Learning to fall

<font color='#810541'>Turon bolted upright, startled. Alarmed, yet at the same time trying ont to show his amusement and smugness over Etincelle's reaction to his spell, he was nonetheless concerned. "Faulty??!? What do you mean??" he demanded. Could someone have been messing with her senses? Turon mused thoughtfully. Lucas! he thought suddenly, his agile mind jumping right away to the most likely candidate. The filthy bastard! I knew he was a scoundrel, but I didnt think even he would stoop that low!He thought, raging inwardly. But hey, hold on old man, he told himself sternly, you're jumping to conclusions again. Even if it was him, you have no proof. It could have been almost anyone else, after all... "Whats wrong with your senses?" he asked sharply. Settling back and focusing on her reply, he never realized that in all the confusion he'd forgotten to shield. "Im waiting for your answer..." he reminded Etincelle impatiently with a low little growl, a toss of his head, and an extra thump on the ground with his plumed tail.</font>

 

<font color='#0000FF'>Lucas growled at the tree.  During the Etincelles and Turon conversation the tree and him had got into a tremendous battle.  The tree would try and slap him with vines and he would bite them or wack them away.  He hissed when one poked him in the eye.

"Owy!"  He covered his eye with one paw and the with other batted the vines away.

The tree slammed the pendragon into it branch.  Lucas shrieked and a giant lightning bolt shattered to the ground making the earth quiver.</font>

 

<font color='#810541'>"You leave the magic bit to me sweatheart. But tell me...WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY FAULTY SENSES?? In what way have they been/are they faulty??"</font>

 

<font color='#000000'>Etincelle's response stopped Turon cold. Could she have been sensing him?? He wondered, flabbergasted, shielding as tightly as he could. He had first started Searching for her about 7months back...and had sent another query after her about 5 moons back! But normally they should have  returned and told him of her whereabouts without her knowing anything, not even that he was Searching her! and he had found her only just before she had found Lucas, and doubtless Lucas had distracted her from Sensing him nearby. Except of course for those other times she had mentioned...but somehow, the more he got to know Etincelle, her past, and her potential, the less surprised he was that many people were Ssearching for her. He was now convinced that Etincelle had unwittingly Ssensed the presence of other Pendragons' minds near her, especially if they were Searching her. Turon shivered and the hair stood up on his spine as a chill went fown the length of his back. Even if Etincelle didn't know it, and it sure sounded like she didn't, she had incredible potential. And Turon wasn't sure he wanted to be around when she found out about it. Much less be the one to tell her. So he couldn't tell her about what her faulty senses were. But he needed to persuade her to have complete confidence in her senses.
But first he opened a tuny chink in his barrier-spell for him to peek through (although he made sure that, given the angle, Etincelle woudn't be able to see through) - and almost gasped with amazement and wonder as a giant electric-blue lightning bolt shattered the ground near a tree - a tree that, interestingly enough, seemed to be fighting an enraged Lucas who dangled by one paw from its branches, obviously against his will.
Turon was no fool. The sky was still clear and the sun was just rising, showing a bright blue sky. He saw the air around Lucas crackle as the lightning bolt hit the ground near the tree. So, his aim was a little off. But what interested Turon the most was the surprised look on Lucas's face - Etincelle wasn't the only one around here with incredible amounts of potential! But he hastily closed the barrier again.
"Etincelle. Your mind is open to me now, through our speech-channel. I would be able to tell if your senses were damaged, or 'faulty' as you put it - and they're not. I can't tell you what you were Sensing right now - maybe if we work at it together we can figure it out, but we're a bit pressed for time in case you hadn't noticed." And with that he broke open the whole barrier and bounded out towards Lucas, who seemed in need of help. And in the commotion, it never occured to Turon to wonder why he was helping his arch-enemy, who just a short while ago he had been quite willing to strangle.</font>

 

<font color='#000000'>Turon reached Lucas first, Etincelle right behind him. Lucas was lying on the ground now, where the tree, now a shattered ruin, had dropped him as it crumbled. In all the confusion, Etincelle had forgotten to shield and he caught all her words. Etincelle! I had no idea it was this bad, I heard a commotion and thought it was just Lucas trying to be difficult, just trying to interrupt, so I put a barrier around us to keep up from hearing or seeing him, I didnt even look up at him first, I only saw what was happening right before you did, or I swear, I would have let you know! All this took only seconds to convey as they ran up to Lucas. Turon nudged the fallen pendragon with a paw, urging him up. "Hello friend. you seemto have gotten yourself into quite a spot of trouble here." He said, trying to be friendly. "I'm sorry. We had no idea what was going on over here until a second ago, and then we came as fast as we could." And he waited for the Lucas, who was stillying there on the ground, to make some move or to reply.</font>

 

<font color='#0000FF'>Lucas look at the two of the and stood up.  He limped to the tree and kicked it hard.

"Was okay..."  He growled and the tree set afire and then he hissed and the bonfire grew quickly.  He limped away from the bonfire, his aura getting softer.

He looked at Turon and nodded and then at Etincelle.  He smiled at her.  "I back?"  He limped away from the fire and sat on his haunces and licked his sore paw.</font>

 

<font color='#000000'>"I think we were mostly done with all we needed to cover...unless you have any other questions, Etincelle? Barring that, Lucas, I'm glad you're ok, and of course you can come back." Turon smiled at Lucas, genuinely friendly. "Etincelle?"</font>

 

<font color='#0000FF'>Lucas looked at Etincelle.  He shook his head.

"Just happens."  He looked at the tree.  "Sorry"</font>

 

<font color='#32CD32'>Turon telepathed, as urgently as he knew how, to Etincelle. Etincelle! Cast about with you mind ! shut your eyes if necessary. you should feel a sort of...thought-object, you'll know it when you find it... anyway, there should be a sort of thought-line trailing from it, follow that with your MIND, and you will find another mind at the other end of it. Probe that mind, I don't give a damn for protocol rules, delve into that mind and extract all the information you can. This is NOT a Spying mission, it's for your own personal safety, and I've a hunch - although I could be wrong about this, but my hunches have generally been reliable in the past - that is may lead to something about your family. But HURRY, or it wil be too late! There is no time to argue if you want to find out. Do it NOW!</font>

 

<font color='#32CD32'>"Lucas!" Turon cried. "quickly, there is no time to lose. Please belive me on this, I know I havnt given you any reason in the past to trust me, but I promise, if I lie on this you can personally twist my body into whatever mangled shape you want. Please?" He paused a second, then continued, "she says she has been recieving probes, searching for her, although she did not know them for such, during the past few months. 2 of them I sent myself, although she does not know that either, but she says that there have been many of more of them. I have a hunch - and my hunches are usually, although not always, correct, that this may lead us to some clue about her family. I told her to cast about with her mind to try to follow it - she evidently has great potential if she can sense probes as tightly shielded as mine were! - but I guess she didn't have the training she needed to follow the probe. Will you help me search for it? It will be easier if we link minds, alhtough I understand your want for privacy if you prefer not to. Our bodies will be in no physical danger from this, all we are doing is casting about us with our minds to seek the probe, and follow its trail back to its source. Will you help me? Please Lucas, I doubt if I am strong enough to do it on my own. We don't have very much time if we are to do it. Etincelle is not physically injured in any way, only exhausted from all the power she was trying to channel in herself, and I have not the triaining to heal mind injuries, only bodily ones - besides, that would be invading her privacy too much, and I have not recieved exlplicit permission from her. Lucas, will you help me just this once? It is for etincelle's sake, after all..." All this Turon said incredibly quickly, although still quite comprehebsibly, to try and waste as little time as possible. The longer they waited the harder it would be to find it....</font>

 

<font color='#0000FF'>Lucas looked around and snapped his neck.  He walked to Turon and sat infront of him.  He put his hind paw on Turons front paw and then turned to Etincelle.  He bent down over her and put his muzzel beside her muzzel.

"Use my strength.  I heal her."  He started chanting and he went right into her mind to try to heal her.</font>

 

<font color='#32CD32'>Far yet no so far away, Mirna was sitting by the entrance to her cave, tucked away in a protected spot. It had to be protected - she and her husband, Jeffrey, had been on the run from first her sister Yonara, and then the Graders, for the past hundred years or more - she had most track by now. It was hard to remember the time when she, her husband, her sister, and her sister's friend Fugue had been traveling together to see more of the world, and the joy she had experienced at the birth of her twin children, Etincelle and Tenebres. Then Yonara and Fugue had turned against her, Yonara to claim to the Graders that she, Mirna, wanted to take over as ruler, and Fugue had stolen her precious Etincelle, who even as a baby showed more aptitude than her brother. Forced to flee from Yonara and the graders, and knowing that baby Tenebres would only slow them down, earning both their death and his, she had sent him to her old Mentor to learn what he could, while she and Jeffrey had fled, trusting no one, telling noone who they were or where they were going. For the past couple years though, now that they had finally found a refuge in this hidden cave,  she had started to search passionately for her two lost children. Now, it seemed she had finally found a trace of Tenebres, and she was waiting at her cave entrance, elated, yet not wanting to get her hopes up too high, for jeffrey to return from hunting. Together they could probe harder and find out if it really was Tenebres she had sensed. Please, god, she thought, let it be him. after all these long years of running and searching...</font>

 

<font color='#32CD32'>Turon was startled by Lucas's unexpected response, but there was no time to lose. Reaching out with his mind, he felt for the power in Lucas's mind, and grabbed it as Lucas had given permission for him to do. Casting about him, he searched through the greyness for a spiral, which was the shape of probes. There...a dark green spiral, away over there...Quickly, he leaped (mentally) after its retreating form and bounded beside it as whoever had sent it drew it back in. There...a form, lying motionless in the grey, slumped on the ground, with a protection shield drawn around it. The only people visible in this parallel were those casting spells . Yet this one was obviously asleep - and Turon watched, suddenly comprehending, as the probe reached him and disappeared. And as Turon approached, he was suddenly struck with this Pendragon's likeness to Etincelle - so much so that he became convinced they were related. Reaching into the strange Pendragon's mind, Turon learned its name and called Tenebres? I will not harm you. I am with the Pendragon whom you just sent a probe to. If you follow me I will lead you back with me and waited for Tenebres to reply.</font>

 

<font color='#0000FF'>Lucas felt quite weak but continued to probe Etincelles mind for the pain.  He felt a pain in the back of his head.  Everything was opening up again.  He cried out.  He found her pain.  He cried out again.  He pulled back and started having a sesure.  He had taken her pain with his own.</font>