Post by Shira on Oct 27, 2006 9:07:15 GMT -5
"Stay still!" he yelled directly in her ear as they soared higher.
"NOOO!" Faye yelled back, calling up on more of her magic, making it nearly impossible for him to hold on to her. It felt like there were gobs of jelly around her.
His hand tangled itself in her hair, grabbing a chunk of it before tilting her head back to grab the back of her shirt. His other hand wrapped itself around her thin frame, grabbing his own cloak to keep her still, legs gripping tightly to his dragon.
"Let go of me, you sykken Ryder!" She screamed, kicking anything that she could connect with. One foot was able to kick the soft spot where the dragon's wing was joined with the body, making Cearna dip to one side forcefully.
"Stay still if you want to live!" He yelled, feeling Cearna's pain. All they had to do was get another few miles out and he'd be able to let her go alive, but if she kept kicking like this, there would be no way for any of them to survive.
"And live in a dungeon for the rest of my life? NEVER!" She yelled, bucking against him, making the hand around her middle slip.
"Cearna, land," he growled before tugging back on her hair, making her face him, blue eyes to green eyes. "I don't do things like that to kids," he said as his dragon landed forcefully, almost crashing from the lack of a wing.
Faye winced as he pulled her off the dragon's back by her hair, refusing to let her go even though the moment her feet touched the ground she sat down, just like she had been taught.
"Let go of me," she said, twisting to try to kick him in the shins.
It was a move he anticipated, and quickly blocked. He sat down on her thighs, pinning her arms underneath his knees, hand still twisted in her hair so she wouldn't slam her head down on the ground and force herself unconscious. He forced her to look at him again. "I don't do that to kids," he repeated.
Faye spat in his face before closing her eyes, expecting the reprimanding blow of his free hand. None came. Eventually she opened her eyes again, searching his face. There wasn't the usual.....Ryder-ness about him, even though he looked like most Ryders' she'd seen before. Mud-colored hair was cropped short in what she called a bowl cut, ending at his green eyes. He had on the usual sleeveless black shirt and pants, with the edges of his boots leaning against her legs. But her eyes were drawn back to his eyes, and the pain she saw in them. Why did she have the feeling that he was different than any other Ryder in any of the camps?
"If I let you go," he said softly, "do you promise to hear me out?"
"No."
She sure had determination. "How old are you?"
"Ten summers."
"How would you like the chance to be able to get back the children that were taken tonight?"
Faye closed her eyes, remembering the screams and chaos that had kicked off the raiding. She didn't know how many were taken, but she had known that Saix had defiantly been picked up. "Depends on what I have to do."
"Last month Jared, a wizard --"
"I know who Jared is."
"Was finally able to create a pact between all the Ryder camps," he continued on, ignoring her interruption, "Called the Peace Pact. If a gypsy was able to sneak into the Ryder camps, getting past the dragons and all the sentries, and was able to put their hand on another gypsy child, then they would be able to go free, without any problems. There is no limit on how many children the saver could touch."
Faye opened her eyes again. "How do I know that you're not going to set me up? That this is not some sort of sick joke?"
"I don't hurt children."
"You're hurting me," she said, having lost the feeling in her legs and hands.
"You hurt my dragon, and were attempting to hurt me. I am only doing enough to stop both of that -- any other Ryder would've put a dagger to your throat, and you know it."
"Then why haven't you?" Faye spat out, trying her damndest to get him off of her.
"I'm not like most Ryders. I don't do to children what they do. I set them free when I can."
"Then why do you need me?"
"Because you got spunk, and the right kind of magic. What's your name?"
"Faye Mikeala."
Interesting. "Zaza's granddaughter, no?" When she refused to answer him he grinned. "If I let you go, would you promise not to run?"
There was a long pause before she finally answered. "For now."
That was all he could hope for. He carefully got off of her, untangling his hands from her hair, and watched as she stretched out, wincing. One of her hands came up to the back of her head and came back bloody.
"Sorry for that." Her head snapped up at the unexpected apology, and her eyes only widened even more when held out a small glass jar. "Healing balm. Use it on your head."
Faye sat up and unscrewed the jar, sniffing it. If anyone, even the most experienced mage, added any sort of magic to any healing balm, the whole smell and color would change. Looking, and smelling clean, she spread it over her hand before putting it on the back of her head where he had pulled out chunks of hair.
"Are you okay, Cearna?"
"Next person who kicks me is going to get their head eaten."
He smiled at her obvious joke; they both knew that she would never do something like that. Neither of them would.
"What's your name?" Faye asked, stretching out, trying to get the pins and needles to go away.
"D M."
Faye glared at him.
"Like I'm going to tell you my whole name? If things went wrong, and you talked, we'd both die." He sat down next to her. Cearna lay down, watching the proceedings with interest. She didn't understand anything in Human tongue, but she knew what they were talking about.
'D M' sat and watched her, waiting for the next question. It finally came as the rest of the feeling returned to her legs. "You say you set them free when you can. Why do you need me to.... help you?" Faye asked, looking directly at him.
"In all the time I've been trying to help out the gypsy children, I've only been able to save about a hundred of them, and that’s been over ten years. With you helping me, we could do that in a year."
Another long pause as she thought it over. He seemed safe, legitimate, and she had heard of the Peace Pact just the day before. "Where are you going to be in all of this?"
Wasn't she good, asking all the necessary questions to be able to figure out what she would do. "I'll be in the Ryder camps, getting the kids to meet at a specific, easy to find spot that's out of the way. Probably under certain trees, or by the fences, things like that."
"What if I say no?"
"Then, tomorrow, I let you go like nothing happened." 'D M' watched her as Faye thought it over.
Finding another kink in his plan, she asked, "How are you going to tell me where and when? You can't just walk into a gypsy camp and think that people are going to understand."
He chuckled. "I trained with a hawk years ago that we can use."
"How old are you?" She asked back.
"About twenty winters."
He looked older, she thought to herself. Much older than twenty. Maybe it was growing up in the Ryder camps that made you age early. "Why?"
"Why do I do this? Or why am I asking you to help?"
Pause. "Both."
'D M' leaned back on his hands, stretching out his legs. "I don't believe in the Ryder ways. I was born and raised a Ryder myself, but I don't have their....hatred towards the gypsy children like they do. I don't understand the conflicts between the two groups; one group is trying to unite the directions, helping out anyone who needs it, being a peaceful group, and another group is stealing children and using them as toys before killing them. It's not understandable.
"And the reason I need you to help is because a gypsy child needs to go into the camps to take them back. You have the stamina and strength that not many people have, even adults, having nearly downed my lady with only one kick. You also have the right magic, like I said."
He watched as she gritted her teeth against an obvious yawn.
Just a few more questions for her, and they'd go to bed. "Where are the gypsy’s headed, and when are they going to get there?"
"Dark Valley, and about five more days, because of the raid. Why?"
"Tomorrow we train. Tonight, rest." He took the cloak off of his shoulders, and tossed it to her.
"NOOO!" Faye yelled back, calling up on more of her magic, making it nearly impossible for him to hold on to her. It felt like there were gobs of jelly around her.
His hand tangled itself in her hair, grabbing a chunk of it before tilting her head back to grab the back of her shirt. His other hand wrapped itself around her thin frame, grabbing his own cloak to keep her still, legs gripping tightly to his dragon.
"Let go of me, you sykken Ryder!" She screamed, kicking anything that she could connect with. One foot was able to kick the soft spot where the dragon's wing was joined with the body, making Cearna dip to one side forcefully.
"Stay still if you want to live!" He yelled, feeling Cearna's pain. All they had to do was get another few miles out and he'd be able to let her go alive, but if she kept kicking like this, there would be no way for any of them to survive.
"And live in a dungeon for the rest of my life? NEVER!" She yelled, bucking against him, making the hand around her middle slip.
"Cearna, land," he growled before tugging back on her hair, making her face him, blue eyes to green eyes. "I don't do things like that to kids," he said as his dragon landed forcefully, almost crashing from the lack of a wing.
Faye winced as he pulled her off the dragon's back by her hair, refusing to let her go even though the moment her feet touched the ground she sat down, just like she had been taught.
"Let go of me," she said, twisting to try to kick him in the shins.
It was a move he anticipated, and quickly blocked. He sat down on her thighs, pinning her arms underneath his knees, hand still twisted in her hair so she wouldn't slam her head down on the ground and force herself unconscious. He forced her to look at him again. "I don't do that to kids," he repeated.
Faye spat in his face before closing her eyes, expecting the reprimanding blow of his free hand. None came. Eventually she opened her eyes again, searching his face. There wasn't the usual.....Ryder-ness about him, even though he looked like most Ryders' she'd seen before. Mud-colored hair was cropped short in what she called a bowl cut, ending at his green eyes. He had on the usual sleeveless black shirt and pants, with the edges of his boots leaning against her legs. But her eyes were drawn back to his eyes, and the pain she saw in them. Why did she have the feeling that he was different than any other Ryder in any of the camps?
"If I let you go," he said softly, "do you promise to hear me out?"
"No."
She sure had determination. "How old are you?"
"Ten summers."
"How would you like the chance to be able to get back the children that were taken tonight?"
Faye closed her eyes, remembering the screams and chaos that had kicked off the raiding. She didn't know how many were taken, but she had known that Saix had defiantly been picked up. "Depends on what I have to do."
"Last month Jared, a wizard --"
"I know who Jared is."
"Was finally able to create a pact between all the Ryder camps," he continued on, ignoring her interruption, "Called the Peace Pact. If a gypsy was able to sneak into the Ryder camps, getting past the dragons and all the sentries, and was able to put their hand on another gypsy child, then they would be able to go free, without any problems. There is no limit on how many children the saver could touch."
Faye opened her eyes again. "How do I know that you're not going to set me up? That this is not some sort of sick joke?"
"I don't hurt children."
"You're hurting me," she said, having lost the feeling in her legs and hands.
"You hurt my dragon, and were attempting to hurt me. I am only doing enough to stop both of that -- any other Ryder would've put a dagger to your throat, and you know it."
"Then why haven't you?" Faye spat out, trying her damndest to get him off of her.
"I'm not like most Ryders. I don't do to children what they do. I set them free when I can."
"Then why do you need me?"
"Because you got spunk, and the right kind of magic. What's your name?"
"Faye Mikeala."
Interesting. "Zaza's granddaughter, no?" When she refused to answer him he grinned. "If I let you go, would you promise not to run?"
There was a long pause before she finally answered. "For now."
That was all he could hope for. He carefully got off of her, untangling his hands from her hair, and watched as she stretched out, wincing. One of her hands came up to the back of her head and came back bloody.
"Sorry for that." Her head snapped up at the unexpected apology, and her eyes only widened even more when held out a small glass jar. "Healing balm. Use it on your head."
Faye sat up and unscrewed the jar, sniffing it. If anyone, even the most experienced mage, added any sort of magic to any healing balm, the whole smell and color would change. Looking, and smelling clean, she spread it over her hand before putting it on the back of her head where he had pulled out chunks of hair.
"Are you okay, Cearna?"
"Next person who kicks me is going to get their head eaten."
He smiled at her obvious joke; they both knew that she would never do something like that. Neither of them would.
"What's your name?" Faye asked, stretching out, trying to get the pins and needles to go away.
"D M."
Faye glared at him.
"Like I'm going to tell you my whole name? If things went wrong, and you talked, we'd both die." He sat down next to her. Cearna lay down, watching the proceedings with interest. She didn't understand anything in Human tongue, but she knew what they were talking about.
'D M' sat and watched her, waiting for the next question. It finally came as the rest of the feeling returned to her legs. "You say you set them free when you can. Why do you need me to.... help you?" Faye asked, looking directly at him.
"In all the time I've been trying to help out the gypsy children, I've only been able to save about a hundred of them, and that’s been over ten years. With you helping me, we could do that in a year."
Another long pause as she thought it over. He seemed safe, legitimate, and she had heard of the Peace Pact just the day before. "Where are you going to be in all of this?"
Wasn't she good, asking all the necessary questions to be able to figure out what she would do. "I'll be in the Ryder camps, getting the kids to meet at a specific, easy to find spot that's out of the way. Probably under certain trees, or by the fences, things like that."
"What if I say no?"
"Then, tomorrow, I let you go like nothing happened." 'D M' watched her as Faye thought it over.
Finding another kink in his plan, she asked, "How are you going to tell me where and when? You can't just walk into a gypsy camp and think that people are going to understand."
He chuckled. "I trained with a hawk years ago that we can use."
"How old are you?" She asked back.
"About twenty winters."
He looked older, she thought to herself. Much older than twenty. Maybe it was growing up in the Ryder camps that made you age early. "Why?"
"Why do I do this? Or why am I asking you to help?"
Pause. "Both."
'D M' leaned back on his hands, stretching out his legs. "I don't believe in the Ryder ways. I was born and raised a Ryder myself, but I don't have their....hatred towards the gypsy children like they do. I don't understand the conflicts between the two groups; one group is trying to unite the directions, helping out anyone who needs it, being a peaceful group, and another group is stealing children and using them as toys before killing them. It's not understandable.
"And the reason I need you to help is because a gypsy child needs to go into the camps to take them back. You have the stamina and strength that not many people have, even adults, having nearly downed my lady with only one kick. You also have the right magic, like I said."
He watched as she gritted her teeth against an obvious yawn.
Just a few more questions for her, and they'd go to bed. "Where are the gypsy’s headed, and when are they going to get there?"
"Dark Valley, and about five more days, because of the raid. Why?"
"Tomorrow we train. Tonight, rest." He took the cloak off of his shoulders, and tossed it to her.