Once AJ was gone, the area around the campfire stayed quiet. Brian simply sat, staring into the flames. So much had happened that his mind had been racing nonstop. But being able to relax with AJ had helped take a big part of his pain away. Or, if not away, then at least helped him to be able to control it. He still hurt, but he was closer to finding peace.
This new development, though, had him worrying a little again. What did they know about this Donnelly character? AJ seemed to trust him and Brian typically trusted AJ’s assessment of people. But too many bad things had happened to them lately for him to feel easy about someone just happening to pop up in the right place at the right time, full of this old prophecy that says his family is bound to serve AJ in this endeavor. It all seemed too pat.
Not to mention that the man got under his skin a little. Oh, sure, Brian knew he was probably overreacting a little. It wasn’t like the man had threatened AJ or anything. He was just…bold, for lack of a better word. A little cocky about himself it seemed and sure of his own power and place in life. He acted like they were all equals. Like he had the right to question everything that they said or did.
If he was honest with himself, which he tried very hard to be, Brian had to admit that what bothered him the most was that, one, they had no way to be absolutely sure of this man and any potential threats to AJ automatically put Brian on edge; and two, Donnelly hadn’t exactly spoken to AJ in a way that Brian had liked. Maybe that sounded conceited, but that was just the way it was.
Apparently Donnelly was contemplating something along the same lines, because he suddenly spoke up. “So, are we going to talk about it?” he asked casually.
Deliberately Brian turned his head slowly, letting the full force of his tricolored eyes lock on to Donnelly. “Talk about what?”
“About whatever it is I did to piss you off.” Was the blithe reply. “I’m not quite sure what it was, but I know it happened. Can’t afford to have you of all people pissed at me. So, you gonna tell me or do I just get to sit here and guess?”
The sheer cheek of this man! Just demanding answers this way, as if he had the right. But Brian had to be honest with him. “It’s not that I don’t like you or anything, Donnelly. I just don’t trust you.” He said simply.
“What can I do to prove to you that I’m on your side?”
“Only time will tell. For now, I will reserve my judgment.”
Sighing, Donnelly chafed at his arms to warm them. “Ok, so you don’t dislike me, but you sure don’t like me. I doubt it’s all just because you don’t trust me yet. There’s more to it. If we want this partnership to work, I think I have the right to know.”
You almost had to admire the man’s audacity. Almost. But Brian’s emotions were still a little too raw, a little too close to the surface. Instead of shrugging off this man’s attitude as he might have done at a different time, Brian’s temper rose to the challenge. “The right to know?” He breathed out furiously. “You sit there and speak of rights to me? Of partnerships?”
Anger brought Brian to his feet. He could feel his body trembling a little with his temper. As soon as he rose, Donnelly rose too, clearly not wanting to be at a disadvantage.
Brian stared him straight in the eyes. “First, let us get a few things straight.” Brian snarled out. He raised one hand to point a finger at Donnelly. “This is not a partnership. Alex is the trulion, a role higher than I think you realize. Though I’m his baka and his partner in life, even I do not presume to be his partner in this endeavor. He will consult me if he sees fit and he will take my advice if it is good, but the ultimate decisions come down to him.”
Donnelly opened his mouth as if he would speak, but Brian bowled right over him. “Second, I want to say right here and now that you do have rights with us, I won’t take those away, but those rights do not allow you to talk to him the way you are, as if you’re the boss that’s just allowing him to come along. You act as if we owe you something. As if our purpose in life is to just drop everything and come return you and your family to Nellador.”
“But that is what your fate is!” Donnelly interjected. He looked slightly shocked. “That’s what the Goddess decreed. It is what prophecy has said.”
“Screw your prophecy!” Those words seemed to shock Donnelly more than anything else. “You have absolutely no idea what we’ve gone through to get to this point, kid. You don’t know what we’ve already sacrificed to our cause. The losses we’ve suffered or the pain we’ve endured. Without knowing any of that, you presume to tell us that this is fate? That we have to do this because a Goddess says so, that it’s what prophecy says? Fuck you prophecy and fuck yourself.”
Furious, Brian spun to pace away from the fire, trying to control his temper. In the back of his mind he felt the knot that was AJ pulse a little, warmth and love floating over, but nothing more. That actually made Brian’s heart swell with love a little. AJ trusted him enough that he didn’t even worry about why Brian was angry and yelling. He just had faith in him that it was all ok.
That granted Brian a little more control. He couldn’t betray AJ’s faith. Taking a deep breath, Brian turned to look at Donnelly again. With temper still in him it didn’t surprise him that his eyes were glowing a little. “You don’t understand, child, and until you do, I suggest you speak with a little more respect.”
The ‘child’ part had been a dig, one that Brian hadn’t been able to resist. He just hadn’t expected Donnelly to react so hard to it. Bands of air wrapped around Brian’s body, pinning his arms to his sides and his legs together. He felt the strength of them but didn’t bother trying to break them yet. Instead, he watched Donnelly’s face as the man strode forward, fury tightening his features.
“I’ve had about enough of being called a kid.” The man snapped at him. His eyes had lost that misty look and were bright and sharp now. “I’ve had plenty of people make the mistake that their age makes them somehow better than me. I’ve worked damn hard to prove to everyone I’m not a kid. But to come from some uppity little pop star punk like you, who’s younger than I am, I won’t stand for it! You will learn to show some respect yourself, or I’ll teach it to you just like I have plenty of other punk mages, no matter what your status is!”
Ok, enough was enough. This was beyond annoying now. Beyond frustrating. Brian literally felt his temper starting to boil inside. With iron control he kept it from boiling over too far. But that didn’t mean that he couldn’t teach this little punk a lesson.
So he wove air together, shaping it like a giant hand with which he grabbed Donnelly and lifted him off the ground. Still holding him there, Brian concentrated until he broke the weaves that Donnelly had used to hold him in place. The impact of those broken weaves jolted Donnelly.
Senses on alert, Brian felt as the man tried to ready another weave. In one quick instant a shield dropped over Donnelly before he could try anything. That just made the man’s eyes pop even more. Now that he was free, Brian stalked forward, firming the air so that it was like steps, letting him walk right up to where Donnelly was hanging.
When he was just inches away from his face, Brian stopped. “You think you’d teach me respect?” he hissed menacingly. “You think you’re so strong in the power that you can bind me in air and threaten me? Even before I was opened to my heritage, when I was simply an immortal, my magic was still stronger than what you are now. It has only grown since then.”
To illustrate the point, Brian pulled the weaves of air, bringing Donnelly closer. “I have killed more in my short existence than you can even dream of, young Donnelly, and witnessed more deaths of those I care about than I ever wanted to. I stopped being my age a long time ago. I am Brian o Littrell, heart song to Alyck o Tuian, Grandson to King Flreu, nephew to Tadhg, the baka. I am all races and none. I am ageless.”
Without warning, Brian released the weaves of air holding Donnelly, dropping him to the ground. Gracefully he followed him down to the ground.
It took him totally by surprise when Donnelly sprang from the ground and launched right at him. That element of surprise allowed Donnelly to catch him around the waist and knock them both to the ground. But by the time Brian hit the ground he was over his shock. He used their momentum against Donnelly, planting his hands and feet against the man and launching him over their heads. Quick as a snake Brian was up and flinging himself at Donnelly furiously.
He never connected. Air suddenly grabbed him, grabbed the both of them, and hoisted them upside down into the air. Just as quickly a shield was placed over the two so that neither could touch their magic. Hanging there, Brian watched as AJ strode toward the fire, hands on his hips, a scowl on his face. Behind him lay a littler carrying the carcass of a deer.
“Fine thing, this is.” AJ’s voice was deep and slightly annoyed. He moved to stand between the two of them, looking from one to the other. “I leave to go get us food and come back to find you two brawling like kids.”
Both Brian and Donnelly opened their mouths to protest and were promptly gagged with air.
“No, I don’t want to hear your arguments or excuses or any of that. I left you two here, hoping you would work out your differences. Apparently I was being overly optimistic.” That sharp gaze turned to Brian, locking eyes with him. His next words carried more weight, being backed by emotion in their bond. “You, I’m disappointed in.” The disappointment was a tangible thing, filling Brian’s mind and making him cringe slightly. “Being protective is one thing. Being hotheaded and rude is another.”
Those sharp eyes moved away from Brian and over to Donnelly. “You, honestly, deserved most of what you got, even if I don’t approve of how it happened. You’ve been raised in a family of mages, never having much contact with other magic users in the world. Because of this, I’ve been lenient with how you treat us. I’ve given you the special treatment that I would give to a longtime friend, hoping that you would relax and come to understand us.”
Anger brightened in the back of Brian’s mind where that little bundle of AJ’s emotions sat. He watched as his heart song stepped closer to Donnelly until they were face to face.
“Yet I find out that you have the nerve, the sheer audacity, to treat my baka as if he was a common street thug. You demand answers to this and that with no thought to anything else. Did you once stop to think about what we’ve been through in the past twenty four hours? Did you stop to think, when you were jumping at him to attack him, that this man lost his parents not even a full day ago? Not only that, but that he saw what was done to him? That he knows why it was done? Did you extend any form of courtesy to him because of his grief? Did you hold any understanding in your heart that would have made you hear his words with care, knowing they come from a place of pain right now?”
Backing away, AJ muttered something in Greek, shaking his head. He looked from one to the other again before he flipped them and brought them down to stand on their feet. Then he released all his weaves. Instantly Donnelly stretched his muscles and moved his mouth, making sure he had full use back. But Brian just stood there, staring at AJ.
Inside he felt slightly ashamed. Not of his words, no, for Donnelly had deserved those. But they could have been delivered in another manner. Not only that, but when Donnelly had attacked him, it would have been simple to immobilize him. But as AJ had said, Brian had been hotheaded and had let that provoke him into a fight.
“I can’t watch the two of you at all times. There will be times I’ll have to leave you alone together.” AJ said suddenly. “I expect the two of you to behave like adults. This means, baka, that you act in a way befitting your station. Imagine acting like this at home.”
That thought was enough to make Brian wince. Oh, man, to act like that around the elves would seriously get him in trouble.
“As for you, Maolán Ó Donnghaile, I expect you to behave as well. Half of what you got you deserved yourself. It’s mighty tempting to haul you off and spank you like a child.” AJ paused when it looked like Donnelly would speak. Quirking any eyebrow, he waited, the look on his face clearly daring Donnelly to push that button and see what would happen. When Donnelly snapped his mouth shut again, AJ grinned with satisfaction. “Good.”
All of a sudden the look on AJ’s face turned menacing. Brian felt the echo of AJ’s anger and had to resist going to him to try to soothe whatever was wrong. He found out quickly enough. “Now, I will warn you.” AJ said in a low voice. “If I ever find out that you have threatened Brian ever again, that you’ve ever treated him that way and threatened him without due cause, it will be me you’ll have to deal with and trust me, you won’t like that.”
Anger gone, AJ turned away from them and walked over to where their bags are. “I’m going to get my tools. The two of you, haul that deer close to the fire, would you?”
Not another word was spoken as they brought the deer over to the fire.