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TamerLorika — Eastern Flower, Western Bear:4
Published: 2011-02-20 00:38:40 +0000 UTC; Views: 721; Favourites: 8; Downloads: 1
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Description Well, Yao had certainly not been expecting that answer. Tino might be able to tell him of the whereabouts of the Troll King?

Tino's arms had tightened protectively around who Yao assumed to be his son, but he stared at Yao with level and serious eyes.

"I know where to find the Troll King," Tino repeated. "Why do you want to know?"

"Well, he stole something from me, aru, and I'm not going to sit around and mope. I have to get my white bear back. So if you know where he is – please, tell me."

Tino looked torn.

"Mama, is this about the man that Uncle Orin –"

"Yes, honey," Tino interrupted Peter.

"… if Yao lost something, we should help him! It's what a grownup would do!"

Tino could not help but smile at the boy's words. "You might be right about that. And… if someone is against the troll king, I suppose that we cannot stand in their way." He turned back to Yao. "He stole something from us, too – Peter and I and our family - and we have been trying to get it back. Although we have not been able to succeed, perhaps you can make a difference."

Yao nodded curtly. "Please, any help I can get, aru."

Tino pursed his lips. "Of course. We will have to go on the back of the East Wind."

Yao quirked an eyebrow. He had gotten used to his life being strange, after living with a talking bear for a year, but surely Tino was bluffing when he said –

With a sharp purse of his lips, Tino let out a shrieking whistle that made Peter cover his ears and pout. Yao winced at the noise, scrunching his scarf in his fingers. For a moment, the sound hung in the still, barely-morning air, then the thunder of pounding hooves echoed from somewhere out of sight, around a bend in the road. It was not long before a large creature galloped into view.

It was not a horse, although Yao had thought so at first glance – it was much smaller than the work horses than he had seen, at atop its head was displayed a truly frightening rack of antlers. Yao's eyes widened as the creature – a deer of some sort? – galloped closer to them with a fairly feral look in its eyes. Yao's only real experience with animals besides the tiny woodland rodent or the domesticated variety had been Ivan, and he was not used to the wildness and inhuman nature of an animal, especially not when it was barreling down the road at him.

He needn't have worried, however; as the deer drew closer, it slowed to a canter, finally snuffling to a stop beside Tino. It was dragging a small, low sled behind it, which somehow had not turned over in the deer's movements.

Tino pulled an apple out of a bag on the sled, offering it to the deer, who took it happily, beginning to munch. Peter laughed, reaching out to pet the deer's side, before being tucked snugly into the sled in a small seat. Tino smiled at Yao. "This is East Wind. He's very nice." The deer snorted in response. "He's a reindeer, and one of my favorites."

Yao eyed the creature warily, gaze raking the reindeer's horns. Those looked dangerous.

Tino cocked his head, staring at Yao as if he were trying to see something inside his head.

"Are you afraid?" Tino finally asked in a calm voice.

"No," replied Yao.

Tino nodded in satisfaction. "Good. East Wind will take you to my home, and from there you will have help finding the Troll King."

Yao nodded again, watching Tino tuck Peter carefully into the sled, under a pile of furs and blankets. But this was the forest – certainly the warmth was not necessary?

"There is no more room on the sleigh," Tino said after a pause. "You will have to ride him."

Yao looked at Tino with wide eyes. "What, aru?"

"Don't worry – he might look small, but East Wind is no ordinary reindeer."

"That's not what –"

"Get on, please, if you want to come with us," Tino pressed, smiling faintly. He picked up a long pole that had been set crosswise across the sled.

Yao wanted to argue, to exclaim that there was no way he could get on this animal with the inhuman eyes and the galloping gait. But… if he had to do this to be with Ivan…

With clumsy difficulty, he swung himself up onto the reindeer's back. East Wind nickered softly, but did not seem at all phased by the extra weight, despite its small frame. Yao clutched precariously onto the creature's neck, unable to help thinking how different this was from the broad, solid back of his white bear. He clutched his bag tight to his chest, fastening his coat and tucking the scarf around his neck, all the while managing to keep a grip on the reindeer's neck and antlers.

Before Yao had even gotten properly settled, Tino called out a few short syllables in a language Yao did not know, and the reindeer turned and began to immediately move down the road. It moved slowly at first, swaying, then began to speed up, going faster and faster until it was travelling at a full gallop. The landscape whipped by Yao's face, the runners of the sled behind shinking against the road. How they did not get caught in the dirt, Yao did not know, and did not care much – he was only concerned with staying upright.

The trees whipping past his face were blurry and undetailed, but he noticed them getting thinner and more spread out the further they went. Surely they were travelling too quickly – surely a deer or a horse or any other manner of creature at all could not travel this fast. And yet they were, so fast that Yao felt his breath whipped out of his lungs as he breathed it, so fast that the wind shocked his skin and froze it to a numbing pressure. Tino, behind him even if unseen, used the single pole to keep the reindeer in a straight line, and they struck out fast along the road, until the road widened into dirt, the dirt widened into tundra, and the tundra widened into a thin layer of powdery snow. And still, they stayed between the sun as it rose in the east and the moon as it set in the west.

Snow. Where were they – how had they gotten there so fast – who was Tino and who was the East Wind and why did the supernatural only seem to be following him?

Yao was tormented by these thoughts in silence for a long time – hours or days, none of it seemed to matter. All he knew was the bunch and sway of the reindeer's lean muscles and the biting cold of the slicing wind.  

The landscape was white and grey and blue, flat and emotionless and bare. From the distance, though, as Yao's eyes scanned the nothingness, a smudge of black bit into the horizon. Slowly, as the sledge and the deer and the wandering adventurer neared, Yao realized that it was a house, surrounded by a thick copse of dark firs. Nothing else was in the area, no creatures, no life, nothing to break the smooth ice and thin sheen of snow; just a low wooden cabin and black fir trees. The sledge gradually began to slow as it grew closer to the spectral glade, finally sliding to a stop.

The reindeer's hooves ground to a halt. Yao promptly fell onto the powdery snow. It didn't hurt much but his pride, but that was sufficiently bruised as Tino's bell-like laugh rang in the clear, cold air.

"Can't take a deer ride?" he asked, smiling as he unwrapped Peter from his seat. Peter was off in an instant, running clumsily towards the house. Yao frowned, scrambling to his feet and checking if his golden gifts were in his pockets, if his scarf was secure.

"… demon deer, aru…" he mumbled.

Tino just smiled and led Yao towards the house, the reindeer trailing obediently behind like a puppy. Tino tugged it towards a small shed-like building near the house, beginning to take off its harness and rub it down.

"Go inside, if you'd like. You'll find someone who can help you find the Troll King."

So Yao did as he was told and went inside.




He was met with the image of a man who was more terrifying than any Yao had come across in his journey so far – a large, giant of a creature with a piercing eyes and a fearsome glare.

He held Peter in his arms. The boy was chattering animatedly, and waved over to Yao as he entered and stopped, still and shaking.

"This is my Papa Berwald, and I told him what you told Mama and he's gonna help you!" Peter said.

Berwald grunted and nodded. Yao stared. Berwald held out his hand. Yao did not move to take it, and the giant finally pulled it back.

"'F we go, w'go now," he grunted, voice low and trembling in the bones of Yao's chest. "Y' 'fraid?"

"No," Yao lied. He could almost make believe it to be true. And then the giant glared at him again.

"W' go 'n the back o'th' West Wind," he said, putting Peter on the floor. Yao realized with horror that the "West Wind" could only be another deer. "I can't take y' 'll th' way, but I c'n show you s'meone who c'n help."

Yao was only able to nod in response.

So Berwald brushed past him and headed for the door, only to run into Tino as he entered. For a moment, their eyes met, and Berwald blushed crimson. Tino only smiled, brightly.

"Thanks for helping us, rakas," he said affectionately, smiling. "He's going to fight the Troll King."

Yao never said anything about fighting, but if that is what it would take…

So quickly that Yao almost missed it, Berwald leaned down to press a quick kiss to Tino's forehead before brushing out the door. Yao trotted to keep up, flashing Tino a look that might have been one of terror.

"He's harmless," Tino told him with a smile. "Good luck on your journey."

Yao pursed his lips and nodded. "Thank you for your assistance." And then he was outside, as well.

He found Berwald in the middle of the thickest part of the black copse, surveying an intimidating herd of reindeer. In one hand was a harness and the sledge that Tino used. The other hand was petting a deer much like East Wind, although larger and far darker in coloring. It nickered at the man, and Yao could not help but again think "demon deer" at its apparent lack of fear of the giant.

"G't on 'im," Berwald told Yao laconically, harnessing the creature. Yao frowned, his stomach beginning to feel queasy, but did as he was told. With clumsy difficulty, he swung himself up onto the reindeer's back. Again, he could not help but feel how different this was from the broad, solid back of his white bear. He clutched his bag tight to his chest, fastening his coat and tucking the scarf around his neck, all the while managing to keep a grip on the reindeer's neck and antlers.

Berwald folded his long body onto the small sledge, and before Yao had even gotten properly settled, Berwald called out a few short syllables in a language Yao did not know, and the reindeer turned and began to immediately move away from the copse and the little cabin and out onto the tundra again.

The cold wind bit at him, and he buried his face into his coat and his scarf and the warn neck of the animal beneath him. He was tired and cold and sore and hungry and he knew that the journey ahead of him would be long. He watched the tundra whip by beneath the pounding hooves, again wondering what kind of magical creature this was and where they were going and if Ivan was safe …

That thought was the most disturbing to Yao. He was afraid for the bear's safety; terrified, more than he was of the journey or the Troll King or even the deer beneath him. The bear had always watched over him, though; surely he could take care of himself.

Yao's memory was drawn back to the single spring he had spent in the house of his white bear. He had been outside, shelling peas that had grown in the inexhaustible garden. Baixiong had disappeared, as he was wont to do, and Yao was wondering when he would return, and if he would bring meat with him. That would have been a nice change.

The sun hit his face pleasantly, and he began to doze, fuzzy images of bears and men and forests swirling in his mind.

He did not know how long he was insensible, only that when he woke, he could hear the snuffling and lumbering of a very familiar creature. He was relieved, certainly, but also rather upset, now that he had been woken from his nap.

"Baixiong!" he scolded without opening his eyes. "Stop that crashing around and do something useful, aru."

The crashing gait of the beast continued; came closer, in fact. Yao did not try to mask his annoyance.

"Aiya, really, that is enough, you disobedient –"

It was not Baixiong. It was a guo xiong. A brown bear.

Yao's eyes widened in fear, locked on the bestial, inhuman stare of the creature only a few feet in front of him. The eyes were so different from that of his own protector – they held no trace of humanity, only the primal bloodlust and hunger that made Yao very aware that he was little more than prey.

His body shook, and his mind raced for the proper course of action. He had nothing he could use as a weapon – only a basket of vegetables.

The guo xiong shifted closer.

"B-back off, aru," Yao told him, his voice strained, as if he could reason with the creature like he had reasoned so often before with Baixiong. "I am small, aru, and stringy. I would not taste good."

The guo xiong shifted even closer, and Yao watched in horror as the thick muscles of its shoulders tensed and it was going to strike –

YOU WILL NOT!

The voice of Baixiong absolutely deafened Yao, ringing like a hammer strike to his brain as a blur of white fur and power and fear barreled into the guo xiong, knocking the huge creature off its paws. Yao froze, unable to comprehend that it was his white bear, to his rescue, wrestling across the garden with a dangerous creature. And Yao could do nothing. He was as helpless as he had been at Jia Long's bedside, helpless to stop others from getting hurt.

The growls of two warring beasts shook the air, and flashes of red were seen among the violent swirl of brown and white. Yao bit his lip, wanting to cry out, but afraid to distract Baixiong. Was it the white bear that was bleeding? Would he die?

And then it was over. With a whimper, the guo xiong broke away from its opponent and tore madly off into the forest, limping as it went.

Baixiong turned to Yao, his muzzle bright with blood and his eyes alight with a damning fire.

No need to worry, my Jao, he said, sweetly. This blood is not my own. I will protect you, Jao

And despite the fear that he should have felt, Yao's twisted mind was overcome with relief. He felt safe…

Surely, surely Ivan could care for himself.

Yao was tormented by these thoughts, these memories in silence for a long time – hours or days, none of it seemed to matter. All he knew was the bunch and sway of the reindeer's lean muscled and the biting cold of the slicing wind.  

Slowly, the tundra beneath them began to slope upwards, and blue-gray slabs of slate began to peer out from under the snow. The deer ran between them until the snow faded away to smooth, icy rock and a narrowing pass. They had run into an entire mountain range, the arms of it narrowing around their path as the range's great shoulders heaved up towards the sky.

The path took them up and up, across precarious switchbacks with the sides of the cliffs on their one side and a deep and fatal drop on their other. Yao did not dare look back and see if the stoic Berwald was as terrified as he was, but the deer's hooves never faltered and slowly, Yao was able to open his eyes and watch as they drew further and further upward – towards a low, dark outcropping of rock that jutted flat and solid near the top of the rocky mount that they were ascending. It soon realized itself to be a house, as cozy and solid as Tino and Peter and Berwald's had been, although larger and more decorative, with a sloping roof and solid, carved beams. They approached the house, and the deer slowed its gait.

The reindeer's hooves ground to a halt. Yao promptly fell onto the icy rocks. He really was going to be bruised, eventually, and did not look forward to that at all. He hurried and stood up, trying to pretend that nothing had happened. At least Berwald didn't laugh

Instead, the giant just leveled a thick glance at him, pointing at the house. "Go 'n there."

"Aren't you coming with me, aru?" Yao inquired.

"'s better that I don't –"

"Hahah, Berwald! I thought I saw that lame deer dragging your sorry ass up my mountain!"

Berwald's explanation to Yao was cut off abruptly as a tall man slammed out of the house and strutted into the snow, his long coat whipping behind him. He leveled an arrogant grin at Berwald, his cap cocked at a jaunty angle.

"… Lukas…" Berwald sighed. Yao raised an eyebrow at the man, catching the palpable tension in the air.

"Ohh and we have a pretty girlie here, too! Finally breaking up with Tino, are ya? I'd be perfectly happy to take him back if you –"

Berwald looked like he was going to step forward and hit Lukas, but Yao got there first. He refrained from smacking the man, but he stood toe-to-toe with him, making himself look as formidable as possible (which was, admittedly, hard when he was so short). Still, his glare seemed to put the man off for a moment.

"I am Wang Yao, I am a man, and I am looking for the Troll King," he spat.

Lukas had the sense to look slightly mollified. He rubbed the back of his head, looking away from Yao.

"Er… too right… well, I suppose you came here for help, then. That king took something precious away from all of us, and we have been trying to get it back. Although we haven't been able to succeed, perhaps you can make a difference."

Yao kept his face perfectly blank. "Yes. I hope that I can."

"Okay, cool! Well, I suppose we can't waste any time."

"Y'gonna be okay?" Berwald asked Yao.

Yao nodded in response. "Yes, thank you. I appreciate it."

Berwald nodded back, abruptly. "Gotta get home to m'wife, then." Without another word, he turned his mount around and began the descent of the rocky outcrop. Yao watched him go, feeling a little helpless. He felt like he was being passed around, a mere chip in some grand game of Go.

"So, y'look kinda tired, ya wanna sit down 'nd have some coffee?" Lukas offered, extending a hand. Despite his general self-important attitude, Yao could not help but feel a little drawn to him. And the idea of sitting down and warming himself was wonderful – how long had he been on the road? How many days had passed? Surely he had been on the backs of the East and West Winds for so long… and never closed his eyes, since Gilbert and Francis' houses.

But Yao shook his head. "No, I'm afraid that I cannot impose upon your hospitality any longer than is necessary. I must go."

Lukas looked at him approvingly. "Cool. Just let me get the South Wind out of storage, and we can go."

Yao's eyes widened. "Not another deer, aru…"

Lukas laughed. "Psht, as if. Those deer are demonic. Crazy things; I swear, I saw one eat a rat. They're carnivorous."

Yao thought he might be right.

"Nah, South Wind is this pretty beauty," he said, leading Yao to a small shed off the side of the house. He fiddled with a thick lock, then swung open the doors to reveal…

A toboggan.

Yao could not believe this was happening to him. That thing… was tiny. It had no railings. How would it move? Where was it taking them? Surely it wasn't…

"Yep, out Southie is my baby. Well, Tino named it," Lukas shrugged, "but the kid has always been a little touched. Still, it's a good, solid little toboggan and it'll be perfect for where we're going."

Yao said nothing.

"You scared?" Lukas asked with a leer.

"No," Yao finally choked out. If that is what it would take to find Ivan…

Lukas dragged the heavy creature out onto the slick rock, and it scraped its way along with the sound of metal that sent a shiver up Yao's spine. He scraped it past the house, towards its back.

Beneath them, was the other side of the mountain.

It sloped down, fairly gently but descending what looked to be a mile, swirling past drifts of snow and trees and the grinning sides of the mountain into a misty nothingness below them.

"W-we…"

"Are going down there, yeah," said Lukas cheerfully, grabbing his hat and stuffing it into the pocket of his thick black coat. "It's fun. Besides, I haven't seen Orin in a while. Even though its hell to climb back up here… haha, maybe I'll just stay a few days!"

He laid the toboggan on the snowy ledge before the dizzying drop, and sat on the back edge, spreading his legs and gesturing for Yao to sit between them.

"Come on and sit down, you crazy fool, cuz this is gonna be a wild ride."

Yao didn't doubt it, carefully tucking himself within the flimsy confines of the sled. Before Yao had even gotten properly settled, Lukas whooped a wild cry in a language that Yao did not know, pushed away from the ledge, and they were falling.

Yao could not bite back a scream as they let gravity do its work, the air fisting past his head in a wild bite that stung even worse than his trips on the reindeer. Lukas' legs squeezed around him, his thick fingers digging into the sides of the toboggan as he steered the thing by leaning their bodies. The blunt nose of the front pushed up snow, speeding their progress as they hurtled past trees and rocks and huddled shapes.

Yao was almost positive that he was going to die.

Hitting a bump, they rose off the ground a few meters, and Lukas whooped again, the sound rumbling in his chest and across Yao's back. They landed hard, the toboggan never slowing in its descent. Soon, they had passed into the mist on the side of the mountain, and Yao could not even see a foot in front of them.

They were going to die, they were going to die, they were going to –

Ivan, I'm sorry… he thought desperately, eyes squeezing shut.

And still they rushed onward, the only sound the air that was forced out of his lungs and the ecstatic cries of man behind him.

Slowly, Yao worked up the courage to open his eyes. At first, they unfocused with the speed that they were flying past the scenery, turning the trees beside them and the snow below them into a consistent blur of grey and pine green.

And then, without warning, the land dropped out from underneath them, and they flew over a ridge.

"HOLD ON TIGHT!" Lukas yelled happily. Yao gritted his teeth and dug his fingers into Lukas' legs, eyes wide open, unable to close. He felt the bottom drop out of his stomach, a thin, lancing pinpoint of absolute terror collapsing his lungs. His life should have flashed before his eyes, but the only thing he could think of was the haunted look that the bear-man had given him before disappearing.

And with a mighty, boneshaking thud, the toboggan landed, motionless in the snow.
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Comments: 13

chibimeli [2011-03-17 04:08:11 +0000 UTC]

what's a toboggan?

anyway, it sounded like a totally awesome rollercoaster ride, Yao seemed to act just like my buddy, chanting stuff like "oh god, we're gonna die, we're gonna die." xD

anyway, great story, it's been fun to read!

hahaha i also liked the way u described Berwald, it was so funny XDDDDD

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

TamerLorika In reply to chibimeli [2011-03-17 04:11:06 +0000 UTC]

[link]

A toboggan is a sled that looks like that.

Thank you so much for your nice review! I'm glad it amused you.

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

CrystalThunder [2011-02-24 02:05:24 +0000 UTC]

This is the best ever XD
I can't wait fr he next chapter!!!

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

TamerLorika In reply to CrystalThunder [2011-02-24 02:06:21 +0000 UTC]

XD Thank you so much!!!

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

xGhostwriterx [2011-02-20 16:10:02 +0000 UTC]

This was the best chap so far! *Wipes of the tears from my eyes* Demon reeindeers, A cray Lukas and Yoa thinking he's gonna die. Can it become even more funny? XD Can barely breathe now...

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

TamerLorika In reply to xGhostwriterx [2011-02-20 18:02:52 +0000 UTC]

Pff I'm sooo glad you thought so! I really appreciate all your support (you MAKE ME SMILE LOTS AND LOTS)

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

xGhostwriterx In reply to TamerLorika [2011-02-20 20:02:26 +0000 UTC]

Glad ya like them. Sorry for my misspells thouh they can be quite annoying. XD

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

Maldha [2011-02-20 03:24:35 +0000 UTC]

! New chapter~ The suspense is killing me! I am enjoying this story immensely, whenever I read a new Chapter my brother says I zone out and tell him to shut up a lot. XD Update soon ;3;

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

TamerLorika In reply to Maldha [2011-02-20 06:16:02 +0000 UTC]

XD Thanks for reading. I really appreciate your awesome support. Pfff I love your brother. I WILL UPDATE SOON!

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Maldha In reply to TamerLorika [2011-02-20 15:56:06 +0000 UTC]

Okay, I shall be waiting, and your welcome XD

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Miyokoookami [2011-02-20 01:15:47 +0000 UTC]

Oooh nice chapter. I believe you have the characterizations right for each character so I can't complain on that.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

TamerLorika In reply to Miyokoookami [2011-02-20 01:30:20 +0000 UTC]

Yaaay thank youuuu

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Miyokoookami In reply to TamerLorika [2011-02-20 01:31:27 +0000 UTC]

You're are very welcome.

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