Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Of thieves and Magi... ❯ Chapter 3

(AN: Annoyingly enough, not all of my italics were coming through when I uploaded previous chapters... with any luck, I should be able to fix that, shortly. My apologies for the sloppiness.)

THREE:

The Mage went through the open doorway and vanished in a subtle flourish of blue cloth. It took a moment to realize that the black-clad guard hadn't followed him, but rather was still standing beside the open door. Cautiously, Duo glanced at him, and his gaze was met by that of a single green eye-- its mate was hidden beneath a fall of hair that completely obscured part of the man's face.

That single eye, though, didn't seem that threatening, and so Duo slowly began to release the tension that the sight of that uniform and spear brought on. Carefully, he climbed off the bed and straightened his clothes, part of him that seemed detached from the entire situation revelling in the feel of the soft fabric against his skin. Both the pants and loose shirt were black, he noted with appreciation, and fit him like they had been made for him.

The guard shifted, recapturing his attention, and made a show of pulling the door open a fraction more.

Duo hesitated, but then shrugged slightly to himself, figuring that if they were going to kill him, they likely would have done it already. I agreed to their little plan; unless I screw it up I'm gonna say I'm safe. So--

He took a step towards the door, and was rewarded with the faintest of nods. The guard began to walk through the door, and Duo followed.

The short hallway outside was just as tastefully expensive as the room, and Duo had to fight hard to keep himself from just stopping mid-step and staring. His fingers began to twitch slightly as they moved, itching to reach out and appropriate some of the decorations for his own.

Be good, he told himself sternly, eyes wandering into the latest of the alcoves they passed. For now, at least.

The end of the hall opened into a narrow staircase, which they ascended for a floor to find themselves in a single large room that smelled distinctly of fresh, hot food. Duo's mouth immediately began to water as his stomach reminded him rather stridently of its current empty condition. Duo himself stopped still in the doorway, staring this time in something more like awe as he took in his new surroundings. It was a kitchen. A real, working kitchen that was bigger and more impressive than any of those he had broken into before. Shelves lined two of the walls, stocked with more food than he'd ever seen in one place, probably with things he'd never even heard of-- and the actual cookware was certainly beyond his knowledge. He was used to fire-cooked food, if he ate things that were cooked at all, but here there was no firepit, only a large box against the wall, not far from the table--

A throat was cleared delicately, and Duo jerked his attention around to meet a pleasant smile and a bright sky-blue gaze beneath golden hair.

"It's a bit much, isn't it?" The owner of the gaze made a welcoming gesture, and it was only then that Duo realized he was still standing in the doorway. The guard had long since entered and was seated at the table, his spear leaning against the wall close by. Automatically, Duo gave a thought to grabbing the spear and making a run for it-- but then the single green eye fixed on him again with that expressionless stare, and he knew that despite the apparently relaxed posture, the other man was still watching him.

"Aren't you hungry?"

Duo turned to find a full plate in front of his face. Not waiting to ask questions, he snatched it and retreated to the nearest corner, hearing soft laughter chasing after him. For a moment, he felt anger beginning to rise up-- but then he realized that there was nothing cruel about the sound, and somehow he couldn't take offence. He glanced up between bites to see the bright eyes smiling at him warmly.

The food vanished quickly, Duo's stomach protesting a bit at the speed at which it was filled but generally feeling better than it had in weeks. Sighing a bit, Duo relaxed his hold on the plate and then stopped, realizing that he had no idea what to do with it.

"Here." A hand reached into his field of vision and deftly took the plate from his hesitating fingers. The unknown young man smiled at him again, his blonde hair falling over his eyes, and turned to put the dirty dish away somewhere unknown. "You can have more, if you want-- you look like you could use more, you're nothing but bones-- but maybe you should take it easy, and give yourself time to get used to having regular meals. You did eat that rather quickly," he added with a somewhat reproachful look, and Duo actually found himself feeling a bit ashamed.

"Habit," he muttered, looking down.

That soft laugh came again, making him raise his eyes. "Yes, I know," the other said. "Feels rather like it'll vanish on you if you give it time, doesn't it? I was much the same when I got here."

"You--" Duo's confusion showed on his face for a moment before he got control of his expression again, but it was long enough for the other to see.

"I lived in the Warrens, too," he elaborated, and Duo blinked to hear the name those of the lower city gave their home coming so easily from the other's mouth. It was a good sign that he was telling the truth, though, and so Duo took a moment to study the other a bit more carefully. The blonde was small, like Duo himself-- the unavoidable product of not having enough to eat during one's younger years, a characteristic that never fully went away-- which meant that he was likely older than he looked just as Duo was. After a moment, Duo placed him at a few years older than himself, and possibly-- he darted his eyes aside to do a quick comparison-- of an age with the guard.

"Rat?" he finally asked, even though he didn't expect the other to have run with the street gangs, from the look of him.

The blonde shook his head, confirming Duo's suspicions. "My sister worked in the Red," he explained, and Duo immediately placed the section of the lower city where most of the business came through brothels. "I lived with her, until Master Heero came and took me in."

Duo's eyes narrowed a bit. "That's the Mage?" he asked.

The blonde man just nodded, moving to the table where he seated himself next to the still silent guard. He gestured to the remaining seats. "You can sit, if you like."

Warily, Duo approached the table and, after a moment, gingerly perched himself on the chair furthest from the guard. Even that, though, seemed to please the other man, and Duo was gifted with another smile-- the openness of which startled him a bit. How can this guy have lived in the Warrens and still be able to smile like that?

"What's your name?"

"Duo," he replied after a moment's hesitation.

The man nodded again. "I'm Quatre. This," he gestured to the guard, "is Trowa."

Duo let his eyes flick to the black-clad man for a moment, and was given the barest of nods in return.

"You've probably got a lot of questions," the blonde man started, but Duo was quick to cut him off.

"Oh no, I get it. I do what I'm told, or I'm gutter meat. Don't worry, no questions from me."

Quatre actually grimaced. "I see Master Heero's been his usual self," he said wryly to Trowa, glancing aside at him. Duo was startled to see the guard's mouth actually twitch upwards a bit at the corners in reply, and stared for a moment at the man before Quatre began speaking again. "Did he at least tell you why you're here?"

Duo shifted uncomfortably on his chair, still not really sure he believed what he'd been told. "He, uh, said I was a Mage," he muttered, half expecting the others to laugh and tell him it had been a joke.

But Quatre only nodded again. "You've got the talent," the blonde man agreed, looking at him earnestly. "So do we-- it's why we were brought here, too." Frowning in concentration, he extended a hand partway towards Duo-- and as the startled thief watched, a Glower the size of his thumbnail formed over the other man's palm. It hovered there for a moment, buttery-golden like a warm, tiny star, then it winked out.

Duo made a small, strangled sound, not quite able to keep it in.

"I can hold it for a little while-- long enough to find the lavatory in the middle of the night, or something like that-- but I'm better with the ones that are set in place." Smiling a bit mischievously, the blonde gestured towards the larger lamps set into the walls. "Master Heero made those, but I can tap into them and keep them going all day, if I need to." He shrugged. "I've got a bit more power than Trowa, but we've each got things we're good at. I can't do nearly as good a Mask as him, for instance, which is why he can go out as a guard and no one will look at him twice."

Feeling a bit numb, Duo just nodded. "Right."

Quatre smiled, though, rather sympathetically. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it."

The thief couldn't hold in his snort. "Somehow, I doubt that."

The blonde's smile widened. "You will. Once you get over the first little while, get used to the idea, it's actually fairly easy to learn."

At that, Duo's brain started to work again, finally processing the notion that he would be learning magic. Glowers, which by themselves could make him a king in the Warrens. Maybe something that could keep bugs out of bedding, or move things without having to lift them-- and other things he had likely never dreamed of.

The possibilities started running circles through his mind.

This-- might not be so bad after all. In fact it could be very, very good--

Maybe I should stick around, after all.

Stowing the barely-born plans away in a corner of his mind for later perusal, Duo successfully squelched a wicked grin and dragged himself back to the present. "Uh, so," he started. "You both are sort of junior Magi, hm? How many more of you are there around here?"

Quatre's face went a bit guarded, which immediately set off alarms in Duo's mind. "We're the only two in residence," he eventually said, carefully, "but there's been a few others through here since I first arrived. The talent is actually a lot more common that the Magi would like everyone to believe, or so Master Heero says."

Lifting an eyebrow a bit, Duo smirked sceptically. "So why isn't the world overrun by Magi, then?"

"Because," a new voice said from behind Duo, "unless a talented child is found at and trained from birth, they are counted as rogues and killed on discovery. Magi are very particular when it comes to acceptable influences on their recruits."

The sound of the voice so close behind him made Duo jump instinctively from the chair and whirl to drop in a defensive crouch. Wishing he had his knife, his eyes sought out the figure that had somehow entered the room, impossibly silent.

"There are some exceptions, of course. Those that show unusually strong talent are mind-blasted and sent to the breeding facilities, in hopes that their gifts will pass on to the newer, more malleable generation. You show enough potential to perhaps have gone that route."

The man was dressed in white, dark-haired, dark-eyed-- not a memorable appearance, though Duo couldn't help but think there was something odd about him in some way. He was taller than Duo-- most were-- though not as tall as the guard, Trowa. Perhaps of a height with the Mage-- but Duo's memories of that particular man were fuzzy, so he couldn't say for sure.

All of this, Duo automatically analysed the moment he laid eyes on the newcomer-- before the words the other had spoken sunk in and made him nearly fall over out of his crouch. "You're going to send me where? You motherless bastards-- not a Fates-cursed chance I'll let you--"

"Do you listen?" the man cut in, irritation flashing visibly across his face. "We saved you from that, you little ingrate. You probably would have been picked up within a year. Show a little gratitude before we change our minds about saving your sorry hide."

There was a hot retort on the tip of Duo's tongue-- probably not a very intelligent one, possibly one that might not even make much sense-- but he caught it just before it escaped. Remembered threats rang through his head, and the obvious sincerity of them cooled his temper a bit. Grumbling to himself, he settled for a glare in the other's direction.

After a moment's waiting silence, the stranger sniffed disdainfully and turned his attention to the two still sitting at the table. "Quatre. Trowa," he greeted shortly. "I'll continue this, if you have no objections."

Quatre smiled his usual warm smile. "Of course not, Master Wufei."

The dark eyes narrowed again. "Quatre," he started warningly.

"Yes, Master Wufei?"

There was another moment of silence, while the newcomer visibly struggled with irritation and Quatre just sat smiling innocently. Finally, Wufei sighed and shook his head, his expression fading into long-suffering exasperation. "You're impossible," he accused flatly.

If anything, Quatre's sunny smile only widened.

The dark eyes turned back to Duo, who had relaxed only slightly. "Follow me," he ordered curtly, and turned to walk from the room, his feet making no sound at all against the stones of the floor. He vanished through the doorway without ever looking back.

Duo slowly stood up straight, eyes fixed on the door until the retreating figure disappeared, then turned back to the two at the table with a question written clearly in his eyes.

Quatre smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, you'll be fine. And he'll be able to explain things much better than I can."

It might have been Duo's imagination, but he thought he detected a note of relief in the other's voice.

Steeling himself, still wishing for his knife, Duo walked back over to the door and through.