Labor's Love Lost 6

While Remal was out working on a Steed flight course off in J'ren with some Owner friends of Coahani's, she was busy taking care of their daughter Rahani. Studying hard in the afternoon was followed by a long evening talking with her mother, and Rahani asked about Remal.

“I expect that when he's finished, Lord Lagonan and Lady Boyaan will have no trouble with vermin or extra animals on their race course.” She explained that Remal's job was to locate whatever would stand a chance of getting in the way of a good race – deer and grazers primarily, predators and finally vermin after that. Anything that might jump out and startle a Steed, try hunting it, or disturb the feed pens.

“Then is he coming home? Will he bring a Steed?” The nine-year-old asked eagerly.

“You'd like that if he did, wouldn't you?” Asked her mother.

“I would,” she nodded. “I want one that's just like me!”

“Just – just like you? How?” Coahani said, pursing her lips.

“With green fur and yellow trim,” she indicated her own slightly fur covered skin, “shiny mane and tail and dark eyes.” Her own hair was a metallic shade of spring green, while her eyes were a rich brown. “I would want one with wings, though, because the grounded ones don't have enough feathers.”

“No, no they don't,” Coahani said. She'd never given much thought that her daughter would be more Steed-tuned than Remal, or perhaps it was just that she was surrounded by mink all the time and wanted a change of pace. Steeds did pay attention to her, but she was also keenly aware whenever they were feeding the animals. One bag of grain had gotten wet and slightly rotten, she didn't even let them open that bag, it was destroyed in case it would infect others. So she had an affinity for plants as well as animals, and Coahani was quite happy with that.

“Well how about we find out whether he will be paid in Steeds,” Coahani suggested. In a short conversation with her friend Lady Boyaan, Coahani let slip a little information here and there. In the end, it looked as though the Lord and Lady could try hooking something up.

“Anything for an up and coming Animal Mistress,” the Lady Boyaan winked. “You know Remal will be here for a bit, it's uphill work. The course is, well, it's almost uncontrollably huge.” She rolled her eyes, “and it's on such uneven terrain. My husband is so enfatuated with those vertical drops and climbs, you know. His Steeds can't fly a straight line to save their lives.”

Even young Rahani burst out laughing at that comment. “Well I want one that can fly all right,” she peeped.

“We'll find you one, dear,” Boyaan said. “You should come out and see the place, when we're finished. The stands will be scattered far and wide, but every seat is a good seat. Just because of those ups and downs, of course…”

She eventually got that Steed of hers. Coahani and Remal searched far and wide, and eventually Remal bred one almost out of desperation. He found each Steed just a little off – but at last the work paid off. In spring of 1920, years after Lagonan and Boyaan's “J'ren Fabulous Fliers” race course opened, Remal had his daughter come outside to their new stable. From within the young woman could hear the distinct nickering and rustling of feathers that could only come from –

“You found one!” She cried. At the sound of her voice, a small colt stepped from the dark doors. His head was low, in curiosity, but his ears were foreward and not shy or angry. His eyes were as dark as Rahani's, and his fur as bright as her skin. His wings were masterful shades of yellow, green and shiny gold, while his mane and tail a bright shock of spring. Fair palamino blended to a flaxen shade near his hooves, which were graced by more of the green fringe feathers. When he got close enough to Rahani, he raised his nose to hers and sniffed at her.

“He likes you,” Remal said. “Can you tell?”

“Of course I can,” she replied. “Have you named him?”

“No, that's for you to do,” her father told her. “He has a pedigree a mile long, but I put his dam and sire together myself at the north projects.”

“I didn't know that was what you were doing there,” Coahani muttered with a grin.

“If you had known you'd have given it away,” Remal joked.

Their daughter meanwhile was busy showering the colt with the affection that had been building up in her for a decade and a half. She'd almost lost the memory of wanting such a specific Steed, but seeing him brought it right back to her.

“Green Memory,” she pronounced, and the colt threw his head back. He was spirited, but not too headstrong. It looked like his long legs were practically too skinny for his frame, but according to Remal he would grow into them. His sire was terribly tall, and his dam very even in build. Green Memory became Rahani's only driving obsession from then on.

The wild lands in the middle of Altem's mountains were where Rahani decided to test her own Steed breeding skills. Her father's exceptional patience and talent came through in her, but with her mother's confidence and style. There were a wide assortment of others who chose to settle the same area. Big towering cliffs rich with hardwood trees and dense forests were split up by a gentle river as well as bog-meadows that showed the signs of grazing by wild creatures. The air was always a bit chilly, but Rahani didn't mind. She enjoyed bundling up with her mother's fur coats, and there was always a nice cabin with a warm fire at the end of the night.

One night though, there was a sound that Rahani couldn't identify coming from the west. A kind of keening, wailing. “What could be causing that horrific noise?” She asked herself, as no one else was in her Hold at that moment. It was like no animal she'd ever heard, and she could sense no outright distress from any of the local wildlife. Perhaps it was a migratory bird or one of those gigantic beetles that sang. She wasn't sure they grew here in Altem, though.

Curiosity finally got the better of her. She stood and put on a warm snug coat, and reached for her hand lights. Even though she was raised by a Lady in the finest of circumstances, Rahani had never known true fear. She went outside without even wondering that there might be a danger to herself or others.

She heard footsteps coming near, in the dark of the woods. Then she saw another hand light, bolting toward her in jagged waves. “Heyo,” she called, “who is on my Hold?”

A panting voice called out, “it's – Izhaha – just – me!” He was a neighbor, living near by on another Steed farm. He looked panicked. “The BeastLady is – out there – ” he panted. “I think – something's happened to her!” The burly dark-skinned Worker rested his hands on his knees and ventilated himself slowly, gaining his composure was something that took longer.

“Out there, where?” Rahani asked, “is … is that what that noise is?”

“The Beast Lady has a sonic power, too,” Izhaha said, “I must find her!”

He started off, and Rahani had no choice but to follow or be left wondering what the outcome would be. Every minute or so, that wail would start up again. They got closer to it, had to circle around a bit. There was a gorge, completely dark at this time of night and surrounded by tall menacing trees and sharp stones. Apparently, the other Animal Mistress had gotten herself into it, perhaps sometime during the day.

“BeastLady Shadeesh!” Izhaha bellowed, and there was a faint voice below that responded.

“Izhaha—I can't move!” She said, without amplification with her power, she was weak indeed.

“We can't see you!” Izhaha said, beginning to panic. “Do you have a light with you?”

“No,” she said, and Rahani began looking around. Why had she brought two hand lights? Was she getting precognitave now? That didn't matter. What did, was that they find her.

“Beast Lady,” Rahani yelled, “do you have bones broken?”

There was a pause, “I think so,” she said, and the keening noise started up without her really controlling it. “It hurts so much, and I've been here all evening!”

“Was she working with a Steed?” Rahani asked, but then shook her head at her own silly question. “That can wait. Izhaha, you try and find a way down there, I want to try something.”

The Worker nodded, less frantic now that they'd located the approximate whereabouts of his employer. Rahani then breathed deeply and began thinking about her plan. She could feel so many animals nearby. There was one, a predator that was somehow quite satisfied with itself, very near.

“Did an animal hurt you!?” Rahani yelled, and waited for the reply.

“No, not me… But my Steed, it got my Steed,” she again wailed.

Well that meant the predator would be out of the way. With a full belly it had no reason to return. Now, Rahani cast about for a more specific creature. She located a dozen sleeping animals, but one that was awake this time of night would do well enough. A thick-feathered bird approached, when she exerted some command over it's will.

“Take this, your talons are big enough to hold it,” she said to the owl-like avian. “Take this to the woman below.” Rahani had met the BeastLady a number of times, they were on good terms if somewhat distant due to the terrain separating their Holds. She sent a clear image of the scent of Shadeesh and the brightness of her orange-flame hair. “Take this, give this to her. Quickly!”

The bird didn't know why it went off in that direction, but it was urgent. It swept its wide grey wings apart, and dove into the gorge. A minute went by, and then the keening stopped abruptly. “What is this?” Shadeesh called out quietly. “Oh!”

Izhaha caught sight of the hand light that the owl had delivered, as it struck into the blackness of night. “I see you! My Lady I've found you!”

“I'll go get a Healer!” Rahani yelled, “Don't try and move her! Her legs might need setting!”

“I think they do,” Izhaha said, his voice cracking with emotion. “Oh, BeastLady your …” He cut himself off, apparently the sight was too great.

Rahani bolted back to her homestead, its warm light bringing her near easily enough. It was a wonder that such dangerous terrain lay so close to her home! Most likely the gorge belonged to neither she nor Shadeesh. She ran inside, tore off her gloves, and frantically pushed the vid buttons trying to get anyone who was awake. Nearby, and awake.

Shortly, she found that one of the local establishments, a newly built inn, was hosting its opening party. Indeed, a batch of high-status people had invested in it, and one of them happened to be a qualified Breeder.

He put down his wine glass and got serious quickly. In fact Rahani had never seen such a speedy reply in a healer! Minutes later she heard the sound of a hovervehicle outside, and flagged them down. “It's this way, you can bring the craft through, the trees are wide apart here.” Rahani led them to the gorge, where Izhaha's voice was calmly trying to soothe the Beast Lady.

“They're here already,” he said, “can you bring him here?”

“In a moment,” said the Breeder. “Have this wood ready with some – does anyone have anything to bind her to it if we must lift her?”

Rahani brought some heavy cloth that would normally be used to bind steeds legs, which the Breeder said would do perfectly. Within half an hour he had been down to the bottom of the gorge himself, and used a bit of his own psionic power on her wounds. Then he summoned the wood panel, which had been left over from the building's raising. Rahani thought to herself that this man was surely the most well-prepared and level-headed Breeder she'd ever met.

Not that she'd met a ton of Breeders, but…

With Shadeesh tied snugly to the board at her waist and shoulders, with her legs splinted together and her hands clutching the board itself, the group that had come with the Breeder, Rahani, and Izhaha all took turns getting her out of the steep pit. While down there, Rahani caught a glimpse of the carcass of the Steed she'd been working, and swallowed back a few tears. The beast which had eaten it was hardly a villian, he had to eat of course, and this was his territory before it was the Zekirans.

To hear anyone else talk about it, though, the beast was a menace and needed to be put down.

As the Breeder led their crew back to Rahani's small home, she thought about what to do about the animal down there. The Membayar and Suzeraan pair vocally argued it should be put down immediately. The Breeder remained silent about it, as he was trying to concentrate his energies on the injuries at hand. Izhaha kept silent as well – mostly because he felt outclassed by all the high-status folks. Only Rahani and the other Beast Lord continued to disagree about the animal.

“It's only fending for itself,” he said, “no different from any of us. And he saw an opportunity. Would any of us decline a perfect opening for a good meal?”

“It was the woman's Steed! That's not an ‘opportunity!'” Said the Mistress. Her husband Suzeraan Utal nodded.

“If we're to be settling this area, then we need to be sure of the surrounding wildlife. And it needs to be aware of us as well.”

“But we're invaders into their territory,” Rahani pointed out. “If a banquet was laid out before you, you'd hardly seek everyone's permission to eat. And remember, this is a mere animal. I … Felt it, it was not concerned about chasing any of us away, even though we're in his territory.”

“Oh it's a he now,” said the Mistress.

“Certainly,” BeastLord Talrom stated, and though it seemed the others weren't all that sure of him, they had to admit that he and Rahani had a point. “And since he's capable of taking down a fully adult Steed, albeit one which was unable to fly away with the forest in the way, I would say that giving him a wide berth would be the prudent method.”

“It borders my Hold,” Rahani said, “I can annex it and keep it under supervision, if that would make you all happy?”

“Opal would be a safer place if it were destroyed,” the Mistress muttered, but agreed that if Rahani could keep it away from everyone else, have at.

While the group discussed things, the Breeder, actually Beast Breeder Keltek, finished up working on the BeastLady. Her feet were still horribly crushed, and from what she said it was a very bad spill to get where she was.

The Steed had been unsure of the terrain, she told them when she was rested. “His wing clipped a tree limb and he spiraled straight down into the gulley. But then I think his far wing caught under something, and he panicked. The next thing I knew I had been thrown, and he fell onto me.”

“That broke her ribs,” the healer announced.

“It hurt terribly but not nearly as much as what happened next,” she said. Shadeesh continued with the group rapt. “That animal, it was huge, I don't even know what it is. I've never seen anything like it. Bigger than a Hern rat by twice, with a shaggy coat, and small eyes. Paws the size of a serving plate.”

The others almost started to scoff at that but Rahani nodded – that was what she got from listening in on the animal itself.

“And it sprang upon Skytower without even a sound,” Shadeesh related. “When Skytower reared up he struck one of the trees, and it broke away when he fell on it. It all landed on me, my legs.” She waved her hand listlessly at her ruined feet. “And it stayed there the whole time that animal ate my Steed.”

Everyone was silent, but finally the innkeeper stood and brushed his arms and hands off. “It's quite an adventure. But it's also quite late! I hardly want to let my investment property's party go without me for much longer, eh?” The Suzeraan chuckled a little and his wife heartily agreed. “We can take you home, if you wish, BeastLady Shadeesh?”

“You're welcome to stay here,” Rahani suggested, “if you wish.”

“Or the inn,” Mistress Tewhi smiled. Probably neither of them expected her to take them up on it. Clearly she'd be best off at home, with Izhaha to tend her. He was far more loyal than just an employee, and Shadeesh's attention to him this evening was more than merely genial.

“We'll head home, thank you,” she told inkeeper Utal.

There wasn't enough room on the hover for everyone, so without any hesitation the Beast Lord Talrom asked, “would it be too much to presume that I stay here for the evening? It's been quite a lot of excitement…”

Even though it was very late, in fact almost morning, Rahani suddenly felt enervated. She'd hardly had a moment to think about herself, all evening. Suddenly she wondered if she was dirty or if her hair was brushed.

Talrom apparently didn't care either way, he hardly concerned himself with anything other than looking straight into Rahani's eyes.

His own eyes were very dark, violet-black. Darker than Rahani's but not by much. It was the rest of him that had clearly been making the others a bit nervous. His head was longer, he didn't have a snout like a muzzle, so much as an extended mandible that drew his mouth farther down to a round chin under a widely flared nose. The fact that he looked a lot like a Steed occurred to Rahani, his hair was dark brown, but in a bit of a stiff mane that she could see was tucked under his hooded jacket. He had long, sharp ears – just like a Steed's. His skin was pale beige, though at the bottom of his wide neck, Rahani could see small dots of dark brown like his hair. Who would she be to judge him for his odd appearance, she had a tail and fur after all…

“You're … very welcome to share my Hold for the evening,” Rahani said at last. “Thank you for asking.”

That stay turned out to last a little longer than Rahani realized. It had been little more than a few months, but in that short time Izhaha had been richly rewarded by Shadeesh and with that money he invested in a further extention of the lands beyond hers. Because of that, and the Inn, and Rahani's hold and the scattered few others nearby, the group of locals were able to petition for City Zoning – and the City of Opál was founded!

Finally one morning she awoke with him beside her she smiled widely. He was a fine man, courageous and strong, smart, and Rahani loved Steeds so she even considered him to be passably handsome if a little different. He was an exceptional lover, she purred to herself making the morning's zpara. And his tunings! Any steed they encountered was likely to bow to his expert touch, where Rahani was more broad in her appeal to other animals as well. She had to admit they made an excellent couple.

She wondered if her parents would think so, and thought with ease about calling them to come to her homestead and meet him. They could travel to the Covered Bridge and its environs of course, the estate and vinyard had been combined into one large Hold a few years back. He would like it there, it was a beautiful open land with lots of good people.

Rahani smiled again to herself and began to take a deep whiff of the zpara while it brewed, and suddenly was overtaken by a violent urge to vomit! She rapidly carried herself into the bathroom and let loose with the sad remnants of her stomach's contents, but even then felt dizzy and miserable. It couldn't have been something she ate, it was a dish that she'd prepared exactly that same way with the same locally grown ingredients for half a year now. It obviously hadn't bothered Talrom either, but that didn't say much because he could eat almost anything and keep it down.

He wouldn't be poisoning her, would he?

That thought graced her mind only briefly before she reconsidered its impossibility. He had his own Holds and Steeds to worry about, he wasn't that kind of person. While sitting on the floor of her small bathroom Rahani tried to ponder. But then she just threw up again.