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 Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2008 6:28 am
Vox watched the proceedings with open-mouthed disbelief. Jacques was huddled into his side, wide-eyed and beginning to grin.
"Look at that, Vox," he said in his whispering voice. "The tri-colour's a shaman!"
Now Vox had never seen a magic user before. Jacques probably had, being by far the elder of the pair, but to his Aeri companion this was all new. "A shaman..." he echoed softly, grinning as the handsome chestnut Jala got to his feet. "A shaman can heal a Nequus by chanting?"
"Certainly this one can," said Jacques. "They are masters of herb lore, too - it is not wise to make an enemy of a shaman, for they are liable to aid your enemies and refuse aid to your friends."
Nodding slowly, Vox began to walk towards the pair. "I'd better speak to them before Father does anything else," he said quietly. "If I can convince them to leave without a fuss, so much the better for all of us."
Leaving Jacques a little way off, Vox approached the two Jala with a gentle but solemn expression. Hopefully they would listen to his advice and not cause any further trouble.
"You two should leave for your homes now," he said calmly. "I have persuaded my father that you are to be spared - he will not pursue you. I cannot be certain that this will be the case if you ever encounter him again, but I bear you no ill will and shall not remember you as enemies. Go now in peace, sons of Jala, and may the moon smile upon your return journey."
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Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2008 6:59 am
As the tall Aeri approached, Dahak felt his confidence fade away like morning mist and took a few paces backwards. The words the massive brute spoke were polite enough, it was seeming more and more likely that he really did understand the natural order of Jala above all others, but that didn’t mean he felt comfortable so close to a towering Aeri over whom he had no influence.
“Right,” he managed after a moment, “we’ll be off then. I suggest you lot get away from here too, unless you want to get picked up by one of our patrols.”
This said, the tall stallion forced himself to turn his back and set off at a brisk trot. He just had to hope that the green one’s words were true and that the boned beast wasn’t planning any last minute violence. The sooner he got back to the herdlands proper, the happier he would be. The sooner he could speak to Mordre of his achievement, too. Hopefully the old Jala wouldn’t insist that the red-maned Aeri be hunted down, he really didn’t want to hear of or see the brute ever again; it was all too easy to imagine those great hooves striking him down as easily as one might crush a soft fruit.
Shuddering to himself, Dahak tucked his wings closer into his sides and hurried on.
Lucius was not planning any last minute intrigue; he was too busy watching the three-coloured Katilenuck’s retreat. A Shaman, humm? Just wonderful, the Katilenuck with a Shaman. Still, nothing to be done about it; he had promised Vox that they would be spared and he had no intention of breaking his promise even in the light of this new and disturbing revelation. Those damn fanatics with a magicker capable of putting a warrior back on his feet within moments. Wonderful.
Lucius snorted to himself and shot the chestnut, who had not yet made a move, a baleful glare. There was something deeply unsatisfying in seeing him stand up so straight and unhurt. Oh well. Nothing to be done about it. Sadly.
Aeolus watched Dahak go for a few moments; he didn’t trust that the tall Aeri’s words had any real hold over the smaller but more frightening of the pair. Before long however, his friend’s hoofbeats had faded from his ears and the black stallion was giving him a glare that made him want to turn tail and run like a spooked colt. As such behavior was not fitting for a Katilenuck prince however, he nodded stiffly to the three low-bloods before turning away and setting off at a dignified trot.
It was only when he rounded a bend and founded Dahak waiting there for him that he allowed himself to break into a gallop with the taller stallion by his side.
Next time, the blue-eyed Jala decided, he would keep a much better eye on his surroundings; the last thing he wanted was a repeat of that experience. Except the healing, of course, the healing had been good. Very good.
As the second Jala vanished around a bend, Lucius gave a snort of satisfaction and turned to Vox and his friend with a smile. “Well, much as I hate to take the advice of a ‘nuck I think the magic boy has a point; we should get out of here in case they decide to send soldiers after us.” So saying, the boned-Aeri turned his back on the mountain and waited for his companions to do the same. “Perhaps we can travel together for a while?” Lucius suggested after a moment with a smile to his son. “As I say, I have a lot of things to tell you, and I would love to be properly introduced to your companion.”
It felt almost unreal to have found him after all this time of searching. Hopefully the tall stallion wouldn’t object to his tagging along; he wanted to tell Vox of Lydia, of Alice, he wanted to take him to the coast and give him that piece of obsidian, he wanted to hear all that had happened to the now towering stallion since they had last met. Smiling hopefully up at his son, Lucius awaited a response. He couldn’t imagine that he could be refused, but you never could tell...
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Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2008 7:52 am
Seeing Lucius turning his back on Fyhi tel Oren, Vox needed no prompting to follow suit. Within moments, Jacques was once again at his side. "I should like that very much," he said, smiling back. "My companion - Father, this is Jacques. We've wandered Shrilal and the lands around for some time now, bringing what aid we can to struggling families there. Jacques, my father Lucius, who came to me in the dawn of my life and gave me courage."
Jacques bowed his head deeply in respect. "Well met, Lucius, son of Aeri," he said softly. "Any friend of Vox is a friend of mine - he has been good to me as no other has, and I fully trust his judgement."
That last addition confused Vox for a moment, but he soon realised what Jacques had meant: despite his fear, doubtless caused by Lucius' intimidating exterior, he was willing to believe that this stranger was a good Nequus. That made Vox smile. Jacques' trust in him had not come easily, and he was glad to have it reaffirmed in front of one he so greatly desired to impress. Surely his father would be proud of him.
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Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2008 9:16 am
Lucius smiled at the smaller stallion from under his bone mask, glad to be putting his search (and the red mountains come to that) behind him. “Well, any friend of Vox’s is one of mine, too; glad to meet you Jacques.” He was pleased, more than pleased that Vox had found himself such a fine little friend; that had been one of the things he’d wondered about during his search. The idea that Vox might have been all alone in the world had been a most unpleasant one, it was good to have the notion dismissed.
“So,” the boned Aeri went on after a moment, looking from one stallion to the other and back again, “tell me more about this work you do in Shrilal, if there is any more to tell of course.” The idea intrigued him and he had to admit that he was proud of his son for dedicating himself to aiding the weak.
In any case, hearing a little more about what they did in the fruitlands would give him time to order his thoughts and words on Lydia and on Alice. He didn’t want to fluff up telling Vox about his sister and his... well, his whatever he and Lydia wanted to be to one another. His family, there that was simpler, yes, he couldn’t make a mess of that. Family was after all, he considered as he turned his orange gaze back onto his son, very important indeed.
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