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The day dawned clear and sunny like it almost always was on the islands. The lagoon waters sparkled brightly, the breeze warm and the air fragrant with the sharp tang of the sea not far away from the small clearing where people lived. It almost appeared to be a normal village since there were no huge stone walls to turn the area into a massive fort, but the presence of so many magical creatures and several graceful towers raising in the air among the back of the dwellings proclaimed louder than words that an animagus lived here. The animagi were people that could interact with, and even speak to, the magical creatures that lived on this world. There were so-called "regular" magicians as well, those that used spells and the like, but the animagi were different. They were rare, for one thing, and normally learned both normal spells as well as everything there was to know about the creatures they worked closely with.Moy Mell was a magically-spelled sandcastle tower that nestled securely on the inner ring of the islands. Since the magus that lived there raised mostly water creatures, she'd taken up residence there for obvious reasons. The young woman was the only human out early this morning. The magus herself was unremarkable at best. The wetsuit she wore clearly showed that she was thick-bodied, quite full in the waist. Her skin was pale and her eyes dark, her features plain and somewhat large of nose. The most remarkable feature was her short-cropped lavender hair, an unusual color at best but easily explained through spells or dye. She raised a hand in greeting to the current watch-beast, a sturdy wolf that was curled up by the weather-beaten leviathan sculptures that flanked the road into the town. He raised his head and howled at her in recognition as she passed by. The other reception she got wasn't as friendly. A nearby raven sneered at her from the head of the other statue, clacking her beak."Whither going, goest? Going gone away?" The scathing remark suggested the bird would be thrilled if she never came back. The woman's lips firmed. "Elly," the bird called mockingly, then repeated itself yet again."Enough, Gan." She spun about and pointed a finger at it. "Back into the library where you belong. No one wants to hear you harassing them all day." She empathized this with a flick of her fingers at the canine nearby, who narrowed his glowing eyes in recognition of the annoyance. He barked once, threateningly, and the bird flapped off in fright to the cage where it rested when she was out.Elly grinned. "Thanks." He woofed lowly and her smile grew broader. Two side locks of hair blew about her cheeks in the playful breeze that kicked up as she turned to approach the lagoon. The shining water led into the ocean and was large enough so that her best friend could settle himself in it. As she approached the water surged and broke in frothy patterns across a blue and green mottled head."Hey, John! Ready for our trip?""Hurrr." The rumble was surprisingly low. He carefully laid his snout down on the sands and Elly reached up to pat him. She scratched his head affectionately until he lowered one lid after the other in blissful contentment."We have to go meet Cynus today." Elly sighed and patted here and there on her form-fitting wetsuit. "Just remember no jokes about birds this time," she scolded as she pulled a light bit of leather from a small pocket. John snorted two great columns of water from his nostrils and glanced away."I'm serious! It's 'cygnus' that means swan anyway, you big oaf." She tossed the cord between his teeth and leaped lightly on his great neck between the shoulder blades. He snapped a few times, munching reflectively on the magic-enhanced leather then looked inquiringly back."Gwwrrl?""Ready." Gripping the two ends in both gloved hands she braced herself for the impact with the water.
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Cynus was waiting for them at the entrance to his Keep wrapped in a dark wool cloak with the hood pushed back. His wealth of midnight hair was braided tightly so that it wouldn't flop around in the slight sea breeze."I'll never understand how you can ride with them like that," he said in what had become a traditional greeting for them. The leviathan lowered his head towards the sand and Elly slipped off his back. He spat the cord out and she caught it deftly as she patted his bowed head with her free hand."I'll never understand why you live so close to the water and can't swim," she quipped back, completing the ritual. Cynus reached out and clasped her hand warmly."You could give me lessons, you know," he grinned, dark blue eyes twinkling."Right," she snorted even as John did."Oh, c'mon, John," Cynus groaned. "Help a brother out here. It's not as if you don't like coming out to this cove. You could come here more often..." The leviathan opened his mouth, displaying row upon row of sharp fangs the size of a man's head."All right, sheesh." John snorted water at him and slid underneath the waves. Cynus sighed. "If it wasn't for my herds, I doubt you'd be over here so often," he teased, turning back to the other magus. She was busy examining something in the sand that led up the sweeping dunes and didn't act like she'd heard. He sighed."Are these shark teeth?!""That's why I called you here." He made a face as he joined her. "They started washing up a few days ago - more than we've ever seen. I'm not certain what it means." He bent and brushed some more sand away to reveal a small pile of the jagged white teeth."Just the teeth? No bodies? Skeletons?""Just teeth. Too many for it to be a part of their natural shedding." Cynus frowned as the wind began to pick up, tearing roughly at the braid in his hair. "Here, let's get inside and we'll talk. I have some other things to show you.""That sounds ominous." Elly gestured up the beach at the oppressive pine forest looming some distance ahead of them. "You should really clear at least some of the trees away, you know? Not all," she hurried on when he shook his head. "Just some so the path is more visible.""I don't want so much company." He shrugged and tucked a wayward lock of hair behind one ear. Once again she noticed his hair was so dark it seemed almost blue without aid of any spells or craft. Shining and thick, it was a marked contrast to his fair skin which made some dismiss him as frail. She knew him better. They'd been novitiates together under a wise old mage at the head keep and he could race fleetly alongside his creatures long after many other magus began to tire. He was part animagus and could speak to a certain creature of the forest, hence his location. It was a ways to his home from here and she was panting hard after a quarter of an hour of hiking through the rough terrain."Cynus?""Yes?""Are you going to call our rides or shall I? I'm not liking the idea of hiking all day, pleasant company though you are."He laughed, holding a branch aside so she could pass down the barely-visible path they were following. "All right, there's a clearing up ahead." He pointed. "This is a game trail...""I couldn't guess," she murmured, eyeing the crooked path. "Sometimes I think creatures can't follow a straight line if their lives depended on it.""Here." He stepped out into a gloomy little area dimly lit by the sun barely peeking in through the growth above."I do like your forest," Elly added as she shook off several clingy bugs that had grown rather attached to her shoulder. "It's just that this would be so much easier if you cleaned it up a bit.""I know." He grinned impudently at her and reached inside his cloak for a thin whistle. "But not as much fun, now, would it?" Cynus' whistle brought the strongest two elk in his herd to them right away. They came jumping, dancing almost, through the forest without so much as trodding on a single twig. Not a sound could be heard other than the faint chirping of birds and the merry ring of the bells the elk wore."They can carry us," he told her, patting the head of the big bull elk that ran up to him. "This is my newest guy - he came from the head magus himself with a little note to keep up the good work on the herds.""He's beautiful," she breathed, running a hand over the gorgeous white fur. The elk snorted and pawed the ground with one fore-hoof, eager to be off. The other one lowed impatiently and nuzzled Elly's side. "Sorry, sorry. Hi!" She knelt and hugged him."Some of the residents hate me riding them, you know," the young man commented as they mounted."Why? A single, light person won't harm a strong elk.""Ah, they don't know that." Cynus raised his hand and then dropped it sharply. The elk bounded off through the forest and were soon trotting through the log gates of his keep. They thanked their rides and began the short walk down the cobbled street to the forest magus's tower. The houses were made of logs and thatch and his tower itself was a huge, hollowed out tree that had been around for centuries. The branches spread over the small community, sometimes strewn with lights or wreaths and strings of flowers. Small birds darted here and there, mostly rare magical friends of his now, and as always she looked up to watch the "leaves" of the petrified tree sway in the breeze. Since the tree had long since been turned to stone all the greenery were fairies, the leafy spirits of the forest. Rumor had it that Cynus knew every single one of them personally - thousands of them."Cee?""Mmm hmm?" He almost absently removed his cloak and offered it to her. She was still dressed in her wetsuit and though she hadn't appeared cold she accepted with a smile."Is it bad? This is something awful, isn't it?"He paused at his door. "It's not pretty," he admitted. One of the fairies drifted down to land on his shoulder before he could open the door. He glanced at it, surprised. "Poplar? What's up?"He listened for a time as the creature whispered in his ear. Then he burst out laughing. "Get out of here," he chided, shooing the little leaf-wearing creature away."What did she want?"Cynus looked surprised. "You could tell Pop was female? I'm impressed." He gestured negligently and the door opened by itself."Well?""Nothing. It was nothing." He looked aside for a moment."Are you blushing?""No!" He coughed and walked quickly up the staircase ahead to hide his burning cheeks from his friend. Elly chuckled wickedly and followed after him. Cynus shook his head as he strode quickly up the steps of his tower. He didn't pause or even say hello to the few people that peeked out of various doors to glance at him and his guest as they passed. He ignored all the landings that led to other sections and kept going all the way to the top. He'd managed to return his face to its normal color by then although he almost lost it when she spoke.Elly raised her eyebrow. "Your personal quarters?"
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"This has to be kept very secret," he murmured as he unlocked the heavy door with a slight wiggle of his fingers. It creaked open and they slipped inside, the solid wood thunking loudly behind them."You're still a mess, Cee," Elly groaned. She let his cloak fall from her shoulders and folded it over one arm as she looked around. The main room at the top of the tree branched off into several compartments - quite literally, with his sleeping quarters and washroom hollowed out sections of the top branches of the tree. Regardless of how he kept those areas, the room they were in now was cluttered. Piles of magical objects lay heaped in corners and books were stacked on the floor and not the proper shelving where they belonged. There were even two empty tankards and a plate on his desk."What? No, not really. I just acquired a lot of ..." He stopped, ran a hand over his eyes. "Sit, Elly. Please.""All right, spill it." She tossed the armful of wool over a chair and sat facing him. The tall man paced around anxiously for some time before speaking. He finally went over to a heap of horns next to his desk and picked two up."Look."Elly neatly caught them as he tossed them at her. "Jackalope horns." She stared closely at them. "Cynus!" She gasped."I know." He sighed and came over to place a hand on her shoulder. "That's what's wrong.""Poachers." She said it with a terrible hot taste in her mouth, a mixture of rage, sadness and terror. The horns she held had not been taken when they shed naturally. The ends were jagged and... she placed them quickly on the table. "I can't look. Smugglers? Do you think it's smugglers?""The teeth and things like that have been washing up on the beach for awhile now. I tried to get as many of the conspicuous objects in as I could. Teeth could be looked at as natural but not the rest." He pointed at a piece of splintered wood also laying on his desk."They're shipping them by sea." The corners of her mouth twitched slightly. "That's why you want my help." A warm breeze, fragrant with the scent of flowers wafted in the large window. She leaned back and closed her eyes, thinking hard."You've got the most extensive water network." Cynus sat and propped his long legs up on his desk. He angrily yanked at the braiding on his hair as it tickled him, tugging it all the way loose and holding it until he could find a tie of some sort."There's more.""Damned thing." He grasped a piece of ribbon off an open scroll and bound the locks away from his face in a ponytail. At least that didn't give him a headache the way the braids did. "Yeah. There is. Most magus scoff at dark magic and say it doesn't exist, but you've always believed like me.""Do you have proof?""Just that symbol - it looks like a black dragon with a forked tongue. It was inside one of the crates on a piece of parchment. Remember when the wyrms were running wild in that little town off the river Wyld? And we found the same thing tacked to a tree there?"Elly pursed her lips. "Shouldn't you tell the Elders?""They didn't listen to me." He rolled his blue eyes, making her laugh in spite of herself. "You know they refuse to admit the existence of such a group.""Damn.""We have to stop them on our own, Els.""And you have a plan.""Of course!""So what's your plan then?""Um." He laughed weakly and placed a nervous hand on the back of his neck. "We need them to contact us, right? So I thought maybe we could make like you're upset a female magus can't bear other magus's child 'cause the magic makes us sterile together and...""What.""See, well, everyone knows how impulsive you are, and they'd probably contact you to offer some sort of 'way around' it...""WHAT?"He winced. "Please don't shout. Others have reported being contacted in similar situations. They refused, but everyone knows you're very stubborn." He laughed a little. "You might just decide that they'd be an option because you won't give up.""Great. I'm known as a pig-headed idiot.""No," he gasped, coming around to grasp her hand impulsively in his. "You never concede defeat, you keep trying. It's amazing.""Stop trying to flatter me, fool." But she smiled faintly. "So let me guess. You want me to stay overnight, let someone see us -""Nevermore," he said absently."All right, let your raven see us and then what? Act like a discontent female so the 'bad guys' contact me?""That's pretty much it." He grinned at her. "I don't think you missed anything.""Are you mad?""The birds will spread tales faster than they can fly," he said in a reasonable tone. "Hellfire, Els. Am I really that unattractive?""This isn't about how I find you attractive," Elly griped before she thought better of it. His eyes widened and she slapped a hand over her face in consternation. "Look, this isn't a good idea. First, who'd believe we were...""Everyone already thinks we're, ah." He cleared his throat. "Doing that.""Cynus!""I didn't say anything!" He put his hands up in a placating gesture. "I swear! You're here a lot and people gossip, that's all.""Backwoods perceptions," she sniffed. "Men and women can't just 'be friends'". Of course." Then she glanced over at the sad pile of broken horns in the corner and winced. Cynus was receptive to her moods and saw that she was coming around. He backed off and sat on a trunk close by to give her some space while she wrestled with her emotions."It's just a little deception, Elly. The ends benefit the means in this case. Look, I thought this out. They're smuggling by boat or ship or something, on the sea. They'll definitely want to ask your help; you're one of the top magus involved with water and you've got all those sea monsters. They've probably been keeping an eye on you already, watching for an opportunity. We'll just give them that so they quit waiting."She sighed. "He's right," she spoke with her head rolled back, staring at the ceiling. "He's so annoying when he's right.""Wonderful," he murmured. "You in?""Yes. I'll do whatever I can to stop what happened to all those poor creatures.""Huh." He scratched reflectively at his chin. "Maybe something good will come out of all this after all.""What?""Nothing."Cynus wrapped his arms around the woman before him. "So! We should have a foolproof disguise, hmm?""No kissing," Elly insisted. She was suddenly all too aware of her outfit and how closely the otter-enhanced fabric clung to her body. Kneeing him in the belly effectively disengaged the man but she wanted to get a few things straight while they were at it."Oof! Wh - what?" His gasping was inspired as he bent over with his hands clutched to his stomach. She knew he was at least partially faking, though."Quit, I didn't hit you that hard. You heard me." She stared at him, her eyes hard as agates. "I'm not going that far, Cee. I'll do this - but you'd better watch it. I'm not interested in doing anything inappropriate.""What is appropriate? How else am I supposed to act when we're going to let her see us in bed together?""Not on the lips, then." She crossed her arms and watched him as he spluttered indignantly."You're taking a lot of fun out of this," he complained."Fun? I doubt they thought that was fun." She thrust her chin at the pile of horns in the corner."Point taken.""Anyway," she continued in a less harsh tone of voice, "you'd better send someone to tell John I'm spending the night. And it'd better be someone quick, he's liable to not like the idea. Although running from one of his tantrums might encourage almost anyone to run fast."Cynus slapped his forehead. "I should have thought of that - both things." He laughed. "I almost wet myself the first time he roared at me," he admitted with a cough."Everyone does." She smiled. "It's his way of testing people. He finds it amusing.""The cocky brute. I'll ring for dinner as well. Hungry?""I guess so. Um, and Cee, could I please have some clothing? I don't want to sit around in this suit any longer."He flapped a hand at her as he strolled over to the door. "Go take a shower, I'll have one of the girls bring them to you." Elly had to admit she felt much better after a shower and change of clothing. Wetsuits were what she normally wore for a good part of the day but when she wasn't in the water she felt awkward. Dinner was sent up but they both hardly ate for different reasons. Eventually it came time to settle down for the night. He yawned somewhat theatrically and pulled his shirt off. Elly averted her eyes with a faint noise."Do you have to...""I sleep without a shirt." He shrugged and flicked his ponytail back over his shoulder. "You look hilarious in that gown, by the way. It's like something my grandmother would wear.""I'm not wearing anything shorter!""Uh huh.""Are you sure your raven will be here in the morning?" The water magus carefully hoisted herself up into the giant log bed. The mattress was soft but she was used to sleeping on water, not the literal bed of moss he had. She bounced tentatively a few times."There's an excellent chance she will. I 'forgot' to lock her cage door. I do that now and then so she can escape. Then I make a big fuss so she doesn't know I'm doing it on purpose. She likes to check in on me, see what I'm doing." Cynus flicked an extra sheet on top of her and prepared to crawl under."All right. I'm going under the covers. You had better stay on top of the one, under the first so it only looks like we're together."He grumbled a bit but did as he was told. "Yeah, yeah.""Oh, and Cynus? I'll freeze anything unexpected that comes my way and I have my favorite ice spell memorized."The pale young man sighed. "May I hold you at least? It's not going to look very romantic of us if I'm huddled on one side of the bed afraid for my... assorted man-parts."She grunted. "All right." Scooting over a little she suffered him to drape a careful arm about her waist. "I don't believe I'm doing this.""Good night.""Yeah."
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The day dawned clear and cold in the forest. Fairies fluttered on the branches of the great Tree, their faint rustling adding a pleasant accompaniment to the music of birdsong. A shining bolt of bluish-black suddenly streaked up the tower's length to the bedroom window, startling a small wyvern in the process. He squeaked in sleepy anger and shifted deeper into the hollowed-out part of the branch he slept in. The bird glared at him once in disdain. If he had been louder he might have alerted her prey. Ever curious, she had a burning desire to know why the magus here had been so absent-minded to forget her lock again. Something serious must be in his thoughts. She settled on the window ledge and peered inside. The raven clacked her beak as she watched lumps in his bed moving. Her human had never been an early riser, so the fact that he was mobile roused her suspicion further. Her glittering eyes widened as she watched the covers get thrown back to reveal a woman she knew - Gan's magus.Interesting.The dark-feathered bird hopped further back in the shadows as Elly stretched, yawning. Cynus' arm snaked around her waist and he did that thing with his mouth humans sometimes did on her neck. The bird cocked her head reflectively, thinking fast. She was winging off moments later, heading towards the shore."Did she see us?" Elly frowned, her forehead wrinkling with worry as she stared out the window."She took off, didn't she?" He kissed her again.She flinched, then snapped him on the nose with a fingernail much like you would a puppy. "Quit."He grimaced and backed off, rubbing his sore nose. "All right. Sorry. I just thought maybe..." He shrugged and ran a hand through his hair."It would ruin our friendship," she said firmly."How about...""No.""Blast." He stared mournfully at the sheets in front of him."Thought you could get two birds with one stone?" She rose, pulling at her night gown to hide her legs as she got up. "Sorry, Cee. I'm waiting for someone different. Not just because of the kid thing, either."He nodded. "Yes. All right." Cynus watched her closely as she walked away into the bathroom, storing all the little details about her in his mind. If she had her way this would be the only time he'd see her like this and he didn't want to forget. The only problem was she hadn't been relaxed; everything had been fake. He closed his eyes and flopped back onto the bed with a groan when the door closed.Didn't go so well, did it. Cynus smiled to himself as he watched her leave his Keep. Maybe he was being foolish, after all, but he'd hoped for a different chain of events. Elly had insisted upon leaving almost as soon as they had eaten breakfast."John will only get worse if he thinks I'm staying longer," she demurred when he'd offered to show her some recent renovations he'd made to the Tree. It did make sense that she wanted to get back to her grumpy leviathan friend before he ruined that particular strip of beach.But it had looked like she was running away from him.He shrugged. "Ah, well. I can't say I didn't try." There was a rustling sound above him and Poplar settled on his shoulder. "Hey, Pop. No, it wasn't your fault. ...humans are weird? Yeah. I know."Elly rode one of Cynus' prized elk down to the water again. She patted and quickly thanked him when they stepped onto the sands where John was impatiently waiting. The huge sea dragon flung his head down with a low keening noise."Oh, geez, you think I'd left you forever." Elly hugged his snout and he splashed his giant tail happily in the water like a puppy. Unfortunately, unlike a puppy he created a wave that knocked her off her feet with the wagging. She came up spluttering and laughing with his leather reins in one hand."Hrrf." He opened his mouth apologetically for her to slip the cord in, and she climbed up onto his great neck."Let's go!"It was good to be riding her friend through the salty water again, feeling the surge and flow of his muscles as he undulated along. There was something about a large body of water that washed off all Elly's melancholy and always would. She sighed, scanning the far-off bank for signs of anything unusual as they swam."Wrrrf." The leviathan paused in mid-stroke and grunted. The creatures had a limited vocabulary, so it wasn't hard to pick up a bit here and there. That meant he saw someone. She squinted hard, trying to make anything out and saw a flicker of bright white near the shore. A unicorn?"You're right. Let's check it out." John slipped over and she nodded. "Hey, that has to be Lil," Elly called over the crashing of the waves. "Hardly anyone else would be riding that beauty. Let's go talk with her." John willingly settled to the beach and craned his neck over the sands so Elly could dismount where a magus was climbing down off her own mount. The creature's flank shone so brightly she had to hold up her hand for a moment to ward off the glare."Elly!""Hi," Elly grinned. "What're you doing out here?""The unicorns are all upset," the young flaxen-haired woman answered earnestly after waving to John. "Something is terribly wrong, something awful happening throughout the realm.""Uh oh. I just came from Cynus' keep, and...""The Tree?" Her eyes widened. "This early? Or was it late?""Not you too," Elly groaned, slapping a hand across her eyes in a weary gesture."He's a nice guy," she shrugged. "What's your problem with him?""Nothing," she admitted. "It's just that he's been my friend since my folks saw I had powers. We're too close, if that makes any sense. Listen, I know what's wrong. The creatures are dying. Th - there's been poaching." She spoke this last in a sick voice as she remembered the piles of broken horns and assorted creature remnants in Cynus' work room."Oh no," she gasped. The unicorn behind her snorted wildly, pawing at the sand with one forehoof. She reached back and steadied her with a single touch. "Proof?""Cee has it. I saw some of it," she added thickly. "It was terrible.""We have to do something!""Well..." Elly hedged, then went on to tell her friend what they were planning. John yawned as the ladies spoke. He was bored. The night spent in the strange sea had been all right but he much preferred his own reefs and wrecks where he could settle down more comfortably. He slapped his long tail at the water impatiently as they talked on and on, spraying water about them both."All right, all right," Elly finally laughed a little as she grasped his front flipper and pulled herself up on his neck again. "Now you can help noise the rumors around about how I... feel." She choked a little on that last. Lil giggled wickedly. The topic was horrifying and she was devastated, but the water magus's reaction to their subterfuge was just too priceless. She waved again as John dipped his head to her. He then swam further out into the ocean, heading towards the islands and home. Elly grumbled to herself as John lowered her to the familiar sands close to her Keep. She stripped the water from her arms and legs quickly with her hands after she stepped onto the beach and then stretched. Grimacing with pleasure as her shoulders popped she also brushed back her purple hair, making a sour face when a strand fell. It was fading back to her natural greenish-black color already."Bleah," she murmured to herself. When she had been a child the other kids in the village had made fun of her, calling her "seaweed hair" and other less attractive names. Ever since she'd learned the spells she'd dyed it. Oh, well. Elly let her arms drop and turned to John who was waiting expectantly at the water's edge."All right, big guy. I need to get some lunch.""WRRRRL." John pushed at her feet with his nose, dumping sand on them."Hey!" He snickered, spraying water about when she protested. "That's not nice. I know you didn't enjoy being away from home so I could stay with Cynus. I'll make it up to you.""Rrrf." He winked at her and then plunged around into the depths.
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"Spoiled brat," she remarked to herself with a grin as she trudged up the beach. The big wolf had been replaced by a small family of liquards, tiny water lizards that could morph into water at a moment's notice. They were taking up seats on the hard-packed gate posts as usual. The head mate bugled a welcome as she walked by and she smiled at her. Unfortunately the warble of the happy creatures brought a few of the villagers out and she winced when she saw her personal maid."Where've you been?" She demanded of her mistress, running up and laying a hand on her shoulder. "We was all worried sick, don't y'know.""Please, Netti, spare me the folksy accent for just one day..." The brown-haired girl was dedicated to the tourism trade at the Island. After Elly had taken over she had found with dismay that she spoke with a "servant" accent whenever she was out in public. She said the people loved it."I dunna' what you're talking about," she said with a toss of her curls over one shoulder."You knew where I was, Annette," Elly said firmly. She paused at the edge of the freshwater pool before her tower and knelt, slapping her palm on the shining surface. Several koi heads popped up almost immediately."Aye, but did you really spend the night there?"Elly swore under her breath as her face started to burn. "Yes! Now please go tell someone up there to throw me some lunch together? I'm starving. I'll be up in a bit." Netti pursed her lips and decided she'd pushed her magus friend far enough for now. She gave a little bobbing curtsy and dashed up the steps to the main door of the Keep. One of the koi spat a little rill of water in the air after she was gone."What's up, Carmella? Is this about the little one that got sent overland?" The purple koi blew bubbles and she nodded. "You don't need to worry. Scott's doing just fine." Elly carefully checked all the new koi and hatchlings and when she was satisfied that all was well she smiled happily. After that one scare with fin rot she had always been careful. It took some time to convince the cook and Netti that she wanted to change first before they crammed food down her throat. However, once she had showered the salt water off and changed into her usual swim top and jeans she was amazed at how hungry she was. She felt like she really could eat the whole feast the man had brought up and told him so. He grinned at her and bowed himself out, flipping his lanky blonde hair away from his eyes."Well?" Netti was waiting for him at the bottom of the steps leading up to Elly's private apartments. "What'd she say, Cinque? Anything?"He shook his head, spreading his hands helplessly. "Not a thing, except that she was hungry.""She must have worked up an appetite," one of the kitchen helpers said, rolling her eyes."Tilda!" Cinque winced. "It's not nice to speculate about things like that." He chuckled. "Besides, didn't we all guess that much already?""Yeah, but now we have proof." Netti flapped her hand at him. "She seems kind of angry though. I would've thought, you know...""There's another obvious reason behind that," Tilda popped back in slinging a dishrag over her meaty arm. "Two magus can't have children. If she's really in love with that flirty grass boy they won't be able to have their own.""Now we're just gossiping," Cinque grumped. He patted the big woman on the cheek and pointed back to the kitchen. "Let's just go clean up, huh? And make sure the rabbits haven't stolen all my sugar cubes and eaten half the herb garden while we've been chatting away?"
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Elly got up early the next day.The sun wasn't quite all the way up yet and the morning mist clung everywhere about the sand castle tower, making it easier for her to slip out unnoticed. It helped that all the occupants were still asleep due to a small spell she had woven, but they would soon awaken and be none the worse for it. She reflected that it might even help poor Cinque, who was a terrible insomniac. The pale magus snuck out the front and tread carefully past the gardens where a small cloud of butterflies were darting about in the cool air. Soon enough it would be hot and they would find shade for the warm part of the day but for now they reveled in the tropical flowers Cynus had given her for them. She shook her head, her greenish-black hair tickling her cheeks.Got to stop thinking about him, she chided herself. The truth was she felt guilty. She hated deceiving people and had hardly ever lied to anyone. And of course what they were doing now - deliberately fooling everyone -- it damaged her sense of pride. She told herself firmly that stopping this terrible poaching ring was worth it, but inside she doubted. Besides, Cynus had looked so strange when she'd turned him down. That had hurt him.Gritting her teeth she rolled her shoulders back and entered a small stable next to the gardens. "Hello, the house," she called softly. "Becky, I need you." A gleaming white pegasus trotted forward to meet her, bending her head in greeting. Elly gently caressed her trembling neck and then whispered that she needed guidance through the forest again."Yes. The lighthouse. I need to visit. Can you take me? Otherwise it would take all day or I'd have to trudge through the forest." Becky nickered softly and turned so she could mount. Moments later as they were winging their way to the northernmost island she realized she'd forgotten her goggles. Swearing faintly under her breath she did the only thing she could do - buried her face in the silky mane of her steed and wait. The wind was cool ruffling through the light cloak she'd draped about her and she heartily wished she'd been less distracted by her runaway thoughts. The pegasus' hooves clattered on the stone path leading to the lighthouse."Already?" Becky snorted and flicked her ears. The message was clear - of course already. She was fast. "Sorry, girl. I didn't mean it that way.""Elly?" The voice was almost as airy as the magus's skill that kept this tower running."Hi, Cyn." She grinned sheepishly. "I should have sent someone ahead. Sorry... my mind's been wandering a ton lately.""No, that's fine!" She grinned at the water magus and waved her inside, seeing she was chilly in the brisk morning air. Cyn's keep was of necessity small, but the caverns that ran under Elly's own were prominent here as well as allowed her to extend someways below ground. This woman was a light magus who did most of her work at the top of her tower. The lighthouse always gleaming brilliant through a gorgeous, multifaceted crystal that caught the sun's rays and shot them back through the day and night. Becky neighed happily and trotted off to nibble at the tough strands of brush at the edge of the rocks. The two women climbed up the winding steps that led to the tower and were soon inside."What?! You're spreading what story around?" Cyn nearly spilled the mug of coffee she set down before her friend. Elly grinned nervously and took it from her. "This is his idea, isn't it?""He means well," she said lamely. "Anyway, if they approach me we can stop it. Well, I hope. I don't know what we can do otherwise if we can't find out what they're up to. Sneaky is the only way in!""Maybe." The other magus sounded dubious. "I mean, you think they'll approach you just because you give them such an obvious bait?""They're probably desperate," Elly murmured, wrapping her hands around the steaming cup. "Cee thinks the debris from the boxes washed up because they don't have good ships or routes they can travel that aren't patrolled by John's leviathan 'troops'. You know what they do if they find anyone snooping around by their breeding areas.""They wouldn't be that foolish!" Her face had paled."If they needed someplace to smuggle it, where else could they go where no one else would?" She set her cup down firmly. "Anyway. I just wanted to let you in on things so you know what we're planning. You're here too, so just to be on the safe side if they come sniffing around tell them what we want them to hear.""All right," she said nervously. "But you might be getting into a lot of trouble, Elly.""When'll that be new?"Cinque pelted off down the trail leading to the gardens, his face mottled with rage and fist aloft. He was waving a wooden spoon at two brown little splashes of color that always stayed just beyond his reach."Get back over here you little runts, you nearly destroyed my kitchen again! I'll have your weaselly little pelts for this!" He rounded a corner and ran smack into Annette with a grunt."Oof!""Ah... sorry, Netti," he apologized lamely."The bunnies again?" She asked with a dimpled smile."Those rabbits..." He glared at the two pairs of beady eyes staring around a bush at him. "You'd better hide, you two," he grumbled, shaking a finger at them. "One more raid like that today and I'll tell Elly." They instantly darted backwards, the bush shaking from their hasty departure."I came around to ask if you saw when she left the other day...""Give it a rest already," he groaned, shoving the spoon into one of his apron pockets. It stuck out at an angle, looking slightly ridiculous since it didn't fit all the way."Well. I know why you don't want to talk about them," the maid suggested slyly."Still riding that tired old nag? Just leave them alone already.""Thought you might be jealous, too," she said, eyes wide. "You spent a long time up there in her quarters last winter, a few times too. Everyone's guessed why.""Why?" He slapped the side of his face, dragging his hand down to the fuzz on his chin. "Damn it all, maybe it was just because she wanted to talk... and plan the Yuletime meals. She can talk with you girls and no one thinks anything of it.""Aw, you can tell me. I swear I'll keep a secret." She leaned close but jerked away when he snapped a finger at her."Aye, what? You'd have me say something juicy, wouldn't you? Dirty little secrets, how we servants love to tell tales." He snorted and flicked his dark blond hair away from his eyes.. "I already told you we talk too much. And nothing happened.""But -""No," he said firmly. "Go back and get to your dusting or something. I have breakfast to cook and lunch to prep!" Cinque wiped his hands on the towel belted about his waist and walked swiftly back to the hot room he spent so much time in. His expression was distant, though, his dark eyes far away."You called for me?" He poked his head through the door and looked about. The fire in the hearth was crackling merrily and two chairs had been carefully drawn up in front. Winter had come early to the islands and they had been shocked at how cold it had gotten. Things usually stayed at a decent temperature even in the colder months."Yep."Cinque tugged on his cook's whites. "You must be really anxious about the Yuletide feast this year, then," he chuckled. He strode forward and sank into the chair her pale hand offered. They chatted about foodstuffs and drinks to go with everything for some time until they'd exhausted all the possibilities.That was when Cinque glanced idly up."I think someone's fooling around," he drawled, amused. One long finger pointed up and Elly saw that someone had stuck a sprig of mistletoe above their heads while they sat. She then noticed that he had turned back to her. There was a speculative look in them and a question as well.She stared into his eyes, sorely tempted. He was an attractive man, tall and lean with a faint fuzz of hair along his jaw and chin. The gaze he returned was open and honest...
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Cinque sighed and shook his head ruefully, bringing himself back to the present. Nothing had happened, but somehow everyone in the Keep had assumed it did. And he'd probably only imagined her intrigue; she'd certainly started scolding one of her creatures about the mistletoe as soon as he'd closed the door behind him again. He absolutely hated the stories flying around about his employer and friend but didn't know what to do about it. With power came responsibility... and more gossip that anyone knew what to do with.Cynus knelt in the soft loam in front of a rather imposing log cabin, turning over the leaf he held carefully in his hands. Poplar whispered faintly in his ear, tiny fingers clutching at his jet black hair. He nodded."Bury a fish amongst its roots ...or move it," he said finally, standing up and brushing the dirt from his knees. "You buried it too close to the house and the rainwater is sapping all the nutrients from the soil.""Oh, thank you!" The woman that lived there was a real beauty. She had gleaming golden hair and bright green eyes that had broken many a heart in the little forest village spread about the Tree. She clutched his hand tightly in appreciation but he only nodded, his attention already elsewhere. In fact he'd have pulled her right along with him if she hadn't let go with a pouty little frown.Poplar sighed, her voice like the rustling of the leaf she resembled."What? I'm not myself today." He shrugged as he started to walk back home. Folks decided to give way to him when they took one look at his dark expression and even the keep staff left him alone. He crossed the main upstairs room of the great tree and went directly to his bedroom. After one moody glance at his bed he sank deeply into a carved wooden chair, brooding in the shadows of the room. Poplar flittered down from her customary perch in his hair and began chattering softly with the other fairies in the branches outside the window but he scarce noticed.Was it true that she'd had a relationship with her cook? Was it because she was already in love with him? He shook his head, black hair coming free of the ponytail he'd snagged it back with earlier and tickling his pale cheeks. Cynus snorted wryly and tucked the strands behind his ears. The chef was tall, blond and comely but he had a terrible mouth on him when he got angry. He couldn't imagine her condoning that. Besides, he was one of her best friends. They were comfortable with each other and she found him attractive. Her rejection just didn't make sense to him. Cynus growled angrily to himself, tensing as his thoughts ran wild ... and then abruptly slumped down again.Whatever.At least his worrying was conveying the proper image to the villagers and those who passed through. Pop had been spying about and told him there was much speculation going on about their relationship. She should get approached by someone soon, and that worried him all the more."That's the important thing," he muttered to himself. He could wish that the smugglers would come to him but he knew better. Elly was the key element in this. Her wild displays of emotions were well-known and sometimes impulsive behavior would make her the best target. Cynus just wished he could have thought things out a little more.Elly woke when the burning island sun struck her back. It seemed hotter than usual for some reason and she struggled to her feet, swearing under her breath. There was a low sound of growling nearby and she spun about, alert. The last thing she needed was a wild animal attacking her in her weak condition.
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The sound stopped.She frowned and shook her head, trying to clear it. The humid air seemed more alive with sounds than she'd ever heard and the water roaring amid the shore tangier with the scent of fish and salt. She smelled wood and bilge water and knew there was a boat or ship close by as well.Wait - how the hell did she know that?Confused, she licked her lips and then blinked. Her head felt heavy and her back seemed to drag on the ground. Starting to panic, she looked down at her hands and saw two very large tawny-colored paws. She yelped and heard a shrill cat's scream - more shocking because it was her own -- pierce the air. The bastard had turned her into a manticore! A shape-changing curse of some kind, maybe. No wonder she hadn't known the counter spell; trans were extremely difficult and seldom used since they backfired more often than not. She knew of no magus that attempted to change their own shape except perhaps the Grand One himself and even then it was only a rumor. The panicked magus had other things to worry about at the moment, however. her scream of surprise had attracted a large male manticore from the boat she'd smelled. She was too frightened to wonder why he had been sniffing around it, but he was running smoothly along the sand to where she stood now.Elly stared unhappily at the giant beast, her ears flattening back in horror. He was huge! His sleekly muscled body flexed as he strode past her on silent paws. Barren spots across his face, chest and torso where scars twisted down his body gave him an even more threatening appearance. The beast's dark eyes narrowed and he hissed threateningly.Without stopping to think how she did it, she spoke in his own language. "Wait! I'm not here to pick fights." Her words were conveyed to him in a mixture of body language, faint sounds and eye contact. If she hadn't been so terrified she'd have found it all very interesting.He stopped so short he skidded on his rump in the sand. "What?""I don't want to fight," she hedged, leaning away from him as he stared incredulously at her. His thick, scaly tail slapped the ground in agitation."All the others did," he rumbled. His ears perked towards her and she saw with amazement that he wore a very large roc feather clipped to his left ear. The feather shone a ruddy gold color in the morning light."You're not a manticore," she gasped."Funny," he snorted, shaking his mane. "I seem to have fur, scales, wings and...""That's not what I meant!""Then talk," he growled, pouncing forward and baring sharp fangs at her. This time she didn't flinch and he seemed satisfied."You were cursed, weren't you. So was I."His green eyes narrowed. "Hmpf. Maybe.""You were. I can almost ... smell it on you.""You a magus?" He stalked off a foot or so away and threw himself on the ground."Yes. An animagus, the one of the islands." She sighed. "My name is Elly.""Roche," he grunted almost indifferently. Then his eyes widened. "Wait - you're one of those animal magicians? Then you can fix us!" He leaped up, his tail lashing at his flanks in excitement."Magus," she corrected, "not magician.""There's a difference?""Well, yes. Doesn't matter," she murmured half to herself. Then, slowly settling down and laying one paw on top of the other, "But for now we're stuck like this. I don't even know how much magic I can do when I can't speak human."He swore. "I don't like being stuck with someone.""Neither do I!" She snapped back angrily. It came out as a small roar. "But until I can figure this out we'll have to rely on each other. I have the power to change us back and you have..."He snorted. "The muscle but no brains?""I didn't say that. I just need someone who's stronger to protect me. If other manticore are going to act like you first did, I'll be fighting all the time and I won't be able to concentrate.""Agreed. I've had to fight a couple big dumb cats already.""Territorial challenges," she confirmed. "They're protecting their home - and their uh, well. Yes." She sniffed and looked aside. "Is that your boat?""Yeah.""Do you have anything to eat in there?"He shook his head. "I was fishing for food in the middle of the ocean when I fell down and woke up like this, here. Damn thing grounded. I guess I got lucky.""All things considered.""Eh." Roche shrugged, a strange-looking gesture on a manticore. "We need food, shelter. I can bring something down. Do you want to try and go back to your tower?""I don't think so," she said with a sickening feeling. "I can't communicate by speaking to people now and there's no animagus around that can speak to us.""Crap.""Yes."
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Cynus was frantic when he heard that Elly was missing. Her raven had brought the news, his beady little eyes flashing with dark glee at the thought that this would cause the forest magus unknown distress. Then there came more bad news that a sea monster was tearing up the nearby coast, terrifying some of the local fishermen.He had a sinking feeling that his ride was here.The dark-haired man ran desperately about the Tree, putting things in order as fast as he could for an extended leave. He kept forgetting things then rushing around in panic until his servants crammed some clothing in a parcel and shoved him out the door. He rode his best bull elk to the shore where an enraged John was crashing about and roaring, frothy bits of sea foam dashing about the sand. The great beast craned his snaky head down and snapped at him. Poplar fluttered up from his hair, shrilling in panic and Cynus jumped back with a yelp. The elk took one look at the great mouth filled with person-sized fangs and spun about in the sand, running lightly off to the safety of the forest."It's me! Cut that out!" The plaintive whirring sound the leviathan made would have been more pathetic had he not just tried to bite him in half, he thought wryly. He edged nervously closer. "Okay, just calm down, calm down. You want my help, right? You gotta take me there. Back to your tower."John roared with rage but he threw his head down on the sands, suffering Cynus to scramble up."Take it easy, I'm not a very good swimmer!"Cynus wasn't lying. He had to scream at John to stop once while he threw up noisily over the side of his disgusted mount. John rumbled with annoyance and was off as soon as the man sat upright again. He felt worse every second and was horrified that he'd faint and fall off. They did get there eventually and he was never happier to see solid ground. Ashen and shaking, he slipped off John's neck to fall to the sand, coughing weakly. A small gathering of people were there. He recognized the cook at once and a few of her maid servants and helpers. The women and even most of the men were frantic, though, and there would be no help from them. He groaned and dropped his head to his hands, long wet hair flopping down over the sides of his face as John tore up the waters behind him. The sound was atrocious and everyone that came near was soon covered with bits of seaweed dredged from the depths and frothy clumps of foam. It was Cinque and another man Cynus didn't recognize who finally pushed their way forward to help him. The two men stared at him for a long moment, the ocean breeze ruffling their hair and clothing."Come on," the chef suggested at last. "I'll tell you everything we know and we can get a search started.""Yeah," the other said softly as he helped Cynus to a standing position. "You're drenched and you look godawful. Netti," he called as they began walking towards the gates of the tower."I'll get a change of clothing ready," she wailed, so distraught that she forgot her accent. Tilda, who was walking close by the trembling young girl, placed a matronly arm about her and nodded."Well also set some cool tea out while you talk. Now let's get inside; it's terribly hot out here and it's doing Elly no good for us to stand about chattering away."The other man's name was Palette. Cynus sighed as he sat down in a chair in the top room of Elly's tower. He wondered if it was a custom in this village to take a name based on what you did for a living or something. He also wondered if it would bother the young man if he asked. It didn't look like much bothered him at all, he was calm even now in the midst of this crisis. Pal sat opposite him across a low glass table that held - what else? -- fish just like an aquarium. He was extremely skinny and his clothes seemed to hang on him like some sort of walking rack. He had short, magically dyed blue hair that hung down in a long strip on the right side of his face and his hands were wrapped tightly around a thick sketchpad. Cinque had retreated to the kitchen to make them some food although none were really hungry. The big woman, Matilda, was coming up the worn sanded steps with a tray of iced tea. Cynus, now dressed in a soft generic white robe and barefoot, waved her inside."I added something to the tea," she said with an earthy chuckle as he took a sip and fell to gasping. "You look like you need to calm down, dear.""Good idea," Pal murmured. "Is Netti all right?""She's fine." The big woman rolled her eyes. "Everything gets her worked up, you know that. And this isn't just a little problem."Cynus set his glass down carefully. "She just vanished?""I saw her walking down towards the beach at night," the artist murmured. He held up his pad and they all saw the roughly-sketched outlines of the moonlit shore with the dark silhouette of a boat on one end. "This boat was new, too.""You didn't see what happened?""No..." The young man actually blushed. "I got distracted and didn't finish, you can see.""I was wondering where that little minx had gone," Tilda said sourly. "She slipped out of the tower that night."Pal's blush grew deeper and he coughed uncomfortably. "Nothin' happened, Tilda," he said quickly."I know.""Erk."Cynus wasn't interested in the man's love life. He impatiently gestured at them and they glanced over, startled. "The boat," he said tensely. "Was it maybe involved? Anyone in it?""We didn't want to touch it until you came. But we didn't see anything but paw prints around in the sand." Tilda shrugged."All right." Poplar stuck her face up out of a fold in his robe and Palette blinked."Is that a fairy?""Yes." He frowned up at the ceiling, thinking hard. "Okay. I'll send some of the fliers out right away. Then we'll coordinate a search through the wooded area. Maybe it's just something silly and we'll find her quick. You looked through the village already?" They nodded."Yes, and nothing. The last one to see her was Palette.""All right." Cynus stood up and rolled his shoulders back. "Let's go."
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"Come on," Roche hissed. "We can't stay here any longer. They've got our scent and they're already mad." The crashing far back along the trees indicated that there were indeed a lot of angry creatures back there. Elly had held some hopes that she'd be able to communicate with her creatures here, maybe get them to see who she was. But when they had wandered into the forest they'd been instantly set upon by a manticore pride. They were furious at the intrusion by two new animals and they had chased them far into the woods."I know," she panted heavily, dropping to her haunches and glaring at the huge male in front of her. "I'm so tired, though - I'm not used to all this!""You seem to be fit enough," he remarked acidly.Elly bared her teeth at him. "Walking through the undergrowth on four flipping feet is different from swimming or riding." It was a trying time for them both. They knew they couldn't stay close to the boat or people would spot them eventually. Elly wanted to get to some secluded area where she could work on getting them back to normal without the threat of humans who would be frightened of them and strike first, think later. But at the moment there was even more danger from their fellow creatures."I'm not having that much of a problem.""That's possibly because you were a neanderthal as a human," she snapped back. "Your knuckles touched the ground then, too."One of his shaggy eyebrows raised and his tongue lolled out in what she instinctively recognized as manticore laughter. "Be nice."She had to admit that having him with her was a stroke of luck despite his gruff exterior. He'd fought off several more males and frightened off a wandering panther so far. Slowly, painfully, she rose to her feet again and staggered forward. The next half an hour was a nightmare. She stumbled along beside Roche trying to keep up and flicking her ears nervously at the noises that began to surround them as night fell on the humid little forest. They were nearing a gorgeous clearing, a fresh water stream that trickled down a small hill near a cluster of pine trees."There," he grunted finally with satisfaction. "A little opening by the side of that stream by the rocks. I think it's a cave.""It's probably already occupied," she sighed wearily."I don't smell anything." He splashed through the water and poked his head past the growth in the opening. His tail idly twitched as his eyes grew accustomed to the darkness inside. "Nothing," he called back over one shoulder.Elly lifted her head from the water, droplets falling from her lips. The walk had been grueling and she was thirsty as well as starving. "Good. Then what do we eat?""I'll find something." He shook himself and looked around, getting his bearings. "Get inside and don't leave. I'll be back.""Yeah, yeah. You don't have to be so pushy about it." She slunk inside and was instantly soothed by the cool air in the small cave. Laying down she placed her head on her front paws and considered everything that had happened. It was all so much. She lay quitely, trying to take deep breaths and think clearly about their problem. The choice, she thought, to stay away from men had been a good one. Their chance encounter with one of her chimera had shown her something else. Apparently not all creatures were compatible linguistically with each other. It seemed as if he had spoken with a thick accent they could barely make out. She assumed that felines could understand one another but other species couldn't. It probably made hunting easier if the prey didn't beg you to not eat them but it was depressing. What made it worse had been the fact that her good friend that had been with her since he was a cub had been completely enraged at the stink of the curse that laid upon them. It seemed that smell overpowered any others. It had been in the back of her mind that she could meet John and get his help somehow or maybe another friend from her Keep. She knew they'd search eventually but they'd be looking for a person. They'd skip right past her... and her best friend would probably try to eat her.Elly moaned and rubbed at her face with her heavy paws."Hey, magus," Roche called from just outside the entrance. "Quit doing that. You sound like a whiny little kitten." His voice was muffled and her flaring nostrils told her why. He'd brought dinner."Thanks," she hedged as he set down a haunch of something before her. "Did you... raw?""It's hard to start a fire with paws," he noted absently. "I ate already." His long pink tongue came out and neatly cleaned his whiskers."I like rare meat, but...""Don't think about it," he advised."Talk to me, then. Why did they curse you?" Elly bit into the meat, hunger compelling her to disregard her human foibles."I got hired to ship some stuff. They didn't tell me what it was and when I found out I dumped it all overboard." His dark eyes flashed as he recalled opening the crates."You're the reason Cee found all that debris," she gasped, dropping a chunk to the ground in amazement.He made a small disgusted noise. "They didn't like what I did. I was following that guy to discuss it with him when this happened." His tone spoke louder than words that talking wasn't what he'd had in mind."We really are on the same side.""No kidding. Just eat, all right? Get your strength up, 'cause we're going to have to take turns watching while the other sleeps tonight."Roche rolled over, all four paws in the air with his mouth open in a great, fang-filled yawn."You snored again," Elly told him irritably. She was scratching things with a claw onto their little den's walls, pausing from time to time to reflect and then crossing things out and starting over again. She'd been doing this for a few days now and was becoming increasingly waspish as certain unpleasant realities were starting to dawn upon her. If they wandered too far from their safe house they were instantly set upon by rival cats, so they'd taken to staying as close as possible."You were awake anyway." He opened his eyes and sat up."Breakfast is there." She pointed with a flick of her tail and he perked his ears forward eagerly."You caught something? Great. I'm starving." He pounced on his meal, only pausing once to ask around a mouthful of feathers if she wanted any."I ate earlier. Um, listen, Roche...""What." There were moderately gruesome crunching sounds as he continued his feast."It may be awhile before I can change us back. I don't know how he did this in the first place.""I thought you magus were supposed to be smart." He spit out a few feathers."This is a difficult spell," she said between clenched fangs."What if we find the guy and kill him?" He said it so casually she blinked in surprise."Do you know where he is?" She asked pointedly. "Besides, have you had that much experience killing people?" Her ears flattened back warily."Eh." He sat up and stared at her. "I can do it if it needs to be done." His expression grew slightly nervous. "About the boat...""You're not a guy that would do anything for hire?""No!" He snapped. "Will your people screw with that boat I came in on?""Probably. I mean, if no one comes to claim it. It's suspect at that point. They won't get rid of it or anything, if that's what you're worried about.""I left some stuff in there." His dark eyes were hooded as he stared out the entrance. "I can't freaking pick things up anymore!" He bit the air in front of his great paws, tail lashing.His sudden mood swing unnerved her somewhat. "Are you all right?""M'fine."
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Despite his mumbled assurance she looked at him in a new light after that. As calm as he appeared in a crisis some things did rattle him. Elly turned about and began working again, trying to concentrate. She had to figure out how to change them back. Every day they spent like this was exactly what the dark man had wanted - a delay so they wouldn't investigate further. She knew Cynus was out there trying to find her because the trees had suddenly come alive with more fairy than she'd ever seen. But it didn't matter because he wouldn't recognize her and she couldn't walk back to the Keep until she could do it on two feet.It made her want to scream with frustration.As Cinque walked out of the kitchen he sighed and looked around. He'd held some hope that Elly had been near, that this had all been some sort of mistake or minor slip. Maybe she'd left a note someone had missed or something. But after a week and a half he was certain that something bad had happened to the magus that ran this Keep. And another thing that plagued him constantly was that her friend had apparently heard some of the gossip about them both.Worse yet, he appeared to be the jealous type.Whatever he'd told the other staff it was obvious that the dark-haired forest magus was completely infatuated. He lingered in her rooms a bit more than was necessary and Cinque had caught him gently tracing a photograph she had hung of them together when they were novitiates. He wrinkled his long nose and leaned back against one of the sandy walls as he thought. The chef wasn't a man that liked confrontation, though he could handle his own in an argument or fight if need be. He didn't want to bring this out in the open but he could feel the other man's eyes burning into his back every time they were in the same room together.And of course that was him rounding the corner now, wasn't it?"No luck?" He calmly folded his hands in front of his apron."Nothing," Cynus almost moaned. His voice seemed to droop with a great weariness and there were circles under his eyes."You can't head all the search parties," Cinque chided. "You need rest... and food. Have you eaten yet?""No." He covered his face with one hand, yawning hugely. "I'm tired, but I can't sleep. You know? I keep thinking all the worst things.""Yeah," Cinque agreed softly and caught the faint look of annoyance pass across his face. "She's my friend, too, and I'm just as worried," he told him, stressing the word firmly."Ahhh, yeah. Sorry," he half-apologized."Just go get some rest," the blond man suggested. He squinted up at the ceiling. "I'll have Tilda wake you if there's any news. I promise.""Maybe you're right." Cynus turned and began to shuffle back up the hall to the stairs leading to the main quarters, frequently bumping into things like the wall or handrail as he went. He wandered in a half-doze into the apartments set aside for him and fell onto the bed. Everything he tried had failed. He didn't know what else to do. He'd even enlisted the help of some of the more reclusive members of this tower after a bit of quick talking, and those creatures had joined the hunt as well. Everything ended up the same though. The trail stopped at the boat and went dead cold. The boat itself was an enigma. It was a tidy little thing with male clothing stored away in a trunk on one end of the lower compartment and three curiously beautiful, large thick sticks that they had brought inside the tower for examination. Nothing gave a clue to the owner except it was a man that owned strange weaponry and kept them in immaculate condition without magic. He fell asleep between one worried thought and the next, breathing heavily with one hand clutching the covers. He hadn't even bothered to undress or get underneath the sheets.It was raining: a nice, steady downpour that made tracking prey difficult and soaked one's fur in seconds. The forest was more humid than usual due to the storm that had finally broke over the islands and they'd been forced to take shelter more and more in their little den. But they needed food, and he had to find something. Roche paced through the damp forest, his ears flattened back in irritation. He'd been following the telltale signs of a stag for some time now and the thought that he may have lost dinner was foremost in his mind. Thankfully he saw a flash of white in the next breath, a flick of a tail behind those trees. He crouched down low, setting one paw carefully down in front of the other and making no sound on the wet loam. Avoiding the twigs with an uncanny grace for a creature so large, he slipped around the trees and pounced. A quarter of an hour later he was dragging the inert body through the stream to share with Elly. He nosed the vines aside and entered the dry, earthy cavern gratefully."Dinner." He panted happily as he dropped the great elk down on the ground."Oh thank goodness." He could see her nose twitching eagerly. Although she professed it was disgusting she'd gotten used to eating her meat raw fairly fast. He was somehow intrigued by that. Most of the ladies he knew would have starved to death by now."Led me a chase." He shook himself and she hissed as droplets flew about. "Sorry.""Keep the water outside," she told him wearily. "All the leaves and moss I brought in for bedding will get soaked.""Yeah, yeah." As they settled in to eat he asked her something that had been on his mind for awhile. "Why'd that guy do this to you? Were you trying to shut him down?""In a way, yes.""What way?" he asked curiously. "He'd have to be an idiot to get close to a magus.""I obviously didn't pose any threat," she said wryly. "Anyway, a friend of mine cooked up this elaborate scheme where they'd come to me for a reason, and it worked. All except this part. Where he saw right through me." She gestured with her tail at her furry body."What reason could you - anybody -- have for wanting that kind of sick shit?""We used love to make him believe us," she replied candidly. "But I guess greed, power, whatever would work as well. The usual stuff.""Love," he snorted disdainfully. She chewed in silence for awhile. "That's how he saw through you, then. That's all bullshit.""What, love? You big idiot, are you serious?"His hackles raised. "I am not an idiot. I just don't believe in that, that's all.""Really?""That's all I hear from these weak little morons everywhere. It's an excuse for everything. I think it's ridiculous.""Well, then," she sniffed. "I guess it's for certain there's no Mrs. Roche in your life."He choked. "No way.""Me neither," she murmured. "You know something, though? I feel bad about Cee. He's got everyone and everything out there looking for me, day in and day out. He was the one that had this idea. He's probably guilty and worried sick." Elly grew pensive as she thought about John as well. The poor dear. She knew him well enough to know the coastline was probably a wreck by now."You any closer to finding how to fix us?""Kind of." She paused. "It's really not what I expected, and I think there may be some kind of strength of will needed besides." He let this pass without comment, not really knowing what to say. She'd turned away from him, her tan fur appearing almost black in the gloom of the storm. Roche sighed heavily."I'm going out," he said briefly and picked up what was left of the carcass to dispose of it far away from their den.
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"She's not dead!" Cynus yelled angrily. His face was splotched with unnatural color, eyes wild and straining. The others in the room looked away, some sighing with pity and not a few with exasperation."You have to entertain the notion," Cinque said firmly. He held the distraught magus's arms back so he wouldn't lash out at him.They'd gathered to discuss what would happen to Moy Mell in the case Elly did not come back to them. It was a natural course of events but Cynus had completely flown off the handle, breaking the thick glass table in front of him with a single magical gesture in his emotional state."No! We haven't found a body," he pleaded, glancing around but not really seeing anyone. "If she was, we'd have..."Cinque shook his head. Thoughts of dark creatures that might feed on things most would shun flickered across Cynus mind. He struggled weakly, trying to free his hands."Damn it," he finally gasped, "I thought you cared. I thought...""Of course I care," the blond man hissed between clenched teeth. "And I'll have regrets... yeah, me. Just like you. But we'll have to think about this now or we'll be screwed if it's happened and we all stand around crying then. We have to be able to function. She would want us to.""The fae are so angry," Cynus muttered. "Pop says something is wrong in the forest nearby but they don't know what.""We'll discuss that afterward, all right? Let's not get side-tracked."Cynus slumped dejectedly in his chair and glanced outside. It was still raining; had been for several days already. The storm seemed to be slackening off but one couldn't be too sure. It was Autumn, after all, and weather like this was common around the islands.Roche and Elly were forced to endure each others company more and more through the downpours as it was dangerous to travel outside. He had brought meat to last for awhile without spoiling in the coolness of the cavern but that wasn't their biggest problem."What are you doing?" she demanded irritably of the big male. He had been sitting there motionless for a half an hour at least, staring calmly out at the pouring rain. He didn't answer so she repeated herself a little louder. When he didn't reply yet again she reached out and swiped angrily at his fore paw."Ow, damn it!" His fangs snapped within inches of her muzzle."Cut that out!""Don't ever do that again," he grumbled, flicking his ears in irritation."I just wanted to know what you were doing.""Meditating," he grunted. "Or at least I was until some loud-mouthed cat scratched me.""Loud-mouthed?!""Quiet," he snapped. "Meditation reaches out with your mind and relaxes the body. I do it a lot while I'm weight training."She made a face and crept closer, laying on her belly by his side and glaring distastefully at all the wet. "Sorry," she apologized. "It's just... you know.""Yeah." He settled slowly back down."I thought about writing a message to them," Elly sighed. "You know, back at the Keep. I could scratch something out in the sand by the beach like I do here with my claws but now that it's raining...""Stones?""Not enough. This isn't mountain country, you know. And whatever shells wash up get picked up fast by the islanders." John also had a habit of crunching on them when he was nervous, and if she knew John, he was more than nervous by now. There would be virtually no shells laying around because of the waves pounding the shore from his tantrums.Roche laid his ears back in irritation. "Twigs?""It's windy out there, too," she reminded him. "They'd all be blown away. And even then I don't know if they'd think it was a trap or a trick or what. I know we don't smell exactly the same or my creature friends would have found me already.""I hate this!""I'm not particularly enjoying it either," she said tartly."Hnnf." He curled his leathery wings tighter about him. "You'd think we could use these as umbrellas.""I always thought it would be nice to have wings, but we've never even used them at all.""No need. What're we gonna do if we fly? We'd still be stuck not able to talk to anyone." He glanced aside at her and saw she was shaking a little. "Cold?""No." But she continued to shiver so he snorted and extended his wing so it covered her. She gradually stopped."Thanks.""Whatever."
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Elly rose her head slightly from her paws as she woke the next morning. There was a bright light coming from outside the cavern, and for a moment she was confused.Sunlight!"Oh, wow, finally," she breathed in relief. Now maybe she could get a message out to someone. At the very least it wouldn't smell like a bagful of wet fur inside their cave all day and night. She never really understood just how bad a wet animal could smell. Just the thought of the fragrance made her stomach churn - all the more so because part of it was from her! As she poked her head outside she heard a faint mewling sound."Huh?" Roche had been out already and he peered down from the top of the little outcropping of rock to glance down at her. "Is that you, Kit?""That's wearing thin, you ass," she growled. "I'm not a little kid.""I am." There was snuffling nearby and she blinked in surprise as the dripping leaves of a bush parted to reveal a tiny manticore cub."Hello?""The hell?""Shut up," she hissed at the big male when he dropped lightly beside her. "He's scared. It's okay," she called out softly.The little one shook himself and sneezed. He was all over mud and soaking wet - a pathetic sight. "My name's Kora." He looked up at Elly with large, trusting eyes. "Do you know where my family is?""Um, no." Elly paused. "I think we could help you, though. Let's get you cleaned up ..." Roche grunted and she almost absently stepped on his foot. He flicked his wings in annoyance and glared at her. A simple splash in the pool of swirling water outside the den washed the wet dirt off. While he was splashing about, scaring the local koi and wreaking havoc among some small waterfowl, Roche managed to pull the magus aside."You can't be serious.""We can't just let him wander around alone!" She sat down on her haunches to stare at him reproachfully."His family is probably one of the ones that attacked us," he said sourly. "If they see him with us they'll get even angrier.""So you're saying we should just leave him?""No." He bared his fangs irritably. "No. I'll take the furball off where I've seen them wandering around. I'm not going to hand him over personally, though.""Well, do it. When you come back we can go back to the beach and try and signal someone or something."He sighed. "You clean yet?" He called out, squishing through the wet grass to the pond. The cub rushed up and sat down quietly in front of him. "All right. Let's go find your parents." Elly flicked her tail at him in goodbye before they set off."Your mate's nice," he said innocently to the big male as they trotted along. "I like her." Roche hiccuped, his ears laying back in shock. He realized the small one only knew what he saw - a male and female together in a den -- and swallowed back the retorts that came rushing to his lips."Your family doesn't like us much," he muttered instead. "I'll lead you to that grove of trees and then have to leave. If any other manticore scents me, I'll have to defend myself.""I don't know why they don't like you," Kora admitted. "You don't smell different or weird or anything. You're just new. My sire always attacks new creatures. He's not so nice. You're the first nice male I've ever met."Roche shrugged. "He's protecting you. I'm not really like them." He didn't get into why; it would have been too much for the poor kid. "Good luck - they're not far. I can hear them already." A multitude of growls was coming from one direction and he really wanted to get out of there before they attacked. It wasn't that he couldn't defend himself, but he didn't want them tracking him back to where they were staying."Thanks." Kora sat down to wait, flashing the big male a toothy kind of grin. Roche shook himself and noiselessly darted back the way he'd came. As he ran he wondered what the reward would be for such inhuman patience. All these delays, the rain, and now this incident cropping up right when the squalls finally stopped. He was anxious, angry, and he wanted his real body back so he could do some fairly unpleasant things to the person who had done this to him.-Cynus raised himself from bed that morning wearily, his dark eyes tired and his movements slow. He trudged across the room to glance blearily out the window. Finally - no rain. He sighed and sat down on a chair placed nearby. Poplar fluttered up from his clothing piled across a chest at the foot of the rumpled bed to land on her friend's shoulder. She tugged at his hair to make him look at her."What? Oh. Morning."She chittered reproachfully."No, it's not a 'good' morning. It's just another morning.""Good morning!""Great," the forest magus muttered under his breath. Everyone was out to cheer him up today. That meant trouble, more than likely. The door creaked open and Cinque shoved his head through. Cynus grimaced and ran a hand through his dark hair. He hadn't bothered to braid it or anything lately and it was a mess that kept falling in front of his eyes."I didn't let the girls in first," the blond man shrugged. "That's a start to a good morning, right?"Cynus scowled a little. "Yeah." The dark-skinned girl had barged in on him countless times until his embarrassment had startled several fairy into chasing her out one day in the middle of his bath. He blinked, his expression changing to confusion when Cinque handed him a packet of paper."Here," he said in a matter-of-fact tone. "There's something going on in the villages nearby. You need to look into it.""I'm too busy." He looked out the window again. The search had been started all over again, starting with the beach she'd last been seen walking across. This time he swore he'd check every damned inch of that sand for more clues before he gave up. Cinque would have pressed him but he saw it was useless. He shook his head and bowed himself out."Any luck?" Netti was standing in the hall, dust rag in one hand. Her hair was tied back with a pretty blue cloth that had a leviathan batik design on it - probably one of Palette's."No." He scratched at his scraggly beard and looked up at the ceiling. "He's got to be able to function and he can't yet."Back in the forest, Roche had picked his way carefully back to the den. Elly almost pounced on him to drag him inside when she saw him."The hell's your problem?!""Oh, I'll tell you. Just get in!" He growled irritably but said nothing so she rushed on, "When you were out getting Kora back home, some villagers came past."His ears pricked up. "What? That's a good thing! Why didn't you ...""They were hunting manticore.""You said what?""You heard me - someone, and I think we know who -- probably got the simple folk riled up against the species. Because of us. I'm guessing, but I think it's just another delaying tactic.""Idiots," he muttered. Not only was it dangerous, it was illegal besides. They'd have had to be desperate to start doing something like that. "How close did they come to where you were?""Fairly close." She sighed and started to pace. "The beach sometimes attracts people during the day. We can't risk it now.""Night time," he grunted cryptically."I guess we have to chance it." She wrinkled her nose. "I don't think we're in a lot of danger, but it would be hard to defend ourselves without hurting them.""If they've got a decent fighter in there, you could be in danger all right." He sniffed somewhat angrily."Me? What about you! We'd both be..." She trailed off as he stared at her impassively. "Fine, tough guy." Elly folded her wings neatly along her back and pointed with her muzzle out the cavern mouth. "When night falls we'll start out. I'll scratch something in the sand and then we'll head back. Right?" He shrugged. Anything would work as long as someone found them. He didn't want to offend her by suggesting that she couldn't work things out for herself, but it had been a couple of weeks now."Watch it." Roche leaped forward and pulled her away as a large branch fell in the forest path ahead of them. The weight of all the rain that had only just stopped a few hours ago was finally taking its toll. It made it slow going for them as they tramped towards the beach where this had all started."You know," Elly mused as she padded along silently beside the big male, "you've become awfully protective of me in the past few days.""You're the only chance I have of getting back," he rumbled uneasily."Oh, right." She sniffed and looked aside. "I almost forgot. It's not like I've been helpful so far, anyway."He shrugged and opened his mouth wide in a yawn that showed all his pointed fangs. "How many times have you fixed something like this?""Never," she admitted. "transfiguration spells themselves are fairly rare because they're so difficult to cast. And curses are worse; if he'd gotten the least little thing wrong it would have blown up in his face."He shrugged again as if to say there you have it."Eh. Never mind. If we can get to the beach now that the rain's let up...""What if there's people there?""I hope so.""No, I mean..." He paused. "What if they don't recognize you? You're not, you know. The same." His tongue lolled out in a wry grin."We'll just have to chance it. I don't know what to do and someone there might."
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It took the better part of the day to get to the sandy beach and then they had to wait for nightfall before they could creep out of their places of concealment beneath a pile of palm leaves. Elly rose her head, sniffing eagerly at the air and looking about. There were as yet no leviathans in the ocean nearby but a fairy was floating about. It shot off like an arrow from a bow upon seeing them."The hell was that?!""A fairy. We should have company soon.""A what?""Honestly," Elly said in exasperation, "don't you know anything about the creatures that share the world with you?"Roche stiffened. "I know enough. Never saw one of those before.""Not too many have seen them, but... wait. I hear something."They both stared out into the dim night in apprehension. There was a man carrying a torch walking along in front of a group of others, striding down the dunes towards them. When he saw them he gave a cry of alarm. Elly hastily scratched something in the sand with her claws as the group approached but someone saw her movements and didn't understand. A thick spat of fire sizzled at the ground by her paws and she yelped and jerked backwards. The one man had thrown a flaming brand at her, obviously intended to try and frighten them away. Roche's reaction was immediate. His lips pulled back from his fangs in a terrible snarl. Before she could say anything he'd leaped in front of her, wings outstretched protectively and crouched low. His thick, scaly tail lashed at his flanks in anger and his eyes blazed."Fall back!" One of the men called out urgently."Don't hurt them," Elly insisted."I'm not letting them hurt you," he stated so firmly that she blinked in surprise."They're not going to hurt me. That's Cynus behind the torch-bearer. He should be able to realize something's wrong here.""There's all sorts of wrong with this," Roche said uneasily.Cynus looked older than she remembered as he slowly walked forward with his hands in plain sight. His pale face was careworn and there were dark circles under his eyes. He had a few manticore at the Tree and wasn't as afraid as the others were of the big creatures, so it was natural he approached them. He stopped when Roche growled warningly and glanced down at the ground where Elly had been busily digging out a message.help us ceeThe forest magus's emerald eyes widened. He fell on his knees in the wet sand."Elly?" He gasped.Cynus reached a trembling hand out to the smaller manticore. One of the people behind him called out in warning but he didn't even hear them."Kit!" Roche hissed anxiously."We want this to happen, remember?" She stepped forward and nudged her cold, wet nose on his palm.Cynus bit his lip. "I'll never understand how you can ride with them like that," he murmured. She dug at the sand some more. Although most of the letters were unreadable, blotted out by her huge paws of tail, enough got through....nvr understnd ... u close water ... cant swm"Brushfire," he swore, his eyes filling with tears. "It is you." He suddenly threw his arms around her maned neck. Roche snorted and laid down. After awhile Elly saw another person she recognized walk towards them. She twitched her ears and whuffed a greeting at Cinque. His blue eyes widened in shock as he stared down at them."Did a spell go wrong or something?" The chef asked incredulously. He was the only one besides Cynus brave enough to get close to them. Elly shook her head but her friend already knew."Cursed." Cynus stood, swallowing back the rest of his tears. "There's a stink of it on her. This one, too," he added almost as an afterthought. Roche bared his fangs at the magus. He didn't appreciate being dismissed like that."Hush." She elbowed him."What? The hell'd he cry like that?""Shh!"
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He grunted and was silent.Cynus had been thinking, his hand absently rubbing the stubble on his chin. He'd really let it grow, she noticed. After a few moments he turned back to the group of people and motioned for them all to come closer. He explained that they were taking "these two manticore" back to Moy Mell but didn't mention who they were. He gave Cinque a stern look when he opened his mouth once and the cook gave an almost imperceptible shrug. He didn't speak. Before they left he carefully covered the marks in the sand Elly had made."Why doesn't he just tell everyone?" Roche asked irritably as they all marched back to the keep."You'll have to trust him.""Do you?""Yes."Roche sighed. "Fine. But I'm keeping an eye on him. Don't relax just because you're home again. For all we know he could have sold you out in the first place." Elly gave him an odd look. Why didn't he like Cynus? It was obvious he didn't trust him despite the fact that she vouched for him. Eventually she shook herself and eagerly walked along, happy despite everything that she would be in her home once again. While they walked she heard him speaking with the others to tell them where to keep searching and a few orders about dealing with the sea monsters that were "causing havoc". She groaned inwardly. She should have known the creatures around the island would go crazy, especially John. She would have liked to speak with Cynus about things but for now had to be content to be in the company of humans again. Her oldest friend gave them quarters close to the beach and not her tower itself; he explained that he didn't want the villagers to know anything was different about them yet. He did, however, stress the fact that he'd let those closest to her know. There probably wouldn't have been any keeping the secret from them in the long run anyway. Though several night teams were out ostensibly looking for her again, he gathered a handful of the top staff in the main hall and told them what they had discovered.And now he had to try and get some sleep but, once again, it eluded him. He watched from one of the windows in the tower above in some consternation, angry at himself for still being worried. At least they'd found her! Then why didn't he feel any better? He heard a soft footstep behind him and turned briefly."You look moody again." It was Palette. The pale forest magus and artist had struck up a sort of friendship in the weeks they'd searched together. While Cynus was edgy around Cinque, the younger boy was in a relationship and didn't feel like an adversary. "I thought you'd be happy.""I am," Cynus said. He tore his eyes away from the straw huts where the visiting creatures stayed and where Elly and Roche were in all probability sleeping as well. "It's just...""Netti says you're in love with her." He tossed his thick shock of blue hair back from his face. As always, he spoke hesitantly and in very soft, short phrases. His past hadn't been very good and that was reflected in his attitude around anyone older."Huh." Cynus flushed and cleared his throat. "She says a lot of things, though. What about the story about that cook?"Palette pulled up a chair, his strange reddish eyes shining in the dim light of the room. "It happened," he replied defensively."I'm sure it did.""That's why you don't like him.""Maybe," Cynus conceded grudgingly."But they're just friends now," he said as if that explained everything. The teenager drew his knees up in front of him and slowly sank his chin onto them."How did that painting turn out the other day?" Cynus abruptly asked in an attempt to change the subject. He'd peeked over at his easel and saw a half-finished portrait of himself. Quite good, really, Pal had a lot of talent.Palette's knees jerked and he sat up straight in the chair. "I didn't paint anything," he said nervously. "It - I was just messing around."Cynus blinked. The younger man jumped to his feet and laid a hand on his arm. "Be careful," he hissed."Of what? Of... hey! Palette!" The door slammed behind him as he fled. Poplar emerged from a small tropical plant nearby, angrily muttering to herself at being so unceremoniously awakened by all the noise. "What's his problem?"While Cynus was trying to sort of his bafflement at Pal's odd behavior, Elly was feeling conflicted. She felt more at ease than she had for weeks but Roche's cryptic warning had her worried. She was certain that her friend would help them change back. Besides, now that he knew what the problem was he could ask for help from all the other magus as well. It was only a matter of time, now."What's wrong?" The great beast beside her cracked an eyelid open. He always seemed to know when she was thinking about him. She placed her head on her paws."I'm just glad to be home." He snorted, unconvinced. But she fell silent after that and he waited until she sighed and closed her eyes before drifting off as well.It was dark, and the heat was oppressive. It was silent as well when the man knelt in the circle he had prepared and bowed his head. There was only a sputtering flicker in several corners, the hiss and bubble of molten fire from below and yet he nodded."Everything is going perfectly," the dark man asserted. "You worry too much."A pause. He inclined his head in the darkness as he listened to the voice only he could hear."I know precisely what I'm doing. Tampering too openly with these magus always results in disaster. No... no, they don't have the faintest clue." Soft, sibilant whispers floated out of the shadows. He waited until they had fallen silent, then turned back his hood and got up. A snap of his fingers lit the area around him, revealing it to be a cavern of some sort with furniture that blended perfectly in with the stalagmites rising up from the floor. He was a rather unremarkable man in his late twenties with light blond hair and faded blue eyes. The piping about his hood was red, indicating some sort of status perhaps among others of his kind. He wore tight-fitting black slacks and no shirt, and his upper chest and arms were covered with colorful tattoos that made it appear that he was perpetually aflame. His one salient feature, they writhed under his skin as he moved with a life of their own. The man tossed the robe aside and grabbed a dark shirt from a nearby table. The simple act of slipping the cloth over his head once again made him appear ordinary."Sunog!" he snapped sharply and a fiery hound with blazing red eyes crept out from a small hole in the cavern lined with soot. His fur the color of dim coals that crackled faintly, he was an impressive creature, his fangs sharp and his single horn only slightly less. He paced low to the ground around his master."Min eh," he spoke a strange tongue in a soft voice. The hellhound sat obediently, awaiting orders. "Set low, aghlay." He reached into a pocket of his slacks and handed a small drawstring pouch over. The hound woofed once and took it gingerly in his mouth."Go." He pointed imperiously and Sunog loped out the burnt hole he had come in through before. The hole was a spelled portal that his master had created for them to travel through, and he had no sooner exited than he felt his paws touch the cooling sands on a tropical isle. He raised his head and carefully tested the air with a quivering nose.The Ones were north.Sunog did not know what The Ones had did to irritate his master. He only knew that he had to rip the bag open and cast the spelled powder that was inside close enough to them to work. He performed his task carefully, the only problem being a lizard thing he had to sneak around that seemed to be watching the hut where his prey slept. Then, the powder drifting inside on the sweet night breeze, he turned and ran back to where he'd emerged out of the burning hole, knowing his master would summon it again to bring him home.
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When Elly woke she panicked for a moment, disoriented and confused. This wasn't the little cave where she had spent so many days, nor was it her bedroom. A sulfurous whiff of something burning in the air made her sneeze, and she rubbed at her nose."Gah." She tried to roll over to escape the scent but couldn't move. This caused even more panic before she heard Roche's rumbling purrs and remembered where she was. His one arm was draped possessively over her, claws digging lightly into her striped flank. That's why she was stuck. She growled impatiently and slapped at him with her thick-scaled tail."What the hell, get off me.""Mrrrwha?" He snorted and regarded her with bleary eyes. She knew by now he didn't wake quickly but this was ridiculous. Something was digging into her stomach - a rock probably -- and she felt sore all over."Get your nails out of me, fool," she hissed faintly. His claws slowly retracted and he slipped his arm off her. Elly groaned and shook herself as she got up. She batted at the ground, meaning to swat the offending rock away. Her pads touched something leathery and she jerked back. A tawny egg rolled over from her feet until it bumped his side. Elly sat, gaping dumbly at it."Quit throwing shit at me." He laid his ears back and yawned, huge fangs flashing in the sunlight. Then he raised a giant paw, obviously intending to toss the thing back at her."Don't," she choked."Why not?" He glanced down. Then he tilted his head at the egg, leaned down and stared at it. "That's a manticore egg, isn't it," he said flatly."Yes.""Was that under you?""Yes.""No." He shook his head in denial. "It can't be.""I don't remember it," she whispered. "Wouldn't I remember that?"His expression grew pained. "I didn't do anything.""I - I think these animal forms are starting to warp our minds.""I couldn't have done anything." Roche was still talking under his breath, the words coming out as low growling sounds. She'd never seen him so upset and it wasn't making things easier for her. She took a deep breath."It's entirely possible if we stay like this for a few more weeks we won't even want to change back.""I'd never do that," he insisted. "Maybe we should get rid of the egg.""Um... what?""Isn't that going to be embarrassing for you when everyone wakes up?""How about for you?" She stepped away from him as he stalked forward, head low."Not if I roll it in the sea, it won't.""It'd freeze." Amazingly, her face even seemed to pale, the fur tinting towards a lighter cast. All magus were protective of the creatures they raised. Elly had always felt sad when a creature's offspring chilled and ended up not hatching. It never occurred to her to do anything but protect this one, especially if it were hers. "Y - you wouldn't.""But you're not really sure, are you?" He snapped at her leg.It had the desired effect. She yelped, panicked as he crowded her against the back of the little hut. The little egg sat silently between them and she noticed that he stepped carefully over it as he walked towards her. Elly relaxed."You wouldn't," she said quietly.Roche swore again. "No," he snorted. "I guess not." He slunk over to the tiny thing and sniffed curiously at it, ears flattening back in anxiety. The scent left absolutely no question that he had, in fact, done what he feared. The huge manticore backed away, eyes wild as he stared first at the egg and then back at her again. She shook herself, mane swaying with the action and little motes of dust flickering out to dance in the bright morning sunlight. Her expression was oddly neutral as she stared blankly out at the new day."We've been together for weeks now and we did..." she paused, sighed. "this. But I don't even know what you look like." It was silent except for the screaming of some birds outside and the pounding of the surf for a long time. Then she felt his warmth as he sat beside her."I'm almost six foot," he rumbled quietly. "red hair, green eyes. I've got a lot of scars from a fight I had with my namesake." The ocean's breeze ruffled the fur there as he spoke and the bare spots rippling down his body suddenly made sense."I'm kind of short," she murmured shyly. It was difficult to talk about herself but he deserved the same courtesy. "I've got green hair and green eyes." She paused, gathering her thoughts as she imagined herself before the curse.He pawed at the ground. "I exercise a lot," he admitted."I swim a lot." Elly started to pant in agitation. She wanted to be back in her tower. She wanted to be able to see her friends, and John, and all her creatures again. Imagining what she wanted to be when she wasn't any closer to getting there was almost too much."I want to be me again!" He saw her frown as if with concentration and then she was suddenly stumbling on the ground on her hands and knees, completely human again!
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"How," he stammered in amazement. "How did y -" She put up a hand to silence him. He saw her skin was a frightening gray color. Elly knelt in the straw they had slept on, breathing heavily with her short green hair hanging about her cheeks. When she'd gathered enough strength she waved a hand in his direction."Imagine yourself as a person again," she panted. "With your mind. Like when you meditate or when you exercise. Flex hard, like you're shoving yourself back into the thought."She'd never thought it could be that simple!He sat down on his haunches, eyes closing. The air around the massive, furry body shimmered oddly and then there was a man hunched over in the sand much as she had been."Finally," was all he said as he looked up and met her eyes for the first time as a human. They stared at each other for a long time until Roche finally pointed at the entrance. She nodded and slowly crawled out of the hut they'd spent the night in. She reached in and carefully picked up the little egg in her hands, uncertain for the first time about it."Oh." While she was worrying she had instinctively wrapped it in a fold of her clothing, effectively making a little carrying bag. She took a deep breath of the salty air and tried to force herself to relax. Eggs were tough and could withstand a lot of abuse. She'd never lost one yet that she had the care of and she wouldn't lose this one. That worried her in itself, so she glanced around for her companion to break the train of her thoughts. Roche was standing placidly by staring out at the ocean. He was clenching his fists and rolling his shoulders back, testing unfamiliar muscles after several weeks spent on all fours. He was shirtless and as massively muscled as his creature form had suggested; as he stretched she saw powerful tendons ripple under the tanned skin. The rough scars that ran down his face and chest attracted her to those areas again and again. She knew he had another, lower scar, but with his clothing it was covered now. She quickly turned around before he could catch her staring. Ridiculous. She was grasping at straws to keep her mind occupied. Her eyes strayed to his face this time, curiously smooth along the strong jawline despite the fact that he hadn't shaved for weeks. Maybe their human forms had been frozen in stasis when they switched over. But his chest was smooth, too. Well, except for that scar.Elly closed her eyes tightly. No more staring.A light breeze blew off the water and she shivered a little. She had forgotten that she'd only been wearing a thin cloak over a night shirt when she had been changed. The pale woman flushed and drew it tighter about her with one hand as she held the egg with the other. The muscular man turned to her, one eyebrow lifted curiously."That's it?""Yeah. For now." The ocean rolled and crashed, indifferent to her distress. The tides didn't care that all these crazy things had come pouring down at her all at once. She struggled to think what they should do next, staring blindly up at the sandy tower nearby. They weren't cured, for one, but she just couldn't think right now."I don't believe it took you that long," he grumbled, reaching his arms up and grimacing with pleasure at the simple act."It was too easy." Elly sounded subdued."Well, let's go.""Not yet." She caught sight of the seas boiling near where they stood with relief. The water surged, frothy tatters churning up and making a terrible noise as John plunged up from the depths to greet her. Roche blinked but didn't move as he whipped his gigantic head down and nudged frantically at her. His snorts blew her hair about her face and she laughed a sobbing little laugh."It's all right, I'm all right," she soothed, trying to sound more reassuring than she felt."Gwwrlll." A huge eye fixed on the man standing beside her and he whuffed angrily. He opened his mouth and roared at him. Roche held his ground, only raising an eyebrow at the massive beast.John cocked his head in bafflement. "Wrr?" His blunt nose poked at the new person. What was wrong here? People always fell down when he roared. They had been known to scream, whimper or at the very least flinch a little. He was also fairly certain that at least one had wet himself.This man didn't do anything."You have a problem with me?" Roche was still calm. He folded his arms as he continued to watch the sea monster."...rrrrff." John laid his head on the sand so Elly could scratch his eye ridges. He kept staring at the big man the whole time."I think that's the first time anyone's ever stood up to him, besides me. He probably doesn't know what to do.""What're we doing?""We'll ride him to the top of the tower. I don't want to - to see anyone else just yet. Just for a little while, before they go looking for us again." John was so happy to see her that he didn't argue. He let the strange new man mount behind Elly on his neck and then slowly swam closer to the edge of the reef that made up the bottom of the island. The tower was just starting to wake but it was early enough that he was able to glide by unnoticed by any humans. Folks rose a little later on the island and while sometimes it drove her crazy with impatience, Elly was glad for it now. He drifted quietly up to the tower and lowered his head so they could slide off, first onto the inner walls where Elly slid the egg under her chimera with a whispered request, then up to the windows on top. The female chimera watched her with two sets of startled eyes as the exhausted magus climbed back up on the leviathan's head to be brought up to her bedroom window. The astonished creature did, however, curl protectively around the egg as she would have her own. They disturbed a sleepy wyvern hatchling as they clambered off John's neck to the window, but all the baby did was chirp grumpily at them and lay his head down again. In moments they stood inside her personal quarters and John sank back into the dark waters close by, satisfied at last that his friend had been found.
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Roche immediately started as he found his weapons propped in one corner of the room. His gaze softened as he held the strange sticks in his hands. "I thought I'd lost them." Then he sighed and turned back to her.Elly had curled up on her bed on top of the sheets in a fetal position. He winced. This wasn't good. She looked like she was in a lot of pain.For all I know, she is, he thought glumly. She'd denied it but he knew just how strong he was. If he'd forced himself on her... for the hundredth time already since they'd changed back he clenched his hands into tight fists. This was so bad he didn't know what to do. Doing nothing would be worse, though, he reasoned."I'm sorry," he said hesitantly in a low voice. He sat down on the bed and jumped up with a startled oath as it rippled underneath him. There were strange flickers of light coming from under the sheets that covered it and he purposefully ignored that for now."Water bed," she said tonelessly."Figures." He sat down gingerly beside her and tried to think of something else to say."It's not really your fault," she offered suddenly. He swallowed hard and reached out for her hand."I'll do whatever needs to be done," he said firmly. Her hand was cold and shaking slightly. It looked very small swallowed up in his large, rough one."You should do what you want.""That is what I want." There was an awkward silence as they stared helplessly at each other. Elly sniffled. She was still tired and aching inside and out; everything seemed wrong. She was about to burst into tears when the door unceremoniously crashed open and Cynus rushed in. He wore a long black robe tied about the waist that nevertheless flopped wildly open as he rushed towards Elly. He threw his arms around her with a low cry like he had the previous day but this time he kissed her softly full on the mouth. She choked and pushed strongly at his chest with her free hand, shoving him onto the floor. Roche was knocked aside in the contact and she scrambled up near the pillows on the bed, the sheets dragging down under her wild retreat. The creatures living in the water dimmed, then glowed a menacing red as they felt her strong jolt of confused emotions.Several brightly colored heads also poked in as the wyverns outside the window heard the ruckus. The baby screeched rather unmusically, absolutely furious at being woken up a second time. After a brief consultation with each other, the male parent flew in and perched on her knee. He crooned questioningly at her."Shh, it's all right." She stroked his long neck and he hissed at the two men to warn them to keep it down. "I think it's all right," she murmured half to herself. He rubbed at her fingers with his blunt little head, obviously delighted to see her again. The others stayed in their nest, sensing the trouble brewing. Roche's eyes were narrowed and his teeth clenched as he stared down at the fallen figure in front of him. Poplar was tugging at Cynus' hair in a frantic struggle to try and help her friend, but he was too heavy for her to lift."Ow, ow, ow," he groaned, half-raised on his back on the soft rug. One of his hands was clapped over the side of his head where he had hit it. "Okay, I deserved that, I did...""Yes." Roche stared narrowly at the other man, watching closely as he shook his head to clear the ringing from his ears. When Cynus struggled to get up he offered him a hand, his face impassive."Who are you?" He sniffed ungraciously. He declined the hand and dragged himself up on his own. Roche shook his head. The speech and mannerisms of the dark-haired man showed that he was looking for a fight. The insults and accusations would probably take some time, but in the end that's what would happen. Poplar's tirade grew angry. She gave up and fluttered away out the door when he refused to listen to her."My name is Ilithe Roche." He gave his surname first, a clear indication that he was raised in the eastern region of the world. Not many magus traveled so extensively, preferring to stay close to the country where the main tower was. The world was dangerous and not much was known about the people from the east. Cynus frowned harder, not liking the indication that this man was very strong indeed if he'd come that far on his own."Roach?""Roche," he corrected as mildly as he could, softening the "ch" sound a little more. "You're Cynus?" He pronounced the name with a long "i" sound and Elly groaned. This was not getting off to a good start."You're the merc that beached the ship out there, then. We found evidence of contraband in there," he added."I can knock you right back down again, if that's what you want," Roche growled."They tricked me. Same way they did you." Roche was trying to explain to Cynus that he had nothing to do with the smuggling but the man obviously didn't want to believe him."Really? Do you have any evidence of that?""Yeah, the fact that I had fur yesterday," he said sourly."Knock it off!" Elly strode up and placed herself between them, the wyvern's tail curled about her arm. The little feathered snake was waving his neck around threateningly. Somewhat surprisingly, Roche backed off with a little shrug. Cynus, however, nearly bumped against her trying to get right back in the other man's face."Hey!" Rowdy snapped at the air in front of his nose."He could have easily bit you," she told him firmly. "You know that was just a warning." She raised her arm gently, aiming the creature at the window. "Back in your nest. I can handle this.""Has everyone gone insane?" Cynus demanded with some asperity. He was forced to duck when the wyvern flew directly at him to get at the window. A throaty growl that sounded suspiciously like a chuckle followed in his wake."I was just about to ask you that," Elly said grimly. "I know you're happy to see me, but calm down. I'm having a hard time here, and all this crap isn't making it any better. So sit down, shut up, and let me think." The forest magus flinched. His face took on an injured expression as he plopped down into a chair by the fireplace.Roche chuckled. "You still have claws, don't you?""You." She pointed a finger at him without turning."What?""Hush." He did that, his lips twitching with amusement as he watched her start to pace. The big man walked over and leaned against a wall close by a bubbling aquarium, watching as she tried to calm herself down."Listen, he could be lying." Cynus tried a different tack but Elly was having none of it."I know you truth-spelled him the minute you brought it up. Do you think I've gone blind just because I'm a little upset?" She pointed at Cynus' right hand, half-hidden in the folds of his robe. His fingers were still crooked in the intricate gesture."And?" Roche's eyebrow raised."And nothing happened," she said firmly. "You said they tricked you. That's true.""All right," the magus said grudgingly, "He's not lying." About that, anyway, he thought bitterly. Elly continued to walk back and forth in her anxiety, brow furrowed as she tried to think of what to do next. The red-haired man watched her for a few more seconds and then shook his head.He caught her by the shoulders the next time she passed. "Stop.""What?""You can't fix everything right now.""But I have to do something! What about -" she froze in the middle of what she was going to say, glancing warily around. That wasn't something she should blurt out right now."Everything can wait for a while," he told her in a voice that brooked no arguments."Except one thing," Cynus grumbled. "Should I send the search parties out again? They've been going out every single day and night with no breaks except when the weather got too harsh.""Tell them to stay in," she decided. "Later I'll have to make an appearance, but I think it's safe to let people know I'm back. They're going to guess soon anyway. John - and all the rest of the leviathan packs -- have calmed down.""Oh, yeah." He frowned. "Right. I'll let Netti spread the word around. She's liable to cry for half the day when she hears you're back anyway.""Just don't let her barge in here while I'm sleeping," Elly pleaded. "I love that girl, I really do, but she can get really loud. I just want to be alone for awhile.""Alone? Or with him?" She bit her tongue on what she wanted to say, holding it in while he struggled with himself. He shook his head and slapped a hand over his face to cover his eyes. "No, I'm sorry, I'd better just go and - and tell everyone. I'll make sure no one bothers you.""Thanks, Cee." She made as if to hug him like she would normally do but then hesitated. He saw this and his eyes filled with pain. Without a further word he walked quietly out. Cynus hurriedly entered the room where he had been conducting business for her while she was away. He sat on the chair beside the one she normally used, wringing his hands together as he tried to make sense out of what was happening.
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Roche, on the other hand, was gritting his teeth together in rage."Fascinating friend you have there," he remarked in as calm a tone as he could manage when he was out of earshot."I know," she said thickly. "He's just, well. He tried to hit on me right before all this happened. I don't think he gave up when I said no. He's not a bad man."He thrust his jaw out belligerently. "If he keeps making you upset I'll deck him no matter who he is.""He's a magus. He can counter physical attacks.""Not if he doesn't know they're coming," he said stubbornly."Why do you even... all right, whatever," she surrendered. "I need more sleep.""Where do you want me?" He looked around curiously. "You have more than two extra rooms, right?""Yeah..." Elly suddenly seemed confused."You want me to sleep on my ship?" He offered hesitantly, not sure if she was maybe frightened to be around him after last night."No, I don't. I don't know if I trust Cynus the way he's acting, either." She pointed with a trembling finger at a closet on the far side of the room. "There's a cot in there. You can set it up in here so you're not wandering around the tower."He coughed. "You sure that's a good idea?""No," she said candidly. "I'm not.""Fair enough."Elly rose an hour later feeling fully refreshed. The water creatures in her bed flickered and danced excitedly, creating a rainbow lighting effect as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She laughed under her breath and tapped the mattress."Calm down, guys. I'm happy to be back too." She looked around the room, eyes instinctively seeking out the cot where Roche was propped up on one arm staring right back at her. She turned bright red."How long have you been watching me?""Awhile." He flexed his arm and literally pushed himself out of bed, cracking his neck and then bending over to touch his feet. She watched his stretching without comment while the blush faded from her cheeks. It wasn't as if he hadn't done that while they'd been manticore; they'd both had to keep watch.She sniffed at her robe and made a face. "I need a shower.""Tell me about it." He rubbed absently at his bare stomach."I - I never offered you clothing." Elly silently cursed herself for being such a terrible host. She'd had so much on her mind... "I'm sorry."Roche shrugged - he did that a lot, she noticed. "I have some on my ship.""Yeah, but I don't think it would be a good idea to have you go out there right now." She concentrated, mentally sorting through her catalog of spells until she thought of an appropriate one. "Think about what you want to wear."Roche jumped back as a pile of clothing softly fell to the floor in front of him. "I keep forgetting you can do that," he muttered. "Thanks."Elly frowned curiously. He slipped on a red silk shirt that had long sleeves traced with gold. It was belted about the waist with a matching sash and his darker pants were soft and puffy, tucked into his thick boots at the bottom. He tucked the strange sticks into the sash, the shining roc feathers decorating them dangling down alongside his legs."We'll be able to get cleaned up after we let the tower staff know what's going on. Otherwise we won't get any peace." She led him out into the hall and to the room they used as a larger meeting area. When she got there she saw they were already waiting around the aquarium table filled with stunted koi. The pretty white and gold fish were schooling directly at her as she walked in. She grinned and shook her head."Elly!""Welcome back!"She was bombarded with a chorus of greetings and smiled as she sat down in her usual spot. Roche sat down beside her, noting that Cynus had taken the seat opposite. Amidst all the happy babble of her friends, Cinque smiled crookedly at her and winked once. Elly's own mouth quirked in a grin right back at him. He was calmly eying Roche with a knowing look and she blushed, then cursed herself for blushing. She turned away from the cook's penetrating gaze to look around. Netti had done all her crying while they had been resting and was all smiles now. Palette was sitting in the back of the room with his sketchpad open, more than likely drawing the happy reunion. Elly cleared her throat."All right, everyone," she murmured. "It's good to be back." They cheered a little again and she laughed. "This is Roche," she introduced the big man by her side. "He helped me get back here and he'll be staying with us for a while. Treat him like -" she faltered a bit. If she said anything but "an honored guest" it would smack of impropriety but she hesitated to say the word for some odd reason."Like what?" Cynus snapped ungraciously. He'd been watching the proceedings balefully. Several fairy were peeking out of the corners of his robe and hair. "Another member of the staff? Family?" Elly flinched. She tried to appeal to her friend with wide, vulnerable eyes but he turned his head away."Like me," Roche shrugged, brushing past the implication of just what he was. "I'm not a magus or anything. Just a strong pair of hands." He shrugged deprecatingly."Oh? I guess a pair of strong hands were needed in her bedroom, then.""Cynus! That's uncalled for!" She slammed a palm down on the table, getting more upset by the second. The little fish inside began bumping themselves against the glass near the angry young man. "Hush, babies," she murmured to them and they obediently swam over to her again. "You'll hurt yourselves.""You'd better watch your mouth," Roche grunted. "Nothing happened. I slept on a damned cot on the far side of the room." He shifted very slightly and Elly noticed his hand was closer to the weapons at his side."But why? There are other rooms in the tower," Cynus insisted.Elly gave up. "Will someone please make this all stop? Anyone?"
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Somewhat surprisingly, the dark-skinned maid was the one that restored order. Netti was highly offended that her best friend was being accused of anything improper, and she'd never really liked the pale forest magus. She stormed over and quite coolly measured him, then slapped him across the face. There was a stunned silence in the room. Even the fairy in the air around him didn't move, so shocked were they that anyone would strike a magus like that. When they began fluttering in rage Poplar was the one that calmed them with a few brisk flaps of her leafy wings."You need to shut up, little man," she said from between clenched teeth. "I thought you were her friend. You're always hitting on girls all over the place, for one, but she's not allowed to look at a guy other'n you?""You ..." Poplar flittered down until she hung in front of Cynus' eyes, distracting him as he stuttered with rage."Are you looking?" Roche asked Elly mildly."No! Well, yes, but everyone looks at other people." Elly choked a little. "Please don't be on my side any more, Netti.""Oh, hush." The young lady came over and hugged her tightly. "I was so worried," she fretted. "I'm so glad you're back. We all are.""Good. We'll have to tell the town. Circulate it around, let everybody know, that kind of thing. I'm rested, but I still smell like I haven't bathed in ages and I really want to get cleaned up before I show up at any wild parties." She rolled her eyes.Netti wrinkled her little nose in agreement. "You smell.""No - I stink." She shuddered, then laughed. "Roche needs a room here and ..." She paused as she recalled what he was wearing was new, yet after he showered he'd probably want fresh clothes anyway."I'll do it," Palette offered. He shoved his sketchpad under his belt and stood up. "Netti can get clothes while I show you around.""Then if we're all good for now, I'm going to go clean up," Elly murmured. She noticed that sometime after Netti had slapped Cynus he'd left and she frowned slightly, wondering if he was going to be okay. Cinque cleared his throat and made a brief gesture to her as they all started to file out."Watch him," he said in a low voice. "He's a horribly jealous man, Els.""Jealous?" She blinked. "Why?""You're not that silly in the head," he chided softly, touching her forehead with a fingertip.She shook her head. "He's got nothing to be jealous about," she insisted. "He'll be fine when he sees that."Cinque ran a hand through his hair. "Not so sure of that," he admitted."What part?" She twitted him as she stepped through the door to her quarters."Both," he answered with a light laugh.Elly had a lot to ponder as she soaked in the huge tub in her bathroom. It all kept coming back to the same things, though. Cinque thought that Cynus had something to be jealous about. That would mean Roche found her attractive, right? Or did it? The fact that they'd had the egg had no bearing on this, she thought; some men didn't care about the mother of their... well.Child? Cub? Some kind of strange hybrid?She shivered all over lightly.What the hell am I going to do about that?"Besides take care of it," she muttered. Her chimera was doing that at the moment. Elly felt that she was neglecting it even though it had only been a few short hours since she left it in her care. She stepped out of the water and snorted as she caught sight of herself in the fogged-over mirror. Right ... I'm such a big prize to fight over. Yep. Her green hair was stringy and wet, the side locks hanging limply down her cheeks like seaweed. Her body itself wasn't bad but it wasn't the type that was sought-after nowadays. She didn't use makeup and she didn't regularly clothe herself in gowns or wear jewelry, which was possibly why she was feeling so self-conscious at the moment. She hesitated before grabbing up a dress in blue and green: the color of the ocean. It was embroidered with leviathans and silver thread that matched the soft shoes she rarely wore. But in presenting herself to the community en masse, there was likely to be a celebration and she always garbed herself appropriately. A wetsuit or bathing suit and pair of sturdy jeans like she normally wore just wouldn't do."This is fine." She slipped the outfit on over her head, trying not to rush although she did want to check on the egg. The thought made her somewhat queasy as all the worries she had suppressed came flooding back and she had to steady herself with a hand on the wall nearby. She swallowed with some difficulty past the lump in her throat and walked briskly to the door, flinging it open. Roche was right there, his hand raised as if about to knock. He dropped his fist and nodded at her instead. Her eyes widened as she took in his changed appearance. Left to his own devices, the man she'd spent the last few weeks with as a manticore had also taken the time to get ready.He wore a soot-colored dark silk shirt that was open partially in the front and matching pants with a bright red swatch wrapped around his midsection. His weapons were tucked tightly inside the bright red strip, the red wood gleaming in the candlelight.He saw her staring and blinked. "What?" The smooth fabric clung to his body, outlining everything in a way that made her jump. If not for the sash -"Nothing. Sorry, I was just thinking about checking on the egg.""How long?""Excuse me?""How long do they take to, uh, hatch?""It depends." Elly put her finger to her lips when she saw Netti walking around the corner. She pointed out to the courtyard and the girl nodded, understanding the request for silence. "Manticore don't take very long," she said in a hushed voice as they stepped outside."Will it ..." They began walking past the garden area and he pushed a low-hanging vine aside of the path as his speech faltered. "Will he ...""He?" She asked mildly, stepping around a crazily hopping baby rabbit. It was trying to latch onto her ankle to hug her in glee. "Down, kiddo, down," she murmured.Roche actually managed to look embarrassed. "Whatever." The chimera raised her two heads as she caught wind of them approaching. Elly paused only slightly to unwrap several more bunnies from her legs before kneeling and taking the egg from her."It's warm," she murmured. She held it out to Roche, who immediately put his hands behind his back. "Oh, seriously?""I don't want to break it." He mumbled."You're going to have to get over that," she told him. "What about when it hatches?""Erk.""We'll think about that later," she told him firmly, placing a hand on his as she spoke without realizing it. "First let's just get through the party. Later, we'll have to go into detail about everything."
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The following celebration was as overdone as she had expected and a completely fun, much-needed distraction as well. Elly caused quite a stir as she appeared at the front banquet table with Roche standing somewhat diffidently behind her and to one side."The people here are crazy," he grumbled as he took a seat beside her."We're very close," Elly shrugged. "I missed them, too. It's just that with all this -" she waved a hand around to indicate their entire situation, "I haven't been thinking very well. I should have let them know sooner.""Eh." He glanced warily around but the jealous forest magus was nowhere to be found. Instead of putting him at his ease this made him more alert and he frequently clicked his weapons together, absently toying with them even as they ate. Netti leaned over from where she sat across the table. There was a conspicuously empty seat beside her."Does anyone know where Pal is?" She demanded in exasperation, wrinkling her pretty little nose."No clue, dear," Elly said. "You know he doesn't like crowds, though. Maybe he's just sitting this one out.""Maybe," she said dubiously.The food was wonderful. Cinque had outdone himself right down to the direction of his staff for the impromptu event. The blond cook placed a friendly arm around Elly as he watched his helpers set the platters down. He approved of the way Roche glanced over but said nothing; the man was the complete opposite of Cynus, it seemed. As if thoughts themselves had summoned him, the very man stepped into view beside them. He placed a trembling hand on Elly's chair to steady himself."Calm yourself," Cinque murmured to him as he stepped aside.Cynus set his jaw. "Why is he sitting at your side?"Elly didn't even turn around. "Because he is." His attitude was starting to make her very angry. "I don't need to answer to you, Cynus. We're equals, remember?" Roche kept a perfectly straight face as she stood up to her friend. He personally thought it was about time and felt a peculiar pride hearing her speak out."At least he's not dressed in like colors," he grumbled. Roche frowned at this and she leaned over to speak quietly."A consort - er, husband wears the same colors as the elemental magus.""Consort?""You deaf or something besides stupid?" Cynus glared at him. "Consort means you're sleeping with her."Roche opened his mouth but she stepped on his foot under the table. "The other kind," she hissed.He coughed. "Oh. That." John had just noticed the situation and his huge head thumped onto the sands not far from where they were. He growled warningly."It's all right, dear," she soothed. "Cee's going to leave if he can't control himself. Isn't that right?" Elly ended on a firm note, meeting her friend's eyes for the first time. He flinched slightly when he saw how cold the gaze was.Roche grabbed Cynus' arm when he saw him tense. "Don't," he said in a low tone. The forest magus stared helplessly back before wrenching his arm away."Damn it," he swore, shaking harder. He shook his head. "I'm going back to the tower.""Cynus..." Elly sighed."No." He reached up and pulled his long hair back into a quick ponytail. "I'll see you later." And with a nod he was off, striding purposefully towards the gates. John snorted disdainfully and slipped back into the water."I have to admit I agree with the big snake over there," Roche grunted."Leviathan.""Whatever. He's going to be a problem.""I know," she frowned, tapping her fingers on the table. "I'm not sure how to fix it, though."Elly had been right: Palette had holed up in his room during the feast. Crowds made him very nervous. He didn't like the feeling that so many people were staring at him. It wasn't much better in here, though. The young man stared at the easel he'd set up in a corner of his room in dismay. He'd painted a the scene only a day ago from the sketches he'd done in the meeting room when Netti had slapped Cynus. It had been a simple image of the two seated beside each other at the table, painted in that special color the flower wyverns helped him make. He'd told himself he was only curious at the time.Curiosity killed the cat, wasn't that the tale?He grabbed a pot of gesso and a thick brush from a container nearby, face burning. This had to be covered up, and fast, before it started to...A red wyvern made a soft chittering sound from the flowering vines outside his window and he nearly spilled the white cover paint all over himself."Dorcas," he gasped. "Don't do that, don't..." She dug her talons into the wooden frame and stared down at the white rivulets dripping over the image of magus and man together."It's got to be covered," he pleaded with her. "Please understand."She cheeped at him, dark eyes unblinking."I know it won't stop anything, but no one can find out." He twirled the brush quickly around, hiding the embarrassing scene as swiftly as possible.He sighed with relief at last as the snake-like dragon leaped from the easel to his shoulder. She pointed her blunt little nose at the tube of paint in the corner questioningly."No more special paint," he said firmly. Dorcas whirred, her eyes swirling in agitation. "I mean it this time," he added.
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Several rooms away behind another closed door Cynus was pacing, his lips pressed in a thin white line. The dark brown robe he'd taken to wearing in the past few days flared out behind him as he moved and he snorted angrily, stuffing his hands in the pockets."Let me get this straight," he muttered to himself. Poplar emerged from his hair and fluttered over to the window next to a large plant. "She gets cursed by someone, meets a guy who is miraculously changed into the same creature she was, and lives with him for several weeks. Right. He's the best thing ever all of a sudden. But a friend she's known for years - years ... what do I get treated like?" He ran a hand through his hair and blew a great gust of air from his lungs.Poplar cheeped."Yeah, yeah." He waved a hand at her. "She gets back and when I act happy to see her I'm suddenly the bad guy." He grimaced when he remembered how he'd kissed her. That hadn't been a good idea, almost like an attack she wasn't expecting. But damn it, he'd missed her! And she knew how he felt about her - or at least, she should."I rode here on that big brute despite the fact that I can't swim and get seasick." He started ticking things off on his fingers. "I stayed awake almost constantly, worried myself sick, organized all the search parties and kept her Keep running until she got back. And what did I get for being there for her?"The fairy rose herself on the air and landed on his shoulder. She reached out with a twig-like little hand and patted his cheek but he was beyond comfort."I got nothing, Pop. That's what I got. Not even a thank you."Shortly after the huge dinner, Elly finally called together those that she wanted to discuss things with. She realized that some of the younger folk wanted to celebrate more but she couldn't hold off any longer. Wyverns flew about spreading the messages quickly and before a half an hour had passed they were all seated in the meeting room again. Annette was there with Palette by her side. Cinque and Matilda were there as well, along with Elly's rarely seen non-human allies. The snake-bodied naga seemed at ease among the water themed ambiance, lounging in a special seat that was more like a low bench they'd place for her in the meeting room. The centaur was less comfortable. He kept trotting back and forth, anxiously peering out the window at the ground below. He absolutely hated heights, and magic towers had always irritated him.Cynus was conspicuous by his absence. She had requested his presence but he'd stubbornly refused, instead preferring to pack his bags in an unspoken protest. Elly sighed, not liking how things were turning out. She didn't understand why her friend was so argumentative lately - if he did like her that much, wouldn't it mean that he'd be nicer to her? She was also very apprehensive about telling everyone about their egg. It served no purpose to leave them in the dark, however, and it could even be dangerous. Roche reached over and briefly touched her shoulder, as if sensing her reluctance to speak. With a curt nod, she stood to call the meeting to order."I'm grateful for you all for coming."Chet snorted. "You should be. It's not for anyone that I'll climb up into one of these death traps." He pawed at the sandy floor with one hoof."I know, Chet," she smiled at him disarmingly. "I'd like to thank you and Missthet especially."The naga woman bowed, a slithery gesture that was half genuflection. "Tell us what happened," she suggested. "Rumors are flying that you were kidnapped, turned into leviathans and all sorts of things." Her speech was underlaid with a faint hissing, stressing the "s" in all words that contained the letter and even some that didn't."All right, then. We need to discuss what happened to us, and why." Elly sat down, absently twirling a half-full glass of water that had been placed in front of her as she spoke. Her long side locks of hair swept down her cheeks and she tucked one of them behind her ear as she thought of how to begin."You might start with what started it all," the matronly Tilda suggested. "Some of us still don't know the full story, remember?""We were cursed," Elly said glumly. "A very powerful one designed to change our species so we couldn't communicate with anyone and I couldn't work magic.""Some asshole turned us into manticore," Roche added helpfully. He frowned then as he caught sight of the young artist at the end of the room. The kid wouldn't look him in the eye anymore for some strange reason and his cheeks were burning red."Manticore?" Netti blurted out, startled. She pushed back her chair a little as she half stood. "But there's a -" she trailed off as Elly slapped the table for quiet. The little koi flittered away from the disturbance her palm caused, seeking the safety of an intricately carved piece of driftwood at the bottom of the aquarium table."Shh, Annette, not now," she warned in a low voice. Her friend's eyes widened and she slowly sat back down, shocked into silence for once. Roche coughed uncomfortably as her large brown eyes focused directly on him, then Elly and back again."I don't know who the person is that did this to me," she went on, "but I can tell you why it happened." She went on to describe their subterfuge at some length, pausing uncomfortably when she spoke of Cynus. At one point Missthet hissed softly, her eyes flicking to Roche's face much as Netti's had done. The big man set his jaw and placed an arm around Elly, startling her out of her narrative."They get it," he said firmly. "Now tell them what happened after we came back.""You what?!" Even Cinque was startled out of his normal complacency as Elly falteringly told of their egg. He staggered back in his chair, eyes wide. "Is that possible?""Your thought is the same as mine," the naga hissed. "But there's no doubt of it. Her scent does not lie; she has borne offspring.""Where is it? Is it with you? Did you leave it? Is it okay?" Netti wrung her hands together, a string of endless questions pouring out while Elly laid her head on the table."It's fine," Roche mumbled. "Or so she tells me."Chet let out a sigh that was similar to a whinny. "Humans," he said, closing his eyes briefly. When he opened them he spoke firmly. "Birth is a natural process. If the change of shape was so absolute, so was the mating. It's not only possible, it's very logical. Besides," he added, "from the scent of the pheromones in the air it's clear you're both attracted to each other. All you needed was a little push. Being in creature form may have been just what you needed. Humans are too uptight about breeding and other bodily functions." Roche and Elly were staring at each other, their faces equally red. Matilda covered a smile with one plump hand and nudged Netti, who did the same."Chet." Cinque spoke in a low tone that didn't carry far. "Didn't anyone ever teach you the subtleties of human relations?""Foolishness," the stallion snorted."Obviously," Cinque sighed to himself."That's not what matters!" Elly pressed on at last, cutting above all the surprised chatter. She banged her fist on the table again and winced this time.Roche calmly reached over and took her hand in his, shaking his head. "You're going to hurt yourself.""Too late." She didn't take her hand from his, however. "All right, we only know some parts of what's been going on. I'm not sure if the poaching was really intended or if it was just to get our attention.""You don't think -" Palette began, his pale face paling even further. He realized he'd spoken aloud and squirmed uncomfortably as everyone's eyes fell upon him. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything.""It's okay, Pal," Elly told him gently. "Remember what I told you awhile back about how we all value everyone's opinions.""I can't believe anyone would do those horrible things," he confessed, embarrassed. "Even the evil magicians we've heard of bond with their creatures. They'd have to have something big they wanted other than money.""Maybe all they wanted was to control one of the animagi," Netti suggested. Pal looked relieved when the attention shifted from himself and he slunk down in his seat."We're just speculating now," Chet reminded them all. "I will record everything that happened and write down the possible avenues we should search to continue this investigation. Then we can discuss this further - and everyone can add more to the list. We'll narrow it down and get to work.""Thank you," Elly said sincerely. "With everything that's been happening I'm a little stressed out. To be honest, I haven't been thinking as clearly as I need to be and you all need to know that.""No kidding," husked a low voice from the doorway.
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Elly took a deep breath."Hello, Cee," she said as calmly as possible. "I didn't think you were going to join us.""I wasn't." He watched as the others began to nervously file out. Roche stayed where he was until Elly squeezed his hand under the table. He glanced quickly at her and she nodded.The big man pushed his chair back. "I'll be in the kitchen," he grunted, not trusting himself to speak to Cynus. He closed the door behind him, leaving the two magus alone."At least he left us." He drew his hands out from his dark robe and walked towards the table."I'm glad you showed up," she said cautiously, not rising to the barbed comment. She wasn't sure how much he had heard but since he was acting so calmly, she figured he didn't know about the egg yet. It fell to her to tell him, and she knew he deserved that, and more. "I'm... um," she began, casting around for words and sighing when she found none. He stood there, one long-fingered hand resting on the back of a chair and watched silently."Damn it. I'm sorry, it's been really hard for me lately.""I guess it has." He sat, avoiding eye contact."I didn't mean for things to get so crazy. There's more to this, too, you know. I told the others, and you need to know, too." He raised his face to meet her gaze for the first time. Elly was shocked again at how haggard her friend looked. He'd looked weary and tired before, but now he just looked horrible. There were dark smudges under his eyes and his hands trembled when he wasn't tightly gripping something to steady them."What is it?"Moments later the few trees outside in the garden shook with the force of hundreds of fairy that had followed Cynus to the island. They flew up around the heads of the startled villagers and then out to sea. The good folks stared at them, more shocked at the wild pattern of their flight than anything else. Cinque and Roche paused in their discussion, the cook's eyes widening as the kitchen door slammed open and a distraught Elly rushed inside."What happened?" Cinque asked, setting aside the bottle of wine they'd been looking over. Behind him, two long, furry ears slowly began an ascent towards a basket of fresh vegetables he'd been cleaning."I was trying to talk to him!" She started pacing, waving her hands around angrily as she spoke. "I was going to ask him what happened while he was here and thank him for everything he'd done. He rushed out before I could say anything past the - the egg. I had to get that out first, otherwise it would have been harder to tell him...""At least he knows, El." Cinque handed her a glass of wine. The basket had been ransacked by now, the bunny giggling maniacally to itself as he hopped away with his mouth full of veggies. They loved when Cinque's attention was elsewhere."'At least'?" She blinked at him. "It was horrible. He went whiter than he was already and almost fell over. Then he left, knocking over all the chairs in the area and falling against the damn door on his way out. It was like he was drunk!""Hmm." Cinque frowned a little. That gave him an idea."You need to relax," Roche said suddenly. He bent, staring closely at her neck and the way the water magus was bent slightly to one side. "Got yourself all twisted up due to the strain you're under," he grunted disapprovingly."No kidding!""I might be able to help with that." Cinque pursed his lips. "I'll send a good bottle of wine with a vole down to the pool, which is where you need to spend some time, I think.""Good idea," Elly agreed, giving Roche a speculative look. "Send two glasses.""Of course." Cinque smiled."So what is it with this pool?" Roche grunted as he slung the soft wicker bag over his arm she'd given him. "You've got a whole ocean right outside your house and a pond in front of it. Why the hell do you need more water?"They were headed off for an hour or so of relaxation before they did anything else that day. Due to the nature of their problems, stress was a big issue and needed to be tackled with the same gravity. Both wore robes over bathing suits and sandals. Elly had packed towels in the bag he carried."You'll see," was all she would say. They had descended further down than he'd thought the tower could go, into a small room with rocks walls and a clean, sandy floor."We can't go any lower."Elly grinned at him and whistled loudly. "Two going down!" She called out while he stared at her as if she'd gone mad. In a few moments, though, there was a snorting and huffing coming out of the corner walls."What the -""Hi, Woink!" Elly opened her arms as a pair of huge voles leaped directly out of the rock. One of them squealed and clattered over to her, rubbing at her hand. The other, which was slightly larger and with a little basket tied about its neck, was snuffling Roche's sandals with his ruffled nose. "Well, don't just stand there. Grab a boar and let's go down!" The magic vole's ability to phase through almost all natural minerals was the only way to get to the lower caverns of the tower. Anyone or anything that touched the boar shared its power momentarily, making them excellent transport creatures - if they were in the mood, of course. Elly always made certain to keep them happy like the rest of her magical friends, though, and despite their naturally gruff exterior they'd never had an incident. In a few moments they had reached the pool, which was a natural "blue hole" deep under the tower. Blue holes went down incredibly deep under the earth and spread out in caverns and tunnels far below, she told Roche as she patted Woink's flank. The big man grunted back at Oink and the vole blinked, then rubbed his sandals once more with a wet snout. He had decided any human that grunted like she did was all right in her book. Roche gently loosened the basket from his neck and took the bottle of wine out and the glasses."This is how I'm able to house all the different water creatures I have," Elly explained further. "Some of the caverns here are ice or hot springs, like this one." She grinned. "This one's not as hot as some of the others. It's the nicest one since it's closest to the surface." Woink and Oink had disappeared again. The big man jerked about, trying to figure where they'd gone but she tugged on his arm."It's all right. They'll come back when I call them.""Huh." He dropped the bag near the edge of the pool and peered into it. "I see why they call it a blue hole." The water in the circular pool was a bright, rich blue."I've spelled it," she told him as she stepped into the water. "It's impossible to sink below without a counterspell. Just to be on the safe side, you know? Blue holes are incredibly dangerous otherwise. Besides, there are a few people that don't swim but they love this.""Did you do that?" He pointed at the walls of the cave that sparkled here and there with bright jewels."No," she laughed as she sank down with a sigh onto a natural rock shelf that jutted out, providing a seat of sorts. "That's my cave wyvern flock. They live off in another section of the caverns. They used some of the gems they collect to mark this place." There was a shimmering as she spoke and a blue wyvern head peeked out of a little crevasse to wink at her. Roche nodded and joined her in the warm water, the green robe he'd been wearing slipping off with a shrug of his shoulders. He handed her a glass of wine and she took a single sip before setting it down on the rock ledge beside them."I would rather soak for awhile first.""Move over.""What?" She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and craned her neck around. He was gesturing for her to go further in, so she hopped down off the bench."There." He snickered softly. Elly almost shrieked when she felt his wet arms slide around her from behind, picking her up and depositing her in front of him."What the h-""Quiet." He frowned and probed gently at her neck. She would have protested more but he dug his fingers in a sore spot just then. The blood rushing back into tired muscles was so intense she suffered herself to lean comfortably against his chest instead."Where'd you learn how to do that?"He shrugged and continued the massage, fingers finding and kneading all the tension out of her neck. "Don't laugh," he said, "but it was part of my training.""I thought you were a merc." Elly's head lolled forward and she closed her eyes."I only take jobs when I need money. I learned how to care for my tonfa and my body at the same time. And that means muscle relaxation as well as tone.""Ohhhhh.""Yeah." He swallowed hard, brushing a bit of her hair away from her neck."Is that what they're called?""The wha?""Tonfa." She pointed at the wooden sticks."Yeah." He frowned a little. "I don't go anywhere without them. I got them when I was little, from my grandfather. They're not spelled or anything.""I know. But the feathers.""Roc feathers." His voice had become reflective. "That's how I earned my name... and my scars."Elly twisted around, her eyes incredulous. "You fought a roc?!""Not really fought," he disagreed. "I went up to its nest to gather some feathers as a test of courage. A rite of passage for all members of my home is something special. Since my name was close to the bird, I'd always felt close to it. That and the fact that it's so big and bright and red - kind of like me." He paused, gathering his thoughts."I don't know how such a big creature managed to sneak up on me, but before I'd knew it, it'd swept down out of the sky and slashed at me with a claw. It could have killed me. But it didn't - it marked me instead. I didn't know that at the time, though, and I reached up and grabbed a handful of tail feathers to try and drag myself upright to fight. I yanked some out, and it stopped right in front of me. Just... stood still."Elly's eyes were wide. Not many people - even animagi -- survived an encounter with a roc. "Oh, wow," she said softly.Roche shrugged again, embarrassed at her interest. "It winked at me and flew off. I've spent years trying to figure out if it was really a wink or if I imagined it. But I had the feathers to remind me of the time, and I always remember that wink." He glanced down and saw that she had placed a hand close to his knee near the side of the water. Suddenly reminded of what the horse man had said earlier, he paused to gulp some wine."You know," she began quietly, "I think ..." But what she was thinking wasn't revealed just then, for at that very moment there was a disturbance in one of the walls and two vole were shoved through, angrily snorting at the man attached to them."Cynus!""Looks like I got here just in time," he snarled.
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"To piss me off? Yes! You did!" She pointed at his chest. "And you had no right to treat those vole like that! Have you lost your mind?!" Woink charged at him but he'd put up a protective shield and the digger bounced right off. The pair circled the forest magus, beady eyes glittering with rage and waiting for the very second he dropped his defenses. Magic creatures were not to be trifled with."I haven't lost my mind. You've lost yours! How did you - how could you do what you did with him?!" Amazingly, he stumbled into the water, robe and all. Elly kept her finger leveled at him in case he tried anything but was completely unprepared for what happened next."You're angry because of the egg." Her voice remained astonishingly steady as she confronted her friend."Yes," he choked. "What happened? How could you refuse me and then do that with him when you weren't even human!""Okay, get out," she hissed. "I chose not to be with you, Cynus. You knew that. You don't have any right to tell me who I'm allowed to fall in love with.""Love? What the hell do you mean? You're just running around sleeping with a guy you don't even know!" She grit her teeth. Behind her she could feel Roche's muscles tensing. Not wanting this to become a confrontation between the men, she put one arm out to stop the strong man's advance. When she did that Cynus acted. Poised to deflect a magic attack with her attention slightly distracted, Elly made no move to defend herself. Her head rocked backwards a little as his palm struck. Her pale skin was stained a light pink by the blow."Oh!" She clasped a hand to her face in disbelief. She seemed to be doing that a lot lately, she thought wildly as she retreated, unwilling to attack her friend.Roche's jaw set. "Get out," he said very softly. Cynus glared at the man but whatever he'd been about to say died as he stared at the flat look of rage in his eyes. It matched his own for hostility but what froze his blood was that he could clearly see the man contemplating his demise.And it didn't look pleasant.He backed off slowly, his eyes wary as he realized he'd gone too far."Vole," Elly snapped brusquely. Woink and Oink clambered around the pool of water to her side. "Hold on," she told Roche just before they took them up a room. Left alone in the cavern, Cynus sat down hard on the sandy floor, his eyes glazing over."What did I do that for?" He gasped, staring at the offending hand.Elly and Roche rushed up the stairs, heading directly into her private quarters. She would have thrown herself on the bed but he stopped her as soon as the door was latched firmly shut."Let me look at that," he insisted, grasping her chin in his hand. He turned her around to face him, staring intently at the tender skin. "Better get something cold on it. Where's your bathroom?"Elly pointed listlessly towards it and he marched off quickly. She heard the water running and then he was back with a soft cloth in one hand which he held gently to her cheek."I can't believe he hit me," she said tonelessly. Roche ground his teeth together. He felt a powerful urge to break things."What about the egg? Your chimera?" He asked suddenly. A vision of an enraged Cynus charging down to destroy evidence that they'd been together flashed through his mind. The man was obviously not right in the head at the moment."The egg's safe," she said. "She won't let anyone near it except me, or someone with me - even if it's someone she knows. And John's been more watchful over the area lately.""All right." He sat down by her side and forced himself to relax. "Who's in charge of security around here?""Security?""He either needs to be thrown out or watched." His face hardened. "I'm all for tossing his sorry ass in the ocean and letting that big eel-thing deal with him ...""Leviathan," she corrected absently.He ignored this as usual and kept on. "... but I think he'd give the poor guy indigestion.""John wouldn't eat someone," she said, smiling a little at the ridiculous notion."Which one of your creatures would, then?" He snorted."All right, I get it." She got up and went to the door to ring the bell there. The closest person was Matilda, and she sighed with relief. Netti would have been too hysterical and she had a feeling Cinque would have been almost as angry as Roche was. The older woman was calm and quiet. Elly quickly explained what happened and told her to tell Chet. Tilda was a shrewd woman. She hugged the magus briefly, asked if she needed anything and then left when she was told no. She could see the red-haired man standing in the doorway behind Elly and knew the magus would be well tended."The horse man?" Roche asked after Elly had closed the door again."Centaur," she corrected him again."Whatever.""You'd better not let him catch you saying that," she warned."I'm not afraid of a horse, kit, whether it has a man-head attached to it or not."Elly took the cloth from her cheek and rolled her eyes. "I know, I know. Hellfire," she swore faintly. "I think I'm getting a headache." She walked back to the bed and sat on the edge. Roche followed her, slipping an arm comfortably about her shoulders. She didn't question this or act surprised this time. She sighed wearily, leaning heavily against his side. After a few moments she felt his hand lightly stroking her hair and closed her eyes."Do you really want to stay with me?" She asked suddenly. His arms hadn't moved from where they rested tightly about her shoulders and now they spasmed lightly. "I mean, you're not doing it just because of the - the, you know?"The big man swallowed hard and she was delighted to see a blush creeping up his neck. "Not just because.""It's not just him, you know. Everyone thinks we're - well, you know." She coughed in embarrassment.He thrust his jaw forward pugnaciously. "Morons.""What would you think?""I know what I think.""Oh?"
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"You talk too much." She was about to protest when he leaned forward and fleetingly brushed his lips against hers. Her light green eyes widened, shining up at him in the dim light. She was, he thought, quite pretty in her astonishment. He kissed her more seriously and was pleased to feel her hands slide caressingly around his neck. It was perhaps unfortunate that Cynus had sent Poplar over to see what was happening at that very moment. The fairy peeped shyly, covering her eyes with her tiny twig hands as she stared at the scenario unfolding before her. She curled up and floated slowly back down to the area where her master was sulking. He'd managed to get a different boar to carry him up again but his mood had grown blacker since the incident. She doubted this would make it any better.He slipped out of the tower as soon as it was night. No one saw him leave because he didn't want them to.It was easy to dismiss Cynus due to his erratic behavior and womanizing ways. But the man was a magus, with all the powers and skills that entailed. He was master of his element, the varying forms of plant life found in all corners of the world and the creatures that lived in the deciduous forest. After he'd struck his friend in a fit of rage he realized there was no place for him there anymore. The man's gaze had spoke eloquently of death; he didn't want to wait around another night to get pummeled in the back as he slept. Since he had already packed it was only the small matter of waiting until night fell. He knew the staff was watching him but that didn't matter. He cast a spell that made him more or less inconspicuous and walked right out of the tower. Fairy formed up by the thousands, sandy-colored to match the terrain around them. They blocked the pale man from sight as he stepped out into the night air. He'd arranged for a ship to transport him back to the forest and was so engrossed in his own thoughts that he wasn't afraid as he normally would be of sea travel. He just wanted to get away.A certain hound watched his departure with fiery eyes behind a pile of driftwood farther up the beach. As Cynus stepped aboard the ship and gestured for the captain to set sail immediately he whuffed low under his breath with approval. Sunog padded on silent feet towards the ship and wriggled aboard an open porthole, whining softly when his paws almost touched the water. Almost instantly he heard a commotion aboard and slunk closer to listen."It'll take some days to reach the forest, honored sir," a man was saying."Whatever." Sunog's ears pricked up. The leaf-smelling man was perspiring, a cold sweat that stank of anger tinged with remorse."The fog's not going to make things any easier," one of the roughly-dressed sailors told him. He was but a shape near the starboard rail in the thick, vaporous mist. "I'd like to get back before my girl thinks I've forgotten about her. It's been awhile since...""I don't care about your problems!" Cynus shouted. His face was livid with anger and he pulled at the air with a hand, yanking the man forward to yell in his face. The sailor's faded blue eyes widened briefly, and he snorted and let him go. He snapped a hand at him instead, creating a gust of wind that pushed the man backwards, blond hair flying at the force of the shove. "Leave me! I have worse to deal with.""As you wish." The deckhand melted back into the surrounding mist, becoming nothing but a shadow again in moments. He pulled up the hood of his cloak to cover the twitching of his lips.Back at the islands everything was calm. No one had realized Cynus had left and everyone had drifted off to sleep by now. When Elly woke, she was stunned to find so many hours had passed. She padded over on bare feet to grab a robe from behind the door and then to the window to look at the moon.It was bright, the stars sparkling in the overturned bowl of the night sky. Roche slipped an arm around her from behind and she sighed comfortably. "You know, I told Cynus I didn't need a man.""Liar." He snickered into her hair."Shush. I - oh, crap. You're right. I hate it when you're right."He yawned. "Just don't think about him, all right?""It's hard not to," she confessed. "I've honestly never seen him like that. And to go so far as to hit me.""Not your fault." He nuzzled the back of her neck and she giggled girlishly."Quit it.""Then shush." He matched her previous inflection perfectly.She laughed again. "You should know I never do what's expected of me.""I expect you to come back to bed." He picked her up and ambled back to the flickering mattress. "You can't take care of stuff in the middle of the night." The little fish were exhausted after the firework display they'd put on earlier and most of them were resting, too. He placed her on her side and joined her under the sheets with a huge yawn."Plenty of time for everything in the morning," she agreed sleepily.
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The morning dawned clear and cool, a blessing for once on the hot island. Elly woke early and was surprised to find that Roche's eyes popped open the moment she turned to him. After a quick shower it was time to start thinking about serious matters. First, she spun Roche a sash of water cloth out of moisture in the air. He put it on without any comment, only a quirk of his lips."We really have to check on the egg," she said as she pulled on her own clothing. Once again she wondered if she should be calling it 'the baby' or something more personal.Roche watched her for a moment, then nodded. "I'd feel better if we did," he grunted."I usually go around and visit most of the creatures in the tower before breakfast. You coming, then?""Yeah." He pointed at his belly. "This thing is weird. You sure it'll hold my tonfa like the others did?""Yes," she said in exasperation. "It's stronger than any other cloth you've ever worn before. Trust me.""I've never worn magic stuff before." He slid the wooden sticks through and shrugged."I made your other clothes," she said with a smile as she pushed the door open."They weren't like this.""Just relax. I thought you'd be more nervous about the concept, not the fabric!"Palette heard the voices outside his door and frowned. It was very early and there wasn't normally chatter in the halls at this hour. He skidded on stockinged feet to his door and peeped through a crack at Elly's door. The magus was fully dressed and looked much better than she had in days. He watched as the big man stepped out into the hallway directly after her rubbing absently at his neck. The newcomer had that funny band thing around his stomach he had before but this time it was made of shimmering, water-spun cloth. Pal ducked back inside his room, reddish-brown eyes wide."Again. It happened again," he groaned. Dorcas chirruped questioningly, crawling in from the window and leaping comfortably onto his shoulder. "That means... then that means ...!"He raced to his sketchpad, hands trembling and cold as he flipped through the pages. "Dorcas, I need more paint."Her multi-faceted eyes whirled with glee. Roses? More roses for her friend?"I know I said I'd never use it again. I don't want to. But the sketches move too slow. And this could be bad." He turned to his brushes, fumbling with jars and pots of paint as Dorcas called her mate over and they began to pull at the roses climbing outside the sandy walls of the tower.John the Fisherman was feeling a little left out that morning and he reared up out of the water as they approached, mouth agape but not roaring."I'm sorry, buddy." Elly darted into the water without a moment's hesitation to hug the giant neck. "It's been really crazy lately. I should have come to see you before."John snorted happily, water spraying out his nostrils as he did. He savored his hug a few moments more, then lowered his head to stare curiously at Roche who was standing on the sand. "Gwrrl?""What," the big man said flatly. John nudged gently at his belly, poking even more curiously at the cloth. "Quit shoving," Roche grunted, planting his feet more firmly on the ground. The leviathan turned incredulous eyes at his friend and let his great tongue loll out."Yeah... that." Elly grinned abashedly. She patted his blunt nose. "You'll see a lot more of him now, John. I think that's okay with you though, right?"The leviathan was so amazed that he didn't tell her about the ship that left last night. Not a lot of vessels left in the middle of the night, but even stranger was the fact that after so many years his friend had taken a mate. He slipped back into the water as she left with a shy wave and saw the man take her arm to help her out of the water.