[story] waxing and waning

[ib_archive]

author: raven (wide_eyed_raven)
email: katnailz [at] yahoo.com



He was the best at his job, but it had never been enough. He lived for the thrill of destroying the creatures that got in his way. He wondered if he should be worried that he was starting to become like one of them - the fact that he didn't care should have been worrying, but he shrugged it off. For now, he was fine.

He brushed back a strand of dark red hair from his face. It wasn't the color of ginger, but of spun rubies or garnets - a nice contrast to his pale skin and black eyes. His kind were beautiful, but the mark by his eye showed his true colors. Black and tear shaped, the little mark rested in the corner of his right eye, where the skin wrinkled when he smiled. He did not smile often.

A slight breeze stirred the leaves in the trees around him. He ignored the sounds as he made his way further into the dark forest. The beings that were stupid enough to attack him didn't live where he was going.

The trees opened out into a clearing with a large flat rock in the center. It was filled with rune carvings and grooves, serving as his summoning circle. He was strong enough not to need one most of the time, but he was going to be calling on a rather temperamental race of beings. He wasn't going to take chances.

Stepping onto the smooth stone, he began rummaging through his black robes. He pulled out a stick of chalk, a large silver knife, and a pouch containing rune stones. With hardly a thought, he cast a spell to make the chalk draw out a large circle. Another thought had it drawing a perfect equilateral triangle in the center. The three points touched the edge of the circle.

He called the chalk back to him and stowed it away in his robes. He transferred the pouch of stones into his left hand and took the knife with his right. He stepped carefully into the circle and cut along the smooth skin of his forearm.

"Blood to seal, and blood to call," he whispered as he walked the circle, letting the blood drip along his path. When he finished, he healed the wound and put the knife back into his robes. He stepped into the triangle and opened the pouch of rune stones.

The stones were dark red, and when they spilled out into his hand, they reminded him of spilt blood. He had done much to gain control of his powers, and he regretted none of it. He grabbed three of the stones and threw them down on the ground in front of him.

"Open, Portal of the Outskirts. I command you! Send forth a Wise One. Aarette onowa ki Unutsitks. Yi honoruji su! Uniatta gurnal Yitakka Unio." The last part was said in the language of the demons and sounded sibilant.

The ground trembled beneath his feet and a strange crack appeared in the air before him. It widened into a portal of deep red, opened by his magic.

A creature stepped through. It was not what he had been expecting at all. It was a pale creature with wings adorning its back and hoof-like feet. It took another step and collapsed. He caught it with a strong hand and let out a sharp breath when clear violet eyes settled on him.

"You called?" Its eyes slipped shut then and it went limp in his arms. He cursed fluently and closed the portal and broke the circle surrounding them. He laid the creature down and looked at it.

It was hardly what he had been expecting. For one, it was pretty. It had an innocent-looking face with sharp, contrasting angles. It looked almost human except for the wings showing through the open back of its robes, the tail at the base of its spine, and its hoof-like feet.

He let out a sigh and cast a spell that would make the creature float behind him. He hoped that it wouldn't attract other creatures. He had enough to deal with without having to protect it.

It woke up some time later back at his camp, looking panicked before its eyes settled on him. It relaxed, which was stupid because he was probably the darkest creature out in the forest.

"You called."

He let out a snort. "You've said that already."

It frowned at him, a little line forming between his pale brows. "Yes. What did you want?"

"Aren't the Wise Ones all knowing?"

It blinked at him. "Wise Ones? Oh, you must have said something wrong. I am a Companion, a Yitakka. You asked for one. Wise Ones are called Yituraka-sa."

He ran a hand through his hair with a sigh. It served him right for not double-checking the spell. "What is a Companion?"

The creature bit its lip. "We are what we are needed to be." He shrugged then and flicked his tail. It was as pale as the creature was, with a small tuff of hair on the end that reminded him of a unicorn. The feet probably only added to the image.

"You have a name?"

It flushed. "Yes, forgive me. I am called Yitari."

He grunted. "Call me Flint." He rubbed the point of one of his ears as he said it. It was the reason he kept his hair long: to hide the points.

Yitari blinked at him, noticing the ear, and frowned. "You are a Shadow Walker then?"

He snorted. "I'm half."

"Yes. I thought your coloring was odd." Yitari was a fine one to talk about strange coloring. "What is the other half?"

"Human." His mother had been of the fae, the Dark Dancers, and his father a powerful mage. He had inherited powers from both of his parents and then some. He resisted the urge to touch the mark by his eye.

"Odd things happen when blood is mixed." Yitari shifted slightly and the movement brought his tail into his lap. He stroked it absently. The movement made Flint wonder if a cat would pet itself if it could.

"Yes."

The pale creature pursed its lips. "You do not talk much, do you?"

Flint ignored him and poked at the campfire.

"What are you doing out here?"

Flint sighed and glanced at Yitari. He looked innocent, heartbreakingly so, and Flint was far from innocent. "I hunt monsters."

"Why did you summon me?"

Flint was beginning to wonder if the strange creature would ever run out of questions to ask. "I needed help tracking down a beast."

Yitari wrinkled his nose. The wings on his back shifted slightly. "What sort of beast?"

"The kind that kills people." He gestured to Yitari's wings. "Don't those ever get in your way?" The pale man shrugged and they vanished from sight.

"Not really. That hardly answers my question."

"It wasn't meant to." Flint stood and looked over the camp. His bedroll was laid out with his overrobe next to it. He stretched and moved over to it. "I'm going to sleep, you should do the same." He ignored any response the Yitakka might have had.

He awoke to the smell of food cooking. That in itself was odd since he was a loner and didn't often have company to bother cooking for. He peeled open his black eyes and looked around, his fingers inching around the hilt of one of his blades. He relaxed when he realized that it was the creature from the night before. Yitari was moving around the camp and humming to himself.

"What are you doing?" he snapped.

Yitari jumped at the sound of his voice and flushed. He forbade himself from thinking about how the flush looked on the pale creature.

"Breakfast. I thought you would be hungry when you woke."

He grunted and sat up. The moon was beginning to wane again, and with her, his powers. But even when she was gone from sight, his powers were better than most. His mother's kind was powerless without the moon, but his father's kind wasn't affected by her shifting phases at all.

He glared at the chirping birds in the trees and looked at his pale hands. They didn't look translucent, but he had a few days yet before he started to show the effect of the moon.

With a snort at himself, he stood up and made his way over to the fire to see what Yitari had made. He blinked in surprise. It looked fantastic, and he knew that he had not packed half of the ingredients that he could see. He turned suspicious eyes to Yitari.

"How did you make this?"

The pale creature turned and beamed at him. "The forest was wonderful at helping. Did you know that wild thyme grows well here?" He gestured to a plant that Flint vaguely recognized as being some sort of fancy herb. He was perfectly fine with dried fruits and meats for breakfast, but the food in front of him was calling with a strange sort of siren call. He grabbed his only plate and scooped up a helping. Yitari watched him with wide purple eyes. Flint's eyes should have been that color, or at least a type of blue. but something in his genetics had messed that up. Still, he could see better than most Shadow Hoppers, so it made up for the strange looks he received. Mostly.

He took a bite and let out a soft moan of surprise. Even if the strange meat and vegetables were poisoned, they tasted delightful. And things that were poisoned were generally bitter anyways, and this food was sweet and crisp. It almost made him want to keep the strange creature around just to cook for him.

He finished two helpings before deciding that he had better get moving.

"I suppose that you are coming with me?"

The pale creature beamed and nodded at him. His wings were still gone, and he was wearing a different robe, also with an open back. He wondered where Yitari had stored such a thing; he didn't seem to have any bags with him.

"Yes, I'm here to help until I am no longer needed."

Flint wondered when that would be, but he didn't bother to ask. Instead, he packed away the camp with a wave of his hand. He frowned when it left him feeling slightly winded. Yesterday's ritual had taken more out of him than he expected. That, with the waning moon, meant he was going to have to pace himself though he didn't want to.

Everything was neatly put into his pack. He slid it on and shot a look at Yitari. The creature smiled at him.

"Are we going to hunt your monster now?" he asked brightly.

Flint didn't think Yitari had a clue what sort of creature he was pursuing. This monster could possibly be the one to bring him down. He relished the thought of a good challenge.

"Yes," he replied simply before he began walking. It would be easier to travel through a circle of flames, but that took strength, and his math was sometimes off. He didn't want to end up in front of the creature or, worse, in its mouth.

"We are walking then?" Yitari chirped brightly.

He fought the urge not to snap back. "Yes."

"Oh. How delightful."

He didn't see any reason for Yitari to be so happy. The sun was beating down on his pale skin and he could practically feel it sapping at his energy. It felt painful. But the creature was probably sleeping at this time, and that made it the best time to track the beast down and slay it. He just needed to find it.

"What are we looking for?"

"Giant, man-eating lizard."

"A dragon?"

This time, Flint really did roll his eyes. "No, because dragons are shape-shifters and don't actually eat humans. This one is a stupider, uglier cousin."

He ignored how adorable Yitari looked nibbling on his bottom lip with his flushed cheeks. "Oh. Do you know where it is?"

Flint shot him a look. "No, that is why we are looking for it." He stepped into the shade of the trees with a relieved sigh. The bloody sun was affecting him more than it normally did. He rubbed his arms, pleased to see that they were still opaque. At this rate, in two days he would be completely translucent.

"I have to admit, I do not know very much about Shadow Walkers."

"I don't know anything about Companions."

Yitari's soft chuckle was like velvet for the ears. Soft and smooth. Flint ignored where his thoughts were taking him and plowed on ahead.

"Well, I come from the seventh demon realm, but you knew that, I'm sure." Yitari hummed slightly underneath his breath. "We are shape-shifters."

Flint turned his head and looked at Yitari. The Companion grinned at him and shifted. A unicorn stood where he had been standing. Flint couldn't help but think that it fit his coloring and he wasn't really surprised, given the tail.

"What about the wings?"

Yitari shifted back. "A snowy owl." He shrugged and gave Flint a soft little smile. "Now, tell me about Shadow Walkers."

Flint sighed. He didn't want to talk about himself, but if it got Yitari to shut up for a moment, it might be worth it.

"They are ruled by the moon," - stupid Shadow Hoppers - "and weaken with her as she wanes. They cannot be seen without her blessing, which is why they are only seen at night." He shrugged and added, "Although some are strong enough to show themselves to humans without her permission."

"You do not care for the Moon Mother then."

He snorted at the question. What a nice way to phrase it. No, he hated the bloody goddess; she was nothing but a menace. He clenched his fingers into a fist and looked up at the sky.

"It could be worse. You could be ruled by the sun and weaken with the seasons."

He grunted. The pale man was right of course. He was luckier than some and worse than others. That was the way of the world.

He suddenly paused in his steps. There was a scent of something on the air. "Do you smell that?"

The pale man sniffed daintily and frowned. "It smells like heat and scales."

Flint nodded to him. "That is what I thought." He pointed west. "We head that way. It has been through here, though I do not know why I didn't see any signs sooner." His dark eyes scanned the forest. The trees hadn't even been uprooted or burned, but the smell was unmistakable. How long since the beast had come through this forest?

"You are looking a little less than substantial."

Flint grunted. It had been a week since the full moon and he could almost see through his palm. It was a strange sensation, to become invisible. He did not like it. If no one could see him, that meant he was not real any longer.

"During the new moon you will not be able to see me at all. Tonight I will still be visible." He clenched his fist and wished that the moon would glide across the sky. Perhaps she was punishing him for his lack of faith; perhaps she wanted to prove that she did hold power over him. He scowled and picked his way through the trees.

Yitari let out a soft sound and fell forward. Flint caught him just in time.

"Are you ok?" he asked stiffly.

The pale demon nodded and straightened. Flint noticed for the first time that they were of the same height. He jerked away from the pale creature and pushed his way further into the forest. He could not wait until nightfall. As soon as the moon rose, he would feel normal again. He refused to look down at his hands.

"Do you know where this creature is?" Yitari asked him softly.

Flint shrugged. "I know where it has been. That is all I need to know to track it." His fingers itched to summon one of his pets to get the job done more quickly, but he didn't have enough strength to do something like that.

Yitari hummed softly. "Perhaps I can aid you? I know what it smells like, but how do I track it?"

Flint sighed. "Magic and very good observational skills."

The demon looked upset at that. "Oh."

He felt a small pang at Yitari's expression, but he pushed it aside.

He was invisible and drifting. It was the most horrible feeling in the world to him. He hated it. The moon's curse had never dragged him down so far, and he wondered if he was weakening.

Yitari walked beside him, somehow knowing where he was even when Flint could not spare the energy to project his voice. Most Shadow Walkers had to deal with invisibility daily - maybe they were used to it, or maybe he should pity them.

Yitari was humming a soft little song. It was soothing, and he had grown used to hearing the strange pale creature humming. It was pleasant, almost as pleasant as the smell of Yitari's skin when he got too close. He smelled nothing like what Flint had heard demons smelled like. Yitari did not smell of jasmine and fresh rain. He smelled of something earthier, like warm leather and greens. It was a masculine smell that added to the creature‘s allure.

He needed to stop thinking about such things. Clearly, being without a visible body meant that he was without a working brain as well. Yitari had said that he would leave when he was no longer needed. Flint only needed his help to kill the dragon-like creature and then the pale creature would be gone.

He did not expect the pang in his chest at the thought. He pushed it away roughly and stepped over a log. Just because he was invisible did not meant that he couldn't trip and land flat on his face.

The Shadow Prancers would laugh at him if they ever saw such a thing. The weak little halfie. He almost snorted, but doing so would have taken too much out of him.

They thought him weak when he was strong. He did not think that they would ever realize that.

An ache was developing in his right temple. He wanted to sit down and take a rest in the shade.

"Ouch!" Yitari stumbled and fell over one of the logs that Flint had been avoiding.

Flint reached down unthinkingly to help him up. It was a relief when his skin didn't pass through Yitari's, if it had, he would not have been able to handle it. The pale man shot him a grateful look. Amazingly, that he seemed able to look Flint in the eye.

"Thank you."

He took the energy to reply. "Welcome." Yitari's smell was invading his senses. He let go of the man and stepped away slowly.

"I think we should camp for the night."

Flint could not agree more.

The moon was no longer waning. She was fighting back and he could feel her strength even though it was day. He could see his outstretched hand. His strength was coming back far quicker than it had vanished. It had lovely timing.

They were catching up with the beast. The signs of it were clear now. Burnt villages and broken trees. The familiar scent of death hung heavy on the air.

"How much further?"

He glanced over at Yitari and then at the landscape in front of them. Off in the distance he could see smoke rising. "Not far."

It would probably only take them a day to reach the creature. A day until he slew it and they parted ways. Yitari was there to help, and when he no longer needed help, the strange pale man would be gone. He should be pleased with the notion.

Yitari made a soft humming sound next to him, and his robes changed color. They were a pale green color now and suited him.

Flint turned his head away and looked towards the smoke. He had a job to do. He started walking again, picking out the easiest route that he could find. He told himself that he did so only because Yitari was clumsy, and Flint already spent too much time catching him.

Those simple touches were replaying in his mind and distracting him. He wanted to blame the demon, but he seemed completely oblivious to the fact that the man who had summoned him wanted to pin him to a tree and--

"Did you hear that?"

He blinked and looked over at Yitari. The demon had his wings out and they were splayed. He frowned at that, but listened carefully. A low rumble filled the forest. They were closer than he had thought.

He sniffed the air. "Stay put." He stepped into a shadow and into the shadow realm. It was dark, but he could find his way around with ease. He stepped into a dark portal and out into another part of the forest. The shadow tried to cling to him, but he stepped fully away.

There were some stories that said the demons had given the Shadow Hoppers the gift of gliding through that plane of existence. There were other stories that said both mage and Dark Dancers were the children of demons. He did not believe it, but there were times when the shadows held him that he almost could.

Another rumble traveled through the forest. He had been correct. The creature had found a cave and was nesting in it. He would bet his right arm that it was female and was about to lay eggs.

He stepped into the shadows once more and stepped through a portal that led him back to Yitari. He could have easily made the trip to the beast through the shadows, but he did not want to while his powers were waning. Now that they were returning quickly, he could slay the beast sooner rather than later.

"Did you find anything?"

At the sound of that voice, he thought about lying. "Yes."

"Oh? What did you find?"

He shrugged and began digging through his bag. "I know where she is nesting."

"Will you tell me what she is called?"

He looked over to see the pale creature scowling. It was so strange to see such a pure thing so upset. It made him want to do things that he would later regret. "A Drungar."

Yitari let out a sharp hiss of breath at that. "Those are from the Dead Lands. How did it escape?"

Flint shrugged again. "I don't know. It's just my job to kill it." He pulled out a long piece of wood from his bag. It was topped with a blood-red sphere that seemed to swirl slightly with silver. He frowned. It shouldn't be doing that; it was supposed to be the color of his magic. When had it changed?

"You're going to try to kill it? It's going to kill you!"

"I doubt that."

Yitari glared at him. "Fine, but you are letting me help you fight this beast."

Flint looked into those purple eyes. They were almost the color of his mother's eyes, but they were lighter and filled with an honesty that he had never seen before. He nodded slowly. "All right."

He stood and held out his hand. "I do not think you will be able to find your own way through the shadows. It will be best if you hold on." He looked at the sky. The sun was setting, and he could feel the moon rising. His powers were rising with the Moon Mother.

Yitari bit his lip but grabbed onto Flint. But instead of just holding his hand, he stepped into the circle of Flint's arms.

"Ready?" He tried to keep his voice steady.

The pale man nodded, and Flint pulled them into the shadows.

He stepped out of the shadows at the same moment a growl rumbled across the ground. Yitari, being horribly clumsy, fell and tugged Flint down with him. His staff slipped from his grip and he suddenly had both arms filled with Yitari.

He tried not to breathe, but the scent of Yitari's skin overwhelmed him. He opened his mouth to say something, but another growl interrupted him, and Yitari climbed off him.

"I'm terribly sorry." He held out a pale hand and helped Flint up.

Flint ignored the odd feeling of loss when he let go of the paler man. Their bodies had fit together far too well for his liking. He shook his head and grabbed his staff. He turned his eyes towards the cave and walked up to it, confident that Yitari would follow him. He wasn't disappointed, and for some reason that left an odd taste in the back of his mouth.

The cave was dark and filled with a strange sense of loneliness and weightiness.

The ground rumbled beneath his feet, and Flint automatically reached out to steady Yitari. He saw the man shoot him a shaky smile, even in the darkness. He let go carefully and pushed further into the cave.

The rock formations would have seemed lovely if he had cared. He caught Yitari staring in wonder at them out of the corner of his eye. A smile threatened to spread across his features. He stomped on the urge and buried it.

The Drungar at the end of the cave made another sound, but it was small and only shook the cave slightly. He pressed on and turned left. The tunnel opened wider and he found himself looking into the beast's den.

He froze and looked over the scene in front of him. It was curled around what looked like several huge round stones. Its dark brown snout snorted out a puff of smoke.

He could understand why people mistook them for dragons. They were roughly the same shape and size, but dragons were sleek, smooth, and collectors of pretty things. Drungars were demons of the worst sort. They were rough and laden with spikes and sharp scales. This one had the ability to breathe fire. He hoped that was the only thing that the creature was able to do, because if it was one of the more powerful beasts, he was going to have a hard time with it.

"Lords Above and Below, are those eggs?"

He nodded. "I suspect that they are."

"Great Abyss…"

He couldn't help but agree. He took a step forward; a hand on his arm stopped him.

"You aren't going to kill it, are you?"

He shot Yitari an incredulous look. "I have to. It has destroyed entire towns!"

The pale man fluttered his wings and they vanished. Without them, he seemed much smaller. "Fine, then let me send it back to the Dead Lands."

Flint stared at him. "And how are you going to do that?" He didn't bother keeping his voice down, since the Drungar was making enough noise to cover it.

"I just need to touch it." Yitari bit his lip in way that would normally have distracted Flint.

"Touch it?"

"Yes. So I think you should distract it."

He felt the urge to laugh hysterically, which was strange, because he hadn't felt the urge to laugh at all in a long time. "Right." He took a deep breath and looked at the beast again. It was making strange cooing sounds at the huge rocks. He felt a little light-headed.

His hand tightened on his staff as he got an idea. "I'm trusting you on this." He caught the shocked look on Yitari's face before he stepped further into the cave.

He tapped the piece of wood on the floor of the cave and muttered a word beneath his breath. A chunk of the ceiling came down and landed on the mother Drungar's head. She wasn't pleased.

The beast let out a loud roar that left Flint temporarily deafened. Yitari was probably flat on his back, but Flint did not have much time to spare him a thought. The beast's black eyes had landed on him, and the look plainly said that he was going to be dinner.

He took off at a run away from the entrance of the cave, staff in hand, and towards the beast. It reared back in shock - it probably thought him stupid - and let out a burst of flame. He jumped to the side and landed on his side. Hard. There would be bruises, and his pants were slightly singed. He hoped Yitari had a plan.

It let out another tremendous roar - upset that it had missed - and tried to crush him with a great, scaled claw. It caught his arm, and he rolled away with a curse. It burned a bit, and he wondered if Drungars had poisonous claws. Moon Mother, he hoped not.

It made another swipe at him, and he brought his hand up just in time to shield himself. He cursed his own stupidity when he realized that he should have done so sooner.

"Flint!"

He glanced over at Yitari.

The pale man was staring at him with wide eyes. Flint wanted to send him a reassuring grin, but the pressure on his shield didn't leave him with much energy for smiling. He looked away from Yitari and concentrated on keeping himself from being smothered by an angry mother. It would be a rather sad and pathetic way to die.

Movement out of the corner of his eye almost distracted him from being slowly crushed, but he kept his concentration.

The Drungar let out a deafening roar before it vanished, and Flint was left, still intact and alive, in a boneless heap. Yitari shot him a worried look and did the strange disappearing act with all of the eggs as well.

Flint let out a cough. It ached. "Why are you still here?"

"Pardon?"

"I thought you were only here to help me with my task." He sat up slowly and grabbed his arm. Even if he found a healer, it was going to scar. He did not have any of the healing powder the Dark Walkers kept.

Yitari flushed, and it made him want to reach out and touch him. Flint stood slowly, using his discarded staff for support.

"I may have misled you." Yitari looked very guilty.

"What?"

Yitari winced. "Companions do not just go away after they help the one who summons them."

Flint felt an odd loosening sensation in his chest. He thought it might be hope. It was a strange feeling.

"We leave only if we are asked."

Flint frowned and took a step forward. It was a shaky step, and he was glad that he had the stupid stick to lean on.

"What if I didn't ask you to leave?"

Yitari's expression turned hopeful, and he blushed darkly. "Then I would truly be your companion."

Flint nodded thoughtfully and reached out with his good arm. Yitari let out a surprised sound, but Flint ignored him. The demon tasted just as good as he smelled, and his lips were soft. The little moans that Yitari let out seemed like heaven.

"Did I really summon you by accident?" He panted out after they parted.

Yitari shook his head and smiled. "No. The Wise Ones sent me to you. They thought you needed guidance."

Flint could not help but laugh.

the end