Fable - Ask Wild Kelpies for a Prince

[Saang Lusce]

"Trials..." Saang gave the matriarch a wary gaze, his certainty of himself wavering only in face of her abject smugness. He had no idea of what she spoke, but if you survive them all didn't make them sound like anything to be taken lightly.

Of course, neither was the unflinching trust of a kelpie matriarch.

He glanced to Ianthe for some semblance of assurance from her. Did she know what this was? Did he stand a chance? She was of no help on the matter. Her slumped position reminded him only of a petulant younger sister upset at not getting her way. Siobhan Voronwe had worn that exact expression countless times within her youth...and beyond.

"Will you at least speak more on the Trials so that I may understand what I am up against?" If they were trials crafted for kelpies specifically, which they likely were, that meant he would be pushing the limits of his own abilities to live in a landscape they were made for. Saang didn't fear death, but he wasn't going to foolishly throw himself into something he had no chance of completing.

 

[Ianthe]

Ianthe dared not glance across at Saang though she felt the soft caress of his gaze. She couldn't give him what he wanted. She couldn't give him hope.

"The trials are a way for every kelpie to prove they are worthy of the race," Sorelia begun in a tone more suited to a grandmother telling her grandsire a bedtime story. It jarred and grated against Ianthe's senses when she knew what was coming. "Us kelpies do it on the dawn of adulthood. To fail is to be cast out into the Great Open, alone. But there are some exceptions to the rules," her eyes slowly swivelled to Ianthe where colour rose in her cheeks. The old woman seemed satisfied with what she saw and pressed on.

"The trials take course over a period of three days. The first will prove your savagery and hunting skills, it will show you can provide for the pod. The second will test your physical strength and your tolerance to pain. And the third... the third will test your will when you are most tired and most vulnerable. If you succeed you will earn your right to be a kelpie, and you can claim your mark," she motioned wordlessly to Ianthe who stared back at her in quiet horror that lasted all for a second before the kelpie stood and turned, lowering the blanket she had pulled around her naked form.

Of course Saang had no doubt seen the ink earlier in their trip but now the tattoo had meaning. The black depiction of a ship wreck slowly sinking beneath the waves that ran down her spine.

 

[Saang Lusce]

He supposed none of those things should have come as any surprise. The life of a kelpie in the wylds was a dangerous one, and kelpies were by and large some of the most dangerous fae. It was why the Night Court used them in their wars. Toe to toe they might not have the upper hand on a black shuck on land, but they had the numbers. Black shucks were rare ... kelpies were not.

Saang set his brow and gave Ianthe one final glance, catching the rare flush of color on her cheeks, and nodded, "Very well. Before I agree, I have one last question..."

The man fixed Sorelia with a raised brow and a knowing stare, "I've raised six younger sisters. Just how well do you actually listen to your brother?" He smiled faintly.

 

[Ianthe]

Sorelia's only answer was a cackle. An evil, maniacal, cackle that even made her tilt her head back and laugh from deep within her diaphragm. It seemed to stretch on forever as Ianthe sat back down once more. One of the other kelpies wordlessly stepped forward and offered her a small bundle of dry clothe she accepted gratefully. By the time she was done pulling them on Sorelia seemed to have managed to regain some of her composure.

The grin she flashed Saang was all teeth.

"If he had not died during the trials?" she cocked her head to the side. "Perhaps I would have listened more."

 

[Saang Lusce]

Well, that wasn't reassuring at all. Saang wasn't sure he trusted the kelpie matriarch, but he felt (maybe stupidly) confident about his chances of passing the trials. Kelpies didn't have the same level of power when it came to magic and Saang certainly wasn't lacking in savage or torturous training. If it could gain him a modicum of respect among the wyld clans, it would be worth it.

"Very well," he sighed, "I will run your trials and if I survive, you will afford me the respect and consideration of those you consider close, trustworthy, and honorable among your kin and kind."

~~~~

A little while later, after he and Ianthe had been dismissed to a quiet area for ... well, visitors or guests perhaps (was that a thing in kelpie clans? He had a feeling it wasn't) Saang dropped to sit and rub his hands over his face, "Go ahead. Say it."

 

[Ianthe]

Ianthe, for once, did not say a word. Not to begin with.

Sat on a heap of furs in a tunic made of thick, soft wool in the colour of a baby duckling she perhaps looked the most vulnerable she ever had. She'd tugged her knees right up to her chest and rested her chin atop them. It would be easy enough to mistake the position as one to regain some warmth but there was a haunted edge to her eyes that said it was something... different. When Saang sat down she watched him with dark eyes then turned her gaze to the sea and the comfort its mere presence brought.

"What happens to our bond when you die?" she asked quietly. It was never a question she had asked before because the likelihood of her dying after Saang was a million to one. Now, however...

 

[Saang Lusce]

When she said nothing at all Saang felt his stomach clench. This might've been a mistake. He wasn't infallible, but he did like to think he made smart decisions. The haunted look in her eyes when she connected with his gaze was enough to draw a frown over his lips. The Warden Commander sighed deeply and drew a hand down his face to work his clenched jaw loose from the gaining anxiety he felt burning a hole in his gut. He'd have to keep his emotions under check lest he seed them into his hosts and spark an upset.

Ianthe's quiet question shook him from his musings of doom, "What?" Saang sat up and looked back over at her, taken aback by the blatant hopelessness she was giving his current situation. When you die? So she didn't think he stood a chance. Good to know. Would have been better to know before he made that agreement. As always, Ianthe was ever the helpful pony.

"It...passes to Captain Mos'moru," he replied at length, having to think on who he'd named as his second all those years ago. His frown deepened at the thought. Mos was a capable handler, but ruthless and without heart. He cared only for gains and wins and nothing for the lives he put at risk. He would find Ianthe's freedom to be an offense to the Crown and should he find Ianthe, she could kiss that freedom goodbye.

 

[Ianthe]

Ianthe's whole face scrunched up in obvious dislike at the idea; clearly she had reached the same conclusion of loss of freedom as Saang had.

"Then, I suppose I better help you somehow pass these trials," she sighed and unwound her arms from about herself like it was the biggest inconvenience he had thrusted upon her. Rolling to her feet she began to walk back and forth across the black sand whilst she chewed over her thoughts with what appeared to be great care if her furrowed expression was anything to go by. Eventually she stopped and folded her arms across her stomach to fix him with her best lecture-esq look.

"I can't tell you what the trials are. If I do, you'll lose before you start," Ianthe explained. Starting at the beginning seemed best. "But I can tell you... you're not going to like it," she grimaced. "You're... you're going to do things, Saang. Things you'll hate yourself for. But you can't bulk, you can't say no. You're strong enough physically but... Can you be a monster like me for three days?"

 

[Saang Lusce]

He sat, he watched, he waited. Saang's gaze tracked her progress back and forth, back and forth, weary of the vague expressions crossing her face while she chose her words.

Lose before he starts? Saang made a face that fell squarely between affront and confusion. Come on, she had to give him some credit. He mentally pushed away his offense as she continued to speak and found the corners of his mouth pulling ever lower, his brow furrowing ever deeper.

"I'm trying to save your people from a monster ... and they want me to become a monster to do it? How does this make any sense at all?"

 

[Ianthe]

Was he comparing her to Tulok? Ianthe wasn't quite sure whether she should be proud or concerned and before she could get lost down the metaphorical snow hare hole dwelling on what that meant about her, she shook her head and continued.

"Kelpies are monsters. It's a point of pride. It's what were designed to be. Your kind..." she scrunched up her nose and then sighed and sat down again. "Kelpies used to see your kind as Gods, Saang. Before they begun to brand us the kelpies used to come willingly because they believed in them. Believed they would protect them. As the Kings grew crueller and the bonds were created that begun to change but they still don't view you as monsters. Not like they... we... see ourselves," she rubbed at her arms awkwardly.

 

[Saang Lusce]

It was a curious aspect of the lore and history of fae that seemingly wasn't told anymore. Kelpies viewing his kind as Gods. It wasn't farfetched, but it certainly made him wonder just how long ago the shift had happened.

Who was the first fae King to brand the kelpies to his will? Was it his King? The brand had been standard protocol since he was but a child - so had it been Midir that started it all? He didn't know the Erlking well enough beyond the stories told in the Night Court and he was certain that those stories were biased. And then Ianthe speaking of herself as a monster. Perhaps he just didn't know her well enough but Ianthe wasn't what Saang would consider a monster. She hadn't seen what Tulok did on a daily basis with beings he considered lesser than himself - which was pretty much anyone and everyone that displeased him.

Ianthe had kicked his five year old sister in the face for pulling a blade on her - inexcusable, but he liked to think if Sybil hadn't had that blade to threaten her with it might have turned out differently.

"So...what are you saying. They'll have me killing and torturing innocents in these trials? Doing to others what they don't want done to them?" He was having a hard time thinking of what else he could possibly be asked to do that would go against his morals.

 

[Ianthe]

Ianthe leaned across lightning fast and flicked her handler on the very tip of his ear.

"Are you not listening? I can't tell you!" she huffed and then sat back down on her seat to fix a spot in the sand with all her pent up ire and fear. Her stomach had not felt this so full of knots since the civil war had begun and she hadn't known which side she would find herself on. In the end she wriggled out of her chair and sat in the sand itself where she begun to restlessly pile it in front of her.

"You'll be fine," it was hard to determine whether she was trying to convince herself or provide him some comfort. Silently she begun to build a small castle. "Did you... mean what you said to Sorelia?" she asked suddenly though studiously did not turn to look at him and instead continued to make a little moat. "That you just want to warn kelpies to run?"

 

[Saang Lusce]

"Owch!" Saang slapped a hand over his stinging ear, the point of it feeling as though it might break off in this bitter cold. Frowning, he rubbed at it and watched her harumph back to her chair. Then to the ground. He had the distinct impression he was watching a younger sister have a hissy fit on the beach because she wasn't allowed to have another frozen treat.

She was being very cryptic. Ambiguous. Cryptically ambiguous.

You'll be fine.

And not very reassuring.

"Of course I meant it," he sighed and rubbed at his temple, "it is not as if I could lie about it. I just-" Saang let his gaze wander back toward the east where the Night Court and its civil war loomed on the horizon.

"I had a lot of time on the way here to think about recent events at home ... and came to realize I've had a change of heart. About many things."

 

[Ianthe]

What things?

The question was on the tip of her tongue and she so very desperately wanted to ask it but she... couldn't. Ianthe valued very little but a persons privacy to their own thoughts ranked highly among the short list. Thinking for herself had been one of the greatest parts about being rescued by Saang and allowed her freedoms. So she wouldn't push.

"Well... Thank... you," she said uncertainly then set a small shell atop her wobbly castle. "Sorelia doesn't know what that change of heart means but I do. The others under your command would say the same too," it was probably as close to a compliment as Ianthe would get.

 

[Saang Lusce]

Despite those words of gratitude, Saang couldn't help but think that it might be too little, too late. He'd somewhat earned respect from Ianthe for the vague freedoms allotted to her, but he had his doubts that would be enough for the others. The wild kelpies couldn't understand and didn't seem to want to.

A strong, brisk gust of cold ocean air swept over the cove, billowing the loosened strands of red waves about his face and shoulders.

"Do...you really think they'll listen if I complete the trials?" Or had he walked himself into an impossible task for the sake of what amounted to carefully worded lies.

 

[Ianthe]

"I don't know if they will agree with you," Ianthe admitted and tugged the sleeves of her girlishly fluffy yellow duckling jumper to hide her hands in its warm depths. The wind blew strands of contrasting blue across her face and she rubbed at her cold nose in an attempt to not sneeze as bits of sand blew up it.

"But they will listen. And if they choose to do their own thing despite of what you say they will at least vouch for you to the other kelpies you, I assume, will want to speak to," her brows drew down into a frown at the thought of more hunting through the Great Open.

"As much as I don't like the idea of it, it is the best chance you have."

 

[Saang Lusce]

Well, that was about as supportive as Ianthe could get. He'd take it. Saang nodded to her assumption, "I know it may be difficult, if not impossible to track them all down - but the more that know what's coming, the better. Mm - I'm not certain," he looked off toward the west, eyes wincing into the fading light of the day, "but I think I heard rumor that the Dusk Court has a hidden grove further west in these waters." At once point it had been a source of interest for hunts, but ultimately the Dusk Court was so low on the radar of the prior King and now the Princes that he doubted they even cared.

If it was true, perhaps he could try to find it, or someone who knew more of it, as a potential sanctuary for the kelpies.

Gaze shifting back to Ianthe, he watched her for several moments with a faint frown, "Are...you cold?" and then offered his open hands for her to find some warmth in. He didn't think kelpies of these waters got cold, but her body language said otherwise.

 

[Ianthe]

Ianthe grimaced but she didn't argue with him; Saang was right. The more who were warned the better for them and for the half of the Night Court who did not want to be cowed by Tulok. She let out a quiet sigh of defeat. Why did it suck to be the good guy? Maybe that was why she enjoyed smuggling so much and running with the crowds Saang would deem as 'wrong'. She didn't have to think of others when she was doing that. Just herself.

"What?" Ianthe blinked as his hands stretched towards her then she replayed the last few seconds again in her mind. "Oh, yes. A little I guess," she stared at his hands still a moment longer as she fought against the centuries where touch had been wrong and painful. Tentatively she put her own in his then scooted a little closer. She rubbed her nose against her shoulder. "It's stupid really. I can dive down thousands of meters and feel as though the sun is on my back but take me out of water and..." she laughed beneath her breath.

 

[Saang Lusce]

Saang offered her a warm, easy smile, and gently took her smaller hands in his own. His own body radiated warmth now instead of heat - a mild simmer compared to the usual boiling inferno he could often be found aura'd by when engaged in unsavory emotions.

"Well," the Warden looked her over, "there aren't breezes below the water to whisk your warmth away." Not like up here. The cove was nicer than being out on the open ice flows, but it wasn't fully secluded from the elements. He almost wished he'd worn a heavier wardrobe, but that wouldn't have helped him in the water. His scale suit at least offered insulation, but he wasn't as accustomed to the cold as Ianthe was. Thank goodness for his power over fire.

"Do you think it's safe for us to sleep?" and there it was, a level concern. It occurred to him that perhaps they might be attacked in the night. He wouldn't put it past the wild kelpies to do something of such a nature but they had also been granted the matriarch's hospitality. That had to be worth some kind of safety?

 

[Ianthe]

"Probably safer than anywhere I am in the Night Court," Ianthe laughed humourlessly beneath her breath. Would either of them ever be able to trust the others kind? She thought it more likely Saang would be able to - and willing - to trust her people than she ever would be the Duanaan. Saang was an exception. A shining diamond amongst pieces of blackened rocks with jagged edges designed to cut on the smallest bit of exposed skin.

"But I can keep watch whilst you sleep. You need rest for the first trial tomorrow," she offered and glanced up at him through strands of blue hair that had been whipped across her face. The smallest feathering of a muscle in her cheek betrayed her lingering fear and concern for what exactly that would bring on the morrow.

 

[Saang Lusce]

His face immediately fell at her response. It wasn't that Saang didn't understand that the Night Court territories were generally unsafe for lesser fae - mostly it wasn't something he thought about. Duannan privilege had raised him that way, even if he was different from most of the men in his court. At his home she and any other fae ... even non-fae could sleep safely. Anywhere else?

Well. She probably felt just as he did now. Uncertain, paranoid, suspicious. Saang's expression withered slightly before hardening into the same pensive look he'd carried with him most of the journey out here. He gave her a nod and squeezed her hands, "Thank you." He would have done the same for her were their circumstances reversed. Though he doubted Ianthe would ever put herself into such a position.

He reached for a nearby pelt roll that had been given to them among a few other scant necessities by the matriarch. Rolling it out over a flat area, Saang settled onto his back with his arms loosely crossed over his stomach. "If you are still cold, you can rest by me," a short glance and small, somber smile given, Saang turned to look up at the cloudy night skies. With no stars to look at, he closed his eyes and shortly drifted into a tenuously light sleep.

 

[Ianthe]

Ianthe watched him from the corner of her eye was he settled himself down for the night. This was the first time in her 4 centuries she felt as though she had made some small step towards an... understanding. If that was even the right word. She thought over what Saang was like with his sisters and even the servants in his household and wondered if perhaps, if she had been able to put aside her hatred for the Princes and the Night court in general, that understanding might have been reached much sooner.

"Goodnight," she said softly when he closed his eyes. If there was more space she might have shifted back to her kelpie form to keep warm. Instead, when she was sure he was asleep, she carefully scooted closer until her back touched him and settled in to watch for the dawn.

* * *​

"Breakfast?" Ianthe glanced up at the voice. A few of the kelpies had begun to stir at the first touches of light in the sky and fires were soon burning and food cooking. She'd left Saang to sleep along with most of the others but her steadfast watch had caught one cooks eye. She offered up two bowls with a warm smile. Ianthe glanced back towards the slumbering man behind her then rose to her feet.

"Thank you," she murmured and took the bowls before returning to gently wake Saang. "Porridge is ready sleepy head."

 

[Saang Lusce]

Saang slept, but he wasn't sure that he got much rest. Much like any night on the battlefield when twilight incursions from the enemy were a possibility, his sleep was bated with hyper-sensitivity of sound and movement and scents around him. He awoke several times throughout the night, though stirred little. Ianthe's presence at his side was a strong comfort, especially since she placed herself there on her own and not under pretense of command.

When she roused him, the man blinked upwards with bleary eyes. In the quiet of the evening, somehow he had managed to find some deeper sleep but perhaps not enough of it.

"Porridge?" he asked curiously, sitting up while brushing loose strands of red from his face, "I didn't know that was a kelpie staple." Fish, he thought. Seaweed? Perhaps even whale or ... crab perhaps? The cold water lobster up this way was considered a delicacy among the Courts. Still, he wouldn't complain. A warm meal was more than welcome, and he gladly took the proffered bowl. He sampled a bite using the carved wooden spoon in the bowl and coughed back the overwhelming flavor.

"Oh-" Saang gave a hard blink, his eyes faintly watering, "that's ... something."

 

[Ianthe]

Ianthe tried not to laugh as she shovelled a spoonful of the porridge into her own mouth. Oats were not common up in the arctic conditions the kelpies called home and neither was milk. Honey was well out. What the kelpies used instead were sea-oats - a type of green slimy algae - and instead of milk they tended to use crushed sea slugs.

For flavour.

"It's an acquired taste, but it will keep your energy up if you can keep it down," she happily spooned a few more mouthfuls into her own mouth. Sorelia appeared not long later with a broad smile and an evil glint.

"The first trial will start in an hour, when you're ready Ianthe here will take you to the island and I'll explain your first challenge," she clapped him - surprisingly firmly - on the back before strolling off.

 

[Saang Lusce]

Saang was no stranger to choking down less-than-savory food to keep him going. He swallowed it all down, slowly but surely, and held an empty bowl in his hands when Sorelia appeared to them. The man could offer her neither smile nor frown, as confused and unsettled with the situation he'd put himself into as he was, but when she stepped away with her hearty clap on his back and glinting smile he lifted a brow.

"You know I think she likes me..." he quietly remarked to Ianthe as he watched the Matriarch stalk off to who-knew-where. Likely to get herself prime seating for today's event. He breathed deeply, idly turning the bowl in his hands, and turned to look back at Ianthe with his jaw set into the weariness and trepidation he felt for what was to come.

"I'm ready."