Rowan remained awake for most of the night. Soran slept closely beside him, his cheek barely touching his shoulder. The window they had opened earlier let in a slight breeze, ruffling their hair a little.
He couldn’t help thinking he’d made a big mistake earlier tonight. He must have been stupid to think that a seventeen year old boy who’d not known affection for most of his young adult life wouldn’t take to him so quickly. And now, as if to seal his own fate, Rowan had gone and offered to enter into a committed relationship with him.
“You’re a bloody fool, Silvertree,” he muttered to himself. Beside him, Soran stirred in his sleep but didn’t waken. Rowan smiled slightly and brushed the fluttering blonde hairs from his face, stroking his head until he stopped moving again.
There was no way out of it: the boy was going to be hurt, some way, some how. Rowan could either end it now and break his puppy love heart or wait until his own urges got the better of him and he got caught in the arms of another lover. Break-ups always made him feel like an asshole, so he knew which one he’d pick.
He sighed. How could his feelings continue to change so rapidly like this? One minute he absolutely adored his young student; the next, he felt completely smothered by his affections.
He supposed it was Soran’s youthful tendencies that occasionally got to him. He hated being looked up to; being looked up to in bed was even worse. Playing both older brother and lover to his student was downright exhausting. He could easily imagine himself falling for a sweet-tempered girl like Tia, or even the beautiful courtesan Rei, but Soran? The boy made him feel old, despite the fact that in his own country he himself would be barely considered a man grown.
He yawned; this was too much deep thought for one night, or so he told himself. He rolled onto his side and gathered his sleeping lover into his arms, pulling him closer. Their bodies felt good together like this; that was all he cared to concentrate on for now.
In the morning, he awakened and began to dress before his own desires got the better of him. But looking at Soran still slumbering naked beneath the bedcovers made him reconsider. It was too early in the morning for his student to be his usual aggressive self, so Rowan got to take control of things once again, in a manner of speaking.
He did demand, however, that they bathe separately, else they’d never get to leave on time. He let Soran go first and waited outside, where a line began to form behind him as this was the only bathing room in the inn. Although he nodded to a few villagers he recognized from the night before, he saw none of his own company. He could guess what Cas and Eremis were up to, but he hoped the others were downstairs waiting instead of sleeping in.
Eventually they both finished bathing and dressing, after which they headed down to the common room together. After waiting for the others to all regroup and then breakfasting quickly, they set out on the road to Dara once more. Most of the trip was uneventful, and they found themselves relaxing and spreading out along the road. Rowan sang to Soran a little while. Up ahead, he noticed Cas and Eremis riding alone together as well. They spoke softly and were both smiling. What a wonderful night they must have had together! he thought with a chuckle.
Several hours after their noonday break they began to enter into the mountain country. The main path attempted to skirt the more difficult rises, but the going was still slow for the horses, who had to pick their way delicately forward. The area around them began to grow unusually quiet, seemingly devoid of all wildlife. From above, the loud scream of a hawk could occasionally be heard, but nothing else.
Rowan started violently when Soran suddenly cried out. He glanced quickly at his student, but the boy didn’t look frightened, only greatly shocked.
“What?” he asked worriedly. Soran blinked and met his eyes, his own gaze filled with worry and confusion.
“I saw—
Before he could finish the sentence, two huge forms swooped down from the sky. No amount of control could stop Rowan’s horse from bolting, along with all the others, but they unfortunately bolted in different directions. Two of the animals began squealing as though in mortal pain and fear, and by the time Rowan had managed to rein his horse in and turn it about, he was able to just see what had caused their cries.
Two huge rocs had their claws imbedded into the sides of two of the horses. With a great flurry of feathers, the beasts took to the air once again, lugging their burdens with them. Rowan was horror-struck to see that the riders were still perched precariously on their dying mounts. He didn’t wait to see who remained—he kicked his own horse hard, spurring it in the direction of the two giant birds, determined to follow them as best he could and rescue the two who were taken.
~*~*~*~*~
Cas thought his heart was going to beat right out of his chest, he was so scared. The ground rushed beneath him, and his white fingers were tangled vise-like into his dead horse’s mane. All he could think about was falling off to his own death, never to be heard or seen by his friends again—unless they should come across his bloody, beaten body.
Although it felt like an eternity, it was only a couple of minutes before the bird finally released the prey in its grasp. He and the horse were free-falling for a couple of seconds before they landed hard on a bundle of sticks, branches, and leaves. Beside him came another large thump where the second bird also dropped its burden.
Cas realized he was in a large nest scant seconds before the new threat reared its ugly head. The hatchling was easily the size of a full-grown horse, its hooked beak clicking in anticipation of a good meal. He unsheathed his sword with shaky hands and braced himself, thankful that at least the parent birds had flown off for the time being.
“Hey!” Cas shouted, not taking his eyes off the stumbling advancing hatchling. “You okay?”
Please don’t be dead, please don’t be dead! he thought frantically. He didn’t know who it was behind the other dead horse, but even if it were Jeremy, he wouldn’t wish him dead. Because then he’d be all alone up here, with nothing between him and this one ton baby eagle thing but a shortsword he barely knew how to use.
