[Mkguild] MK: The Long Day (1/5)

[Hallan Mirayas]

Well, this story should put to rest any accusations that Metamor Keep stori=
es never have transformations.  :)

/italics/ -underline- as usual

Hallan

------

The Long Day

   by Hallan Mirayas


   "C'mere, you."

  =

"Mmmm=85  mmp!"  Drift grabbed for the edge of the rooftop as the
fox-bat's leaning kiss put him off balance.  Alexis giggled and wrapped
her arm around him to keep him from slipping.  He wrapped his arm
across her shoulders in turn, for mutual security, and tilted his head
back to watch the stars.  "This was a good idea, Alexis.  I should do
this more often."  The pair sat on a rooftop in Metamor, a cool night
breeze wafting away the heat of the midsummer day.

   Alexis
pointed as a streak of light dashed across the sky, the third in as
many minutes.  "There goes another one!"  The moon had not yet risen,
the sky was clear, and the view was nothing short of spectacular.

  =

"I wonder what they are," Drift mused, watching the tiny streak of
light fade to nothingness.  "They're beautiful.  And why do so many
come so quickly this time of year, and not every night?"  He pointed,
sweeping an imaginary circle in the sky, centered on a constellation
almost straight overhead.  "And why, when they do, do they always come
from the Lady Rowena?"

   "Don't tell me nobody told you the
legend of Lady Rowena and her silver bow," Alexis said, sounding
surprised.  The story of Lady Rowena, with her hair the color of
moonlight, was a childhood bedtime story of long standing.  According
to legend, it was she who led the people of the Midlands in battle long
ago alongside the aedra, the dragons, and the elves, against the dark
hordes of Ba'al who swarmed over the northern mountains intent on
conquering everything in their path.

   "Yes, I'm familiar with
the story of the Great Alliance of Light, but that's not what I meant. =

Why not from another location?  Why that particular-"

   Alexis
laid two fingers of her left hand across his lips, and Drift could see
the silhouette of her head turned toward the building beneath them. =

"Shh.  Keep your voice down."

   Drift rocked back slightly, brow furrowed in puzzlement.  "I thought you=
 said you asked permission to watch from this roof."

   "Well," Alexis hedged, drawing the word out for an extra moment, "they d=
idn't specifically say 'no'."

   "Alex."

   "Oh, look two more!"

   "Alex."  Drift turned, and fixed the fox-bat in his gaze, his voice carr=
ying a note of disappointment.

  =

"If we damage anything, I'll pay for it.  But we won't."  She tapped
the roof with her fingertips, her long wing-claws ticking on the slate
shingles.  "This is a good, sturdy roof, and brand new.  You should
remember, since you helped haul the materials for it."  A mischievous
note crept into her voice and she switched from playing with the roof
tiles to playing with Drift's chestfur.  "Now, would you please take
off your ring?  You're much more snuggleable when you aren't imitating
an ice block."

   Drift rolled his eyes with an amused sigh and
took off the ring, threading it onto a leather strap that he looped
around his neck.  Immediately, the night breeze dispersed the cloak of
cool dry air around him, leaving him coughing from the change in
humidity.  "Ugh," he said with a grimace, but Alexis cuddled in anyway
with a sigh of happiness and smooched his cheek 'to make it better'. =

Mollified, the Samoyed went back to his earlier musings while Alexis
stroked his side with her hand, her wing furled back against her
elbow.  "I wonder=85"

   "The Lady isn't the only place star
showers come from, Drift.  It's just the only one we can see this far
in the north.  Farther south, there are several each year."

   "Really?"

   "Absolutely.  I don't know why, but it's true."

  =

"Wow.  I wish I could-"  A cascade of shooting stars interrupted him, a
barrage of arrows from the Lady's quiver arcing outward in all
directions across the sky.  "Wow.  That's-"

   A trap door flung
open farther down the roof, and a woman's head poked through, followed
by a lantern held high.  "Hey!  What're you two doing on my roof?" she
shouted when she spotted Drift and Alexis.

   Alexis swore when
a small crossbow followed the lantern into view.  "Run!" she yelled,
rolling backward and twisting to get her feet under her as she started
to slide down the slate-shingled roof, using the momentum to get
airborne.  Drift, caught by surprise, froze until he saw the crossbow
coming into line.  That got him moving, an undignified scramble down
the roof followed by a leap across the narrow alley to the next roof
over, vaulting the peak and taking cover behind it.

   "And stay
off my roof, you rotten thieves," the woman yelled.  "You'll not be
burgling -my- place, y'hear?"  The slam of the trapdoor added an
exclamation point to her defiant shout, both of which echoed in the
sudden quiet.

   Drift lay against the roof, panting and holding
his hand over his heart.  He looked around, his ears flattening, but
the few dim lanterns down at street level weren't giving enough light
for him to find what he sought.  "Alexis!!" he roared as he got to his
feet.  "You've got a lot of explaining to do, Alexis!"

   "Shh!"  Alexis hissed as she winged by.  "Brace yourself!"

  =

"What?" Drift asked, just before the bat arced around and collided with
him, sending him sprawling against the roof peak.  "Oof!  Ow=85"

   Alexis picked herself up from on top of him and dusted herself off.  "Ar=
e you alright?  I told you to brace yourself."

   Drift looked up at her incredulously.  "You're crazy!"

  =

"No, just not so good at landings, and I don't feel like crashing into
a chimney."  The flying fox furled her wings against her arms and
offered the Samoyed a hand up.  When he took it, she surprised him by
heaving him to his feet with barely a grunt.  As if sensing Drift's
surprise through his grip, she explained, "We bats fly without any of
those hollow-bone cheats that birds use.  It's all muscle power."  She
dusted him off in turn and stroked a hand against his shoulder.  "I'm
sorry," she apologized, her voice contrite.  "I should have asked about
the roof.  You were right."

   Drift harrumphed grumpily, but
softened when she rose onto her tiptoes and kissed his cheek.  "All
right.  Apology accepted."  He sat down again, drawing Alexis down
beside him, nestled her right hand inside his, and went back to
watching the stars.  A broad crescent moon started peeking above the
horizon as he asked, "Why did that person assume we were thieves come
to rob her?"

   Alexis chuckled.  "The rooftops of any city are
called the Thieves' Highway, Drift.  It's a good way to avoid the
watchmen, if you can keep your footing."  She smiled without turning. =

"Don't look so surprised, Drift.  Information is my stock in trade, and
thieves' guilds often have the best sources.  I don't buy goods from
them, the profit margin being too slim for the risk involved, but I
will buy information.  And I make it a rule to know about my
suppliers."  A frown was audible in her voice.  "I don't like
surprises."

   They sat in silence for a while, watching the moon rise amid the shootin=
g stars.  Finally, Drift asked, "If you knew-"

   "Please don't ask me that," Alexis interrupted.

   "Don't ask you what?"

   "If I knew a thief was going to break in and steal something, would I wa=
rn the guard."

   Drift jumped as if jabbed by a pin.  "How did you know I was going to as=
k you that?"

  =

Alexis turned to look at him, reaching up to stroke his cheek. =

"Because you're sweet and honest and just a little na=EFve.  It's one of
your most endearing qualities, but it makes you a bit predictable
sometimes."

   "Na=EFve??"

   "Do you see why I didn't want you to ask?"

   Drift half turned away, his brow furrowing and his ears twitching akimbo=
.  "Na=EFve?"

  =

"Oh, don't take it that way," Alexis said, wrapping her arms around
him, unfurling her wings to completely enshroud him.  "Yes, you are a
little na=EFve, but that's what makes you so attractive.  A lot of
people, going through what you have, would become jaded and cynical and
even selfish."  She ran her fingers through his headfur, playing with
the longer locks in front that were relics of the longer hair he'd had
before the Curse took hold.  "That you can still hope and dream like
you do is=85  admirable."

   He sat there thinking for a while,
enjoying her closeness and the scent of her perfume when she snuggled
her head under his chin, until he slowly realized that she had never
answered his question.  He fought with himself over it, but finally
decided.  "So=85 would you?"  He wasn't surprised when Alexis pulled
away, hurt, and wrapped herself in her wings.  He followed after,
pulling her back into his embrace.  "Please, Alex, I need to know." =

She sniffed, and Drift winced when he realized she was crying.  Edging
around down the roof until he was in front of her and closer to eye
level, he whimpered and bumped his nose against hers.  "I'm sorry. =

Please don't cry."

   She unfolded a wing and wiped at her
face.  "If it was really bad, and I could do it without tipping off
that I'd done so, yes, or arrange for conditions to be unfavorable. =

But you have to understand, Drift, most of the time you can't do that. =

It's never a good idea to sell out a source, especially if it's a
Thieves' Guild.  They tend to have nasty methods of payback."

  =

"I understand," Drift said, and meant it.  The earnestness of his reply
brought a smile back to her face, which broadened when he snuggled back
up against her side.

   "Do you know how adorable you are when you're being earnest?" she asked.

   "No, but maybe if you hum a few bars=85"

   Alexis laughed.  "Very cute.  I think that joke was old when the Suielma=
n Empire was born."

   "Some things never go out of style," Drift replied, chuckling.

   "Speaking of out of style," said Alexis, grinning wickedly at the openin=
g, "have you looked at your wardrobe lately?"

   "Hey, my clothes are fine!  Buying used is cheaper.  Sure, they're a lit=
tle worn, but they're comfortable."

  =

"Uh-huh.  And water is a little wet.  Right.  -I- think you wear old
stuff just so you can rip out of it into taur form.  Don't think I
haven't noticed that little grin you get when you think nobody's
looking, mister muscles."  She paused to let that sink in, and then
playfully added, "My, you must really be blushing for me to feel it
through all your fur."

   "Um=85  Er=85"  Drift stammered, at a
complete loss for words, blushing so vividly he was amazed his fur
wasn't glowing.  "Uh=85  that is=85"

   Alexis giggled and let him
off the hook.  "I'll make you a deal:  I'll take you to a tailor I
know, and we'll design a completely new wardrobe for you," she said,
sweeping her hand across before her in a broad gesture before counting
points off on her fingers.  "If you don't like it, I'll pay for every
penny, do whatever you want with the lot, and never bring up the
subject of your clothes again.  Fair enough?"

   Drift leaned back against the rooftop, pensive.  "I don't know, Alexis. =
 That sounds pretty expensive."

  =

She put a hand on his belly, gently stroking.  "It'll be worth it.  I
promise."  She turned her big brown eyes on him, a move they both knew
he was vulnerable to.  "Please?"

   "Aack!  Not the Eyes again!  That's not fair!"

   Her lip started to tremble.  "Pleeeease?"

  =

"All right!  All right!"  Drift threw a hand dramatically in front of
his eyes as a shield, his tail thumping a laugh against the roof
shingles.  "You win!  I'll do it!  Just enough with the cute already!" =

He chuckled and put his hand back down, snuggling her against his
side.  "Cheater."

   Alexis giggled and kissed him on the cheek.  "You'll like it.  I promise=
."

   "Shameless arm-twister."

   "Of course."

   "Do you get all your deals by making puppy eyes?"

   "Mmmmmaybe."

   "Shameless."

   "Oh, hush and watch the star shower, you!"

   Drift's laughter rang into the night.

_________________________________________________________________
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