Realms Converge | By : Candice Category: +G through L > Legacy of Kain Views: 3562 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1 |
Disclaimer: I do not own Legacy of Kain, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.Don't get to Nosgoth itself til chap 5 |
Edits 07/2016
Chapter Thirty-Four: Angel Down
*-*/-Katrina POV-**-*
Bolstered by the success of the Sealing spell and the creation of my own Symbol, I found that I began to feel a little more at home in my own skin. I no longer flinched and hissed in warning whenever Alma or one of her Sister's brushed their hands against my wings when I hung around them. They often took my sudden lack of a near-to-violent response to mean that they now had free reign to 'help me groom them'. As a result, Kain oft found me in a state of bone deep lassitude more than once when the group had gotten it in their heads that I had not been 'taking proper care of my wings'. Such a thing was oft prompted by a single feather being bent out of place and thus would lead to my being waylaid by a group of the females, normally led by Alma and Tara.
I would then find myself being drug off to the mansion's solar for a grooming session... which also included having them tend to my own, more delicate and yet no less deadly, claws. The lot of them found the fact that my claws were at least partially retractable to be fascinating, or in Tara's words, 'adorable'. Once my claws had been 'properly sharpened', they would then move to give me, and each other, a thorough massage using various warming oils. Once they were done, and only then, did they actually move on to tend to my wings.
I found though, that proper wing grooming could be better then the back massages and I also found myself complaining less and less when Alma and her Sister's demanded that they be allowed to 'tend to my wings'. I even found myself joining in on a few of their lewder conversations on occasion and I learned... sometimes far, far more than I had thought to at the time when I had pipped up with my own opinion on a particular subject.
More than once the group of females had used those little 'grooming sessions' to try to convince me to switch to some of the more... skimpily... designed armors like their own. Their strongest argument in favor of such revealing garb was that skilled magics were used to help shield the exposed flesh of their bodies. I firmly declined whenever they tried to 'help' me with my wardrobe. Alma, rather than argue in favor of the armor, tried to convince me that I needed a few dresses amongst my outfits. Tara usually argued for more form-fitting leathers akin to 'cat-suits' and several of the others argued for outfits that were little more then the Gaia equivalent of a two-piece bathing suit with thigh-high boots and gloves that covered one's forearms.
I continued to decline all of their ideas as far as my everyday clothing and armor was concerned. I was far more comfortable wearing my cargo-style pants, even compared to the leather pants that Kain had gotten for me. He had been correct that the longer the leathers were worn, the more that said leather relaxed to fit against my skin like a glove. I just... felt more at ease getting out of my normal pants as opposed to pealing off the leathers. While I did find it easier to alternate between the different styles after the Sealing, I simply could not see myself wearing the very revealing armor that the buxom vampiresses wore all of the time. It worked well enough for them perhaps, but I felt uncomfortable with the thought of wearing so little, even if the outfits were carefully augmented to protected the exposed skin from damage.
I also found that I felt more confident when working with the troops that had been assigned to me by Kain. That and working with his other, more experienced, Captain's. I worked in tandem with Leon, Emrys and Stefon regarding the weakened soldiers and that went easier as well. My thoughts no longer raced quite so strongly when around the three males as I no longer thought of what might go wrong whenever I approached them. When I spoke with them alone before, I had always been somewhat worried that they would call me out on my inexperience or challenge me the way Cillian had. Our combined efforts would get our troops back into fighting shape within a month and a half from the way the men were recovering.
Then there were the army standards that were to be issued to my troops...
The mere sight of the first of completed standard that bore both Kain's Symbol and my own sent a small thrill of dark possessiveness running down my spine. Alma had brought the completed standard to me with the intent to confirm that my Symbol was accurate and that the coloring of it, the seamstress had used silver thread, was to my satisfaction. I had gripped the sturdy cloth in my hands and started at it for several long minutes as I reigned in that new sense of possessiveness that thrummed through me. I had then made sure that my troops were maintaining their new diets and regiment training before I left to seek out Kain.
I had been very, very pleased with the design on the standards and had eagerly shared that with him when I found him unoccupied in one of the libraries.
Even then, with all the pleasant events that had followed immediately after the Sealing, the time that I had needed to work with my men and get them back into shape had resulted in the first serious... confrontation with Kain. A confrontation that was held in a private room of course. I knew the moment that I moved to corner him about an order he had issued to me, that it would be best not to try to countermand or modify said order while we were in front of the others. Instincts demanded that I bring my reasoning, my problems with said order, up with him in private. The order in question had been for me to prepare my troops for a sortie against a series of small bases filled with Sarafan troops. The bases were located along the Northwestern bank of the Great South Lake. The order itself had been issued barely a week after said men had been put under my command and Kain had given me only four days to complete the task of claiming those locations for him.
Four days to claim territory with men that could not fight effectively...
"Kain, I need to talk with you," I said to him.
I had approached him while he was in an isolated reading room and had closed the door behind me. I stopped several feet away and my wings fanned out behind me briefly before they settled along the line of my shoulders.
"If this is concerning your orders, mine own," Kain started as he grabbed a book from the bookcase without looking my way. "Then I expect them to be obeyed."
"Kain... the only members of my contingent that are capable of the marching and fighting required for this task are the vampires that you assigned to me," I said to him.
I worked to keep my tone level and calm even though part of me wanted to ask what in the hell he was thinking by ordering me to do such a thing. I wanted to shout at him in all actuality, but I knew that would not go over well.
"The humans that were under Cillian's command have been bled far too often then what could be considered healthy," I continued. "I will need at least a month and a half, possibly two months, to get them, and the humans that were sorted amongst the other Captain's, back into shape."
"They looked well enough to fight when I visited their section of the camp earlier today," Kain responded in a bland tone. He opened the book in his hand and flipped to a seemingly random page.
"False bravado whilst under the watchful eyes of their General," I said with an angry yet soft scoff of breath. "Several of the men cannot hold a sword for longer than three minutes before their hands begin to shake uncontrollably. I confirmed that with my own eyes days ago. They would not last the march, let alone the fighting that will be required of them."
Kain looked up at me at then and let out a low growl. He sent out a testing, demanding pulse of his Aura against my own. I tensed under the pressure, but allowed my Aura to flare against his own. My wings spread outwards, just an inch or so from my shoulders where they had been resting. It was more to prepare for sudden movement from Kain if needed than a threat display. I had never really confronted him in such a way before and I had been unsure of how he might react to my defiance regarding the orders that he had issued.
"And what would you suggest that I do, hmm my Little One?" he asked. A sub-harmonic growl of warning was hidden in his tone and I had shivered at the sound. Still, I held my ground and tucked my chin downward as I frowned at him. "Leon, Emrys and Stefon will all be quite busy with their own troops. They will be fortifying the forested lands between the two Lakes against further attack from the East. We must needs lay claim to the Northwestern shores of the Great South Lake before the Sarafan Lordling can muster his troops in an attack from that direction. The current bases along the line of water are weak and ready for claiming, but only if I act before they can be fortified by the Sarafan troops that are stationed there. You would have me delay my attack?"
"Not delay," I responded with a firm shake of my head. "Merely that I cannot make an effective strike with the troops that I currently have. The humans that were assigned to me cannot fight Kain. Instead of using them, allow me to gather a handful of troops from the cities. Even just five men taken from Meridian, Provance, Ziegsturhl and Nachtholm will give me the troops that are required for this mission to be a success. A few magic users amongst the lot would be even better, as I could then have them remain at the water line bases whilst we fortify. They would also be able to attack at range if any of our foes troops dare to attack from the lake itself in the future."
The book in his hand snapped shut with a loud clap of noise that echoed in the room. I tensed and then forced myself to relax my muscles. Tensing so much would do me no good if he decided that I needed a 'correction' for questioning him as I was doing. Something that had never come up before. I needed to keep my limbs loose and limber, ready to act... to evade. He stalked toward me, his eyes dark and I had to fight the impulse to fall back a few steps. His expression was... volatile... and not something that I was used to from him even during our sparing matches.
"You are questioning me," he let out another low growl as he leaned in so that he was nose to nose with me.
"I am questioning how you expect me to go about this mission with weakened troops, yes," I responded.
I spoke as firmly as I could, and despite the faint tremor in my voice, I held my ground stubbornly in the face of his upset. He caught my chin in his hand and his claws just barely began to dig into my flesh. It was more a threat of harm... a promise of pain. He had then tried to force me to bare my throat. I had allowed him to move my head just an inch before I pushed back against the pressure of that firm touch. His claws dug further still into my flesh as a result of that action and the sharp points drew the faintest amount of my blood in the process. His eyes narrowed on me at my continued defiance and I had to fight the urge to step back and bare my throat to him.
"Yield to me," he growled in a low, dangerous tone.
"Not in this," I responded and I had let out a low growl of my own to hide my budding fear. "You taught me that any Captain of an army has a duty to both their own commanding officer and to the troops that follow said Captain. I will not take the men that I have now into battle. They would fail such a task as they are now and that would serve us not at all."
Kain's claws pushed upwards against my chin, another blatant signal for me to bare my throat to him and yield to his will. Once again, I pressed back against that touch in order to keep my chin down and my throat shielded whilst I kept my gaze upon his own blue-gold gaze that seemed as hard as diamonds. His Aura flooded around me in another dangerous pulse of power. My own Aura responded in kind and rose up against his in challenge. A sense of 'Don't back down, don't back down! Hold your ground!' pounded through my instincts in time with my heartbeat. I knew, just knew, that I could not yield to him if I expected to make my point and my views on this situation plain. I also knew that I would loose a measure of his respect if I backed down on this matter when I'd had the courage to confront him in the first place.
"And how would you possibly gather the troops that you need from the cities in time to stage your attack as you suggested, hmm my Little One?" he asked after several long minutes. A sneer curled his lips and his expression turned harsh, disdainful, as he spoke. "If you go city to city you will waste valuable time."
"I would not go city to city myself to gather the troops," I responded with a growl. I reached up to carefully wrap my hand around his wrist in order to prevent him from digging his claws any further into my skin. "I would send my Second Lieutenants and Sergeants to the cities in order to gather five of the most skilled warriors that each city can spare. With their speed, they would be able to gather the needed fighters and then meet Alma and I just to the east of the Pillars. This would leave us with enough time to stage the attack. Alma and I can scout the area in the interim whilst we wait on the men to arrive."
The pressure of his Aura had not lessened a whit as he glared down at me. Kain moved his hand away from me in an abrupt movement and the action pulled his wrist from my grasp in the process. He then turned away from me with a low sub-harmonic growl and he opened the book again to turn to the page that he had been on before he had snapped it shut.
"Go then. Let us see if you can manage to complete your appointed task," Kain said in a voice that was low and dangerous with the thrum of his power. "Understand me clearly mine own; if you fail in your appointed task, there will be consequences equal to that pf anyone else who fails me, regardless of your place at my side."
I had to bite back a snarl at his words even as my heart gave a small stutter-stop of fear at the threat. For threat it was. There were times that I could forget that this world was as violent as Gaia's own dark ages. Times that I forgot that a soldier's failure could lead not just to a dock pay or dishonorable discharge, but to prison time in dirty dungeons. To being punished for ones failure or disobedience. There were no clean cells here where prisoner's would be given three square meals a day, daily exercise and medical attention. Many prisoners might simply be locked up and then... forgotten. A vampire would not necessarily die of starvation either... they would first enter a slumber-like state. Only if they were left forgotten and untended for longer than a ten years would a full-blooded vampire succumb to true death. Then there were public punishments like flogging or whipping... or worse... all depending on the capricious nature of the leader that lead the army.
History had been a valuable course of study for me in school and the cold knowledge of what could happen if I failed became a cold weight at the bottom of my stomach. Kain had been attentive of me, gentle with me in so many ways... but the tone of his voice made one thing very clear; he would not coddle me when it came to his army and my own rank within it. The methods of reward and punishment that came with being a commander under his rule would apply to me just as much as it applied to any of the others.
It was a frightening, yet understandable, realization...
I left the room as calmly as I could manage and then ducked into a side room in order to catch my breath and calm my nerves before I went to find Alma. I closed the door behind me and braced my hands against one of the tables within the room. I took in several deep gulps of air as I worked to calm my racing heart. I could not let my fear or doubts show when I went to gather the others. Not with something like this. Fuck, shit and damnation but the mere threat of what would happen if I failed to complete the task he had given me had damn near paralyzed me in those first few moments. I had to rally myself by shoving aside the fear, locking it away and partitioning myself in a way that left me functional. This was not as easy at it seemed, as normally partitioning myself in such a manner would have left me in a blank and unresponsive state. I could oft settle myself into such a state when the torturous pain got to be too much when I had been trapped with Auron, but I needed to remain functional for this.
Minutes later, perhaps even an hour later, my mood had settled and my scent was clear of the fear that I had felt. I moved swiftly to find Alma and the other vampiric members of my contingent. Alma raised a brow at me after I sent the others off with their orders and she crossed her arms over her chest with a thoughtful expression.
"Are you sure this is a good idea deary?" she asked after a few moments of silence.
"Can the humans that are assigned to me able to fight as they are?" I growled at her. She opened her mouth and I cut her off before she could answer. "The answer is; No, they cannot. We also cannot spare troops from Steinchencroe, Vasserbunde or Coorhagen. Those locations are undergoing initial fortification procedures right now and they cannot spare anyone at this point in time. This is the only way that I am going to get the troops that I will need in time to complete this mission. Now, let us go. We have to scout the area while the others gather the men."
"As you will dear," she said with a bow of her head and a blank expression. Though there had been something odd in her eyes that set me on edge at the time.
The time spent scouting the area had revealed three guarded points spaced along the water's edge. Each location showed signs of construction for small ports and larger guard posts. They were all just barely within view of the others and had large wooden beacons that were soaked in oil. With the distance between each post, the beacons would be lit to warn the others of any attack and thus signal both the other posts and to those across the water that reinforcements were needed. Two guard stood guard at the beacons, one on the East side and one on the West, each ready to light the warning signal if there proved a need. I had nodded to myself and then turned to face Alma.
"Alright, here's the plan; We're going to do a pincer attack and take out the outer two posts first. Then we target the middle one. We will have to take out the guards at each of the beacon's first however," I said to her. "They do not look to have any of those net launching trebuchets, so I can fly us both in with my Gift active. I'll drop you on the heads of the first two guards at the Eastern post. I will then wing around to take out the two guards at the Western post myself. Stay hidden when you have taken out the guards and signal the attack the group I will assign to you once the guards are down. I'll do the same for my group. You and I will have to stay near the beacons once the guards are dead to make sure that no one else gets close enough to light them. Have the men target the archers first and foremost, we don't need any flame-lit arrows hitting the beacons."
"A sound strategy deary," Alma responded. She flashed me a grim smile and then looked over the soon to be battlefield with hungry eyes.
From there we hooked up with the troops that had gathered at the meeting point as ordered. I felt my wings twitch with satisfaction as I looked over the men that had been gathered. Two magic users had also been brought and I split the groups evenly. Given that the magic users were both skilled with electrical magics, a really common element for mages to have an affinity with here on Nosgoth, I gave them orders to be mindful of their spells. One wrong arch of lightning could have caught the beacons aflame and warned the Sarafan troops both on shore and across the water. The whole point of this was to play the 'safe port' and the slaughter the enemy troops when they got too close later on.
Kain had given me four days to complete the mission. With the tactics used and the troops gathered as swiftly as they had been with the help of the vampires under my command, I had completed the mission within three days and with minimal injuries amongst the humans. Kain had ridden out on a high-bred horse, claimed from the stables of one of the Lord's of Coorhagen, on the fourth day. I had been directing the others on what to do; who was to focus on the clean up, who would search the gear supplies and lastly, who would continue the construction, when he had ridden up to me. I had only realized as he had come up alongside me with a smug, self-satisfied look upon his face, that he had set me the task as he had on purpose. As a bloody test. The pride filled look in Alma's eyes when I had shot a look in her direction surreptitiously had only cemented that realization firmly in my mind.
Pissed... did not even begin to cover how I felt when I became aware of that fact.
I had made my report to him in a clipped tone even as I had fought to keep my Aura subsumed and my upset hidden from those around us. It would do no good for the other vampires under my command to sense my anger when we had completed our mission successfully and well within the time limit we had been given. From the hint of amusement in Kain's eyes and the lack of a reaction from the vampiric troops that I had under my command, I had been able to successfully contain my ire for the most part. When he reached to brush his claws through my feathers in his usual, idle seeming manner I had allowed it for all of a second before I had pulled back and out of his reach.
"Excuse me, I need to check on the wounded," I had said to him as I turned away.
I ignored the thoughtful hum of noise that he'd made in order to focus upon the few wounded amongst my troops. I did need to see to them. I needed to make sure that they were tending to their wounds properly. Everything I knew of basic first aid from Gaia was leagues above what they were used to and my knowledge had already helped to prevent later infection and illness from affecting them. Whilst Kain moved to talk to Alma and check on the fortifications that had already been completed, and what he wanted to change for the defenses, I walked amongst my men to check on their health and moral.
When one of the two male vampires under my command made to feed from a not quite willing soldier that had been trying to move a wooden beam, I growled. I stopped the male in his tracks with an angry pulse of my Aura and then tossed him one of the blood vials that I had packed into the magically expanded bag. He caught the bottle easily enough and then snapped off a quick salute when my eyes narrowed on him.
"You and the others are not to feed from the humans. Not when we are currently busy with fortifications. Doing such a thing will affect their ability to complete their work in a timely manner," I snarled at him in a low, warning tone. "Assuage your hunger with Blood Vials until we are done, do you understand me? Pass the word on to the others."
"Y-yes my Lady," the vampire murmured softly.
He backed away from me swiftly, both bowing and tilting his head to the side to bare his throat as he moved. The sense of relief that exuded from his Aura was both a confusing and heady sensation. The human had shot me a grateful look before he turned back to his assigned task and I had left him to it.
I remained out at that location for over a weeks time, long after Kain had returned to Steinchencroe. Alma stayed at my side the entire time, she was my watcher after all, and she easily noticed my slowly darkening mood. She cornered me at one point while I was on top if one of the taller structures. I had been resting in a crouched position with my wings fanned out so that they had me partly concealed. Ready to move in an instant if need, but still a relaxed enough position that I was not needlessly tensing my muscles. I looked at her with a raised brow as she approached me.
"Deary, your anger is all but palatable," she said to me in a soft voice. "You may not be taking it out on the men but, you are making them quite edgy."
"And?" I had murmured softly, not quite believing her.
I looked out over the area and noted the movements of the men. I realized with a start that she was right. Vampire and human alike would occasionally shoot a wary glance my way before hastily looking away, as if simply looking at me might upset me further.
Why would they be acting like that? I thought with a frown.
"They are waiting you to snap and take your rage out on one of them," she said softly.
I stiffened briefly at her words and then relaxed a moment later. Likely had she merely seen my thoughts writ plain upon my face and thought to answer my silent question. Regardless I tightened my mental control to ensure that I did not project my thoughts to the others. She reached out to smooth the ruffled feathers of one wing back into place. I pulled my wing away from her touch and glared at her.
"I wouldn't do that to them," I growled at her.
"I know that deary, but they are not used to you as yet and thus fear an explosion of action that will not actually occur," she crouched next to me and leaned into my side. I let out a soft growl of annoyance but allowed her weight to settle against me. "What has you so upset? It is not true rage that I sense in your Aura."
"I..." I started angrily. I stopped and let out a huff of breath sharply through my nose. Only once I had calmed did I continue in a controlled tone. "This was not a test that I appreciated being put through."
"I do not quite think that is quite the reason for your upset either," she purred in a soothing voice and she leaned in to nuzzle at my braid-bared neck. I shivered at the deceptively light touch. "Come deary, be honest."
"I... a part of me knows that... I have to be held to the same standards as the others in Kain's army when it comes to matters of warfare if I am to command any number of his troops. I get that," I said with a nervous ruffling of my wings. I frowned as I organized my thoughts into something that would make sense. "The rest of me despises the fear that ran through me when he made that fact clear. The fact that this was a test, designed most like to see how I would react to said threat of failure, pisses me off. He frightened me over a bloody test!"
I punched my hand against the roof lightly. The dull thud was not all that satisfying as I could not allow myself to hit the roof as hard as I wanted lest I actually damage it. I let out another low growl and Alma nuzzled at the back of my neck gently. I twitched at the continued touch and frowned at her.
"And yet you held your ground when you knew the right course of action and carried out your orders with calm and concise action. All off it carried out within the means available to you," she rumbled soothingly. "You passed the test beautifully. What then is the problem?"
"I am not a pet to perform on command or be brought to heel for failure to navigate the traps laid before me!" I hissed out at her and I tried to stand up.
She wrapped an arm around my waist firmly and prevented the movement. When I started to struggle against her hold, she moved to pin me down against the roof top swiftly. Her actions kept us hidden from the sight of the others as we fought and even then I knew that it was to prevent others from seeing, and questioning, our short scuffle. I squirmed in her grasp even as I let out a low growl of defiance and she pressed herself firmly against me in order to keep me pinned. Her strength easily surpassed my own due to the difference in age and power between us and it frustrated me to no end at that moment. But... there was a reason that she was my main tutor in the fighting arts and she would continue to be my mentor for some time yet.
"Calm deary," she purred softly in my ear. Her voice held a note of warning to it and I reluctantly stilled beneath her. "Everyone's mettle is to be tested, tempered and strengthened. You may not be a tamed creature to be brought to heel but even you must needs face the testing fires of leadership. Would you have preferred that he give you no warning of what failure might entail? Only to have your actions not be spurred by said knowledge and thus perhaps a step missed as a result? To have the task put before you end in failure and then leave you to feel betrayed when the General's whip fell as a result of such failure?"
My body trembled with my anger even as I looked away from her. I slumped against the wooden roof of the structure we were on moments later and let out a heavy sigh. The layered roof tiles dug painfully into my back and wings and had already caused a minor ache to flare along my spine due to how she had me pinned but I ignored the pain as my thoughts calmed.
"No," I answered through gritted teeth. "I merely dislike that Kain set such a trap... a test... for me at all."
"A test of this nature is not a true test of one's skill if one is aware of it," she crooned in my ear as she leaned in close. "He believed that you would not flounder under the threat and he was right. You were victorious and even completed your given task ahead of schedule. You should feel proud of yourself."
"...I'm still not happy with him," I grumbled even as my anger finally started to cool.
"That is fine deary," she said and she placed a light kiss at the corner of my mouth. My brow twitched and I frowned at her. She smiled unrepentantly and continued to speak. "Just as long as you understand what is expected of a commanding officer in his army. This is something that must needs be taken seriously. A game it can be called, but the stakes of this game are the lives of your men and your own hide should any failures be caused by your own carelessness."
"I know that. I merely do not like being threatened in such a manner. I do not feel that it was necessary," I sighed gustily. "I know how dangerous battle is and I already figured that I would be held at equal or higher standards compared to the others. I mean, going from running just the Railroads to being one of his Captain's so swiftly? And being his lover as well? I'd have to be held to a higher standard just to combat rumors! It's one of the reasons I've pushed so hard to make sure my troops are going to actually be fit to fight and why I haven't slacked off at all with the Railroads during all this! I do get the reasoning... Now will you remove yourself from my person?"
"Mmm? Oh, very well," she started with an exaggerated sigh and she eased herself up into a sitting position that would allow me to slip out from under her. "I was quite comfortable though. So soft."
I blushed faintly even as I let out a growling sigh at her flirting. I slipped out from under her and pushed myself up so that I was back in my previous crouched position as if she had not pinned me down. I stretched out my wings to loosen up the strained muscles and then let out a sigh as I drew them back in to rest upon my shoulders.
"Why do you constantly flirt with me?" I muttered to her in annoyance. "I am not interested in your advances."
"Oh deary," she said with a laugh. "That is a lie. You are interested, you merely will not act on that interest."
I let out a soft snarl at her words and shoved outward with one wing to push her further away from me as I straightened up. I found it annoying that she was correct regarding my interest and my refusal to act. I would rather she not bring it up at all however. She laughed and simply rolled with the shove in order to aid her subsequent jump from the roof. I leaned over the edge, wings flared out behind me to help maintain my balance and I yelled down at her.
"Make sure the men have enough supplies!" I ordered firmly. "We head back to Sanctuary tonight!"
"As you wish deary!" she called up to me and she swaggered off to check on the supplies.
The men that had been within earshot noticeably relaxed at my shout and I had to fight back a wince. I had not meant to make them uneasy whilst I mentally raged at Kain's decision to test me as he had. Healthy respect from the men was one thing. Outright fear of me was not something I had wanted from them and I wanted to correct that if possible. At the very least I hoped that this would show them that, while I had a temper, I would not needlessly take said temper out on those under my command. The same could not be said for all commanders...
I leapt down from my perch and carefully milled amongst the men. The change in my demeanor helped them relax further still and by the time we had confirmed that the men were outfitted with enough supplies to last them over a month, both from what had been brought in over that week and what was left of the supplies the Sarafan had had on hand, they once more held themselves at a respectful ease around me. Satisfied with the results, we had started off for home that very night. One of my vampiric soldiers caught up to us shortly after we had left and there was a viciously victorious look in his eyes.
"My Lady! Please wait!" Alma and I had stopped and turned toward the approaching male with raised brows. "We found something amongst the gear of the Sarafan! Here!"
He held out a small blue crystal to me. It was about two inches in length and only around a quarter inch thick. I took it from him and looked it over curiously as I tried to figure out why such a tiny thing could be so important that my Sargent had thought to chase after me. Alma sucked in a surprised breath of air when I held it out to show it to her.
"A communications crystal! Undamaged no less!" she breathed out. "Our success here has nigh tripled with this find alone!"
"A communi-?" my voice broke off with my surprise.
I recalled what the captured prisoner had said months ago about the Sarafan Lordling. The Bastard had gone into hiding and had started to use communication crystals in order to deliver his instructions to the Sarafan troops without his location being revealed in the process. This find meant... it meant that we might well be able to track his movements or at least use the crystal in order to cut off supply lines and prepare for any major attacks that he might be planning. We could even use it to set up a trap if he announced that he would be arriving at a particular location. A satisfied croon of noise escaped me when I realized that we might have come closer to killing the little shit.
"We need to hurry back," I said with a dark grin and I looked up at Alma as I pocketed the crystal. "Vorador and Janos should be able to do something with this, yes?"
"Oh, yes deary," Alma answered and she let out a croon of her own.
I nodded my thanks to my Sargent and we then rushed back toward Sanctuary. We were both eager to report our find. Alma broke off when we neared the mansion and flashed a wink my way as she left. I was confused for several moments before I smiled back at her. I realized that she meant to let me have all the fun in showing off the crystal and making the report. This was my first successful mission as an official Captain after all. I found Kain easily enough with a small pulse of my Aura. He was with Vorador and Janos in the larger library room. They had converted the room into their new war room. I had to fight back a sigh at the sight within said room when I approached.
Kain and Vorador were arguing with each other over tactics. They glared at one another from across the table that held the map spread out upon it.
Janos stood off to the side, obviously having withdrawn in order to avoid being pulled into the bordering-on-blows argument that was brewing between the two. He looked over at me when I entered the room carefully and my adopted Sire offered me a faint smile. I returned the smile and nodded my head. His mind brushed against mine a moment later.
~It is good to have you back again my Childe. It had been a... trying... time without you here to mitigate,~ he glanced at the arguing pair and a look of fond exasperation filled his eyes. The look of a long-suffering parent dealing with two constantly squabbling siblings. ~They have been at it for over an hour now. I would not interfere at this point were I you. They are likely to come to blows soon and I would not wish you caught between them.~
~It is good to see you too, Sire,~ I responded. I eyed the pair myself and I felt a wicked grin cross my lips a moment later. ~I have important information to share and I believe I have a way to distract them from their fight long enough to share it.~
~Do be careful my Childe. Whatever it is you plan may not go as well as you hope,~ he warned and he raised a brow at me.
I nodded my head at the warning and walked closer to the enraged males. I kept the crystal palmed in one hand as I approached and I did my best to put a disappointed lilt into my tone.
"Truly, did I miss the wedding at some point?" I said loud enough to be heard over their combined snarling. "The two of you do fight as often as an old married couple."
Snarls broke off into equally flummoxed and insulted sputters and they both turned toward me with equally annoyed and shocked looks at what I had suggested. Before either male could snap out of the shock that had been caused by my words in order to become truly angry with me, I tossed the crystal carefully onto the table. It was heavy enough to land with a firm 'thunk' of noise and the sound drew their combined attention away from me in an instant. Even Janos let out a surprised sound at the sight of the object that I had brought back.
"Look at what we found amongst the Sarafan's gear," I said to them with a smirk as they continued to stare at the crystal.
Kain recovered first and picked up the crystal in his hand. He then held it up so that the torchlight could better reveal the state of the crystal. As he looked it over, a cold smile came to his lips. He passed the crystal to Vorador and then turned to look at me as he spoke.
"This is a valuable find indeed mine own," Kain said to me and he let out a darksome chuckle.
"Very much so," Vorador said and he held the crystal up himself to examine it with a critical eye. "There is no damage. We should be able to figure out the runic combination the Lordling is using with relative ease and thus gain valuable information."
"We should also be able to capitalize on this find several times before he realizes that he has to make and distribute more crystals amongst his men," Janos said as Vorador passed the blue crystal over to our Sire.
My wings gave a ruffling twitch of satisfaction at my back and they rose from my shoulders in a small, mantling gesture that revealed plain my pleasure at the results of the find. I would need to figure out a suitable reward for the one amongst my men who had found the intact crystal. Janos shot me a bemused look and then turned his attention toward Kain.
"I will start working on deciphering the runic combination immediately," Janos said.
"Decipher the combination swiftly Old One," Kain responded with a feral grin. "The sooner we can begin to intercept such communications, the sooner we can find and slay the Lordling."
Janos gave nod of his head before he moved to leave the room. He had ignored the 'Old One' comment easily enough. Janos did not seem to mind the nickname of 'old one' as much as Vorador did, a point made plain when Vorador growled a warning at Kain. A warning that was decidedly ignored as if it had not been issued at all, much to the green-skinned Eldar's annoyance. Janos knocked one of his wings against my own lightly as he left the room and his mind brushed against mine with a sense of amusement.
~An effective distraction indeed my Childe,~ he Whispered with a mental laugh. ~Though they might start in on each other again sooner rather then later.~
~I hope not,~ I responded in a bemused tone. ~They'd tear the mansion apart if they actually decided to fight it out.~
~Merely the mansion Childe?~ he laughed. ~You do not fear for the city itself in such a scenario?~
~I... ehhh... you... may have a point there Sire,~ I responded with a wince and another twitch of my wings.
Janos' laughter echoed in my mind briefly before he cut the mental connection. Vorador let out a faint grumble of breath when Kain continued to ignore his chastisement about 'respecting his Eldar's'. He threw his hands upwards in frustrated surrender and then pushed roughly away from the table as he started after Janos.
"I will aid my Sire in deciphering the runic combination," he snarled at Kain as he stalked past me. "I tire of arguing with you at the moment."
Vorador closed the door behind him with a bang of noise and Kain let out a soft snarl as the green-skinned Eldar left the room. Kain was not upset with the Eldar due to the loudness of the slammed door, but more that Vorador's movements had knocked over many of the markers upon the map. Kain then moved to fix the markers to their proper places on the map, many of which were moved to where... they hadn't been when Vorador had shoved away from the table. I realized as Kain moved the pieces about that Vorador had again been making yet another case for us to reclaim his mansion.
"Does it just not sink in to his skull that we do not have the troops to hold the Termogent Forest right now?" I muttered once I was reasonably certain that said vampire was out of earshot.
"He complains constantly of the situation," Kain responded with a dark snarl. "I am beginning to believe that he does so merely to grate upon my nerves."
"That would be just like him," I said with a shrug of my right shoulder and wing.
Kain turned to me once all of the pieces were in their proper places and he narrowed his eyes upon me as he looked me over with a critical eye. He held out a hand toward me several moments later and I eased closer to him. I was wary of what he might do considering how pissy I had been the last time we had been around each other. I carefully placed my hand in the palm of his and was not much surprised when he yanked me close. He pinned me against him with a low growl that I could not quite place a meaning to. I started to instinctually fan my wings outwards with a growl of my own though. Kain's other arm swiftly coiled around my back and over my feathered limbs before I could extend them fully and they were pinned as a result. I squirmed briefly within that firm, restricting hold and then met his gaze with a frown even as I ducked my chin down to protect my throat.
"Are you quite done being needlessly upset?" he asked in a low, bemused tone.
"I... am still not well pleased that you decided to test me in such a manner," I responded with a low growl. "But I understand the reasoning behind the test well enough."
Kain let out a low chuckle at my words and then abruptly scratched his claws painfully down the exposed portion of my back. My eyes widened and I felt blood well as five careful lines were drawn in my flesh. I arched in an effort to pull away from the harsh, cutting scrape of his claws. I snarled and dug my own claws into his chest in retaliation. My claws drew deep cuts that swiftly healed, yet each cut left a satisfying amount of blood behind to trail down his bare chest. Another, deeper thrum of sound escaped him and his eyes bled white. He abruptly twisted us about and tried to pin me down against the table top. I was having none of it at that moment though and I fought violently in an effort to pin him down instead.
Afterwards we were left with yet another table damaged beyond repair, though for a different reason then the last time, maps and markers were strewn about the room and a few human servants had been scared half out of their wits. I found myself laying beside him in the near to ruined room whilst he licked at my neck as the latest bite wound that he had left healed over. I had been successful in my endeavor to pin him down, true, but he had used the angle to distract me and had easily taken control back within minutes of my mounting him even as I rode him to completion. I blinked at the ceiling in a state of well-sated lethargy and then let out a small laugh as I was reminded of something from my youth.
"What is so amusing my Little One?" Kain purred against my neck and I shivered when his fangs scraped feather light over the skin.
"Just... something a co-worker back home had said when I had asked her why she fought so often with her boyfriend," I murmured.
"Hmm?" he let out a querying noise even as he continued to lap at my skin.
"'Make up sex is the absolute best because of how wild it can get,'" I said.
I turned enough so that I could stretch out all of my limbs like a lazy and well fed cat. I couldn't help but purr at the pleasant, healing aches that twinged with my movements. I turned back into Kain's hold and nuzzled at his collarbone briefly. I nipped at the skin and then curled myself around him.
"Oh, but that felt good," I murmured softly.
"My wild Little One," he said with a chuckle. "Perhaps I should endeavor to anger you more often."
I opened one eye and flashed a mild glare up at his smirking visage.
"Really rather that you not," I responded with a grumble. "I don't particularly enjoy being angry."
He had merely laughed at my words and had helped me to my feet. We dressed only enough for us to be able to order repairs to the room to a servant and then make a strategic retreat to our room.
Five more months passed with us easily solidifying our hold upon the Western lands of Nosgoth. Vorador and Janos were easily able to crack the communication crystal's runic combination within a month of the find. We were then able to use it to counter many of the planned attacks on our lands and the supply lines. The Bastard proved to be careful even with the added security of the crystals. Unless it was absolutely necessary, he avoided telling the troops where he was or would be, such as when he would be personally on hand for a particular attack. Which was almost never considering the little shit was a coward. We were almost able to take him by surprise at one point though. He had staged a small retrieval mission to Vorador's mansion, an attempt of some sort to steal a number of the tomes that were still preserved and protected by magic within the building. Abandoned as the mansion was, it was very easy for us to sneak in and set a number of traps up within the building close to the the libraries. We were able to catch and kill his guard force but the Bastard had been able to escape by using a teleportation spell when we sprung the trap.
From there, we no longer had ready access to his plans. He was smart enough to stop using that particular set of crystals. When we tried to take down several patrolling troops by surprise in attempts to obtain one of the new crystals, the troops were swift to destroy the crystals that they had been issued, little green colored ones this time around. From what Janos told me, the chosen crystals were actually far more fragile, though they had a larger range of communication to compensate whilst the original ones had been more durable.
I and Alma had led multiple stealth strikes against smaller patrols along the edges of the bordering territories. The latest group that I and my men had taken by surprise had only numbered about ten, but there had been a mage amongst them and we had found that the mages always had a crystal. I let out an enraged snarl as I stood from my search and I kicked the corpse of the magic user that had held the fragile crystal in his hand. I tossed the cracked crystal to Alma and she let out a soft sigh as she looked it over.
"This one might have been salvageable had the crack not run right through the very center of it," she said to me and she let the useless crystal fall to the ground.
"Wonderful," I grumbled and I looked over the men with a critical eye. "At least we took no major injuries."
"That is always a benefit," she responded with a nod of her head.
"I will let Kain know that we at least managed to kill the patrol," I told her with a sigh. "I'll be up on that ledge. I need to check and make sure that there are no stragglers as well and that will be the best place for me to keep an eye out as I talk to Kain."
I had indicated a high cliff ledge that overlooked our location and she nodded her head after a moment.
"Call me if you have need of me," she said as I took flight.
I landed smoothly on the ledge and started to reach out mentally so that I could make my report to Kain. An easy enough thing that only took a few minutes of time to complete. Report done I started to scan the area at little more thoroughly compared to my previous, cursory inspection. While there had been no movement in the area save for my men in the past five minutes, that did not mean that an enemy straggler had not managed to slip away and had somehow found a place to hole up at. A scream of pain, a girl-child's scream of pain, echoed in the distance and drew my attention. I called for Alma and stood to look in the direction the scream had come from.
~Kid in the area!~ I Whispered to her. ~Sounds like she's being hurt! I'm heading due east toward the cry!~
~I hear you and I heard the cry. I will be right behind you!~ she responded and I saw her move away from the male she had been speaking with.
I rushed toward the now sobbing cries and I put on an extra burst of speed when I heard the clear sound of a bone being broken. The child's cry broke off mid-wail and I let out an enraged snarl. I came to a halt in an empty clearing and abruptly froze at the edge of the tree line when I saw naught but the unconscious form of the child. There was no attacker in sight.
Fuck! I thought and ducked out of instinct.
I barely managed to dodge a blow to that back of my head that was meant to knock me unconscious. I snarled and spun away, out of the reach of my attacker. I snarled again in outrage as Cillian, Cillian!, lashed out at me again. I dodged the second blow aimed at my stomach and flared my wings wide in challenge and anger.
"I knew this would get your attention, 'My Lady'," he snarled at me in a mocking tone. "This will be sweet indeed."
~Alma!~ I focused my mental Whisper as tightly as I could. ~Trap! It's...!~
Pain suddenly lanced through me as a burst of lightning magic slammed into me from behind. Cillian struck out at the same time with a blow that damn near broke my jaw. I let out a grunt of pain as I hit the ground hard. I managed to roll to the side in order to avoid a harsh kick to my stomach. I got hit with another burst of magic that caused me to arch in pain with a yowl of anger and rage.
"You had best take her to the Stronghold quickly before her handler shows up," Cillian growled at the other person in a satisfied tone. "I have only enough time to hide my scent as it is. We cannot afford to tarry."
I shook my head to clear it and tried to coil my Gift around me even as I pushed myself up and attempted to dart for the safety of the tree line. A hand closed tight on my right wing and the limb was twisted sharply before I could fully activate my gift. The pain detracted me and I lashed out with my claws with a snarl. Cillian's hand closed around my wrist to block my blow and his other hand closed around my neck to cut off the sounds of rage that escaped me.
"I do hope they break you open 'My Lady'," he hissed into my face. "Do enjoy yourself."
He shoved me backwards into someone's arms and lightning magic coursed through me in a violent flash that caused me to scream in reflexive pain. Cillian sneered and gave me a mocking wave even as I felt the magics of a teleportation spell start to coil around me and the person who held me. I focused as best I could beyond the pain and growing nausea to send out a warning Whisper to Kain.
~There was a trap! Don't trust Cil...!~ a powerful burst of magic flooded over my mind. Pain and the need to sleep both flooded through me in the same instant. I fell unconscious with a cut-off groan.
*-**-*-**-*
Chappie done. please read and review folks!
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