A/N: made myself some new earrings using the glass beads I got from hobby lobby. Not too shabby at all:3

My gran came over today, so yay! Saw the trailer for Prince Caspian and discovered that the home owners association fined some families $500 to $750 for leaving pet food bowls out front, leaving their garbage cans out and not cutting the lawn. WTF? That association shouldn�t have that much authority, even with joining them. The neighborhood isn�t even that ritzy. It�s just like the neighborhood back at the other house. Your average middle class neighborhood in a small town.

Chapter Two

Setanta grew a little bit inside the camp of the boy corps. He was a little taller, but not much. He was still teased for being smaller than everyone else, though he was a bit younger than the other boys. He had learned so fast and so well that it was almost scary how fast he took to the games and the wrestling and the sword. His archery was only so well, however his spear work was becoming great.

Playing hurley one night, he beat the other boys while his uncle was walking around and inspecting the potential boys. His uncle walked up to him and chuckled. �Lad! I see you are fairing well!�

Setanta looked over and grinned. �I�m doing my best!� he said cheerfully.

Connochbar chuckled and patted Setanta on his head and knelt down slightly. �You�ve impressed me, lad,� he said, �I think you deserve to come to the hall and enjoy dinner with me!�

Setanta blinked for a moment and grinned brightly once more. �I�d love to!!� he cried out happily.

Connochbar chuckled as he stood up and nodded. �Very well then! Show up later for it!� He chuckled again and walked off toward the blacksmith, talking with a few other men. Setanta grinned brightly before one of the boys hit him over the head with his hurley stick.

�Oi! Just because you got invited to the king�s home doesn�t mean you can slack off!� said the boy, laughing as he patted Setanta on the head.

Setanta laughed and tackled the boy before rolling around with him and pinning him. �Don�t treat me like a little kid if you can�t pin me as such!� he said.

The boy looked a bit sour and surprised he was easily taken down for a moment before he found the joke. He laughed for a little while as Setanta got off him and helped him up. Again, the youth noted how strong the younger boy had become and found himself slightly unnerved by this. He walked off to join another group�s game as Setanta played once more against a bunch of boys much bigger than him. The boys in the group this boy rumors about Setanta that they had learned while they were there.

�I heard he�s the son of the God of Darkness and that is why the sun burns us so, it�s punishment for Setanta being born!� said one boy.

�That�s right. It�s no wonder he�s so odd! But, he�s so excellent with learning how to wield weapons that I don�t care,� said another boy, �I would have him at my back any day!�

And so, the day was spent with Setanta beating several of the boys at the games and learning to use his weapons and fighting hand to hand. When it came time for eating with Connochbar, Setanta had to ask directions for the king�s hall. The tunnels in this area were so much more elaborate than where he had lived before. They were hard to navigate at times, sometimes he became so lost that he had to bed down in the corridor before someone allowed him into their home and let him sleep on a bed.

Now, he was trying to find his way and almost became hopelessly lost in the tunnel system before he found which direction to go. �There! I see the way now!� he cried.

Then, he heard a sound that raised every hair on his body to alert. A long howl of a hound running through the halls�

�My hound can kill ten men in a single leap!� he cried, laughing as he drank his ale. �My guard hound is the best guard hound around! No one can dispute this!�

There was a round of men mumbling their thoughts on it, mostly agreeing that Chulainn�s hound was the best around. �I saw him attack a man trying to steal some of Chulainn�s goods,� said one man.

�I saw him take down three men who had beaten Chulainn into unconsciousness once!� said another man.

Chulainn stopped and stood up, chuckling. �Aye, king Connochbar! It�s late and I think most of the people have retreated to their homes. Do you think I can let my hound out so he might be able to roam a bit? He loves that.�

Connochbar nodded and waved Chulainn off. �Aye, you may. I don�t think anyone else is coming here this night.�

Chulainn chuckled and walked off a little unsteadily as he made his way to where the stable was. The tunnels of Ulster were wide and long which allowed them to be traversed by horse at times. However, they were especially effective when trying to travel above ground during the night to beat the sun rising. Chulainn approached the stable and patted his dog on the head before allowing him to run off through the tunnels.

Chulainn made it back inside as some dishes were brought out for consumption. The king stopped and frowned as he eyed the chicken in front of him. He kept feeling as though he was forgetting something very important, which disturbed him greatly.

A howl rang out in the tunnels. A thought occurred to him that sent his blood running cold through his veins. Young Setanta was out in the tunnels coming to see him upon Connochbar�s request!

Connochbar ran out quickly as several of the men ran after him, including the black smith Chulainn, all of them looking frightened as to what the hound had found and possibly killed.

Just then, a large hound stopped in front of him as he growled. Setanta stared at the beast as it started charging him quickly. Little Setanta was filled with a fear and panic that he had never experienced before, even in the burning room of the old castle ruins above one of the Ulster entrances. The dog charged him. He raised up his hurley stick. The dog leaped at him. Setanta brought the hurley stick up and swung the hound at the wall of the tunnel. Then, he swung around as though he were fighting with one of the poles while he had been learning to fight with a spear and smashed the dog�s head with a spray of blood against the wall of the tunnel.

A bunch of men ran around the corner and found Setanta standing and staring at the dog with a surprised and sick look. His irises were larger than normal and glowing faintly in the artificial lighting of the tunnel. Connochbar reached him first and pulled Setanta into a hug so tight that the boy seemed to snap out of whatever daze he�d been pulled into by killing the hound.

�Setanta! Setanta! Are you all right, lad?� cried Connochbar as he shook Setanta slightly by his shoulders.

Setanta nodded slowly and looked over to Chulainn as he knelt down to his dog and pulled him up into his arms. �My poor pup. My poor hound. I should never have let you slip your leash! I should have waited!�

Setanta�s heart clenched as he watched the man cry over his hound that Setanta had killed. He ran over to him and stopped a few feet from him. �Sir, if you wish it, I will raise you a hound just as good as that one. While you wait for one to be born, I will serve as your guard hound until one can be raised.�

Chulainn blinked at Setanta in surprise, more than a little unnerved by the boy�s eyes and demeanor. He nodded after a moment and placed a hand on Setanta�s head. �That would be fine, lad. That would be very fine indeed.�

As Setanta waited for a hound to be born, he did as he had promised. He would crouch in front of Chulainn�s forge and watch as people passed by. Eventually, he began to be teased for his odd behavior, but Setanta didn�t feel threatened. He was doing as he had promised he would while a pup could be raised for Chulainn to replace the one he had killed.

Eventually, even the druid Cathbad had come around and joined in the teasing. �So the lad who killed the hound is sitting in for the hound himself? Now isn�t that an odd way of repaying someone,� he said as he chuckled.

�I promised it and so I�ll do it,� said Setanta as he sat down against the wall and stared at the old druid. �Is that wrong?�

�Not at all boy, not at all. It is a very fine way to repay someone. And you do such a fine job at it as well!� Cathbad smiled faintly as he eyed Setanta for a moment. �I�ve been noticing many people around and staring at you. They say you�ve become Chulainn�s dog now.�

�Aye, they call me Cuchulainn as a joke,� said Setanta.

�Then, Cuchulainn you shall remain,� said Cathbad. �It is a fine name, I feel. It�s strong and makes me think you�re loyal to your master and terrible toward your enemies.�

Setanta blinked those big red eyes of his before he grinned. He had never thought of it that way and he liked the way Cuchulainn sounded to him. �Then, I agree,� said Setanta, �I�ll be known Cuchulainn from now on!�

And so, Setanta was forever known as Cuchulainn to his people. What had started as gentle teasing had become a badge of honor to Cuchulainn, though he allowed those closest to him to refer to him as Setanta still when not in public. Eventually, Cuchulainn grew more, though he was still very thin. During a philosophy class with his fellow boys, the druid Cathbad pointed to a star chart he had made. Cuchulainn was nearing ten years old by this point and feeling very bold as of late.

�If you look at this chart this way, you will see that those of you who choose to go the warrior�s path today will become great heroes who will be known throughout history as the greatest hero of all time,� said Cathbad. He stopped and eyed them all solemnly as each boy looked very eager. �However, while your life may be exciting, you will die an early death and not be able to see the fruits of your labors into your old age like many men around you will.�

Cuchulainn gazed at Cathbad with a defiance that was palpable. If he was born of a god, especially one who protected them, then by the gods, he would become a hero as he knew he was meant to be. Immediately following the lesson, Cuchulainn made his way to Connochbar�s hall and dropped to his knee. �I wish to go off and become a warrior,� said Cuchulainn.

Connochbar felt a little unnerved by this confession and more than a little worried for his nephew. �Should you do so, you do so alone,� he said, hoping the boy would give up.

Cuchulainn grinned as he lifted himself to his feet. �I will do it alone, but I request weapons and a horse and chariot.�

Connochbar felt that was a fair wish and so granted him his weapons of choice and the horse he had had reserved for Cuchulainn since he had been born. A charioteer was selected for him and given another horse to complete the team. With that, Cuchulainn took two spears, a sword and a bow and quiver of arrows with him and made his way through the tunnels to the ground above where it would be easier to travel than the tunnels during the night.

He soon found himself to the cave where Fannell, Foill and Tuchell Scene lived. They were renown for boasting about how many Ulstermen they had killed, having killed many more than were living. This angered Cuchulainn greatly and he made his charioteer drive him to this cave. He looked to the horizon and eyed the moon as his irises grew larger and glowed faintly, the hunt on. Fannell walked out first, laughing as he spotted Cuchulainn in his little chariot, a boy trying to act like a man. Cuchulainn got off the chariot and pulled out a sword. He fought the gigantic man furiously, hearing the other two coming and calling.

Fannell swung and caught Cuchulainn on his leg, but only knicked him. This gave him the advantage, for he could feel little in his leg, even while it bled some onto his boot. He was nearer to the man than previously and cut his head off with a mighty swing of his blade. The second brother came out, Foill, and he charged and engaged Cuchulainn to a fight. Cuchulainn once more stood his ground as the man laughed at him for being a �puny Ulsterman boy�. The frenzy was so great that Cuchulainn found himself changing more. His ears grew pointy, his face elongating into a dog like snout, his arms and legs growing longer and blue fur covering much of his body as his teeth grew sharp and angry. He launched at him and bit right into his neck before ripping his head off completely and tossing it at the other body of Fannell.

Tuchell came out by this time and was so greatly terrified and angered at the destruction of his brothers that he charged at Cuchulainn as well. �You damned little bastard!! How dare you kill my brothers!� he cried out in anger. �I�ll kill you! I�ll kill you and then I�ll fuck that little skull of yours while you rot!�

Cuchulainn pulled out a spear and took his ground. Tuchell came at him fast and Cuchulainn had to move quickly away to keep from getting trampled. He swung around and stabbed Tuchell in the back, but this seemed only to anger him further. Cuchulainn�s rage grew at how he had seemingly missed his mark. He, this time, leaped up and grabbed a hold of Tuchell with his claws and stabbed the spear right into his heart before jumping off and swinging the spear around and stabbing the man in his neck, the blade coming out the other side of his neck as blood poured forth rapidly.

Cuchulainn�s battle rage was not satisfied, however, for it was truly the first time that he had felt such anger and frenzy raising his blood as it rushed through his veins. He ran back to Emain Macha as his charioteer followed behind him. The moon was slowly going behind the horizon as they made their way to the passage way that lead right into Emain Macha. People were busy gathering plants and things outside that when they saw him they through down their things and ran underground and called forth Connochbar to come out and deal with the raging Cuchulainn.

Connochbar stopped when he saw Cuchulainn, his features terrible looking to be certain and covered in the blood of his enemies and some of his own. He rushed into the passage way and tried to rally the men to come out and help him calm the boy down. Mugain, Connochbar�s wife, had an idea of what to do to distract Cuchulainn. Cuchulainn was still a child, despite how he acted, and thus was more than likely embarrassed by the bare body of women.

Mugain turned to Connochbar and whispered in his ear her plan before she pulled up as many women as she could to come with her outside the passage while it was still dark outside. They ran out and walked out some ways from the entrance to the passage way as Cuchulainn panted and ran at the women, seeing only targets before him to slaughter. The stood their ground bravely before they each pulled open their dresses and bared free to him their breasts.

Cuchulainn stopped in his tracks, eyed the women each for a moment before he seemed to blush and look away quickly. The men saw their opportunity and grabbed Cuchulainn, tossing him into a large tub of water. The water disappeared almost instantly when he was tossed into it, streams of steam rising up out of the tub. They grabbed him again and pulled him into the passage way where they tossed him into another tub of water, the water this time boiling as he sat in it spluttering. �YOU ROTTEN BASTARDS! WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO? DROWN ME?!!� he shouted at the top of his lungs as they once more tossed him into another tub.

Cuchulainn rose up and spat out water, looking much like a cat that had been tossed into a tub of water as he glared at the men, though his visage was that of himself and not a great big man-hound. �You�re enjoying this, aren�t you,� grumbled Cuchulainn as he attempted to fix his hair.

�Oi, we were afraid you might kill us all while you were in that state,� said one man. This shook Cuchulainn to the core. He might have killed them all if he had continued to rage like he had been.

He looked down into the now warm water he sat in. He sighed as Connochbar came up to him and patted him on his soggy head. �You did something didn�t you,� asked Connochbar, �You fought as you said you would and this was the resulting battle rage you had when you fought, isn�t it?�

Cuchulainn nodded and scratched his unharmed leg. �I�m sorry I frightened everyone,� he said.

Mugain walked over and put a hand on his injured leg. �Let�s let the healers deal with your wounds, shall we?� she said, smiling warmly at Cuchulainn. Her warm hand on him was a bit unnerving as he could still remember her baring her breasts to him with several other women. Connochbar lifted him out of the water and he walked with Mugain to the infirmary in Emain Macha where the healers used various potions on his wounds and bandaged him up.

From this day forward, Cuchulainn was indeed growing in popularity, people pronouncing him a warrior for his great deed in killing those three brothers.