.:Saved by the enemy?:.

[ϞSymreeϞ]

Felix stood, still as a statute beside the fallen mare. His chest still heaved from the effort to reach her as she fell from the cliff face above. His neck ached from trying to snag her form out of the air, and he felt certain that she was experiencing a similar pain. Luckily, she was not awake to feel it. She had felt more than her due share of pain this night without his help. The dappled gray stallion snorted in disgust, remembering the faces of the unicorns that had done this to her. What could she have possibly done to deserve this horrible way of death? He knew little of the mare, but he could not imagine her as an assassin or betrayer. More likely than not, she was an innocent, caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Angrily, Felix spread his great gray wings, stretching the strained muscles before folding them tightly back to his flanks. He was no healer, but someone had to tend to her wounds. He glanced around the dark moonshine tapestry of night, and found a pool, shimmering with the reflection of Lumara, the quicksilver moon. He glanced heavily at the mare before shaking out his mane, "Stay there, little horn-brow, yes?" The gentle rise and fall of her flanks was the only answer he could expect. He sighed and broke into an easy canter, filling his mouth with as much water as he could before going back towards the frail unicorn mare. He hovered over her for a moment, unsure where the water was most needed. Her entire body was too soaked with her own blood to even tell where most of it had come from. He settled for the twin gashes on either side of her face. He parted his lips and allowed the water to drip down on the fresh gashes, grimacing as the blood cleared, revealing the true depth to the wound.

The mare's eyes snapped open again, and Felix jumped back in surprise. For a moment, her gaze was white with panic, but then she seemed to recognize him, "Felix?" She asked in a hoarse whisper. The dappled stallion lowered his head, allowing the last of the water to drain the wound on her cheek from it's excess blood. "Yes, fear not, it's only me." He glanced over to the pool, some fifteen feet away from where she lay. "If I help you, do you think we could get you over to that pool? I know it will hurt, but it will be the fastest way to clean you up."

The mare glanced up at him again and nodded her head, cringing at the pain even such a small movement had caused her. "I can do it, but I'll need quite a lot of your help."

He grinned, "OK then, lets get you up." He went around to her other side, lowering himself to his knees before unfolding the wing closest to her body, and wrapping it gingerly around her torn and bloodied barrel. "Ok, on three, my wing is going to tighten, and we're going to hoist you up, then lean to my side, and we'll get you over to the water."

The mare glanced up at him, her fear rekindled. "Wait, your a pegasus?"

Felix laughed, "Of course, what else would I be? A buffoon unicorn that can fall with style and always land on his feet? Come on, lets get you up, One...two...three." His wing tightened like a noose around her barrel, and he threw his front legs forward, hoisting them both to their hooves. The mare leaned heavily against him, teeth clenched in pain. She almost slid back to the ground, but his wing supported her weight. "OK, take it easy, one hoof at a time,and don't fear, I wont let go."

Slowly they made their way towards the pool as one being, unicorn and pegasi intertwined. She moved very stiffly, but Felix suspected no broken bones. That at least was working to the mare's advantage. He had no idea how to mend bone. At last they reached the pool, and the mare let her head rest on his shoulder, her body quivering with silent tears. He slowly lowered her back to the ground, and waded into the pool, cupping his wings in the water, and holding them over the mare. He watched as the water dripped heavily from his gray, bloodstained wings, and pooled over the mare's barrel, cleansing it of her blood. The excess drained away, at last revealing the wounds, deep and many along her side. He shook out his wings, and folded them to his side. The mare watched him work quietly, grimacing now and then as he struck a particularly painful mark. Her eyes were no longer fearful, but cautious and curious.

"Not that I'm ungrateful, Felix, but why are you helping me?" She asked as he returned with a bundle of long, thin leaves. He glanced at her and set to work, crushing the leaves into a sticky pulp. "It's my duty, horn-brow. I have sworn to protect the outcasts and unwanted in this world. All of my tribe have sworn to do the same. It is an oath that we all take as part of our coming of age ceremony. I live to preform these kind of services...although usually I am too late to be of any use. It gives me pleasure to have saved one life that would have otherwise been destroyed."

The mare smiled weakly, "Horn-brow?"

Felix laughed, "I pray your pardon, my lady, it is what I call my unicorn friends back home. They have grown so used to it that I had forgotten that not all of your kind are so accustomed to it."

She laughed quietly then, a musical, unearthly sound that filled his ears like a sweet but foreign language. "Horn-brow is fitting, I suppose, but customarily I am called Feneri. It means forbidden fruit."

Felix grinned, dipping his head slightly to the dark chestnut mare, "Well met then, Feneri." The dappled stallion turned back to his work then, smearing the leafy pulp on her wounds. "I'm not much of a healer," he admitted, "But these same leaves were once used on me after a particularly nasty fight. They helped with the pain."

She nodded, watching him attentively. As the pulp started to soak in to her skin she smiled in relief, "Ah, that's better. Thank you, Felix." He grinned at her mysteriously and went back to his work. "Your tribe sounds most noble," She said quietly, "Is everyone there as kind as you?"

The dappled pegasi snorted, "Um, yes and no. You must understand, we work for the betterment of the world, but we are not saints. In fact, many outsiders place us in the same rank as the worst tribes of Val'thoron."

She gasped, her gaze flaring in anger, "How could they think your kind evil? You saved my life, and your nursing me back to health!"

Felix stopped in his work to meet the mare's gaze. "Yes," he said slowly,"I saved you, and I now tend to your wounds, but not all of my kind would have dived after you when your own pushed you off of the cliff. They would have avenged your death by killing the traitors that ended you. Not by saving you. I was hoping to do both, and had I not waited, I may have saved you this pain, and rid the world of their poison. Alas I was too slow." His gaze hardened, and he smeared the last of the poultice across her cheek.

The mare's gaze widened, and she scanned his face, looking bemused. "No, Felix, never regret that you could not avenge me, their deaths would have solved nothing, only created more havoc in my own tribe."

The dappled stallion moved to her other side, wordlessly rearranging her so that her still bloodied side could be tended. He walked a few strides away and gathered more leaves, dropping them at her side to be crushed again to a pulp. The mare slowly shifted herself to lay on her belly, her forelimbs tucked neatly beneath her. She gazed at him worriedly, but said nothing. Already she seemed to know that he would answer things on his own terms.

Felix let a long silence run, covering her wounds in the sticky paste, seemingly absorbed in his work. How could he tell her politely that all traitors were scum and deserved to die? Everyone in his tribe knew already that sometimes death was the only option. He did not want to upset her, but there seemed to be much that she did not understand about him. Did she think that his aid would come without a cost? "Traitors," he said slowly, "Never change, you can not trust again, any who would dare betray their own. Do members of your tribe not swear to protect one another? Do you not share a bond with every member? The penalty in my tribe for betrayal is death. We do not hold with such foolish, barbaric actions."

She gazed up at him coolly, "So your tribe would have war over peace?"

He met her gaze evenly and replied, "Sometimes war is a necessary evil." He looked over the jagged lines of paste that crisscrossed her body, and nodded, satisfied with his handiwork. "Get your rest, Feneri, the march tomorrow will be a long one."

"March?" she asked, "Where are we going?"

"My tribe, that you may heal without the threat of treachery."

Her gaze widened in surprise, "Oh, your sweet, Felix, but that wont be necessary. Just the fact that I survived the fall will be enough to scare them away from coming anywhere near me again...I would owe you a great debt if you were to take me back to my tribe."

Slowly, the dappled pegasus shook his head, "I'm afraid that I cant take you back. I gave my word to protect creatures such as you that come into my charge. It is against our laws for me to let you go back to a place that would endanger your safety. I know this is a lot to take in, my lady, but you will not be returning to your tribe... not ever."

Her eyes widened again, but this time in fear, "You- your a Jyvn! You- you tricked me! You healed me only to take me as your prisoner! This is not a rescue at all! You will release me, immediately!"

The dappled stallion snorted, "Come now, there is no need to be difficult. If I meant you any harm, you would be dead already. Your life with the-tribe-beneath-the-trees is over. By now your betrayers will have spread word of your tragic demise, how I took you off the edge of the cliff, or how I attacked you and left you for dead as an offering for the cougars. There are many tales for them to choose from, and no witnesses to prove them wrong."

Her gaze still wide with terror, the mare shifted her horn to point at his dappled chest, "You could be the witness, you could still put a stop to their treachery! Take me back to my tribe, and help me to avenge the wrong that they have done me! You said that you wanted them to pay, well they can if you speak out against them! Please, Felix, I must return to my home! I have foals, twins that are still in need of my milk!"

The stallion shook his head and spread his wings, allowing them to drape loosely to the ground. Slowly, he lowered his head to look her in the eye. Gently, he nudged her horn away from his chest and lay down next to the mare, his eyes sorrowful. "Please," he said quietly, "Think for a moment of what you ask from me. I am a Jyvn, Lady Feneri, an outsider to your people. Your leaders would have me shot down where I stood, before I ever had a chance to speak. They would not hear me. They would not believe a word of what I could tell them about your betrayers. I doubt that you are of any position to make them see reason." Comfortingly, he draped a wing over her back as she quivered with silent sobs. "As for your foals, I think that you no longer have the means to feed them. My magic dried you of their nourishment. Your milk cushioned you from the long fall...it was what saved your life."

She looked over at him, blinking back her tears furiously, "You mean to tell me that I survived at the cost of my foal's lives! You fool! They are a hundred times my worth!"

Gently, he wrapped his neck around hers, "Feneri, you couldn't have fed them if you were dead either. Whatever your tribe is, it's people are not so evil as to let your foals die from starvation. They will live on, but you must let them go. Whoever your betrayers were, they are dangerous, and they want you dead. You would do best to forget that life, my lady, you will never return."

The mare turned her head into his shoulder, pressing her body close to his beneath the warm blanket of his wing. Her hot tears soaked into his coat, and awkwardly, Felix tried to comfort her, singing to her quietly, tunes that his mother had once sang beneath the same throng of stars.

***

Traveling was long, and the road harsh. They made their way quickly out of the lush, grassy world of the mare's upbringing, and crossed out into the vast, sandy world of his. The sun baked down on their backs, and they stopped frequently, allowing the mare to rest while he redressed her wounds. She had grown silent, and rarely spoke to him in the long hours of the day. The nights were cold on her thin pelt, and she always took his gracious offering of a wing to sleep beneath.

Four days into the desert, and the mare's silence broke. Felix suspected that she had at last grown used to the fact that she would never again see her homeland, or at the very least, she had grown used to his presence. She told him of her life in the-tribe-beneath-the trees, but she called it something else, a foreign word that he had no hope of repeating aloud. Guinalon? Guyagon? Gueglaverth? Something of the latter variety. She told him of her strange tattoos, and what each one meant. He was most interested in the one upon her brow, he forgot what name she gave it, but it was meant to be a blessing, a mark of honor. The rings across her back were marks of shame in her own tribe, but to Felix, they looked like the cycles of the moon as it waxed and waned. His tribe followed the cycles of the moon as closely as hunters would follow a herd of bison. He found himself laughing at the stories she told him of her foal-hood, of running through the tunnels and scaring the older foals as they learned the tribe's special way of transportation. Later, he found himself comforting her as she relayed the hardships she had faced in the past year. He found anger growing in his heart as he learned more of her betrayers. She had done nothing to deserve such a fate. Hearing of the prince's position of "trust" and "power", and of Ylrae's haste to choose another mare, his blood began to boil, and he wished more than ever that he had had the chance to rid the world of their evil.

Over the last couple days of their journey, she stopped speaking of herself, and her words turned to questions about his life, his foal-hood, the Jyvn, and of course, the large black burn on his shoulder. He found that it was easy to talk to Feneri, and to tell her of the night that he lost his parents. She listened patiently, responding appropriately, and never interrupting. When he had finished, she stopped him in his tracks and wrapped her neck around his in a tight embrace. Out of all of the equines he had told, she was the first that had come up with such a response. He went on to tell her of his travels, of the ones he had saved, and the ones that he had avenged. The first far outweighed the latter. Usually he came across corpses with no clues about who it was that was responsible for their death.

As they traveled, the nights grew warmer, but as Felix settled to the sand with his wings tucked to his sides, Feneri cleared her throat and tugged playfully at the one that had been her blanket for the past few nights. "If you don't mind," she said with a grin, "I'm not sure I can sleep without it." He had returned her grin curiously, and let his wing drape over her barrel, green with a variety of poultices.

The following morning, he awoke her early, a wide grin on his features, "We'll be there before noon," He told her brightly. She groaned as he helped her up, and he noted with a frown that some of the gashes were red and puffy, swollen with infection. "Good thing too, my healing skills leave much to be desired, I'm afraid."

Feneri laughed, and the two set off, the unicorn mare hobbling at Felix's side.

Shortly after noon, the two gained the edge of the territory. The dappled stallion halted, glancing around for a guard. The wind seemed to be their only companion, spewing up dust and sand that stung angrily at their eyes. Felix bit his lip and continued on. He should have been back days ago, but he doubted that his tribe would recognize his form, turned sandy brown from travel, and stained randomly with green and red, a mixture of the mare's blood, and the variety of salves that he had manufactured en route. He could only hope that someone would recognize him before-

In a heartbeat, Felix pushed Feneri aside and was broadsided by another equine. The impact jarred his ribs and sent him a few feet in the air before he hit the sand and went skidding across the burning grains. In a flash, his attacker stood at his throat, horn poised for a kill and teeth barred. The dappled pegasus blinked the sand from his eyes and groaned at the pain in his ribs. The form of the unicorn above him was blurry and shadowed from the sun directly overhead. He closed his eyes, unable to stand the brightness. He could hear Feneri struggling with a second equine, her breath labored and gasping.

"Well well, what do we have here? Someone beat you up pretty good, mare, did you try to trespass on someone's territory? You wont have any more luck here!"

The dappled pegasus opened one eye to glance up at his attacker, "Let her go," he groaned, "Shes Rangtou!"

The unicorn above him gave a startled glance and slashed his horn in an X across Felix's shoulder. The pegasi stallion groaned in pain, fighting to get loose of his attacker. "Malroe, Malroe, he's a spy!"

The second Jyvn threw Feneri harshly to the ground and ran over to his fellow's side. "You idiot, that's no spy! It's Felix! Go help that mare up!" The next moment, Felix was hoisted to his hooves, and in the tight embrace of Malroe. "We thought you were coyote food, lad!"

In a heartbeat, the dappled stallion was released, and fought for his footing, blinking tiredly up at the older pegasus. "Hail Malroe, my Rangtou, she needs to see the healer."

"So do you, lad," The stallion said, slapping Felix's slashed shoulder. The dapple winced agreeably and allowed himself to be lead off to the healer, walking near the mare as the unicorn stag worked as her crutch. Malroe turned to Feneri, grinning ear to ear, "Welcome to the Jyvintokoli Tribe, lass!"

Felix shook his head, weary from the long travel and smiled, utterly spent, but glad to be home at last.

[Shanza]

Chardrrik

The near white pegasi limped through the desert scrub. The sun hadn't yet risen, but there was just enough light to comfortably see by. It was frosty cold, even for a desert night in late spring, but the plants didn't seem to be affected much. He snorted softly, the sound crystal clear in the air. These desert plants were never affected by much, be it rain, sleet, or sun. Chardrrik grabbed a bite from a nearby, relatively prickly one, and continued on his way. He picked up a jog, an odd sort of hopping motion that worked well enough to get him where he needed to be.

Dropping down into a draw, the pegasi slowed to a walk. As he did, he wondered how his advice would be taken. Would it be ignored? Or would the young blood listen to him? Well, he wouldn't know until he gave it. The draw was coming to an end, so he scrambled out of it. A dapple gray pegasi was looking at him with a vague curiosity.

"Felix, is it? I am Chardrrik, a Master Trainer for the brotherhood. Even though I never had the pleasure of teaching you, I have heard good things." He paused, considering his next words. "I do not believe it is wise, what you have done. The taking of an adult, even one who was to be murdered, is a traumatic event. Foals are resilient and strong, in ways much stronger than any adult will ever be. She was raised to fear us, so where is that fear? It will manifest quickly and strongly, maybe in outbursts of voice, maybe in violence. She should be confused and afraid, but she is not; at least, she doesn't appear to be. She hasn't had time to transition yet, Sindlan, so be careful. Go carefully. She has foals, yes?" He waited for the affirmative, thinking how nice it was that the youngsters would hold their tongues for the wisdom of an old grump like him. They probably just did it to be polite, but at least he could get a word in he wouldn't be able to otherwise. "She'll want to go back to them. She has been forced to abandon her family and friends, and don't think you will be a match for those who carry her lifeblood. So watch her, and remember, even though she seems to be doing well, she is still an Atal."



Word Count: 412
Characters: Chardrrik & Felix
Place: Somewhere in with the Jyvn

[ϞSymreeϞ]

FELIX

The dappled pegasi stallion fanned his wings, grooming the long gray flight feathers, and the down on the top of his wing. He had been home for a few weeks now, and long out of the healer's care. Feneri was kept secluded from the other Rangtou, not yet ready to join them. She had asked for Felix several times, but he was forbidden from seeing her until the fourth week. It was customary to give the stolen a few weeks to forget about their old home, and to accept their new lives here. Then he would be allowed to take her around and teach her the ways of the Jyvn.

Hoof-falls on the sand caught his attention, and the dappled stallion lifted his head, ears pricked towards his visitor. The stallion looked well past his prime to Felix, possibly once a dapple like himself, but now nearly white. Before the younger pegasi had the chance to welcome the stranger, he spoke.

"Felix, is it? I am Chardrrik, a Master Trainer for the brotherhood. Even though I never had the pleasure of teaching you, I have heard good things."

The dappled stallion's eyes widened slightly and he dipped his head slightly in respect. "The pleasure is all mine, Master Chardrrik. To what do I owe this visit?"

"I do not believe it is wise, what you have done. The taking of an adult, even one who was to be murdered, is a traumatic event. Foals are resilient and strong, in ways much stronger than any adult will ever be. She was raised to fear us, so where is that fear? It will manifest quickly and strongly, maybe in outbursts of voice, maybe in violence. She should be confused and afraid, but she is not; at least, she doesn't appear to be. She hasn't had time to transition yet, Sindlan, so be careful. Go carefully. She has foals, yes?"

Felix dipped his head as way of reply.

"She'll want to go back to them. She has been forced to abandon her family and friends, and don't think you will be a match for those who carry her lifeblood. So watch her, and remember, even though she seems to be doing well, she is still an Atal."

The dappled stallion narrowed his gaze, unsure of how to reply, and slightly annoyed that he was being chided like a foal for saving a life. He had taken the oath just like everyone else. It was his duty do as he had done. Why didn't this stallion understand that? "With all due respect, Master Chardrrik, I don't understand what it is that you want from me." Felix said slowly. "I have broken none of our rules in saving this mare's life and bringing her to us. You speak as though I should have allowed her to die in her fall from the cliff as intended by her tribe, or else allowed her to go back to them that she could be truly destroyed. That is not our way as I interpreted it."

[Shanza]

Chardrrik

Chardrrik's twisted left fore was held slightly off the ground as he studied the younger stallion in front of him. "Perhaps I spoke too frankly. You are young, but have much experience. You did act quickly when the situation called for it, and made the best decision you could at the time. To let her fall to her death would be idiotic to the point of evil; to leave her there to suffer would be a cruel and cold act, showing no mercy towards a fellow creature. That she made the trip at all proves she has grit, and has stamina. Understand this; I do not criticize, I likely would have done the same in your place, with worse results." His smile was grim, but his stance relaxed. "I have come to understand that your gift of magick had a great deal in saving her life, and yours. It was a selfless act, one that marks a true Jyvn. Any would be proud to claim it for their own.

"As for rules they are there to guide; not to remain unbroken. You took her back here to have her become part of the tribe, yet her heart remains with hers. How is it that she shall become one of us, when she is torn? How can one heal when there are unanswered questions? Although it is never mentioned, and is frowned upon, several times I have stayed with an injured one until they heal. This I do when they have friends and family who support them, or when they have foals who need guidance in this cruel world." A meaningful glace was sent to the dapple gray, and he was sure that the stallion understood. "Would you have the foals raised under evil hooves? The only thing that does is spread the evil. I support them guide them, and when they are better, send them back. I teach them in their time with me, and caution them against mentioning my help. Mostly I find these equines accept help from a kindly loner than a crippled Jyvn. Whatever helps move the world to a better place, that is what I do." He took a deep breath, then finished slowly. "Sometimes it is better to help the hurt temporarily and send them back to bandage the wound than let it fester."



Word Count: 390
Characters: Chardrrik & Felix
Place: outside of the Jyvn main camp

[ϞSymreeϞ]

FELIX

Felix shifted slightly as he listened to the elder stallion. He tried to keep his mind open, but the praise that came from the stallion's lips caught him off guard. He had not expected the conversation to take this turn, especially when the old brute had questioned his wisdom not a few minutes before. He remained silent in respect, listening quietly until Chardrrik had finished. Even after, Felix was hesitant, unsure of how to reply.

For a long while, he held the elder stallion's gaze, and then something inside of him seemed to click into place, and he glanced away, staring instead at his hooves. "Perhaps I have been foolish. After I saved Feneri, I was so determined to keep her safe, I wasn't about to let her out of my sight, not that she could have left on her own. I just didn't want to find her corpse three weeks later, not after seeing her alive, bleeding and barely breathing. I didn't want to give her tribe a second chance. I did not think it all the way through when she told me that she had foals. I knew only that she lacked the milk to feed them, but I had forgotten, I suppose, what it is like to grow up without your parents. I still don't want to let her go back, but you are right. She has feared our kind all of her life. She is torn between what she could have here, and her family...her tribe. It would be cruel of me to make her choose."

Felix sighed and met the elder stallion's eyes once more. "Once she is healed, I shall return her to her tribe. I will give her tools and new weapons to use for her protection...then she can be reunited with her foals. She does not belong among us" He said the words with strength and conviction, but some small part inside of him withered, shriveling up to nothing. It was the realization that he would be giving up more than a Rangtou. He would also loose the closest thing that he had had to a friend in a very long time.

[Shanza]

Chardrrik

He sighed, looking sadly at the younger stallion. "It is never an easy decision, the one you have made. It shows however, thought and promise. Just remember, you have muddled the situation by bringing her here. It won't be a easy thing to get her better, to train her, and to send her on her way. She will likely want to go back, and she will want to bring you with her." He looked off into the desert, remembering the past and wondering how it would affect the future. What Felix had done was taken one knot, scrambled it, turned it on it's head, then added a few more ropes in effort to untie the ones already there. Maybe to a point, he had succeeded, but also he had failed. But who could do better in such a position? It was a hard choice, and he didn't necessarily have the skills to heal her where she lay at the foot of the cliff. She likely had needed the skill of their healing experts. "She has been here for almost a month, and there will be consequences to that. Will she decide to go back? I don't know, but if she does, you have to be ready for her. Under no situation are you to escort her any further than the beginning of her tribe's territory, even if you have ventured deep into it before. She cannot mention her time with us, or acknowledge that she met a Jvyn warrior. She must understand the consequences and benefits of going back, and the questions that will come with her absence. Above all, she must have a story that is beyond question, that doesn't accuse any tribal member, and that doesn't even hint at outside help."

He turned his head to the younger stallion, looking him straight in the eye. "It will not be easy, convincing her of these things, but it will be necessary. If she cannot keep her story straight, lie well, or learn to handle herself well enough to avoid future traps then it will be also necessary to keep her here. If going back prevents a present danger to her self, even if her presence could help the lives of her foals, then she cannot go back. She will not accept this decision if you tell her she can go back. So before you tell her, make sure she can handle it." He shook, sending a slight cloud of dust off of his coat. "And if you need help, I or any of my brothers are willing."

A pained expression briefly lit on Chardrrik's face, and his next words were said so softly that they were almost lost to the desert dawn. "We have had much experience with knowing who is ready. And we have lost many when we have judged wrong."

The light was painting the eastern sky into a fiery red inferno, with the silver moon slowly starting to look like the moon of war. The desert landscape stretched out, painted in red, gold, and orange, with deep, near-black shadows stretching out from rocks and plants. "Be careful, warrior. Silver bathed in red is never a good sign." He looked over at his fellow pegasi, seeing a younger version of himself. "When the dawn is full, you will be allowed to see her, and to begin whichever road you chose to start her down. You have either a choice to have her stay, or to let her chose for herself. Just make sure she is ready for it when that day comes." He nodded to the younger stallion and limped off a short ways to bathe in the rays of the rising sun.




Word Count: 625
Characters: Chardrrik & Felix
Place: Somewhere in with the Jyvn