Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Dragon Rising ❯ Chapter Nineteen ( Chapter 20 )

In which Drizzt's conditions worsens, romance and a rivalry sparks, and the author is mean to one of her characters

Din crouched in the snow, leather and fur boots protecting her feet and legs from the white chill of her eldest sister. Her slender, young hands ran over the track, the bloodstained snow and muddy sludge churned by the battle. Her brow furrowed in an expression of concern.

This print did not belong to one of her beasts.

She stood again and slowly turned in a circle, looking all around her, recreating how the encounter had taken place, from its beginning by the brush where the warrior had been questing for game to the end under the old oak, where the thing had finally dealt a swift and critical blow, cracking ribs and lacerating flesh.

The goddess did not like her forests to be tampered with. The goddess did not like for her beasts to be experimented with. Nature had laws that were meant for the Balance. Experimenting with her beasts meant disrupting the Balance.

“Who has over-stepped their bounds?” she asked aloud, her blue and green eyes starting to smolder with the beginnings of an extremely rare rage.

With a quick turn on her heel, the goddess was walking back the way she came, placing her feet in the tracks she had already made.

She did not like it when mortals forgot that Nature was the law.

Amaroq's pack ran smoothly through the snow, kicking up clouds of the white, powdery ice as their paws landed, making their coats gleam in the light of the suns.

They were silent as they ran, noiseless shadows that dwelled in the forest and ran in its borders. Occasionally, one or several would split off from the main pack and head in the parallel direction, readying their ambush style of hunting.

At their sides ran their brothers, the wolf-folk, with glittering eyes of gold and color.

The elves were just as quiet as their brethren, fleet and light on the snow as they too would veer off, readying to bring in a fresh hunt.

Their warm breath spilled in clouds of vapor, their eyes gleaming in calculation and eager anticipation of the hunt and of warm, fresh meat.

The herd of elk bolted when the wolves made their intentions known, fleeing for their lives. The wolves took up the chase, closing from the sides, separating their target from the herd, slowly gaining closer and closer.

A wolf leaped, jaws flashing open, the fangs gleaming. His sister leapt with him, spear coming up high and plunging down, her lips peeling back in a snarl, her own canines gleaming in the light.

The elk was soon dead, the wolves and their brothers throwing their heads back to howl in celebration, to rejoice in the success and raw joy of the hunt, to let the rest of the Pack know that they would savor fresh meat that night.

It was a barbaric, savage existence to the other elf tribes. To the wolves and other wild kindreds of Terran, her oldest children, it was the only true way to live—free, wild, unbound by ties of `civilized' ideals, and accepting wholly and completely what they were.

They were wolf. They were elf. They were the Pack.

Yugi and Marina, walking side by side, paused to listen to the rising voices of the Pack, singing in sweet, eerie harmony.

“What does that mean?” Marina asked.

Yugi was a moment before answering, listening for the timbre and mood of the singing. “The hunt was successful. They're happy,” he replied.

“Fresh meat,” she said.

“Raw meat,” he corrected.

“And this is coming from the young man who finds the shock on people's faces funny when they discover he likes his meat rare,” she replied tartly.

“Hey,” he protested, “At least I don't eat raw fish.”

“Ha! It's smoked, and you know it.”

“And mine's heated through, and you know it.”

“So we'd both best accept we consume rather odd things.”

He rolled his eyes and grinned, stepping up onto a fallen log and continuing along it at her side.

“How is Drizzt doing?” she asked, turning the light, teasing conversation to a more somber note. Yugi's grin faded, as did his cheerful mood.

“Not so good,” he replied, “He's fighting off a fever and he's been having bad nightmares whenever he slept, so Jade had to help Daystar make a potion that would give him dreamless sleep. And his wounds are taking a long time to even start sealing up, let alone begin healing. Blackbird tried to talk to him when he woke up a few days ago, but he couldn't get much out of him. He was delirious and speaking in Drowic half the time before suddenly sliding into Abyssal. Then he lost touch with what was going on and seemed to suffer a relapse of bad memories or something because his eyes rolled back and he started seizing.”

Marina winced and shook her head. “It doesn't sound good at all. It sounds like whatever poison was in him managed to get to his brain or nervous system and start do a little damage,” she said.

Yugi nodded, stepping down from the log.

“I don't know what we'll do if we lose him. Jade's been worrying herself ill. Blackbird's had to order her to stay away from where Drizzt is and had to ask Kaiba to help Faye keep her at least healthy. When I saw her yesterday, she looked…so unlike herself. I've never seen her step out without her hair at least brushed and her clothes clean. Yesterday, it looked like she'd just pulled her hair hadn't even met a brush in several days and her clothes hung off her like she'd lost several pounds. I've never seen Kaiba look so worried except for whenever he was worried about Mokuba.”

“She's been more like a mother to him and Mokuba,” Marina said.

“Ali's been looking pretty bad, too. Skot had to physically pick her up and carry her away from the room. She reacted badly to that. Skywise told me that Skot stepped over a threshold and the wolf in her came out. Thankfully, Skot's a dominant, too, otherwise she might have hurt him. She's not allowed near for several days either and Amaroq had to take her on a run to get her to let the energy out.”

Marina's hand on his arm was a gentle, comforting touch that he'd grown to crave.

“He'll pull through, Yugi. He's got too much to lose,” she told him softly.

He stared into her cerulean eyes for what seemed like the longest time before he found himself asking a rather odd question.

“What would you do if it was me who had gotten attacked, `Rina?” he asked.

She blinked and rocked back on her heels thoughtfully. “The same thing Daystar and Blackbird are doing for Drizzt, I suppose. Patch you up as best I could and hope for you to do the rest,” she replied.

“What if you weren't the one healing me?”

She smiled slightly, a bit shy, a bit hesitant, “Then I suppose I would be in Jade's or Ali's position.”

For some reason, that made him feel…lighter. More optimistic. Drizzt would be alright. Marina would mourn if he was ever hurt. That meant that everything would be fine.

He lightly brushed the few stray strands of hair that the wind had blown into her face out of her eyes, tucking it behind her delicate, pointed ears. The silken strands were so smooth and soft beneath his fingertips…her eyes so blue…her lips so close and tempting…

“Yugi!” Bretta called, snapping him out of his reverie.

He blinked and found he had leaned down slightly, his hand resting at the base of Marina's neck, and that she had taken a half step closer to him.

His hand dropped away a bit quickly as the other half-dragon came through the trees.

“Yugi, the Pack is bringing back their kill,” she said, “Oh. Hello, Marina.” Her voice was a bit frosty, her gaze steely.

Marina, for her part, lifted her chin slightly in a haughty gesture, an expression of completely neutral disinterest coming to her face. “Bretta,” she said primly.

Jealousy sparked in her eyes, rage boiled in her blood. How dare this little female move in on her turf…

“Lightfoot sent me to come get you,” Bretta continued, now ignoring the other female's presence entirely. “He says it's time for you to come back for awhile. Alianna has some studying for you and Kaiba to do.”

Yugi sighed wistfully and nodded. “Alright, I'm coming,” he said before looking back at Marina. “I'll talk to you later then, Mari.”

He'd only ever called her “`Rina” when they were alone.

She nodded and smiled, “I should be heading back anyway. Caspian will be brewing some absurd story. I'd best save him the trouble.”

Yugi grinned at the thought of his other friend thinking of some outrageous tale to tell his father of his sister's absence. The last few had included a kraken sighting, a small troop of goblins, something about a mutated golem of some sort, and a legendary creature that had some unpronounceable name, although Yugi was fairly sure that Caspian had just made it up on the spot.

“Alright. Safe journey,” he replied.

She grinned once more. “And you as well, Yugi,” she said before leaning up and kissing his cheek.

This one landed closer to the corner of his mouth, though.

He gave her a mild look of surprise but she'd already turned and begun to walk away.

“Alright, I'm coming,” he said, turning and heading towards Bretta.

The female half-dragon smiled, “You go ahead. I'll be right behind you—I want to check that shrub over there and see if there's a clump of wintergreen nearby.”

“I'll let them know.”

“Thank you.”

The young male headed off and Bretta waited till he was out of ear shot before hurrying after Marina.

“Marina,” she said in a cool voice, earning the other female's steely attention.

“What do you want?” Marina said in a voice that was no doubt cultured in many court functions attended by her father.

Bretta smiled thinly, her eyes narrowed dangerously, “Stay away from Yugi.”

A level, elegant brow shot up. “Why? I've known him since we were children.”

“You know what I mean. I saw that kiss. Don't even think of approaching him. He's mine.”

Marina's eyes narrowed and for once she looked more like her brother than any member of her family. Something about her became as treacherous and perilous as the sea that gave her people life.

“Is that a threat?” she asked in a calm, carefully pleasant voice.

“No,” Bretta said, smiling a bright, malicious smile, “It's a promise. He's mine. Stay away from him. Or I will make you.”

With that, the half dragon turned and hurried away, leaving the dark haired elf standing in the snow, glaring after her.

“I highly doubt that,” Marina said quietly to the quickly retreating figure. “I highly, highly doubt that.”

Drizzt drifted in and out of semi-consciousness over the next three days before finally succumbing to a deep, dark slumber that no one could shake him from. He grew cool and his skin became dry and dull. A cold sweat constantly dotted his brow as his eyes flickered under their closed lids and a twisted expression of pain was chronically on his face.

He mumbled incomprehensible things in his sleep, using so strange, guttural tongue.

Occasionally, his spine would suddenly snap into a violent curl and his body would seize, his brain firing off rapid, panicking signals to his battle-trained body. The entire den would know when this happened for Daystar would shout in alarm and Skot, Skywise, and several other of the stronger dominant males would rush to the room to hold the strong drow down, ensuring that he would not injure his skeleton or tear muscle.

Yugi watched it all with growing apprehension.

Kaiba watched it as well, looking grim. Jade's health was declining almost as rapidly as Drizzt was. She wouldn't eat, she hardly slept, her hair had become lank and un-kept. Her eyes were dull and far away. Her posture was slumped and defeated.

Alianna had grown increasingly volatile, constantly on edge of a violent temper that often sent many of her tribe or the pack reeling back, crouching their shoulders submissively as she turned on them with a snarl. Several times, Skot or Skywise had to physically restrain her or drag her away, showing an uncharacteristic firmness with their adopted little sister.

What had done this to the unmovable, proud Drizzt?

It was on the fifth day that Theo arrived, hurrying into the den on the back of a chestnut horse, wolves at his side.

The Mirran slid off hurriedly and rushed to the tree-chamber the injured drow was housed in, cloak snapping behind him. He emerged several minutes later and sought out Jade, sitting near her for awhile and speaking to her in a low, hushed tone.

The drow woman only responded dimly and vaguely.

When she ceased speaking and looked away, he rose and found his lover, who was stalking about on the brink of another outburst.

He was quick to lift her up, an arm under her knees and behind her shoulders, and walk her to the room she had, high in the thick branches of the tree. He remained with her until she fell asleep before finally emerging and moving on to find Yugi.

“No word of what it was?” he asked the young man when he found him sitting in a common chamber with Kaiba, both of them looking exhausted.

“None,” Yugi said dully. “Theo, this is Seto Kaiba. Kaiba, this is Thelonius, Alianna's lover.”

The Mirran extended his hand to the young wizard, who clasped it briefly before letting his arm drop back to his side.

“Jade is your teacher,” Theo said. Kaiba, eyes closed and head resting against the wooden wall, nodded.

“No tracks, no hints, no clues,” Yugi said. “The few things the hunters did find pointed to something that no one's encountered, not even Blackbird.”

“Have they called Wyldon?”

“Who?”

“Ali's father.”

“Oh. Yes, Daystar did, but he knew nothing and could find nothing.”

“Atem and Mysti?”

“Nothing.”

The Mirran sighed and sank into a chair, resting his elbows on his knees and rubbing his face. “It reminds us what mortality means.”

“He's not dead,” Kaiba said, a bit tightly. “He won't die.”

Theo looked at him, resting his chin on the pads of his thumbs while his fingers rested against his lips. He chose not to say anything.

“He can't die,” Yugi agreed. “We lose him, we lose two more.”

“Three,” Theo said, “Renan would not last long if his sister was lost to him.”

The two younger males only inclined their heads grimly.

A silence settled over them, heavy and gloomy. The only sound was the sound of the cold breeze outside and the crackle of the hearth.

Then there was the scream.

A scream so full of fear and anguish it made goose bumps run over the arms of the men and sent a cold chill of dread down their spine.

“Jade!”

It was Alianna's voice, followed by hurried shouts.

The three bolted from the room, hurrying outside to see the elf being restrained by Amaroq, who was blocking her way forward by placing his body in front of hers and by keeping one of her legs pinned by a large, strong paw. The wolf's ears were against his skull in worry, the rest of the pack low to the ground, watching with the tribe as a grim Skywise gently stepped out of the drow woman's room, holding Jade in the gentle cradle of his arms.

She was limp, her eyes glassy and unseeing of what was around her, focused on some distant point. The front of her gown had been torn, the ripped cloth respectfully placed back over her breasts. The tips of scratches could be seen on her bared shoulder, running under the cloth. The silvery haired wolf-folk bearing her glanced at Theo and nodded towards Alianna as he walked to where Drizzt was kept and stepped in.

Theo walked over to where Amaroq still stood, keeping his pup where she sat, struggling and calling for her dark-skinned sister in a language that neither Kaiba nor Yugi understood. He knelt by her and wrapped his arms around her, encircling her with his cloak and pulling her close. Amaroq sat then and rested his head against her shoulder, his snout across her chest. Her arms reflexively closed around the great head and she began to weep, tears soaking the dark fur.

Yugi looked at Kaiba, dark eyes pained and angry at the same time. “Kaiba?”

The young wizard stood as rigid as a statue, eyes riveted to the snow covered ground, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles were white. It was a moment before bright, cherry drops of blood appeared and dripped between his fingers, evidence that his nails had cut into his skin.

Skot walked out of the woman's room then, moving slow and rather pained as he passed Alianna, pausing to drop to a knee and briefly encircle her with an arm, murmuring into her hair and kissing her forehead before making his way to her two students.

“What happened?” Yugi asked.

“Her grief made her vulnerable,” the old warrior replied tiredly. “Somethin' got at her mind, snapped her into a defensive trance. Then it went abou' tearin' herself from her body and flung it gods know where.”

The half-dragon's eyes widened in shock. Kaiba slowly looked up, blue eyes smoldering angrily.

Skot reached out and gripped them both briefly on the shoulder. “I know,” he said softly, “I'm fit to be killin' somethin' or a-body meself. But don't be goin' an' doin' anything stupid. Give the shaman a chance to be figurin' this out.”

He didn't wait for a reply, only turned and headed out towards the wood, whistling a few wolves to follow him.

Kaiba looked at Yugi, who looked back.

“I will kill whoever did this,” he told the half-blood simply.

“I'll paint the target on them for you,” Yugi replied.

Theo rose, pulling Alianna to her feet, and guided her towards the room where her two companions now lay. Amaroq followed close behind, pausing long enough to lick Kaiba and Yugi on the hand and gently place a paw on their foot.

They looked into the deep, amber pools and understood, even if he didn't say anything and even if Yugi couldn't speak to him like Kaiba could. The wolf felt as they did. He was offering them sympathy and a strong paw to help.

“Thanks, Amaroq,” Yugi said quietly, running his hand through the fur. Kaiba didn't say anything, but he did run his fingers briefly behind the wolf's ears before the large canine turned and continued to the room to sit with his pup.

“Seto,” Faye called, stepping out of the chamber used for the small kitchen and preparation area. She looked worried and held out a hand to him.

Kaiba went to her, taking the hand and wrapping his other arm around her as she embraced him tightly, offering comfort and asking for it in return.

Yugi watched them for a few seconds before looking away with a pang of longing lancing through his chest.

Bretta stood near, her eyes moving and finding him. She offered her hand.

It was true that she was his friend. But she wasn't the one he wanted at the moment. At that moment, he wanted more than anything to have what Kaiba was slowly nurturing with Faye. He wanted Marina to be there, offering a comforting, non-judging embrace. He wanted Marina to be the one standing near him, being by his side as yet another one of his teachers succumbed to a cold, swift blow from fate. It was Marina he wanted at his side, telling him that they would pull through, that everything was going to be alright.

But it wasn't Marina. And it wouldn't be. He was a half-blood.

He walked over to Bretta and took her hand, letting her wrap her arms around him and rest her head on his shoulder.

A voice whispered in his ear, soft, deadly, and seductive.

You are a half-blood. You will never have her. You are a half-blood. That is why your teachers are going to die. It is because of you. They have given you all you could ask and you have destroyed them.

Yugi closed his eyes tightly as the voice echoed in his head. Because of me…

You're mother died because you are half-blood. She would have lived if she had borne a full blooded son. You killed her.

I destroy everyone I love…

Marina will be next. Why keep hoping for her even if it will never happen. Any affection she gave would destroy her, because you will doom her.

Marina. I can't let anything happen to her…

Murderer.

His gut twisted at the word.

I'm a killer…

The wind whistled through the trees, the cold air moving through the den and over the inhabitants. It rushed over his face, ran its cool fingers through his hair, lightly biting at his nose and cheeks.

The rush of the wind…the smell of the cold…

Breathe deep, fly high, Yugi. At least, that's what you always told me or I'd tell you. Forget what that little cog is saying. Remember what your mother said. Ignore the rest.

He felt a surge of anger and annoyance in his mind, one that was not his own. Anger and annoyance at the sudden appearance of this new voice.

Oooh, my, I've put someone in a snit. How perfectly dreadful.

His head cleared a bit, the echoing, seductive voice fading slightly, giving way to this new one that was a bit dry, sarcastic, and thoroughly unconcerned.

Tell them to bugger off, Yugi. I was here first.

He blinked and stepped away from Bretta. “I'm going to go sit with them for awhile,” he said quietly.

She nodded, “Alright.”

He missed the flash of rage and hatred in her eyes as he turned and walked away. Someone didn't, however.

Watch that one. She's tricky. And take a mind to looking and listening. Something's ticking along here and you might find a pattern.

Yugi stepped into the room as Skywise walked out. Daystar looked up and smiled at him tiredly. “Go ahead and sit, Yugi,” she said softly, “Perhaps the presence of one of their students will help.”

He sank onto a pile of furs and hides, leaning back and cushioning his head on an arm. His eyes began to drift shut. A pattern…

He dimly registered being covered with a fur blanket and another being tucked under his head as he slipped into sleep.

First, Drizzt…the protector…the warrior…Second, Jade…the hidden, deadly one…the magician…so that means…

His mind fell away, letting itself shut down and permitting him to sleep deeply and without dreams.

The large, yellow-green eyes blinked open and the great, scaled body stretched before shifting and settling into a more comfortable position on the pile of gold. A toothy, cocky smile appeared on the fanged mouth, a low, rumbling chuckle coming from an armored chest.

“Just try and get your little wannabe claws into him for your smelly little master, now, squeaky,” he murmured with a dry, dark chuckle, “For you are crunchy and good with ketchup.”