There will be magic, chapter 69, RukaxYomi, KaixRuki, AoixReita, UruhaxAsagi, Ni-yaxSakitoxHitsugi
Title: There will be magic
Author: yukigafuru
Chapters: 69/?
Pairings: RukaxYomi, KaixRuki, AoixReita, UruhaxAsagi, Ni~yaxSakitoxHitsugi for now
Bands: Gazette, Naitomea, D... (and a surprise)
Rating: PG-15-PG-17 overall
Warnings: will be angst, yaoi, threesome, 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 69
When Ni~ya woke up from his mid-day slumber, the sky outside his window was already turning aflame with the colors of the sunset while the grandest mirror ever known to man, the ocean, reproduced the same colors over and over again in forever changing patterns. Here and there, the wrinkly surface would be pierced by a flying fish, sprinkling silvery diamonds in the air before redescending amidst the deepest blues, reds and oranges.
Ni~ya got groggily out of his hammock and took a few moments to assess his surroundings. It seemed that all the others sleeping in the same cabin were on board contributing to their voyage, while he himself had been enjoying a lengthy beauty sleep. And no one had bothered to wake him. Ni~ya sighed and his long fingers passed in frustration through his dark tresses. At least he could keep the night shift, he figured. Although on board a ship under the personal protection of the king of the Abaias, he doubted there was even a need for taking shifts. It wasn’t like they were going to encounter storms or sea monsters or be accosted by pirates. Nevertheless, Ni~ya got up and went out of the room.
To his right were the stairs leading to the deck while a little to the left there was the corridor that would eventually lead to the kitchen and the hull. For a moment, he debated with himself whether he should get something to eat first but decided against it and following his initial course headed right. He climbed the stairs, opened the hatch and climbed onto the deck. There were several of his friends hanging around on-deck and a couple or so Abaian crew members standing by in case anything was needed. A face he had briefly seen earlier was steering the ship.
Ni~ya headed towards Yune, wanting to gauge out this new companion he knew nothing about. Yune hadn’t been there when they had related their versions of the events and neither had he seen him on deck later. He had heard that Yune had been occupied with mapping routes and making sense out of the papers left behind by the pirates, but Ni~ya had never met a man able to concentrate a whole day on such papers.
Yune startled a bit when he suddenly appeared at his side. Ni~ya could smell his surprise, carried to him by the westward wing and he thought for a moment that it smelled very much like fear; although he had no idea what reasons the other could have for fearing him.
“Hello.” He attempted and failed at an introduction for he only received a grunt in reply. Maybe Yune was not a people person, he reasoned. After all, he had been a prisoner just like the others on the ship.
“Hitsugi and Sakito told us you were caged together with them for a while before Uruha freed you. Would you tell me about it?”
The other briefly averted his gaze from the horizontal line of the horizon to gauge Ni~ya’s appearance. Ni~ya shuddered at the ascertaining, calculated look, all of his senses tingling as if in the presence of a predator. All the more reason not to turn away and keep questioning him. His perseverance might have been what got the other to open his mouth and give a sketchy reply to his question.
“Used to be a fisherman, got into a debt I couldn’t pay and wound up on this ship. Ended up in the same cage as the other two. That's all there is to it.”
“You’re human?” Ni~ya wondered. Yune did stench human but there was also some other smell wafting off him. Knowing about Sakito’s diet, he doubted Yune was entirely human.
“Mostly. Some gargouille blood in me from my great-grand-father.” It made sense, Tarrasques were rumored to hate under-dwellers’ flesh. Perhaps that accounted for the fetid fumes turning his senses upside down. Ni~ya had not gotten the chance to get used to the earthy stenches so common to the underworld dwellers. He knew Sakito's sense of smell had to be as keen as his own and Ni~ya wondered how the Tarrasque could have withstood being locked up together with Yune for a long time.
“Do you know where you’re going?” Yune simultaneously bristled at that. It looked as if he had offended him, but Ni~ya's keen sense of smell again detected something else in the winds: a tinge of apprehention. There seemed to be no simple emotion or reaction to the man.
“I’m a fisherman. I think I’d know which way was North by now.”
“I didn’t mean that. Just... what will we find going straight that way?”
“Beside the continent, I don’t know. Don’t care. Just following orders here.” There was something about the way he had said that. Ni~ya tried to use his naga senses more while still preserving his human form. Unlike the dragon, his reptilian part was less than accommodating towards his human one. He licked his lips surreptitiously and managed to catch the changes in heartbeat, sweating, muscle contraction and heat coming off Yune. The previous statement had somehow calmed him, as if he had finally been allowed to tell the truth. But if until then he had bean concealing something...
Ni~ya resolved to have a chat with Ruki about him. It was about time he headed to the kitchen to get something to eat and he might chance upon the panther along the way. He said his goodbyes to Yune before heading back the way he had come.
The kitchen was a horrid place for someone with senses as keen as Ni~ya's, with all the smells of meat in several stages of preservation, decaying fruits, unwashed dishes and floors and the sweat of many a men crowded in a fairly small closed place. As proof of the unpleasantness of the space, few people were actually hanging about it, aside from the cook and a couple of the crew. Many others preferred carrying their dinner to their cabins. In light of the circumstances, Ni~ya grabbed some cheese, bread and an apple and while munching on his frugal dinner, headed towards Ruki and Kai's quarters.
Ni~ya found them wrapped in each other's arms, engaged in pleasant conversation about Kai's home and their lengthy voyage. After the proper greetings had been exchanged, Ni~ya veered the conversation towards the topic he was interested in: Yune.
“I haven't had the chance to perceive anything yet. He's been oddly unapproachable till now.”
“He was on deck earlier and I got this impression that something was off... I couldn't quite figure it out though and since gauging a stranger should be more of your expertise than mine...” The naga trailed off.
Ruki nodded, thoughtful.
“I don't know what you're referring to but both Sakito and Hitsugi referred to him as a friend and I certainly would not think those two bad judges of character.”
Ni~ya onsidered Ruki's words carefully before replying. “Still, they were under duress...”
“Which is exactly when a man's true character is revealed... If I get the chance, I will do a bit of spying if it puts you at rest.”
“Thank you.” Ni~ya ended the topic and approached another one he had been mulling about for a bit. “You know, a few days ago I wouldn't have even dreamed about asking for your help or opening up like this. Apart from the dragon, you're the only person I have made an effort to reach out to.”
“That's not that surprising, considering what Ruki is.” Kai remarked.
“What he was, you mean. I don't think it has much to do with that, though. My senses don't really perceive him as a panther anymore.”
Ni~ya saw Kai's arms tightening slightly around his lover's waist and the breath Ruki took. “Have you tried changing lately?” Ni~ya thought of asking.
“I can't change anymore. I lost my wings. I'll never be a panther again.”
“I didn't mean that. Like I said before, I don't perceive you as a panther but there is something magical about you, something powerful. If you had lost your powers of metamorphose this sensation should not present itself.”
“Maybe it's the power of our bond and of the medallion.” Ruki figured.
“No, I sense that separately. There's something about you, Ruki. I think you might be changing into something else, an entirely new creature, somehow combining yours and Kai's magical traits.”
“Nah, you must be imagining things. That's not even possible.”
“Actually, it is.” The dragon chose that moment to open the door and barge in on the conversation. “Kai can vouch for that.”
“Kai?” Ruki asked.
“It is possible, but highly improbable, love. Only a couple of such changes were documented in all the eons of magic's existence and neither involved panthers. However, if I think about it now... both cases involved a lack of an alternative genetic pool, seeing as the creatures were the last of their race, huge amounts of magic were employed and both creatures had some sort of mind-reading abilities.”
“I don't feel any different though and my powers, apart from the fluctuations in intensity, have not changed at all.”
“But you absorbed some of Kai's life force and magic.” The dragon king intervened.
“And your smells, yours and Kai's are too similar, even for two lovers, it's like you're emitting variations of the same pheromones but that is impossible if you don't have a magical creature connection.” Ni~ya explained the reasons he had first had in exploring this problem.
“Then how do I find out if I am indeed changing into something else?” Ruki wondered.
“You reach deep within you through meditation and magic-exchange between you and your bonded. If I'm right, in time, you will be able to connect to your inner beast and change freely into it. Your powers should also evolve.” Ni~ya reasoned.
“Similar to those times in our infancy when our powers first made themselves known. So if you're right, I'm changing into a part-panther, part-roc mutant.”
“Not exactly. You're not and will never be a half.” Kai explained. “In the other two cases, because of the necessity of the creature to absorb huge amounts of foreign magic, they adopted certain traits of the other beings, but their basic constituent remained the same.”
“That doesn't make much sense.”
“It's complicated and very much random and remember that these things happened so long ago the accounts are indirect, sketchy at best and thoroughly not scientific reliable.”
“Kai wants to advise you against getting your hopes up.” Ni~ya summarized.
Still, it was hard for Ruki not to become hopeful. The idea of the possibilities that his becoming part-roc brought was mind-boggling. It gave him the chance to be accepted by Kai's family, to perhaps be able to give Kai a legitimate heir but most of all, the chance that he would change again, feel the elements, the raw forces of nature cursing through his veins. What he missed most about being a panther was the flying, although he had only gotten to hover a couple of times in his infancy, before being imprisoned. Still, there was nothing like the winds ruffling your feathers, the gentle caress of the sun, the power of the stretched muscles and the rapid beating of his heart, the thrill of being high-up in the air, detached...
“I want to try it, Kai.” He pleaded with his lover. If Ni~ya was right, he had an entirely new world to discover, if he was wrong he would still get a stronger emotional connection with his bonded - although he would also have to learn to live with the regrets. The advantages outweighed the risks and Kai must have seen the resolve in his eyes, for he gave his approval.
“After we get off the ship, ok? This is really not the place to be attempting something potentially volatile.”
Ruki nodded and that was that.
“So, how come you came here?” Kai thought of asking the dragon.
“Well, it gets pretty boring aboard a ship. What do people do around here for fun?”
Ni~ya chuckled.
“You don't have the same problems if you're with your partner.” He winked towards the couple still entwined in an intimate hug and everyone smiled at the comment. There were indeed many ways to pass the time aboard the ship...
“Oh, don't even remind me. With Yomi and Ruka next to me, I'm reminded constantly of what being newlywed actually entitles.” He sighed deeply. Ni~ya and the other two laughed heartily at the dragon's distress.
“You could bunk in with me and the crew, I guess. I don't think the Abaias would mind.”
“I might take you up on that. So, how about we go up on deck and play a game of cards or something, maybe even a light spar?”
“No sparring on this ship!” Kai warned. “With you two, we would all be drowning in minutes.”
“Spoil-sport. I didn't mean in our creature forms. I think we'd both be bigger than the ship anyway.”
“Even so. No is no.”
“Yes, mother.” The dragon pouted and Ni~ya shook his head in amusement. There was something about the dragon that put him at ease. “Ok, come on then.” Ni~ya got up and followed the dragon up on deck. Yune was still at the helm.
“What do you think of Yune?” Ni~ya thought of asking.
“Huh?” The startled dragon looked the same way the naga had, his gaze landing upon Yune. “Oh, him. Don't know. Mhm... He's more like a ghost to me; almost invisible most of the times. Why do you ask?”
“Strange... To me, if the wind flows from the right direction, his stench is so strong I would not even be able to sit close to him. You don't feel that?”
The dragon suck some air into his lungs.
“No. Actually, there's barely any trace at all... And you're right, that is strange. Even if my senses were somehow assaulted with all the other smells, I should be getting at least an amount of what you're feeling.”
“I think we would do best to keep an eye on him.” Ni~ya said.
“And you wouldn't mind me talking with Hitsugi and Sakito, see if we can get more out of this situation.” The naga ducked his head. He had been thinking about that... “Consider it done. I'll talk to them tomorrow.”
By now, only slivers of pale light lighted the far horizon and the darkness grew around the ship, embracing it in its silences and secrets.
“One day closer.” The dragon whispered. “Now, about that game?” He raised his voice to normal levels again.
It was several hours later when the dragon retreated to bed and Ni~ya was left watching the starry sky for the second night since leaving Nesh. The solitude and chill were starting to grow on him. He didn't dare hope for Sakito joining him again.
Author: yukigafuru
Chapters: 69/?
Pairings: RukaxYomi, KaixRuki, AoixReita, UruhaxAsagi, Ni~yaxSakitoxHitsugi for now
Bands: Gazette, Naitomea, D... (and a surprise)
Rating: PG-15-PG-17 overall
Warnings: will be angst, yaoi, threesome, 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 69
When Ni~ya woke up from his mid-day slumber, the sky outside his window was already turning aflame with the colors of the sunset while the grandest mirror ever known to man, the ocean, reproduced the same colors over and over again in forever changing patterns. Here and there, the wrinkly surface would be pierced by a flying fish, sprinkling silvery diamonds in the air before redescending amidst the deepest blues, reds and oranges.
Ni~ya got groggily out of his hammock and took a few moments to assess his surroundings. It seemed that all the others sleeping in the same cabin were on board contributing to their voyage, while he himself had been enjoying a lengthy beauty sleep. And no one had bothered to wake him. Ni~ya sighed and his long fingers passed in frustration through his dark tresses. At least he could keep the night shift, he figured. Although on board a ship under the personal protection of the king of the Abaias, he doubted there was even a need for taking shifts. It wasn’t like they were going to encounter storms or sea monsters or be accosted by pirates. Nevertheless, Ni~ya got up and went out of the room.
To his right were the stairs leading to the deck while a little to the left there was the corridor that would eventually lead to the kitchen and the hull. For a moment, he debated with himself whether he should get something to eat first but decided against it and following his initial course headed right. He climbed the stairs, opened the hatch and climbed onto the deck. There were several of his friends hanging around on-deck and a couple or so Abaian crew members standing by in case anything was needed. A face he had briefly seen earlier was steering the ship.
Ni~ya headed towards Yune, wanting to gauge out this new companion he knew nothing about. Yune hadn’t been there when they had related their versions of the events and neither had he seen him on deck later. He had heard that Yune had been occupied with mapping routes and making sense out of the papers left behind by the pirates, but Ni~ya had never met a man able to concentrate a whole day on such papers.
Yune startled a bit when he suddenly appeared at his side. Ni~ya could smell his surprise, carried to him by the westward wing and he thought for a moment that it smelled very much like fear; although he had no idea what reasons the other could have for fearing him.
“Hello.” He attempted and failed at an introduction for he only received a grunt in reply. Maybe Yune was not a people person, he reasoned. After all, he had been a prisoner just like the others on the ship.
“Hitsugi and Sakito told us you were caged together with them for a while before Uruha freed you. Would you tell me about it?”
The other briefly averted his gaze from the horizontal line of the horizon to gauge Ni~ya’s appearance. Ni~ya shuddered at the ascertaining, calculated look, all of his senses tingling as if in the presence of a predator. All the more reason not to turn away and keep questioning him. His perseverance might have been what got the other to open his mouth and give a sketchy reply to his question.
“Used to be a fisherman, got into a debt I couldn’t pay and wound up on this ship. Ended up in the same cage as the other two. That's all there is to it.”
“You’re human?” Ni~ya wondered. Yune did stench human but there was also some other smell wafting off him. Knowing about Sakito’s diet, he doubted Yune was entirely human.
“Mostly. Some gargouille blood in me from my great-grand-father.” It made sense, Tarrasques were rumored to hate under-dwellers’ flesh. Perhaps that accounted for the fetid fumes turning his senses upside down. Ni~ya had not gotten the chance to get used to the earthy stenches so common to the underworld dwellers. He knew Sakito's sense of smell had to be as keen as his own and Ni~ya wondered how the Tarrasque could have withstood being locked up together with Yune for a long time.
“Do you know where you’re going?” Yune simultaneously bristled at that. It looked as if he had offended him, but Ni~ya's keen sense of smell again detected something else in the winds: a tinge of apprehention. There seemed to be no simple emotion or reaction to the man.
“I’m a fisherman. I think I’d know which way was North by now.”
“I didn’t mean that. Just... what will we find going straight that way?”
“Beside the continent, I don’t know. Don’t care. Just following orders here.” There was something about the way he had said that. Ni~ya tried to use his naga senses more while still preserving his human form. Unlike the dragon, his reptilian part was less than accommodating towards his human one. He licked his lips surreptitiously and managed to catch the changes in heartbeat, sweating, muscle contraction and heat coming off Yune. The previous statement had somehow calmed him, as if he had finally been allowed to tell the truth. But if until then he had bean concealing something...
Ni~ya resolved to have a chat with Ruki about him. It was about time he headed to the kitchen to get something to eat and he might chance upon the panther along the way. He said his goodbyes to Yune before heading back the way he had come.
The kitchen was a horrid place for someone with senses as keen as Ni~ya's, with all the smells of meat in several stages of preservation, decaying fruits, unwashed dishes and floors and the sweat of many a men crowded in a fairly small closed place. As proof of the unpleasantness of the space, few people were actually hanging about it, aside from the cook and a couple of the crew. Many others preferred carrying their dinner to their cabins. In light of the circumstances, Ni~ya grabbed some cheese, bread and an apple and while munching on his frugal dinner, headed towards Ruki and Kai's quarters.
Ni~ya found them wrapped in each other's arms, engaged in pleasant conversation about Kai's home and their lengthy voyage. After the proper greetings had been exchanged, Ni~ya veered the conversation towards the topic he was interested in: Yune.
“I haven't had the chance to perceive anything yet. He's been oddly unapproachable till now.”
“He was on deck earlier and I got this impression that something was off... I couldn't quite figure it out though and since gauging a stranger should be more of your expertise than mine...” The naga trailed off.
Ruki nodded, thoughtful.
“I don't know what you're referring to but both Sakito and Hitsugi referred to him as a friend and I certainly would not think those two bad judges of character.”
Ni~ya onsidered Ruki's words carefully before replying. “Still, they were under duress...”
“Which is exactly when a man's true character is revealed... If I get the chance, I will do a bit of spying if it puts you at rest.”
“Thank you.” Ni~ya ended the topic and approached another one he had been mulling about for a bit. “You know, a few days ago I wouldn't have even dreamed about asking for your help or opening up like this. Apart from the dragon, you're the only person I have made an effort to reach out to.”
“That's not that surprising, considering what Ruki is.” Kai remarked.
“What he was, you mean. I don't think it has much to do with that, though. My senses don't really perceive him as a panther anymore.”
Ni~ya saw Kai's arms tightening slightly around his lover's waist and the breath Ruki took. “Have you tried changing lately?” Ni~ya thought of asking.
“I can't change anymore. I lost my wings. I'll never be a panther again.”
“I didn't mean that. Like I said before, I don't perceive you as a panther but there is something magical about you, something powerful. If you had lost your powers of metamorphose this sensation should not present itself.”
“Maybe it's the power of our bond and of the medallion.” Ruki figured.
“No, I sense that separately. There's something about you, Ruki. I think you might be changing into something else, an entirely new creature, somehow combining yours and Kai's magical traits.”
“Nah, you must be imagining things. That's not even possible.”
“Actually, it is.” The dragon chose that moment to open the door and barge in on the conversation. “Kai can vouch for that.”
“Kai?” Ruki asked.
“It is possible, but highly improbable, love. Only a couple of such changes were documented in all the eons of magic's existence and neither involved panthers. However, if I think about it now... both cases involved a lack of an alternative genetic pool, seeing as the creatures were the last of their race, huge amounts of magic were employed and both creatures had some sort of mind-reading abilities.”
“I don't feel any different though and my powers, apart from the fluctuations in intensity, have not changed at all.”
“But you absorbed some of Kai's life force and magic.” The dragon king intervened.
“And your smells, yours and Kai's are too similar, even for two lovers, it's like you're emitting variations of the same pheromones but that is impossible if you don't have a magical creature connection.” Ni~ya explained the reasons he had first had in exploring this problem.
“Then how do I find out if I am indeed changing into something else?” Ruki wondered.
“You reach deep within you through meditation and magic-exchange between you and your bonded. If I'm right, in time, you will be able to connect to your inner beast and change freely into it. Your powers should also evolve.” Ni~ya reasoned.
“Similar to those times in our infancy when our powers first made themselves known. So if you're right, I'm changing into a part-panther, part-roc mutant.”
“Not exactly. You're not and will never be a half.” Kai explained. “In the other two cases, because of the necessity of the creature to absorb huge amounts of foreign magic, they adopted certain traits of the other beings, but their basic constituent remained the same.”
“That doesn't make much sense.”
“It's complicated and very much random and remember that these things happened so long ago the accounts are indirect, sketchy at best and thoroughly not scientific reliable.”
“Kai wants to advise you against getting your hopes up.” Ni~ya summarized.
Still, it was hard for Ruki not to become hopeful. The idea of the possibilities that his becoming part-roc brought was mind-boggling. It gave him the chance to be accepted by Kai's family, to perhaps be able to give Kai a legitimate heir but most of all, the chance that he would change again, feel the elements, the raw forces of nature cursing through his veins. What he missed most about being a panther was the flying, although he had only gotten to hover a couple of times in his infancy, before being imprisoned. Still, there was nothing like the winds ruffling your feathers, the gentle caress of the sun, the power of the stretched muscles and the rapid beating of his heart, the thrill of being high-up in the air, detached...
“I want to try it, Kai.” He pleaded with his lover. If Ni~ya was right, he had an entirely new world to discover, if he was wrong he would still get a stronger emotional connection with his bonded - although he would also have to learn to live with the regrets. The advantages outweighed the risks and Kai must have seen the resolve in his eyes, for he gave his approval.
“After we get off the ship, ok? This is really not the place to be attempting something potentially volatile.”
Ruki nodded and that was that.
“So, how come you came here?” Kai thought of asking the dragon.
“Well, it gets pretty boring aboard a ship. What do people do around here for fun?”
Ni~ya chuckled.
“You don't have the same problems if you're with your partner.” He winked towards the couple still entwined in an intimate hug and everyone smiled at the comment. There were indeed many ways to pass the time aboard the ship...
“Oh, don't even remind me. With Yomi and Ruka next to me, I'm reminded constantly of what being newlywed actually entitles.” He sighed deeply. Ni~ya and the other two laughed heartily at the dragon's distress.
“You could bunk in with me and the crew, I guess. I don't think the Abaias would mind.”
“I might take you up on that. So, how about we go up on deck and play a game of cards or something, maybe even a light spar?”
“No sparring on this ship!” Kai warned. “With you two, we would all be drowning in minutes.”
“Spoil-sport. I didn't mean in our creature forms. I think we'd both be bigger than the ship anyway.”
“Even so. No is no.”
“Yes, mother.” The dragon pouted and Ni~ya shook his head in amusement. There was something about the dragon that put him at ease. “Ok, come on then.” Ni~ya got up and followed the dragon up on deck. Yune was still at the helm.
“What do you think of Yune?” Ni~ya thought of asking.
“Huh?” The startled dragon looked the same way the naga had, his gaze landing upon Yune. “Oh, him. Don't know. Mhm... He's more like a ghost to me; almost invisible most of the times. Why do you ask?”
“Strange... To me, if the wind flows from the right direction, his stench is so strong I would not even be able to sit close to him. You don't feel that?”
The dragon suck some air into his lungs.
“No. Actually, there's barely any trace at all... And you're right, that is strange. Even if my senses were somehow assaulted with all the other smells, I should be getting at least an amount of what you're feeling.”
“I think we would do best to keep an eye on him.” Ni~ya said.
“And you wouldn't mind me talking with Hitsugi and Sakito, see if we can get more out of this situation.” The naga ducked his head. He had been thinking about that... “Consider it done. I'll talk to them tomorrow.”
By now, only slivers of pale light lighted the far horizon and the darkness grew around the ship, embracing it in its silences and secrets.
“One day closer.” The dragon whispered. “Now, about that game?” He raised his voice to normal levels again.
It was several hours later when the dragon retreated to bed and Ni~ya was left watching the starry sky for the second night since leaving Nesh. The solitude and chill were starting to grow on him. He didn't dare hope for Sakito joining him again.