Yume Ja Nai Yo
Chapter 1
by Ashna

I'm stealing, erm, borrowing a creature from my all time favorite author Mercedes Lackey. The Wrysa are just too cool and freaky! But they are not my idea!!! They belong to her! Copyright and everything!

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Snap.

"Ouch!"

Crunch.

"Kuso!"

Snap.

"Stupid friggin branches!!!"

Takeru sighed and turned around as he gave up on silently wishing his partner would be just as silent. Daisuke was making his way several lengths behind him and making as much noise as a herd of stampeding cattle.

"Daisuke could you be a little bit on the quiet side?" Takeru asked as soon as the burgundy haired boy got within normal conversation range.

Daisuke looked at him sheepishly and shrugged. It wasn't really his fault that twigs and branches kept lashing out at him. This forest was only traveled by local hunters and large animals. There were no trails to be seen through the under brush. So he had to force his way through the brush in only shorts and a short sleeved tunic. Takeru would have bought him something more practical but the long cold winter had dried them out of cash. So far they hadn't been able to find high enough paying work even though the summer was about over.

"Sorry Takeru. I'll suffer in silence." He answered with a grin and promptly shut up.

When they first became partners Daisuke would have whined and complained about the entire assignment. But three years of following Takeru around as he worked for the people and solved what problems he could had toughened Daisuke up. Now he complained only as a habit and would generally be quiet when asked.

This time they were investigating what appeared to be some larger, maybe magical in nature, creature who had scared away all the game in this forest. The local villagers were quite desperate to begin hunting before harvest set in. Then they would be too busy gathering in the crops to hunt for their winter meat. While most villages would just hunt throughout the winter this far north things tended to be buried in meters of snow by the end of October.

So far Takeru hadn't seen any signs of a larger creature at all. Not even the tracks of something normal for the area. No deer, bear or wolf tracks. He couldn't even find the tracks of bobcat or coyote, one of the smaller predators. Also, he couldn't sense any traces of a magical creature that had set up shop.

*This is weird... And the only animals I am seeing are birds, squirrels and the occasional rabbit.*

Pushing onward Takeru moved deeper into the forest expanding all his senses as far as he could. He wanted to be open to any hint whatsoever of any disturbance in the magical fields of the area. Still, nothing seemed wrong.

*Except this forest has about as many creatures in it as a city garden.*

Daisuke followed close behind every now and then letting out an involuntary yelp or curse when a particularly large, sharp twig snapped into him.

Finally after walking for most of the day Takeru changed direction. He'd sensed a break in the surrounding foliage and decided to stop and take up camp there. He knew Daisuke could probably keep going for a few more hours but with keeping his senses open and searching all afternoon he was a bit worn out.

When Daisuke saw the clearing he happily charged through the bush and collapsed into a thick circle of green grass.

"All right break time! Are we just taking a rest or setting up camp?" He asked flopping back to lay spread eagle, flinging their supply bag off his back to lay it beside him.

"We're staying all night. I'm a bit worn out and hungry for that matter." Takeru said sitting down on a downed log.

Now that he looked around, the clearing had been used by hunters before. There was a circle of rocks for a fire and the log had been clearly dragged in from the forest to serve as a seat. Daisuke had already jumped up and begun starting a fire to cook whatever Takeru lured towards them and to warm the loaf of bread one of the villagers gave them.

Takeru was more then content to let him do all the work. It was the reason all sorcerers were forced to have partners after all. A sorcerer often would exhaust themselves working a piece of magic or simply be too tired to do anything. Their partner would be the one to keep them eating ad make sure the sorcerer didn't pass out into the snow or out in the rain or any number of stupid things. Daisuke had always seemed happy to do these things for Takeru, saying it was better then mucking out stables for the rest of his life. That and at least Takeru didn't kick him as a horse would when he tried to help him.

Eventually, Daisuke had a small rabbit cooking over the fire slowly, the bread on a nearby rock to warm and went to sit by Takeru to wait until their food was done. Takeru smiled a bit tiredly at him as Daisuke settled down on the ground beside him using the log as a back rest. That was when he noticed how many angry red welts were across Daisuke's legs and arms from the branches.

"Oh geez, I'm sorry Daisuke." Takeru said sliding off the log to kneel beside Daisuke.

"For what?" Daisuke asked looking confused.

"For this. I shouldn't have let you come with me this time. You don't have the right clothes for trekking across the forest." Takeru said taking one of Daisuke's arms and frowning at the scratches.

"Not this again. Look if I didn't come along you'd probably still be sitting on that log without a fire, not even thinking about eating. Then you'd probably just go to sleep on the ground without anything warm and probably catch pneumonia. Then I'd feel horribly guilty for not coming and etc etc etc." Daisuke said with a smile even though he was lecturing.

"I know, I know but I'm just going to do something about these. We're probably going to be out here for a few days and I don't want them becoming infected." Takeru said putting his hands over the welts.

Daisuke shrugged and Takeru didn't notice how he blushed slightly as he ran his hands over the cuts. He extended his magic just a little bit more then he had searching and force-fed Daisuke's system energy to heal at a faster rate. It would make him feel a lot more tired but he didn't mind. After some food and rest he'd be back to normal. By the time he finished with the last cut the first one were only thin pink lines that were quickly fading into nothing.

Then Daisuke got up and checked the meat while Takeru sat back against the log with a tired sigh. Healing was difficult work and not part of his specialty. He was best at finding things like a disturbance in what was normal for an area's magical field. He was good at fixing what was wrong too. He could settle out an area where magic had built up and detect where magic was hidden in places it didn't belong. When he got older and couldn't travel any longer he'd probably end up working at finding other talented children to train in their powers. For now, he best served at helping people on the outskirts of the country where help from the capital was hard to receive.

Daisuke came back and handed him some of the rabbit meat pressed between to slices of the bread. Takeru nodded his thanks and ate it slowly. Whenever he worked magic he lost his appetite and Daisuke always made sure he ate. The other boy sat beside him with his own portion and handed him a flask of water.

They didn't say much, mostly because Takeru was too tired to talk, and ate in silence. Takeru made himself finish off the food and leaned his head back against the log and closed his eyes for a bit just to rest them and promptly feel asleep.

He woke up as Daisuke pulled him up onto his feet. He let himself be lead to the blanket Daisuke had laid out beside the fire and collapsed onto it with a sigh. He felt Daisuke cover him up with his scarlet cloak, the only other source of warmth they had and fell back asleep again. He woke only once again, at near twilight, when Daisuke climbed under the cloak with him. It being much too cold at night to sleep alone. Daisuke curled up against his back and Takeru let himself drop off again.

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There was golden grass that shimmered in the intense light that surrounded Takeru completely. The sky would have been blue except that the light burned away all traces of any gentle blue. The grass was tall and reached up to Takeru's waist. The world seemed surreal as if this place couldn't exist anywhere else but here. There was no sound but that of the wind that blew the grasses gently, but Takeru couldn't feel its gentle caress.

He began walking, maybe to see if he could find some end to the grasses that stretched beyond his vision. It was mostly the light's fault. It burned away not just the blue sky but also the distance before him. He could see nothing but light beyond twenty feet. Yet, it did not bother him. He did not have the urge to squint and shield his eyes. Instead, the light seemed just another fact of this place that shouldn't be.

After a time, he stopped walking and simply watched the rippling grasses knowing he was waiting for something but not able to remember quite what. There was nothing to wait for here. He was alone in this place as none but him was allowed there. This was his place alone and no one could intrude upon this gentle solitude. Being alone didn't bother him. One wasn't supposed to be with another here. It was his alone to enjoy and he would hold that close to him forever.

Then as suddenly as he'd appeared within this place, it changed. The intense light was gone and the sky faded to a brilliant indigo splayed about with stars. The grass now stretched out beyond to the horizon. Though the light was gone the grasses themselves glowed and gave light to the dark sky. He now could feel the gentle breeze against his cheek. Then the air was squeezed from his lungs in a tight grip and he felt himself be pulled backwards by some unseen force.

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Tada chapter one!!! Whatcha think? And just to set things straight for the hopefuls out there, no Takeru and Daisuke are not involved. They are not a couple. I wasn't sure if I made that clear or not. Anyway that's all for now!!! Hope you liked!

 

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