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Night Watch I: Eliza, Ward of Andrew

What point am I making?

*Andrew’s POV*

As we drew closer to the barghests’ clearing, Mairsil maintained her composure externally, but I could hear her begin to pant occasionally. She probably believed that she was walking to her death. I admired her courage and daring for marching into the stronghold of her enemy, her progeny's corpse her only real comfort.

Dani fell back a few steps to talk to Mairsil, and I eavesdropped carefully. “It’s my intention to see if Cedra will allow you to take Odhran’s remains. I do not know how she will receive my request, but does that sit well with you, Mairsil?”

Mairsil’s gait slowed briefly, she didn’t seem to have seen that coming from Dani. Frankly, neither had I. The man had balls of steel, shit! What else would he demand, that her sons pull us around in a chariot? “Aye, little man. But I cannot move him far myself. I can’t… If they must feast on one of us, let it be me, Odhran was just a foolish pup, he knew no better.” She sounded like a shadow of the confident, vaguely filthy thing she had been when we first crested that hill. I knew what it was like, that feeling of being responsible for someone’s loss. I felt a twinge of empathy.

Dani gestured at her reassuringly. “I can, ehm, fashion a, er, I can manage to have Odhran’s body either follow you to your dwelling, though not much farther, or to roughly the location of his cave without accompaniment. It would just take a bit of preparation. So you need not worry in that regard. Now that I know that’s your preference, I will keep it in mind. ”I heard Mairsil grunt an acknowledgement.

I motioned to the others to stay aware of their surroundings. I recognized the area, the clearing was very close now. Dani pointed ahead and slightly to our right, holding up three fingers. Just as we stepped into the open glade, I realized I had totally forgotten to take a piss. Dammit.

There it was, that terrible feeling again. But now it was much more potent. The dread began to grow from just a knot in my belly to a crippling pain as it took root in the real fears I had felt through Eliza. I had flashes of other Fae taunting me, kidnapping me, spitting on me, trying to rape me, beating me*Then a dark flash of my mother telling me to study harder, to try not to stick out so much, I was making it worse, I brought it upon myself*Then a bloody flash of my Grampy dying, I couldn’t get there fast enough, I was too weak, I hadn’t practiced enough, my stupid mother*Scarlet flashed as the monster-

I fell to my knees, overwhelmed, and vomited. My eyes were blurry as they teared up from the force of retching. I couldn’t let this happen, we could… Eliza could be killed, but I was in agony!

“Andy, it’s alright.” I saw it was Eliza at my side; she lifted me easily to my feet, wrapping my arm over her shoulder. She wiped her bare arm across my mouth as I weakly tried to protest, then kissed me hurriedly on the cheek. She glanced at me meaningfully, and I knew what she meant to say with her eyes: she might have to set me down hastily at a moments notice. I knew better than to nod; I squeezed her shoulder.

With that, we made our way slowly forward. I was relieved to find Dani, Mairsil, and, eh, the corpse had waited while I, uh… had my pathetic moment. Dani overtook me and soon all of us stood in the center of the dell.

Dani was frowning intently. He held up the pointer fingers of both hands just slightly. Shit: ‘wait, be quiet.’ Something was wrong. Would Big Momma not even hear us out? I thought she was a mind reader? Surely she could read Mairsil’s thoughts? Shit- was that the problem?!?

My fear started to ebb rapidly as my concern for Eliza, for Dani, and even for staying true to our word to Mairsil took hold. I made no move towards Snakebite, but I listened well. And faintly, I heard what sounded exactly like forest elephants when they push over the trees; that splintering of huge trunks and branches. The elephants aren’t common around here, though, they only pass by here when they migrate, this wasn’t the right time of year. It had to be the barghests. What the fuck were they doing?

I saw Dani shake his head; apparently it wasn’t obvious. I heard a howl that sent a terrifying chill up my spine, and Mairsil began to lightly pant. I gave her what I hoped was a reassuring smile. Again I felt a wave of mild empathy for her, awful creature though she might be, she had loved her grandson, it seemed.

The ruckus drew closer, and vaguely I heard snippets of arguing. What the devil?

Big Momma: “I have given everything for you, boy! Calm yourself or…”

?Son?: “-disrespect! I’ve seen-“

Big Momma: “Fool!

*crashing noises, yelping*

?Son?: “-reasonable, calm down! What the-“

Big Momma: “-forbid this-“

?Son?: “-no need-“

Alarmed, I noticed the voices rapidly got closer. Though both of Big Momma’s sons sounded the same to me, they looked a bit different. Donavan was an even darker shade of black, and a little bit taller and leaner. Dymas had a slightly lighter black underbelly, was stockier, and wasn’t as tall at the shoulder. Shortly, I was able to tell that at least one of them was none pleased, when Dymas came bursting into the grove, slavering and bellowing.

Dymas must have been fighting with his mother, he was already mildly banged up and had a bloodshot left eye. “I will show you both that I am a man, by the Hound! I will bring you the head of the ugly green filth since your little Fae crony has failed you!”

I turned to Mairsil. “Get behind us! We will subdue him. Don’t harm him, don’t fight!” She narrowed her eyes and said nothing. Shit!

How the fuck do you stop a huge barghest without hurting it? If I tried to punch a creature like Dymas I’d lose an arm. Dymas went straight for Mairsil, who dodged easily. I was shocked (and so was everyone except Dani) to see Odhran’s corpse bowl Dymas over onto his side, holding the barghest down with his paws, staring down at him with unseeing, dead eyes. I decided that, come what may, I had to protect Mairsil, and took up a guarding position as Eliza joined me. Dymas flailed wildly, but seemed deeply unnerved by the reanimated Odhran, periodically stopping in his struggles to stare and sniff at him, eventually starting to whine.

I was about to ask Eliza if that was a good time to punch her in the face, when Big Momma burst into the clearing with Donavan hot on her heels. I wasn’t sure if it would be most appropriate to feel relief at the sight of her, or dread over my imminent death, but neither barghest seemed very interested Eliza, Dani, I, or even Mairsil. I caught Dani gesture out of the corner of my eye, and the reanimated Odhran moved smoothly off of Dymas and came to stand at his grandmother’s side. I didn't miss Mairsil briefly touch her nose to one of the braids in Odhran's coat. I felt a stab of real regret for the first time, watching the body of a grandson I had dispatched defend his grandmother, then watching her mourn.

Dymas' whining recaptured my attention. Big Momma’s black eyes glittered with unabashed fury. As Dymas rose to a standing position hesitantly, she easily struck him back down, howling, with her massive claws extended, each one a knife in its own right, slashing him across the chest and coating us with his blood. That alone shocked me, but even more so that Dymas did not retaliate, only whimpered. His red ears were down at the sides and he tried to roll onto his back, but Big Momma flicked her ears and he froze.

Dymas (and Donavan) were both substantial, and certainly scary creatures. But Big Momma was in a whole different league. Seeing her so incensed, such a colossal form contorted with near-tangible wrath, I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen anything that made my dick shrink so fucking fast. The ball in my stomach clenched hard, but my desire to protect Eliza, to protect everyone, to see everything through as well as I could, to die trying, overrode everything else.

“Dymas!” Big Momma was shrieking, it was horrible! “You coward, what have I taught you? Have you learned nothing?!?” She grabbed Dymas by the scruff of his neck and shook him viciously, ripping his skin. Again, barghest blood splattered through the air, spraying us, peppering my damned face! I even got a tuft of black fur in my hair. Gods! Was she going to kill him?

Dymas just hung his head limply, no longer even simpering, not looking at us, not looking at Donavan. Dymas tried again to roll on his back, urinating down his inner thigh, and apparently Big Momma didn’t care for that attitude. She raked Dymas across the face, making him look at her, opening cuts so deep I saw his bloody teeth through them. “You look at me, boy, when I speak to you, and you answer me when I ask you a question! What have I taught you that you so foolishly forgot just now? You tell me why I am upset! You tell me now! RIGHT NOW!

I glanced at Donavan and thought I saw pity for his brother, but he did nothing to intervene. Dymas looked weak, he had received such a beating, I wondered if Dymas would even be able to recall the answer, even if he knew it. I figured it had to be about asking questions instead of attacking, her lesson from earlier. I thought… I thought she would regret killing her own son… I almost wanted to give Dymas a hint but I didn’t know how, and Big Momma would catch me, she was a mind reader.

Shit! Big Momma turned away from Dymas and looked right at me, then at Dani. Back and forth, her steady, shadowy gaze, deliberately, between the two of us. I didn’t have anything to hide, but it made my anxiety worse all the same. Her expression rapidly turned from frothing, rage-filled brute, to disappointed and a bit melancholy.

“You must think, and you must ask questions, before you take action,” Dymas managed weakly before he spit out a sizeable wad of bloody phlegm. “I did not allow them to speak or justify their actions. I would have died, because I attacked first, had you not intervened, Mother.”

Big Momma returned her attention to Dymas. “Aye, Dymas.” She sat down, surprising me, and flicked her ears, cuing both her sons to sit, Dymas with a pained grunt. “Look you, Dymas, at the cù sìth that felled you. Tell me what you see.”

Dymas whimpered, clearly fearing more punishment for a wrong answer. He faltered, starting slowly. “He looks like the cù sìth from the Southwestern crags, but he is… off? His throat and his chest are open, like a dead hound, his eyes no longer burn, he smells wrong. He moves well, but he does not speak. Is he dead?”

Big Momma narrowed her eyes. “Good, Dymas. That was Odhran of the Ancient Cracked Stone, a worthy adversary. His remains have been reanimated by the little Healer, Dani, over there.”

Big Momma tensed and shifted her attention to Mairsil. “Boys, this is Mairsil of the Ancient Cracked Stone. Mairsil, these are my sons, Dymas and Donavan.” She gestured to each in turn. “I apologize to you for Dymas’s behavior. They have yet to learn that when an enemy approaches for parley, it usually is in your interest to hear them out. Now they know. Mairsil, I disclose to you I use telepathy. I give you my word on the spine and tooth of the Great Black Hound, your thoughts are your own.” I glanced at Mairsil, who cocked her head and blinked. What did that mean?

Big Momma turned her attention back to Dymas. “As you know, Dymas, barghests often do not think, do not ask questions. Thus, they often do not survive to old age. The same is true for cù sìth. Mairsil and I are both exceptions, we are different from most of our kind, and so we have survived longer than most.”

Big Momma gestured to Odhran’s corpse. “Odhran was a more than capable fighter, it is why I never allowed that we face him ourselves, I feared too much for your safety. And yet he did not think first, did not ask questions, like most of his kind.” I saw Mairsil tense a little and tried not to hold my breath.

“These Fae have codes of behavior that do not permit the elimination of others without some cause. Had Odhran not attacked them, he would likely still be alive, my sons.” She looked at them intensely. “I sent these Fae after the cù sìth venturing they would react with aggression, otherwise my plan would fail.”

She looked at Donavan. “What point am I making, Donavan?”

Donavan looked closely at his mother. “More than one, I believe. Firstly, that attack without thought can be costly, is foolish, and is common among more than one species of hell hound. But secondly, I think you want to show Mairsil that you, too, care for your family. Perhaps that you even sympathize for her loss, despite having orchestrated it.”

Big Momma’s brows raised. “Hmmm… I admit, Donavan, there is always more to learn. I thought cù sìth were savages. Now Mairsil, of the Ancient Cracked Stone, has shown the wisdom to think, ask questions, to reason. This cù sìth mourns, as I have in the past…” She frowned, a genuinely unpleasant expression.

Big Momma shook her head. “Enough of this! The knowledge stains me, I need time, I am very old, and Dawn will come soon.” Big Momma looked irritated; Mairsil was still tense. “Healer, I have spoken with my sons, and,” to my amusement, she actually rolled her dark eyes, “painfully slowly, I have taught them a way to contact me via the mind.”

Big Momma turned to the still living massive, green hound by my side. “Mairsil of the Ancient Cracked Stone-“ Big Momma approached Mairsil until their noses were literally an inch apart. I was overcome by the combination of horrifying odors and my eyes started to lightly water, but I couldn’t look away. The tension was so thick, you could feel it in the air, even denser than the fear. “-my full name is Cedra Farrin Audris Orguelleuse, it means battle chieftain, wanderer, noble strength, and arrogant. I regret what I have done to you and yours. Of course I do not ask forgiveness. But, for the sake of harmony, I ask we make a truce.

“What say you this: I go now with the little Healer to see what may come. Dymas and Donavan can work out what they may between my territory and Odhran’s. Should I leave the Healer, I will find a new territory elsewhere. Keep your own as it is. Tomorrow Night, I can come from the Fae village and help you carry Odhran to wherever you wish him to rest within a Night's travel.”

Mairsil relaxed a little, then lowered her head a bit and sighed before speaking. “Odhran was a foolish boy. It is strange to find a barghest that is, in some ways, more similar to me than most of my own kind. I hope your boys learn their lessons, Cedra Orguelleuse. Tell them to remember my grandson.” Big Momma nodded.

Mairsil sighed again. “I accept your truce. The little Healer can make Odhran’s body follow me home.” She sniffed hesitantly at Big Momma’s muzzle, cautious. Big Momma opened her mouth and licked Mairsil’s nose with her wide, black tongue, oozing wads of stringy saliva. Mairsil licked twice at Big Momma’s jaw with her thinner, pale pink tongue, and they both leaned back.

Big Momma looked intently at Mairsil as she offered one last bit of advice. “War is coming to the Fae. The Fae are the protectors of the Forest, so when fighting breaks out, we all must choose their side. We must destroy their enemies or die if the Forest is laid to waste.” Mairsil cocked her head and blinked, possibly nodding.

Wow. Dani hadn’t needed to say a thing! Why was Big Momma looking at me like I was an idiot? Oh

With that, Dani shortly set about working some sort of complicated energies into Odhran’s body, while Big Momma sat and presumably bid farewell to her sons and... talked about barghest stuff?

I stood next to Eliza, feeling cautiously optimistic. I mean, Dymas had been filleted by his mother, and I had actually started to feel kind of terrible about killing Odhran… But maybe our intervention had resulted in less death than there would have been otherwise? And perhaps now Dani would get a companion, and wasn’t that the original goal (albeit a very deadly, nightmarish companion)? I knew that Conjurer’s buddies were supposed to be lethal and dangerous and whatnot, but maybe Big Momma was a bit overkill? And was there any chance could she moderate that aura of terror at all? My bowels were starting to churn!

I saw Big Momma point her paw at me, and then all three barghests started laughing that horrific, braying laughter. What was so funny? Was it the pants? I felt kind of bad, seeing Dymas spray blood when he got hooting and hawing a little too hard.

Lo and behold, about five minutes later, the pit in my stomach disappeared. The idea that Big Momma and her sons were about to eat me was definitely still there, but now it was just because they were giant, evil-looking hellhounds with daggers for teeth- it had become rational! I smiled, and saw Eliza was grinning too. I thought to myself that I’d have to get something nice for Big Momma to thank her. I couldn’t very well get her an animal to torture alive, maybe a normal snack from Commons would suffice? When I heard more laughter from the trio of barghests, my face flushed- I realized she must have caught that thought as well. I really couldn’t wait to get back to the shelter and have my mind to myself for a while.

Notes

longest chapter in the world! lalalala! who read it all? i'd give you a prize hmm....



Andy, disgusted, eats both chapter and prizes. sorry dudes!

Comments

*NOTE* The author of this story no longer has access to her account due to site malfunction.
SmuttyPariah SmuttyPariah
4/15/17

I've waited right to the end to comment. I loved this so much. I love all the characters and if this site would let me vote loads, I would. I wish it were more like wattpad in that respect. I've read the first chapter of the next installment and I can't wait. I'm super excited.

xPockyCookiex xPockyCookiex
4/7/17

@Teja

yay! so glad you like it so far!

anathema anathema
3/26/17

@smutty pariah

*snorts at you* ;0)

anathema anathema
3/26/17

Yes, can't wait!

Teja Teja
3/26/17