Aftermath

I stayed up so I could finish this one, which I quite enjoyed writing. A mix of jester and hints all over the place. I think the bun was Ayan being a bit bitter while possibly letting Durth know he 'overheard' Raya telling Durth about Una's mate. Why is Ayan Bitter? Well... let's just say he has a lot to be bitter about.

The sick puppy thing sounds very much like M'wn, in an amusing way. I can just picture him teaching Ayan it while Mari threatened to hurt him if he did it.

Read, Review and Enjoy.




Durth stepped out of the spice trailer after explaining to Ayan why it would never make a people feel better to hear that someone who was capable with both power and chemicals could explode him both ways easily. He didn’t think Ayan understood.

Outside the village was dressed up like it was expecting a feast to start at any moment. The more Durth looked around, the more he understood. Una’s arrival to a village was a reason for a feast. Information and goods were flowing into the village even as product was flowing out of it and coins exchanging hands. Away from the common area of the village a father and mother stood side by side, smiling and greeting a long lost son. Another family was speaking to a man dressed as a mail carrier, they were motioning to their daughter.

A stage was very quickly being assembled, with Raya and several other young men already entertaining the crowd. They were singing as they set up the stage, little love songs that made the young women gathering around giggle behind hands and bat eyelashes at them.

Away from the stage but still away from the rest of the trailers, was one lone trailer, it’s door propped open and a beaded curtain hanging over the doorway. A woman stood there, arguing quickly with Una, making quick motions with her hands.

“Oh, that’s Tara,” Ayan shook his head, “she thinks she’s Illuva reborn but she’s only a prophet. Una saved her from one of those mental places, where your parents and my parents stuck all the people with power. But her mind’s gone most of the time, she’s only here when she’s working.”

“Prophet?”

“Yeah,” Ayan stopped and thought for a moment, “the people were Harella-shay’s people, the Whispers where Shey-har’s people, the Deaths were Rahl-ta’s people and Tahl-ra had the healers. Well now De has the Deaths and Rahl-ta has the Whispers and Ill-rin has the mortuary people, the last rites guys and Ringe-ill has the daemons. What’s that leave Illuva?”

“No one, there is no one else.”

“No, she’s got the prophets. She can send visions to these people, only it could be generations before she sends them a vision so in the time between when she needs them and such, she grants them certain rights to certain… smaller and less significant visions. Is your husband cheating, will it be a boy or a girl, that type of thing.”

“That’s all slight of hand.”

“Not with Tara. And don’t ever,” Ayan jabbed a finger at Durth, “touch Tara. She will read your mind, she will read your soul and then she will strip you of all you are. She’d consider you a danger.”

“She can’t really-”

“That,” Ayan pointed at a halfwit who was eating his own booger, “used to be a top general, she touched him and found out the Aniege group sent him. Now. He can’t even wipe his own ass without her permission.”

“Oh,” Durth looked at the man as the man went digging about inside his nose for more booger. Ayan snapped his fingers and drew Durth’s attention back to him, “what?”

“What don’t we do?”

“Touch Tara.”

“Good, remember that, repeat it back to yourself a couple of times. It’s one of those things that your life depends on.”

“Don’t touch Tara,” Durth shrugged, “simple.”

“Marvellous, that you caught on so quickly.” Ayan muttered, “there, Tah and the women are setting up the food trailer, come on. Look sick puppy dog.”

“Look what?”

“Like a sick puppy. M’wn taught me how to do it, they can’t resist giving food to a sick puppy dog,” Ayan took a step towards the trailer before he spun back around and jabbed his finger at Durth again, “if you don’t look like a sick puppy dog? Look over my shoulder,” Durth looked, “see those big spoons they got with them?” Durth nodded, “they are not for stirring soup, trust me.”

“I don’t really think-” as he said it a man walked up to the trailer and tried to help himself to a bun. Tah spun, wielding the larger-than-necessary spoon and caught the man upside the head with it, sending him flying. Durth must have looked horrified, for Ayan laughed.

“That’s just what they do to the hungry ones.”

“But I’ve not eaten in two days.”

“Then look like a sick puppy.”

“But sick puppies are infectious and…” Durth trailed off as Ayan gave him a look. Which Durth somehow instantly translated into ‘sick puppy’ even as he wanted to cuddle the young man, “whoa… that’s got power to it.”

“Does not.” Ayan said defensively, “nothing but cute.”

“Does too.”

“Does not.”

“Does too,” Durth spotted Tah approaching them with something in her hands and immediately dropped his head. Ayan blinked at Durth before he spun and scuttled behind the man to put Durth between himself and Tah, “coward,” Durth hissed over his shoulder at Ayan.

“In this situation,” Ayan hissed back, “whose genes are likely to survive to the next generation?”

Durth sighed, “yours. But you’re still a- Tah, hello, nice morning we’re having.”

“Late afternoon.”

“Oh,” Durth glanced up at the sun and cursed his bad sense of direction, “what brings you over here. With. Your spoon?”

“I brought you some food,” Tah held out what she had in her hands, a bun cut in half and slathered with butter with some sort of roasted beast sliced up and placed in the center. It looked like there was even a bit of cheese poking out the side.

Durth stomach growled loudly. He took the bun from Tah and thanked her before he and Ayan both watched silently as she walked away.

“That was close,” Ayan muttered.

“You’re still a coward. And cowards don’t get a share of the bun.”

“M’wn also taught me,” Ayan grinned at Durth as the young man leaned in, “how to be nice,” Durth frowned at Ayan and batted the young man away with both hands. With both… “Thanks!”

“Bas- come back here with that!” Durth snapped as Ayan bolted. Durth rushed after him.

Ayan was as fast as he looked. The young man slide between passing groups and leapt over small children while Durth had to plough his way through or dodge the child who had just run into his path. Whenever Ayan got too far ahead the young man would stop and threaten to take a bite, spurring Durth on. This went on until Durth was panting and the sun was going down.

“Ayan. Please.” Durth said finally, bent over, huffing and puffing.

Ayan pranced up to Durth as if he had all the energy in the world and held the bun out. Durth took it, grateful to have finally gotten it, “here you go.” Durth tried to take a bite, just getting a bit of butter on his bottom lip, but Ayan snapped the bun back, “I didn’t say you could keep it.”

“That’s not fair.”

“Fair?” Ayan held his hands away from his sides, “the gods themselves have made stricter promises than this and still taken it back.”

“You are not a god,” Durth snapped at Ayan, stepping up to him and taking back the bun, “you are a mortal, one with powers, true, but you are not a god and you will never be a god.”

“Because,” Una stepped up beside Ayan, “every god must give something up to ascend. A mother, a brother, a lover, a father. They must watch their loved ones die and then discover that these loves ones can never be brought back.” he ruffled Ayan’s hair, “why were you taunting him?”

“No reason, just ‘cause I felt like it,” Ayan shrugged and turned his attention to the stage.

Durth considered the bun from all sides. Ayan had managed not to damage it in anyway, surprisingly. None of the ingredients had shifted around even, “hey, wait a minute, this hasn’t changed all.”

“I can shield,” Ayan said promptly.

“You can shield?” Una’s head snapped towards Ayan before the immortal turned his attention back to Durth, “he can shield.”

Fed up with it all, and starving as could be, Durth bit into the bun and made a small sound at the back of his throat. It tasted marvellous and made all the better because he had finally gotten his hands on it, finally he could…

For a moment Durth tasted Una’s lips. Sweetened by wine as music floated in from outside and...

Durth blinked several times and stared at the bun then frowned at Ayan, “did you do something to my bun.”

“No,” Ayan blinked at Durth, wide eyed.

Durth grunted and ate the rest of the bun without incident. His only problem was, once he was finished, all he wanted was to wash it down with that sweet wine that had been on Una’s lips. Except he couldn’t exactly ask Una what wine had he drunk that one time when he may or may not have kissed Durth’s previous incarnation.

People were gathering in the common area, where Ayan had been running Durth around in circles. Una motioned for Durth to step closer, so Durth did. Except Una was giving off heat enough for Durth to notice and the man hadn’t washed that day. Oh, it was a bit of a dusty, on the road smell, but otherwise it was just a more noticeable version of Una’s usual smell. It made Durth want to step closer, so he did and smiled weakly at Una when the immortal turned his head towards Durth.

“I’m cold,” Durth murmured.

“Oh,” Una murmured, slowly wrapping an arm around Durth’s midsection, “cold, are you?”

“Shhh,” Ayan hissed out, pointing at the stage.

Raya took the stage and held his hands above his head. Everyone quieted down and he smiled at them, kindly. Durth couldn’t help but smile himself as Una pulled him closer.

“Attention,” Raya looked over the crowd, eyes settling first on Durth and then on Ayan. The smile changed, it grew just slightly and then looked like Raya was trying not to smile, “You will have to excuse my poor performance tonight, as it is my first time before an audience.” he motioned as he spoke, ending with his arms away from his sides, “and,” he held a hand up as if to stop someone from speaking, “before you ask, no, I do not know the pop songs and hard rock of yester-year. I am just barely …” Raya frowned, “twenty-two?”

“Nineteen,” Una hollered out, raising his voice louder than Durth had ever heard it.

The crowd chuckled and turned their attention back to Raya. Who had his lips pressed together. Like a jester, he was playing the crowd, “whoops. Not as much experience behind me as I thought.” he paused and got a laugh from the crowd, “and I have live instruments behind me. I’m used to singing without them, so let’s see how this goes.” the young man turned to the musicians behind him and muttered something, receiving nods. “I believe this is called Words of Love.”

Ayan stiffened, turning to glance at Una. The immortal gave the barest shake of his head. Indicating what? That Ayan should not react, that Una had not told Raya to sing the song.

“And yes,” Raya said, nodding, “This is was made to be a duet.”

Telling Ayan not to raise his voice in song. Durth frowned, not even recalling ever having heard Ayan sing. The young man didn’t sound like he had the voice of a singer.

The musicians began playing and Raya nodded, catching the time of each instrument before he let out a note, testing his own voice against the music, “good,” he muttered, winking at someone down in the crowd. The burst of giggling told Durth who Raya was winking at.

The young man drew in a breath and let out a voice that Durth could hardly believe came from Raya.

“Some people sing very differently from how they speak,” Una whispered to Durth, “the one with the guitar, up on stage, has a stutter, can’t say two words but can sing anything you put in front of him.”

Durth tried to listen to the words, but he kept getting distracted. By people staring at the stage, by the wind moving by. Then he realised it wasn’t that he kept getting distracted, it was that he kept finding things to look at so as to not pay attention to the words of the song.

It was to a someone who had been abused, beaten and broken. The song talked about learning to trust again and trusting in the one, about being a shield when the other just needed to rest a while. It talked about finding peace. As Raya sang, Durth’s chest began to ache, a keen reminder that he didn’t have any of those things.

“It’ll be all right,” Una murmured in Durth’s ear.

“What?”

“You look about ready to cry.”

“I’m,” Durth shook his head, “I’m just tired.”

Raya’s song ended and the crowd applauded. Well, most of the crowd.

“Why don’t,” Ayan smiled back at Una, “I go ask Raya’s permission to take Durth to bed tonight? I mean, you take him to bed. I’ll go to bed too so. Sort of go to bed, so… there’s still technically a chaperone.”

“I don’t. I,” Durth sighed out, “wouldn’t have the energy anyhow.”

“Of course, Durth wants his own bed,” Una said quickly.

“I never said it was to watch over Durth,” Ayan growled, turning towards the stage as he said over his shoulder, “sometimes perverted old men need someone to hold in the darkness too.”


.