'...' thoughts
/.../ telepathy
Daystar's Prophecy Part 3
In order to cover as much ground as quickly as possible, the boys decided to split up into two teams with Heero and Wufei searching to the right side of the clearing while Quatre and Trowa searched to the left. Since nightfall was rapidly approaching, both teams agreed to stay within a reasonable distance from the clearing and to return within one half hours time. Unfortunately, as soon as Heero and Wufei had walked only a short distance, Heero realized that even though the trees had kept the ground relatively dry, there was not much in the way of firewood to be found on their side; forcing them to walk further to find what little they could.
"This will have to be enough." Heero called to Wufei, after they had been walking for almost twenty minutes. They had only managed to find a few handfuls of twigs and some dried tree bark in that time. "We should head back before it gets any darker."
"You can't seriously expect me to believe that you think he's telling the truth?"
"I don't know. However, what I do know is that this is an unfamiliar area and we've managed to walk further than originally planned. I personally don't like the idea of getting lost trying to find our way back in the dark."
"Very well." Wufei conceded, seeing the logic in his statement. "What little bit we were able to gather, along with whatever Trowa and Quatre managed to find, should be enough to last the night."
"Hn." Heero nodded, just glad that for once Wufei decided not to argue.
The boys turned back toward the clearing but did not get far before the sharp snap of a breaking branch from behind them caused them to stop. Turning briskly and pulling his gun from the waistband of his jeans, Heero was the first to see the beast stalking toward them. It looked like a wolf, but was too large to be any that Heero had ever seen and even for its size, its movements were nearly silent. By the time he had heard the branch snap, the creature was only fifty feet away and if it had not been for the branch he probably would not have realized it was there until it had pounced.
As soon as the creature realized it had been seen, it stopped and was now watching the two boys intently. Even in the failing light, Heero could see that it was covered in a thick, grey fur and was at least as tall as he was if not taller. Its black, soulless eyes glowed with pure malevolence but what worried him the most was the intelligence he saw in those eyes.
"What the..." he heard Wufei gasp to his left.
"Don't. Move." Heero hissed but did not look away from the wolf. For a long moment, the wolf and boys simply studied each other then the wolf took a step forward. Heero immediately fired several shots at the creature, each one aimed to bring the creature down quickly. Out the corner of his eye, he saw Wufei reach for his katana but realized it would be useless. He had already fired an entire clip but the wolf was still standing.
"Run!" Heero yelled, as he popped another clip into his gun.
"What!" was the incredulous reply.
"That's an order. We can't fight this thing here. Go! Now!"
Wufei cursed softly under his breath, not liking what he was being told to do, but turned anyways and began to run for the clearing. Heero fired twice more at the wolf then took one step back before he too turned and sprinted after Wufei. He felt more than heard the creature spring toward them as they ran through the forest, dodging in between trees and jumping over the undergrowth in their flight from the overgrown wolf. In a surprisingly short amount of time, the rock barrier for the clearing came into view but Heero knew they were not going to make it; the wolf was practically breathing down their necks.
"Get down!" he heard someone screamed and both Heero and Wufei dropped to the ground just as a flash of red light shot over their heads and struck the wolf square in the chest, throwing it backwards. The wolf gave a loud howl of pain as the light surrounded it before bursting into flames. Desperately, it began rolling on the ground; trying to put the fire out, but for some reason the flames would not be quenched. Heero watched incredulously for a long moment as the wolf writhed on the ground then he looked back toward the clearing where he saw Duo, with his right hand outstretched and an intense look of concentration on his face. After several long minutes, he heard the wolf stop thrashing about and lay still. Only then did Duo lower his arm and, looking back at the wolf, he saw that the flames were gone as well.
"Quickly," Duo called. "he won't be down for long..." Then like a marionette whose strings had been cut, he crumpled to the ground.
"Duo!" Heero yelled, jumping to his feet and hurrying to the fallen boy.
"We have to get back to the ring." Duo said weakly as he tried to push himself up but his arms would not support him.
"Wufei!" Heero called to the other boy who was now standing at his back with his katana drawn. Heero handed him the small bundle of firewood he had managed to hang on to and, scooping Duo up into his arms, they quickly made their way into the clearing. Quatre and Trowa who had had much better luck finding wood on their side, had already returned and were in the process of starting a fire when they entered.
"Duo!" Quatre cried, rushing to Heero's side to check on the other boy. "What happened?"
"We were attacked by a giant wolf while looking for the firewood." Heero said as he gently laid the small boy down beside the fire Trowa had managed to light.
"Giant wolf?" Trowa asked, his one visible eye widening
"It was a direwolf. One of the many reasons you don't want to be wandering this forest at night." Duo said softly.
"I don't care what it's called, as long as it's dead." Wufei said, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Well, sorry, but it's not." Duo said as he propped himself up by his arms.
"What do you mean? I saw it go down." Heero argued.
"You saw it pass out from fighting the fire. It'll probably be awake in a few minutes; and not too happy either."
Heero stared at Duo for a moment then looked back toward where they had last seen the creature, suppressing a shudder at the thought of what would have happened if the boy had not shown up when he had. Finally, he turned back to the others, once again allowing the training to take over.
"Quatre, Trowa, setup a perimeter." Heero said to the other boys. "Watches are two to a watch; change every six hours. Wufei and I will take the first watch. Trowa and Quatre will take the second. And so on."
"Whoa, hold up a sec. I'm not exactly sure what all of that meant, I think I got the general idea though and there's really no need for it." Duo said. "We'll be safe as long as we stay in the ring."
"Safe?!" Wufei cried. "Did you even see that thing?! I seriously doubt a silly ring of rocks is going to stop it."
"These are not ordinary rocks, they're fairy rocks." Duo explained, with the patience that one would show a child. "And this is one of many rings that were created to provide travelers a safe and secure place to stay. We are perfectly safe."
"I have to agree with Wufei, Duo. I don't see how a circle of rocks is going to stop that thing." Heero said quietly.
"But they're not just rocks. Each one was spelled and then placed in a certain pattern to create a barrier that keeps specified creatures from entering. The direwolves are just one of the creatures it repels."
Wufei looked like he was about to argue some more, but the wolf choose that moment to come charging toward the fairy ring. The four boys jumped up and drew their weapons, intent on defending themselves at all costs. When the wolf reached the rocks bordering the ring, it leaped forward, trying to gain access to the clearing. However, instead of entering the clearing, it appeared to hit an invisible wall and was forcibly thrown backwards. It stood slowly and shook itself off before coming at the barrier once again. Twice more it charged the clearing and was repelled until finally, deciding it would probably find an easier meal elsewhere, it stalked off.
"You can put those, whatever they are, away now." Duo said with a wave of his hand. "It shouldn't be back tonight and since direwolves only hunt at night, we'll be safe when we leave in the morning."
All four boys turned and looked down at Duo, each with a look of disbelief on his face. Then slowly, they put away their weapons.
*************************
"Duo," Quatre said sometime later as he sat down beside the boy. "you said you would be able to get us some water. But with that creature still out there, I think it's too dangerous..."
"Don't worry Quat; I don't have to go anywhere to get water." Duo said before scooting back from the fire a short ways and using a piece of dried tree bark to dig a shallow hole about three inches deep and six inches in diameter. Once the hole was dug, he held his left hand over it and chanted very softly as a soft blue glow filled the hole. When the glow dissipated, the hole was full of water.
"There you go." Duo said, sitting back heavily. "It's spelled so it will replenish itself for about an hour or so. After that, I'd have to redo it so I suggest you get your fill for the night. Just that small little spell totally wiped me out."
"...how?" Quatre stared.
"You know, if you're going to be stuck in my world for any amount of time I'd suggest you get used to the idea of magic because it's pretty widely used."
"Magic!" Wufei spit. "There is no such thing as magic."
"Then how do you explain everything that's happened to you in the past few hours? How did you get here, in that cave? What about the direwolf? I can tell from your actions that you don't have them where you come from." Duo asked, not understanding how the boy could refuse to see the evidence that had been presented to him.
"It's just all so new." Quatre said. "And it's hard to believe, even with everything we've seen."
"I know Quat. I guess if it were me I would probably feel the same." Duo sighed. "But you have to at least give me the benefit of the doubt here and try to be a bit more open minded." The last part he said while glaring pointedly at Wufei.
"We'll try, Duo. Maybe it would help if you explain what's going on?" Quatre asked hopefully.
"That would probably be a good idea. Of course, I'm not too sure of the details myself, so it'll be very sketchy. But could I ask you a few questions first?"
"What kind of questions?" Heero asked, a hint of suspicion in his voice.
"Just some questions about where you come from. It will help me to explain everything better."
Duo watched as the four boys exchanged several pointed looks; understanding that a silent conversation was taking place. Finally, he saw Heero nod his head fractionally and Quatre turned to him.
"Ok Duo, what would you like to know?" Quatre asked, bringing a huge smile to Duo's face.
"Well, let's see. I've already figured out that you don't have magic, or at least you guys don't know about it. So that means you probably don't know about the other races either, right?"
"What other races?" Trowa asked.
"Humans aren't the only ones you know. In this world, there are many different races. There are elves, fairies, trolls..."
"This is preposterous!" Wufei said, jumping to his feet beside the fire. "I don't know who you are, or how we got here, but I know there's a reasonable and logical explanation, which has nothing to do with fairy tales and day dreams."
"Fairy tales and day dreams?!" Duo exclaimed as he too jumped to his feet and stomped up to Wufei. He scowled at the other boy, trying to look intimidating but because he was several inches shorter, most of the impact was lost. "I'm not making this stuff up. And I never lie. I may run and hide, but I never lie."
"Then prove it." Wufei sneered.
"What?!"
"Prove it. Show me an elf or fairy, and then maybe I'll believe you."
"Wufei, you know very well that none of us can leave the clearing until morning." Quatre said as he also stood and tried to calm the other boy down.
"How very convenient."
"That's enough Wufei." Heero growled and stepped between the Duo and Wufei.
"You want proof? Fine, I'll give you proof." Duo smirked then began to unbutton the heavy cloak he was wearing. The cloak was black with silver trim and made from a light yet durable material. It had long, billowing sleeves that covered his hands and a wide hood that was resting against his back. There were three silver buttons on the front holding it closed snug at waist level and it was so long it swept the ground when he walked. When Duo finished unbuttoning the cloak, he turned around before shrugging it off his shoulders and allowing it to fall to the ground. As soon as it hit, there was a collective gasp from behind him. Underneath the cloak, he wore all black leather. A pair of tight pants that fit low on his hips and an equally tight vest with no sleeves that laced up in the front. The vest just barely met the top of his pants, leaving a narrow patch of creamy skin showing when he moved. A pair of knee-high boots that laced up the back and a wide belt around his hips finished the outfit. However, the most extraordinarily thing about him, and the thing that captured the others attention, were the gauzy wings which were currently laying flat against his back. Laying flat, that is, until he spread them wide and fanned them a bit.
"Still don't believe in fairies?" he asked over his shoulder, his violet eye twinkling as he tossing his knee length braid of chestnut hair, which had also been kept concealed inside the cloak, over to land in between his wings. The only sound that greeted him was a soft thud as Wufei fainted.
TBC...
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