Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Mine. ❯ Prepared. ( Chapter 14 )

Warnings: If you're still reading this, you don't care anyway.

 

Pairings: …

 

Disclaimer: I only wish I owned them. I don't, and I don't make money off of this either. Only millions of chanting fans. ;)

 

Author's Notes: Man, it's been so long, I know! You would not believe how ridiculously busy I've been this semester, with uni and time in schools. I haven't had time to scratch myself, let alone write. And when I have had a little time, I've had no wish to be writing, because all I've been doing prior to that is writing essays! But now I'm holiday! Yay for me! So here is the next chapter for you!

 

My love and kisses go out to Balis for her simply adorableIrvine picture! I heart him to death, and if I had a colour printer, I would print him and put him on my wall.He's just gorgeous!

 

Without further ado, here is the fic in which /something/ represents native speak and due to the / things, fanfiction dot net eats the punctuation at the end of native speak sentences. It is not that I don't know where a question mark goes…

 

Mine. - KittyMeowMaxwell.

 

Chapter Fourteen - Prepared.

 

“/Are you sure it's safe to go near… that… Krerah? Could have been anywhere…/”

 

Irvine flinched at the snide comment and felt Krerah tense beside him. The native smirked and turned to face the taunter, a hand coming up to push his hair away from his face.

 

“/You don't much value that pretty face of yours, do you, Nirrin?/” he said softly, the hand dropping to rest upon a cocked hip. There was unmistakable warning in his voice and an air about him that certainly made Irvine wary of ever crossing him.

 

“/You're defending it now…?/” wondered someone else, female this time, and Irvine wasn't sure why he hadn't noticed the small group behind the other taken earlier. They were all taken, or what Zell had told him were called switch. Those who would take either position.

 

“/You're a coward,/” Krerah growled, spitting the last word with a flash of white teeth. “/To bring so many and attack us like this./”

 

“/Oh, we've no plans for attacking you, Krerah. There's no need for you to be involved,/” a tiny taken woman said with a giggle.

 

Krerah gave a derisive laugh and Irvine felt more than useless. He wished he had his bow and arrows.

 

“He's my taker's brother's taken. As near to my brother as my bloodkin. I wouldn't leave him alone to your cowardice… Now if you please, we have things to do and to prepare for.”

 

Krerah turned and lifted aside the teepi flap for Irvine, who turned as well and started inside. He barely had time to react when a foul-smelling Cockatrice egg whacked him fair in the middle of his naked back, sending him sprawling inside Krerah and Ahshey's teepi with a yelp. But the native did react. He was across the ground separating them and on Nirrin's fleeing back while the rest of the group scattered and Irvine picked himself up. He placed a foot in the small of Nirrin's back, the other on the ground and crouched over him, the heel of a hand between his shoulder blades keeping him down.

 

“/Was it worth it?/” Krerah snarled, his other hand fisting in dark hair and pushing Nirrin's face viciously into grass and dirt. “/Was it worth the coward's act of hitting a man in the back to see him fall? Will it still be worth it if I kill you now?/” He pulled, jerking Nirrin's head back.

 

“/I-/”

 

“/Would you have us all be the savages these people,/” he nodded at Irvine. “/make us out to be? It's base behaviour, Nirrin. Base. Face him, face me, like a true brave, and then we shall see where you stand… if you can still stand./”

 

The native stood, leaning all his weight briefly on the foot at the small of Nirrin's back before stepping gracefully off and dusting himself down.

 

“/Zell will pay dearly for his poor choice, and Ahshey will pay with him. Are you willing to pay as well?/” Nirrin hissed as he stood. Krerah ignored him, his back to the other brave and continued to fastidiously dust off his hands as though he'd touched something particularly nasty. “/His taker can't be there all the time, and you know his blood will be spilled. Will you spill yours in his defense?/”

 

“/You're making threats which go against the Old Law itself, taken. Once Zell Marks him, he's one of us. You'd spill the blood of one of your own people…?/”

 

“/Oh, no. Zell is-/”

 

“/Speak your poison elsewhere, Nirrin,/” Krerah snarled suddenly, glancing at the horizon. “/We've things to do./”

 

“/I'm going to get Zell killed…/” Irvine said softly as Krerah led him away to a nearby hot spring.

 

Krerah smiled as he took off his loincloth.

 

“/You think of your taker first. This proves you're more worthy of him than the likes of Nirrin. Believe me, you need not worry about him. They speak of him in every camp. There is no taker to match him. Irvine… a lot of them are jealous of you. Any taken would wish Zell's Mark./”

 

Irvine was silent for a long moment, then he hesitantly put a hand to Krerah's shoulder.

 

“/Thank you… for what you did. For putting yourself in that position for me./”

 

“/For you, I would gladly take any postion…/” Krerah purred at him and Irvine laughed and rolled his eyes.

 

“/Is that all you people ever think about?/”

 

“/Yes./” The native winked, then grew serious. “/I would do it again. Ahshey loves your taker and I love Ahshey. More than that, I like you, my brother./”

 

He turned his head to press a kiss to the hand at his shoulder and Irvine started, totally unable to respond. He had no idea how he should respond, and he was amazed that Krerah had addressed him as “brother”. In the end, he just smiled, and felt it a ridiculous gesture. But the native just grinned and clapped him on the shoulder.

 

“/Thank you,/” Irvine blurted and Krerah laughed, making him blush and scowl at the same time.

 

“/Now, Irvine. We have cleansing to do, and not just because of a large, rotten Cockatrice egg, either./” He wrinkled his nose cutely. “/We must be clean to approach the HeartSeer. Do and say what I do and say, and all will be well./”

 

Irvine nodded and there was a long pause in which the native seemed to be waiting expectantly, then he finally gestured at Irvine's loincloth. The cowboy refrained from hitting himself, though he felt he deserved it, and he untied the scrap of clothing, dropping it to lay with Krerah's.

 

He followed when Krerah stepped elegantly into the water, up to the level of his thighs and mimicked his position, feet apart in line with his shoulders, hands resting on the surface of the water. They took a deep breath and swept their hands in easy, relaxed patterns across the water. He was only a heartbeat behind when Krerah dove smoothly under and they broke the surface in unison, auburn hair plastered to lightly tanned, pale skin, black hair plastered to chocolate skin. The native spoke, words Irvine didn't know, but he copied them, their ritualistic, chanting quality calming him and easing him into a state of not-sleep where he still felt restful.

 

“/It is done,/” Krerah said softly with an infectious smile that Irvine couldn't help but return. “/Now, we can just enjoy the water./”

 

“/What did the words mean?/” Irvine wondered softly, floating closer to the other taken.

 

Krerah made a thoughtful noise in the back of his throat, lifting a hand to brush Irvine's hair back behind his ear. The cowboy just smiled a little, relaxed and vaguely happy about absolutely everything at this point in time.

 

“/That has been lost. The words remain, but not their meaning. They prepare us for the HeartSeer, and the Marking./”

 

Irvine nodded, realising it didn't matter to him that he didn't know the exact meaning. Their symbolism was all that mattered, and he knew it must be the same for Krerah.

 

“/I think Zell has chosen well,/” Krerah said suddenly after a few moment's companionable soaking in silence.

 

Irvine smiled and glanced at the native, embarrassed and proud all at once. His earlier, instinctive animosity towards the pretty taken was completely gone. It was obvious Krerah dearly loved Ahshey and, furthermore, that Zell dearly loved him, and that meant no amount of prettiness would make a difference. At any rate, he found he liked having Krerah's approval.

 

“/I'm glad,/” he replied and gained a flash of white in return.

 

“/You don't even ask why?/”

 

Irvine laughed, splashing Krerah playfully.

 

“/Why, then?/”

 

“/You are stunning. Almost stunning enough to make me regret my decision to Choose an exclusively taken role. More than that, I don't think you're one to bow and scrape to him like a kicked lap-dog. I think you have fire, and he likes nothing better than a challenge. Don't listen to rumor and nasty comment. They will get over it eventually. They always do./”

 

On impulse, Irvine hugged Krerah, and he was glad when he felt arms come around him in turn, the native's lilting voice laughing gently against his ear. A hand stroked up and down his back briefly and Krerah squeezed him companionably, then released him.

 

“/Now, now, my brother. We're to be cleansed for the HeartSeer. It is unfair of you to tease me so when nothing can come of it./”

 

Irvine snorted and shook his head, chuckling. He was just glad that here was someone he would be able to talk to, aside from Zell. And someone willing to call him brother, to be his friend and support him. More than that, Krerah just liked him, and that was nice to know.

 

“/We must go, Irvine./”

 

“/And do what?/” Irvine wondered as they stepped out of the water.

 

“/You want to impress your taker, do you not?/”

 

“/I think I have. Several times,/” Irvine replied with a smirk and Krerah laughed.

 

“/I'm sure. Come./”

 

A grin curved Irvine's elegant mouth and he reached for his loincloth, but Krerah put a hand out to stop him.

 

“/What…?/”

 

“/We're cleansed, now, and we must not jeopardize that. No loincloth is ever completely clean, no matter how often we wash it…/” he said with a slight smirk.

 

The native headed off through the trees and Irvine had no choice but to follow, naked or not. Suffice it to say, he stuck close to Krerah's back.

 

- - - - - - -

 

“/We could always put flowers in your fringe, since you can't gel it,/” Ahshey suggested around a smirk, while he silvered the family crest on Zell's shoulder with powdered thrustaevis beak. (24) The blond didn't even dignify the `suggestion' with an answer, only rolled his eyes, even though Ahshey couldn't see it.

 

“/Flowers are for taken…/” he said after a while, drumming his fingers against his thigh.

 

His brother laughed softly, then blew gently across Zell's family crest, displacing the excess silver and drying the light glue used to apply it. They had cleansed themselves as well, and now sat naked in Zell's teepi, preparing.

 

Zell found it difficult to sit still. He was ten times more nervous than Ahshey, and it showed. When his brother announced he was done, the blonde stood and paced the confined space, wishing Irvine was there, needing him.

 

“/Be still. Your hair is a mess. Sit, sit!/”Ahshey demanded after several minutes of this.

 

Zell sat, but he fidgeted while Ahshey combed his hair.

 

“/Aren't you nervous?/” he asked, fingers tapping an erratic beat against a taught thigh.

 

“/Not so nervous as you, evidently./” Ahshey replied, continuing the rhythmic motion of the comb even after the golden locks were neat. He hoped it would calm the other native.

 

But Zell didn't wish to be calmed.

 

“/What if he says no?/”

 

“/You said yourself there is no way for the HeartSeer to accept that. What happened to the confident taker from this morning who's possession was clear? Are you so weak that your taken will forget his need for you in so short a time? Is he so pathetic that he will give in to other taker's advances?/”

 

“/Mind you tongue, Ahshey!/” Zell snapped. “/I am not weak and my taken is in no way pathetic. I can still lay you flat in seconds, and don't you forget it!/”

 

“/Ai!/” Ahshey exclaimed with a grin, giving Zell a slight shove. “/Here is my little brother's bite! I prefer it to his previous lack in confidence./”

 

Zell gave a slight smile, realising Ahshey's clever manipulation, and turned to hug him. His thoughts still lingered with Irvine, but he knew Ahshey was right. The HeartSeer would find no reason to deny his claim, and besides, Irvine wouldn't deny it in the first place.

 

It would be a good day.

 

- - - - - - -

 

Irvine could hardly believe he was letting his hair be laced with flowers, dyed chocobo feathers and shining beads. Furthermore, he could hardly believe he was lacing the same things in Krerah's hair - and he was doing it well. He enjoyed it, too. The rhythmic smoothness of the regular movements had a calming effect on him.

 

“/Is he a good lover?/” Krerah wondered while Irvine worked. They had been taking turns so neither would have to do one thing for a long stretch of time.

 

The cowboy smiled.

 

“/Oh, yes…/” he replied, envisioning Zell's hands on his skin, the stroke of his tongue and flex of his hips.

 

“/You've had others?/”

 

Irvine hesitated, then sighed.

 

“/Yes, but none male./”

 

“/Ah…/” Krerah said around a devious grin. “/Then you have no other to compare. How do you know he is so good?/”

 

“/He tells me so!/”

 

“/Ha!/” Krerah laughed, swatting at Irvine. “/This is the answer you give to him, or Ahshey, not I!/”

 

The cowboy considered, fingers darting easily in and out of Krerah's hair. How did he know? He just did. The way Zell made him feel - special, cared for - and the pleasure he gave had Irvine hating their time apart.

 

“/He touches all the right places…/” he said eventually, and after an encouraging sound from his companion, he went on; “/He makes… me cry out for need of him… then answers that need… I crave his touch and I can't stop thinking of him, or wanting him. The moment we…/” He paused, embarrassed, but he knew how open these people were, so he continued. “/The moment he finishes loving me, I want him to again… and again./”

 

“/Ai…/” the native groaned, long and breathless. “/Yes, a good lover. I'm jealous./”

 

“/Is Ahshey not a good lover?/”

 

Krerah started to protest but the words died in his throat and replaced by others as a heavy bell began to sound.

 

“/The HeartSeer calls. Irvine, when the bell stops, we must not say a word unless directly questioned by the HeartSeer. You can't speak, even to Zell. Do you understand?/”

 

Irvine nodded as the last peal of the bell rang out and Krerah smiled encouragingly as they stepped outside. The cowboy's stomach gave a disconcerting lurch as he followed Krerah through the camp to a teepi set slightly apart from the rest. It was patterned all over with strange, curling symbols and leaping creatures and long, coloured strips of woven material hung from it all over, flapping in the breeze.

 

The entire camp seemed to have turned out for the Marking, little children laughing and darting in and out of adult's legs. They seemed to be dressed in their best finery, hair and skin adorned with all manner of decoration and paint, and Irvine noticed several jugs being passed among the adults, presumably with some sort of liquor inside.

 

He would love some of that right now to boost his courage.

 

To one side of the tent sat four muscled braves, meditating quietly while a fifth, slenderer and more graceful, stirred a pot of black liquid which steamed above the roaring fire beneath it. Two children, a little girl and boy with ribbons bound through their hair kept the fire blazing.

 

A hush fell over the crowd when the teepi flap twitched, then they gave an almighty cheer when it was pushed aside and a woman stood there. She was naked and her skin was like chocolate, but her hair was almost white, it was so pale. Her eyes, too, were a clear, icy blue. They settled briefly on each of the men before her, and when it was Irvine's turn he felt as though she stripped him naked all over again, and more. She struck him as a very severe woman, straight brows, a hard mouth, muscled legs and arms. He noticed there was no tattoo around either thigh.

 

“/The Seer calls Ahshey of the Snake, Grendel Slayer, Heir to the Old Songs. The Seer calls in the name of the Old Law, which we all obey, and in the name of the Heart, who is in agreement./”

 

Ahshey took one step forward and offered his hand to Krerah, command evident in every line of his body, though he said nothing.

 

The smile Krerah gave made Irvine smile as well and, with a last pat to the cowboy's shoulder, Krerah went to his taker.

 

“/The Seer recognises Krerah of the Squirrel, Gatherer of Wild Berries, Keeper of the Silver Path. Ahshey of the Snake calls in the name of the Old Law, which we all obey, and in his own name. The HeartSeer is in agreement./”

 

She turned and the pair followed her, the patterned flap falling shut behind them.

 

Irvine swallowed and fidgeted, wishing they'd been first.

 

- - - - - - -

 

Author's Note: Oooo! What's going to happen?!