The Loss of a Friend, Part Three
Felonca felt a snap, her shoulder shifting out of place as she hit her father’s much larger frame. She’d expected a hard impact... he was easily twice her weight, but she didn’t expect to feel her shoulder slip from alignment. Then again, she also didn’t expect the “Uf!” that came from the surprised Felonxi, or how he sprawled to the ground. She’d only meant to push him aside, but instead she leveled him just shy of the trapped door.
“Who in the blazing hells...” she heard his voice growl in annoyance.
Safe... she thought simply, looking down at the ground, her right hand grabbing the misplaced left shoulder. She closed her eyes, clenched her teeth, and wrenched. She felt a
pop as the shoulder returned, the limb blasting her with pain for her effort.
“Who are you?” she heard her father’s voice ask, its tone twinged with anger, but also curiosity, and not a slight amount of confusion. She heard his nose sniff, another grunt of confusion. “You are panther hengeyokai...”
She looked up, trembling slightly.
“Yes, I am, papa.”
Felonxi’s blue on blue eyes flashed wide, as his mouth dropped open slightly. Felonca stared back up towards him, and for a moment, there was no battle, no chaos exploding around them, only two sets of blue on blue eyes, staring, wondering...
You are still in combat! Felonca’s military mind shouted at her after a moment.
The other prisoners need to be freed! That trap needs to be disabled, so your father won’t poison himself trying to free his men! The rest of her mind seized this as an excellent way to distract herself from the tumultuous feelings inside her, and she quickly set about her work with the ferocity of one attempting to avoid another task.
“Felonca?” she heard Felonxi’s voice ask quietly as she found the three fine wires, and cut each of them in succession.
“Yes papa?” she spoke over her shoulder, now furiously working at the lock.
If he starts to yell about what I’ve done, I can make him stop by saying I’m busy, that there’s a battle going on. That’ll give me time...
Time for what?
To figure out something to say? An excuse? Should I need an excuse? her mind bothered her as she tried to work. Moments after her fingers crackled open the lock to the building, she suddenly felt crushing pressure around her, the sensation of being lifted into the air. It took a few seconds before she heard the deep, rumbling of a panther purring, and realized her father had her in a vice-like hug.
“You are safe, my Felonca!” she heard him whisper quietly, wetness from his tears spreading across the back of her tunic. “There were rumors from the north, that the Academy had been destroyed, that you’d been killed by Master Hsiu, that...”
Felonca‘s first response was shock. The shouts of anger, the furious accusations of dishonor and shame, none came to her ears. Instead, the deep, rumbling purr continued, and she felt tears welling in her own eyes.
Papa doesn’t hate me! Papa doesn’t hate me! she shouted, even as her more practical mind tried to wrestle control back, to open the door, and free the prisoners. Gently, she pushed back, pulling away from the embrace. When she looked into her father’s eyes, she saw a train of emotions; confusion at her pulling away, a slight tinge of anger, followed by recognition, then a prideful smile.
“There is a battle,” Felonxi replied knowingly, “and you are an officer in command. I can tell,” he said, “you have a look about you, like my father once had.”
Felonca beamed at his understanding, and the look of pride that came from him. She let herself bask only mere moments in those looks, before her mind went back to business. “The doors were trapped. I couldn’t let you ram into it,” Felonca explained, before whipping the door open. Yet again, the interior was lined with prisoners, every one mangy and beaten. She turned back to her father, “I have a job to do right now.”
I... I have too many things I would like to say, but there’s not enough time right now to say them...
“Let’s work together then,” he replied before grabbing the huge link that held the chains into the floor, then ripping it out. With a tug, the two of them quickly had unloosed the chains, and yet more prisoners were free. They all scrambled to their feet, before they all set eyes on Felonxi. Immediately they stopped their scrambling, and waited. Felonca was about to shout to them to move, to flee the camp, when she felt her father tapping her shoulder.
“The third building here houses the weapons and arms they took from us,” Felonxi said aloud, loud enough that the other prisoners heard. “They’ve held some of us for weeks, some of us for months! Now the tables have turned!” he cried. “To arms!”
“To arms!” the prisoners thundered back, as Felonca stood aghast.
“Father,” she changed her word of endearment to one that was more formal, “you can’t do this! You can’t...”
“Fight?” Felonxi finished her thought. “Why? Because I haven’t washed in six weeks? Because I’ve been fed on gruel for that time?” He shook his head, his teeth baring in a smile. “No, my daughter. I need to see what you can do first hand!”
For a second, Felonca looked up to the man twice her size, and a growl of protest formed in her gut. It drew out, deep and rumbling, her eyes gauging the same Wa-Feng stubbornness she’d seen her uncle display, though this time it was covered by a genial smile. Finally, she sputtered her reply.
“Alright! Fine! I’ll start getting rid of the traps on the third building!” she grunted, a thin grin forming on her lips. Her father had a reputation for numerous things... honor and discipline, both of which would have been useless without his famous skill with a blade. She had no doubt he could take care of himself... yet part of her still wished he’d followed the plan, and had sought shelter, instead of following her into the maw of battle...
Nayu couldn’t help but grin at the turn of events.
She was so scared... and how the two are working side by side... Within those few minutes since father and daughter had embraced, Nayu had noticed an immediate, profound change in his friend.. even now she was helping him and the elder Wa-Feng hand out weapons and armor to the prisoners clustered around.
Finally, as they neared the bottom of the pile, Nayu felt his fingers begin to tingle. As more weapons were uncovered then handed to waiting hands, the tingling in the sorcerer’s hands grew.
Someone has some magically touched weapons or armor, Nayu thought, his mind curious to see what arcane power had touched what weapon.
Near the bottom of the pile, Felonxi’s massive hands suddenly stopped. For a few seconds he groped about, until suddenly his huge paws caught something. With a yank, he pulled it free from the surrounding pile of steel, and Nayu fought to keep himself from gasping.
It was a blade... a longsword, and Nayu’s trader’s eye noticed the slight crosshatchings within the steel... the blade had undoubtedly been forged in Taisho, where all the best blades in the Celestial Empire arose. Its hilt was simple, covered in silver leaf, its pommel circular, a gilt relief of a roaring panther’s head blazing anger through twin ruby eyes on each side. The blade itself was dark, its steel made smoky through the addition of magic, blue character’s as brilliant as the sky etched along its length.
“Always Wa-Feng Clan,” they read.
“The family sword,” Felonca whispered, as her father held the blade at arms length, testing his own strength. Slowly, then with ever increasing ferocity, he twisted his wrist, slashing the blade, its
whoosh seeming to give off a soft cry as it tore through the air.
“You need not worry, Felonca. My sword arm works just fine,” her father said casually, before handing her the blade. Nayu saw her heft the blade up, but hold it awkwardly...
Fans are her element, not blades, he thought as Felonxi dug through to the bottom of the pile again, and piece by piece, removed a set of lamellar armor whose steel plates were painted snow white, each with a tiny brass panther head.
The armor of a Shang Jiang... a full general, the highest rank one can earn in the Imperial army... Nayu recognized. Part of his mind then realized Ling would have been proud of him for recognizing such. Not the first lesson Nayu remembered from watching the old politician...
Felonca helped her father into the steel cage as quickly as she could, and soon father and daughter strode from the prison, facing towards the din of battle, oxen and terrified peasant levies running past them as they marched to war...
“We surrender! We surrender!”
Felonca growled towards the speaker, and a grunt of acceptance. Before her thirty more of the Langya peasant levies fell to their knees, performing
kow tow before her in thanks. She tried to hide the sourness from her face, a move that evidently succeeded by the looks of hope she saw in the eyes of her new prisoners.
“Bei Yuan!” she heard her father bark to some of the last of the remaining ex-prisoners that trailed behind them, “take your two men, and march these people towards the edge of the camp!”
“That’s the last of your fellow prisoners,” Felonca said quietly as her father’s companions barked and snapped orders, forming up the surrendered warriors and marching them away from the noise and din of battle.
Somewhere behind us are nearly a hundred and fifty others... all guarding captured peasants...
The advance after her father and his allies had joined her small force had been no less than devastating. From seemingly the midst of their own camp, the Langya forces had another formidable foe seem to arise from nowhere, cutting the gut from their defenses. Felonca’s reputation through the camp had spread... and when the poor drafted peasants saw
two panther hengeyokai walking towards them, blades drawn and followed by a small army, the peasants surrendered en masse, a human wave of captives.
“I doubt we should have much more of a problem here,” her father said in reply. “I think the big issue up ahead will be avoiding the oxen running amok.” The panther’s eyes lit up slightly as he looked as his daughter. “Whose idea?”
“Mine,” Felonca replied rather sheepishly, as she watched the small group of captives and their guards march off into the depths of the night. The smell of smoke and charcoal filled the air, flames giving the camp around them an orange, otherworldly aura.
“It’s just mopping up left,” Liu said with a sigh of relief, walking forward. “The second in command is dead, the camp commander fled, you and your father are running amok...” The monk opened his mouth to say something more, but no words came to his mouth.
“Liu?” Felonca grumbled with a grin. “I do not run ‘amok,’ she started to tartly reply, until she turned and looked at Liu... and past him.
Like some apparition out of the smoky mists, two bright blue spots blazed, burned fierce and sharp. Her eyes just barely made out the same gnarled, shadowy form, the same slumped half stance, the same gaunt white tiger’s head, empty of soul, seemingly leeching life itself from its surroundings.
Liu’s eyes bulged, his voice came in a gasp, a hiss of barely escaping air. His body twisted unnaturally, attempting to wrench itself free from whatever arcane horror gripped its form. As she stood, rooted in shock, the monk’s body seemed to collapse; no, not just collapse, but break apart, breaking, ripping, shredding, till what lay on the ground was not even a pile of flesh, but a pile of dust.
Felonca’s horror stricken mind took precious moments to comprehend, to understand.
LIU?! Those blazing blue eyes then switched to hers, and she felt the same presence in her mind yet again, pressing, pushing, feeling...
”They say you Wa-Fengs are a stubborn clan... I see that is true...” the same thin, rasping voice hissed in her mind.
”Perhaps, if you slay your own father, you will learn your lesson!” The eyes blazed bright again, as Felonca felt her mind being wrenched away from her control.
“NO!” she shouted aloud, echoing the cry of her mind, caught now in a frightening wrestling match. She felt something forcing her hands down to her warfans, and with all her mind’s strength, she fought back, fighting each finger till her hands had curled into fists, her claws biting into her own palms.
You will NOT take me! Not again! Felonca snarled.
”Young Wa-Feng... you cannot resist... you are far too weak! Oh!” the voice seemed to laugh in her mind,
”I see your uncle had repeatedly told you this!” The voice dropped to a conspiratory tone.
”He still believes it... as will your father! Kill him. Kill them both! You’ll be head of the clan then, and no one will question you!”
Felonca eyes were closed so tight, they hurt.
You lie! Lies!
She could feel the burning of those blue eyes on her, she could almost see them through her closed eyelids, the power searing her mind as the powerful spellcaster probed her, questioned her, searching her memories and thoughts.
”Ah... there is something here you’re trying to hide from me... what is it?” the dark voice casually asked. She froze, realizing where her intruder was probing towards, and desperately she tried to parry the attack, drive him away from that fortress of hidden knowledge. She remembered Ling, and how he had discovered secrets about her friend...
”Your friend... Nayu...” the raspy voice purred, the scrape sounding like a rusty saw cutting a heartwood.
”You... think of him often...”
Stay out of my mind! Felonca’s body tensed, every ounce of her being fighting, pushing back.
”He is special to you...” the voice murmured with almost dull realization. The beast cared not for such things... save they could be weapons to be used...
Leave him alone! she snapped back.
”Ah... you are attracted to him...” She could almost see the smile on the creature’s face when it discovered this, the thing she’d been hiding. It made sense! The reason why she’d snapped when Nayu had asked long ago at Prince Hu’s sister. The reason why she’d fiercely guarded him for so long.
She’d never thought of things that way, she had only thought of him as a friend, a close companion, someone who had braved many dangers alongside her. Yet now, her mind wrapped itself around the thought, trying to decipher it, to understand it, instead of pushing back against the beast’s ever probing assault.
”And there is something more about him...” the creature spoke, almost shouted with excitement in her mind. Felonca froze, knowing for sure now what the creature was about to find, and knowing that her off-balance mind couldn’t recover in time...
Please, part of Felonca prayed as she struggled,
gods of high, ancestors of old, keep Nayu’s secret safe!
Seemingly in the distance, she heard Nayu’s shout to her father, she heard Felonxi roar. Her mind registered him charging the creature, blade drawn, as Yari Ai seemed to call to call the gods with a distant, almost quiet fury. Their noises came drawn out, deep, as if the sands of time had slowed their fall.
Suddenly, the burden was gone, the voice fleeing her mind. She chased after it, feeling fear and urgency left in its wake. Her eyes flashed open, just as her father was about to swing down upon the creature...
Who just as suddenly disappeared, Felonxi’s blade catching only air and fireflies.
Nayu’s string of profanities would have normally caused even her to blanche, but her mind was focused more on what the creature had said to her as it tried to rummage through her thoughts, on the remains of her friend lying on ground before her, of Meiji, of the many things that had shaken her world that night.
“He teleported!” Nayu continued to rant. “He could be back in Langya now!” The sorcerer added a choice comment about the rakshasa, the beast’s family, and cattle in heat.
“Felonca?” The rogue felt a small hand on her shoulder, and she turned towards Yari Ai. For a second, Felonca started to let things loose, before instinctively, she bottled her feelings up again, hiding them.
Put them away... they are of no use right now.
“Do you have an empty canteen?” Felonca asked quietly, feeling a single tear come down her cheek. More threatened to follow, but the hengeyokai’s will forced them back.
“Felonca? Are you alright?” Yari Ai repeated herself gently. “We’ve lost much tonight, your father is back, and after that... thing went after you again, you look as if you’ve seen a ghost...”
“Do...you...have...an...empty...canteen?” Felonca gritted her teeth, repeated the question slowly, anger rising to the fore, the hairs bristling on the back of her neck.
Answer my damn question!
“Yes... why?” Yari Ai replied.
“Put...” Felonca stopped, and fought herself under control again. After a moment, she started her order again. “Put Liu into the canteen. We’ll see what can be done back at the camp.”
“Felonca, I don’t know if any of the healers will be...”
“Do it!” Felonca snapped.
I don’t CARE if any of the healers here don’t know how to help him! You said there were people that could raise the dead! Dammit, we’re going to help him!
As if on cue, she heard the galloping of a great horse’s hooves on the packed earth, followed by a great shout from her father. When she turned, slowly, quietly, she watched as Dian leapt off of his great black steed and hugged his brother. Close to them, she could see Nayu was already flashing Dian a confused, depressed look.
Father doesn’t know about Meiji... she realized slowly.
And neither does Meiji’s own father...
=================================================
Oh yes, I was evil again.
![:]](http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/devious.png "Devious :]")
The Al’Chazar rakshasa (the camp commander) managed, in one session, to
dominate Felonca,
disintegrate Liu, then attempt to
dominate Felonca again. To top this all off, before our valiant heroes could dispatch his evilness, the rakshasa
teleported away, to locations unknown, leaving our heroes vexed and upset.
The final toll for this session was quite bloody. Nayu was knocked within inches of his life (4 hit points), as was Zhen Ren (or, as he was known in the session, ‘peon spellcaster number one’). Felonca lost her mind, then was knocked to half strength, Yari Ai and Chou were bth knocked to half strength, and both Liu and Meiji were killed.
Though they did rescue Felonca’s father... though Felonca has been too emotionally confused and mentally preoccupied to open up to him. Yet... As for the musings of Felonca’s mind, was it something real, or just a ploy by the rakshasa to try to throw off her defenses?
I know what it is...
