last time he'd seen the land fly past in such a manner, and felt this urgent a pull to be somewhere other than where he was.
The last time, he'd been a passenger in his Companion's saddle, feeling Yfandes's hooves flying beneath him, the bond tying them together, making it seem as though her feet were his.
Now he understood.
How she could fly to take Steffin to safety and fly back to fight and die at his side. He had yet to Chose, and yet he knew he would do everything in his power to protect his Chosen, including surrendering his own life to keep the boy he had yet to meet, safe.
He bolted down the road, using his powers to shove people from his path. He was desperate to get to his Chosen, but he was unwilling to arrive with the remains of a small child stuck to his legs. He gathered himself and leapt a donkey cart with ease. The donkey shied and brayed in alarm, while his handlers swore and wrestled with the beast.
Vanyel didn't bother to stop; he kept right on running until he found himself in the capital city of the Great Demon Kingdom. He called upon the memories he'd copied and briskly navigated the packed city streets, still using his gifts to ensure he didn't accidently run anyone over. He was mildly amused by the irony of life; that he the famous Bane of Demons, Vanyel, Herald Demonbane, the Shadowstalker, and hero of Stony Tor, should be destined as a Companion to claim a Herald of his own, who bore the blood of demons.
It didn't matter; he knew that even as the irony of the situation struck him. His Chosen could be Human, Demon, Gryphon, or even a tree frog, and he wouldn't have cared!
He ignored the land around him despite the fact that his curiosity usually would have gotten the better of him had he been moving at a slower speed, devoid of the urgency brought about by his Chosen's mounting fear—he would have had his nose in everything.
He bolted across a drawbridge in a clatter of chiming hooves and bridle bells, shouldering aside and in one case, bowling over a few guards stupid enough to stand in his way. He leapt lightly over a few men in deep green uniforms and found himself standing in the courtyard of a massive palace. He stomped one hoof and concentrated on his Chosen. The boy's fear had risen considerably.
Images flashed across their incomplete bond, a bewildered and confusing jumble. A man with long lavender colored hair was straddling his Chosen and pinning him to the floor. An adolescent boy with bright blond hair pinned his Chosen's legs to the floor by lying fully across them. A woman with hair in healer's green knelt beside them, attempting to pry the young man's mouth open.
The visions of the here and now mixed with another set of memories, and Vanyel realized he was seeing the memories this situation was dragging across the surface of the boy's mind. He forced the memories back—it was obvious his Chosen wasn't coming to him; he'd have to go to his Chosen. The boy was definitely in the palace.
The third floor, western wing.
He reared screaming his challenge, and flung himself at the nearest door. He brought his hooves down against the wood with a ringing crash. The doors held but he was undeterred, even as the soldiers began to descend upon him, confused looks on their faces.
: UNLESS you wish to find yourselves beneath my hooves You WILL STAND ASIDE!: he roared at the congregating soldiers. He was in no mood to deal with these men; he had his hooves full with this damned thick wooden door. He shifted slamming his hooves down against the doors again. Trumpeting his rage at the top of his lungs to all who would listen; he slammed his hooves down against the wood again. Where he in Valdemar, there would be others coming to his aid by now.
But he was alone.
He suddenly understood how Y'fandes, felt when he'd barred himself in the temple that night and attempted to take his own life.
He simply had to reach his Chosen!
He reared again, battering the hard wooden door repeatedly with his hooves, but it was no use; he simply didn't have the strength of a full stallion to put behind the blows. He was still just a colt, and he'd never been more aware of the fact. In a different life he would have simply blasted the door in, but he didn't have the power to do so at the moment. Now he felt his Chosen's panic wash over him with the intensity of a tsunami breaking upon the shore. He panicked and spun around, lashing out at the door with his rear hooves.
The door groaned, but held!
He was swept up in his Chosen's fear and he lashed out with everything he had, kicking repeatedly at the door to the shock of the soldiers currently gazing at him. The door held, much to his annoyance, and then a hand reached out, grasping at his reins. He screamed and shook his head in defiance. He leapt into the air, and quick as a flash, lashed out at the door with his rear hooves while lashing out at the idiot who had dared to make a move for his bridle with his front hooves.
The man scrambled back, and Van stood still for a second, defiant until the end. He spun around and rearing, lashed out at the door again. A strange sense of calm washed over him suddenly. He recognized the presence currently soothing him, recognized it from years ago, from a time when he'd been a Herald rather than a Companion.
'Fandes's presence washed over him, and he felt his beloved- and dead- friend and Companion offer him her last gift – her strength. He reared again, and brought his hooves crashing into the wood with their combined strength. The door groaned,
and gave!
Splinters went flying in all directions as the door shattered inward. He flung himself through the hole he'd created and promptly launched himself up the nearest flight of stairs.
~~~***~~~
Yozak blinked at the feelings he was picking up from his comrade. Conrart had just digressed into full on terror. He reached for his friend, again, only to discover that he was still just out of range! He swore and tried his best to calm the man despite their distance.
They were too far away!
He had to be with his best friend, had to help him!
What in the hell could be scaring Conrart so badly?
He felt Jissa brush his mind then.
: I can go faster, but your horse would never be able to keep up. The decision is yours, Chosen. : She said calmly.
He looked down at her ears for a moment, and then with a deft tug, he freed Daikichi's reins from the saddle horn. "Home, Boy!" he commanded sharply.
: Hold on. : Jissa ordered, and launched herself forward into a ground eating stride that left Daikichi in the dust.
~~~***~~~
There, that door. His Chosen was through that door! He reared, and crashed through the doors with his hooves, picking his way past the debris. He surged forward; crashing through yet another door and into his Chosen's bedchamber.
His Chosen lay on the opposite side of the bed, pinned to the floor by the lavender haired man and the blond haired boy. The green haired woman had managed to force feed him two vials of liquid and was working on the third, as indicated by the two empty vials on the floor. His Chosen struggled, trying vainly to throw them off, fear rolling off of him in volatile waves. A heavy mahogany nightstand rattled and scraped its way across the floor one thumb-length at a time; undeniable evidence of his currently exhausted Chosen's truly formidable Fetching gift.
Screaming a challenge, he leapt over the bed to land easily beside the group. He pivoted on his heels and lashed out at the man currently perched on his Chosen's chest with his rear hooves, connecting with a satisfying crack! The lavender haired man went flying and crashed into a nearby wall, shattering a chair that was unlucky enough to be in the way.
The nightstand stopped moving.
His Chosen did the rest—the boy twisted round and dislodged the woman, spitting out the steaming green concoction she'd been attempting to force feed him. He brought his knee up and dislodged the younger boy. Then, lashing out with one leg, he caught the blond firmly on the jaw with one heel.
Scrambling to his feet, he staggered, and Vanyel surged forward to put himself between his Chosen and his tormentors. The boy's knees buckled and he grabbed hold of Vanyel's mane to steady himself.
"Thank you," he muttered as he clung to Vanyel's mane.
Vanyel flicked an ear at the boy--he expected this young man to think of him as nothing more than a horse, and who thanked a horse? He twitched in what passed as a Companion's shrug; it didn't matter. It was time the boy learned what it meant to have a Companion.
: You're quite welcome. : He replied, evenly. He was going to wait until his Chosen could stand on his own to choose him.
The world digressed into chaos then! His Chosen let go of him and backed up with a muttered comment about "now the horse talks" and "maybe I really am going crazy."
He reached for his soon to be Chosen, trying to sooth the boy, as what he'd just witnessed fell into place. His Chosen had taken the mind search Van had done to find him as an attack, told his elder brother, and they'd decided he was going crazy.
: You're not going crazy, Chosen,: He replied firmly, forgetting for a moment that he had yet to actuallyChoose the boy.
This made the young man stiffen, and Vanyel saw all traces of expression leave the boy's face as his mind rapidly spiraled into a fit that left the boy chasing his own mental tail simply for the exercise!
: Chosen?:
He received no answer at all.
~~~***~~~
Abruptly Yozak found himself in speaking range with Conrart, if he shouted. He clung to Jissa's saddle and tried his best to get hold of his friend's spinning thread of thought. He reached for Conrart and found himself in the path of a twister.
He'd been warning Conrart since his friend turned 85 that if he didn't lighten the hell up and have some fun; he was going to have a complete breakdown. Well, apparently the threatened breakdown had finally hit! Honestly, he didn't know what had made his friend decide that his only worth lay in his military prowess. He however, was completely convinced that it would be the death of his friend if Conrart didn't snap out of it soon!
With that in mind he waded in and reached for him.
He snagged Conrart's mind sharply and gave the man the mental equivalent of a firm shake. When that didn't work, he mentally backhanded his friend. That got his attention.
: What's wrong? : He inquired the moment he had his friend's attention.
: YOU! This is all your fault! You and the Damnable Pigeon! Which won't shut up! It's been reply, reply! Shiny, shiny, shiny! Wolfram won't stop whining and did you know I'm nothing but a worthless half-breed! That boy needs a hairbrush to his backside! I swear it! And now there's a horse, in my room! Gwendal thinks I've lost my mind! Gisela medicated me! AGAIN!!!!! Günter! Sat! On! Me! And the horse is talking to me! I appreciate the fact that it tried to save me! But why is it talking to me?!!!! How did it even get up here? We're on the third floor! We have spiral stair cases! I blame you and the Damnable pigeon, which is back! Why is the pigeon back? How did it get in here I had Wolfram lock the window! Now the horse – which apparently is not a horse – is telling me to calm down! Why does the non-horse sound so calm? Great, the voices in my head are telling me to calm down! Great even the voices think I'm Crazy! I blame you and the damnable pigeon! You're the one who talks to critters, not Me! And why does the horse think it's not a horse? How did the non-horse get in here? I've never even seen this horse! Oh great they're probably going to think I stole the horse! And why not? I'm an untrustworthy Half-breed after all! Wolfram, gets more respect than I do and I'm actually legitimate! But NO pure blood and pedigree are all anyone in this damned nation can think about! Never mind the fact that the King is a Half-demon! And the horse is still telling me to calm down! Okay, Okay, The non-horse is telling me to calm the hell down! I don't want to calm down! I think it's confused….:
Yozak looked down at Jissa's ears, "I think the Captain's lost it." He said, quietly.
Jissa flicked an ear in his general direction, : Van?: she called. : Is your Chosen having a nervous breakdown? :
: Not now Jissa, I'm trying to deal with my not quite yet Chosen's mental break down. : A new and distinctly male voice responded.
Jissa sighed, : I'll take that as a yes! : She replied calmly. : Chosen, tell your friend to listen to the nice white horse, and look him in the eyes.:
: I don't want to look the horse in the eyes! : Conrart replied absently, completely oblivious to the fact that Yozak hadn't said anything yet, before continuing in a distinctly panicked fashion. : Gisela medicated me! Günter sat on me! Wolfram looks like he got kicked in the face. Why is he glaring at me? The damnable pigeon is back! It won't shut the hell up! Shut Up ! Damn It! Shut the Fuck Up, Damn You! Go bother Yozak!! Great, now the pigeon is gone!!:
Yozak blinked as Jissa galloped up the main street through the Capital city, on route to Covenant Castle, as the aforementioned damnable pigeon appeared in his lap. Glancing down at Jissa's ears he muttered "Found it" just as the thing took off with a shrill cry of: Reply?:
He could still hear Conrart having his mental breakdown, even as he blew past several very startled guards, and into the courtyard. "Sorry!" he yelled as Jissa shouldered aside a guard who wasn't fast enough to get the hell out of the way in time. She thundered up to one of the Castle's doors, at least where there used to be a door. She gathered herself and leapt over several guards who were currently crouched on the floor picking up the mess!
She pivoted on her heels and shot up the nearest flight of stairs. He hadn't known that horses, even people who just happened to look like horses could navigate a stairwell. They cleared the stairs in a clatter of hooves and chiming bells. His legs burned with the effort of keeping himself in the saddle. Jissa turned and bolted down a hallway, drawing on his memories of the Castle to navigate in the narrow halls. The maids giggled off in the shadows. He gasped as he recognized the man and two boys walking down the hall before they even had the chance to turn around.
"Sorry," he yelled as Jissa launched herself over Lord Von Voltaire, King Yuri, and the Great Sage! She landed lightly a few feet ahead of them before continuing her trek down the hall. Then she barreled into Conrart's rooms, past the debris that littered the floor, neatly avoiding the wooden remnants of what -he assumed - used to be his sitting room and bedroom doors! She leapt lightly over one of Conrart's squashy arm chairs, and skidded to a halt beside the slightly smaller male Companion. He vaulted out of his saddle just in time to catch his friend as the younger man collapsed in mid rant.
For one agonizingly long moment, his mind ran in rabid circles as he tried vainly to come to grips with the blank spot where Conrart should have been. Only the steady feel of Conrart's pulse under his hand kept him from completely freaking out, and having a repeat performance of the Big Shimaron incident a few years prior.
Carefully he lowered his dear friend to the floor, settling Conrart down so that the younger man rested lightly against him. He brushed back Conrart's hair, calmly noting the sweat that clung to his friend's damp hair. His arm was broken and bound to his chest with bandages. Yozak suppressed the urge to swear when Conrart moaned and tucked his nose into his chest. It was odd—not many people realized just how young they still were, hell there were times when he forgot he was older then Conrart. And then there were moments like these when he remembered that he had a good seven years eight and a half months on Conrart. Conrart always had been too serious for his own good!
Then Gisela appeared within his line of sight. Yozak didn't really understand why, but right now, he didn't want Gisela anywhere near Conrart! Something deep within him screamed not to let her even remotely close to them. That small voice also maintained that his friend's limp state was somehow her fault. He wanted nothing more than to protect Conrart from everything. At the same time a new instinct was forming in his mind, coursing down his newly formed bond to Jissa. Trust Jissa! It screamed, and for some odd reason he knew with an infallible certainty that the young stallion belonged with Conrart, just as he belonged with Jissa.
: Your friend is Chosen of Vanyel. He will be coming with us to Valdemar, Chosen, you'll not be leaving him behind. He belongs to Valdemar now; as do you. :
He blinked, trying to clear his head. He was Chosen of Jissa, and he would never be simply Yozak again. And turning his head briefly, he realized that if what Jissa had just said was true, and Conrart really was the colt's Chosen, he could safely leave Conrart in Vanyel's care.
He shifted his position, well aware of the fact that Conrart would most likely not thank him for this but he had to get him safely away from anyone who would hurt him – and right now that included his family. He shifted Conrart and readied himself for the difficult task of getting the unconscious man into the saddle.
Then Gisela reached out to touch Conrart, to take him away from him so that she could feed him something. The image Yozak's mind supplied was green and bubbled yellow. He knew, somehow, that the green bubbling goo was responsible for Conrart's current state, and partly responsible for his earlier mental breakdown.
He didn't think—he simply reacted as every primal part of his being branded Gisela the enemy, and a threat to what he held dear!
His hand shot out and snagged her dainty, delicate wrist, and before he could stop himself, he'd bent her wrist back until he heard a sickeningly satisfying snap. He barred his teeth, and shifted Conrart closer to his body. "Don't you dare touch him!" he snarled as he released the now useless appendage!
Gisela scrambled back, cradling her broken wrist to her chest, her teeth set against the pain in the abused limb. Just then, Lord Gwendal Von Voltaire, King Yuri Shibuya, and The Grate Sage Ken Murata, entered the room.
Gwendal took in the grandiose mess with a raised eyebrow, but for once Yozak thought the commander of their nation's Military was well and truly speechless!
~~~***~~~
A.N school starts on Monday so no more updates till the weekend. Particularly as I have a huge paper due this week. But since someone actually asked me to update soon I figured I'd post this now. More to come soon. Read and review.