Lyer & Aluraios | First Love
The waves on the horizon broke apart to reveal a dust-soaked horse, impossible to tell it's original colour, a distant part of Lyer thought as he halted his own bay to turn resignedly to await the rider. The muffled curses suddenly became audiable, and the vampire almost cursed himself, a ball of dread and hope knotting in his stomach as he recognised the voice, recognised the hair that streamed out behind the rider, a slight tinge of a shield solving the problem of why it shone impossibly white against the mountainside.
Recognised, and remembered.
With a stifled cry, he wheeled Curob round, ignoring the horse's head shake of annoyance as he pressured him into a gallop, irrationally forgetting that across these mountains his sure footed mountain horse could easily outpace the obviously well bred mount of his persuer. Remembered the touch of a long fingered hand on his chest. A cry from behind him just made him spur the innocent horse foward, his eyes full of angry tears.
"Lyer? Stop!"
Remembered the brush of that silken hair over his shoulders and lips. He cursed his sensitive hearing, trying to remember the paths that interconnected among these mountains, and how long it would take him to reach one. For a moment he considered shifting to his hawk form, but that would leave his supplies, the silver work equipment he had with him and... his hands clenched on the saddlebag by his leg, feeling the paper crumple slightly beneath his strength, personal belongings. Remembered long legs round his hips. Remembered feeling safe. Remembered the hurt.
A strangled sob left his throat and pushing the pain back he pushed Curob on again, ignoring the continous pleas from behind him, intersperced with curses.
"For goddess's sake, Lyer, will you stop! Bloody horse! Please solar, stop. Darkness take him, Lyer!"
The irony of the sunperson's curses stuck him and a harsh laugh choked him, closing his eyes for a moment, letting Curob carry him onwards.
The horse stumbled suddenly on the stony path, the jolt riding up the foreleg to dislodge him from the saddle, tipping him to one side. Pulling himself up with the ease of long practise he winced, noting the sudden uneven pace of the gallop as the bay carried on. Glancing down he let out a soft groan. He's lame, oh god. The thought stopped suddenly as the hoofbeats became clearer and clearer from behind him.
Pulling up to a halt again, he leaned over the horse's neck, his hair coming loose from the wind and falling down to mingle with the coarser ebony of the mane as he ran his hand over his forehead, guiltily wishing it wasn't his own fingers that caught the sweat. With a resigned sigh he lightly dismounted, kneeling to inspect the hoof that was now almost lifted off the ground, trying not to look back along the path as Aluraios reached him and dismounted. Almost absently he noticed the horse was a rather elegant would-be grey mare.
"Lyer."
The single word contained a dispairing apology, and the vampire looked up, hardening his eyes to moonlit amber before going back to the task of levering the stone that was now lodged in the dirt in the hoof's cradle with a piece of curved metal. "I asked you to leave me alone." He shrugged off the tentative touch on his shoulder, the simple feel of another's hand causing him to shy away and anger rose in him at his own reaction.
The fireborn's face twisted in almost wretchedness as he watched Lyer's harden into stonelike anger. "Solar..." he whispered, "I'm sorry."
"Thank you, now go." The words were harsh, edged with emotion as the delicate nimble hands finally removed the stone and the horse tested the hoof carefully. "I ask you to leave me alone again, my lord Zephyr. Please." His mouth formed a few silent words and Aluraios reached out futilily as the vampire swiftly remounted.
I can't be hurt again. Lyer said again to himself, pushing the hand away, even while relishing feel of the slim fingers, the carefully kept nails and fragile bones beneath the pale skin. I can't. He forced himself to lock eyes with the fireborn one more time, memorising the sunlit gaze before walking on.
"Please, solar, I need... Let me just say... Please... I love you."
Lyer turned round, his face hardening even as his heart shattered and blossomed at the soft words, "I don't care, I... I can't risk it again."
Leaving Aluraios standing there staring, he pushed Curob on again into a canter, letting the speed carry away his tears.
Watching the bay run off into the rocks for a long moment, Aluraios brought his hand to his cheek, closing his eyes to conjure up the newest images of the vampire, commiting them to memory. Lyer. Long black hair that tumbled around his hips when let down from those tight styles, hunter's eyes, the earthy gold of copper and amber mixed with fresh earth, slender fingers, tall and graceful. The catalogue seemed to run on forever as the words finally sunk in, 'leave me alone'.
"How can I?" Aluraios whispered softly, walking unsteadily back to his own mount Oriun, "Lifemating doesn't work like that." He'd been suprised when he realised, usually sunfolk only lifemated in arial partnerships, and only then when both parties felt especially strongly about each other, and went into the flight with serious intentions of staying together. Goddess knew he'd only wanted one night with the gorgeous shy vampire. But somehow he felt connected to Lyer, even if not the full blown lifemating of the sunfolk, something called to him to apologise, and something inside him longed for the touch of his hair, his arms, his body. Just him.
Oriun batted her head again his arm impatiently, her dark eyes almost disapproving, and he growled as he relucantly remounted the mare and gingerly settled in the saddle, bruises from their headlong gallop already appearing and hurting. Gazing upwards to the sky he took a deep breath, trying to calm the storm of emotions within. Part of him wanted to go home, or to Court, saying that he had no right to chase the vampire any longer, the rest called for him to go after Lyer, beg him to understand and ask for his love, and hope the skittishness in the vampire' s eyes had been real.
The sun on his body made it tingle, seemed to start off his transformation almost unbidden, and he almost let it, longing for the freedom of the air, unluckily the mare wasn't expendable. With a sigh he shrugged it off, kicking the mare sharply in annoyance at his indescision, but finding himself following the other's path before he could consiously decide. Looks like I'm going after him, he thought wryly, pushing back his own hurt and despair as he let Oriun find her own way through the rocks and concentrated on staying on.
A Few Days LaterLyer closed his eyes, letting the wind lull him to sleep under his shelter of tree branches. A forest wasn't the perfect place for a vampire, but it was two more days ride to the nearest village and the forest was inconviently in the way. The sound of birds flapping among the branches was rarer now since the rain had arrived three days ago, but the odd wing sounds still lingered occassionally, with the hoof beats of deer and squeaks from the tree-hares and groundlings of the wood.
Tears came easily to his eyes at the thought of birds, a few times over the past few days he'd thought he'd seen a flash of white or sensed someone watching him, but his wards hadn't be broached and his supernatural speed hadn't caught any invaders, especially no sunfolk. Or one sunperson in particular.
He groaned, burying his head in his pillow at the now accustomary turn of his thoughts, pulling the blanket tighter around him and forcing himself to sleep.
Dreams haunted him, memories rising up again from the Court where he'd met Aluraios, the touches and dances of love, fever dreams of what might have been, and now never could as visions of happiness, of comfortable evenings danced among shadows encircling him, mixed in with the feeling of at first flying, and then falling from the sky for the rest of his eternal life.
Shadows lingered over him and for a moment he thought he was still dreaming as he saw the white hawk perched on the tree, head tucked under a wing as it slept, grey and blue shapes gave the pale hawk his markings, and the feathers were damp and ruffled by the rain. Lyer bit his lip, blinking with sudden anger and longing as he half reached to carress the silken feathers, but he pulled back, not daring to wake his silent intruder, content to watch the still hawk for as long as he could.
Aluraios stretched as he awoke a while later to darkness, blinking open golden eyes to fix on the slouched shape in front of him. With a screech of alarm he spread his wings, meaning to take off before the vampire could realise he was awake, realise who he was and ask why he was there after he'd distinctly asked to be left alone.
"Aluraios."
This time it was the fireborn's turn to hesitate at his name, suprised it wasn't the more formal 'lord Zephyr' of a few days ago, loud even above the drumming rain. He cocked his head as Lyer reached out tentatively to touch his wing. "It is you, isn't it?"
:Yes.: Aluraios sighed resignedly, not moving away from the beloved touch, :I'm sorry.:
"You've been watching me? Why?" The voice was a strange mixture of angry puzzlement.
:I'm sorry, alright? If you'll let me go I'll, I'll go and not bother you again.: The hawk's head twisted away ashamedly from Lyer's gaze.
The vampire's forehead furrowed as if trying to remember something, still stroking the feathers softly, "It's raining." he said almost triumpantly, "How can you be in hawk shape?" At the evasive shrug, the vampire gently pulled the hawk's head round, "You've been in this shape for the past three days?" A slight wonder filled the words as a memory of meeting some sunfolk before the Seperation surfaced. "All day and all night?"
He remembered the legends of 'nightweavers', the night predators, owls, big cats, even his own kind, and how it was a punishment to be stuck out of the Cliffs all night if you hadn't changed back to human form by the time the sun had set. The young sunfolk had been terrified of the unknown darkness, and the supposed nightweavers, it had been one of the most effective parental threats he'd ever seen.
:Yes, damn you!: Aluraios almost spat back, :All day and all cursed night.: He pulled against the grasp on his head, reveling in the play of fingers through his feathers. :I'd have changed back, but you don't have a fire, and the sun hasn't been out recently.:
"There's other villages." Lyer said softly, "You could have gone there."
:There's only one you.: Aluraios ducked his head in embarrassment after he shot the words back, once again trying to escape, even while loving his capture, he'd been dreading revealing himself to the vampire. :I didn't want to lose you, it's taken three moons to find you again.:
Lyer bowed his head, dropping his hand from the tiny head to his lap. Suddenly he looked up, roughly pulling a small heap of dry tinder from under his bedding. "Light that and change." he commanded curtly, the tone belied by the glistening and longing in his eyes.
The flames licked at the leaves for a few moments as the hawk flapped off the branch and fixed his gaze on the small pile. A ripple like a heatwave blurred the transformation, but as the fire died, a crouched figure turned his head away from Lyer's face, white hair knotted and catching in the branches as he wrapped his arms over his knees, ignoring the wet ground as he sat there in silence.
"Sleep." Lyer commanded again, moving off the bedroll, "I'll go and find wherever you've put your mare and supplies as I doubt you'll want to share my meals."
As he silently moved onto the blankets, Aluraios's eyes widened at the vampire's future tense. Goddess, was there really the slightest hope? He turned to the natural exit of the shelter, but the dark shadow was already fading into the obscuring curtain of rain.
When he woke, Lyer was sitting by his side, and he felt a hand lift from his hair and a guilty expression darted across the vampire's face. "Sleep well?" the gentle voice held no evidence of anger, just concern as the fireborn yawned, looking up into the deceptive face, marvelling once again at how a three centuries old vampire could look barely older than himself.
"Uh hmmm." He smiled, feeling welcome sunlight on his cheek, and noticing the thin cloak surrounding Lyer, the hood lying dormant on the slim shoulders, "You've been outside?"
The concern must have shown on his face as the other man shook his head, the braid of black hair tickling down his back like a snake, "I was just about to, but you were stirring. Your mare isn't looking too good," the hint of disapproval made Aluraios wince.
"Her name's Oriun and I don't ride that much. Don't have much need to"
"That's obvious." A grin tempered the prim words as the sunperson sat up, reaching for his packs and clothes. "I'll be fine in the sun, I have sensitive skin, that's all." he added, sensing the fireborn's worry.
Joining the vampire a few minutes later in a haze of confusion, Aluraios opened his arms to the sun, bowing a greeting to the goddess and sending a silent prayer winging up to meet Her. Please, lady, if he loves me, stop tormenting both of us. If not, stop tormenting me.
Lyer glanced over at him, skin pale against the dark hood, but his eyes dark shined copper in the shadows. "You alright, Aluraios?" The shock of hearing his name spoken by Lyer so casually made him drop his hands from his bow and smile almostly shyly.
"I always try and do my worship in the mornings." he replied, glancing up at the sun, careful not to look directly at her brilliance. "Welcoming Her and asking for her blessing over the day."
The vampire chuckled from where he knelt, rubbing salve into the cuts from the stones that Oriun had picked up on the mountain trail. "Once you've done that, can you at least curry horses?" At Aluraios's slightly sheepish glance he rolled his eyes, "You /really/ don't ride much, do you?" Throwing a brush at him, which the fireborn fumbled for a second before catching it, he picked up another, starting to whisk away the trail dust from the grey, revealing the silver coat beneath. "Just copy me."
After a few moments he noticed the other man hadn't moved and was just standing there, watching him. "Solar," The murmur was so soft he almost missed it, and he met the firey gaze slowly. "I'm sure there's better excersise than currying horses." Aluraios almost cursed himself at his clumsy speech, For goddess's sake, 'Rios, where's your Courtly manners? he muttered inwardly, looking hesitatly back at Lyer before spreading his arms and leaping into the air even as he changed, the sunlight rippling over his feathers like water.
For a second Lyer hesitated, watching the hawk's powerful wingbeats, his chest tight with longing and hope.
:I'm sorry.: Aluraios's mental voice, divested of the problem of mouths and speech, spiralled down to him, the honesty plain and the deep ache of need and love that ran insitrically through it was mirroring his own. :Goddess, I am, Lyer, solar, I...:
:I love you too.: The black hawk soared to meet him as vocal speech faded to mental, finally finding in the extravagantly complex flight the freedom to express what he'd never thought he'd be able to say.
Afterwards they fell together, talons clenched together as they tumbled to the ground, transforming as they hit the ground, Lyer cushioning Aluraios's more fragile body, and just lay together, entangled in hair and clothing.
In the silence, as he brushed black hair from his lover's forehead with his mouth, Aluraios felt the slender thread of a lifemate bond grow from aching longing to a strong rope of pure need and love for the vampire, and closed his eyes knowing that whatever happened now, he was bound to the other as long as they both lived.
© Clare Selley 2009
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