Aftermath

This took almost a week (over a week?) to write. I apologise for the silence, but while I was writing last week a good deal of bad stuff has happened and it is very difficult to write specific scenes when you either want to cry, drink yourself into a stupor or just sleep for a month. This I probably shouldn’t have written even in my current mood. It was supposed to end differently but the ending might still be had during the next one.

I think Una, going off oddly the way he did, might have set Durth off. I knew it was going to start happening eventually but when it happened then I was mildly upset due to timing.

Read, Review and Enjoy.




They caught up to the troop in the middle of the afternoon. Ayan had apparently called a stop early because he had come across a slow river and wanted to go swimming. Una went off to speak to the second in command, who for some reason Durth couldn’t fathom hadn’t actually been put in command of the troupe, while Raya yanked Durth to the side and away from the troupe.

“Have you forgotten why we are here?” Raya snapped at Durth.

“Of course not, have you? We’re supposed to kill a DeAniege,” Durth lowered his voice and glanced about him, “which means we’re supposed to kill an Aniege, one of the ones who follows and does the bidding of your god,” he jabbed a finger at the younger man, “Who you neglected to mention is also your mate.”

“No, we’re supposed to kill the one who ended the world,” Raya corrected Durth, jabbing a finger back at him and shaking it for good measure, “I’ve been asking around, unlike you, and it turns out it’s not who we thought it was. But he does know who did it. So we need Una to tell us where he is, otherwise we’re just wandering around with a thumb up our asses.”

“But-”

“And don’t get any philosophical ideas about getting out of your promise, Durth, you swore you would kill him,” Raya almost sounded desperate, “would you really go back on your promise?”

It would depend on the circumstances, on the man himself and if Raya was still alive at the time. For the most part, only those who had been adults when the world ended missed it. Missed the technology and the working oneself to the bone for nothing. More and more it seemed all Durth saw of the old world was a living hell.

“No, I promised I would destroy him and I will.”

Raya opened his mouth and stared at Durth before the Cousin shook his head quickly and clenched his jaw, looking away, “you can destroy a man without killing him.”

“I know, but that was my promise and I will keep it,” Durth said, “I never said I’d kill anyone.”

“Not you too.”

“Unless of course, this guy who ended the world is the replacement for Una and the only way to achieve whatever has to be achieved, I have to kill him so he can be immortal,” Durth muttered, at which Raya went bright red, “what, you wouldn’t want to be immortal?”

“One.” Raya growled, “I have a mate. Two. No, by the gods no. Especially not with Una.”

“You make it sound like he has cooties.”

“You make it sound like he hasn’t seduced you yet,” Raya muttered before the young man stiffened and glared at Durth, “you’ve shared his bed without being with him, haven’t you? Oh gods. He likes you.”

“What?”

“He likes you, he wants you as a long term partner. That’s good though, you can use it to your advantage, he loves sharing things with his partners. Just try to seem curious when he mentions Whisper or-”

Something rustled nearby and Raya stopped speaking, looking towards the bushes.

“Who’s there?” Raya snapped.

“Me,” Ayan stepped out, looking from Durth to Raya and back to Durth, “Tah is wanting Raya back now. Your lovers spat will have to wait. She was very demanding.”

The teenager rocked back on his heels and watched the two men for some reaction. Getting none, he shrugged and walked back through the bush.

Durth glared at Raya, “what, no comment on the mate thing?”

“There’s nothing to comment about,” Raya responded, “I know who told you that and why he told you. The fact that you believed him is what surprises me. He could be lying for all you know.”

“Has Una ever lied in his entire life?”

“Bent the truth a bit, perhaps, but not lied outright, no,” Raya growled, “I have to go attend to Tah, you will have to find someplace else to sleep for the night.”

“What just because-”

“By attend to Tah, I mean I am going to have sex with her in order to produce a child,” Raya said quickly, “spend the night with Una again, see if you can get some information out of him.”

Durth watched Raya leave before he sighed. He closed his eyes and listened to the quiet life of the forest for a long moment. Then he gathered his courage and stepped into the bushes and through them to the other side. The trailers were off a bit and Ayan was sitting on the grass, picking at this and that and chewing on a blade. The young man looked up and grinned at Durth, leaping up and towards him immediately.

“So, you need a place to sleep?”

“Yes…” Durth sighed and looked over the trailers, “where can I stay besides with Una and you?”

“Sidhe,” Ayan quipped without taking offence or questioning Durth’s decision in the least, “this way.”

The young man led the way through the troupe and right by the water. There was a little sandy beach and then a trailer. Five Sidhe lounged around a fire. Durth recognised Lillow and Ashun, her belly swelling and a content look on her face, but hadn’t a clue who the others were. Three males, all of whom turned and glared at Durth before Lillow looked over at him.

“Durth!” Lillow hopped up and batted at the largest male’s hand as he tried to stop her, “behave,” she said to the male and skipped out to meet Durth and Ayan.

Ayan walked past Lillow as if she didn’t exist and the female ignored the young man, focusing entirely on Durth, “Hi, hello, ignore Hohi, he’s being cranky.”

“Hohi…” the name rang a bell. And then Durth recalled, “the male who wants to mate you?”

“Yes, he thinks you’re a threat. So do Raoh and Osht, but that’s because Ashun is pregnant and they’re worried about it all and father says that males worry when females are pregnant because they might hurt themselves and that a male whose child is threatened is not a male one wants to deal with but I think he’s crazy, females can handle themselves, don’t you agree?”

All Durth got was something about Lillow’s father and the question at the end. He swallowed hard and ventured a guess, “yes. I was wondering if I could spend the night with …” he noticed the way all the males turned in his direction even as Ayan began prodding Hohi in the cheek. “the group of you.”

“Oh. I’m sorry Durth, you can’t,” Lillow shook her head as Hohi turned and bit down on Ayan’s finger, growling gently at the young man. Ayan muttered something and Hohi swept the young man’s legs out from under him and began tickling. Lillow glanced over her shoulder and then looked back at Durth, chewing her bottom lip, “I’d like it if you did but the males are edgy after this morning and we’re on guard tonight.”

“On guard?”

Lillow nodded, “we need less sleep than people, so we stay up all night and then sleep while the troupe travels. We’re the guards and the scouts.”

Good to know nothing was sneaking up on them in the middle of the night. “Oh.” Was all he could manage.

“Ayan can stay with us. He can sleep in Hohi’s lap,” Lillow nodded, “I’m guessing you didn’t want to sleep with Una because Ayan was upset this morning and you think it had to do with you?”

“How did you-?” Durth squeaked and flinched away from Lillow.

The female smiled politely, “I can see the possible reactions of every action made around me. So. I know. Go stay with Una, Ayan will be fine by morning, trust me. He’s just upset because he’s not been home in a while. Misses his parents is all.”

“And there’s no where else…”

“Not a single place.” Lillow said quietly.

“Damn,” Durth sighed out. Raya expected him to spend the night with Una and report back in the morning with news. Durth didn’t want to do that and certainly didn’t think it was a good idea to be asking uncomfortable questions of an immortal who he was sleeping beside.

Certainly, Una wouldn’t kill him, but that also didn’t mean Durth would live to see the morning.

“There he is now!” Lillow turned towards the water and Durth swallowed any protests he might have had.

Una pulled to a stop and looked up, hat gone. The immortal had a towel over one shoulder and was bare from the waist up. Una very much had the look of a man who had just walked in on something he didn’t want to get involved in, and knew it. Durth met Una’s eyes for a moment before the troupe master turned to Lillow.

“Where is my hat?”

“Uhm… Ashun got hungry…”

“We are surrounded by food.”

“Uh-huh.”

“And fabric, if that was what she was craving.”

“I know.”

“Then why in the gods’ good names would she steal my hat of all the hats in the troupe? I need my hat, Lillow, I can hardly walk around my own troupe without it, let alone through a village.” Una stepped close to Lillow and shifted his body away from an approaching troupe member.

“Ashun goes around without a hat.”

“She is Sidhe. I am passing for people, do you see where that could cause pain and misery.”

Lillow batted her hand dismissively, “It’s just a hat. Raoh and Osht will replace it when we get to the next village.”

Una growled, a sound that sent a shiver down Durth’s spine and made Lillow take a step back. It was the sound Durth imagined a Sidhe would make as it tore its enemy apart, limb by limb. The immortal turned his attention, and those bright eyes, to Durth and the young man’s legs nearly went out from under him.

“What do you want?”

“I… I ... uhm…” he wasn’t used to seeing Una mad, even in the shattered memories, the immortal rarely got more than a little irritated.

“He needs a place to sleep tonight.”

“Oh? Is that all?” Una took hold of Durth’s arm, “come with me.”

Not that he had any other choice. The immortal’s grip was like stone and if the small tug said anything, Una didn’t need Durth’s permission to move him. Freakishly strong and immortal. Well, Una had to have some way to protect himself.

At the trailer Una pulled to a stop and yanked open the door, motioning Durth in, “wash in the water there.”

“We were just by the river, I could have washed there.”

“Feeling adventurous are we? No, I don’t think you will wash in the river tonight,” Una said, much to Durth’s confusion as the immortal began pulling apart cupboards and throwing open chests that were stored under the bed, apparently searching for someone. “I am not in the proper mood to comfort you and then you’d have to comfort yourself and where would we be?”

Durth just stripped, he didn’t answer. Una sounded like he was going mad, but something at the back of Durth’s mind recognised that it wasn’t so much going mad as losing his place in time. He went about washing and had just finished as Una was riffling through the wardrobe. The immortal came out with a pair of pants and held them out to Durth. The young man took them and donned them before he met Una’s frown.

“What?”

“Did I just speak to you as if you were someone else?”

“Someone afraid of water, yes,” Durth said quickly, “someone your age-”

“It has nothing to do with my age!” Una snapped, huffing a breath and obviously trying to calm himself, “I am emotional right now and I’ve not got a way to hide my eyes,” the immortal looked away, “and I have a specific craving that I do not expect to be able to fill for quite some time. I did not sleep last night. These things on their own mean nothing, but together mean that I am unstable. I spoke to you as if you were the person I wanted you to be and not the person you are and for that I apologise.”

Durth shrugged, “it happens. And don’t give me that ‘it’s not my age’ thing, it is too your age, you didn’t go off on an innocent bystander when someone stole your hat. One night without sleep doesn’t do this to you and it certainly isn’t a ‘craving’ as you put it, because if it were, you’d just seduce me into bed.”

Una’s head snapped around, the man’s eyes narrowed, “who said the craving was for you?”

“Ouch, now I’m offended,” Durth muttered sarcastically, folding his clothing and setting it onto the seat of one of the chairs, “when was the last time you saw Vera?”

It was like something clicked into place. Durth could picture her… temple, could see her smiling at him with those bright red eyes. Could feel how smooth and soft her hands were after so many years, the calluses of her mortal life all but obliterated by time.

“Durth?”

Durth held up a hand and placed the other on the table for support, “Vera have red eyes?”

“Good gods,” Una was touching him a moment later, bare flesh against bare flesh as the immortal slipped an arm around Durth and let him towards the bed, “someone your age should not be awakening.”

“I feel dizzy,” Durth muttered, groping for the bed. When his hand found it, his eyes managed to focus just long enough for him to realise that the bed hadn’t been made. He didn’t care. Durth curled up in it anyway and groaned.

“I’ll get Ayan, don’t move.” Una said as he rushed to the door.

Like Durth could move.



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