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tamingthemuseTitle: The Diamond Blood Legacy: 1.3
Fandom: Original
Prompt: Bias
Warnings: None.
Rating: G
Summary: word count: 1186. One should sleep at night, yes?
Previous
He didn’t know what it was, but Temuji woke, knowing that something was wrong. He slowly cracked open his eyes, searching the darkness. A thin line of moonlight bisected the floor from the gap in the curtains, making the already deep shadows deeper. For a moment, nothing moved.
Then movement brought his eyes to a body outlined in shadow. Was it one of the maids? Davin really knew how to pick them. All of them, housekeeper included, were striking to look at. Some beautiful, some enchanting. But none that could keep him awake on this night.
He hadn’t invited any of them to his bed because of how tired he had been. When he had heard Davin’s summons and condition, he had hastened to his old friend’s side as fast as he feet could take him. He slept only when the night had become too dark to see the road and woke with the first rays of dawn.
The idea that it was a woman seeking his body vanished when the person in the shadows dropped to a crawl and slowly made its way around the shaft of moonlight and toward the bed.
Temuji tensed his body, fingers quickly finding the knife he always kept on his person. He wouldn’t kill this intruder until he discovered why they were sneaking into his sleeping chambers.
Then a pair of bright blue eyes popped over the edge of the bed, meeting his. Temuji gave an inaudible gasp and felt his eyes widen. The boy’s eyes mimicked his until they were staring at each other with startled expressions in the night.
Finally, Temuji relaxed his grip on his knife and gave a soft laugh that made the boy jump, his back straightening.
Temuji sat up and asked, “What are you doing here?”
His eyes flicked to one side before he bit his lip and spoke for the first time, his voice low, as if he were afraid of being heard. “Are you come to take me away?”
Temuji’s lips twitched in reaction to the boy’s odd way of speech. Outwardly, the boy seemed normal enough. His speech was from the old way, likely gained from Crazy Dago himself, but other than that, he seemed just like any other human teen. Frightened.
Temuji pushed a hand through his hair and swung his legs over the side of the bed, dragging the sheets with him. The boy moved aside, but remained kneeling on the floor. He studied the boy’s upturned face, noting the strong features that linked him to those of the Diamond Blood Legacy, most notably, the mole on his brow.
“Do you understand that Davin is soon parted from this world?”
The boy didn’t speak for a moment, just staring up at him with an unreadable expression. Then he blinked, eyes suddenly bright with unshed tears. His lips thinned and he nodded once, breaking their eye contact.
“Do you understand that without Davin to protect you, you will be easy pickings for Crazy Dago?”
His bright eyes flicked back up to Temuji’s. “Crazy Dago?” For a moment, confusion flared in his gaze before he realized whom they were talking about. “I do not want to return to him.”
Temuji nodded. “Davin asked me to protect you.”
“You will take me away from here.”
“I will. We will leave only after . . .” He didn’t want to finish that sentence. He didn’t want to acknowledge that Davin really was going to die. They had been friends for longer than he could remember. Their fathers had been friends.
Davin had always been there, in the back of Temuji’s mind, always there as silent support. He couldn’t imagine life without the old bugger. Closing his own eyes against the pain that threatened to overcome him, Temuji forced his thoughts back to the young man still waiting for him to continue.
“We will go to my ancestral home, in the north. There, you will remain until something is done about Dago.”
“What’s to be done with him?”
Temuji paused, eyes blinking open as he wondered. What was to be done with him? Dago was powerful, in both politics and magic. Everybody knew he was crazy, hence the name, but none dared call him that to his face. He could ruin a person socially as well as mentally.
He turned his eyes back to the youth and wondered again how much of his mind was lost to Dago’s magic. It didn’t seem as if the boy had lost any of his awareness, nor any of his senses. He studied him carefully, but couldn’t find the damage.
Maybe if he searched him with magic?
He shook his head. Later.
“I don’t know. Perhaps he’ll lose interest in you if we keep you away from him for too long.”
The look the youth gave him told him just how believable that was. He sat back on his heels and picked at his lip with his fingers. It must be a habit, for his lips were red and cracked already.
Temuji startled himself by yawning and he ran a hand over his tired eyes. The youth didn’t take the hint, but instead tilted his head to one side and asked, “What’s your ancestral home?”
Temuji was so tired, he had to think a moment before the name came to him. “Golden Spear. It was gifted to our family during the Creation Wars.”
That meant nothing to the youth and he wrinkled his nose in incomprehension. Temuji waved a hand and laid back down on the bed, seeking the lost warmth from before. “Nearly one thousand years ago.”
“What’s it like?”
Temuji couldn’t hold back a smile. “It’s beautiful. Large gardens filled with exotic plants and pools of even more exotic fish. Towers of stone and rolling hills of green. It’s the most beautiful place in all the world.”
Of course, he was bias. After all, it was home. It was where his mother and father had lived such happy, carefree lives. It was where he had been a rambunctious youth and Davin had been his best friend.
His lids grew heavy and he turned his head on the pillow to try to see the boy in the dark. Did he have any friends?
He would have to find out if there were any youths his age in the surrounding towns on his lands. It was important to have a friend at that age. Someone to be a lookout while you’re getting into trouble. Someone to bail you out when you get caught. He smiled sleepily and reached out to ruffle the boy’s hair.
“Go to bed. We’ll talk more in the morning, when I’m more alert.”
The boy gave him a slightly angry look before he silently put his feet under him and padded on bare feet to the door. He opened it just enough for his slim body to slip through and was gone in an instant.
Sleep weighed heavily upon Temuji and he let himself succumb. Just before he drifted off, he realized yet again that he had failed to obtain the youth’s name.
Next
Fandom: Original
Prompt: Bias
Warnings: None.
Rating: G
Summary: word count: 1186. One should sleep at night, yes?
Previous
He didn’t know what it was, but Temuji woke, knowing that something was wrong. He slowly cracked open his eyes, searching the darkness. A thin line of moonlight bisected the floor from the gap in the curtains, making the already deep shadows deeper. For a moment, nothing moved.
Then movement brought his eyes to a body outlined in shadow. Was it one of the maids? Davin really knew how to pick them. All of them, housekeeper included, were striking to look at. Some beautiful, some enchanting. But none that could keep him awake on this night.
He hadn’t invited any of them to his bed because of how tired he had been. When he had heard Davin’s summons and condition, he had hastened to his old friend’s side as fast as he feet could take him. He slept only when the night had become too dark to see the road and woke with the first rays of dawn.
The idea that it was a woman seeking his body vanished when the person in the shadows dropped to a crawl and slowly made its way around the shaft of moonlight and toward the bed.
Temuji tensed his body, fingers quickly finding the knife he always kept on his person. He wouldn’t kill this intruder until he discovered why they were sneaking into his sleeping chambers.
Then a pair of bright blue eyes popped over the edge of the bed, meeting his. Temuji gave an inaudible gasp and felt his eyes widen. The boy’s eyes mimicked his until they were staring at each other with startled expressions in the night.
Finally, Temuji relaxed his grip on his knife and gave a soft laugh that made the boy jump, his back straightening.
Temuji sat up and asked, “What are you doing here?”
His eyes flicked to one side before he bit his lip and spoke for the first time, his voice low, as if he were afraid of being heard. “Are you come to take me away?”
Temuji’s lips twitched in reaction to the boy’s odd way of speech. Outwardly, the boy seemed normal enough. His speech was from the old way, likely gained from Crazy Dago himself, but other than that, he seemed just like any other human teen. Frightened.
Temuji pushed a hand through his hair and swung his legs over the side of the bed, dragging the sheets with him. The boy moved aside, but remained kneeling on the floor. He studied the boy’s upturned face, noting the strong features that linked him to those of the Diamond Blood Legacy, most notably, the mole on his brow.
“Do you understand that Davin is soon parted from this world?”
The boy didn’t speak for a moment, just staring up at him with an unreadable expression. Then he blinked, eyes suddenly bright with unshed tears. His lips thinned and he nodded once, breaking their eye contact.
“Do you understand that without Davin to protect you, you will be easy pickings for Crazy Dago?”
His bright eyes flicked back up to Temuji’s. “Crazy Dago?” For a moment, confusion flared in his gaze before he realized whom they were talking about. “I do not want to return to him.”
Temuji nodded. “Davin asked me to protect you.”
“You will take me away from here.”
“I will. We will leave only after . . .” He didn’t want to finish that sentence. He didn’t want to acknowledge that Davin really was going to die. They had been friends for longer than he could remember. Their fathers had been friends.
Davin had always been there, in the back of Temuji’s mind, always there as silent support. He couldn’t imagine life without the old bugger. Closing his own eyes against the pain that threatened to overcome him, Temuji forced his thoughts back to the young man still waiting for him to continue.
“We will go to my ancestral home, in the north. There, you will remain until something is done about Dago.”
“What’s to be done with him?”
Temuji paused, eyes blinking open as he wondered. What was to be done with him? Dago was powerful, in both politics and magic. Everybody knew he was crazy, hence the name, but none dared call him that to his face. He could ruin a person socially as well as mentally.
He turned his eyes back to the youth and wondered again how much of his mind was lost to Dago’s magic. It didn’t seem as if the boy had lost any of his awareness, nor any of his senses. He studied him carefully, but couldn’t find the damage.
Maybe if he searched him with magic?
He shook his head. Later.
“I don’t know. Perhaps he’ll lose interest in you if we keep you away from him for too long.”
The look the youth gave him told him just how believable that was. He sat back on his heels and picked at his lip with his fingers. It must be a habit, for his lips were red and cracked already.
Temuji startled himself by yawning and he ran a hand over his tired eyes. The youth didn’t take the hint, but instead tilted his head to one side and asked, “What’s your ancestral home?”
Temuji was so tired, he had to think a moment before the name came to him. “Golden Spear. It was gifted to our family during the Creation Wars.”
That meant nothing to the youth and he wrinkled his nose in incomprehension. Temuji waved a hand and laid back down on the bed, seeking the lost warmth from before. “Nearly one thousand years ago.”
“What’s it like?”
Temuji couldn’t hold back a smile. “It’s beautiful. Large gardens filled with exotic plants and pools of even more exotic fish. Towers of stone and rolling hills of green. It’s the most beautiful place in all the world.”
Of course, he was bias. After all, it was home. It was where his mother and father had lived such happy, carefree lives. It was where he had been a rambunctious youth and Davin had been his best friend.
His lids grew heavy and he turned his head on the pillow to try to see the boy in the dark. Did he have any friends?
He would have to find out if there were any youths his age in the surrounding towns on his lands. It was important to have a friend at that age. Someone to be a lookout while you’re getting into trouble. Someone to bail you out when you get caught. He smiled sleepily and reached out to ruffle the boy’s hair.
“Go to bed. We’ll talk more in the morning, when I’m more alert.”
The boy gave him a slightly angry look before he silently put his feet under him and padded on bare feet to the door. He opened it just enough for his slim body to slip through and was gone in an instant.
Sleep weighed heavily upon Temuji and he let himself succumb. Just before he drifted off, he realized yet again that he had failed to obtain the youth’s name.
Next
