CHAPTER SIX: Resting by a Warm Fire

Five boys sat around a blazing campfire, munching on bread and cheese.

Two of the boys sat close together, talking and laughing quietly, stealing the occasional quick caress.

Three boys sat gazing into the flames, their eyes sleepy and unfocused.

"Um..." Duo cleared his throat, making three faces turn to him. "I think we should all get some rest now, huh, Hee-chan? You guys look like you're going to fall into the fire. Quat and I will take first watch."

Heero glared at him, amusement and irritation battling for control of his eyes. "And you expect us to get any rest while you're... 'watching'?"

Duo had the grace to blush. A little.

"We'll watch quietly." Quatre said, amusement definitely reigning supreme in his baby-blue eyes. Heero snorted, but headed for his blankets, followed by Trowa. Wufei went to the neatly stacked packs first, and retrieved the bundle Torlin had given him. Only then did he head for his bed, laying down with the package clutched firmly in one hand.

"'M dyin' to know what that is." Duo muttered, eyeing the package with bright, curious violet orbs.

"He'll tell us soon enough. Or we'll see it when he opens it. Don't push your luck, Duo. You're the only one he really trusts so far."

"I know. Don't worry, pretty blond. I won't do anything sneaky and upset him." The violet eyes turned to roam over his body, making Quatre shiver with desire. "I got a really good distraction right now, anyway."

They grabbed for each other's hands, and vanished into the shadows.

*

A few moments later, and the three nearly-asleep boys were brought back to awareness by barely-suppressed moans.

"I thought they were going to be quiet." Heero muttered, rolling over and pulling the blanket over his head.

Trowa snickered and looked at Wufei, who looked rather concerned. "It's nothing to worry about, Wufei. They're usually much louder." He was relieved to see some confusion in the Fire Talent's eyes - if Wufei wasn't sure what was going on, then perhaps their worries about Harris and his attempt to sell the boy to Duo were unfounded? Perhaps he'd only been trying to take advantage of the yearning Duo would have certainly had in his eyes...

Wufei's own eyes widened a bit, and he blushed, realizing what was going on. "Oh," he said softly, settling back down on the blanket, "I - forgot, I guess, what you said about them this morning."

Trowa sighed, not certain how to feel. So Wufei did know what was going on - but he'd had to think about it. Well, he'd have to get used to their very loud Second and Fourth - gods knew he and Heero had to get used to it! And it wasn't easy - those soft moans were beginning to get to him, make his body want things it wasn't allowed to have right now. Heero, too, shifted on his bed and muttered something under his breath.

Wufei alone seemed unaffected, which added to Trowa's emotional upheaval. Did their Fire even think about other boys that way? Duo's teasing returned to his mind, and his heart sank a little. He knew his Second well enough to know the threat behind the words was real. One way or another, in four days Wufei was going to know how Trowa felt about him. Was he setting himself up for a crushing rejection?

And how would that affect their WarCraft?

Well, he couldn't dwell on it, he told himself firmly. He needed to rest - Wufei seemed to have drifted off, probably exhausted after the unaccustomed long horseback ride. Heero's breath had evened out as well. Apparently, his First had been able to tune out the steadily-growing-louder moans and sighs.

Well, he'd had that talent once, too, hadn't he? Trowa settled his head more firmly on a folded blanket and closed his eyes.

*

"Trowa."

The Earth Talent sighed and grumbled slightly, not waking up.

"Trowa." There was amusement in the voice.

Trowa gave another grumbling sigh and squeezed his eyes more tightly shut.

"Trowa, man, I know you're tired, but it's your watch. Besides - you really need to wake up. You don't want to sleep through this, do ya?"

'What...?!'

Trowa pried open a weary green eye and saw nothing but black. He blinked, waiting for light from the campfire to tell him what he was seeing.

Nothing.

He raised a hand and found out that he was seeing something, after all - hair.

An inky puddle of soft black hair, attached to the head laying almost against his, the face turned in the other direction.

Trowa calmly ignored the sudden thunder of his heart and forced himself not to move, taking stock of his exact position.

Still on the blanket-bed he'd fallen asleep on, the one only inches away from Wufei's.

Cold, because the fire had died down to embers.

And Wufei had apparently been cold, too, instinct making him move toward the closest source of warmth.

Which was Trowa.

Who was also cold, and instinct made him wrap himself around the warmth that had joined him.

He was cuddling Wufei!

Well, sort of. Wufei lay almost next to him, his legs still on his own bed, one hand fisted in the blanket and the other tucked under his chin. Trowa had an arm around him, his face almost buried in that hair. Even as he watched, Wufei shifted a tiny bit closer.

Trowa sighed. Another hour, and he'd really have been cuddling the Fire Talent.

And someone had to wake him up!

At that thought, his head came up sharply, staring at the Talent laughing down at him.

'Gods... it had to be Duo...'

"Am I going to be able to live this down?" He asked softly, trying not to wake the exhausted Talent lying next to him.

"Of course not. C'mon, I hate to make you leave, but it is your turn to watch."

Trowa got up, still grumbling. Duo watched, amused, as he nearly stomped across the campsite and into the shadows. Very out-of-character for the tall boy, but Duo knew what it felt like to be that close to someone you cared about. Very frustrating to have to move away from them. And since this was the first time in recorded history that Trowa had cared about someone in that way, he knew the Earth Talent's frustration level was probably at an all time high.

He snickered. Trowa in love was fun.

*

Wufei woke up at dawn, as always. For a long, worried moment he had no idea where he was - he expected the same grimy walls in the little cubbyhole at the inn that he always saw when he woke up. Instead he saw wide open space, a stretch of cloudless grey sky, and Duo and Quatre once more curled up together.

After the first moment passed and memory returned to him, he smiled.

And then wiped it off his face. He didn't need to scowl anymore, he supposed, but smiles had always been dangerous. He didn't pause to wonder why they would be dangerous now, just went with the habit of a lifetime and kept his face carefully blank.

The fire was nothing but embers, barely glowing, and the morning was chilly. There was firewood piled nearby. Wufei slipped out of his bed, noting that Trowa was asleep and Heero gone, and made his way to the fire. He warmed the logs gently, so that they would catch fire quicker. No need to use his Talent more than that - another loud fire-start would wake up the others. Torlin had been able to teach him enough to keep Warming under his control, even if Wufei'd never been able to sneak away for much training in other areas. He wondered vaguely if there were Trainers wherever they were going, and if his Others would mind if he wanted to learn more control?

"Of course we won't." Said a soft voice behind him. Wufei jumped, startled, and nearly bolted. A strong hand on his shoulder stopped him in his tracks.

"Sorry," Heero murmured, and moved to sit beside the smaller boy.

"How did you do that?" Wufei hissed back, not sure whether he was offended or not at the blatant eavesdropping on his thoughts.

"It's part of being a Spirit Talent. Do you - don't you know about other Talents?"

Wufei turned slightly pink. "There - there were Fire Talents at Haven, and a few Water. None that ever did things like Duo... there was an Earth Talent when I was younger, but she married one of her Others and moved to a different village. I've only seen Air Talents at Gatherings - and I've never met a Spirit Talent before."

"Didn't your Trainer teach you about other Talents?"

Wufei nearly laughed. "I had enough trouble, finding the time to learn about my own Talent. Harris had too much work for me to spend many hours with Torlin."

"It's illegal for Talents to receive only partial Training..."

"Under the New Law. Not under Old Law."

"And Haven clings that much to Old Law?"

"It's easier for them. For people like the Mayor and Harris, I mean, and they have the money in Haven. Old Law lets them do more, control people more."

Heero thought that one over for a moment, then nodded. "Why were you with Harris?" He asked, bluntly changing the subject.

"My father - he died in Haven Village, and owed Harris a debt. A monstrous big debt - I have no idea what it was for, but Harris had the script. Signed and dated by my father. So he got all of my father's possessions."

"And you went to work for him, to help pay it off? Your wages went towards the debt?"

Wufei gazed at him, slightly amused. "You don't know much about Old Law, do you?"

Heero shook his head. "New Law has been in place since before I was born - most people believe there are no places that still observe Old. Why?"

"Under Old Law, children are possessions, just like a suit of clothes or a horse. When my father's personal possessions did not cover his debt, they put a value on me and applied the amount to the balance. Not that it made much difference. Small children aren't worth much."

The Spirit Talent was silent for a long moment. "You're saying that Harris... owned you?"

"Pretty much, yes."

"But... I do know that slavery is illegal, even under Old Law!"

"Oh, no!" Wufei's voice was even more amused, although he rested his forehead against his knees and allowed his loose hair to hide his face. "No, no, there are no slaves. We're just bond-servants, that's all, and if someone is good-hearted enough to pay off the balance of our debts, we are freemen like the rest."

Heero snorted. "So they make it sound pretty? Wait, we didn't pay off any debt! Will Harris try to follow and take you back? Why did he let you go without mentioning it?"

"Ah." Wufei's tone went from false amusement to real. "That's where Old Law bit Harris, I'm afraid - I was Chosen, and if a bond servant is a Talent, and is Chosen, all debts are canceled. There was nothing he could do."

"Good." The word ended the conversation for now - Heero didn't want to push his Fifth into any more confidences. He could tell the boy didn't fully trust him yet. That was all right - so long as it didn't stay that way. He turned to look through the packs for breakfast and found Trowa's green eyes watching them.

'Did you hear?' Heero asked, speaking his thoughts into his Third's mind.

Trowa nodded. He had woken as soon as Wufei stirred, but kept up the appearance of sleep, wanting to just watch the other boy for a while. He'd heard every word the two boys had shared.

'You'll have to talk to him later.' Heero's thoughts were still sounding in his mind. 'Seems he'll be able to relate to you even better than to Duo.'

Trowa flushed, unable to hide the fact that this pleased him. If his own experiences could help Wufei deal with things, it would be the first time his motley past had ever done him any good.

Maybe things were looking up...

*

"Are you going to tell me more of the story?" Wufei asked Duo quietly, as they were packing up the camp. Heero, Trowa and Quatre were getting the horses ready while the two least-experienced riders had settled for getting the beds and equipment set to go.

Duo beamed at him. "Finally, someone who wants me to talk instead of telling me to shut up! Of course I'll tell you more!"

"Quatre tells you to shut up?"

"They all do, 'Fei-chan," Duo said, managing to pull his face into a sad puppy-dog look.

Wufei snickered.

*********(Fairwater Township's Gathering Arena********

Heero lay the small blond boy on a couch and stepped back to give him breathing space. The soft blue eyes followed him, flickered to Trowa, to Duo, and back to him again.

"My Others...?" He asked softly, still mildly confused after collapsing.

"Yes." Heero said softly, not moving closer. Not yet.

The boy put a slim hand on his chest, rubbing like he was trying to chase away pain. "...our Fire?" He asked softly, and the boys around him knew what he meant.

"We haven't found our Fire yet." Duo was the one who replied, drawing the eyes to him. The little blond turned pink when their gazes met, and both of them looked away.

Heero and Trowa exchanged amused glances.

Duo might call them 'emotionally stunted', but they could tell something was going on between the two.

"What's your name?" Heero asked, trying to put the small boy at ease. He could have just searched his thoughts for it, like he had Duo that time, but this boy wasn't resisting like his Second had. He looked pleased. Surprised, but pleased.

"I'm Quatre." He looked at the boys, trying to memorize them with his eyes, waiting for their replies. One part of his mind noticed that Iria was in the room, wisely standing in a far corner, out of the way. The expression on her face was very odd, but Quatre couldn't make himself be concerned with her right now.

"I'm Heero." The Spirit Talent said, finally taking a step closer. Quatre reacted without thinking, putting out his hand in hopes of bringing him even nearer. Heero didn't need any encouragement to take it. "Ready?" He asked, sure Quatre would know what he was talking about. His Fourth was wearing fine clothes, his hair cut professionally. Probably noble, definitely wealthy, and he would have had the finest Training possible.

"Yes." Quatre's face lit up in a brilliant smile, and he waited.

For a very short second.

Then he felt the strong force of a Spirit Talent inside his soul again, felt like his entire history was exposed to the bright-eyed boy gazing at him, felt like he could sense everything about every person in the building. Like he knew past, present, future... it was close to overwhelming, yet he knew the boy was toning it down for him.

Seemed as though his Spirit was remarkably powerful.

The feeling of Heero's Talent retreated, and the coolness of Water rose up in him again, at the same time the braided boy spoke. "I'm Duo," was all he said, and all he needed to say for now - Quatre knew he was their Second, since he had Spoken to him right after Heero, knew he was Water Talent, could tell that he was fun-loving, full of life from the feeling within his heart and the look in the boy's eyes.

And he could tell he was very, very special to him, although he couldn't tell why.

Even more special than one of his Others...

Earth was next, the tallest boy. Auburn hair in impossible bangs, green eyes warm and rich and welcoming. "Trowa," he said softly, and Quatre knew at once he was a man of few words. Well, that was all right. He let himself get lost in the sweet strength of the Earth Talent he felt, a solid foundation he had missed all his life. Earth was the opposite of Air, after all, and that would make the two of them very close. Each needed what the other had, Quatre, Trowa's steadiness, and Trowa, Quatre's buoyant optimism.

Quatre found himself concentrating on Talent Lessons, to keep himself from passing out when all three of his Others spoke to him at once. He let his soul lose itself in the pleasure of meeting theirs, while his brain calculated and sorted the information. Spirit Talent, leader, with Four to take care of, each of the Four relying heavily on their Opposite; Water to Fire, Air to Earth.

Which didn't explain why he felt such a connection to the boy called Duo...

...but he'd sort that out later.

It was time for him to Speak back.

He concentrated briefly on his own Talent, feeling the soft breeze of Air in his center, sharing it with his Others without knowing how he was doing it. He saw all three sets of eyes close in bliss, and he smiled.

He knew how they felt.

And then the moment was ruined as the door crashed open, Vera Strummer's father stomping into the room with his daughter and Quatre's own father hard on his heels.

"What's going on in here?!"

********(The Middle of Nowhere)********

"What are you two doing?" A puzzled voice asked, making Duo and Wufei look up sharply, the story lost. Quatre was standing with his hands on his hips, managing to glare at his koi while smiling at his Fire.

Not easy.

But Quatre managed it, no problem.

"Nothing, Quat. Just telling Wufei a little more about the story..."

"And filling in with bits about your 'beauty'?" Quatre asked, amused.

"Not once, honest!" Duo raised one hand, laying the other over his heart.

"Well, I know you don't lie, so I'll forgive you. But no more story without me!"

"Oh, all right..." Duo whined, winking carefully at Wufei.

Who forcefully fought down another snicker.

"We're ready to go if you two have finished packing." Quatre told them, picking up a bag and heading back to the horses. "You can finish the story while we're riding."

Duo stood and cast a quick glance around, checking to see if they'd forgotten anything. Apparently, while he'd been wrapped up in his story-telling, Wufei had finished the packing. Not a thing was left to do, except take care of the smouldering campfire.

It wouldn't do to leave that burning.

Wufei watched, still enthralled by seeing such a powerful Water Talent, as Duo called moisture out of the air until a goodly sphere of water was hovering over the fire. His Second let it go, drenching the embers with a 'splat' and a hiss of steam. He grinned at the look on Wufei's face, then picked up two bags and followed his lover.

Wufei snatched up the bag that was left and his bundle, still carefully wrapped. He had decided not to risk unwrapping that until tomorrow - or at least tonight. One day away from Haven wasn't enough for his peace of mind. He'd thought this treasure lost to him forever, and had no desire to risk losing it again.

Harris could still follow them, after all. One day wasn't too far for him to come, but two would be. So until this evening, he could wait.

He wasn't so sure he could wait until morning. He wanted to see it again, and he could tell his Others were curious.

This was one secret he wouldn't mind sharing with them.

But not until he felt he was safe.

"C'mon, 'Fei!" Duo called cheerfully, "your horse is waiting!"

Well, that certainly wasn't something he was looking forward to. His legs still ached slightly from the ride yesterday, and he dreaded how they were going to feel by nightfall. He let Trowa take the bags from him and put them on the packhorse, watching carefully to see how they were fastened, so he could help him next time. He wasn't used to watching others do work that he could do himself.

If he could make himself useful, perhaps they would be more likely to keep him with them, even if they decided not to leave him as their Fire. He wished, not for the first time, that he'd been able to take lessons from Torlin about his Others, about being Chosen and Joining, instead of having to concentrate all his stolen time on learning to harness his wildly powerful Fire. He wouldn't feel so uncertain if he knew the rules.

Maybe he could ask...?

Maybe.

He swung onto his horse and gathered up the reins, ready to follow wherever his Others led.