Categories > Original > Fantasy > Unexpected Places
Title: Unexpected Places
Author: MakaiKitty
Rating: PG-13/R
Category: Original Fantasy, "Unexpected Places" storyline
Pairing: Garrett/Kinder, slight Aviann/Lisbet
Warnings: Slash, M/M, angst, H/C, daemons, language, implied (past) violence/child abuse, implied (past) Non-con
Distribution: My website, My LJ and any LJs I choose to post at, AFF.net, FicWad, and DeviantArt. All of my accounts are under the user name MakaiKitty. If you'd like to use it just let me know.
Disclaimer: The characters, daemon realms, and situations in this story are all original and belong solely to MakaiKitty. Please don't steal, borrow, take, or otherwise use anything from my fics.
Updates: Just join my YahooGroup to be informed of any updates to this or any of my other fics - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/makaikittyfics
Word Count: 18,979 words
Status: Complete
Unexpected Places
Garrett traveled for three days and three nights with weary eyes and a heavy heart. He did not know if he would recognize the Verzacht when he saw it, and he was not entirely certain that he wanted to find it in the first place. It was one thing to rob a grave, distasteful but manageable if it meant saving his village, but to kill another daemon in cold blood? Such thoughts led the young warrior to wonder if he had chosen the right path, to question whether he had the strength to lead his people if he could not bring himself to complete the one task set to him by the elders. But if not him, then who? There had been a constant succession of false-kings for as long as Garrett could remember, since before his birth even, and he knew in his heart that the only hope for his people was a leader who was born of their own kind. He thought of his sister, slated to be the wyrm's next sacrifice, of her best friend, a girl that he had known since her birth, who would also be sacrificed, and of the other dozen or so women who would also be given over to the great beast. And then there was Aviann, his best friend, brother of his soul, who had long loved his sister in contented silence. Something would die in the other man if Lisbet were to die while he was helpless to defend her. Garrett could not let that happen. Would not let it happen. Even if it meant that he must bloody his hands to keep them all safe. He had always known that becoming king would not be easy. Now it was time to prove that he was up to the task.
With dark thoughts on his mind and the heavy mantel of responsibility securely set on his broad shoulders Garrett spurred his steed onward, encouraging him to climb the rocky mountain paths despite the animal's reluctance. Neither was used to these unfamiliar lands, each more suited to the dry desert sands of their homeland, and both wanted to be anywhere but deep within the mountains searching desperately for one lone daemon. "Come on Sabbien, it's not even midday, don't give up on me yet." The beast snorted, but moved on none the less.
It was not long, however, before both man and beast conceded defeat. The third daemon realm was always covered by a soft grey sky, be it rain or shine, but when the heavens turned as black as pitch when the day was less than half through it could only mean trouble. Especially for a hunter out alone in unknown territory.
The first crack of thunder sounded mere moments after the sky began to darken, and within seconds Garrett was caught in the fiercest storm that the Kanarian had ever seen. The winds howled, threatening to knock over both man and beast, the rains pelted down in blinding sheets, and lightening lit the sky in near constant flashes of fiery energy. Garrett was born and breed in a land ruled by a magickal creature, he knew an unnatural storm when he saw one. They had to take shelter, and soon.
Luck was with the would-be-king, and no sooner had the thought of shelter crossed his mind than he saw the mouth of a cave illuminated by one of the brilliant streaks of lightening. He pulled hard on the reigns, turning Sabbien's face towards the shelter, and the animal was in motion within seconds. The desert dwelling beast was none too fond of the downpour that was drenching his cloak, and with speed that rivaled the elements both rider and steed soon found themselves at the large stone fissure that was torn into the face of the mountainside.
"Where in the hells did that come from?" Garrett fumed as he dismounted, shaking off the water that streamed from his golden hair, growling at the soggy mess that his cloak had become. He tore the fabric from his body, ringing it out as best he could while making his way deeper into the cave.
The cave seemed to go quite far back, and as he moved away from the entrance Garrett easily summoned up a demon-flame in the palm of his hand to light the way, his hunter's eyes easily seeing the boundaries of the darkened space with only the small amount of light. It seemed a relatively normal cave, and Garrett soon grew tired of his explorations once he was certain that he did not need to worry about being attacked by any wild beasts that may lay deeper within the darkness, so he turned and began to make his way back towards the entrance and his waiting steed.
A slight noise, nothing more than an unsteady intake of breath, stopped Garrett dead in his tracks. His scythes were back with his pack, but he still had his hunting knife sheathed at his thigh. It was all that he would need. With the speed of a trained warrior Garrett had his blade in his hand, his back to the cave wall, his eyes searching for the cause of the sound. When the sound of a stone shifting underfoot echoed to his right the daemon leapt, pinning his unseen opponent beneath him before the other could even hope to counter.
His fangs were bared, his blade at the throat of the one beneath him, his normally pale green eyes glowing with fire as he prepared to strike at the slightest hint of a struggle from the other daemon. A triumphant smile played at the corners of his lips, and a taunt was ready on the tip of his tongue, but no matter what he had expected to hear from the still form beneath him it was not the near silent sob that suddenly sounded into the darkness.
Some of the fire left Garrett's eyes, his heart slowing as aggression was replaced by confusion, and when the sound of his own blood ceased to pound in his ears he could hear yet another unexpected sound. Whispers broken through with sobs filled Garrett's ears the second that he let the initial rush of passion go, and he was left staring down at a pale daemon with tightly shut eyes, lips chapped from the elements forming words over and over again as though they were a mantra or a prayer. "Please... no... not another one... no... please... not yet... not another one..."
The pitifully whimpered entreaty was enough to bring Garrett completely back to his senses and, rising carefully so as not to further harm the smaller daemon, he got to his feet and put his knife away. Summoning another flame to his hand Garrett took a good look at the form still lying on the ground, silently sobbing, seemingly unaware of his having moved. The daemon was a good deal smaller than he was, but then again at almost six and a half feet tall many of the daemons that he met tended to be. The daemon was pretty enough to pass for a girl, but the lythe form, with lean muscles and a strong yet delicate frame marked him clearly as male. Garrett thought that he looked young, but it was hard to tell with the immortal races, and he wondered if it wasn't the sad state that the other was currently in that made it seem so. Pale grey skin was covered in a mass of scrapes, bruises, and cuts, high cheekbones hollowed out by obvious ill-treatment and more than a few missed meals. Long navy hair lay twisted about him, a dark cloud that tried in vain to protect him from the harshness of the rocky ground, the tips of his delicately pointed ears partially obscured by the damp strands. He wore a tattered shirt that might have once been white, his pants dark from either dye or filth, and his feet were bare. Between the state of his body, his attire, and the continued sobs that shook the slight frame Garrett couldn't help but feel pity for the poor boy who lay at his feet. Pity and more than a little guilt. After all, it was his fault that the other man was on the ground.
"I'm sorry." Garrett began to say, although he had a sneaking suspicion that he was not the cause of all of the other daemon's suffering. "I didn't mean to hurt you, I didn't even know that you were in here, I just thought that you might... Hey, it's all right." The other man didn't seem to be listening, or he didn't hear him, Garrett wasn't sure which. "You can stop crying, I'm not going to hurt you."
When the other man still didn't move, still didn't stop his sobbing, Garrett knelt down on the ground beside the dark haired daemon. He placed his hand carefully on the man's shoulder so as not to startle him, and the instant that he did so wide eyes flew open, dark blue eyes looking up at him with fear. He seemed to hold his breath, every muscle in his body instantly still, and Garrett cursed whatever had put that look in the other's eyes. He had never been able to stand the suffering of others.
"You're safe." It was the only thing that he could think to say. "I'm not going to hurt you."
"You're not another one of them?" The voice was cracked from sobbing, and maybe from other reasons, but it was also soft and Garrett suspected that it would be quite soothing under different circumstances.
"Another one of /who/?" An unreasonable, and completely unexpected, stab of anger ran through Garrett's entire being. He didn't know this person, didn't know anything about him and didn't have any responsibility or loyalty to him, but for some reason he knew that if the person who had hurt this man was still anywhere around then they were going to pay dearly for what they had done. "What did they do to you?"
A modicum of control seemed to return to the other man's eyes at this question, and with shaky arms he slowly raised himself up and blinked red-rimed and swollen eyes up at Garrett. All without ever answering his question. "You're not here for me?"
"I swear it."
"Oh." He blinked a few times, smiled uneasily at Garrett, and then drew his knees up underneath himself and began to rise. "That's good."
Garrett was about to say something, although he hadn't the slightest idea of how to respond to the odd turn of events that their conversation had taken, but the moment that he opened his mouth he shut it again in favor of catching the rapidly falling daemon in front of him. He managed to keep the other man's head from hitting the hard stones, but as he gently lowered him back on to the ground he saw that the slighter man was completely unconscious. The grey skin felt clammy, his temperature higher than Garrett thought it should be, and he figured that exhaustion had most likely caught up with the other daemon.
The storm still raged outside, the mouth of the cave barely visible from the occasional flash of lightening, and with his arms full of a strange and slumbering daemon, Garrett spoke into the darkness. He said the only thing that came to mind. "Oh. That's not good."
TBC ...
Author: MakaiKitty
Rating: PG-13/R
Category: Original Fantasy, "Unexpected Places" storyline
Pairing: Garrett/Kinder, slight Aviann/Lisbet
Warnings: Slash, M/M, angst, H/C, daemons, language, implied (past) violence/child abuse, implied (past) Non-con
Distribution: My website, My LJ and any LJs I choose to post at, AFF.net, FicWad, and DeviantArt. All of my accounts are under the user name MakaiKitty. If you'd like to use it just let me know.
Disclaimer: The characters, daemon realms, and situations in this story are all original and belong solely to MakaiKitty. Please don't steal, borrow, take, or otherwise use anything from my fics.
Updates: Just join my YahooGroup to be informed of any updates to this or any of my other fics - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/makaikittyfics
Word Count: 18,979 words
Status: Complete
Unexpected Places
Garrett traveled for three days and three nights with weary eyes and a heavy heart. He did not know if he would recognize the Verzacht when he saw it, and he was not entirely certain that he wanted to find it in the first place. It was one thing to rob a grave, distasteful but manageable if it meant saving his village, but to kill another daemon in cold blood? Such thoughts led the young warrior to wonder if he had chosen the right path, to question whether he had the strength to lead his people if he could not bring himself to complete the one task set to him by the elders. But if not him, then who? There had been a constant succession of false-kings for as long as Garrett could remember, since before his birth even, and he knew in his heart that the only hope for his people was a leader who was born of their own kind. He thought of his sister, slated to be the wyrm's next sacrifice, of her best friend, a girl that he had known since her birth, who would also be sacrificed, and of the other dozen or so women who would also be given over to the great beast. And then there was Aviann, his best friend, brother of his soul, who had long loved his sister in contented silence. Something would die in the other man if Lisbet were to die while he was helpless to defend her. Garrett could not let that happen. Would not let it happen. Even if it meant that he must bloody his hands to keep them all safe. He had always known that becoming king would not be easy. Now it was time to prove that he was up to the task.
With dark thoughts on his mind and the heavy mantel of responsibility securely set on his broad shoulders Garrett spurred his steed onward, encouraging him to climb the rocky mountain paths despite the animal's reluctance. Neither was used to these unfamiliar lands, each more suited to the dry desert sands of their homeland, and both wanted to be anywhere but deep within the mountains searching desperately for one lone daemon. "Come on Sabbien, it's not even midday, don't give up on me yet." The beast snorted, but moved on none the less.
It was not long, however, before both man and beast conceded defeat. The third daemon realm was always covered by a soft grey sky, be it rain or shine, but when the heavens turned as black as pitch when the day was less than half through it could only mean trouble. Especially for a hunter out alone in unknown territory.
The first crack of thunder sounded mere moments after the sky began to darken, and within seconds Garrett was caught in the fiercest storm that the Kanarian had ever seen. The winds howled, threatening to knock over both man and beast, the rains pelted down in blinding sheets, and lightening lit the sky in near constant flashes of fiery energy. Garrett was born and breed in a land ruled by a magickal creature, he knew an unnatural storm when he saw one. They had to take shelter, and soon.
Luck was with the would-be-king, and no sooner had the thought of shelter crossed his mind than he saw the mouth of a cave illuminated by one of the brilliant streaks of lightening. He pulled hard on the reigns, turning Sabbien's face towards the shelter, and the animal was in motion within seconds. The desert dwelling beast was none too fond of the downpour that was drenching his cloak, and with speed that rivaled the elements both rider and steed soon found themselves at the large stone fissure that was torn into the face of the mountainside.
"Where in the hells did that come from?" Garrett fumed as he dismounted, shaking off the water that streamed from his golden hair, growling at the soggy mess that his cloak had become. He tore the fabric from his body, ringing it out as best he could while making his way deeper into the cave.
The cave seemed to go quite far back, and as he moved away from the entrance Garrett easily summoned up a demon-flame in the palm of his hand to light the way, his hunter's eyes easily seeing the boundaries of the darkened space with only the small amount of light. It seemed a relatively normal cave, and Garrett soon grew tired of his explorations once he was certain that he did not need to worry about being attacked by any wild beasts that may lay deeper within the darkness, so he turned and began to make his way back towards the entrance and his waiting steed.
A slight noise, nothing more than an unsteady intake of breath, stopped Garrett dead in his tracks. His scythes were back with his pack, but he still had his hunting knife sheathed at his thigh. It was all that he would need. With the speed of a trained warrior Garrett had his blade in his hand, his back to the cave wall, his eyes searching for the cause of the sound. When the sound of a stone shifting underfoot echoed to his right the daemon leapt, pinning his unseen opponent beneath him before the other could even hope to counter.
His fangs were bared, his blade at the throat of the one beneath him, his normally pale green eyes glowing with fire as he prepared to strike at the slightest hint of a struggle from the other daemon. A triumphant smile played at the corners of his lips, and a taunt was ready on the tip of his tongue, but no matter what he had expected to hear from the still form beneath him it was not the near silent sob that suddenly sounded into the darkness.
Some of the fire left Garrett's eyes, his heart slowing as aggression was replaced by confusion, and when the sound of his own blood ceased to pound in his ears he could hear yet another unexpected sound. Whispers broken through with sobs filled Garrett's ears the second that he let the initial rush of passion go, and he was left staring down at a pale daemon with tightly shut eyes, lips chapped from the elements forming words over and over again as though they were a mantra or a prayer. "Please... no... not another one... no... please... not yet... not another one..."
The pitifully whimpered entreaty was enough to bring Garrett completely back to his senses and, rising carefully so as not to further harm the smaller daemon, he got to his feet and put his knife away. Summoning another flame to his hand Garrett took a good look at the form still lying on the ground, silently sobbing, seemingly unaware of his having moved. The daemon was a good deal smaller than he was, but then again at almost six and a half feet tall many of the daemons that he met tended to be. The daemon was pretty enough to pass for a girl, but the lythe form, with lean muscles and a strong yet delicate frame marked him clearly as male. Garrett thought that he looked young, but it was hard to tell with the immortal races, and he wondered if it wasn't the sad state that the other was currently in that made it seem so. Pale grey skin was covered in a mass of scrapes, bruises, and cuts, high cheekbones hollowed out by obvious ill-treatment and more than a few missed meals. Long navy hair lay twisted about him, a dark cloud that tried in vain to protect him from the harshness of the rocky ground, the tips of his delicately pointed ears partially obscured by the damp strands. He wore a tattered shirt that might have once been white, his pants dark from either dye or filth, and his feet were bare. Between the state of his body, his attire, and the continued sobs that shook the slight frame Garrett couldn't help but feel pity for the poor boy who lay at his feet. Pity and more than a little guilt. After all, it was his fault that the other man was on the ground.
"I'm sorry." Garrett began to say, although he had a sneaking suspicion that he was not the cause of all of the other daemon's suffering. "I didn't mean to hurt you, I didn't even know that you were in here, I just thought that you might... Hey, it's all right." The other man didn't seem to be listening, or he didn't hear him, Garrett wasn't sure which. "You can stop crying, I'm not going to hurt you."
When the other man still didn't move, still didn't stop his sobbing, Garrett knelt down on the ground beside the dark haired daemon. He placed his hand carefully on the man's shoulder so as not to startle him, and the instant that he did so wide eyes flew open, dark blue eyes looking up at him with fear. He seemed to hold his breath, every muscle in his body instantly still, and Garrett cursed whatever had put that look in the other's eyes. He had never been able to stand the suffering of others.
"You're safe." It was the only thing that he could think to say. "I'm not going to hurt you."
"You're not another one of them?" The voice was cracked from sobbing, and maybe from other reasons, but it was also soft and Garrett suspected that it would be quite soothing under different circumstances.
"Another one of /who/?" An unreasonable, and completely unexpected, stab of anger ran through Garrett's entire being. He didn't know this person, didn't know anything about him and didn't have any responsibility or loyalty to him, but for some reason he knew that if the person who had hurt this man was still anywhere around then they were going to pay dearly for what they had done. "What did they do to you?"
A modicum of control seemed to return to the other man's eyes at this question, and with shaky arms he slowly raised himself up and blinked red-rimed and swollen eyes up at Garrett. All without ever answering his question. "You're not here for me?"
"I swear it."
"Oh." He blinked a few times, smiled uneasily at Garrett, and then drew his knees up underneath himself and began to rise. "That's good."
Garrett was about to say something, although he hadn't the slightest idea of how to respond to the odd turn of events that their conversation had taken, but the moment that he opened his mouth he shut it again in favor of catching the rapidly falling daemon in front of him. He managed to keep the other man's head from hitting the hard stones, but as he gently lowered him back on to the ground he saw that the slighter man was completely unconscious. The grey skin felt clammy, his temperature higher than Garrett thought it should be, and he figured that exhaustion had most likely caught up with the other daemon.
The storm still raged outside, the mouth of the cave barely visible from the occasional flash of lightening, and with his arms full of a strange and slumbering daemon, Garrett spoke into the darkness. He said the only thing that came to mind. "Oh. That's not good."
TBC ...
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