Title: Fantasia
Author:
E-mail: wren13 @ gmail.com
Fandom & Pairing: Janne Da Arc; ka-yu x yasu
Keywords: yaoi, romance, AU
Rating: Teens
Words: 19,435
Status: Complete
Disclaimer: I don't hold any rights over anyone contained
herein, except for the story, which is mine. And just because I should probably
point this out legally: this is a fantasy, plain and simple, it's not meant to
harm anyone directly or indirectly, I'm not making any profit from this, and it's
only meant for entertainment and enjoyment purposes.
Fantasia
By
Part 2
The path they followed led the two travellers through a landscape unlike any
Ka-yu had ever seen before. In the deep forest
valleys the air was fresh and cool, and the sunlight shimmered emerald where
they walked through the undergrowth. Ancient trees towered over them, and moss
to carpeted the floor under their feet.
Later, the land flattened out, and they were travelling across high green
meadows. Hundreds of flowers bloomed there, encouraged by the warmth of bright
sunshine, and butterflies filled the air like small pieces of coloured paper
tossed on the wind.
Had the Duke's forest even been as wide as this, Ka-yu
doubted it would ever grow this beautiful. He had certainly never seen that
forest come close to rivalling this magnificence. There was no doubt now that
he had strayed into another land, no, another world entirely. This world didn't
belong to humans. It belonged to the wild, and the beings of nature.
And all through their journey, Ka-yu wondered about
his mysterious companion. Sometimes Yasu would be
skipping along the higher rocky rises like a mountain goat while Ka-yu was forced to follow below, where the ground was softer
and more stable. Then suddenly Yasu would vanish
behind a boulder, only to reappear on Ka-yu's other
side a few moments later. Somehow Ka-yu couldn't help
but feel that the elf-like man was playing with him and thoroughly enjoying
himself in the process.
He watched the blonde spring lightly across some stones that marked their path
across the river, as he himself - a forester, no less - had to balance
precariously so as not to slip on the wet rocks. So why wasn't
he as disconcerted with all this as he should have been?
White water-mist rose around them where the water crashed and swirled over the
rocky riverbed, and for a moment Ka-yu lost sight of his companion in the rising silver mist.
But almost immediately Yasu reappeared atop one of
the highest boulders on the opposite bank. He stood, arms outstretched, face turned
up towards the sun. His hair and skin shone gold in the sunlight making him
glow with an unearthly radiance. Dazzling. The
silver-blue clad figure seemed to be outlined in light against that perfect
blue sky. Mesmerising.
Then the nymph waved down from his high perch. "Hurry up, slow-poke!"
Yasu called out with a laugh, and Ka-yu came back to his senses. "Or do you intend to stay
out there in the middle of the river?"
But Yasu was also a wonderful storyteller. When he
wasn't talking about the sights they passed he was telling Ka-yu tales of his own adventures. "A friend and I once
climbed that ridge in winter just so we could slide down the slope on the other
side. Except he overshot the edge at the bottom and landed in a tree." It
almost seemed like he was brimming with excitement at being able to show off
his country. He didn't ask any questions, and Ka-yu
was barely able to put in a few sentences every once in a while.
Truthfully, he didn't mind though. Yasu was fascinating, catching his attention like a poacher's trap
caught its prey. He was a lively companion, always ready with a laugh, and that ever-present glint of humour in his eyes.
And it was somehow comforting to have the other man by his side, as though just
Yasu's smile was enough to lighten the journey.
* * * * *
Ka-yu never knew how far they walked that day, but he
never seemed to get tired; maybe it was the pleasant company that took his mind
off the strains of his body, or the countryside that he never grew tired of
seeing.
They paused on a hill where the trees ended and the ground fell sharply away
infront of them. And the view beyond that cliff took Ka-yu's
breath away. An ocean of trees stretched ahead of them, the endless green
broken only by the winding flow of a river, and the occasional thinning of
trees around grassy meadows. In the distance pale blue
mountains rose into cloudless skies, the high peaks capped in dazzling
white. Circling nearby were two eagles, their wings spread wide, soaring on the
updafts of warm air that lifted them higher. And distantly, on a far hillside, Ka-yu could make out the shapes of a herd of wild horses.
"There's animals here..." he wondered aloud.
Here, where perhaps no other human had ever set foot they could live in peace. A paradise of nature. A virtual
"Yes. The beast hasn't passed through here yet." Yasu's
voice came from behind him.
Ka-yu turned. "Yet?"
"It's only a matter of time until it claims the entire forest.
Including the one where you come from," Yasu's
eyes were focused on the distance before them thoughtfully. The wind picked up,
sweeping strands of golden hair lightly across his cheeks.
"What was that thing anyway?" Ka-yu asked,
trying to distract himself from studying Yasu's face.
"A demon. One of the spirits born of destruction
and pain, it's all the fury of nature personified in that body. Usually our
protections banish them, but with the forest shrinking, we're getting
weaker," he didn't stop to explain who 'we' meant, but continued. "We
draw all we have and all our strength from the forest, so if it shrinks, we
grow weaker with it. If we lose our source of power we can't keep the demons
confined anymore."
Something about the way he spoke made Yasu look
suddenly different, older, and less human than ever before. He only looked
human in form, but there was definitely nothing remotely human about him.
Underneath the glamour of his appearance, Ka-yu saw
something wild and powerful that didn't heed the laws of human logic. There was
a wild magic there and a spirit that couldn't be restrained by any humanity. It
was something that didn't suit the world he knew, and it made Yasu seem impossibly distant from himself. Whatever Yasu was - sprite, forest-nymph, fey creature - he only
appeared outwardly as a twenty-something young human man, but that was all an
illusion.
Soft, chocolate eyes, as rich with life as all the land around them, turned to
Ka-yu. "You've seen what people do to the
forest, Ka-yu. They burn trees to build roads, and
clear land for their farms. But we draw our power from the forest; we need it
just to live every day. If it keeps dying like this, soon we'll die too.
"We've already grown weak enough for that demon to get loose, and none of
our defences are doing anything to hold it back," but even as he spoke his
eyes hardened with steely determination. "We won't give up though. We
won't let our forest die that easily." His stubborn expression didn't
falter for a moment, though Ka-yu found himself
asking what anyone could possibly do. If even strange and magical defences were
no good, what hope did any of them have?
Yasu smiled faintly at him. "Our ancestors were
the ones who confined the demons in the first place," he said as though he
had read Ka-yu's mind. "So there has to be a way
to do it again. I've been out here in the fringe-woods trying to find out
how..." his voice trailed off again as if he were thinking.
Ka-yu was about to reply when Yasu
spun away from him. Before Ka-yu even realised what
was happening Yasu's voice reached his ears full of
teasing laughter. "Let's fly, Ka-yu," and
with that he leapt off the overhanging ridge at their feet, disappearing from
sight.
"Yasu!" Ka-yu was still reeling from the elfin's sudden change of
temperament and could only react in shock and surprise. But when he peered over
the edge of that overhang, there was Yasu, several
tree heights below him, standing on his feet, completely unhurt.
"Come on, jump! I'll catch you," he called up, tilting his hips in a
stance that was at once cocky and teasing.
What? "Are you insane?"
Yasu really was mad. He knew Ka-yu
had decided to follow him, but this was going just a little far.
Yasu giggled. "Aw, come on, trust me a
little," he replied almost like a whiney child. But he sounded sincere
when he spoke again. "I promise I won't let you fall."
Ka-yu grumbled. The little pixie was having far too
much fun playing with him. But at the same time, Ka-yu
knew that there was nothing truly malicious about him. He'd known from the
first moment that he could trust Yasu. But with his life?
A glance around showed that there was no other way down either. The sides below
that overhang were steep, with nothing but sheer cliff face and dangerous piles
of boulders to be seen around him. The only option was the path Yasu had taken. Great.
Stepping back from that edge his heel abruptly backed up against a rock, but he
caught himself before he could fall. That would have been the second time in as
many days. On the other hand, last time the land had tripped him Yasu had been there and taken care of him.
"Okay, alright, I get it already." Ka-yu
glared at the rock. Now he was speaking to a rock. He must have hit his head
harder than he thought. But if that bump on his head had addled his reasoning
at least he wouldn't go insane questioning everything here, especially with
someone as shrouded in magic as Yasu was. Fine then.
He glanced over the cliff again. "Alright. But if
I die, I'm never speaking to you again," he shouted, joking to make
himself sound more confident than he really was. Yasu
only laughed lightly in response.
Before he had time to reconsider what madness he was committing to, Ka-yu forced himself to leap forward, keeping the safety that
was Yasu firmly in mind.
As soon as his feet left the security of firm ground, he felt his heart stop
and dread seize him. But at the same time the thrill of flying shot through
him, because in a moment the sensation really was like flying. Wind tumbled
past at an incredible speed, and there was nothing else to hold him back. There
was just the wild freedom of freefall.
Even before his mind could make sense of the emotions colliding inside him, the
wind slowed and strong arms wrapped around his torso. Reflexively Ka-yu reached blindly for that stability, the warm body
pressed against his setting the world upright again.
It was only when his feet came down gently on the ground that he realised he
had shut his eyes. The first thing he saw when he opened them again, was Yasu's wide smile.
"That wasn't so bad, was it?"
Ka-yu muttered, trying to get his legs to feel stable
again. "You've known me for a day, and already you've got me jumping off
cliffs for you."
A cute blush crept up Yasu's cheeks at those words.
"Aw, you're nothing but mush under that tough image of yours," he
said, and poked a finger at Ka-yu's chest.
But before Ka-yu could retaliate, Yasu
had already disentangled himself and was dancing away with his usual flippant
gait. He'd seemingly forgotten all about what he'd just made Ka-yu do, mind already elsewhere.
Ka-yu sighed, but it was more at himself
than in exasperation with the other. This magnetic allure of Yasu's was dangerous, and if he wasn't careful, he would
only end up getting hurt. Better to just accept Yasu's
friendship and companionship as it was, and then leave it at that. That was, if
a forest-child could even understand the value of friendship.
Somehow Ka-yu had to guard himself from Yasu's charm so that he didn't end up caring more than he
should. But watching the blonde infront of him cheerfully toss his hair, he
knew that was going to be much easier said than done.