For Sunny, Wolfen One- prompt candle light and fluffy unicorns.... *evil grin*
Wolfen One Halloween Drabble 3
For it is the Unicorn Creed
To fight til you've no blood to bleed
To run like the wind
From the whole race of me
And kill them if they force the need.
- The Unicorn Creed, Elizabeth Scarborough
A sudden hard shove in his back, a tearing pain in his shoulder, and then Duo was plunging head over heels down the embankment and towards the river.
He didn't have time to think of anything other than 'what the hell....?' before he landed on the thin skin of ice with a thump that sent cracks radiating out from under him.
Lifting his face from the ice, Duo noted the spreading red stain on the breaking surface beneath him and froze. This was Not Good.
A snort from the top of the bank made him glance up and he forgot his predicament in sheer amazement.
Then the ice under his knees broke.
He tried to pull himself up on the bank- it wasn't that far away, but the ice cracked under his legs even more and the icy water soaked him in moments.
"Heero!" He yelled, as best he could, feeling his legs slip fully into the water.
The creature on the bank above him snorted again and Duo felt a twinge of fear. If it had attacked him, what might it do to Heero?
He slid further into the water, and his gloved fingers slipped on the bloody ice. He was going to go all the way under- he wouldn't be able to save himself- blackness was already swirling at the corners of his vision. He was loosing too much blood... his head was pounding, he must've hit it on something... and the water was so cold....
Looking up at the animal on the bank, Duo inhaled, forcing air into his lungs. "Don't hurt Heero. Please..."
He put his head back down on the ice, hearing the tiny cracks beneath his ear. He was fading out, he could feel it, his vision getting dimmer.
At least he'd be unconscious when he drowned...
He thought he heard a voice calling his name, and he tried to lift his head to see, to warn Heero away- but then the ice gave way completely and the river pulled him down into the darkness.
~*~
There was fur in his nose. Duo twitched his nose, but the tickling sensation didn't go away, if anything it got worse. He wanted to reach up and push the fur away, but he couldn't lift his arms. He shook his head a little and grimaced at the bolt of pain that shot through his skull.
Something warm touched his ear. "Duo?"
"Hmrgh," he managed and tried to twitch his nose again. He felt a hand brush over his nose, smoothing the fur away and he relaxed in relief. Something snorted.
"He doesn't like fur by his nose," he heard Heero say. Who was he talking to? Duo tried to lift his eyelids, but they were so heavy. All he could make out was a tiny bit of fuzzy brightness that winked and danced a bit. Too small for a fire.... maybe a candle? They had a few in their packs...
"Duo?" Gentle fingers touched his temples, caressed his eyelids. "Duo? Can you hear me?"
"Mmmgrh," he said agreeably and curled closer to the fluffy warmth in front of him. Heero was so warm, and he had been so cold.... how had he gotten cold? He couldn't remember....
"Duo, love, if you can, I need you to wake up." Lips touched his cheekbone, the nape of his neck. "Please?"
He couldn't refuse when Heero asked so nicely- and it was really nice of his lover to be keeping him so warm- the lush pelt of the wolf under his fingers, the warm arms around his waist....
Wait a moment. Something wasn't right....
Duo opened his eyes in shock and found two faces looking down into his- Heero's- and the beast from the river...
"Hell!" He cursed and tried to slide away. "Heero- don't let that... that... overgrown, deformed, hairy goat near me! It pushed me into the river!"
Pain flared up in his shoulder as Heero held him still. "It's a unicorn and he's also the one who got you out. He says he's very sorry- he thought you were someone else. He led us to this hut and he's been helping me get you warm again."
Duo let his breathing slow. "He thought I was-" he started, and broke off, coughing. The beast- the unicorn, lowered its head and nudged him gently with its nose.
"Drink this," Heero put the edge of their water skin against his lips and Duo drank deeply. The water bubbled on his tongue, and warmed him as it slid down his throat.
"What was that?" It wasn't the water they'd had in there before...
"He dunked his horn in it so I could use it to heal you. We've been waiting for you to wake up so you could drink it."
Duo blinked. "So that part of the myth is true?"
"Guess so. Do you feel better?"
Sure enough, the pain in his head and shoulder had vanished. "I think so." Carefully he levered himself up and watched as Heero pulled the makeshift, blood soaked bandages off his shoulder. The flesh was smooth and unmarked underneath- even the scars from the bear attack all that time ago had faded completely away. "That's amazing..." He looked over at the unicorn. "Thank you."
Heero was silent for a moment, then he smiled faintly. "He says you're welcome. He's still very sorry about the mix up- I guess there have been a few hunters out here looking for him recently..."
"You can hear him?"
"I guess he can talk to animals. I must be close enough to qualify."
It was Duo's turn to snort. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised. So... have you already volunteered our help, or were you waiting for me to wake up?"
"I was waiting for you. He did stab you through the shoulder and toss you in a river after all...."
Duo stretched himself back out on the bedroll. "He made up for it. Get him to tell us the story, so we can figure out what to do...."
OWARI
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