Partner

I always find ending stories difficult, because I can never seem to be content with it. So this is it but I could probably go on for a hundred more pages about how the people survive and on and on.

Two hundred and seventy-nine thousand words, five-hundred and eighty-two pages. Mmmm eight months of time? I've thoroughly and entirely enjoyed writing this.

AFF has not been sending me emails for every review I'm sent and I haven't recieved a notification for the last ten or so reviews. So if I don't respond to a comment, or haven't in the past... it's entirely possible that I didn't realise it was posted.

Aftermath and Beginnings, two new stories (thanks to SunaoTsuji for the name of Aftermath)will like as not go up tomorrow sometime.

Read, Review and Enjoy.




When the world ended, it was the middle of the night. Or. Something. They didn’t exactly have a clock in their tree, well, not one that Mik could read. He awoke with Paw’s shifting at his side and found himself startled by the silence of the night.

The absence of sound.

Yes, the tree was surrounded by a canopy, there were no people around for miles and miles. Yet waking up at that time, Mik knew something was off, something was strange. It was too quiet. The birds were quiet, the insects silenced and all sound was… just gone.

Like thinking a house was quiet until one day the fridge stopped working and true silence overcame the house. Paw rushed up and into the branches as Lillow pressed her back against Mik’s side. The power died and something else happened. Paw could feel it moving through the air, an emotion that made the big, powerful male curl up against Mik and shudder the rest of the night.

In the morning a good deal of the tribe arrived, bringing Taln, Koln and Tuhn with them. From them, Mik and Paw learned how Rel had shut down the power, releasing all energy left in the Sidhe bone technology. How some new technology had gone through and eaten all the metal.

Mik swallowed hard at that and raised his hand weakly.

“So, this stuff that ate the metal and buildings. Did you guys ever stop to think about the guy with a piece of metal in his heart?” Mik asked them.

Essuan blinked at Souse, then at Mik. The healer stepped out of the tribe’s little group and to Mik. She laid a hand gently on his chest, over his heart and cocked her head to the side as if listening to something.

“The partners will be joining us as soon as they can, Souse directed a few Sidhe to stay behind and lead them to the tree. How Souse found it was strange enough as it is, he’s never been here.”

“Hohi explained it to us.” Souse muttered.

“When?” Taln muttered back, “in amongst the scuffle? In the pool room?”

Mik’s heart did an odd thump, a terrible feeling rumbling through his chest. Essuan huffed out and stepped back even as Paw moved up to support Mik.

“Essuan said you will be fine, the …” Souse looked at Taln.

“Nanobots.”

“Have eaten the metal bits. Essuan says you will survive. But you will feel more tired for a little while.”

“Oh,” Mik sighed out, feeling his chest tighten, “so. The world is over?”

“Yup.”

But it wasn’t. Not really.

Time passed and the partners joined the Sidhe, building huts at the base of the Great One with the help of the Sidhe. Made out of dead branches interwoven together and thatched roofing. Other people filtered into the woods and joined the partners. Some left again.

A few Sidhe filtered in, having been sent by Una or Mn or just having heard the call of their Whisper across the scarred landscape.

Paw and Mik watched their mesa grow, watched Lillow bloom into a woman. When it came time, Paw and Mik named the mesa Piho. A two syllable name was uncommon for the first given name of a babe, but due to the nature of the partnership, the Elders agreed that this was acceptable.

Metal was scarce. Some shards survived the destruction caused by the nanobots. These were rare and well traded for commodities. The tribe traded several perfectly tanned hides from deer, snow-cat and something that Mik was certain was a gazelle. The Sidhe had to do a majority of the hunting because the people had no way to bring down something that big. Stone tools arose quickly, because thankfully one of the partners had studied anthropology in school.

Once tools arose, life went faster, easier. Winter was the worst. The first winter, the amalgamated tribe/people lost thirteen members. All people. But it united them as a group, as one people. The people learned from the Sidhe and the Sidhe learned to find uses for the people. Creating a give and take relationship between the two.

The world didn’t end.

The culture simply shifted, changed, altered and adapted to the new situations. Life went on and grudgingly they admitted to one another, around the fires late at night, that the end of the world was a good thing for each of them.

And four years after the world ended, Una finally came to visit. The world went on, life went on.

And Mik found himself contented with this new life.


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