Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Dances in the Glen ❯ Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds ( Chapter 6 )

IMPORTANT NOTE: The "Resh'ta-ne" is a fictional tribe that I made up for the purpose of this story. Most of the language must be credited to Jennifer Roberson and her works on the novel series "The Chronicles of the Cheysuli." I don't own Gundam Wing or any of the characters and am using them without any gain except to better my writing abilities and to have fun doing it. However, while the characters and the language don't belong to me . . . the plot line does! So HA!

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Dances in the Glen

By: SaiyanBlack

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It was dark still and the only sound in the hut was the gentle breathing of the three-year-old boy wrapped in fur blankets only a foot away from where Relena herself was laying. She lay on her stomach under the fur of some huge animal, warm and comfortable, but unable to close her eyes and sleep. Outside the tent-like hut, she could hear the noises of the forest. Mostly crickets and the rustling of the trees in the wind that had picked up speed when they had settled in for the night.

She sighed and shifted her position again, but unable to find a comfortable spot that allowed her to fall asleep. She found herself on her left side, facing an empty space of the small back room of the tent. A big heavy skin lay there like usual, but the person who usually rested under it was not to be seen. Now that she thought about it, there had been no deep voice telling her to stay still and go to sleep like there usually would have been. She would have kept him awake with all her movement if he were there.

It was probably near morning by now and she had never seen him enter the tent or settle down to rest. They had stopped and set camp well into the night and would probably decamp before dawn like usual and start riding by the time the false dawn started. But the brave called Heero never seemed to need sleep. She wondered if he had something like insomnia . . . or just a wondering mind, like the one that was plaguing Relena now with these meaningless thoughts.

Shifting around again, she stopped when her hand came into contact with something hard. She turned her head to the side to see what it was and came face to face with her favorite book and the only original possession that she owned. Her clothes were in scraps, probably buried in the deep mud near the river where she and Hilde had first taken their baths as Indian captives. Her shoes had vanished soon after that, as well as her blue hair ribbon. So here she was, dressed in cheysu - girl - leather pants and tunic as well as moccasins, her hair was unbound and knotted in every way imaginable, and her only link to her life back in Jefferson was a hardbound book that had the words "Little Women" printed on the spine in gold colored ink.

She was supposed to teach Heero how to read English huh? `Little Women' wasn't exactly the best book to start out with, but it was the only resource that she had and she'd have to make due. On the other hand, Heero had kept his side of the deal in the past twenty-four hours and had pointed out things and told her the Resh'ta-ne word for that object or animal. "Chey" was boy and "cheysu" was girl. "Lulu" was rabbit and "fala" was crow. All this had been pointed out as they rode through the forest with the rest of their large group.

Something she'd noticed during their daily treks was that the braves never rode together. They separated themselves from each other, taking different paths through the forest that maybe one other horse would take several moments later. They didn't really ride close enough to talk so the rides were usually silent, something she found odd for a group of this size. The armies that had gone through Jefferson could be heard a mile away with all the noise they made. They walked in lines and their feet moved at the same time, making the ground shake like a circus was going by when they got near and creating dust and noise that made you want to gag and run inside to get away from it all.

Since her brother was in the military and she knew something about that, she found herself comparing the organization and activities of her brother's troupes to the party of Resh'ta-ne braves that had captured her. In her eyes she thought the natives where far better than the white men when it came to being secretive and stealthy. She had a notion that a white soldier couldn't sneak up on a brave to save his life. The braves were far too intune with the sounds and feelings around them for a man that has never set foot in the deeper parts of the forest to catch them by surprise.

She tossed again, this time to look up at the peaked leather ceiling, and let out a frustrated sigh. Why couldn't she go to sleep? Aggravated, Relena threw the fur off her fully clothed body, stood and stretched a bit before slowly walking out of the back room of the painted tent. The main room with the small fire pit was empty and the fire put out and cold. It seemed that Heero hadn't been in here for a while either. Quietly, she ducked under the door flap and stepped into the cool night air. The wind picked up her hair and tossed it into her face, but she just brushed it away and sighed.

"You should be asleep."

Relena practically jumped out of her skin at the sound of his deep monotone voice and whipped her head around trying to spot him. Not surprisingly she found him sitting only a couple feet away in the knee high grass of the meadow that they camped in. Lying in the grass next to him with his head in the brave's lap was Finn, whose yellow eyes were closed as he had his pointy ears scratched.

"What?" she asked, just realizing that he'd told her something.

He looked at her out of the corner of his eye, never stopping his hand moving over Finn's head. In the waning moon light, she could see his usual emotionless face and the glow of his blue eyes as he gazed at her. She watched him as he studied her, unsure of exactly why she was standing outside with him. He seemed to come to a conclusion about whatever was on his mind and motioned her to come closer.

She stepped toward him slowly and came to sit next to him in the grass. The meadow felt so different from this point of view. The grass came up to her chest and walled them in while the shadow-like trees looked even bigger from her position on the ground and it seemed like the whole camp had changed. She could no longer see the remains of cooking fires and only the tops of tents were visible. She wondered if this is how the world looked to animals.

"Look up," Heero told her and when she did she was assaulted with an unbelievable number of sparkling stars.

"Oh, wow. It's beautiful," she breathed as she looked at the galaxy of jewels above her in the ring of treetops. It was breathtaking and almost indescribable. It never looked this clear back home because of all the dust and smoke in the air from the farms and homes. But here, in the middle of the woods, they were like a million of twinkling lights, scattered across the black expanse of sky.

"Do you see those three stars right there?" he asked her, pointing up at a corner of the dark sky with his free hand. Relena leaned closer to him and looked up the slant of his tanned, muscular arm and spotted three glowing stars in a V shape that seemed to twinkle at the end of his finger. She nodded, keeping her eyes on the spot so she wouldn't lose them.

"Now look at the smaller stars below them and tell me what it looks like."

Relena took her eyes away from the sky for a moment to look at his face so near to hers. Oddly, she didn't feel awkward being so close to someone who only two weeks ago she thought was going to kill her. His face was turned up and the night sky was reflected in his blue eyes. Doing what he'd asked, she looked back up to the stars and found the V before looking at the smaller ones below it. It took her a moment to connect the odd shape she was seeing to something real, but when she did she smiled as suddenly the V shape turned into a head and two wing tips with all the littler stars forming hundreds of feathers.

"It's a bird," she whispered in wonder.

"Liluye - it means `singing hawk while soaring,'" Heero told her quietly and she found herself caught up in the sound of his low voice as he continued, still stroking Finn's thick gray fur. "A long time ago, many, many season-turns before the white man and the Resh'ta-ne, the land was governed by the ways of nature. The cycle of life that the beings of the forests and open plains follow to keep the land in harmony."

"The cycle?" Relena asked when he paused.

He nodded, his eyes still looking up at the night sky. "The grass feeds off the land, the mouse feeds off the grass, the owl feeds off the mouse and when the owl dies he becomes the land. It's a circle. Everything has a purpose, no creature or being is more important than the others. Not even us. We too are apart of the cycle, just like the owl and the mouse."

She stayed silent, unsure if her voice would work. She had never thought of the animals like that, like they were there for a purpose. The wolves that ate the livestock of farmers or the mice that lived around the houses. To her people they were considered pests or nuisances. They didn't have a purpose. Domestic animals like cats and dogs had purposes that benefited the owner, the same going to animals like horses and cattle.

The idea that humans were equal to plants and animals was new to her . . . but she found herself quickly accepting it and eager to learn more. She waited for Heero to continue and gazed at his profile against the stars and moon.

"Liluye is the guardian of the skies," he said, his voice still that constant monotone, but it still entranced her. "She controls the rain and the wind and watches the land from above where she can see everything. She and her brothers and sisters created us, each adding a bit of them into our spirits. Liluye gave us grace to overcome walking on our hind legs and honor to be proud of who we are and our differences from the other creatures and each other."

The legend intrigued her. It was against everything she was ever told to believe in, but it was interesting and captured her. The Christian church taught that God made the world . . . but the natives believed that the animals were on Earth before humans and they were the ones that created them. Like the creatures were gods.

"So the animals are like you peoples' gods?" she asked hesitantly and watched his face as seemed to contemplate his wording.

"Not like you see a god," he actually looked at her for the first time since she came out of the tent and she only gazed back, trapped in his eyes. "We believe that everything has a spirit; rocks, trees, flowers, rivers, animals, the moon and sun. We don't -" he paused, like he was trying to find the right word, "- worship them. They are like our brothers . . . friends. We understand each other and let each other go about our own business. We live in harmony together."

Relena pulled her eyes away from his and looked up at the twinkling sky. "Unlike us," she said to herself, but not surprisingly he heard her.

"The white men like to own and command. They don't understand the cycle and think that they are superior to the animals and nature," he told her calmly.

She nodded, agreeing with him. Europeans and Americans were just the way he described them. Too much greed and want had caused their past to be full of wars and destruction. How many emperors and kings had tried to rule the known world? How many would there be in the future? Relena yawned, again drawing the brave's attention.

"You should go back to sleep," he told her, nodding toward the tent only a couple of feet away from where the three of them sat. She yawned again and stood slowly and a bit stiffly before looking down at his unruly brown hair and light reflecting blue eyes.

She smiled softly at him, "Goodnight."

"Hn," was his reply but she had a feeling that was about as good as she would get. She walked back into the tent and into the back room to the warm fur that she'd claimed. As she lay down, she checked up on the sleeping Eli before snuggling under the big skin and closing her eyes to fall into a dreamless sleep herself.

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Quatre was awake and brushing down Sandrock when he first heard the whistle of the sentry. It was returned and he saw a red mare burst through the underbrush from the north side of the grassy meadow that they had camped in for the night. Once she trotted into the moonlight, he knew immediately who the rider was. Sandrock sidestepped a bit before becoming still again and continuing to chomp on the tall grasses.

The blonde brave watched as Trowa dismounted and led Heavy over to the painted red tent, where he began to groom and care for his mount. Surprisingly, Catherine was awake, or had been awakened by the heavy hoof steps of Trowa's mare, and exited the tent to look around. She spotted her brother only feet away and threw herself at him. Quatre smiled and watched as the two talked in hushed voices.

They were always very close, being separated by only a season, and loved each other very much. A closeness that Quatre was always envious of, since it was hard to become close with twenty-nine sisters who are far older than you. He was the last in the line of attempts for a son and now his father was ill and waning.

He was in the prime candidacy for the role of Clan leader and he was dreading it. With his father's health becoming worse everyday, the Elder's council was becoming far more persistent that the next leader be named. Becoming leader would hinder his participation in the events to come with the a'saii of the Resh'ta-ne. He, like Trowa and Catherine's rujho, would be stuck back in the Village as he worked from the sidelines. Although, he didn't like fighting or killing, Quatre enjoyed working on the frontline with the other four a'saii.

Across the field, Trowa walked into their tent with Catherine at his side.

Earlier, he'd seen Heero and Relena talking in the long grass for a while. They seemed to be having a very interesting conversation about stars because he'd seen Heero point up at the sky and both of them gaze up there for a while. He'd been unable to hear any of their conversation, but after about an hour Relena stood and returned to Heero's painted tent. A few minutes later, the brave himself had retreated into the shelter with his shadow at his heels.

Quatre took a deep breath of the cool night air and sighed. The moonlight shined down on the clearing and highlighted the earthy paints on all the tents around the field. He hugged his sandy colored gelding around his thick neck and decided that it was about time that he turned in. He ducked under the door flap and around the unlit fit pit in the center of the main room.

As he rearranged the furs in the back room of this sun painted tent, he made a mental note to himself to talk to Trowa in the morning about Treize's orders and to talk to Duo about what was in that flat bread at dinner. . . .

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It was early morning in the clearing and Hilde stood outside a tent with a sun painted over the door flap with Devin, Jason, Theresa, Adam and Leon. Catherine had led them here then entered the tent with the tall brave that lived with her. After that she'd seen the one with the long braid, who smiled at her and the children as he passed, and dark haired brave enter. So it was just the six of them waiting in the cool dawn. Bethany rubbed her eyes again and Jason yawned, causing a chain reaction as Theresa, Adam and Devin yawned as well. Leon stood off to the side, his arms crossed over his chest. But she saw him blink several times like he was trying to wake up.

Hilde heard footsteps behind her and nearly jumped when a hand was placed on her shoulder. She spun to look at the culprit and came face to face with Relena, a warm smile on her face. She held Eli in her arms and the young boy was lying against her shoulder with his eyes closed. A big gray creature stopped next to her and sat next to her feet, causing the more coherent children to back away in fright of the huge, powerful looking canine.

"Don't worry," Relena told them with a reassuring smile, "he won't hurt you. He's actually really nice."

Only Adam seemed reassured and he cautiously approached the wolf and reached his hand out for him to sniff like you would for an unknown dog. Finn took the offer and butted his cool nose against the boy's palm, then moved his head so Adam's hand slid up to the pointy ears, like he was offering them for a scratch. The blonde boy went ahead and moved his fingers along the base of the tall ears and one of Finn's yellow eyes closed in pleasure.

Relena smiled as Jason became intrigued and slowly stepped to stand next Adam to run his hand over the thick ruff of fur at Finn's neck. When nothing bad happened, he continued, a delighted smile lighting up his blue eyes. The girls and Devin got in on it and soon both of Finn's eyes were closed as he reveled in all the attention he was getting.

"Hn," a deep voice said from behind them. Relena recognized it immediately, but Hilde jumped in surprise. The two young women turned to look up at Heero, but he was watching the five children and his companion with an amused look. The brave chuckled slightly, startling the girls again, before shaking his head and moving to enter the tent and disappearing behind the door flap.

Hilde turned to Relena with a stunned look. "Did he just laugh?" she asked.

Relena looked at the door to the sun painted tent with a small smile on her face and nodded to Hilde's question. The other girl wondered what that dreamy smile was about but thought better about questioning. She could never tell who was listening and who wasn't.

^*^

Inside the six Resh'ta-ne sat around Quatre's front room, in the middle of a conversation about Treize's orders.

"So he wants us to wait?" Duo asked with a scowl on his face, "After all this, he's not even going to give us a heads-up on what the Council members are thinking? What about the Elders?"

"He just said to wait, Duo," Trowa repeated calmly to the frustrated warrior.

"What's he up to?" Catherine wondered from between her brother and Quatre. The males turned their attention to her at her confusion filled question.

"What do you mean?" Heero asked, his usual monotone still in play.

"He's always given us updates on what the Leaders and Elders are doing so we don't get in the way," she explained, reminding them of past occurrences. "But now he's keeping it all to himself and not giving us information. There's got to be something going on," she concluded putting her chin in her hand.

"Are you sure he didn't give you some hint in his conversation?" Quatre asked Trowa, but the green eyed brave shook his head.

"The Wolf Wing Clan leadership came up once during our initial conversation and at dinner he mentioned something about the Elders being divided on something but he wouldn't elaborate."

"He's hiding something from us," Wufei stated. "Something is happening with the Council and he's not letting the information leak out to us."

Catherine sat up straighter and turned to face her brother. "Did Leia or Mariemaia say anything? Harana could never keep her mouth shut about gossip like that."

Trowa shook his head, "Treize knows that, he never talks about business around Mariemaia anymore."

"And Leia is very loyal," Quatre added, "If Treize asked her not to say anything about it, she wouldn't. He has great trust in her."

"So we have no leads. That bites," Duo grumbled and got a glare from Wufei.

Heero moved the conversation to a slightly different topic. "What about his request about the children?"

Trowa looked at Heero, reading the suppressed emotions within the dark blue eyes. The tall brave was surprised to see that the other stoic warrior was somewhat concerned but kept his reaction to himself.

"He said we should split them up to ease the burden of having nine captives. Allow them time together during camping hours, but make it easier to manage them during the rides."

"Makes sense," Duo said thoughtfully. "I'll gladly take on a couple if you want. Haven't got anything else to do lately."

"I will take on one as well," Quatre added, smiling at Catherine and Trowa.

Catherine thought a moment before looking to Trowa. "We can take the twins, Theresa and Jason without any trouble. I think Duo can handle other older girl, Hilde, and her brother and Adam would be a good match for Quatre. What do you think?" she asked and her brother considered her choices from what he knew of the children.

He smiled at her and nodded before adding to her list. "Since Heero already has his hands full, I think Leon would work well with Wufei and we could take on the other girl as well."

Wufei glared at the siblings, "There's no way I'm taking care of some uncultured brat. Keep me out of this."

"Aw come on, buddy. Pull your weight," Duo told him with a teasing smile.

"Look whose talking," the dark haired brave said with a smirk and the braided warrior glared at him. Quatre held up his hands to stop another oncoming fight between the two and settled things before Duo could take a swipe at Wufei.

"Stop it you two," he scolded them and Duo turned his eyes away from the other brave and pouted. Wufei just kept his aloft attitude and the smirk never came off his face, since he had succeeded in getting the braided brave riled up once again.

"Wufei just take the boy on. It won't hurt you to do it for a couple more days," Trowa tried to persuade the stubborn warrior.

The dark haired brave sighed, "Very well. I will take on this Leon until we get to the Village, then he will have to find another sponsor."

Quatre chuckled and shook his head, "We wouldn't expect anything more from you." He then addressed the rest of them, "Now that that's all settled, I suppose that it's about time that we tell the people in question. Catherine, would you do the honor of introducing us to each of our charges, since you seem to have gotten to know them fairly well?"

The redheaded cheysu nodded and stood from her place on the fur covered floor to walk out of the tent. The others followed her one at a time and they stepped out into the morning sunlight. The group of children and teens sat outside in the grass in front of the hut, some still petting Finn's big head and thick fur as he lay among them. Relena and Hilde sat close together talking quietly to each other as the small boy sat in the blonde's lap playing with the tip of Finn's tail as it twitched back and forth on the ground in front of him.

When the six of them stepped out most of the activity stopped and eight questioning faces were turned up to look at them. Catherine and Quatre smiled at them in an attempt to soothe the scared faces of the young girls and the concerned ones of Hilde and Relena.

"Don't worry," Catherine told them in English as the braves behind her listened patiently. "We're just going to split you up among us until we get back to our home. You'll still be able to see each other."

Adam and Leon nodded slowly, understanding what was going on a bit better than the other younger children. Relena and Hilde traded a look before giving the group of Resh'ta-ne in front of them their full attention.

"Jason, Theresa and Bethany," she addressed the three six-year-olds with a smile, "you'll continue to stay with Trowa and me, alright?"

The three in question nodded dumbly, not really knowing what else to do.

"Adam," she continued, waving for him to come closer and the blonde boy stood slowly to stand in front of her. "I'd like you to meet Quatre. He'll be taking care of you from now on."

The ten-year-old looked up at the blonde brave, who smiled down at him warmly. One corner of Adam's mouth twitched up in a weak smile in return, still very unsure of this new person.

Catherine smiled at the two of them before addressing the oldest of the group of children. "Leon, this is Wufei," she introduced them, pointing to the dark haired brave. "I think you two will get along just fine if you do what he says, okay?"

Neither character made a comment about her statement but instead sized each other up like opponents. Neither seemed to find anything to their dislike and Wufei cracked an amused smirk as he continued to look down on the brown haired boy. He snorted and turned away from the group, throwing a single word over his shoulder.

"Come."

Leon crossed his arms over his chest and followed the older male away from the group, not saying a goodbye or even giving any of the others a glance as he left.

"You're right, Trowa," Duo commented in English with a grin, "They're a pair."

"Indeed," Quatre agreed with a smile and a shake of his head.

Catherine giggled a little before turning to Hilde. "Duo has agreed to take you and your brother on as long as you help him cook. I've taught you the basics so I think you'll be fine if you make plenty. Duo tends to eat a lot," she said with a grin and the braided brave stuck his tongue out at her.

"So what if I have a big appetite," he said defensively. "It's healthy."

"Is that what your mother told you?" Heero asked, an amused look crossing his features.

"Shut up, Heero," Duo snapped, swiping at the other brave's head, but Heero dodged it easily. The violet eyed brave glared at him and all he did was raise a questioning brow.

Quatre and Catherine laughed, Trowa chuckling lightly at his friend's easily riled attitude. Heero and Wufei got to Duo the most, teasing him was one of their past times. Duo teased them as well, but he didn't have the capacity to let everything slide off like water on a duck's back like the two more serious braves did. Laughing, to the group, was like a breath of fresh air and Duo usually provided it, whether on purpose or not.

As the laugher died down, Heero looked up at the sky and the horizon beyond the trees.

"We should get going," he informed the others and they took looked at the position of the sun and nodded.

"Come on you three," Catherine called to the twins and Bethany. They each got up and waved to Relena and the others, who waved or smiled back, before following Catherine back to the red painted tent with a soaring hawk above the door flap. Trowa shared a look with the three other a'saii before following his rujholla.

Quatre smiled at the remaining children before putting a hand on Adam's shoulder. The boy looked up at him nervously for a moment and the blonde brave nodded toward the tent that stood behind them.

"Have you eaten yet?" he asked and the boy shook his head. Quatre just smiled, "Come in. I have some left over from my breakfast that you are welcome to have."

He led the boy away from the group and ushered him inside. But before he ducked in himself, he turned to Duo and Heero.

"We'll leave by the sun's second position. Get something to eat, I can hear Duo's stomach all the way over here," then he disappeared.

Duo grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of his head with one hand, "Well, I did only have seconds before I came over. Guess it's about time to finish up, huh?" He turned to look at Hilde and Devin and smiled comically at the two of them, "Well, let's go. I'll show you my place."

He locked his hands behind his head and started whistling as he walked away, Devin and Hilde jumped up and started walking after him, waving goodbye to Relena. She smiled and waved back before standing up and smiling up at Heero. Something had changed between them the night before and they both felt the familiarity.

"'Lena, I'm hungry!" Eli told her has he clasped onto her hand. She answered him, though she looked at Heero.

"How does breakfast sound?" she asked both of them at the same time.

"Yay! Please!" he exclaimed and tugged on her hand. Relena smiled down at him, finally pulling her eyes away from Heero's blue ones and started walking back toward their tent with Eli beside her, holding her hand.

Heero watched her for a moment, unsettled by the feelings that had been opened. He wasn't allowed to have those feelings with a captive, but she acted less like a captive and more like a young Resh'ta-ne girl every day, though she still had her bred kinks.

Life continued to get weirder every day didn't it?

^*^