Morning floated into the air like a silk scarf on the breeze, gently trailing traces of pink and palest blue into the sky, urging the stars away as the sun began its slow climb. Dar lay on his back and watched the dawn approach. He had been woken a few minutes earlier by the joyful warbling of the birds of the forest as they greeted the new day. Dar sighed slightly. BeastMaster or no, there were times even he wanted to swat those damned birds away and get some more rest.
A few feet away, Tao was muttering something along those exact same lines, burying his head under the edge of his blanket in an attempt to get away from the growing light. Dar chuckled and searched beside his own bedroll; his fingers found a few small pebbles and a nut the ferrets had somehow missed. The BeastMaster grinned and turned on his side, aiming carefully.
Tao muttered something as the nut hit his blanket, on the slope of cloth between his shoulder and neck. The first pebble caught him on the shoulder and he swatted at the disturbance with one hand, still asleep. The second pebble hit a little lower on his shoulder and gained the same response. The third pebble was aimed quite lower.
"Ow! HEY!!"
Dar restrained a laugh as Tao tossed the blanket back, struggling out of the snug cocoon to glare at his friend. "Morning," Dar said, somehow managing to sound perfectly innocent despite the grin on his face.
Tao glared at him. "You -- are going to pay for that."
Dar laughed. "Sure," he drawled.
Tao shook a finger at him, only half-playfully. "Just wait. I will find a way, Dar. You do not want to cross a vengeful Eiron."
Dar still didn't look impressed as he stood and shook out his bedroll. "If you say so, Tao."
He was still grinning, but it was only partly from the mussed look his best friend wore. Mostly it was from having gotten Tao smiling, as he began to do now as he echoed Dar's actions, although more reluctantly. It had been nearly 3 months since they had left the Hidden Wood, left Miren and her newborn baby in the safety of the forest-dwellers of Wood's Heart and their guardian, the Witch Ricenne. They were nearly back to the Mydlands now, and Tao had been somewhat withdrawn all the way.
Dar knew that Tao and Miren, despite the intensity their relationship had reached, had not been in love with one another. If Tao had felt anything like that depth of emotion for the former Terron slave, he never would have been able or willing to leave her side. But they had become very close, and Dar knew that Tao missed the young woman.
To tell the truth, Dar missed her as well. Miren's mind was as quick as her spirit was strong, and she had survived for two months without their aid -- but it had been nice to have someone to protect. It had reminded him of past times, of his tribe and his responsibilities as a boy . . . which was also why Dar eventually had been almost anxious to leave Wood's Heart. The sense of community there had been evoked something far too close to the emotions he had felt among the Sula. His tribe was lost, his family dead, and the only thing Dar had to hold on to was the quest to get Kyra back from the force that held her.
Tears and grief did no good, or so he had told the goddess Pelagia, who had once been a guardian of his people. But Pelagia was goddess of healing as well as of mothers, and so was familiar with such wounds of the heart. She had guessed the true fear that held him back from grieving his people: that once that pain was released, it would take his strength and resolve with it. Even after three years, Dar felt their loss as keenly as the first day -- he just refused to acknowledge it.
Just as Tao, for a long time, had refused to acknowledge his own griefs and fears. But they were learning, both of them, to trust one another with those things. Their friendship grew stronger every day, and Dar never ceased to appreciate it. The animals were his friends, wise teachers and valuable allies, but much as he complained at times of Tao's ability for chatter . . . the truth was that Dar had missed hearing another human voice. He had been lonely all those long years after his tribe had been destroyed, so Tao's friendship was twice a gift.
The BeastMaster smiled at his own thoughts and carefully aimed another pebble at Tao's back. They'd see just how creative the Eiron could be in his revenge later. Whatever Tao was planning, however, got sidetracked a few hours later as a voice floated across the forest path the two men were traveling."BeastMaster. . ." The voice was female, and familiar, but the laughing quality to it was not. Dar frowned. Beside him, Tao echoed the expression. Again, the voice lilted through the forest. "BeastMaster. . ."
This time the call was followed by a giggle as the two men turned, trying to locate its source. "Who's there?" Dar called. He had a suspicion, but . . . it just didn't sound right.
"I'll give you three guesses," the voice came, still with that musical laughter. "But the first one will be wrong."
Dar and Tao exchanged a look. They both knew that voice far too well to mistake it. Dar called out, "Curupira. What game is this?"
The laughter came again, child-like and light-hearted. "Told you the first one would be wrong."
There was a flicker of movement from the branches of a nearby tree. Blonde hair, blue-toned cloth. It was gone before Dar could do more than take a step forward. Then suddenly he felt a tap on his right shoulder; Tao felt a similar tap on his left shoulder. Both men turned to look behind them, only to find empty space. When they turned back around, however, the forest was no longer empty. The "girl "only laughed as they both startled and half-jumped back.
Dar and Tao stared openly. If this was Curupira, then she had undergone a severe change in both attitude and clothing. No longer was the forest spirit dressed in skin-tight green, her hair drawn up in a pony-tail that showed no ends at its curve, little twirls of hair about her forehead showing a green tint to her skin. Nor were her blue eyes hard, or sullen, or angry. Instead, her expression was light as air and bright as sunshine, and she was dressed in a tight outfit of varying shades of blue that matched her eyes perfectly.
The color extended to her skin, rippling in different shades across her neck, shoulders and, as well as dipping down onto the skin shown by her bodice. A trace of cobalt and sapphire wound about the top of her forehead and into her thick hair, turning into ocean-blue as it reached her ears. Her golden hair was loose about her shoulders like warm sunlight; little braids peeked throughout the thick mass, the twisted strands glittering in the sunlight, occasionally streaked with a bit of matching blue string or tiny beads.
The outfit covered her well, but left one arm bare from the shoulder down. That arm bore coiled silver and lapis-lazuli bands on wrist and upper arm; the other arm was covered by material that descended with darker colors in a pattern that swirled clockwise about her arm. A softly shimmering, translucent skirt was attached about her hips, the stitching attaching it loosely halfway around to the front of her thighs. The material was gathered into "bracelet" fastening at her wrists, much as the scarf on Sorceress' blue gown had been.
The effect, between fashion and brilliant smile, was breathtaking in many ways. She still looked like a girl of seventeen, but suddenly her attitude seemed to match the better nature of that age. The spirit laughed at the stunned expressions on their faces. "Second guess?" she asked.
Dar and Tao stared at her, uncomprehending. Then Tao happened to look down at her feet; they were not turned backwards at the ankles, as Curupira's were. He blinked, as did Dar when the BeastMaster followed his gaze. "You're . . . not . . . Curupira," Tao said finally.
She grinned at him. "Nope. Come on, now, take your second guess." When nothing seemed forthcoming, she pouted lightly. "Oh, don't tell me she's never mentioned me!" She looked to Dar for confirmation or denial; he just stared at her. The spirit sighed dramatically. "Figures. She's too tense for her own good."
She grinned at them again and took a few nimble steps back, then swept a delicate, giggling curtsey with her arms widespread. "Maya," she introduced herself. "Sister of the Demon Curupira, and Guardian of children and babes . . ."
"Be they human or animal." To their mutual surprise, it was not Dar but Tao who had spoken. "I . . . my people . . . have stories about you, ah. . . my lady."
Maya laughed. "Lady schmady," she chided him. "But I appreciate the manners."
Tao and Dar exchanged another look. "How . . . may we be of service?" Dar asked finally.
Maya shrugged and turned to leap lightly onto a nearby boulder. She balanced on the slight edge with exaggerated care. "No service," she answered, looking down at them with bright eyes. "I just wanted to see the 'stupid human'" -- her voice and stance mimicked Curupira's inflection perfectly, as she placed her hands on her hips and glared down at them briefly -- "that my sister keeps getting so aggravated about."
She grinned at them and Dar winced slightly. His relationship with Curupira was an ongoing enigma -- and a sometimes frightening one at that. Maya noticed and looked sympathetic. "I'll tell you a secret," she said, leaping from one boulder to another, never looking away from them to see where her feet might land. "Curi's not as bad as she pretends. She just hasn't had company -- well, except for the animals -- for way too long. Gets to you after a while."
She fixed Dar with a look and grinned at him, then glanced at Tao and winked as the Eiron struggled not to smile. Tao gave up and grinned back at her. Maya leaped down from the boulders and approached them again. "Anyway, the only trick to handling her is ---"
"MAYA!!!!"
This time the voice was quite definitely unmistakable. Dar and Tao whirled to try and find the source, worried this time, but Maya only grinned. "---Being a demigoddess and her twin sister," she continued neatly. She looked over their shoulders at the figure that was stalking towards them, then looked back up at the two men and winked. "'Cause then you can outrun her."
With that, she laughed and turned as fast as the wind. She leapt up onto the tallest boulder and then scampered across the stones to reach the forest path again without pause, disappearing in a streak of shimmering blue and gold, laughing as she ran. Dar and Tao stared after her. They had never seen a deity running; the display was quite unnerving.
More unnerving however, was the short scream of frustration that sounded behind them as Curupira abruptly pushed her way between the two men and gave chase. Dar and Tao stared again, even more dumbstruck as they heard Curupira scream, "Maya!! When I get my hands on you . . . !!!"
The two mortal men were silent for a long, stunned moment, then traded looks almost cautiously. Faintly, Tao said, "Siblings have that effect on one another."
Dar nodded. "I don't know what worries me more. Curupira angry . . . or Curupira having a twin."
Tao grinned at him and agreed sagely, "Truer words have not been spoken."
~*~*~*~
Deep in the forest, the chase was on in full. Despite herself, and despite her aggravation at her twin, Curupira found herself enjoying it. Which, of course, was precisely why Maya was doing this. The lithe demon who shared her face, if not her form or powers, was constantly trying to make Curupira relax and have fun. It was part of who she was as Guardian of children, just as Curupira's backwards feet and snappish temper stemmed from her connection to the animals. She got very testy when someone trespassed on her domain, and Maya was hardly ever testy at all.
It was alternately amusing and frustrating as hell to her sister.
Like now, for instance. Curupira caught sight of her twin and leaped over a fallen tree with far more agility than one would have expected from her strange frame. Maya heard her approach -- not that Curupira tried to quiet the little growls and promises of retribution -- and ducked behind a tree. Curupira reached the other side at the same time, and glared as Maya peeked out from behind the trunk. Before the testier demon could say a word, Maya stuck her tongue out and laughed, then wheeled around and dashed off in the other direction.
Curupira couldn't help herself: she laughed. It wasn't loud, and it didn't last long, but she did laugh. And Maya knew it. From ahead in the forest, her voice rang out in song, "Betcha can't catch me!"
Curupira growled, firmly suppressing her laughter, and did her level best to prove her sister wrong. It took her another few minutes but she did it, dropping down from a tree-branch, where she had decided to take her chase as Maya continued on the ground. The other demon back-pedaled quickly, but Curupira reached out and snagged her hand before she could escape. Maya laughed, conceding the victory, and reached out just as quickly to grab and tug Curupira's hair as her sister released her. Curupira growled, but a smile was twitching at her lips and they both knew it. Maya laughed again and Curupira gave up on suppressing her own giggle.
"There now," Maya chided her laughingly. "Doesn't that feel better?"
Curupira rolled her eyes and Maya laughed again. "Is that why you came here?" Curupira asked. "To make me laugh?"
"Isn't that part of why I always come by?" Maya threw herself down neatly into a small hill of dried leaves and grass. They flew every which way and she looked utterly delighted by it. "Come on, sis. Play with me!"
Curupira frowned. "I have no time for play."
"You don't play enough."
"And you always play too much!"
Maya looked at her and said very seriously, "One can never play too much. It's what makes life breathe."
Curupira shook her head and turned away. "I have duties. That worthless BeastMaster --"
"Is much handsomer than you ever told me," Maya completed. Curupira tensed and turned to face her again, mouth firmed and eyes hard. Maya merely smiled. "And his friend ain't bad neither. Besides, if he was so worthless, he'd be dead by now, one way or another."
"He doesn't pay enough attention!" Curupira snapped. "He wanders off, he doesn't protect my animals ---"
Maya blew her a raspberry. "You can pull that shtick with the BeastMaster, or the Ancient One, or even Mother, but you can't fool me, sister dearest."
Curupira glared at her. "What are you on about?"
Maya leaned back in her pillow of leaves and smiled serenely at her. "You like him."
Curupira's jaw dropped open as she searched for appropriate words. She settled on a wordless scream instead and stalked off. Maya rolled her eyes and got up to follow. Curupira found her sister walking beside her in a few seconds, but ignored her. Maya let her; she danced across a few more boulders and turned a few cartwheels, letting Curupira's mood lighten a bit. There was a litter of tiger cubs Curupira wanted to check on, and given that that was Maya's domain as well as her own, perhaps it would curtail this conversation. She should have known better but as is often the case with siblings, she let herself believe otherwise.
Maya waited until they were seated with the tigress and her cubs, a pair of them happily chasing the edges of Maya's skirt and a third cub valiantly protecting his siblings from Curupira's foot, before broaching the topic again. Almost casually, Maya asked, "So are you going to tell me or not?"
Curupira ignored her, concentrating instead on the tiger-cub gnawing at her toes. If she had been human, she'd have been in danger of harm from those young teeth. As it was, it just tickled.
Maya waited, then shook her head at her sister's stubbornness. "You can't fool me, sister," Maya laughed lightly. "You like that handsome boy. A lot." Curupira looked at her sharply. Maya assured her, "Mother didn't tell me that. She told me that she was very fond of him, and you know what that means." Curupira rolled her eyes. Maya continued. "You grumble and complain, and say you made a mistake when you made him a BeastMaster. The only mistake you've made, twin dear, is expecting him to be something he's not."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Curupira demanded, looking up from the cub to glare at her twin sister. Maya just smiled serenely. Curupira got to her feet and stamped her foot with a wordless cry of frustration, leaving the cub rather astonished at the disappearance of his prey. "You talk in riddles, just like that clumsy friend of the BeastMaster!" Curupira growled. "What do you mean, I expect him to be something he's not?"
"I mean, dearest twin," Maya answered, nimbly picking up a cub of her own and tipping it head over tail while it rumbled in glee, "that you expect him to be one of us. When he is not. He is more, and he is less. He has not our powers, but he has a good heart. He is a protector. Just as . . ." Maya hesitated, something that should have tipped off Curupira, since her sister was serious so rarely, then put the cub down lightly and continued, "Just as our father was."
The more serious twin stared at her, blue eyes blazing with fury, and almost shouted, "Our father? Our father was a worthless human who abandoned us before we were born! He left our mother, and he left us! He's just as bad as that worthless boy! No, he's worse. At least the BeastMaster doesn't abandon those whom he claims to love."
Maya sighed. She disentangled the cubs from her skirt, revealing the flimsy material to be miraculously un-torn, and stood. "Our father never abandoned us, Curi. He died. In battle. Trying to protect his people. He would have loved us, if he had known of us. And if you hate the Sula so much for our father's supposed transgressions, then why did you choose them for your BeastMasters? Why did you choose our father's line of descendents, specifically?" Maya questioned.
Curupira stalked away, but not before her sister saw evidence of tears in her bright blue eyes. Curupira answered, not facing her twin, "I didn't chose that line, Mother did. She had faith in them, she said."
"Mother is far wiser than either of us, Curi. She was right to have faith in them. And you're cruel to that lovely boy, because you cannot let him see how much you really like him. Why, Curi?" Maya asked, uncharacteristically serious. "You aren't cruel to Mother, or to me. Why can you not let yourself love that boy?"
Curupira stopped in her tracks and looked at her sister, rasping, "Because he is human, Maya. He is human, and . . . and he loves another. Kyra." Curupira spat the name out, tears burning in her eyes. Maya looked at her sympathetically, and Curupira added, "Do you know what would happen to him if the Ancient One knew I didn't hate Dar? Or what Ketzwayo would have done to him???"
Maya cocked her head slightly. "Ah. So that's what's been bothering you so much." Maya shook her head. "First off -- it's about time you got clued in that the Ancient One isn't 'The Nice One'. Second . . . I've never known you to be afraid of anything or anyone, Curi. Except for that noxious little imp, Ketzwayo. Why? He's not that powerful . . ."
"He hates me," Curupira said softly. "That makes him powerful. It gives him motivation." She shook her head and turned away. "He wanted to -- tried to -- destroy all of my animals. Just to make me hurt. How can I fight something like that?"
Maya frowned. "You mean hatred? You can't."
Curupira glared at her. "This is your idea of making me feel better??"
Maya chuckled. "No. Hatred can't be fought, because you can't control how someone feels. All you can do is . . . fight the effects. Fight what they do out of hatred. And not let it get to you." She raised an eyebrow. "Like . . . not blowing up at someone who is trying to help, and accuse them of not caring."
In spite of herself, Curupira found herself blushing, muttering, "I was angry. I didn't mean it."
"To borrow I've heard from other spirits in other dimensions, well duh! How is the poor boy supposed to know that!" Maya exclaimed in exasperation. She shook her head, adding, "Dar had been on the track of Nokinhja for a very short time. How in the . . . how did you expect him to do much in such a short time? He's only human, Curi! A young human at that."
Maya shook her head again and added, "Besides. Nokinhja has magick on her side. Ketzwayo probably hid her tracks and moved her faster than Dar could catch up with. He never stood a fair chance." Her eyebrows rose again. "Otherwise, you would have caught the Umpatra yourself." She shook her head, adding, "Mother was NOT happy with you when you threatened Dar. Not happy at all. You know it's a bad sign when she's threatening to talk to the Sorceress about something."
Curupira stopped and looked at her sister in astonishment. "Mother?" she asked in shock, and Maya nodded. Curupira continued, "Well, how is the BeastMaster supposed to learn if I don't correct him?"
Maya snorted in disgust, answering, "There's a difference between abuse and discipline, sister mine!" She paused, then smiled abruptly. "Of course, where that fine specimen of humanity is concerned, discipline could be quite fun . . ."
Curupira stared at her. "Maya!!"
Maya fluttered her lashes. "What? I'm Guardian of children, not a child myself. And you know how I love to play . . ."
This time it was Curupira who snorted. "You're impossible. No wonder you don't like the Ancient One -- he'd never approve of "playing" with humans like that."
Maya smiled sweetly. "The Ancient One can kiss my sweet blue behind."
Curupira stared, then laughed. Almost against her will, she added, "No doubt you'd prefer my BeastMaster had that duty."
Maya grinned. "Or his golden-eyed friend. Absolutely." She batted her lashes again. "So, twin dear . . . sisters share, you know . . ."
Now Curupira found herself giggling, gasping, "You're impossible! And . . ." She stopped laughing, her bright eyes growing moist. "And I'd probably end up killing him, if I tried to love him."
"Now you're being silly," Maya answered in annoyance. "You control your powers, they don't control you. Your temper does that. Sister . . . say the words. Say them."
"Say what words?" Curupira asked with a shrug, pretending to be unaware what her twin meant. Maya growled at her.
The change in their roles had Curupira laughing helplessly, and Maya repeated, "Say the words, damn you. I'll pester you into telling me, if I have to!"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Curupira answered, now delighting in teasing her twin, instead of the other way around. Now a mischievous light appeared in Maya's eyes, and Curupira looked at her twin anxiously. This . . . did not look good. Maya approached slowly, with a smile starting slowly on her face. Curupira shook her head. "You wouldn't dare."
Maya grinned. "Say the words, or I will most certainly dare. And you know I always win at this game."
Curupira backed up. "We're ten thousand years old! You can't possibly ---!!!" She stopped as Maya leaped forward, fingers finding the ticklish spots at Curupira's sides with the accuracy of sibling warfare.
In seconds, they were rolling on the ground like cubs themselves. "Say it!" Maya demanded, tickling mercilessly. "Say the words, Curi!"
"No!"
"Say it!"
More tickling, until Curi was gasping for breath. As her defenses dropped, Curupira heard herself say the words she had kept hidden so carefully in her heart. "All right! I love him! I love him!"
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