Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction ❯ Invoking ❯ Image 03: Sought ( Chapter 3 )

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS.

Invoking

by: carpetfibers

Image 03: Sought

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First the words of the rhyme,

Twice more, and it's time to jump.

Drop the rock and we all fall.

Drop the rock and we all fall.

I'm waiting.

It's time to drop

And I wait for the fall.

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The jagged edge of the moon slipped past the furthest corner of the steadily rising sun, sending petal shaped shadows across the scattered group of travelers. In the front, the first fingers of dawn tracing his sharp jaw, walked the leader, a slim rod held in his hand. Directly behind him hovered a newly fixed air craft, its thin metal boards piled high with boxes of food, cloth, and medicine. To the right stepped a hooded figure with thin hands and a young man with narrowed eyes and a protective gait. To the left walked two mirror images: one the mother and one the daughter, both women carried themselves with an easy grace. To the back stalked the last member of the crew, a cloak hiding a faded tunic stained with sludge and blood, and dark bangs hiding the direction of his piercing eyes.

Soft conversation was made between the members, specifically the three women. The question of their destination was now being discussed.

"The supplies are for our home," Sonomi explained, her hand reaching out to steady one of the cartons on the hover craft.

"So it's to there that you go now?" asked the hooded girl, her green eyes screened by the large canvas flaps.

"Yes," and this pair of violet eyes darted to Touya's hidden features. She was still unsure of how much she was to share with their newly restored patients.

"Sakura, where are you headed to?" The younger of the two mirror images interjected with her own curiosity.

The girl replied easily enough, although her voice held a restraint to it. "The city of Monadh."

"Monadh?" Sonomi shook her head, a tense line drawing across her thin lips. "That's no place for one so young. And the journey- you'll have to cross through the Tais marshes." She turned her sharp eyes to the young man who had yet to open his mouth to speak. "And you- young man- Eriol, was it? How could you possibly think to allow your charge to go to a place so dangerous?"

She scolded much like the mother she was, and Eriol found himself pleasantly amused by the idle chiding.

"I assure you, Daidouji-cail', no harm will come to Sakura while I am with her. Besides," a rough smile came to his handsome face, "You may not realize it now, but she's quite determined to make the trip. Nothing I say will convince her of otherwise."

At Sakura's soft smile, he immediately silenced himself and returned to the quiet guarding. She shook her head and drew the cloak more tightly around her body.

"What's in Monadh?" Tomoyo pressed lightly. In her mind, she could picture the jagged mountains of the far northern country. One of the four great cities was nestled deep within its confines, a series of valleys jointly connected for protection and solidarity. It was a place seldom traveled to and seldom left.

"An old friend," was all she was given.

The gates separating the northern district from the central district, Croae, made their appearance almost without warning. Only the light electronic hum of the machinery that still maintained the walls queued them in on its nearness. The strangely mixed mud brick adobe and steel walled buildings stooped in minuscule clumps compared to the towering divisions. It was Touya who presented their permit. And it was Tomoyo who sounded the first warning once the guard left his post.

"Touya, there's trouble coming..." with her eyed closed against her pale skin, she seemed to disappear in her long skirts. Her fingers counted off unseen enemies approaching. "At least a dozen, if not more."

The black haired leader grunted in annoyance. He hated having to go through these channels, with proper papers and such, and besides, nine times out of ten, he ended up having to fist his way through. But Fardach needed supplies, and he was the only one to ever volunteer. He readied himself for the upcoming knock out fight with the soldiers, his legs immediately tensing themselves.

A light touch to his elbow made him turn in irritation. "Tomoyo, get back; it'll only take a few minu-"

He cut off his words as he saw not Tomoyo's pale face but the green eyes of his new passenger staring back at him.

"I'll handle this," Sakura said confidently. "Hand me the permit, please."

Touya passed over the crumpled paper mutely, his dark eyes watching her steadily. He stood back as the first of the dozen guards reached the gates. The overweight soldier eyed the slim girl with open hostility.

"Give me the dates of your arrival," he ordered brusquely.

Sakura shook her head, a terse smile on her dry lips. "You already know when we arrived in Caitnys."

His pale eyes blinked once and then he nodded. "Your reasons for entering the Croae district?"

She answered him much the same, "You already know our reasons."

Again came the blink and another directive. "You are to speak with the Magister in his quarters."

The smile curved upwards and a hint of amusement made its way into her lips. "You know that we've already spoken with the magister."

The guard puffed out his chest and took a step away from the gates and the girl who stood easily beside them. His final words came out as an awed whisper. "Men from the Marrey fortress are searching for a girl with green eyes, eyes like your own."

The gate sprung open with her last reply. "Sir, surely you know that my eyes are brown."

And indeed, the man no longer saw a color from the finest of jewels, but a familiar earth tone met in his mirror daily. His breath came in pants now.

She took the paper from his trembling hands and returned it to the tall young man at her side. "I've gained us at least another day's time of freedom. I suggest you gather whatever else you need and leave Caitnys."

"You never touched him," the words came out as an accusation.

Sakura pulled the hood from her hair and ran her thin fingers through the thick coils. She turned her gaze to him, and he flinched at the pain in her eyes. "I don't like hurting people, Avalon-guil'."

_____________________

Sparkling iridescence-

It's a diamond caught in your throat.

Best friends,

And killers.

Suicide and lullabies of harmony.

Bejeweled and swollen-

I smile with lips bloody.

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He knew that a discussion would be needed shortly. He had questions that only she could answer, and with the departure from Croae, she would surely leave his crew for her quest. He refused to show it, but the scene at the gates shocked him something fierce. The old woman said she had the touch; she was already bonded in this ancient annym, and there were the runes scarred across her flesh that flared during her fever- but none of it explained how she could bare that guard's mind with just her words.

Touya had the ability, and none of it from the construct part of his body. While limited, he could manipulate, but only with physical contact. He knew of no one who could manipulate with only words. And then there was the growing deja vu he felt around her. When she had called him Avalon-guil', his thoughts had thundered and his heart raced. But how could he have such a memory if no memory existed?

She must know, he decided. She must have answers.

"Taste the plums, lad! An early harvest, yet better than the summer fruits!" A fruit vendor called out enticements, but he ignored the outbursts.

"Fresh venison! A buck from the Aisle Forests!" Another called, and this time, he turned in response.

"From the Aisle Forests, you say?" he started. Tomoyo eyed him curiously. They had no need of venison.

The catcalling woman nodded her head vigorously, already laying out a slab of meat. "And freshly killed! Mate, trust me, you'll find nothing fresher in all of Caitnys!"

"Did your husband make the kill?" he prodded, allowing a slightly flirtatious smile come across his face. As expected, the homely woman bowed her head, a red blush across her cheeks.

"I'm single yet, mate. No, it was sold to my father by one of the hermits."

Touya winked, mentally groaning at the unseemly display. "Surely not an old man then, to have killed such a large buck."

Again the woman blushed, probably this time because of embarrassment. She giggled coarsely and leaned in closely, as if to share a great secret. "Nay, he was young, this hermit. But he was a shifter. Could see it in the eyes."

This time the smile came naturally and Touya all but dragged the poor woman into a bear hug. "You have a good day, madame. I'm sure you'll sell your venison and make a fortune."

He returned to the group's curious eyes still smiling.

"Good news?" Sonomi asked.

He nodded once and tucked down the tarp over the hover craft. "Good news, indeed. Yukito's in town."

Two more smiles joined his own, and Tomoyo clapped her hands with small squeal. "Yukito? It's been a full annon since I've seen him last."

"More like two annons, Tomoyo. Not since we crossed the Braile Valley."

Sakura listened closely, more than a little intrigued by this mysterious man that had her rescuers so happy. But it was when Sonomi added the last bit that she felt a familiar tickle across the back of her neck: the caress of prescience.

"I hope we'll get to see Yue as well! That man is too beautiful to be hidden away so often."

"Mother!" Tomoyo chided softly, but her smile rivaled her mother's. Indeed, the silver haired hermit of the outer Aisle Forest rarely showed his alter form, but when he did, gods, it was a sight.

Sakura stopped in her tracks, beckoning for Eriol to join her in a little tete a tete. She allowed the crowded market place to shield their conversation from wandering ears and opened with her suspicions.

"She called him Yue, Eriol."

He nodded steadily, his eyes trained on a certain someone watching them from a distance. He continued listening, but his attention was more focused on the scruff of a boy who had called his mistress the Fakider. The word had felt familiar then and felt familiar now. The green eyed girl's worries were gaining steam as she continued.

"- that name of all names, though. I know you won't like this, but I think we should stay with Avalon for a while longer. Monadh can wait still."

He jerked into awareness at this last bit. "The Marrey guard are fast on your trail, Sakura! Don't be so foolish. To stay with such a large group would only call more attention to us. You more than made up your thanks with the gates; say your good-byes and we'll be on our way."

She jutted out her chin stubbornly, focusing all the strength held in her wide eyes on his face. Eriol narrowed his in return. "Don't try to change my mind in that way, Sakura. I'm here to protect you-"

"I wouldn't do that to you! Unlike some, I take no joy in forcing unwanted things on others."

He refused to show any hurt at her cold words and to reaffirm his position, took hold of her wrists, drawing them behind his back and forcing her to fall against his chest. He lowered his lips to her ear and whispered fiercely. "I am here to protect you. If we stay with them, and Fusari gets hold of you- Sakura, I would die trying to save you, but I would not be enough. We must leave, and do so within the hour."

She tore from his grasp and glared at him with her breath racing. "I remind you not to take such liberties. You forget who it is you're addressing. When I say that we stay with Avalon, I mean it. You may leave if you feel so inclined. This is too much of a coincidence to be anything other than the stars' guidance. I remain here."

Eriol forced his jaw into submission and turned from her probing eyes. "I stay with you, always; you know this."

Her voice softened in degrees as she answered. "I thank you, but you should try to trust me on occasion. I've yet to steer us wrong."

The third person to this conversation watched carefully as the possessive guardian took hold of the Fakider's elbow and directed her back through the crowd. He understood little of what their conversation was about- however, he did catch the bit meaning that they were to stay with that damned Avalon for now. Syaoran would have preferred a smaller group; he still had the task of returning this queer eyed girl to his Elders. He traced over her name in his mind- like the others, it was of a foreign sound, yet its lettering held familiarity. Even more than familiarity, it was the same sensation as when, at the death of his father, the family's talisman was pressed into his fingers. It was a calling of blood to blood.

He would speak to her yet, and learn of the mysteries that made such a color for her eyes. And the ability- the magic- she carried! It was strong and like her name, it had a call to his own.Airidh and Fakider- timeless words, yet they were the ones to carry such titles. It was not chance; of this he was sure.

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Temper whining and blood racing,

Vampiric in context-

You continue to pull from me.

Your touch burns,

And your lips scald, but

I find the fire a temptation easily tasted.

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The faintly glowing green and blue flames contrasted sharply with the flickering fluorescent wall lamps . Countless candles had fixed themselves to the counters, the past trails of dried wax merging in a myriad of flax and cerumen. Low grumbling flooded the tavern counters as a harried woman struggled to refill the quickly emptied mugs. Touya refrained from breathing in too sharply of the stale air- he hated the sweat and alcohol odor that never failed to perfume these sorts of places.

He bowed his head as he entered; ceilings had long been an enemy to his height. He scanned over the tea tinted room, careful to keep his eyes on each face for but a second. Some of these characters took even the slightest of glances as an invitation to fight or, surprisingly not that rare, to one of the room's upstairs. He grimaced automatically as one such of the latter personas cocked an eyebrow toward the corner stairs. He jerked away and moved deeper into the room.

Touya kept a firm hand on the shoulder of the pale girl beside him. She was to be his decoy if the need arose. Tomoyo had proven more than once to be quite the actress, having played the roles of a raging epileptic, a vision struck soothsayer, and a heart broken wife. He still owed her for that last one; he might never have escaped from those four sisters' grip if not for Tomoyo's spectacular performance. By the end of it, she had the four girls on the verge of tears, and even the tavern keeper kept wiping at his beady eyes. He swallowed down his grin from the memory of it. More than once, that decision to make a side trip through the Fidean Heights had paid off.

He finally found his wanted parishioner late of the pine forests of Aisle seated in the farthest corner of the room. As usual, there were four other men seated around him, each holding in their hands sets of three and five- the layout of the ever popular cairt. Touya shook his head and led Tomoyo to a table near theirs, knowing that it wouldn't be too long before one of the four louts picked up on his hooded friend's gaming tendencies. Mentally, he counted off in his head: six, five, four, three, two, one- and!

"Full set: coinean. I'm afraid that means I've won, and you've lost mates." The hooded figure's eyes were still hidden, but his wide grin was plainly seen. Two of the failing members sagged in their chairs, recognizing their defeat. But the two others- now they were old buddies, long from the banks of the Gorrym river. They weren't about to acknowledge the loss of their newly bought barge quite that easily.

The first of them reached inside his mud thickened jacket, his face frowning, but his eyes gleaming. The second laid both hands on the bare table and kept his wicked gaze on the hooded winner. Neither had a chance to fully react though before the second felt his kneecap cave in and the first noticed an extreme pain from his right wrist. Poor sods never saw the hand or foot that put them in such misery. All they did see was a sudden flash of silver and that same grin.

"I always did want a trip down the Gorrym. Good game; hope to see you again sometime." The grinning man stepped smoothly from behind the betting table, paying no attention to the cries of agony coming from the newly crippled men. Wisely, the two others removed themselves and left the tavern in a haste.

Touya let the swift winner of the cairt take a step past him before he dumped the entire container of ale on his head. With a small cry of surprise, the hood swept off and the flash of silver turned around. The surprise changed into one of delight and with a very different kind of smile, the cairt winner wrapped his arms around the tall leader from Fardach in a bone wrenching hug.

"To-ya! What are you doing in Caitnys? Thought they ran you out with canons and pitch forks just a few lunacycles ago?" the young man cried as he pulled back from his old friend's arms.

Equally good humored, the normally scowling Avalon, let a seldom seen grin come to his lips. "You heard about that, Yuki? It was only one canon- and the pitchforks, well, that had to do with something else."

A third voice jumped in. "A certain father of four certain very virginal daughters came to the hasty conclusion that the ever chaste Touya Avalon tried to seduce them. As usual, I saved him from the girls, but the father felt the need to preserve his daughters' honor with a show of strength. And thus the pitchforks."

The young hermit of the Aisle timberlands' wide smile only grew as he looked over the quite changed figure of the once quite young Tomoyo Daidouji. "Tomoyo? Is this really the little Tomoyo who always hid behind Avalon's hulk here?"

She smiled easily and bowed with a humble grace. "Not so little anymore, Yukito."

Yukito glanced at his friend's suddenly soft eyes and he too felt his soften. "No, that you're not. But to answer my first question: what are you doing here?"

The easy smile slid off quickly at those words as Touya sat his damp friend down and huddled in over the table top. "Just a general pick up of supplies and the like; I volunteered because of the growing danger in making these runs. And like you said, it's been a few lunacycles: six in fact. Someone had to make the round."

Yukito eyed his long time friend with wary eyes. There was more to this than Touya was letting on, and he wasn't about to be kept in the dark, not with all the rumors running round 'bout the Glass ny Marrey and a missing green eyed girl. "You had another of those feelings, didn't you To-ya?"

The dark eyed construct stifled his surprise. Yukito was a shifter, and he had a bit more than just the usual shifter ability. He carried the whole level of his human self along with the alter form's. "Yeah."

"Where'd it take you?"

"Out along Madir."

"And whatcha find?"

Tomoyo watched carefully as some kind of nonverbal message passed between the two. She rose as they did, and followed close behind as they traded the dank tavern ceiling for the overcast sky. Touya stopped abruptly and, after grabbing her arm tightly, restarted through the mob of people gathered for the morning markets. She could barely keep up with his long stride and wondered briefly how it was the grinning hermit managed to not even break a sweat beside them.

"I think I might have known her once, Yuki. Plus, there's this brat who's cast himself with us. He has a charm around his neck that changes into a sword."

Yukito nodded, his smile gaining a grim edge to it. With the little his friend had given him, connections were quickly drawing lines to shapes and words. In the back part of his mind, he felt the stirring of his alter form. He, too, was sensing the drawing of things larger than them all.

"You're taking her back to Fardach?" he asked, already knowing where the construct's enhanced mind was going.

"She's on her way to Monadh." And this time, the stirring was stronger.

Tomoyo brushed a piece of stray hair from her eyes, taking in each passing word between the two men. Obviously, they were talking about Sakura, but what she didn't understand were the underlying nuances to their words.

Touya paused to glare over the crowd, looking for the dark green tarp that covered the hover craft and the short haired woman who was left to watch it. His eyes narrowed as he took in the uniformed men surrounding the lone woman, and he cursed under his breath.

"Damn guards are all over the craft. I shouldn't have left Sonomi alone so long."

"What's wrong with mother?" Tomoyo asked, keeping the anxiousness from her voice.

But Touya was already pushing her through the crowds again, his hand pulling out the circular ball that controlled the craft. Yukito too was drawing from within his long cape a similar shaped object. Her eyes widened as it transformed into thin silver dagger, the blade glowing a dulled ruby.

"Time for a distraction, Tomoyo," the black haired construct ordered as they drew near to the guards.

"Anything in particular?" she asked, her mind already racing over possible ideas, each one feeling worse than the other.

"I always did like the soothsayer one," and he shot her one of his rare smiles before letting go of her arm and ducking into the crowd. The silver crowned hermit winked once and ran after his friend. For what felt like a full annum she stared into the mass of the bodies surrounding her and then with a steady breath, shook her head and readied her voice. Time for a prophecy of doom.

Touya sat crouched behind the furthest wall partitioning him from his supplies and the guards. Sonomi was into a heated discussion with the leader of the soldiers, her slight body already twisted into a familiar pose of charge and confidence. If anyone looked the part of ruling the world, that woman held the frame for it. He could almost imagine her sharp words and witty patronizing. A distinctive howl sounded from behind him, and he knew Tomoyo was starting her act. Both of the Daidouji women were remarkable. He'd have to remember to buy them some new cloth as thanks.

"Ah! The Great Fall was not enough for thee! Not for the likes of thee! Thy paltry words and misdeeds have angered the great ones, the fallen gods among this land! Ah! Mine eyes see it! I see it! The end comes for thee! It comes!"

Tomoyo wheeled her arms in a wide circle and clutched at her hair, pulling it out from the neat braid in ragged clumps. She made as if to swoon and then leapt up again, once more shouting out words of doom and death. Inwardly, she rolled her eyes. To think people actually believed such rubbish...

Sonomi heard her daughter's cry and dug in all the more with the head guard. His already twitching eyebrow increased its mannerisms as he listened to yet another disparaging insult to his company, the city, and his dress. If she wasn't a woman, he'd clamp those lips shut with an iron pole and lock her so deep within the boards that her damned voice would never be heard again. A roar rose up within the crowd, and he turned his attention from the nagging woman to the cries growing louder about him.

He grabbed one of his guards, shoved him to deal with the woman, and ventured into the crowd. Immediately, the source of the problem pointed a thin finger at him and screamed.

"He's the one! He's the one who's brought upon the wrath! Fie, fie! He's the one!"

Again Touya congratulated Tomoyo mentally and then with a slight warning of his finger for Yukito, dodged toward the leaderless soldiers. He cracked an elbow into the back of one while jabbing a foot into the neck of another. Sonomi dropped her words, smiled lightly, and punched her designated guard in the throat. The poor man fell gagging, and she moved onto another one. The quick silver hermit of the northern copse moved much like his description, swiftly making use of his dagger- the fabled weapon of the Aisle woods, slicing through any solid but that of skin. Within a sand drop's time, the soldiers were made off of, and the three regrouped.

"You hide your strength well, Madame," Yukito complimented while admiring the slight woman's handiwork.

"And that's quite a knife you carry, oh long lost hermit," she teased back, cocking an eyebrow as the dagger returned to its original shape.

"Where are they?" Touya asked shortly, his observant eyes having long noted the absence of three certain individuals.

Sonomi bit down on her lip, changing her eyes to where her daughter had the crowd ready to carry the poor guard to the dried aqueducts of Croae. "She had a sudden seizure and her guardian- Hiiragi or the other- picked her up and ran off with her. Li went after them."

"Damn it," he swore and started leading the craft away from the unconscious men. "I don't have time to look for them. We have to get these supplies out of the city before the next bunch come."

"I'll take care of it."

Touya looked to his smiling friend and studied him, "You sure you want to enter in on all this? It might mean keeping you from your haunts a while yet."

Yukito shrugged and drew up his hood. "The woods get dull after a few annums. Besides, anything involving Glass ny Marrey involves me."

The Fardach leader nodded, understanding the cryptic answer perfectly. He turned to the bewildered woman between them. "Sonomi, grab your daughter before she makes all of Caitnys believe that the ground spouts devil worms and go with Yukito. I'll catch up with you before you reach Aisle."

She nodded once, her nervous habit showing itself as her teeth bore down on her lower lip. He squeezed her shoulder once and took off into the crowd, calling back lightly behind him. "Tell Tomoyo good job for me."

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God forbid the days grow longer,

Or the sun forget its hours,

Lest I have to wait a day more.

I trip across the doorstep,

The sun's descent drowns,

And once more all is quiet.

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