Wolf Moon Part 21
A crystal stream borne of pure mountain springs meandered beside the road. In narrower places water slipped between rocks like iridescent threads. Wider, deeper pools shimmered like polished mirrors and reflected perfect images of the graceful weeping willows lining the bank.
Beneath the stream's glassy surface minnows darted around clumps of marsh marigolds. Yellow perch and brown spotted trout slithered silently in their underwater home.
When Wufei dipped his cupped hands into the cool water, the variety of aquatic residences darted in all directions. Only a lone crayfish was left to defend the stream but the Asian warrior ignored its plucky pose of rearing up on its tail and waving its small pinchers.
Wufei slurped the first handfuls of water. The second dipping was splashed on his face and used to smooth back shorter stands of ebony hair that had escaped from his ponytail.
Quatre squatted beside the veiled wolf and employed a similar procedure to quench his thirst then sat back to gaze at wispy clouds tinted in sunset hues ranging from pale pink to rich crimson.
As the waning sun hovered just above the horizon, the Manipulator stated, "We'll have to quicken our pace to reach the mill before nightfall."
Trowa followed his lover's skyward line-of-sight. "It shouldn't be more two or three miles." he estimated the distance to their destination.
Duo looked down the road in the mill's direction. "Less than an hour."
Heero rearranged the crossbow hanging on his shoulder, nodded in agreement and started walking.
*********
Dusky shadows shrouded Mary's Mill lending a gloomy aspect to the two-story wooden structure. The sluice was closed and the water leaking under the spillway gate was not powerful enough to rotate the iron waterwheel, instead the trickling rivulets cascaded over the wheel's rim to sprinkle the spanner vanes like gentle rain.
On the hilltop, the miller's thatched-roofed cottage, the stables and two outbuildings were cloaked in blanched fog swirling up from the creek. Amber light shining through the windows struggled to provide a beacon to guide the weary travelers, weighed down by baggage and weapons, as they trudged the last hundred or so yards up the road's steeper grade.
Finally, with a collective sigh of relief, the quinque gathered on the creek bank opposite the mill then where to cross became the topic of conversation.
Straining to see through the mist, Heero stated. "There has to be a bridge."
Wufei surveyed left then right. "Must be further upstream."
"It'll soon be too dark to see." Duo declared as the sun slipped from sight and the rapidly cooling air thickened the enveloping haze.
Trowa stood quietly, staff in hand, eyes studying the murky water. Without a word he tapped the staff, stepped off the bank and began walking across with hardly a splash to wet his boots.
Heero stared in disbelief then stammered. "Trowa...can...command the elements"
"Yes he can," Quatre agreed, "but not in this case."
"But how?"
A smile bloomed on the Fair Manipulator's lips and, to multiply Heero's bewilderment, Duo also seemed to understand.
The braided Irishman tilted his head towards the Cleric who was only a few steps from completing his miraculous crossing. "He knows where the rocks are." Duo announced before copying the "walk on water" route.
Quatre followed with Heero and Wufei close behind. Soon the group reassembled on dry land and together walked up the crushed stone path to the miller's cottage.
*********
"Duo, tis so good to see ya."
Mary McFaddin, a stout women in her fifties with rosy cheeks and a liberal peppering of gray in her auburn hair, pulled Duo into a tight hug.
Duo eagerly returned the welcoming embrace from the women who had years ago taken in the orphaned wanderer when he had no place to lay his head and no one to assure him that everything would be all right.
Mary stepped back and held Duo at arm's length. "Let me look at ya boy. Just as handsome as ever but a bit weary."
"Long journey." Duo explained his haggard appearance.
Mary turned Duo around for a closer inspection. "You're too thin. Skin and bones." she continued her appraisal of his slender frame that, in her opinion, bordered on being emaciated. "Well no matter, I'll fatten ya up."
Next the miller's attention centered on the eccentric quartet standing just inside the front door. "Ya brought ya friends along. This will be a good evenin' indeed."
Miller Mary motioned for the new arrivals to move nearer to the fireplace and after a few scrutinizing moments declared. "I'd say ya all need a hot bath, a warm meal and a soft bed. Come on now, put down ya things."
Each traveler situated his bags and weapons by the hearth. Duo made the introductions. "This is Trowa."
"Ah yes, the Priest of Twilight." Mary nodded at the tri-ringed staff. "My home is truly blessed."
Trowa inclined his head. "I'm pleased to meet you."
"This is Quatre and Wufei."
"Welcome Quatre."
Quatre offered his hand. "Thank you for your hospitality."
"And..." Mary paused as she tried to wrap her tongue around the odd Asian name. "Woo Fee."
Although Wufei inwardly cringed at the miller's mispronunciation, he bowed in respect and made no attempt to correct the mistake.
Mary leaned forward and cocked her head at Heero. "Ya must be Heero Yuy."
The fact that, without previous presentation, Mary already knew Heero's name should have triggered his hunter's instincts but the familiarity in her tone and the fondness in her green eyes told the Demon Tracker that he had nothing to fear.
Duo sensed Heero's confusion. "Mary is a telepath." A blush brightened his cheeks, "I guess she sorta read my mind."
"My dear Duo please forgive my intrusion into ya thoughts but the bond between ya and Heero was so strong."
Then Mary directed her apology to Heero. "And please, sir, I humbly beg ya pardon."
Now it was Heero who felt his cheeks warm, which was rather unbecoming for a Demon Tracker. "There's no need to express regrets. Duo and I are linked by dreams so I suppose it's natural that we also share a mental connection."
Mary gestured down a hallway off the main room and took on a motherly attitude. "There are tubs in the washhouse. Take ya baths while I get supper."
When Duo walked by the intuitive miller, Mary leaned close and whispered. "I don't have to read ya mind. I can feel the passion in your heart."
*********
Even though computations had never been Duo's strong suit, he reckoned that three tin tubs and five people meant that, if the quinque wanted to bathe while the water was hot, there had to be some doublin'-up.
Since Quatre and Trowa shared a bed, they had no problem jointly occupying the first tub. In fact they took great delight in the sensation of soapy skin against soapy skin as they engaged in a discreet bout of underwater fondling that was occasionally betrayed by a soft gasp or a husky groan.
With a scowl and a menacing growl deep in his throat, Wufei didn't hesitate to claim the second tub solely for himself. With a victorious sigh, he stretched out and lounged contently in the balmy water.
Legs tucked to their chests and knees bumping together, Duo and Heero squirmed. As hands struggled to grip the tub's slippery rim and bare bottoms were clumsily submerged, displaced water splashed on the limestone walls and splattered the russet tile floor.
After tentative maneuvering, guttural grumbling and crude cursing, the Duel Spirit and the Lone Hunter finally settled into a relatively comfortable position despite the forced intimacy caused by the tub's snug confines. However there was one problem...how to wash without inappropriately touching each other.
Undaunted by the limited space dilemma, Heero employed his tactical training. "I'll turn around and you wash my back," he instructed, "then you turn around and I'll wash your back and help wash your hair, if you'd like."
In forty-five minutes, the Warriors of the Rose were scrubbed, shampooed and redressed in fresh garments.
They were wiping up the washhouse when Mary called them for a supper of barley, mushroom and potato soup, warm rye bread, honey-blend butter and hard apple cider.
*********
Outside the crescent moon reflecting on the mist glazed the landscape with a silvery glimmer. Dense condensation clung to a spider web festooning the windowpane to form silky pearl drops that shimmered in the firelight. More moisture dripped from the thatch, struck the sill and exploded in an array of rainbow colors.
At the table Mary listened intently while the brotherhood of Twilight recalled their various encounters with Shadow Spies and undead minions and humans whose hate-hardened souls were just as lifeless and without hope of salvation.
But as the cider worked its fermented magic, the remembrances became muddled and the tales of adventure took on a fanciful combination of fact and fantasy.
Flickering flames painted ghostly pictures on the walls. Mary lit extra candles but the improved lighting did nothing to chase away the spectral apparitions. Hours passed and midnight marked a new day.
Mary banked the fire, kissed Duo's cheek, wished her guests pleasant dreams and retired to her bedchamber.
The cider had lulled Quatre and Trowa into a tranquil state that encouraged the lovers towards the cottage's loft where futons had been laid out in the makeshift bedroom.
Eyes blurry with sleep, blankets wrapped around their shoulders and a candle to illuminate their way, the Cleric and the Manipulator bade their comrades goodnight and climbed up the loft's ladder until the wavy light danced around the edges of the darkness then disappeared.
Unlike Trowa and Quatre's drowsy condition, Wufei was restless. The moon beckoned. The forest enticed his primal nature. With his enhanced audible range he could hear the haunting howls of wolves that were also made mad by the lunar "Eye of Heaven" and he was inherently bound to answer the call to hunt transmitted through the magic mist.
At the window Duo watched through the glistening spider web and was once again awestruck by the beast's unveiling.
Bipedal into four paws. Golden skin cloaked in sleek black. Erect ears, scent-sensitive muzzle, powerful jaws and fangs that could effortlessly rip flesh from bone.
But in either form the eyes were always Wufei's eyes.
Ancient.
Mysterious.
Gleaming in the moon glow.
Ablaze with an internal fire that had burned from the beginning of time when wolves were created to be the guardians of humans.
Duo watched and the Duel Spirit within him longed to copy the wondrous transformation, to shed its earthbound shackles and soar.
Duo fought back tears and squinted to see through the preternatural fog until the regal lupine, gliding with predatory grace, vanished from sight as if Wufei had been just a mirage.
Seated at the table, Heero was also watching. He studied Duo's silhouette. How the moonlight caressed his hair to accentuate the cinnamon highlights in his braid. He put to memory the ridge of Duo's cheekbones, the curve of his neck, his toned muscles, trim waist...his firm buttocks.
Duo was certainly sexy but Heero discovered that concern, not lust, was directing his concentrative observations. There was a stoop in Duo's posture that spoke of more than travel fatigue and a disturbing tremble in his shoulders.
Duo sensed Heero standing behind him merely moments before the Lone Hunter's reflection materialized in the vapor-clouded windowpane. There was a faint essence of a contact just before Heero's hand rested lightly on his arm.
Heero's voice echoed in Duo's ear milliseconds before the he actually asked out loud. "Are you all right?"
Involuntarily Duo leaned into the warmth of Heero's touch but he dared not turn around or make eye contact, for surly Heero would read the yearning in his violet orbs.
Not lying but not telling the whole truth, Duo replied. "I'm tired."
Although Heero plainly heard a hint of falsehood in Duo's answer he didn't press for honesty for that would have been hypocritical, instead he gently squeezed Duo's arm. "Let's go to bed."
The warrior pair quietly ascended the loft's ladder, laid down side by side on two of the three remaining futons and tucked their blankets against the damp chill.
On the windowless room's opposite side, Trowa and Quatre were curled up together in peaceful slumber. As Heero blew out his candle and soothing darkness settled in, he hoped that he and Duo would also drift into a dreamless sleep because, that night, neither of them had the strength to battle nightmare demons.
*********
Tomorrow will come soon enough and, if the fates grant safe passage, in six days the quinque will arrive at Deep World.
The trek will take them north to traverse the Valley of Visions then across the Devil's Divide, a hellish region of perilous forests and noxious swampland that segregates the land of the living from the land of the dead. The last challenge to reaching their destination will be the River of Souls---the river that runs in reverse.
An arduous journey lay ahead but the Warriors of the Rose are cunning and clever and determined for failure not only means their deaths but the ruin of the Peacecraft Kingdom and the enslavement of every citizen.
Treize Khushrenada is equally resolute and he, too, is skillful in the art of war. However his mental instability continually eroded by wine, his ego falsely inflated by General Septum's praise and his emotional volatility further deteriorated by his lover's rejection makes the Dark Lord of Aragon unpredictable and extremely dangerous.
Once the quinque unites with Zechs Merquise the future will be set in motion and nothing in heaven or hell or purgatory can halt the impending battle that will pit evil against good with the victor ruling the world.
TBC...
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