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GrandChildren |
Ce'Leste D'Riel
Va'Lan D'Riel
An'Lin D'Riel
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Ghet was in full travel gear, and alone. She carried her swords on her back and that blaster on her thigh. She'd been getting in some rangering practise; life in the bordello was blunting her skills.
This forest, though, looked quite unlike the one she'd been in, and yet familiar. She gave a short annoyed sigh. She thought she'd managed to avoid the problems some of her extended family had with falling through wild portals.
She took a moment to check that she was still wearing her own body...
The half-elf had a habit of tossing random portals out and seeing where he landed. Life was more interesting that way. His short dark hair was a bit tousled, Si’Lyen had decided that Atto needed to be messed up a bit before she let him escape Corin, and for some unknown reason he wasn't wearing a shirt. Truth be told his daughter had used it as chewing material and he hadn't felt like replacing it. Rodi had never been self-conscious about the scars that laced his body, and he wasn't about to start now.
The trousers were his usual black leather though, and his broad sword was strapped securely across his back, the D’Riel insignia doing its best to peek out from under the scabbard. On his right bicep was something new, a black raven in the striking position. Something older and more familiar was the dagger sheath on his wrist, the glint of metal revealing the presence of a knife he had come to consider an old friend.
Y’Roden was singing something in his rich baritone, an Elven tune of some sort that had always struck his fancy. He had no real destination in mind, the urge to wander had simply struck him and off he had went.
Someone else was here. She could hear singing, and the voice was familiar. She could be forgiven for not recognising it straight away. She hadn't seen the voice's owner for a while, she wasn't expecting to see him here, and before when she'd run into him, they'd been... connected.
So, there was a man with a nice voice in the forest, and she was curious. She crept through the trees, keeping her footfalls silent like Galain had taught her.
Oh crap. It was Y’Roden. It was Y’Roden and he was only half-dressed. She just stopped, everything stopped. He'd not got any less beautiful. Then she realised she'd said "Oh crap," out loud.
The song stopped short and Y’Roden’s head snapped up and around, his sharp Elven ears perking. He knew that voice... he knew it better than the sound of his own. How she had come so close without him hearing had him baffled for a moment, and he berated himself for not paying close enough attention to his surroundings.
"Lis...," he stopped and took a step back, "Ghettie." Well this was unexpected, and uncomfortable, and for once in his life he had no idea what to say.
Ghet watched him step back from her and winced. She slipped out from the trees entirely and stood before him. It was odd, having to search his face, trying to work out what he was feeling. Did he want to see her? Did it hurt him like it did her, or did he just want to get away from her?
"Y’Roden. How are you? It's... been a while." She gave a small, wry smile. "I see Fate still has a sick sense of humour."
The scar over his heart ached, or maybe it was just his heart. He had pushed every memory and every feeling into the back of his soul and left it there, left it in the nightstand drawer with the ring she had given him. But her presence unlocked it all. The only saving grace he had was that she couldn't read him anymore, but even that caused more pain then he was ready to deal with. He had a new life now... a life and a love that made him happy. He couldn't be the person he once was.
"I'm... doing well," he said softly, a trace of his usual self glimmering in his emerald greens for a moment. "Fate is a cruel Mistress," he managed a smile, "She loves her precious pain." He shifted a bit, studying Ghetsuhm's denim blue eyes as he had so many times in the past. The difference being that they had been windows to her soul once, but not anymore, not for him. "And you? Is life treating you well?"
There was a log on the ground beside her, and Ghet sat. After all they'd been through, she owed him honesty. "Pain isn't all bad. Sometimes... it makes things clearer. I am good. I am happy. I'm glad that you've found happiness. It hurts, but I'm still glad. I miss you sometimes, terribly, but... I am at peace." She shifted the hip-and-thigh holster that held the old blaster a little. "Despite appearances."
She looked up at him, met his eyes. "You look good. What happened to your shirt, or do I not want to know?"
Y’Roden smiled, his fingers trailing unconsciously over the raven on his bicep. It glowed in response, sending a warm shock through his system. "Happiness," he said softly, "It is an unfamiliar feeling, but I'm finding that I like it." The half-elf leaned against a tree and smiled down at Ghet, "Unfamiliar in that there is no desperation or want attached to it. I've found peace, and I'm glad that you have too."
He blinked then, and stared down at his bare chest. "Si’Lyen," he chuckled, "She had the sudden notion that Atto is a chew toy." A genuine smile touched his face, "You look good too, Peace agrees with you." The smile faded, "I can't tell you how much it hurt to let you go, but it was the best thing I could do for both of us. I can see that now, there is no room for happiness in a love like ours... was. Pain has always been my teacher, sometimes I just forget to stop and listen to what it is trying to tell me."
Ghet smiled, but with infinite sadness. There had been a time during her healing process when she'd tortured herself with wondering. What if she'd met Y’Roden before she'd met Chase? What if there had ever been a time she'd been free to be with him? They could have been together, and happy with it...
It hadn't been meant to be. She would always have fallen in love with Galain. She'd done this with Chase, too, tried to find a way, a thing she could have done that would make it all work. The fact that she could wear his blaster now, the one they'd imprinted between them, the only place their genes had ever combined, and feel no pain... it meant there was hope.
She saw Y’Roden touch his mark, knew then he was bonded, and felt her own tattoo flare. Not the bonding mark over her heart, but the one on her inner thigh that marked her affiliation to her goddess. She could hear the whispering of Venus' voice now, knew what she would say. Take him; you know you can take him. He can't stand against you. Her lips twisted, for it was no temptation at all. And then he really would hate me, and with good reason. She gave him a quiet, pained smile. "Careful, remember, I said it hurts." She drew a shaking breath. She hadn't expected this to be easy. "There were times you made me very happy indeed, Y’Roden. There are still ways in which you know me better than anyone. I miss your friendship far more than I miss you in my bed."
There was something in the way she looked at him for a moment that almost had Y’Roden backing away again. "I didn't say there was no happiness between us," he said softly, "Merely that it wasn't a constant thing. It never could have been, not when I didn't have all of you. And we both know that wasn't meant to be."
Her words brought back flashes of memory, of things they had shared that could never go beyond the two of them. No one else would understand, no one could. For a moment a few remembered sounds and the scent of blood nearly overwhelmed him, and his eyes flared red just for the briefest moment.
Getting a grip on himself he pushed it away. Even back then he had sworn that would never happen again. "There were definite times of happiness, and other less appropriate things." The smile that crossed his face was slightly strange. "My friendship you can have," he said finally, "I think we both know that we can't stay away from each other forever. We will never share a bed again, but we share something more than that."
Ghet saw his lips twist, and realised with surprise that she knew just what he was thinking about. Perhaps bonding had made her lazy when it came to reading body language, following a likely train of thought. Anyway, she grinned wryly and blushed a little. "None of it was appropriate. But some bits were certainly less appropriate than others.
She stood, brushed off her butt, and held a hand out to him. She could see he was wary of her. She would never tell him how hard she'd had to talk to stop Venus taking... affirmative action on her behalf, against the man who had hurt her. "You don't have to be afraid of me. You can trust me. Silverthorn can trust me." There was a tiny twinge there, just the shadow of what it had been. "I will always love you, Y’Roden, but I would never... you've built something very precious, and I would never try to take that away from you."
Over his lifetime Y’Roden had lost everything he had to women, since the tender age of twenty he had been held under their sway. First Samara, who had completely destroyed him. Arminiea who had built him back up again. Ghetsuhm, who had captured his heart and soul, and Summerlin, who had shown him what a tender sort of love could be. He had learned from each one, and it had made him what he was now.
"It's not you I'm afraid of," he said quietly, "Or whatever it is that shadows you." He had sensed something, but couldn't quite put a finger on what it was. Ghet was different. "You have more mercy than I do, I never stepped aside. But you've always given more than one person is meant too, haven't you?" Reaching out he hesitated a moment before taking her hand, a smile touching his lips as he squeezed her fingers gentle. "I'll always love you Ghet, perhaps not the way I once did, but you will always have an important place in my heart."
The warmth of his hand on hers just stopped her for a moment. He was close enough now that she could catch his scent, and tears pricked at her eyes. "It was the hardest thing I ever did." She would not say, that she felt for him exactly as she always had. She wanted to hold him, wanted to touch his chest, but he was no longer hers, she had no right. The effort of not touching him was raising a slight sheen on her skin. "If I were that generous, I would want you to forget me, and I don't, not ever."
She squeezed his hand and raised it briefly to her lips before she let it go. "The thing that shadows me is harmless. Well, mostly harmless. She calls herself a goddess, though I guess she's not what you would think of like that. She gets odd ideas in her head sometimes, but I can keep a handle on her as long as I'm in my right mind." She sniggered. "She's a sex god. I have her mark on my body, though I can't show you where any more. You'll just have to imagine." Her grin faded for a moment. "It's okay if I tease you, right?"
"Where is it?" Y’Roden spoke before he could stop himself and he nearly slapped a hand over his mouth. His usual impish look was sparkling behind emerald greens and he laughed aloud, "Yes, you can tease me. I'm a big boy, I think I can take it." He eyed her for a moment, "A sex god? Why doesn't that surprise me? That's not entirely fair, I never got one of those. Just a extremely beautiful white eyed one that doesn't encourage that sort of thing."
Ghet laughed. The sound was good. It was getting easier. "The mark is here," she said, touching her pants with one hand. The dove was high in the hollow at the top of her left thigh. Venus had apparently got disgusted with her and gone off, because the mark was cool now. She shrugged. "I got to pick my own goddess. I might as well have something that suits me. I didn't think there'd be much she could teach me, but actually... that's probably not good for your peace of mind, either, is it?"
Her smile showed the utter inner confidence she had now. This had perhaps been its last really hard test, seeing the man whose rejection had nearly utterly defeated her. Well, she wished it could have been her that brought him this happiness, but that was never to be, and the happiness was more important than the source. "When you get around to marrying her, let me know. I'd like to be there. Unless you've done it already?" Ghet was terrible at keeping track of time, the legacy of having once been mortal. This was the woman who was convinced her son was about five by now, and she was only off by twenty years.
Y’Roden smiled and shook his head, she was still incorrigible. He really didn't expect any less though. He eyed the spot she pointed too and smirked a bit before his expression changed to a soft sort of happy look.
"I've asked Arianne to marry me, the ring is on her finger, we just haven't gotten around to the ceremony yet. You've met my parents, I'm sure you see the reason why its taking so long." An irritated chuckled followed the sentence and he ran a hand through his short black hair. "I'd like for you to be there, as long as she is comfortable with it."
Ghet's smile was a little sad. "Of course. I wouldn't want to upset anybody. These things are never as simple as they should be, especially with family. I heartily recommend eloping. It's great. Nobody gets upset, nobody cares if you want to just take off straight after the ceremony and go shag... Pity you don't get the option, really, what with the whole crown thing."
Y’Roden grinned and leaned back against the tree behind him. "I'd love to be able to elope," he said, "But you're right, the crown prevents it. I want my marriage to Silverthorn to be legal." He frowned, "I already cost Valin the crown by not marrying Summerlin. The first male child I have with Arianne will denounce him. Things are messed up enough already; I don't want any more complications. No more waiting, no more messing things up." He sighed and shrugged. "And there I go telling you things I probably shouldn't again."
Ghet frowned a little, concerned. "How's Valin feel about that? Hells, what a mess." For the first time, she considered how both Y’Roden and Silverthorn already had children, how much more complicated that must make things. She flashed a quick grin. "I think I get more grateful for my barrenness all the time."
Y’Roden pinched the bridge of his nose, a pained expression crossing his face. "He hasn't said. The boy has to be aware of it; he has been told how things work. He is angry with me for not marrying his mother; he hates Chase and blames him for the split. We don't relate on a personal level anymore, the kid is full of anger and hatred and he worries me sometimes."
Crossing his arms Ro shrugged a little helplessly. "We took his inheritance from him, what am I suppose to say to him to make that better? It doesn't help that both Summerlin and I doted on him as a child. He had five hundred years of this illusion of a perfect family. All he saw was two parents that loved each other, that loved him more than anything. In a matter of days everything fell apart for him and he saw an ugly truth."
Ghet reached out and stroked Y’Roden’s arm for a moment. "You can't make up for it. If he's determined to be bitter, it won't make the slightest difference what you do. He's got to find his own path now. It takes a long, long time to work out that, most of the time, no-one's to blame for anything that happens." She shrugged. "Whole hordes of Galain's children have hated me at various times. I can't let that affect my relationship with him. Valin's had something some kids never have. He might come to realise that, he might not."
She gave a short laugh. "Listen to me, telling you about kids. I've never seen my son."
The touch was a little... odd, he was use to it; perhaps that was what disturbed him. Ghet always touched him when he was upset, and normally it soothed him. This time he wasn't sure what to feel. Pushing the confusion aside he concentrated on what she said, it would take time to establish the boundaries of the new ground they were on. "I hope so," he suddenly chuckled, "He's a D’Riel and an Alcarin, it’s hard to tell which bloodline holds a grudge the longest."
Ro startled suddenly, "Your son?" A strange expression twisted his face for a moment, but it passed nearly as quickly as it had appeared.
Ghet smirked. "It could be worse. He could be a Silverleaf."
She drew a breath. This hadn't been something she'd exactly been looking forward to telling Y’Roden, even, or indeed especially, if she hadn't lost him. It was all just icky. "It's kind of complicated. I got... stuck in someone else's body. A Vestal Virgin's body, you would have laughed yourself blue. Anyway, there was me in this normal woman's body, and there was Galain with his startling fertility. Her body had a son. So he's not really mine, but he's the closest thing... He has parents; he's well looked after. We will have to get to him sometime before he gets too old and it becomes obvious that he has Elven blood. Sometimes I wonder... what he's like, what he looks like." She closed her eyes a moment, surprised that it seemed to hurt a little. She opened them again and shrugged. "I was never made to be anybody's mother."
"Galain bedded a Vestal Virgin?" All right, now it was confirmed, the Elen was defiantly insane. "Oooook, so she ended up pregnant, and what? You found a husband for her? You Virgin pimped?" Y’Roden was starting to look vastly amused, he was trying to be serious, honest.
"Of course you wonder," he said, finally managing to see past the humour. "I believe you have some mothering instincts in there despite yourself."
Seeing genuine humour in Y’Roden’s face warmed Ghet. It really was going to be okay. "I wouldn't have put it quite like that, but, well, yeah. I got her a husband. The emperor's illegitimate son. I have no reason to believe he doesn't love her still, even though she's not me any more. I never met her, though, so I can't be sure what she's like. Laugh, though, please, it was hysterical. Vesta was really pissed, which was kind of how I ended up with Venus."
She rolled her eyes at his final comment. "I would make a deeply crap mother. I don't have the patience or the attention span for children. And, well, can you imagine what would happen to the delicate psyche of a child raised at Riker's?"
"Now there is a frightening thought," Ro grinned, "As much as I like Rikers and all." His lip twitched in humour at a few memories and he shook his head. As a parent he was quite different from his usual self. While in the presence of his children the brandy and the 'randy' disappeared completely.
"Venus..." Now somehow that name had a familiar ring to it. The D’Riel’s were always reading up on different cultures, and Y’Roden had dabbled a bit in Earth history after An'Thaya had told him about that particular planet. He smirked a bit and reached up to Ghet's hair, his fingers trailing behind her ear for a moment before he drew his hand back. "Perhaps she will be a little less grouchy towards me now," he chuckled.
Behind the redhead's ear was a sprig of tiny purple flowers. Vervain, a plant sacred to the Goddess Venus.
Ghet stood very still for a moment as Y’Roden touched her hair, trying very hard not to let it show, how strongly she reacted to his touch. When he withdrew his hand, she reached up, found the flower, and gave a small smile. "She'll get over it. Well, she'll forget before too long, she doesn't have much of an attention span. Especially when it comes to staying angry at very handsome men." She grinned broadly suddenly, pure sun. "Like me."
Her hand reached towards him and she stopped it, the smallest movement at her side. "You know you're always welcome at Riker's. Even if most of our wares are off-limits now. You can still have a drink and watch the dancers. I'm working on a new animal act." She blinked a moment. That had briefly sounded much worse than she'd meant it to.
Of course Ro was completely unaware of how his touch affected her. He no longer had a connection to Ghet, aside from the D’Riel blood that likely still coursed through her veins. So it never really occurred to him. He didn't miss the small movement, but read little if nothing into it.
"I'll likely take you up on that," he said, "I always enjoyed Riker's, and you know me. I'm always up for a drink." Well, perhaps a little less then he use to be. Silverthorn tended to watch his alcohol consumption these days. He eyed the way she was dressed for a moment. "What are you doing out here anyway? And uhm.. what do you mean an animal act?" Perhaps he was looking a tad too curious.
Briefly, Ghet considered winding him up. After all, he had no way of knowing now whether or not she was telling the truth. But she relented. "We got a tiger. I've been trying to teach it to put its head in my mouth. Wait, I've got that wrong. But he's a big hit with the patrons."
She looked down and her outfit and smiled a little. He'd seen her armed to the teeth a few times before, but she was pretty sure the straps across her chest and hips were still attractive. "I was just playing. Though in a completely different forest, I had thought. I like to keep my skills in practise, considering the seeming impossibility of keeping the family out of trouble."
Y’Roden blinked in surprise, "You too? Aragon gave me a cub for Silverthorn as well. We got a female though; her name is Keira, or Keirrrrrrra, as the little imp likes to say. She has an odd attraction to butterflies too, its... strange." He grinned like an idiot and chuckled, "You must have one of the twin brothers."
"Playing hmmm? And good luck on keeping this family out of trouble." Between the D’Riels, the Alcarins and the Silverleafs all hell was constantly breaking loose. "Need any help? It's not like I can tell where you are very easily anymore." Ok, so if he tapped the D’Riel network there might be a slight chance of it, but he hadn't thought of that yet.
Ghet nodded; she'd kind of heard that Ro and Silverthorn had one of the cubs, but that had been at a stage when the sound of either of their names made her ears close up in defence of her heart. "He grew so fast! I quite had to stop letting him sleep on our bed." Which meant, of course, that she'd bought the tiger his own bed, and he'd pretty much taken over her spare room.
Her nostrils flared a little. "I can look after myself, you know. As long as I keep my head about me, otherwise I take too many risks." She tilted her head and looked steadily at him for a moment. It would be nice to find a new, solid base for their relationship. "You could help me, though, I guess. We could see if I can track you. It doesn't work with Galain, I always know where he is even if I try not to."
Y’Roden didn't see anything wrong with a game of hide and seek. He liked these kinds of training exercises; he went through it all the time with the kids. His own, and the Alcarin brood as well. Uncle Ro made challenging prey, and any one of them could have told Ghet what she was messing with here. But since they were alone, there was no forewarning.
"Sounds like fun," Ro grinned, "And yes, I know you can take care of yourself." The half-elf studied his ex-lover for a moment, "Count to ten, and then come get me." He winked, then melted back into the trees.
The moment he was out of eyesight Ro's Elven blood took over, putting him in silent commune with the trees. He wondered briefly how much Galain had taught her, the Elen was a Ranger, and thus his tracking skills were fairly formidable. He knew for a fact that the blonde haired elf had trouble-tracking An'Thaya though, so he automatically switched over to the tactics she had taught him. This was going to be interesting.
Ghet laughed, and closed her eyes. She was expecting this to be fiendishly difficult, that was what she wanted. It wasn't just that Galain had taught her what he knew; it was also that she could tap in to all his experience. Though she did tend to consciously avoid the areas concerned with An'Thaya. Privacy was a precious commodity in a complex relationship like theirs.
While she counted, her ears strained, and her nostrils flared, catching his distinctive scent on the air. Ghet was changing. Whether it was the D’Riel blood, or her bonding, she didn't know. It was probably both. Certainly she put the fact that she could no longer handle iron down to what had happened when she'd killed Y’Roden. But the rest? Her senses were sharpening; she could no longer ignore that. It was early yet, but with her hair pulled back into a loose braid like it was now, if you were looking for it, you might have seen that her ears were not quite as round as they had been.
Anyway, when she opened her eyes, she knew which way to go all right. After that, though... He was getting further away, the scent she knew so well, that stirred her blood, was fading. She went a little way, then stilled, her eyes searching for the signs of passage that Galain had shown her, but more than that, listening to the voices of the land that would tell her if someone had passed that way. Some people she could pick up because their feelings left a trail behind them, but never Y’Roden, he was too self-contained. She also expected him to try to trick her. Instinct. Don't over-think it.
Instinct led her a little further. The voices here were confused, which didn't surprise her. Too many paths intersected here. She was also dealing with another kind of interference. This is fun! What do we do when we catch him?
She rolled her eyes. It's like fishing. We put him back.
Why? Is he too small?
She couldn't help it, she laughed. Hardly. You are distracting me, stop it. Yes, Ghet the mighty hunter, rolling round laughing in the leaves and talking to herself.
Back to work. That way...
Y’Roden was of the opinion that he should have worn a shirt for this exercise; he was getting a bit scraped up in the underbrush. There was an advantage in knowing his opponent; he knew her strengths, and her weaknesses as well. He was wildly amused with the entire situation, but he kept a careful lock on his emotions. For someone of his size he was incredibly light on his feet, and left only the faintest evidence of a trail.
Eventually he made things a little more interesting and took to the trees, going completely Elven as he fell back on his S’Hean instincts. The elf could literally run along the branches from tree to tree without fear of falling. The difference being he was heavier than the majority of his people, so he had to move with a bit more caution then most. Now the question he posed to himself was, should he leave a hint here and there for her? Or just play the game?
Damn, she'd lost him. She'd been doing pretty well, too. She'd made it this far in pursuit of him, but now even the tiny signs she'd been following were gone. Perhaps until now he'd been holding back on her. He'd done it before... memory tugged at her, and she pushed it away. This was about making a future, not miring herself in the past.
No, he was playing with her. He was up to something. What would he have done?
I know where he is.
Don't tell me, that's cheating
.
If we catch him will you have him?
No.
Then I'm not going to tell you
.
I don't want you to tell me!
It was a wonder she ever got anything done any more. She shut the goddess out as hard as she could, stood still, and stretched out her senses. Dammit, where was he?
Y’Roden had circled back around and was enjoying a few moments of Ghet's bemusement. Moving as silently as the shadows he crept through the branches until he was just behind her, then dropped lightly to the ground. His hands covered her eyes from behind and gentle laughter rang in her ears. "Boo."
Ghet jumped, but it wasn't just surprise. He was right behind her, she could feel the warmth of his body through her shirt even though they weren't touching. She reached up and took his hands from her face, and turned. She must not show it, how hard her heartbeat. How much she wanted to kiss him. It was hard, but it would get easier.
She made her voice steady with a huge effort of will. She was not used to hiding how she felt, especially not from him. "How did you do that?" She reached up, and pulled a twig from his hair. "You went up, didn't you? I never thought of that. I'll remember that next time. Thank you." Damn, her hand was shaking...
Ro grinned down at Ghet and ran a hand through his short dark hair, "That is exactly where I was. S’Hean elves take instinctively to the trees." He paused and eyed her for a moment; "You likely have enough D’Riel blood in your system to manage it. At least your eyes haven't gone cat-slit from it." He suddenly shut up and tilted his head questioningly, "Are you all right? I didn't mean to scare you."
Ghet tried to school her features, though it wasn't her strong point. "You didn't scare me. Well, not much." She bit her lip. It was all she would say. Let him speculate, or not. Whatever.
She looked up considering. "Trees, huh? Well, you know me; I'm game to try anything twice. In case I was wrong the first time. Trees'll be a first, though, at least, since puberty." She shot him a sideways look. "And yes, I can do without the eyes. I like my eyes the way they are. Of course, there was nothing wrong with my original ears, either."
Y’Roden blinked and stared at the place where Ghet's hair covered her ears. He hadn't noticed anything... but he was a bit unobservant at times. "They changed?" he looked sheepish for a moment, "I'm sorry."
He eyed the branch above their heads for a moment, then grinned at her. "You want to give it a try?"
Ghet gave a crooked smile. "Don't be sorry. I don't even know if it's because of you. I suspect your blood accelerated what was happening anyway. The longer I'm bonded to Galain, the more like him I become. It's a very slow process, more so because we spend a lot of time apart, but it's there. It's part of the nature of the bond." Strange how, still, she felt guilty about this.
She gave her head a little shake and looked back up at the trees. "Well, I do have one natural advantage, and that's being, what, a hundred pounds lighter than you? Okay, maybe not that much. But if I'm going up there... best to be on the safe side." She unbuckled the holster for the gun, then her sword belts, then took off the loose white shirt she'd been wearing, revealing the tight black singlet top she was so fond of. She'd rather take a few scratches than ruin a shirt. Her upper arms were lean and well-muscled, though her strength always seemed to surprise people. She opened a pocket portal and stowed her gear, giving him a small grin. "It's a handy trick. I re-learned a few things. Right. After you."
"That would make sense then," Y’Roden said thoughtfully, "I don't know much about Elen bonds, except that they can't and won't work with a D’Riel soul. We don't divide, we can fragment a little, but parting the soul would destroy the conduit, and thus the person." He grinned at her, watching curiously as she implemented the pocket portal. "I'm glad, it never occurred to me until afterwards that I was taking more then I had intended. The D’Riel blood would still allow for you to work the Aethyr, but not as solidly as ... well, you know."
And then he was off, his hands grabbing the branch over his head and swinging himself up in one fluid movement. He landed in a crouching position, balanced on the balls of his feet as he looked down at Ghet. "And a hundred pounds lighter sounds about accurate."
Ghet was surprised. Losing her ability with Y’Roden’s magic was the least of the things that had happened to her. Okay, it had shocked her at the time, but she'd adjusted, and relearned how to do some things. Not all, not things that weren't within the scope of the Elen. But she was okay with it. "It was for the best. I wouldn't feel right about it. I have a natural right to what belongs to Galain, and that's more than enough for me."
She watched him swing up into the tree. She might be lighter, but she also didn't have his upper body strength. She wasn't a dancer for nothing, though. She used the strength of her legs to drive herself upwards, then momentum and natural dexterity to land lightly by Y’Roden. It didn't feel as strange as she thought it should. "You might be right, you know. This is kind of cool."
Y’Roden shrugged slightly, "If the Fates didn't want you to use it, you wouldn't have it," he said simply, "But it is your own personal decision." He straightened on the branch and grinned, "This sort of travel comes in handy. It throws off trackers, and has its advantages while hunting as well. I know Galain does it, you can surprise him with it later." He winked at her and looked around.
"The trick is not to concentrate too hard," he said, "Let your body's senses take over, your feet know where to land faster than your eyes can translate it to your brain." The half-elf launched himself forward, never looking down as he ran lightly over the branches. Stopping not to far away he turned around on the branch in a movement that seemed impossible for a man of his size. "Give it a try, I won't let you fall."
Ghet took a moment to look down. She wasn't scared of heights, fortunately, but still leaping around in trees didn't feel exactly safe. She knew she had to switch off the over-thinking part of her brain; the bit that was constantly telling her stuff wasn't possible even after she'd done it already. Pretty much every day, she did stuff her old self wouldn't have thought possible.
She closed her eyes and submerged the intellectual, drew out her more animal self. She reached for the breeze, the gentle bounce of the branch under her boots, the joy of challenging her body's limits, and then she leapt after him. v
Ro held his breath as Ghet made the first leap, and held it until she reached the branch he was standing on. He held out a hand to steady her as she came to a halt, a pleased grin on his face. "See, I knew you could do it." He chuckled and winked at her, "Now you can't tell me that wasn't an adrenaline rush."
Ghet turned indigo-dark eyes on Y’Roden, and grinned rather savagely. "Of course it was. Though I've had better." She shook her head ruefully. "I never would have figured out I could do this on my own. Thank you. Where shall we go?"
Y’Roden chuckled a bit, his lip curling in an unreadable grin. "Well I don't know, I'm not familiar with this forest at all." He reached out to stroke the trunk of the tree, "Although the foliage seems friendly enough." He shrugged, "Pick a direction and we will see where it takes us."
Ghet frowned and tilted her head, seemingly concentrating. "Can you hear something? Water?" The sound teased just at the edge of her augmented hearing; she figured Y’Roden would have a clearer take on it. "We could go that way."
Y’Roden nodded, he was always aware of the presence of water. S’Hean elves were drawn to it, they were known for tree climbing and playing in the drink. And Ghet wondered why he had a clean fetish.
"It's that way," he said, pointing in the direction of the river. "Which seems as good a direction as any."
Winking at her the half-elf started out across the branches, looking very much at home in what a human would consider a very strange environment.
Ghet moved off after Y’Roden. Still a little surprised at how natural this mode of movement felt. It was quick, clean, private - one thing she'd noticed over the years was that even the most alert people occasionally forgot to look up.
When they reached the river, though, a chill ran through her. Something wasn't right. She spotted two girls and a man moving off up the trail. She turned concerned eyes to Y’Roden. "Does that seem right to you? Someone has been very afraid."
Y’Roden didn't say anything for a moment, his cat slit eyes riveted on the trio moving up the path. He didn't exercise the talent he had absorbed from Ghet very often; he had enough trouble dealing with his own emotion half the time, never mind anyone else’s. He kept himself aloof, closed off, it was safer that way. It was difficult to shut out intense emotions however, and the half-elf definitely felt the residue of fear.
"Something is off," he said finally, "Should we stick our noses in, do you think?" He crouched low on the branch they were standing on, prepared to drop to the ground if need be.
A lifetime of training, though slowly eroding, gave Ghet a natural inclination to leave things be. Though looking at where that had got her in the past... She turned concerned eyes to Y’Roden. "Maybe we should just keep an eye out? I don't know, I'll go with your call on this." She grinned suddenly, eyeing them both. "We don't actually look like the most reassuring company right now."
And she'd shed her weapons. That might just have been kind of stupid...
Ro looked at Ghet for a moment, then glanced down at himself as well. A low chuckle rumbled in his chest and he grinned, "I suppose we don't, do we." He was still well armed himself, and he hadn't bothered to weave himself a shirt yet. The sheer number of scars on his body was enough to unsettled some. "Maybe you're right, let's keep out of sight. We can keep an eye on things from up here. Between the two of us I imagine we can remain undetected easily enough."
"Yeah," she muttered, "Cause women flee in terror from your body all the time. I'm more worried about getting covered in a lake of drool. Come on then, we don't want to get left behind."
So they left, following a path above the others' heads.
Y’Roden blinked at Ghet and almost blushed for a moment, almost. Shaking his head he grinned and started out across the tree limbs. "Lake of drool?" he chuckled quietly. It was a bit odd not speaking to her telepathically, but he didn't feel it was appropriate anymore.
Y’Roden had lived in the darkness of Tenobrous for most of his first eight hundred years. As a result his eyes were unnaturally sensitive to bright light. When the flare went off it completely blinded the half-elf and he threw his arm up to cover his eyes. His natural instincts saved him from falling out of the tree, and he stumbled against the trunk. He cursed wildly under his breath in elvish for a moment and simply rested there.
When he turned back to Ghet his eyes were beyond cat slit, the pupil having shrunk to single black hair-thin line in each eye. He couldn't see a damn thing, but his other senses were in overdrive. He held a finger up to his lips and tilted his head, catching snippets of a conversation and movement below. His body tensed and he stifled a low growl.
Human bounty hunters, there hadn't been any of those on his home planet for millennia, but he had heard the stories. Elves sold into slavery, or simply killed out of ignorant hatred. His S’Hean blood began to burn and his temporarily sightless eyes bled red around the shrunken pupil.
Instinctively, when the flare of light went up, Ghet grabbed for Y’Roden, steadying him. For once, the contact didn't inflame her; she was concerned for him as she would be for any other friend. Still, her thoughts were racing. The girl was strong, powerful, obviously, but something was off.
She felt Y’Roden tense, saw what he heard, and she was torn. How could she know, what was right, who was right? And yet, to stand by and do nothing, as other powers had done when she, her lovers, her friends, had been in pain... "Let them get between us and the girls. But that girl... I think she's the most dangerous thing here."
Y’Roden gave an imperceptible nod and stood quietly as the riders passed beneath them. He waited until they were well out of ear shot, meaning he could still hear them clearly but they couldn't hear him, before he spoke. "I'm not so sure," he said, "Dangerous due to a lack of control maybe. She is either untrained or very out of practice."
The half-elf shifted restlessly and shook his head, "No offence, but human's tend to kill what they don't understand. I'm more inclined to side with the Elven kind on this one." Turning his face in her general direction he let a half smile twitch over his lips, "Let's follow along in any case and see what’s up." He let his senses take over and stepped forward, as sure footed blind as he was with full sight, just as long as he wasn't distracted.
Ghet gritted her teeth for a moment. "No offence, but I don't think it's their genes that make them slavers. I've never seen any significant difference between all humans and all elves. Certainly I've been raped by both sides, and I couldn't really tell the difference." She flushed. "Sorry. I shouldn't have said that. It's a sore point." At least she'd had the sense not to raise her voice.
She moved off behind him, her eyes on the group below them. No doubt she'd smack her head into a tree branch shortly.
"Ok, so maybe it was a generalization," Ro said over his shoulder, "I AM both sides, I just happen to look more like one than the other. I should be the one apologizing though, I should know better. I was with you through both after all. Sometimes my mouth just shoots off before my brain rationalizes it, but you know that."
He was thinking he still owed Avathar a few lumps.
Ghet grimaced, and stopped for a moment, while she got her face back under control. It was a debt she still didn't feel she'd paid, even though she knew he didn't think of it as a debt at all. Once, it wouldn't have been possible for them to misunderstand each other like this. "No," she said quietly, "You're the last person I should have taken that out on." No-one knew as well as Y’Roden how much she had suffered, not even Galain. "Let's just start over again."
Y’Roden paused, his hand resting lightly on a branch over his head as he turned his head slightly to the side. "This is exceedingly difficult you realize," he said. "Let's just be honest shall we? I love you, I do, but it isn't appropriate for me to love you anymore, so that is the last time you will hear me say it. However, it frustrates the hell out of me that I don't know what you are thinking, what you are feeling. And not being able to see a damn thing at the moment is complicating things even more. I can't even judge what is going on with you by your expression."
He shrugged, "Just say what you mean, say what you feel like you always do Ghet. I'm still me, I'm still Y’Roden, and even though we aren't sleeping together anymore doesn't mean we can't be friends. We've always been good at that, haven't we? I know things about you that no one else does, and vice versa. Why pretend that we are something other then we are." It was a pure Rodi moment, to the point, painful, and honest.
Ghet was totally unprepared for how much that hurt. She had hoped, and secretly feared, that he didn't love her any more, that he'd found a way out. What had passed between them, though, that was more than just a love affair. Each of them had found another love that possessed them, that gave them everything they needed, yet she knew the total and utter commitment she'd made to Galain on their wedding night, hadn't shut out the love and pain she felt for Y’Roden. Why should it be any different for him? But gods, to hear him say he loved her, hurt so much.
Her voice was a little raw when she spoke. "You can still feel me from the outside, like I taught you. That doesn't require us to be linked in any way. And I will try to speak true with you. It's hard for me to be with you. I love you, and I want you. I know as well as you do, it can't be. I want to get past that. I don't want to lose your friendship. But I think, just for a while, we need to be a little careful with each other. We can't expect to carry on as normal straightaway. Now, shall we go? How are your eyes?"
"I'm rather afraid of using that," Ro said in a straight forward manner, "But I'd be somewhat of a hypocrite if I didn't now wouldn't I?" He smiled a bit, "Let's face it Ghet, it is going to be painful no matter how we go about it. Think of it like a Band-Aid, just rip it off. The slower we go the more hurtful it is going to be. You know me, my theory never changes. Embrace the pain and you'll come through anything just fine."
Well, it had worked for him so far anyway. His love for Ghet had already started to change into something else, but he didn't care to discuss the details of it at the moment. The overwhelming desire he had felt for centuries had cooled, forging itself into something different... he was starting to think he could actually trust himself around her.
"I'm blind as a bat," he said in amusement, "But everything else is working just fine." Touching on the gift Ghet had shared with him so long ago, he opened himself to the emotional currents around them. He kept himself cool and collected as usual, only letting the emotions he was comfortable sharing leak through his shields. "Let's go then, we aren't going to do anyone any good if we get left behind."
Ghet grinned, though he wouldn't be able to see it. It coloured her voice as well as the air around her. "I've never been afraid to embrace pain, as long as it's me on the receiving end." This was how she coped with life, if at all possible: she laughed at it. That terrible glorious secret night he'd nearly killed her for their mutual pleasure was never going anywhere, so she might as well make fun of it. Funny how their relationship had been so full of blood...
"I don't mind if you "read" me, 'cause I know you can do it. So can Galain, now, of course. But with someone else who can do it, or an empath, it's not like spying, eavesdropping, because they're aware of it happening. But yeah, I know what you mean."
Again, they restarted their journey through the trees.
A feral grin curled Y’Roden’s lips and he chuckled before he moved forward. It was still difficult for him to lock away the part of him that wanted to dole out pain, that drank up agony like wine.
His open senses caught the flare of magic again, recognizing the spell as one he often used himself. It encouraged the growth of plants, but this time it had been used in excess, stretching beyond what was natural. "Our human friends down there are in for a bit of a surprise," he said to Ghet, "Those ahead blocked the path."
He went quiet again, forging ahead and mulling things over. There was a sense of confusion permeating the air and it wasn't helping matters any. "Do you feel that?" he asked, just before the Aethyr flared again. "Damn, if they have anything on them to pick up changes in the elements she is going to give herself away in no time." He certainly was finding it easy enough to follow, and the level of the girls emotions were beginning to give him a headache.
Ghet had nearly told Y’Roden something very private, and she was glad she'd managed to stop short. If he cared to think about it, which she hoped he didn't, he could work it out for himself anyway. Bonded as closely as they were, sharing each other's sensations, there was no way she and Galain could deal in the type of pain she had shared with Y’Roden. That time would be unique forever, standing out like a ruby in a basket of pearls.
It was also the past. Here and now, they had problems. "The girl's like a damn flare. It's only a matter of time before she does something really, really stupid." She laughed shortly. "I wasn't planning on an adventure today, were you? No, you would have brought a shirt. I think we'd better keep an eye on her even if they do get away, yes?" She shivered, irritated. "She's making things out of balance. I know she's frightened, but that just makes her more dangerous. I need to find out whose mess this is, so we can make them clean it up."
Ghet had instinctively clung to the trunk of the nearest tree as the girl she was becoming more and more alarmed about moved up, and there was that flare again. Once she was gone they moved again, to find her and her companions in a clearing. Ghet watched the girl eat in amazement.
"I don't like this; Ro. It's not the slavers that worry me. It's getting to the point now where I may be obliged to find out more about this child."
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