Wolf Moon Part 25
Heero rolled onto his back and stretched until his spine popped. Sunlight streaming through the cottage's shutters caused him to squint as he discreetly surveyed the small room. The mystery critter had evidently decided not to make another appearance, which suited the Tracker, as he had no wish for a repeat encounter.
All the bedding, except the blankets he and Duo had shared, was folded and stacked along the wall. Saddles, bridles and attending tack set by the door. Heero's traveling companions, like the "whatever it is" were nowhere in sight but voices speaking outside confirmed that he hadn't been left behind.
He sat up then chided himself for sleeping through the early morning preparations. There was a time not long ago when the snapping of a twig or the slightest stirring would have immediately awakened him. He reckoned if he had been alone his instincts would've been on full alert but in the security of his comrades' company he didn't need to be constantly on edge.
Heero tucked shoulder-length hair behind his ears and, with a grunt, pushed to stand up. The opening door caused him to pause in mid push. Duo's slender frame, silhouetted in a golden backwash, filled the doorway.
Shielding his eyes against the intrusive brightness, Heero mumbled under his breath and, with exaggerated hand waving, prompted Duo to close the door.
"You look awful." Duo teased, wrinkling his nose to mirror Heero's sour expression.
The Tracker snorted at the unsolicited appraisal of his demeanor. "Good morning to you." he replied with all the sarcasm he could muster.
Duo frowned at his friend's irritability. "Crabby this morning." was more an observation than a question. "Drink this." he said handing down a cup of dark liquid. "Be careful it's hot."
Heero cautiously sniffed at the steam rising from the cup. "What is this?" he wondered putting the emphasis on "this".
Duo eased down next to "Mr. Grumpy" and leaned over to also scrutinize the steam. "Ah...sorta...tea."
"Sorta tea?"
"Quatre conjured it up from herbs or flowers or..." the remaining explanation came in the form of a shrug. "It's supposed to clear ya head and give ya energy."
Heero touched his lips to the cup, tested the heat level then took a wary sip. At first there was no noticeable reaction. A second sip and a moment of further contemplation. "Not bad but I don't think tea will sustain us for the day's journey."
"Thanks to Wufei's hunting skills we have breakfast."
"Dare I ask what he considers breakfast?"
Duo got to his feet and held out his hand. "Rabbit."
Heero took the offered hand and stood up. "More than one?"
"Enough."
*********
Morning dissolved into midday. Scraggy trees were more frequently replaced by larger expanses of smooth ebony outcrops. The ribbons of rock would materialize from the ground at random intervals then burrow under the sandy surface in a serpentine fashion.
Other formations, resembling snakes chasing their tails, formed circular patterns that Duo named Viper Nests. One such "nest" provided the quinque with an opportunity to walk around, ease the kinks in their saddle-stiff legs and allow the horses to forage for grass and weeds spiking through clumps of fox grass.
Lunch for the warriors was cold meat leftover from breakfast and wild mushrooms that Trowa guaranteed were nonpoisonous and would not produce fantasies of the mind.
Quatre made the provisions a bit more palatable by combining the meat and mushrooms in a swallow pan, gathering sunbeams on his fingertips and heating the simple fare until it sizzled.
"How much longer to Deep World?" Wufei inquired as he licked his fingers clean.
Trowa mentally calculated the distance and traveling time. "If all goes well, three days."
Duo wiped his hands on his pants, interlaced his fingers behind his head and leaned back against a stony snake. "I don't suppose there's an inn or tavern along the way." he wondered rhetorically.
With his head pillowed in Trowa's lap, Quatre gazed at the cloudless sky and stated. "Heaven will be our roof and the land will provide our sustenance."
"And the wind will guide our way." Duo declared as he, too, looked skyward and wished he was soaring on an endless updraft.
*********
The late afternoon sun hovered on the horizon like a fiery dragon's eye.
Elongated shadows stalked the singled file of horses trudging along the zigzag path. As the equines navigated the twists and turns they appeared bored, preferring a fast, free gallop.
However, their riders were not as anxious for a quicker pace. Although the quinque longed to arrive at Deep World, charging off into unknown terrain wasn't very prudent.
Thorny vines still dangled from branches. Tangled undergrowth invaded the seldom-traveled trail and threatened to make the horses stumble. Occasionally more glassy outcrops interrupted the restrictive route but even these open areas were canopied by dense vegetation, glistening with chilly moisture that dripped on heads and dampened backs.
Many branches were festooned with thin fibers that crisscrossed overhead in no particular pattern or ran from the limbs to the ground leaving slimy spots at each connection. In some places the fibers were so concentrated they knotted into masses that were impossible to see through.
Heero let his hand brush lightly along the haphazardly arranged network of peculiar threads. His forehead wrinkled when his fingers snagged on a sticky compound.
When his index finger and thumb were pressed together then parted stubbornly, Heero raised an eyebrow at the strands stringing from his fingertips.
Trowa rode up beside his confused comrade. "Tree Creepers." he stated in response to Heero's puzzlement.
The Tracker continued to expand the strands, wondering how far they would stretch without breaking. "What?" he mumbled, obviously fascinated with his new discovery.
"Tree Creepers spin these threads." the Twilight Priest explained as he nodded his head for emphasis.
Duo spoke for Heero, Wufei and himself, "Do we want to know what they are?"
"They," Trowa repeated, "have round fuzzy bodies, eight legs and heads that look a lot like humans."
Now it was Wufei's turn to study the overabundance of shiny filaments. "How many Creepers constitute a colony?" he asked even though he wasn't sure he really wanted to know.
"Yeah," Duo pushed the point, "how many is many?"
Trowa glanced overhead. "Probably no more that fifteen or twenty."
Heero's curiosity was quickly giving way to uneasiness. "Then they are either very large or very busy." he commented as he tried to wipe off the gooey fibers.
Quatre joined the conversation. "Both." he smiled, but his nonchalant attitude did little to alleviate his companions' misgivings.
"The Creepers aren't dangerous, except during hatching season." Trowa supplied additional information but, like his partner, his tone sounded less than positive.
Heero shook his fingers in a futile effort to dislodge the tenacious goo that was no longer fascinating but damned irritating. "When is hatching season?" he grumbled under his breath.
"About this time of year."
Duo craned his neck to stare up into the treetops. "That makes me feel a hell of lot better."
Heero's eyes darted from branch to branch. With the recent memories of the "whatever it is" still fresh in his mind, he swore he saw movement in the complex labyrinth the Creepers called home.
"I promise," Heero directed his pledge of reprisal at Trowa and Quatre, "if anything natural or unnatural skitters, scurries or jumps from these...these...webs, I'll pin both of you to a tree with bolts from my crossbow and leave your carcasses for crow food."
Without warning the wind picked up and changed its heading. It was as if a door opened sucking hot currents down from the craggy stone mountain, haloed with a crimson glow, rising in the distant. The summit was shrouded in blanched fog and the strong odor of sulfur saturated each sultry wave of the peculiarly altered atmosphere.
Thick haze drifted through the surrounding forest and floated just above the ground in a silent overlay that seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere at once. Then the wind would shift again and push the murky smog to the treetops.
Trowa and Quatre were the first ones to sense the invisible border. Straightaway Duo, Wufei and Heero also experienced the tingle that slithered up their spines and prickled across their skin with a ghostly touch that left goose bumps in its wake.
The line of separation.
The Devil's Divide.
And beyond the foreboding threshold, the hellish ground the Warriors of the Rose would have to traverse to reach the River of Souls.
Trowa showed no hesitation nor did he look back as he tapped his heels to move his horse forward. Quatre shot a quick glance at his comrades then followed his lover's lead.
Wufei set his steed on an unwavering course. Heero and Duo made up the rear guard.
As the quinque disappeared around the last bend, swirling dank mist blended in and erased all evidence of their passing.
Darkness would come sooner to this curious place beyond the Devil's Divide. Wafting vapors, tinged with sulfur, devoured sunset's waning rays and unlike previous evenings when night robbed the land of warmth, the invading dusk was humid.
No leaves fluttered. No nocturnal birds called or crickets chirped...only dead calm and silence.
Wufei ducked under a low hanging branch then cursed in Chinese as his ponytail snagged on a thorny twig. "Exactly who picked this forsaken route?" he hissed in English.
Duo cut his eyes at the Twilight Priest. "Trowa." he announced in a tattletale tone.
Ignoring the Irishman's cheeky attitude, Trowa reined in his horse. He scanned a clearing that was little more than a narrow space by the road. "We'll camp here tonight."
Heero dismounted and surveyed the limited area that could still be seen in the rapidly encompassing darkness. "Remember we're in hostile territory. Everyone should watch his back." he reminded his comrades.
The grave warning, coupled with the campsite's unreceptive surroundings, was not much comfort as the sun blended into the shadows like ink through rice paper.
*********
While Quatre settled the horses, Heero and Duo arranged the bedrolls in a semicircle and laid their respective weapons within easy reach. Wufei, in his canine form, had gone hunting for his and his friends' supper.
Trowa constructed a fire ring from the abundance of black stones littering the roadside. Twigs and bits of bark were layered with small branches broken to kindling size. Finally heftier limbs that would produce a hot fire and retain the heat were interwoven on top.
With a pleased sigh Trowa stood back to admire his workmanship.
"Nice." Duo praised a job well done. "But its not much use unlit." he finished his observations.
A clever smile tugged at Trowa's lips. "The lighting, my friend, is the easiest part."
With that pronouncement the Cleric snapped his fingers and sent sparks raining down on the dry wood. In a matter of seconds red-orange flames feathered around the wood and blue-gray smoke curled toward the night-shrouded sky.
Quail skewed on sticks and roasted over the fire supplied a satisfying meal. Water from a cheek filtering through smooth pebbles, that Heero decided were remnants of old lava flows, provided liquid refreshment.
The night was eerily quiet. The crescent moon cast a silvery glow on wispy clouds and the stars twinkled against an ebony backdrop.
Quatre, Trowa and Wufei stood off to the side. Judging by the trio's hand gestures and pointing at the distant mountain, Heero knew they were plotting tomorrow's course.
Heero pulled his knees to his chest and listened to Duo's steady breathing as he slept. Surrendering to his own physical and mental fatigue, Heero wrapped his cloak around his shoulders, tucked it under his hips then eased down to lay beside Duo who immediately gravitated toward the additional body heat which Heero was quite willing to share.
Staring up at the stars, a multitude of thoughts crowded Heero's mind. Retracing the circumstances that had brought the quinque to this strange place, he struggled to put each event in its proper perceptive and to glean some intuitive understanding.
He carefully studied how five unique individuals, left to their own accord, would have never become the Warriors of the Rose. Yet here they were united by tragic twists of fate and prepared to give up their lives to thwart evil, vanquish the devil and seal the gates of hell forever.
With a heavy sigh, Heero curled up facing Duo. "Did fate bring you and I together for more than war?" he whispered.
The fire reflected softly on Duo's high cheekbones and accented the cinnamon highlights in his hair and for the first time Heero realized that Duo was beautiful.
Perhaps beautiful would better describe a female but as far as Heero was concerned it was the only word worthy of the Duel Spirit's combination of strength, grace and nobility.
Just before Heero drifted off into, hopefully, a dreamless sleep, he recalled Duo's loss of his family, his home and a part of his soul that might never be reclaimed. A twinge of sadness touched his heart as he realized that he and Duo shared more than a common quest...they also shared the loss of love.
Tears welled up in Heero's eyes, tears of regret because Duo had suffered so much. But there were also tears of rage because Heero didn't know how to help make Duo whole again.
Then the Lone Hunter, whose fear of a broken heart had forced him into emotional exile, did something quite contrary to his defensive nature. Heero Yuy took Duo's hand and placed a kiss, not borne of lust but of genuine affection, gently on his lips.
TBC...
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