The Heir of Aiwan--Book 1

chapter 10

He could feel the weight of falling into nothingness. Like both being sucked into a drain and also floating like a feather. It's drifting and it's also agony. The weight of his body collides with something both hard and also strangely wet. It gives way just a little as he sinks into the hard-packed ground. His hands had instinctively caught his fall in a less that graceful way. With his luck, something was probably strained, if not broken. Apparently, not all sidhe land on their feet when they fall. Their reflexes are quick though. He pushed his body up with his hands, wincing a little against the pressure in his wrists. His eyes are still out of focus, not really having any concept of where he could even be in this moment. It could be Aiwan or it could be Connecticut. It just looks like an out of focus green blur at the moment. Shades of emerald and putrid yellow and brown, so much brown. He rest against what he assumes is a tree, based solely on texture as he tries to just breathe. Alwyn's training has taught him the power of breathing. While he doesn't think it could cure blindness, it will bring his heart rate down to a normal speed and it might help his body adjust to the hell he just put it through. He moved through time and space, the wildness of that notion is not lost on him.

His limbs are weak, and he locks out his knees to keep from pitching forward, even though lying down right now might be exactly what his body needs. It is not what Emma needs, and for her he will have to push past this nausea and disorientation. Finally, things start coming into focus. First his shoes, then his jeans, then the ground in front of him. The first order on his agenda has to be to find out where he landed. Then, he needs to find some new clothes and maybe a friend. As Alwyn's body relaxes against the tree behind him, he starts to sweep a gaze around and send eyes and ears out around him. It's then that he truly realizes how vulnerable he has been these last ten or so minutes, as he adjusted to this new reality. The luck is not lost on me.

He pushes off the tree to give his legs a true test, his knees bending and dipping as he bounce onto his toes. Alwyn can feel the strength coursing through his body again. He can hear a faint rustling that cannot be too far from his current location and a small murmuring of voices. He cautiously take steps in that direction, trying his best to stay light on his feet, always prepared for a fight. The fallen leaves make it difficult to be entirely silent, but he makes slow work through the forest. He can feel an itch inside, a fire burning that makes Alwyn want to make a run for it. It feels painful to be this slow, however, he has a lot of practice pushing that feeling down. The noise and shuffling get louder and louder until he can make out a small cluster of buildings a short distance ahead. Stalls and people and shops. The noise growing steadily louder as he moves closer. He is about 20 or 30 yards from the clearing when he feels it. Someone is behind him.

It's like rubber darts being tossed into the back of his head. He tries to keep his shoulders from tensing. His feet making slow work of the trek forward towards the noise in front of him with careful attention to what might be brewing behind him. He is careful both not to call attention to the crowds in front of him and also keep from alerting the predator stalking behind. He takes slow, deep breaths in and out of his nose anticipating the encounter. He feels not hearing their quick approach.

Pausing, poised on his front toe, he looks down to the ground and stills his body and his breath, listening. The energy around Alwyn shifts and charges. He feels the approach. He ducks low making myself a smaller target, and pivots on the balls of his toes, hands clenched up around his shoulders and stance slightly wide. The other fae sinks down onto a knee, swiping the other leg around in an arch. Alwyn thrusting his hips out slightly bending at his knee and he jumps into the air, catching the other fae off guard. The weight of the other body pushing up into his as he charges him. For his height, Alwyn notices that he is noticeably light. Alwyn has taken him off guard. The other fae topples over, the weight of Alwyn pushing him over and he almost loses his own balance in the momentum.