Private Tales On swift wings..

[Lorelei]

Though the ground glistened like rain had fallen, the liquid that shone wasn't clear but crimson. Bodies of her comrades lay spread across the meadow, now carrion for the birds that circled overhead. One fae soldier per every ten naga. Lori had been one of only eight soldiers sent to the border of the Autumn Court, following reports of between ten and twenty naga terrorising a small farming village. There were not ten, nor twenty, but almost a hundred of the beasts.

Where had they come from?

Lori had lost count of how many she'd slain by the time she drove her blade through the eye of another, grimacing at the bone rattling screech it made before it crumbled and died. Only she and one other soldier stood, their strength dwindling as they fought hard to stay alive. There must have been twenty left, and they gathered together to circle the pair. "Where the fuck are they?.." Lorelei cursed, glancing toward the skies. Help had been called for, but they had been outnumbered from the start, and all seemed hopeless.

She and the male, Dax, shared a glance as they backed toward each other, weapons ready to defend themselves as the creatures struck out. They were both beaten and bloody, and Lori struggled to keep a firm grip of her blades, her hands slick with the blood that raced down her arms. She could hear the rise in their heartbeats as the naga drew closer, and without warning nor a word of apology, the male beside her spread his wings and pulled himself into the air to flee.

"Dax!" Lorelei screamed after him as he took off without looking back, his wings barely keeping him in the sky.

"Looksss like your luckssss run out." one of the female naga hissed at her, jagged teeth visible in a menacing grin.

"Fuck you." Lori spat, and threw one of her short swords end over end to spear the creature through the throat.. "Looks like yoursssss has too.." she growled, and the battle recommenced.

 

[Sidereal Penumbra]

He speared straight down from the sky. If it hadn’t been for Raphael’s new reports on the nagai, he and the small legion behind him would’ve been too late. Golden-tinted hazels swept over the carnage. Hells. Maybe they were too late. Not too late to stop these bastards though.

There was a flurry of blonde movement in the center of the nagai. Sid didn’t hesitate as he gave the orders to the others with silent hand gestures. Wings shifted and opened as his feet slammed to the earth, the dirt rippling up in a radius from the impact.

“Behind,” he grunted to the female and swung his sword just over her head and across the throat of a nagai.

More with wings of feathers and some like his own landed around them, disrupting the small army of nagai. He could feel the power swelling along his core, screaming to be released.

Not yet.

 

[Lorelei]

This was it.. How she died.

Anything. She’d have taken anything but Naga. The battles she’d fought in, the creatures she’s slain and monsters she’d faced and she was about to be brought down by these cretins. She fought with everything she had as they closed in around her, determined to take as many of them with her as she possibly could. Cries of exertion tore from her throat with every swing and thrust of her blades, cries of pain every time the beasts tore at her with claw and weapon.

She hadn’t even noticed the reinforcements arrive, not until she heard the male’s voice and she ducked under his blade. She could’ve cried with relief, and likely would have if she hadn’t been barrelled to the ground by a male naga at least twice the size of her. She cried out as she hit the ground hard, the creature’s jaws snapping at her as she pushed at it’s face, it’s claws raking at her chest.

She couldn’t call for help, all she could do was scream at the searing pain that was quickly drawing her vision to darkness.

 

[Sidereal Penumbra]

He saw her go down even as his blade took another naga head. And before that head could hit the blood-flecked dirt beneath their feet he roared. There was a flash of red and the nagai about to tear out her heart was eviscerated in a shower of bone, blood, and shadows. Along with five….ten…..twenty near them. Their bodies slumped to the ground in unison. Any grass around them quickly died, turning black as it spread in a strange-weblike patch.

Some in the legion had seen it before but they still startled. Gaped at the general. “Finish it!” He seethed and sheathed his sword behind him. He towered over the bleeding female, then scooped her into his broad arms.

His gentleness surprisingly at odds with what just happened.

 

[Lorelei]

Lori had a mere few seconds of strength left in her when the weight atop her ceased to exist. Rancid hot blood and gore rained down on her, leaving not a square inch of her skin visible under the fresh coat of claret. She had no idea what had just happened, only that the beast had been stopped and that she could rest.

That same male voice was muffled and distant to her now as she blinked heavily at the sun blushed clouds above her until the shape of him was silhouetted. She felt herself be lifted, her limbs and wings limp with not even a modicum of strength left to hold herself together. Her brow furrowed and her eyes forced themselves to close..

"I can walk.." she muttered drowsily before unconsciousness claimed her.

 

[Sidereal Penumbra]

He looked down at her bloodied face even as her lips protested. For a brief moment, one corner of the general’s mouth twitched upward. “Sure you can,” he rumbled holding her close as he launched into the sky.

When she awoke, she’d find herself in a camp war tent. The tent was divided by a swath of fabric. She was resting atop a large, fur-lined bed. A bed large enough to accommodate wings. In the other half of the tent tables were spread out with maps and papers. Chairs clustered around it. She was washed and bandaged.

Two sets of voices spoke behind the tent flap.

“….she decent?”

“General, she needs more rest. Those injuries were extensive. It’s a wonder she survived at all.”

“She’s stronger than you’re giving her credit for.”

“I must insist that you…” there was a feminine yelp of protest as Sid entered the tent. It was HIS tent after all.

 

[Lorelei]

Whatever the healers had done for her, it was nothing short of miraculous. Benumbed of all pain, Lori slept deeper than she'd ever remembered, and she'd had a wonderful dream that she'd been flying..

The voices had roused her, but only just, and her grey eyes were trying their best to open and blink away their sleepy blur when she felt someone close by.

General?

"Ah shit." she muttered and frowned as she tried to push herself up, luckily wrapped up enough in bandages to give her some decency as the fur pelts slipped from her chest. Shit was the most appropriate word in her vocabulary for describing how she looked in that moment. Her skin was ashen from blood loss, her eyes dark and her body battered.

It took her a moment to remember what had happened and why she was where she was. To remember the battle in which several of her comrades had died and one had fled, to remember the beast that had been quite literally tearing her apart and how it had been obliterated before her eyes. To remember the blurry face above her as she gave in to sleep.

"You.." her brow furrowed slightly and she narrowed her eyes on him.. She knew who he was.

"You're the prick that has us doing triple drills."

 

[Sidereal Penumbra]

“That’s General Prick to you,” he rumbled as he swaggered in. Arms folded across his chest as he gave her a quick glance over. The healers had done well. Clara and Douala were the best in the camps. Healers weren’t always respected here as much as they should be. Some of the males just saw them as fine pieces of ass. Sid made sure those males got broken bones that were forced to heal the old fashioned way.

And he made sure no one would disrespect or touch Clara or Douala and live.

Douala had been the one nearly blocking the tent from him as he arrived and she followed at his back as he entered. Disapproval written clearly across her pointed features.

“Those triple drills probably saved your life.” Sid rolled his shoulders not approaching her or the bed any closer. It was Douala who moved forward to check on the girl.

He took a breath, eyes holding her own. “At the border, what happened?”

 

[Lorelei]

Her steely gaze studied his well chiselled features, her brow quirking at the smug way in which he spoke and carried himself. Males. She rolled her eyes so hard she almost saw her own damned brain. Her wings shuffled and stretched as much as they could before tucking in at her back as she sat back against the pillow being eagerly fluffed by Douala, but she hadn't taken her eyes, nor her disdainful expression off of the male who stood demanding answers.

"You lot were damned late that's what happened." she muttered and folded her own arms with a wince. "Captain sent eight of us over to deal with a few naga who'd been stirring up trouble in Naydan. We were told there were twenty at most.. It was more like a hundred. They ambushed us on the meadow, they just kept coming and coming from the surrounding tree line.." she answered him with rising rage in her tone, her breathing erratic as she replayed every moment of it. Her eyes glistened but she clenched her jaw and lifted the pelts in attempt to get to her feet, much to Douala's protest.

"Is that piece of shit here too?" she demanded as more of her memory fell into place.

 

[Sidereal Penumbra]

Captain Misha. Sounded like his handiwork. But did the captain know or had he just been running off bad reports? A frown tugged on his mouth even as he watched her. How the hell old was she anyway!? The Erlking had demanded every able bodied male and female serve in the armies for years. Sid wondered if she was in that period or if she was a long-listed recruit.

His wings tucked in even tighter against his muscled back.

“Slow down,” he grunted. Then added a word he didn’t usually mutter. “Please,” even as his feet shuffled closer, ready to catch her elbow if she needed to be steadied. “You really don’t want to get on Douala’s bad side.”

His eyes flashed in warning.

“What piece of shit?”

 

[Lorelei]

She forgot about the pain. Her wounds were already healing, but she’d refused poppy milk and so still rode the erratic waves of it. Getting out of bed was a harsh enough reminder without Douala’s yelling, but she yelled anyway. She hadn’t accounted for the weakness in her muscles either.

How long had she been fighting for? How much blood had she lost?..

Lori’s knees buckled the moment she was on her feet, and she let out a strangled yelp as she collided with hard muscle. Her grimace softened slightly at the realisation that she was currently clinging onto the male, and as her eyes rose to him she felt hands about her shoulders pulling her back and helping her into bed.

“I’m fine.” she murmured without much conviction, a little colour returning to her cheeks as she felt that dent in her pride.

She huffed as she reluctantly answered his question. “There we’re only two of us left, before you arrived.. Dax flew off and left me there..” she growled the last few words through her gritted teeth and her eyes teared up with rage and something else.

 

[Sidereal Penumbra]

It was his instinct to protect and defend. Always had been. He hadn’t always been able to do it. He’d been an outcast in his village. A bastard born. And until he’d met his brothers, he’d been outmatched and on his own. Just like they had been.

The power they all came into only sweetened the pot.

So when she stumbled into him. His hands found her hips. Douala saved him from letting the mask he wore as a general slip even as her scent filled his nose. His fingers clenched into fists at his sides as she spoke further. He chose not to point out that she was damn well not fine. Not when he nearly saw red at her insinuation.

A deserter.

“There is no weakness in needing to recover after a battle against a hundred nagai.” His voice barely hiding the rage he felt. The power that threatened to escape. Golden-green eyes shifted, having a silent conversation with the healer hovering at Lorelei’s side. He knew her name. He’d gotten her file as soon as they landed. As well as every soldier that had perished.

“Douala will stay with you. When you’re feeling up to it, you can leave. Until then, you’re safe here. I have some business I need to attend to.” He turned sharply and headed toward the tent’s exit. Predatory gait stalking like an angry rathtar tiger on the hunt.

 

[Lorelei]

That rage in his voice, no doubt because she'd stepped out of line, because she had almost died and he had had to help her. She kept her eyes fixed on the floor as he continued to speak, her jaw clenched to ensure her silence and keep her own wrath locked behind her teeth.

Dax.. How could he? The promises he'd made her, that he'd never leave her. He'd known they were both going to die and chose to save himself. She wondered what lies he'd spin. He'd no doubt believe her dead right now, he'd tell them that she was dead before he fled and turn on the waterworks in grief about his lost love.

"He left me there to die.." she grit out as Douala checked on her wounds and fussed around to make her more comfortable.

"Just rest, dear." the woman insisted, trying to be both gentle and firm all at once.

"He'll probably be commended for his bravery, hailed a hero. General Prick is likely on his way to slap a medal on him right now."

"Hush now."

"I suppose it's my word against his.." she laughed incredulously under her breath. "I'll no doubt be whipped for my 'lies'... Fucking males.." she growled, her tears spilling onto her cheeks now, her fists clenching. "I don't care if it means death, I'll--" her words were cut off by a sharp stab in her arm and she flinched and turned her wide, glassy gaze to Douala who stood smiling with an empty vial of sedative in her hand.

"Rest."

"Douala what the f--..ffff..."

 

[Sidereal Penumbra]

Captain Misha sneered. “He says he didn’t run.”

“He’s fucking lying,” Sid’s voice was dangerously low. “He was nowhere near her when we arrived.”

“This brings me back to the problem of having females fighting in the legion. They should be tending the fires and cooking the meals. Washing the uniforms.”

“Would you like me to report your disagreement with the law to the Erlking himself?” Sid slowly grinned something feral. Captain Misha swallowed.

“I didn’t think so,” Sid continued. “Prepare the gauntlet. She’ll get to face him at the end per the law if she so wishes.”

Captain Misha nodded. Anger rippling across his jaw. “There is one more thing. Reports of the Naga at the border. Rumors of a weapon coming. I can have a detachment check it out.”

“No. Since your last report ended in such a disaster I want more intel before we go.” The Captain grumbled something beneath his breath which Sid ignored.

“You’re dismissed.” Misha left the meeting tent. Sid clenched his jaw. Clara appeared from the darkness. She was nearly as good with shadows as his brother. Nearly. “Would you like me to send word to your brothers…,”

“How is it you know what I’m going to do?”

“Because I’ve been serving with you for a long time.”

“Do not call them. They have enough of their own problems. I’ll handle this one myself.” Clara bowed her head and disappeared as quickly as she’d come. Standing, he stretched his wings and slowly wandered back to his tent.

 

[Lorelei]

When she woke, she'd be unable to recall the last time she'd slept so deeply. She was a particularly light sleeper and she never slept much in general, the times when she was exhausted enough to fall deeply, her dreams were rarely pleasant. This sedated sleep had been forced upon her, and it was pain-free, dreamless darkness.

She had no idea how long she'd been out by the time sunlight finally penetrated her closed lids enough to rouse her. A full night and day, Douala had told her when she'd croaked out the question. Lori grumbled and rubbed at her face. "I have.. drills." she murmured and yawned, pushing herself reluctantly from the pillow to sit upright, her blonde hair a mess of unruly curls.

"Not until you eat and I've agreed that you can leave." the woman told her firmly. "Unless you want to sleep for another day, I can certainly arrange it." she threatened. Lori's lips thinned as she scowled and flopped back into the pillow. She allowed Douala to check her wounds, and the bandages were removed. Though the slashes had closed, they were still raw and raised and still tender to touch.

Lori ate her bowl of porridge hungrily and quickly accepted another, this time with apple and honey in. She bathed and was dressed in soft cotton clothes so as not to aggravate her wounds, and she was told that her leathers couldn't be salvaged.

"Peachy." she huffed, and had been about to strut from the tent before turning back to the woman, a small, sheepish smile on her lips, knowing how difficult a patient she could be. "Thank you." she nodded gratefully, her wings folded neatly against her back as she held her weapons to her chest, and left, her chin raised despite the amount of disdainful eyes upon her as she moved through the little streets of tents.

 

[Sidereal Penumbra]

Sid made it back to his tent when she was already gone. The sheets were already being changed. Douala smiled at the general.

“I know that look. She’ll be fine. I wouldnt have let her leave if the wounds needed more time.”

Sid pushed back his dark hair. “She was lucky to be alive. She nearly took on an entire naga army by herself. And I can tell she’s gonna cause me a lot of trouble.”

Douala hid a smirk. “Isn’t that what you prefer, General?”

Sid harumphed and chose not to answer. There was the blast of a horn outside. “They must be starting it.” Sid dragged a hand down his tired face.

“Your trip to the border will wait?” Doula asked.

“For now.” Sid grabbed some coffee and headed back out. Toward the training grounds. Someone would’ve found Lorelei by now. Told her that Dax was facing punishment for what happened. He’d run through a line of his peers who held weapons. If he survived the guantlet, then she could face him at the end with her own weapon of choice. Rules were she could kill him swiftly. Draw it out. Or offer him mercy.

As Sid walked closer to the ‘event,’ recruits came to attention and saluted. Most looked at him warily. Some of the lieutenants whispered as he passed. Sid ignored them.

 

[Lorelei]

Lorelei had gone straight to Dax's tent, which she found had three soldiers stationed outside it on guard duty. "What's going on?.." she asked. Two of the men simply looked her up and down and sneered without an answer. It wasn't just the usual disdain for the female in their ranks, there was anger in it. Of course there was. She assumed Dax's lies had been believed. Finally, one of the men stepped forward and explained her former partner's punishment.

Lori gaped for a long moment, only flinching back to reality when the horn sounded.

"And if he dies before he reaches the end?!" she asked. "Let me see him right now! I want to look the bastard in the eye before I jam my dagger into it." she spat on the muddy ground.

"Girl if you don't get back from this tent right now you'll be runnin' the gauntlet straight after." he barked and reached to take her elbow to guide her away.

"Getthefuckoff!" she snapped, throwing an elbow at the male's face who swore loudly and wrapped his arms around her, securing her wings and lifting her off of her feet which kicked.

"Will you calm the fuck down! Orders are orders girl!" he growled, spitting blood from a burst lip as he muttered under his breath. "He'll get what's comin' to him, alrigh'!"

"Just put me down!" He did, and pointed to the end of the gauntlet where soldiers gathered to watch.

"Wait over there." he demanded, and Lori's wings ruffled defiantly before she took her place at the end of the gauntlet to wait.

 

[Sidereal Penumbra]

Sidereal ruffled his wings and then tucked them in tight as he stood next to Captain Misha. A fence between them and the rest of the males lining up. Dax was already being lead to the front. He was…begging. Groveling. His wings were bound. There would be no flying off for him this time.

One of the guards poked him with the tip of a spear. “Run!” He spat. Sid’s eyes weren’t on Dax or the others, he was searching for that flash of blonde hair. The stubborn push of a jaw and jut of defiant shoulders.

Captain Misha watched and did not hide his glee at the punishment about to be wrought. Even if he disagreed with the general about who had been right.

 

[Lorelei]

Lorelei stood staring down the gauntlet at the male she'd trusted, the sight of him wing-bound and begging was pathetic. She had never realised just how much of a coward he was, and it sickened her. She caught his wide gaze, the look on his face one that begged her forgiveness as he stood at the start of the path he had to run.

She kept her gaze stern, but her fingers curled into fists and her breaths were heavy with rage. She could see the glint and glisten of various weapons that awaited his passing. She wouldn't look away, she wouldn't turn and flee like he had when she'd been about to die.

"Run..." she mouthed with a frown. "And you better hope you die.."

 

[Sidereal Penumbra]

Dax staggered forward. He was hit, slashed, stabbed. He stumbled. Blood dripped down multiple wounds and still, Sid’s gaze was not on him. Even though he wanted to rip the other male’s head off for what he’d done. He quietly watched Lorelei even as Dax made it past the last of the men and staggered toward her.

Sid stiffened as the wind shifted, sending her scent toward him. He clenched his jaw and made himself stay. Not turn away.

 

[Lorelei]

The closer he got to her, the more her emotions flared. Rage, pain, sadness, disappointment..fear. It was difficult enough being accepted in this gods forsaken camp as it was. Dax had made her feel less alone, and now? She knew there would be more rage directed toward her for whatever happened to him, regardless of what he'd done. He could have run her through with a blade in her sleep and it'd have been her fault somehow.

Her grey eyes were glassy by the time he crawled toward her feet, and she looked over the wounds he'd endured, her jaw clenched tight at the sorry sight he was, even his handsome face now slashed open and bleeding.

A shaking hand reached to rest on her boot as he croaked out her name, tailed off with an all-too-quiet 'please'..

"Louder. I want them to hear you. Tell them what you did, tell them that you're a coward." she glanced up at all of the scowling faces. That a male would grovel at a female's feet was about the worst thing he could do. She caught sight of the general, her expression pausing for a brief moment before another croaked plea tumbled from the dying male's lips.

"They can't fucking hear you." she growled and lifted her foot to shove him onto his back, his torn wings crushed against the ground. She planted her foot on a stab wound in his gut and pressed down until he screamed. "Tell them."

"I'M SORRY!!..PLEASE!" he choked and sobbed, spitting blood.

"For?.."

"For l-leaving you to fight on..y-your own.." he whined. "Please Lori."

"Don't call me that." she growled and pressed her boot in harder. "Why did you leave me?"

He screamed again. "BECAUSE I'M A F-FUCKING COWARD!! P-Please..have mercy.." he gasped for breath. Lori glanced to the healers who waited close by and frowned. Mercy, he didn't deserve it. She found herself looking back toward the general, a head above the rest of the crowd, still watching her.

She lifted her foot and stepped back, listening to the murmuring that broke out around them. "Get up." she hissed down at the snivelling heap. "I'm not going to kill you. I'm going to let you live with the knowledge that you're only alive because of me, a female who stood her fucking ground to live or die whilst you fucked off to hide. And every male in Laigin will see your scarred face, and know that you're the coward who fled and left his comrade to die."

He was staggering to his feet, clutching whatever wounds he could as he bled out. A single step toward her was all it took for Lori's fist to collide hard with his nose which seemed to explode. She might've broken a knuckle or two but she didn't care. Dax went down, and Lori bared her teeth. "Don't ever assume to so much as breathe in my direction again." she warned him, and gave a nod to the healers who rushed in to pick him up.

 

[Sidereal Penumbra]

Sid kept his face emotionless. A much harder task for him than for his brothers. But he managed. He’d been wearing the general’s mask for decades now. If one knew him as closely as his brothers, they might've caught a small glint in his golden-green eyes as the female said what she had to say and stepped back.

Captain Misha stepped forward. “Alright you lot. Back to drills. Back to your stations. The fun is over!”

Sid turned and walked away from the rest. He stalked down the fence line. He needed to pick up supplies which would take him right by Lorelei and those healers surrounding Dax. As he drew closer to the blonde, Clara appeared from the crowds. “General, sir. You really shouldn’t go alone.”

“Your concern is noted,” he rumbled. “Perhaps you could assist this one with her new injury.” He canted his head toward Lorelei, knowing she probably heard the entire conversation. And he kept walking even as Clara glowered at the backs of his wings, sharing a silent look with Lori as if to say ‘males.’

 

[Lorelei]

For once, she was actually glad to hear the Captain's voice as he bellowed his demands. He could hear the soldiers talk as they started to scatter this way and that, but what she heard were mutterings about the coward, rather than her. She loosed a breath and turned as she heard the General's voice, and her brow furrowed at what he'd said.

How had he known? She hadn't so much as flinched despite the throbbing pain that had been growing in intensity for the past minute. She chewed on the inside of her cheek and tracked him with her eyes as he continued on, allowing the female to lift her hand into hers, the touch gentle and well practised.

"Where is he going?.." she asked curiously, having noted the point of concern. She dragged the back of her wrist over her brow and groaned. "I called him General Prick yesterday." she snorted incredulously and shook her head.

 

[Sidereal Penumbra]

“That’s a new one,” Clara mused. Her eyes lifted, following the General’s wings as he disappeared inside a tent a few rows down. “He’s going back to the border to investigate. Why he’s going alone I do not know. Douala and I think he’s foolish not to bring help but..,” she shrugged.

Males.

Sid pinched the bridge of his nose as he heard Clara. She knew he had good hearing and she was damned using it against him. He turned his attention to the supply recruit, handing him a list of what he needed. Rations. Camp gear. He’d have to wait until night to leave. The less people who knew the better even if Clara thought to trust…Lori.

 

[Lorelei]

Lori snorted. "They're either cowardly idiots or big brave idiots. There isn't really much in between." she murmured quietly, feeling a little nauseated at the sensation of bones snapping back together in her hand. How hard had she punched him?

She was unable to help but catch sight of a small gathering of males outside the tent they shared with Dax. If looks alone could kill, she'd have been dead where she stood. Her heart pounded a little harder in her chest, and she knew in that moment that life wasn't going to get any easier for her here, and she had nowhere else to go.

Lori bit down on her lip and chewed, realising that Clara had been staring at her.. "Oh. Thank you." she sighed with a small smile and flexed her fingers, her bones as good as new. The gift always left her in a momentary lapse of awe, and she stared at the knuckles. "I'll try to stay out of you and Douala's tent for a while.." she laughed awkwardly under her breath, and turned quickly to head off toward the tent that the General had gone into.

"Why aren't you taking anyone with you?.." she asked bluntly as she swept the tent flap aside and stepped inside.