Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Weather and Haul Wind ❯ Chapter 6 ( Chapter 6 )

Quatre looked on as Heero and the stranger stared at each other. The taller man's brown hair was cropped short, all except for his bangs which hung down to his chin. He'd brushed then to one side so as not to hide his face completely behind the vial of silky hair. His brilliant green eyes were calm and at the same time overwhelmingly powerful. His quiet demeanor would have put most people off into a nervous silence, they may have shifted uneasily under his steady gaze, and might have even slinked away instead of asking the question they'd had; but Quatre and Heero could fell the understanding aura that pulsed from this green-eyed man. Heero was very much the same: quiet, often unnerving, with a steady gaze that almost forced respectful silence. But the silence quickly became boring for the little guardian. He reached up and pulled gently at Heero tunic which seamed to snap the young sailor out of his trance.

 

“I was told by the Lady of the Bloom house that I could find her brother here. I have some questions pertaining to the Myth and Monster Encyclopedia. Do you know where he is?”

 

The tall mans eyes dulled at the question and then nodded.

 

“I am he, how can I help.”

 

Heero wasn't terribly surprised; he'd had a feeling that this man was the one he was looking for.

 

“The entry on Lunar Guardians was a bit vague; do you know anything else about them?” Heero asked with an almost hopeful tone

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Their growth cycle, eating habits, language, natural habitat; I need to know those sort of things.”

 

“I don't. Lunar Guardians are one of the myths.” The green-eyed man said with a slight shrug.

 

“I beg to differ.” A much older and grainy voice said, causing both the young men to turn.

 

“Doctor S?”

 

This newcomer was an older gentleman; he was thin with white hair that stuck striate up. His nose was an artificial patch, the aftermath of an unlucky encounter some angry creature no doubt. The man approached them shaking his head.

 

“Young man your question was of Lunar Guardians correct?”

 

Heero nodded and gave the man a slightly suspicious look.

 

“The Lunar Guardians are grand creatures to be sure but not much is known about them. To be honest very few people have ever clamed to have seen one. If you've read the Myth and Monster Encyclopedia then it is very possible that what is written within its pages is all that is known about them but they are not myths, they are very real.”

 

“I know that. I hail from Lunar Port.”

 

“Ah! Then why come here to ask questions?”

 

“Because the elders no nothing more than what was written.”

 

“I see, I am afraid we can not help you. Now if you'll excuse me.”

 

The older man left without another word, walking off down the lined path, occasionally stopping to pet a creature of nod hello before disappearing altogether. Heero waited in silence but the green eyed man said nothing for a very long time, only starring with his eerie green eyes.

 

“Why do you want to know?” He finally asked

 

Heero looked at him with a placid grin, taking a long pause before answering him.

 

“It's better not to talk about it here.” Quatre made a quiet mew of agreement. “Come down to the harbor tonight, my ship is docked there...” Heero glanced up though the glass dome ceiling “... and I must be going now.”

 

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By the time they wound their way back down the maze of streets to the harbor the lanterns along each road had been lit. Duo and Wufei had returned long before them. The eccentric thief had managed to sell off a good portion of the carvings he'd been charged with, he was quite pleased with himself and to reward his good work Heero gave him some of the profit. Duo was happily surprised and accepted the coins with unbridled glee, a grin spreading for one ear to the other. Scythe decide, from his perch next to his brother on the galley table, that the shiny object that Duo'd received needed to be liberated and in one clean motion he leapt from the table, snacked a coin from the tall brunet, and sprinted off out the galley door and down the hall. The was a moment of shocked silence before Duo went chasseing after the kitten yelling all manner of curses and the like that only added more of a comedic element to the situation for the rest of the crew. Heero smiled quietly and Wufei laughed out loud from the kitchen where he was cooking. Even Shin seemed to be laughing through his bight golden eyes. Quatre was the only one who seemed to be out of the loop, he cocked his head to the side in innocent confusion, not understanding the situation in the situation by trying his hardest to put one tiny clawed finger on it.

 

Duo rejoined the rest of the Wings crew a few moments later, a few new scratches and scraps standing out an angry red against his well tanned skin. He shrugged and proclaimed the battle lost as Scythe trotted in behind him, coin still in his mouth. The crew all set down to the meal that Wufei had prepared for them. As usual it was delicious, and the conversation was brought to a halt until the last of the plates had been scraped and licked clean. There was a bowl of oranges in the middle of the table, curtsey of the cook, and so while each person shared what new they'd heard in town, what rumors were going around and so forth Heero peeled himself one. He handed a slice to Quatre, who had changed back to his original from and discarded the cloths as soon as they were below deck, and noted how happily the creature nibbled on it slowly as to make it last longer. There were a rare few wild orange trees on Lunar Port and the surrounding islands and most of those were harvested to sell to sailors and merchants as they were a precious commodity. It would follow that there would be very few left over for the wild animals to dine on. It was like giving candy or a glass of clean water to a child from a third world county the not nearly so desperate.

 

The crew talked until the ears of both kittens sprang up and swiveled toward the door. Heero, Wufei, and Duo immediately dropped into defensive positions and Quatre took cover behind the table. It may have been nothing, they may have been overreacting; but it was better that they reacted, they could feel stupid for spooking at nothing then if they didn't and ended up dead because of carelessness. A shadow stretched into the view of the door and the crew tensed for a moment before the kittens started purring loudly. A tall figure stepped into the light; it was Lady Bloom's brother. Heero relaxed immediately, letting his hand slide away from hilt his sword. Wufei and Duo followed his example.

 

“I apologize for startling you but no one answered when I called.”

 

“It is no trouble, you were invited.” Heero said gesturing that the green eyed man could enter and sit. “Sit...”

 

“I don't have a name but if you wish to call me something then it is Trowa, Trowa Barton.” Trowa said as he took a seat on the bench next to Wufei.

 

“Heero Yuy, and my crew...” He waved an open hand in the direction of each crew member as he introduced them. “My cook and navigator Chang Wufei, Duo Maxwell is our watchman and accountant, and you already know Quatre.”

 

Wufei nodded his hello to the scholar curtly, while Duo waved enthusiastically from his end of the table. Quatre, who had already met Trowa once today peeped a happy hello from his reclaimed spot next to Heero on the bench. Trowa nodded in acknowledgment to all of them but nearly fell from the bench when he got a good look at the little blue eyed blond. He stood suddenly and leaned across the table to get a closer look. Quatre fluttered to eye level with the much taller human and peered back playfully. He warbled a few incoherent words and then said “Trowa!” The little Guardian reached out and put a little clawed hand on either side of the mans face pulled his cheeks into a smile, an annoying habit he'd pick up from Duo that he did whenever he saw someone with a peculiar look on their face.

 

“A...a....a...” Trowa sputtered for a moment before collecting his thoughts enough to make a complete sentence. “A Lunar Guardian, here?”

 

“I brought him with me from Lunar Port. Quatre is the reason I came to Rednege.”

 

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Over the course of a few hours Heero told Trowa of all his finding as they pertained to Quatre the group slowly dwindled down to Heero, the captain, Wufei the cook, and himself. Duo, the lanky, long haired, watchman, slinked off to bed claming he was tired and existed after a long day of selling figurines. Quatre got bored quickly and went off to play with the kittens, who'd introduced themselves via rubbing against Trowa legs while purring loudly. They were curious creatures in themselves, those kittens. The jet black color of their fur shimmered healthy in the lamp light of the ships Galley. One had a perfect white circle around his left eye and the other a small triangle of white on his chin. But the eyes, yes the eyes were what was unnerving. They shone with a human intelligence that animals weren't supposed to have but they showed no sign of being anything more or less then two playful kittens.

 

While he spoke at length with Heero and Wufei about Quatres habits, likes, dislikes, growth pattern, learning curve, and diet he watched the little one play with the kittens on the opposite side of the room. For all his three and a half feet in height most of it was his tail, long and elegant and so much like that of a Dolphin that it was almost as odd seeing it attached to the creatures torso as it was to see the Lunar Guardian at all. His arms were covered with short, soft fur that resembled that of a tigers and where his limbs were obviously more human-like then animal the retractable claws at the ends of each delicate finger were not just for show. The wings that grew from his back were functional and he used them but it was obvious that they would have to be much larger to carry something any bigger than the size Quatre was now. The wings would probably grow at a much faster rate then the rest of this body, Trowa made a note of this. What puzzled him most was the fact that despite the bright, almost flamboyant, markings and light colored hair didn't obstruct the Guardians ability to camouflage its self. If he understood Heero correctly Lunar Port was a simi-tropical island. The only thing he could think of was that maybe Lunar Guardians, later in their lives, leaned to morph the rest of their body to look completely human like what Quatre could already do with his legs.

 

“Trowa?”

 

“Hm.” He had to pull himself back to the conversation.

 

“Its getting late, do you wish to continue tomorrow?”

 

Trowa was silent for a moment his mind wandering back to Quatre before he shook himself free again felt his lips move before he new what he was saying.

 

“I have a request.”

 

“Hm? Heero questioned, Wufei echoed his captain.

 

“Let me come with you.” He asked, again his mouth was moving and forming words without his consent.

 

“What?” Wufei barked a little louder then he'd planed while Heero raised an eyebrow in query.

 

“Let me come with you, please.”

 

“What about the Doctor S. and the animals?” Heero questioned

 

“He has many other apprentices, he will not miss me.”

 

“And your sister?”

 

“She's not legally aloud to recognize me as such much less see me.” Trowa said, his eyes falling a bit showing his own sorrow for the situation. He loved his sister more than anyone else. But there was no way to prove they were siblings and that old butler was a constant cause of worry. It had been he who made legal action against him, banishing him from the house, his father's library, and his only known family, Cathy.

 

Heero nodded as if he understood and perhaps he did, he was a mystery. Despite all that was divulged of his place of birth he'd made an effort without seeming to, and left out anything that could have told anything about his past before leaving Lunar Port with Quatre.

 

“Then I see nothing wrong with it.” Heero said “We leave the day after tomorrow. Bring your effects by tomorrow evening.”

 

Trowa nodded, the conversation ended there for the night. They said their goodbyes; Quatre even pulled himself away from his game of tag with the kittens to give Trowa a warm smile and a well-spoken “Goodnight.” Trowa walked up the dark winding streets of Rednege lost in thought, his feet moving by memory, he looked up and found himself at the front gates of the Bloom Manor. His mind told him he should just go but his heart said that he should at least say goodbye. He had to agree.

 

Trowa made the familiar sequence of movements that ended with him nimbly throwing himself over the high bars of the front gates. He knew better then to use the front door and so made his way to the trellis on the side of the house. A whimper brought his attention to the shadows of one of the many trees on the property and he could the Heldel-Wolf, Rish, looking out at him sadly.

 

“Rish, what are you doing?”

 

Trowa approached him slowly. Heldel-Wolfs were huge creatures the size of a small pony and my comparison to the timber wolves of the main land, they were vastly more inelegant. Rish had been Dr. Bloom's constant companion and when he passed away he'd taken to protecting Cathy but Trowa was always a welcome site to the big creature. All manner of animals seemed to love the young man. It was because of Rish that Trowa could sneak onto the property to see his beloved sister. Normally Rish was inside by this time of night, he insisted on sleeping on the foot of Cathys' bed. When Trowa got close enough he realized the Rish was chained to the tree. The Heldel-Wolf strained against the short chain and whined.

 

“Hold on.” Trowa said quietly. He reached around behind Rish's scruff and undid the painstakingly difficult metal clasp that held his thick leather collar around his neck. Rish made an immediate rush for the back door that was always open for him but found it locked. He reared on his hind legs and scratched at the doors with the thick black nails, pulling ribbons of the dark wood off with each swipe of his huge paws. Something was not right. Rish changed tactics to throwing his huge heavy body against the door growling deep in his throat with a sound that Trowa had only ever heard once and he knew that something was very wrong. He added own weight to the ramming of the door. The splintering of wood around the dead-bolt locks was a rewarding sound and he looked at Rish and growled in a almost feral tone as he readied for another ram. “Again!”

 

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Duo sat bolt upright in bed, thankful for the high ceilings in the crew quarters, and looked around the room in confusion not knowing what it was that had awakened him. He looked down to see that Wufei too was sitting up and looking around with obvious bewilderment. A screech of terror threw them both from their beds and sent them flying out of the room and up onto the deck with weapons in hand. Just as they reached the deck, kittens following close behind they saw a pail shape shoot out of Heero's cabin. A confused but determined looking captain followed after shortly and they could not but follow wordlessly.

 

He ran just behind Heero as they followed Quatre though the streets of the city, glad in the back of his mind that it was so late that there weren't even a couple of drunks out anymore. They wound up the streets quickly and when he saw their destination he wasn't quite sure what to think but Quatre soared over the high rot-iron gates. He expected Heero to pause but the site of the house seamed to spur him in to a more determined chase.

 

“Wufei; Blast the gate!” Heero yelled over his shoulder

 

Duo felt the heat from the air around him vanish and glanced back to see a huge fire ball forming in Wufeis' hands. The Dragon let it fly at the sturdy gate, reducing it to ash with a loud crack and a bright flash of light giving their party free access to the grounds and house within.

 

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Rish and Trowa bolted into the dark house over the broken door. Despite his long strong legs Trowa was starting to fall behind the Heldel- Wolf and so he made a leap and wrapped his hands in the thick, long hair at the scruff of the beasts' neck, and the pair powered up the steps of the mansion and then strait down the hall to the master bedroom, they hit the at full speed and went flying into the room with a snarl and a flurry of fur and wood chips.

 

“Cathy!” Trowa shouted jumping to the floor and scanning the room quickly before spotting his sister sitting at her desk. Her face was streaked with tears, her eyes bloodshot from crying, and the dark developing bruise on her cheek told a tale all its own. Behind her stood the butler and a man Trowa did not recognize. The butler held a cruel looking dagger to the soft flesh of Cathys throat while the other held a scroll of paper smooth on the desk in front of her. He took an angry step forward but stopped short when the butler pressed the dagger closer. Rish stood with hackles raised and all the hair along his back standing on end, his tail sticking strait up behind him like a banner of the murderous intent that shown in his eyes.

 

“Look who it is, the bastard son of the bastard!”

 

It was Trowa's turn to bare his teeth in anger.

 

“You.” Trowa snarled

 

“Yes me, I served your fathers' crazy fantasies for years and got nothing but I intend to get what is owed me! Isn't that right Lady Catherine.”

 

“T...t...Trowa...” Cathy whimpered pitifully tilting her tear filled green eyes toward her brother.

 

“Let go of her...”

 

“Dakim, boy, my name is Dakim!”

 

“Dakim... let go of my sister.”

 

“Or you'll what? I appear to be the one holding the cards or the dagger as the case may be.”

 

There was a deafening cracking outside, like lighting, that made everyone flinch and Trowa had to close his eyes against the blinding light. The other man muttered something about mage fire before ducking to the side. Trowa instinctively moved to intercept him but as he was blinded by light that had flooded thought the windows from outside he only managed to nock the man off balance. Thankfully it was enough and Rish moved to jump the man where he lay. The glass of the window above Cathy's desk shattered and a pale form shot through, crashing into Dakim and dragged him to the ground. Trowas' head jerked to the figure on top of Dakim as Cathy stood and stared in shocked silence.

 

“Quatre?”

 

He received no coherent answer, just a snarl that dripped of bloodlust but for all Quatres valiant-ness in his tackle he was a lightweight and Dakim recovered quickly, throwing the little Lunar Guardian off and into the chair behind which Cathy stood in shock. Trowa made a move to rush the treacherous butler but was intercepted by a third person who he'd not seen when he'd scanned the room earlier. He dropped on one knee as the other was kicked out from under him. The cold steel of a dagger had just come to rest on his neck when another shape crashed though the window. This time it was Duo who came flying thought the window, a black cat on each shoulder as he jumped from where he landed on the desk into a kick that caught Dakim square in the chest. Trowa felt the heat of warm blood drip down his neck and turned to look behind him as his assailant dropped with a bloody gurgle to the polished wooden floor of the Bloom Mansions master bedroom. Heero stood above Trowa now, whipping blood off his rapier. The angry sailor glared at the scene within the room with eyes so dark blue that they were a match for the coldness of the winter night sky.

 

“Heero...” Trowa said with more relief then he realized.

 

“It seems that we made it just in time.” Wufei said from the door frame which he leaned against.

 

“Aye, just `n time” Duo echoed from his perch on Dakims chest. He could be quite heavy when he wanted to, and the two kittens clawed at the breathless mans torso with unrelenting vigor, they also insisted on doing their part to help in the battle.

 

Quatre warbled an agreement of his own as he righted himself and grinned up at a still silent Cathy.

 

“Damn it.” Dakim murmured and he started to glow.

 

“Duo; Get away from him!” Wufei shouted from the door.

 

The spry young thief and both kittens jumped up and back as Dakim vanished before their eyes. The radiant green light of the teleportation spell faded into the dim orange light of the lantern and candle light of the room. The room was hushed for a few more moments before Heero broke the uncomfortable silence.

 

“Are you alright Lady Bloom?”

 

“Ye..yes...” Catherine said, pulling herself out of her shock, her legs collapsed under her and she shook with the pent up fear. Trowa got to his feet and went to his sister and wrapped his arms around her in a protective gesture. Rish left his long dead victim and joined the green eyed man, placing himself behind the emotionally exhausted woman so she could lean against his massive frame; he wrapped his tail around her knees in a comforting gesture.

 

“How did you know?” Trowa said after a moment, turning to look back at Heero, who'd been joined now by Duo, the kittens, Quatre, and a breathless Wufei.

 

“I didn't, I woke from a dead sleep and followed Quatre.” The rest of the crew nodded, confirming the story. It was the same for all of them.

 

“But...”

 

“It is best not ask question of a miracle brother, just be thankful that it occurred and that because of it all of us are alive to be grateful.”

 

Cathy was regaining some of her shattered composer and she stood and regained her balance long enough to reclaimed her chair. Rish laid at her feet content in the fact that the danger was over. Trowa stood as well.

 

“You owe these people a lot brother, as do I. How can I repay you?”

 

“Trowas' debt is already settled. But we can ask nothing more than a bed of you Lady, we are tired one and all.” Heero said with the mutual consent of the rest of his crew who nodded in unison.

 

“Then the beds are yours take whichever ones you wish.” Catherine said tiredly in a silent dismissal of the sailors who'd come to their aid.

 

Heero and his crew took the hint and left to find rooms in which they might sleep but Trowa lagged behind sensing that his sister was not quite ready to give into her weariness.

 

“What did he mean Trowa? That your debt had already been paid?”

 

“I had come to tell you just that sister, before all this ruckus...” he paused to take a breath “I am leaving, with them, to sail for a while. I do not know when or if I'll be back but it is something I want Cathy.”

 

His sister looked as if she were about to break out into another fit of tear-filled sobs but she held them back, gulped down the sobs, and tried in vane to keep her voice from shaking.

 

“When are you leaving?”

 

“The day after tomorrow.”

 

“So quickly... well... as long it is what you want I have no objections but please promise me you will be careful.”

 

“Always dearest sister, and please do not sleep in this room tonight.”

 

“Of course.”

 

Trowa turned to leave and was almost in the hall when Cathy called after him quietly.

 

“Trowa, that gift of yours that you've locked away, I pray you embrace it now. These people will not rail you for it, they are an odd lot themselves. Besides you never know when it might come in handy.” She smiled tiredly

 

“... I will.”

 

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.:Note from the Author:.

Sorry for the long wait, I've had a lot on my plate as of late. Hopefully I will

be back to writing on a regular schedule soon but until then I hope you'll bear

with the time between chapters. I'll make it worth your while don't worry. :)

 

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:Remember:

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