There will be magic, chapter 64, RukaxYomi, KaixRuki, AoixReita, UruhaxAsagi
Title: There will be magic
Author: yukigafuru
Chapters: 64/?
Pairings: RukaxYomi, KaixRuki, AoixReita, UruhaxAsagi for now
Bands: Gazette, Naitomea, D... (and a surprise)
Rating: PG-15-PG-17 overall
Warnings: will be angst, yaoi, a bit of gore here and there, light mpreg
Genre: AU, Angst, Romance
Disclaimer: I am not connected to the real persons. This is just a figment of my imagination and I don't make any money nor profit in any way out of this (well, except gathering your love that is).
Summary: The age of magic and mystery is coming towards its end. But what if someone that has the gift to see the future can join forces with others who have the power to stop it? What will be born then? What will be found?
Chapter 64
Yomi and Ruka were busy suffocating each other with loving passionate kisses when someone rudely interrupted them by clearing their throat. Without disentangling, they broke their kiss and turned towards the intruders, who turned out to be Ruki and Asagi.
“We were wondering when we’d be summoned back.” Yomi politely said, although his foxy slitted eyes showed his discontent at being interrupted at such a time.
“Sorry to barge in, but it’s past-noon by now and we really need to get going. If we hurry a bit, we could be in Nesh tomorrow evening. The others have already done the packing and payed for the inn, so we’re really just needing you.”
Ruka sighed, turned to look at Yomi’s bright beautiful eyes, pecked his red plump lips and after releasing a silent sigh that only his lover could have heard, unwound their arms and stood up, immediately reaching out a hand to help the kitsune up. Hand in hand they followed the other two the small distance it took to reach the inn.
The others had in fact been waiting for them, including the dragon and the naga who had returned sometime while Asagi and Ruki fetched the newly bonded couple.
“Everyone ready to go then.” Kai cheerfully declared and dashed towards Ruki, squishing him in a loving embrace. The panther shivered slightly when Kai’s warm whispered “I missed you” brushed his ear and neck and sent jolts of warmth to the depths of his soul.
Everyone seemed to fall into place in the same order they had come to the inn, with only Ni~ya riding next to the dragon and Asagi. The seer and Ruki of course couldn’t have that, so the panther resolved to work his charms.
“Kai, do you mind if me and Reita ride together for a while? I would really love to talk to him a bit about the baby and everything.” Kai looked at him surprised, but he only nodded his acquiescence. It was a known and accepted fact that the roc couldn't deny his mate anything. “Aoi, Rei-chan, you don’t mind, do you? It’s only for a day or so anyway.“ Seeing Aoi’s reluctant visage, Ruki quickly added. “Of course if you’re unsettled by it...” He trailed off. Ni~ya could recognize emotional blackmail a mile away, seeing as he had used it extensively throughout all his youth, so he sat back and watched the proceedings, not surprised at all when Aoi lost to Ruki’s wide puppy eyed-look.
Before falling back near Kai, Aoi hugged tightly Reita and kissed the breath out of him, his left hand drawing comforting small circles on Reita’s midriff. Everyone caught the loving gestured and while some more romantic members sighed lightly, the more stoic ones didn't exhibit any reaction on the outside, although their eyes sparkled with the same intensity as the others. Everyone was happy and excited for the couple and the baby had been under everyone's protection since the moment of the anouncement.
When Asagi made the dragon and Ni~ya ride in front of the line, claiming that Ni~ya was still not recuperated enough to ride on his own, Ni~ya, who had observed the rest carefully, knew that Asagi had pulled the dragon close too and apparently strictly instructed him to not release a peep; otherwise it would have been out of character for the dragon to stay silent. Asagi trailed behind on another pegasus. The order of march was therefore as following: the dragon and Ni~ya rode first, Asagi followed on the second pegasus, then came Ruki and Reita mounting the third winged horse, Aoi and Kai obviously following on the wika, with Ruka and Yomi trailing the rest.
“How are you, Rei? Lately, we haven’t had a chance to talk, so... I hope you don’t mind separating from Aoi for a bit.”
“No, it’s fine, Ruki. You know, I’m actually glad we get to talk, it’s really been too long.”
“How’s the baby?” Ruki asked and Reita smiled tenderly at the wonder in his eyes.
“Great, actually. Even though it’s so early, I can feel him. It’s the most wonderful feeling ever.”
“You have to make sure you take care of both of you now.” Reita’s relaxed countenance morphed when a line crossed his forehead, indicating his suspicion.
“Is something wrong, Ru? That sounded a bit... foreboding? You do know you’re a bad liar?”
“Really?” Ruki strained a laugh that he hoped came off as natural enough. “No, nothing’s wrong. I was just thinking about the journey this far and still lying ahead of us... we all went through some horrible challenges... Who knows what the future holds...”
“Yes, of course you’re right. When you put it like that...” Reita’s lively expressive eyes related his pensiveness.
“Until now, we all kind of jumped right into danger’s arms. We only had our own lives to lose and that didn’t seem like a heavy price when our loved one’s life was at stake. But now... Rei, you have much more to lose, so I just thought I should probably...”
“Warn me, right?” Reita fixed him with a penetrating gaze.
“No, nothing like that.” Ruki too quickly denied and even though the light of comprehension flashed bright in Reita’s eyes, he didn’t press Ruki further.
“You’re right of course. I’ll be careful.” He admitted.
“I wanted to ask, your barrier, it can’t be penetrated, right?” Reita's observing eyes did not miss the way Ruki's fingers tightened on the horse's harness, nor did he fail to see the slight twitch in the panther's jaw.
“I think so, I haven’t really tested it against everything yet. But it should be pretty resistant.”
“Can you thread it underground too?” Ruki questioned.
He hadn't asked anything so far, so it wasn't that hard to keep his mouth shut at the onslaught of questions. “Precise aren’t you? Normally, no...”
“What if Aoi crumbles the earth underneath in a precise way, creating some sort of eyes for a web...?”
“I could try.” Ruki nodded and breached another topic, much more delicate than the previous. “Do you trust me, Rei?” Reita blinked in disbelief, before realizing that all Ruki wanted was reassurance.
“Of course I do, Ru.”
“What are you going to do once all this is over?”
“What do you mean?” Reita failed to understand where Ruki was coming from.
“Your baby, it’s not going to be a tiger, and Aoi doesn’t exactly have a home to which he can return to. What would your parents and your people say?” He knew it was a pretty personal question but he trusted Reita not to react negatively to it. Reita thought about it for a short while, giving Ruki time to charge on.
“Rei, what do you think about creating a new kingdom? One for your descendants? I for one would love to right some of the wrongs done to the mishepishu. And I think all the others would love to help.”
“And how would I do that, Ruki? Even assuming that this won't be my only child - you can't exactly start a dynasty with only one son - and that's a stretch of the imagination... Where do I get the land from?”
“The Necra.” Was the whisper meant only for Reita’s ears.
Reita shook his head. He really didn't see no point in visualizing an improbable future that far away. “Ruki, you’re different from the little guy I met in the forest.” The tiger thoughtfully remarked.
“Don’t call me little!” The playful answer echoed and a couple of their friends grinned at the exclamation. “A lot has happened since then. Different how?” Ruki lowered his tone again.
“For one, you’re scheming.” Ruki reacted to Reita’s joke with a playful shove. The light banter continued during the evening and early night. The moon was brilliant in the clear skies and all the stars were tinkling joyously down at the travelers by the time they made camp.
................................
In the morning, it was Reita himself that insisted he ride with Ruki. The panther simply smiled knowingly, aware that Reita had indeed guessed something was going on and was trusting him enough to just go with Ruki on this one.
After a few hours of galloping they could already smell the freshness of the ocean, combined with the unmistakable odors of a harbor: fish decomposing the longer it stood ignored in the sun, the whale and vegetable oils used to grease and maintain the ships, the wood imbibed with the saltiness of the air and water to only name some of the hundreds of fragrances mixing into the air, some more easily recognized than others.
Asagi guided his horse into a paced rhythm and fell behind, all the way to the back of the column, coming to join the vampire and his mate. The vampire gave him a suspicious look, but refrained from commenting. The seer observed carefully the kitsune, activity rewarded with useful insight: Yomi was tense, as if he was awaiting what was to come. He probably was, Asagi thought, for Yomi himself had several times before caught snippets of the future. Yomi being on the guard made things both easier and more difficult. Asagi was planning how to approach the kitsune when he was surprised by the very object of his thoughts.
“Asagi, have you seen Uruha again since then?” Was the out-of-nowhere question.
There was no reason for Asagi to be dishonest or to think twice about the answer. “No.” But he did wander why Yomi would ask about it, so he did not hesitate to inquire as to the reason of the question.
“He’s close. He’ll follow the sea.” Asagi’s neck almost snapped when the seer turned his head abruptly towards the kitsune, and his sudden movements made the horse falter in its steps before righting itself.
“Yomi? What are you saying?” He knew it sounded stupid, but the question came out too fast and was just too important to the seer to be held back, not only because of the topic but because in his vision, Asagi had not caught glimpse of the Abaia.
“I’ve just had this feeling lately... I also think you’re going to ask me to come with you, aren’t you?” It was a question but it was rather rhetoric and therefore Asagi only nodded in affirmation.
“Yomi?” It was the vampire’s turn to be surprised and unlike the kitsune, to react according to the seer's expectations. He made to keep Yomi close to him.
“It’s only for a while, love.” The kitsune replied, pecked Ruka on his slightly pouty lips, a slight grin in turn on seeing the vampire’s unusual facial expression and then made to switch horses and mount behind Asagi. Ruka made to stop his lover again but a sharp gaze and a shake of the head from the kitsune stopped him and the vampire resigned himself to keeping a close eye on his lover instead.
Asagi instinctively felt the kitsune’s reluctance to discuss the matter any further and they spent in silence the distance left till Nesh’s first row of houses and the more distant line of the ships’ masts came into view.
The sun was high up in the sky, leaning slightly towards the west. It was past midday and the wind changed its direction. It had blown from the sea steadily since the morning, but made a complete turn and now it hid the smells coming from Nesh and brought forth the smells of barren soil and weeds, mixed with the slightly more humid fragrance of the copses they had already passed by. And there was one other smell mixed with the ones already familiar to the nine friends, an unfamiliar and unpleasant one, acrid like sweat or urine. Asagi recognized it immediately and urged his horse to fall into pace with Ruki and Reita’s. Both Reita and Yomi noticed the nods exchanged between the other two men but kept silent and prepared themselves for whatever it was that was coming their way.
The others noticed the smell as well, the dragon being ahead of all of them and he guided his horse into doing a one hundred eighty degrees turn. The king came from being in the head of the convoy to guarding its rear. Excepting Asagi and Ruki's horses, everyone else mimicked the king and drew a large semicircle awaiting the attack.
The wave of creatures was not slow in coming. From the line of the horizon small dark brown dots were advancing towards them, growing bigger and bigger the longer they waited. It was not hard to recognize the same wolverine creatures they had faced before, and like before in the forest, this time they obviously had a leader for the straight lines and formations they charged in were never disturbed, neither by the arrows Kai had started releasing the moment he had a clear target, nor by the icicles that would pop out of the earth and pierce their intended target. Out of the five of them that formed the defense line, only Kai and Aoi had the ability to throw attacks from a distance. The tension was at its breaking point and no one replied to the dragon’s muttered “Next thing I do is learn archery.”
Like a wave the creatures came and before engaging in body to body fights, as if on cue, the five of them turned towards the two Pegasus that had remained behind the defense line and all let out a relieved sigh at seeing the protective barriers surrounding the four of them. Minutes into the attack and the blood of the werewolves was already staining the earth and the grass a deep red and no relief was in sight. The wolves came one after the other and forcing the five of them to relinquish strategy and elegance and simply dash with magic or weapons at the nearest threat that broke the small circle their fluid moves had created around them.
The status-quo could not last for long though and when they grew more tired, the five of them started covering each other's backs: Aoi came to be back to back with the one closest to him, who happened to be the dragon and Ni~ya, Ruka and Kai formed a tight knit triangle. The new strategy assured the area each one had to protect was smaller but it also opened the line of the front and more creatures charged at the double barrier protecting the ones that were not fighting.
Aoi was lucky to be teamed with the dragon, who, noticing the mishepishu’s distraction, quickly transformed and extended his wings to protect the both of them and at the same time, deep fry several surrounding creatures. But he could only move slightly in this form on the ground so after being sure that Aoi had recovered, he switched back.
“What happened?” He shouted while his sword cut successively two creatures. The noise of snarls, howls, bones breaking and the overall chaos of battle made shouting a necessity.
“Reita asked me to destruct some of the earth under them.”
“What? Why?”
“I didn’t exactly have time for explanations, you know.” Aoi growled in frustration.
He had barely given his answer when the earth in their vicinity started rumbling. They knew what was coming for they had already seen the signs, having faced the beasts already.
“Shit.” Aoi cursed.
The worms came out only centimeters away from the barrier. They had obviously tried breaking it and had failed. The five of them afforded to breathe relieved for just moments before they had to quickly plan their next step, for several of the worms had disappeared into the ground and judging by the movement of the earth beneath them, they had become a target.
The king transformed again, a circle of flames being immediately constructed around them, preventing the werewolves from entering the enclosure.
“We have to take to the skies!” His deep voice thundered across the distance and was obviously heard by the other three also for Kai had imitated him and transformed, Ruka and Ni~ya tucked safely on the roc’s back. It was just moments before the bird of fire left the earth.
“What will that solve? You know the distance at which we have to ascend just so to be sure these bastards can’t reach us. I won’t leave my mate unprotected like that, alone amid this sea of enemies.”
“We don’t have a choice.” The dragon snarled and almost made a grab for Aoi, just so he could avoid this discussion. He kept his temper in check and explained his thoughts. “Maybe Ni~ya could fight off their poison, but not so soon after just recovering from poisoning. And we already know the other four of us can’t. I don’t think Reita could handle something happening to you again. They’re completely safe in there.”
Aoi quickly glanced at his mate and was satisfied to see that indeed the barrier hadn’t even bended under the attack nor did Reita or Yomi seem too drained by it. He reluctantly agreed and after morphing he accompanied the dragon and Kai in the sky. They rose higher and higher and by the time the worms had shot off into the skies, they were at the same distance and not even the several feet long worms could reach them.
Meanwhile, inside the barrier, Asagi and Ruki, reluctant to disturb the pair who kept the barriers enforced around them, lowered their voices in a heated discussion.
“It’s not like what I’ve seen. The attack has changed and what worries me is that I can’t see their leader.” Asagi confessed while Ruki glanced towards the sea.
“Nor the Kraken.” The panther added.
“The one leading them is either doing a very good job...”
“Or we were heard.” Ruki continued.
“Normally, by now I would already be having a vision if the attack changed monumentally. So there are two alternatives: either my pattern of seeing visions has changed or the Kraken is still out there, waiting. Which one do you place your bets on?”
Ruki didn’t get a chance to answer before Yomi drew their attention.
“Guys, they're not hitting the barrier anymore.”
“What?” Asagi and Ruki quickly took in the fight surrounding them. The other five of their friends were far up in the sky, flying at a safe distance from the worms, that although retreated temporarily in the ground, kept coming out from time to time, meaning that the others could not afford to drop their guard and land. No other worms were attacking the protective net and the werewolves had indeed stopped charging against the bubble and had formed a tight knit several layered circle around them, waiting. No worm was in sight.
“What is going on?” Ruki wondered. “I managed to tell Kai not to come back. They're anxious for us.”
“I have a bad feeling about this.” Yomi fretted. Apparently so did the pegasus for without an order from them, the horses that had peacefully rested inside the barrier, at a little distance from the four of them till then, bucked, extended their wings and abandoned them.
“Damn it!” Reita cussed. “The barrier just keeps anyone from coming in, not from going out.”
They could not afford to lower the protections for the wolves would charge immediately and faced with their overwhelming numbers, there was little the four of them could do, especially Ruki and Asagi who had very little experience in battle.
It was too late. The ground below them rumbled only this time the protective web was not assaulted. Instead, the very ground under them collapsed in its entirety and their protective barrier, along with the four of them found themselves surrounded - like the hole of a donut by the dough - by the body of a worm. And the worm itself was somehow being pulled in some form or other towards the ocean. They panicked and minutes were lost, minutes during which the threatening ocean started drawing nearer.
The five in the sky only realized that something was happening when - in a blink of an eye - their four friends were entrapped by a worm. They moved swiftly to descend upon the worm-creature and try ripping it in two, in order to free the others, but then the sea started boiling and from the deep waters of the bay, like once the mishepishu had risen before his lover's awed eyes, a scaled sea-weed covered monster appeared: the kraken. It towered high above the seas and its multiple arms threw sea-weed nets with -the friends would immediately realize- a carefully constructed purpose.
The humans in the harbor, frightened out of their wits by the monster, fled in all directions but neither the kraken, the wolves or the travelers bothered with the insignificant fleas. The nets were glued to his body and once they reached their target, the sea-weed formed a dome practically separating the ground and the sky. The travelers were unable to reach the worm and their friends and had to fight their way through the thick sea plants, while unknown to them, ropes of sea-weed were pulling the living prison in which their friends found themselves towards the sea and the kraken.
A/N: I know I'm soooo late. I really am sorry. Exams and moving out of my place and tons of other stuff have simply killed me and it's still not even close to over. I hope to be able to write more and update more regularly. I'll try to bribe the bunnies. You should too. Comments are like energizers for the little critters.
On a different note... I did promise action! It was fun writing this chapter - which, by the way, I made especially long, so it would somehow make up for the delay. I hope you liked it and do tell me what you thought.
Squishes
Author: yukigafuru
Chapters: 64/?
Pairings: RukaxYomi, KaixRuki, AoixReita, UruhaxAsagi for now
Bands: Gazette, Naitomea, D... (and a surprise)
Rating: PG-15-PG-17 overall
Warnings: will be angst, yaoi, a bit of gore here and there, light mpreg
Genre: AU, Angst, Romance
Disclaimer: I am not connected to the real persons. This is just a figment of my imagination and I don't make any money nor profit in any way out of this (well, except gathering your love that is).
Summary: The age of magic and mystery is coming towards its end. But what if someone that has the gift to see the future can join forces with others who have the power to stop it? What will be born then? What will be found?
Chapter 64
Yomi and Ruka were busy suffocating each other with loving passionate kisses when someone rudely interrupted them by clearing their throat. Without disentangling, they broke their kiss and turned towards the intruders, who turned out to be Ruki and Asagi.
“We were wondering when we’d be summoned back.” Yomi politely said, although his foxy slitted eyes showed his discontent at being interrupted at such a time.
“Sorry to barge in, but it’s past-noon by now and we really need to get going. If we hurry a bit, we could be in Nesh tomorrow evening. The others have already done the packing and payed for the inn, so we’re really just needing you.”
Ruka sighed, turned to look at Yomi’s bright beautiful eyes, pecked his red plump lips and after releasing a silent sigh that only his lover could have heard, unwound their arms and stood up, immediately reaching out a hand to help the kitsune up. Hand in hand they followed the other two the small distance it took to reach the inn.
The others had in fact been waiting for them, including the dragon and the naga who had returned sometime while Asagi and Ruki fetched the newly bonded couple.
“Everyone ready to go then.” Kai cheerfully declared and dashed towards Ruki, squishing him in a loving embrace. The panther shivered slightly when Kai’s warm whispered “I missed you” brushed his ear and neck and sent jolts of warmth to the depths of his soul.
Everyone seemed to fall into place in the same order they had come to the inn, with only Ni~ya riding next to the dragon and Asagi. The seer and Ruki of course couldn’t have that, so the panther resolved to work his charms.
“Kai, do you mind if me and Reita ride together for a while? I would really love to talk to him a bit about the baby and everything.” Kai looked at him surprised, but he only nodded his acquiescence. It was a known and accepted fact that the roc couldn't deny his mate anything. “Aoi, Rei-chan, you don’t mind, do you? It’s only for a day or so anyway.“ Seeing Aoi’s reluctant visage, Ruki quickly added. “Of course if you’re unsettled by it...” He trailed off. Ni~ya could recognize emotional blackmail a mile away, seeing as he had used it extensively throughout all his youth, so he sat back and watched the proceedings, not surprised at all when Aoi lost to Ruki’s wide puppy eyed-look.
Before falling back near Kai, Aoi hugged tightly Reita and kissed the breath out of him, his left hand drawing comforting small circles on Reita’s midriff. Everyone caught the loving gestured and while some more romantic members sighed lightly, the more stoic ones didn't exhibit any reaction on the outside, although their eyes sparkled with the same intensity as the others. Everyone was happy and excited for the couple and the baby had been under everyone's protection since the moment of the anouncement.
When Asagi made the dragon and Ni~ya ride in front of the line, claiming that Ni~ya was still not recuperated enough to ride on his own, Ni~ya, who had observed the rest carefully, knew that Asagi had pulled the dragon close too and apparently strictly instructed him to not release a peep; otherwise it would have been out of character for the dragon to stay silent. Asagi trailed behind on another pegasus. The order of march was therefore as following: the dragon and Ni~ya rode first, Asagi followed on the second pegasus, then came Ruki and Reita mounting the third winged horse, Aoi and Kai obviously following on the wika, with Ruka and Yomi trailing the rest.
“How are you, Rei? Lately, we haven’t had a chance to talk, so... I hope you don’t mind separating from Aoi for a bit.”
“No, it’s fine, Ruki. You know, I’m actually glad we get to talk, it’s really been too long.”
“How’s the baby?” Ruki asked and Reita smiled tenderly at the wonder in his eyes.
“Great, actually. Even though it’s so early, I can feel him. It’s the most wonderful feeling ever.”
“You have to make sure you take care of both of you now.” Reita’s relaxed countenance morphed when a line crossed his forehead, indicating his suspicion.
“Is something wrong, Ru? That sounded a bit... foreboding? You do know you’re a bad liar?”
“Really?” Ruki strained a laugh that he hoped came off as natural enough. “No, nothing’s wrong. I was just thinking about the journey this far and still lying ahead of us... we all went through some horrible challenges... Who knows what the future holds...”
“Yes, of course you’re right. When you put it like that...” Reita’s lively expressive eyes related his pensiveness.
“Until now, we all kind of jumped right into danger’s arms. We only had our own lives to lose and that didn’t seem like a heavy price when our loved one’s life was at stake. But now... Rei, you have much more to lose, so I just thought I should probably...”
“Warn me, right?” Reita fixed him with a penetrating gaze.
“No, nothing like that.” Ruki too quickly denied and even though the light of comprehension flashed bright in Reita’s eyes, he didn’t press Ruki further.
“You’re right of course. I’ll be careful.” He admitted.
“I wanted to ask, your barrier, it can’t be penetrated, right?” Reita's observing eyes did not miss the way Ruki's fingers tightened on the horse's harness, nor did he fail to see the slight twitch in the panther's jaw.
“I think so, I haven’t really tested it against everything yet. But it should be pretty resistant.”
“Can you thread it underground too?” Ruki questioned.
He hadn't asked anything so far, so it wasn't that hard to keep his mouth shut at the onslaught of questions. “Precise aren’t you? Normally, no...”
“What if Aoi crumbles the earth underneath in a precise way, creating some sort of eyes for a web...?”
“I could try.” Ruki nodded and breached another topic, much more delicate than the previous. “Do you trust me, Rei?” Reita blinked in disbelief, before realizing that all Ruki wanted was reassurance.
“Of course I do, Ru.”
“What are you going to do once all this is over?”
“What do you mean?” Reita failed to understand where Ruki was coming from.
“Your baby, it’s not going to be a tiger, and Aoi doesn’t exactly have a home to which he can return to. What would your parents and your people say?” He knew it was a pretty personal question but he trusted Reita not to react negatively to it. Reita thought about it for a short while, giving Ruki time to charge on.
“Rei, what do you think about creating a new kingdom? One for your descendants? I for one would love to right some of the wrongs done to the mishepishu. And I think all the others would love to help.”
“And how would I do that, Ruki? Even assuming that this won't be my only child - you can't exactly start a dynasty with only one son - and that's a stretch of the imagination... Where do I get the land from?”
“The Necra.” Was the whisper meant only for Reita’s ears.
Reita shook his head. He really didn't see no point in visualizing an improbable future that far away. “Ruki, you’re different from the little guy I met in the forest.” The tiger thoughtfully remarked.
“Don’t call me little!” The playful answer echoed and a couple of their friends grinned at the exclamation. “A lot has happened since then. Different how?” Ruki lowered his tone again.
“For one, you’re scheming.” Ruki reacted to Reita’s joke with a playful shove. The light banter continued during the evening and early night. The moon was brilliant in the clear skies and all the stars were tinkling joyously down at the travelers by the time they made camp.
................................
In the morning, it was Reita himself that insisted he ride with Ruki. The panther simply smiled knowingly, aware that Reita had indeed guessed something was going on and was trusting him enough to just go with Ruki on this one.
After a few hours of galloping they could already smell the freshness of the ocean, combined with the unmistakable odors of a harbor: fish decomposing the longer it stood ignored in the sun, the whale and vegetable oils used to grease and maintain the ships, the wood imbibed with the saltiness of the air and water to only name some of the hundreds of fragrances mixing into the air, some more easily recognized than others.
Asagi guided his horse into a paced rhythm and fell behind, all the way to the back of the column, coming to join the vampire and his mate. The vampire gave him a suspicious look, but refrained from commenting. The seer observed carefully the kitsune, activity rewarded with useful insight: Yomi was tense, as if he was awaiting what was to come. He probably was, Asagi thought, for Yomi himself had several times before caught snippets of the future. Yomi being on the guard made things both easier and more difficult. Asagi was planning how to approach the kitsune when he was surprised by the very object of his thoughts.
“Asagi, have you seen Uruha again since then?” Was the out-of-nowhere question.
There was no reason for Asagi to be dishonest or to think twice about the answer. “No.” But he did wander why Yomi would ask about it, so he did not hesitate to inquire as to the reason of the question.
“He’s close. He’ll follow the sea.” Asagi’s neck almost snapped when the seer turned his head abruptly towards the kitsune, and his sudden movements made the horse falter in its steps before righting itself.
“Yomi? What are you saying?” He knew it sounded stupid, but the question came out too fast and was just too important to the seer to be held back, not only because of the topic but because in his vision, Asagi had not caught glimpse of the Abaia.
“I’ve just had this feeling lately... I also think you’re going to ask me to come with you, aren’t you?” It was a question but it was rather rhetoric and therefore Asagi only nodded in affirmation.
“Yomi?” It was the vampire’s turn to be surprised and unlike the kitsune, to react according to the seer's expectations. He made to keep Yomi close to him.
“It’s only for a while, love.” The kitsune replied, pecked Ruka on his slightly pouty lips, a slight grin in turn on seeing the vampire’s unusual facial expression and then made to switch horses and mount behind Asagi. Ruka made to stop his lover again but a sharp gaze and a shake of the head from the kitsune stopped him and the vampire resigned himself to keeping a close eye on his lover instead.
Asagi instinctively felt the kitsune’s reluctance to discuss the matter any further and they spent in silence the distance left till Nesh’s first row of houses and the more distant line of the ships’ masts came into view.
The sun was high up in the sky, leaning slightly towards the west. It was past midday and the wind changed its direction. It had blown from the sea steadily since the morning, but made a complete turn and now it hid the smells coming from Nesh and brought forth the smells of barren soil and weeds, mixed with the slightly more humid fragrance of the copses they had already passed by. And there was one other smell mixed with the ones already familiar to the nine friends, an unfamiliar and unpleasant one, acrid like sweat or urine. Asagi recognized it immediately and urged his horse to fall into pace with Ruki and Reita’s. Both Reita and Yomi noticed the nods exchanged between the other two men but kept silent and prepared themselves for whatever it was that was coming their way.
The others noticed the smell as well, the dragon being ahead of all of them and he guided his horse into doing a one hundred eighty degrees turn. The king came from being in the head of the convoy to guarding its rear. Excepting Asagi and Ruki's horses, everyone else mimicked the king and drew a large semicircle awaiting the attack.
The wave of creatures was not slow in coming. From the line of the horizon small dark brown dots were advancing towards them, growing bigger and bigger the longer they waited. It was not hard to recognize the same wolverine creatures they had faced before, and like before in the forest, this time they obviously had a leader for the straight lines and formations they charged in were never disturbed, neither by the arrows Kai had started releasing the moment he had a clear target, nor by the icicles that would pop out of the earth and pierce their intended target. Out of the five of them that formed the defense line, only Kai and Aoi had the ability to throw attacks from a distance. The tension was at its breaking point and no one replied to the dragon’s muttered “Next thing I do is learn archery.”
Like a wave the creatures came and before engaging in body to body fights, as if on cue, the five of them turned towards the two Pegasus that had remained behind the defense line and all let out a relieved sigh at seeing the protective barriers surrounding the four of them. Minutes into the attack and the blood of the werewolves was already staining the earth and the grass a deep red and no relief was in sight. The wolves came one after the other and forcing the five of them to relinquish strategy and elegance and simply dash with magic or weapons at the nearest threat that broke the small circle their fluid moves had created around them.
The status-quo could not last for long though and when they grew more tired, the five of them started covering each other's backs: Aoi came to be back to back with the one closest to him, who happened to be the dragon and Ni~ya, Ruka and Kai formed a tight knit triangle. The new strategy assured the area each one had to protect was smaller but it also opened the line of the front and more creatures charged at the double barrier protecting the ones that were not fighting.
Aoi was lucky to be teamed with the dragon, who, noticing the mishepishu’s distraction, quickly transformed and extended his wings to protect the both of them and at the same time, deep fry several surrounding creatures. But he could only move slightly in this form on the ground so after being sure that Aoi had recovered, he switched back.
“What happened?” He shouted while his sword cut successively two creatures. The noise of snarls, howls, bones breaking and the overall chaos of battle made shouting a necessity.
“Reita asked me to destruct some of the earth under them.”
“What? Why?”
“I didn’t exactly have time for explanations, you know.” Aoi growled in frustration.
He had barely given his answer when the earth in their vicinity started rumbling. They knew what was coming for they had already seen the signs, having faced the beasts already.
“Shit.” Aoi cursed.
The worms came out only centimeters away from the barrier. They had obviously tried breaking it and had failed. The five of them afforded to breathe relieved for just moments before they had to quickly plan their next step, for several of the worms had disappeared into the ground and judging by the movement of the earth beneath them, they had become a target.
The king transformed again, a circle of flames being immediately constructed around them, preventing the werewolves from entering the enclosure.
“We have to take to the skies!” His deep voice thundered across the distance and was obviously heard by the other three also for Kai had imitated him and transformed, Ruka and Ni~ya tucked safely on the roc’s back. It was just moments before the bird of fire left the earth.
“What will that solve? You know the distance at which we have to ascend just so to be sure these bastards can’t reach us. I won’t leave my mate unprotected like that, alone amid this sea of enemies.”
“We don’t have a choice.” The dragon snarled and almost made a grab for Aoi, just so he could avoid this discussion. He kept his temper in check and explained his thoughts. “Maybe Ni~ya could fight off their poison, but not so soon after just recovering from poisoning. And we already know the other four of us can’t. I don’t think Reita could handle something happening to you again. They’re completely safe in there.”
Aoi quickly glanced at his mate and was satisfied to see that indeed the barrier hadn’t even bended under the attack nor did Reita or Yomi seem too drained by it. He reluctantly agreed and after morphing he accompanied the dragon and Kai in the sky. They rose higher and higher and by the time the worms had shot off into the skies, they were at the same distance and not even the several feet long worms could reach them.
Meanwhile, inside the barrier, Asagi and Ruki, reluctant to disturb the pair who kept the barriers enforced around them, lowered their voices in a heated discussion.
“It’s not like what I’ve seen. The attack has changed and what worries me is that I can’t see their leader.” Asagi confessed while Ruki glanced towards the sea.
“Nor the Kraken.” The panther added.
“The one leading them is either doing a very good job...”
“Or we were heard.” Ruki continued.
“Normally, by now I would already be having a vision if the attack changed monumentally. So there are two alternatives: either my pattern of seeing visions has changed or the Kraken is still out there, waiting. Which one do you place your bets on?”
Ruki didn’t get a chance to answer before Yomi drew their attention.
“Guys, they're not hitting the barrier anymore.”
“What?” Asagi and Ruki quickly took in the fight surrounding them. The other five of their friends were far up in the sky, flying at a safe distance from the worms, that although retreated temporarily in the ground, kept coming out from time to time, meaning that the others could not afford to drop their guard and land. No other worms were attacking the protective net and the werewolves had indeed stopped charging against the bubble and had formed a tight knit several layered circle around them, waiting. No worm was in sight.
“What is going on?” Ruki wondered. “I managed to tell Kai not to come back. They're anxious for us.”
“I have a bad feeling about this.” Yomi fretted. Apparently so did the pegasus for without an order from them, the horses that had peacefully rested inside the barrier, at a little distance from the four of them till then, bucked, extended their wings and abandoned them.
“Damn it!” Reita cussed. “The barrier just keeps anyone from coming in, not from going out.”
They could not afford to lower the protections for the wolves would charge immediately and faced with their overwhelming numbers, there was little the four of them could do, especially Ruki and Asagi who had very little experience in battle.
It was too late. The ground below them rumbled only this time the protective web was not assaulted. Instead, the very ground under them collapsed in its entirety and their protective barrier, along with the four of them found themselves surrounded - like the hole of a donut by the dough - by the body of a worm. And the worm itself was somehow being pulled in some form or other towards the ocean. They panicked and minutes were lost, minutes during which the threatening ocean started drawing nearer.
The five in the sky only realized that something was happening when - in a blink of an eye - their four friends were entrapped by a worm. They moved swiftly to descend upon the worm-creature and try ripping it in two, in order to free the others, but then the sea started boiling and from the deep waters of the bay, like once the mishepishu had risen before his lover's awed eyes, a scaled sea-weed covered monster appeared: the kraken. It towered high above the seas and its multiple arms threw sea-weed nets with -the friends would immediately realize- a carefully constructed purpose.
The humans in the harbor, frightened out of their wits by the monster, fled in all directions but neither the kraken, the wolves or the travelers bothered with the insignificant fleas. The nets were glued to his body and once they reached their target, the sea-weed formed a dome practically separating the ground and the sky. The travelers were unable to reach the worm and their friends and had to fight their way through the thick sea plants, while unknown to them, ropes of sea-weed were pulling the living prison in which their friends found themselves towards the sea and the kraken.
A/N: I know I'm soooo late. I really am sorry. Exams and moving out of my place and tons of other stuff have simply killed me and it's still not even close to over. I hope to be able to write more and update more regularly. I'll try to bribe the bunnies. You should too. Comments are like energizers for the little critters.
On a different note... I did promise action! It was fun writing this chapter - which, by the way, I made especially long, so it would somehow make up for the delay. I hope you liked it and do tell me what you thought.
Squishes