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And serves as a perfect introduction to the world and my first set of characters. This was actually one of the most fun things I have written in a long time, even if I do find the concept a bit..intensely large sometimes. but I am going to roll with it.This will most likely to build into a series I have in mind involving my fursona. This was just something that was fun to play around with and I hope you guys like it too. Any constructive feedback or suggestions would be very welcome.", "description_bbcode_parsed": "The first story from my fantasy world, all of which will be set in or around my city, Crystal Dell. And serves as a perfect introduction to the world and my first set of characters. This was actually one of the most fun things I have written in a long time, even if I do find the concept a bit..intensely large sometimes. but I am going to roll with it.This will most likely to build into a series I have in mind involving my fursona. This was just something that was fun to play around with and I hope you guys like it too. Any constructive feedback or suggestions would be very welcome.", "writing": "Gemini is glad to be back in the Mountain, something that had actually surprised him. He had expected himself getting used to the massive military complex that bordered Crystal Dell, and had guessed he would someday think of it as home. He just hadn't expected it to be so quickly. In fact, he had missed it pretty much as soon as he left. Both the place and the people in it. Truthfully that is why he is glad to be back, the Akbash very much looking forward to seeing a few people again. Of course, there is one person that part of him wants very much to see again. He just isn't sure he can.\n\t\nRight now, he does have other things on his mind. The journey back may have been short, but it was tiring, taking him over some of the most dangerous terrain within a hundred miles. That is what the Pathwalkers do; go where others can't. He has his companion to thank for that as well, his Auravei helping to protect him against the threats that dwell there. It is those threats that brought him there, and have brought him back. And now he has to report what he has seen. \n\t\nThe Akbash pads through the corridors, getting polite nods from the other officers he passes and crisp salutes from the enlisted personnel. He has to admit that still bothers him, just a bit. Yes, it's the way it works. But he still thinks it is a bit of an archaic military tradition. Why can't they just be allowed to walk on by. He shrugs, glancing back to check on Barr. His companion, his Auravei is still with him, his keen cybernetic wolfen nose snuffling around him, enjoying the familiar scents. He is clearly happy to be back home too.\n\t\nIt doesn't take him long to reach his destination, quickly rapping on the heavy oak door that leads to his superiors office. It doesn't take long for him to get an answer, the deep voice of Major Drandar reaching his ear. 'Come.'\n\t\nGemini eases the door open and pads to the desk, snapping a crisp salute. 'Lieutenant Tigh reporting, sir.'\n\t\n'Lieutenant, welcome back. Please, have a seat. Can I offer you some coffee?' Drandar says, rising to move towards the pot set on the table by the window. Even though they are both wearing the same dark green uniform with tan flashes on the sleeves, they really couldn’t be more different physically. Gemini is not what you would call scrawny, his long white fur covering a muscled and powerful physique. But he is dwarfed by his superior, his frame much stockier and solidly built as much as he is taller.\n\t\n'That would be very kind sir.' Gemini pulls out a chair, sitting back straight against it. Another military habit, one he isn't so willing to shake. Discipline has always been a big part of him.\n\t\n'So..' Drandar says, joining him a moment later, passing one cup towards him before dropping two sugar lumps into his. 'No problems, I trust.'\n\t\n'No, sir.' Gemini skips over the sugar, taking a sip of his drink. 'No sign of any increase in Predator movements or activities. Which has to be a good thing.'\n\t\nThat is an understatement. Gemini was too young to remember the Predator War, having joined up three years after it had ended. But he had heard stories of it from surviving veterans. Even if what he has seen of them first hand more makes him think of wild beasts than a military asset. The thought of them being used as a cohesive army is terrifying. The Predator had ended a scant ten years ago and the damage done is still being repaired. Most of it anyway, some of the loses this city and its people endured cannot be regained. Certainly no one wants to see a return to those days, but if they do return they will be prepared. \n\t\n'Indeed.' Drandar says slowly, clearly thinking the same way he does. 'But now, we come to you.'\n\t\n'Sir?' Gemini asks, even though he knows what is coming. In truth, he had been fearing this might come up.\n\t\n'You shouldn't be doing missions like this, Gemini. You really are too valuable an officer to waste on something any junior officer could do.' Drandar sits back, as if steeling himself for the argument to come. 'You should be commanding your own squad by now, at the very least.'\n\t\n'But I'm not an officer, am I?' Gemini said carefully, not wanting to go over this ground again, to start this discussion again. Hoping at the same time his short answer will cut it off.\n\t\n'You may not have accepted it, but the rank is yours. You have more than earned it.' Drandar says, not having been put off in the slightest. Not that Gemini had really felt her would have been. Then again, he has a much reason to bring it up as Gemini has to avoid it. 'You know you have.'\n\t\n'And you know why I haven't taken it, sir.' Gemini bit back the last word harshly, more harshly than he had meant it. 'You know what would come with it. And that I am not ready for that.'\n\t\n'Freya is ready.' Drandar eyes him over linked fingers. 'Is that not reason enough?'\n\t\n'No sir. It is not.' Gemini says flatly. 'Permission to fall out?'\n\t\n'Granted. But do me one favour, go and see her. She deserves that much from you.' Drandar says firmly.\n\n********************************************************************************************\n\nGemini really hadn't intended to do anything of the sort, his last thought as he left the major's office was to not go anywhere near her. He didn't want to see her, and she was better off without seeing him. \n\nThose were both lies, lies he accepted somewhere deep down. Perhaps that is why his feet carried him to this spot, to the place they had first met all those years ago. Where he had made his vow to her. More than years ago, a lifetime ago. In some ways it feels like that person he was back then is dead and someone else stands in his place. Is that how it feels to Freya? He has no answer to that question even as a pang of guilt clutched at his heart. The cove hadn't changed at all, staying exactly as it had in his memories. But that is the point, it will stay unchanging for the remainder of his life, the massive breakers of rock barely scratched by the water cascading over them in high waves. If he closes his eyes and just listens to the waves rolling across the shore he could almost believe he was back in those days, days he knows he can never return too. That is his worry, that he can never get back what he has thrown away. And he does desire to get it back, even if he tells himself he doesn't.\n\t\n'Do you often bring your troubles here, my love?'\n\t\nThat voice cut through his recollections sharply, bringing shock with it. How could she be here? Gemini started, pain now gripping his heart. Pain he almost cannot bear. So he turns away quickly, only to feel a paw rest on his shoulder. He didn't want to look at her, but couldn't resist as Freya turned him around slowly. She is more beautiful than he remembered, her russet hair and crimson fur waving in the cool sea breeze brushing his face.\n\t\n'Why do you fear to be near me?' Freya asks softly. 'What is it that drives you away? Stay and tell me, I beg of you.'\n\t\n'I..I can't.' Gemini says, wanting very much to leave but something holds him here. Those are more words than they have spoken in the past year. And yet no more will come.\n\t\n'Are we not promised to each other?' Freya continues softly, her voice absent of the pain he knows she must be feeling. He did that to her, made her drive away her feelings. How else could she keep going but to hold them in tight and close. 'Did we not say that we could tell the other anything.'\n\t\n'Freya.' Gemini whispered, that use of her name hurting more than anything, like someone had just stuck a knife in his heart. He has never been so good at hiding his feelings. And what he was going to say next would be twisting it. 'I..I can't...I can't be with you the way you want. I don't think I ever can be. You shouldn't wait for me. You should...find somebody else.'\n\t\nHe didn't know what to expect then, completely unsure how she would react? Would she be angry? Furious even? He braces himself for a blow, a stinging slap. He might even deserve it. Maybe he wanted her to be angry, to push her away from him. But her reaction was typically Freya.\n\t\n'We are promised to each other, my love. I would wait for you for ever if need be.' Freya said, her paw caressing his cheek as she lifted his face to look into his eyes. He wanted to stay with that touch, so badly. And yet he wanted to pull away too. Instead he is stuck, at war with himself.\n\t\nGemini followed her motion and their eyes met, and it was like he was looking at her for the first time again, his heart souring with emotions he thought he had buried. But those are quickly drowned out by a wave of sorrow and pain. 'I..I..' Gemini starts to say, something catching his gaze. He barely has the chance to process what he saw as movement, quickly throwing himself on top of Freya and knocking them both to the ground in a flurry of sand. \nThe long, prehensile body he had just barely seen cuts through where the hand been, landing in a coil on the sand. Quicker than thought, it raised its head to strike, lethal fangs extending from its jaw. \n\t\n'Predator.' Gemini mutters, rising to protect Freya without thinking or any conscious thought. Then he doesn't have to. A fierce and welcome snarl cuts through the air, Barr leaping onto the back of the Predator. Barr cannot use his weapons without Gemini's help but it seems he didn't need them. His teeth quickly sink into its neck, its hard scales proving no match for razor sharp metal. The Predator screeches and screams, thrashing violently. But Barr holds on, his jaw locked until its struggles ceasing as its life blood stains the sand around them a jet black.\n\t\n'How did one get so close to the city?' Freya asks, stepping away from Gemini to eye the dead creature. At least, he hopes it is dead. Then they have bigger problems.\n\t\n'Not just one.' Gemini says coolly, his blood still running cold. As he watches, five more predators come striding purposely out of the sea. 'Run.'\n\t\nRunning is all they can do, hearing the loud snarls and blood chilling cries behind them, cutting over the thundering feet. These Predators aren't like the shadow class Barr had just killed. These are Behemoth class and he has never seen two together before, let only five. He'd only heard about such things from veterans of the war. Back when they had been an army, not just a danger. The reptilian creatures are easily 15 feet tall when erect, with teeth and claws capable of tearing another Behemoth to shreds. Never mind two fur kind. Or one Auravei. Of course, the rocklike spines jutting out from their backs and heads are lethal enough by themselves.\n\t\nBarr has realised this too, matching pace the their strides easily, when he could have just raced ahead of them. Well, he won't abandon them, sticking by their sides and hoping Gemini has a plan. Which he does.\n\t\nThe crystalline cliffs that give the city its name are barely a few hundred metres away and Gemini can see what he had been desperately searching for, one of the dozens of caves that line the faceted cliff face. They just have to reach it. Fuelled on by a desperate surge of adrenaline, Gemini takes hold of Freya's paw and races towards it with all the speed they have. Feeling hot breath on his neck, he fights to keep his eyes open, racing through the low archway barely higher than he his head. \n\t\nHe has just turned to check on the others when the cave shakes, then again. Dust and flecks of stone are falling from the ceiling. 'Back.' Gemini shouts over the sudden loud crack of splitting stone. He uses that fear in his voice and body to push Freya away from him even as clouds of dust surround him, tiny stones bouncing of his shoulders and back. Then he feels a sharp impact on his head and remembers nothing else.\n\n********************************************************************************************\n'...mini. Gemini.' The soft muttering of his name rouses Gemini, although he is not so sure that it is being muttered. His ears are ringing and his head feels fuzzy in away...a way. He shakes his head slowly, instantly regretting it as a spike of sharp pain lances through him. That is not good. He is pretty sure he has a concussion. Which in itself if pretty strange. He cannot even tell which way is up or where he is. And yet he can diagnose himself. Keeping his eyes open hurts too, but he has too. He is pretty sure the voice belongs to Freya but he has to see if she is okay for himself.\n\t\n'Don’t move, love.' Freya presses him down to the floor, her paw resting lightly on his chest. 'You have a concussion. And you've lost some blood.'\n\t\nGemini nods, or tries too. His head can only bob a little. Now that he concentrates, he can feel the cloth wrapped around his head, most likely torn from Freya robes. And the wetness on it. That most likely explains his disorientation as much as the concussion.\n\t\n'Are..you..hurt?' Gemini says, wincing with each word.\n\t\n'No.' Freya says. 'I'm fine. You shouldn't talk. And you defiantly shouldn't move.'\n\t\nGemini doesn't listen, standing slowly even if he has to lean on Freya. His dizziness returning, making the cave swim around. They are still inside, he has just worked that out. What he hadn't worked out was why it is so dark in here. \n\t\n'We're trapped aren't we?' he says, his words not really necessary as he sees the rocks dropped over the entrance. Not just covering it, obliterated. The ceiling has completely collapsed. 'Where's Barr?' He is ambushed by a pang of guilt, suddenly terribly upset that he hadn't thought of him sooner. But his head is still not right. He then relaxes as he feels his muzzle press against his paw.\n\t\n'I'm glad you’re okay, pal.' Gemini rests his paw on his head. 'I'll get us out of here.'\n\t\nGemini pushes away his pain, leaning on Freya for a second until his head stops spinning. He has to make sure he doesn't grab his ribs, not wanting to show how much pain he is in there. He fights back a flinch as Freya helps him stand, keeping his face even through sheer force of will.\n\t\n'Are you okay to be doing this?' Freya asks, obviously concerned for him despite his efforts.\n\t\n'I'm fine. Let's look around.' Gemini says, hoping he sounds stronger than he feels. Still, she supports him as they move towards the entrance. He cannot see much in this gloom, until it is broken and the darkness recedes from the light being emitted from the device in Freya's paw. Even now he is still being surprised by what her Magical Device can do. Although he fears even with its power they may not be able to get out of here. By the soft glow, Gemini surveyed the damage. In truth it was as bad as he feared, the whole mouth of the cave buried under tons of rubble. Not even Barr's cannons could shift that, not without bringing the whole roof down on them.\n\t\n'We'll have to find another way out.' Freya said. Gemini had to bite back a response, his head pounding. Of course he knew that, she was probably trying to keep his spirits up.\n\t\nAs luck would have it, and they could do with some now, they could both see a number of smaller passageways leading off this cave, all of them accessible to them, even if some would require them to crawl. And Gemini doesn't feel he can do that. \n\t\nFighting down a wave of nausea and dizziness, Gemini picks the closest and nods towards it. The light is more concentrated in here as the tunnel becomes more enclosed, making it much easier to see where they are going. And the moisture trickling down the walls. That is encouraging. If it can get in, there must be a way out. \n\t\nHope blossoms in him, hope that is dashed as they round the corner up ahead. Gemini sighs, this cave is blocked too. But with only a pile of stones and rocks having fallen over the archway, not collapsing it. Probably secondary damage from the creatures that attacked them. He tries not to think about if they could be waiting outside.\n\t\nStepping away from Freya, Gemini looks over the stones, eyeing them carefully. Pain lances through him, but he is able to keep it off his face. The rocks aren't too big and with enough time, they should be able to dig their way out. Ignoring his pain, he kneels down, feeling for a loose rock. It is slow going, and has been for the past twenty minutes. But it feels a lot longer to Gemini. Between him, Barr and Freya, they have managed to shift about 20 rocks but aren't making much of a dent yet. Gemini is sweating, his stomach still spasming in little shocks of pain. \n\t\n'Are you alright?'\n\t\n'Yes, I..' Gemini winces as he reached forward, caught by a fresh grip of pain. Losing his grip on the rock he had grabbed, he drops to his hands and knees, coughing violently. Red splashes across his hand and the rocks in front of him, his chest feeling like someone is slicing it with a knife. Freya is at his side in an instant, laying him down on his back.\n\t\n'Why didn't you tell me?' she sounds more than concerned now, her tone having slipped into genuine fear.\n\t\n'I thought you...were..the doctor.' he coughs again, bringing up more blood which he spits to the side.\n\t\n'Shut up.' Freya snaps. 'This isn't funny.'\n\t\nOddly the tone in her voice hurts more than the pain in his chest, really hitting home how cold he had been to her these past months. She had never truly stopped caring about him, willing to wait until he came back to her. And now he was going to die here. \n\t\nFreya closes her eyes, her paw hovering inches from his chest. The darkness of the cave is broken by a flickering light, her aura flaring to life. He has seen her do this before, her power enabling her to feel and shape a furkind's wounds with her spirit, even control them to some degree. Of course, she needs help with that control, her power given focus by the device in her left hand. The small smooth cut gem may not look like much but it actually the combination of sophisticated science and ancient magic. It is certainly technology he doesn't understand. Then her eyes suddenly flick to him, and he doesn’t like the look she gives him. A look she quickly hides.\n\n\t'How bad...is it?' Gemini asks softly.\n\t\n'You have some internal bleeding, maybe some cracked ribs. Okay, definitely some cracked ribs. I can stop the bleeding but not heal it altogether. If you keep digging, you could hurt yourself more. We just have to hope help finds us.'\n\t\nGemini had expected that. Freya isn't a doctor, her magical skill suited to field medicine. Just a patch job really, as he had once put it. 'It won’t. We're too deep here. I'm sorry, this is all my fault. I don't want to let you down again.' Gemini tries to stand but Freya tugs him back down to her. He is too weak to resist, his body sending another spike of pain that makes him think again. He rests against her, her arm holding him comfortably and comfortingly.\n\t\n'You never let me down. I don't see how you could let anyone down, my love.' Freya presses her muzzle against his, a touch of slow passion and tenderness and love they haven't shared in so long. Too long really. He had almost forgotten how good her body felt against his, how right. How long has it been since they sat like this. He can't recall and that makes a single tear run down his cheek. A tear that Freya sweeps away with a delicate touch of her paw. \n\t\n'But I did.' Gemini sighed. He has to tell her this, he has held onto it for far too long. And this could be his only chance. His last chance. 'You know before I became a Pathwalker, I was a soldier of fortune with three companions. We we're comrades, more than comrades. Friends. ' Gemini says slowly, lost in his memories. 'And I lead them into a mission that turned into an ambush. Only I made it out alive, just barely. After that, I swore I couldn't get close to anyone, to risk losing someone again. That's why I joined the Pathwalkers.'\n\t\n'And why you felt we couldn’t be together.' Freya said understandingly.\n\t\n'Yes. Of all people, I couldn't stand losing you. Not even the thought of losing you. My friends died because of me. How can I trust myself again, how can anyone trust me?'\n\t\n'That wasn't your fault. You couldn't have known about it. I trust you. I would stand by you no matter what. We are pledged together. We may have be promised to each other through union of our families, but it is more than that to me. I want to share my life with you. And you can trust me. I will get us out of here.\n\t\n'I should have been there. Instead I was away from the camp. I should have been there, fought and died with them.' Gemini says with a shuddering breath, his body wracked by pain and emotion.\n\t\n'Do you think they would want that?' Gemini has pause to consider that question. 'I know I wouldn't. I couldn’t live without you either. I have been dying without you, Gemini. Each day without you I feel I have lost a little bit of yourself.'\n\t\nGemini started, wincing slightly. He hadn't expected her to feel that way. And maybe he should have. He had been too caught up in his worries and fears. He is disgusted with himself, blaming himself for that.\n\t\n'I'm sorry.' Gemini blurts out quickly. 'I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to get you into this. This is all my fault. If I hadn't pushed you away, we wouldn't be here now. I'll get you out of this. I promise.'\n\t\n'We'll get out of this.' Freya slips her arm around Gemini's shoulder. Her mouth brushes his cheek in a soft kiss, a kiss that had started out reassuring. But quickly grew into something more. They both deepened the kiss, their attention totally focused on each other, not noticing that Barr was snuffling around the pile of rocks still blocking the door, then backing away quickly. They are still embracing each other softly when with a loud crash, one of the stones is pulled away, then another and another. Daylight streams into the cave, falling around the silhouette in the archway. One that Gemini recognises instantly even as Freya blushes, resting her head on his shoulder. She is embarrassed at the sudden audience and Gemini has to admit he is too.\n\t\nHe sees Drandar standing in the archway, his massive frame towered over by the pair of Auravei that dwarf even him who are still clearing away the last of the rocks. 'You know, why am I not surprised to find you here.' \n\t\nGemini didn't respond, no words passing between them as he is helped towards the transport waiting on the sand. Helped is his more..dignified way of putting it. In truth, he was pretty much carried there, medics swarming around him as soon as he is laid on the deck. He really didn't remember very much after that, one medic attaching a cannula and iv to his arm at the same time as the other gives him a shot of pain meds.\n\t\n'So, how did you know where we were?' Gemini could just about make out that question over the thrum of the landing crafts powerful engines working flat out to get them back to the city as quickly as they can. He was more than content to let Freya talk, the drugs that the medics had given him making him feel a bit..detached. But is certainly better than being in pain. He can't even feel the needle in his arm, really not caring that it is there.\n\t\nFreya had often joked about that, about that one fear of his. When he seems so fearless in front of everything else. Well, know she know that isn't true. He shakes his head, not wanting to think about that. With effort, he returns his attention to Freya. No, Drandar. He is the one speaking now. At least, he is pretty sure.\n\t\n'We didn't. Not exactly. Luckily a sensor post picked up the Predators and we were able to scramble some units. Only old WF-50s but they were enough to deal with the Behemoths.'\n\t\nGemini nodded. Or thought he did. The 12 metre Auravei are outdated compared to current military vehicles but still pack a real punch. More advanced than Barr in some ways, requiring a human pilot to help operate them, despite their own intelligence, soul even. Devastating war machines either way. For years they had held the line against the Predators.\n\n\t'Without them we wouldn't have found you. You know how good the heat sensors on those babies are. Strong enough to spot a Shadow Class behind solid steel and rock. As well as you two apparently. After that, digging you out was simple.'\n\t\n'Did they..attack anywhere else?' Gemini managed to ask, barely managing to form even that simple question in his head.\n\t\nA simple question maybe, but Drandar takes his time in answering, the normally unflappable bear looking worried for a moment. Even in his drugged out state, Gemini can recognise that, maybe the only one here who can. The other soldiers in here don’t seem to have noticed. But then again, it is so hard to tell with their helmets on. 'No. It's almost like they were testing our defences, seeing where we are weak. Like they did during the war. But I don't want you thinking about that now. The 22nd fighter wing is running patrols and we've got Radar Alert Scanning Aircraft up too. We should be ready for another attack. Marshal Weststar has a good head on his shoulders. So you just rest till we get you checked out.\n\n********************************************************************************************\n\n'I'm fine.' Gemini shrugged off the healer's attentions, pushing her hand away softly. 'You've checked me over three times now. What's the point of being able to just wave your hand, heal someone up and then keep checking him over. I..'\n\t\n'Does he complain this much to you?' Sandi lowers her device, its light fading; shoving her hands into the pockets of her long white coat. Her voice is lowered too, almost in a subtle rebuke. 'I thought you might have trained that out of him?'\n\t\nDrandar presses a paw to his chest, mock wounded expression on his face. 'Me? You can't blame this on me.'\n\t\n'Don't I usually?' Sandi laughs, her soft laughter joining in with the bear's before her attention turns back to Gemini. 'Now, for you. It's not as easy as that. And you know it. And I know you. Your type. You won't rest up, will you. No, you'll get back out there, onto the front line again straight away. So, forgive me if I check you over a few times.'\n\t\n'Yeah, about that.' Gemini says. 'Could I have a word with Freya alone.'\n\t\nGemini doesn't look up as the other two file out, his head dipped until he is sure they are alone. He waits a few seconds after he hears the door click, drawing in a couple of slow breaths. Only then does he look up at Freya.\n\t\n'I...I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pushed you away like I did. I just couldn't bear the thought of losing you. But the thought of being without you was worse. I maybe can't ask you to forgive me. But I hope I can make it right. I'm going to take that promotion. Then we can be together, like we promised. If you'll have me.'\n\t\nThe seconds until she answers are the longest he has felt, his eyes scouring her face for any sign of how she feels. 'Yes, my love. Of course, I will. We promised, remember.' Freya links her arms around her lover’s neck, kissing him softly. 'We are promised to each other, now and forever.'\n\t\nThe kiss only lasts a few seconds, Gemini pulling back first. But only so he can look at his promised, his betrothed. He has so much to make up to her, so much to make right. And he is going to do all of it. 'I am promised to you, my love. You and no one else.' \n", "writing_bbcode_parsed": "Gemini is glad to be back in the Mountain, something that had actually surprised him. He had expected himself getting used to the massive military complex that bordered Crystal Dell, and had guessed he would someday think of it as home. He just hadn't expected it to be so quickly. In fact, he had missed it pretty much as soon as he left. Both the place and the people in it. Truthfully that is why he is glad to be back, the Akbash very much looking forward to seeing a few people again. Of course, there is one person that part of him wants very much to see again. He just isn't sure he can.
\t
Right now, he does have other things on his mind. The journey back may have been short, but it was tiring, taking him over some of the most dangerous terrain within a hundred miles. That is what the Pathwalkers do; go where others can't. He has his companion to thank for that as well, his Auravei helping to protect him against the threats that dwell there. It is those threats that brought him there, and have brought him back. And now he has to report what he has seen.
\t
The Akbash pads through the corridors, getting polite nods from the other officers he passes and crisp salutes from the enlisted personnel. He has to admit that still bothers him, just a bit. Yes, it's the way it works. But he still thinks it is a bit of an archaic military tradition.  Why can't they just be allowed to walk on by. He shrugs, glancing back to check on Barr. His companion, his Auravei is still with him, his keen cybernetic wolfen nose snuffling around him, enjoying the familiar scents. He is clearly happy to be back home too.
\t
It doesn't take him long to reach his destination, quickly rapping on the heavy oak door that leads to his superiors office. It doesn't take long for him to get an answer, the deep voice of Major Drandar reaching his ear. 'Come.'
\t
Gemini eases the door open and pads to the desk, snapping a crisp salute. 'Lieutenant Tigh reporting, sir.'
\t
'Lieutenant, welcome back. Please, have a seat. Can I offer you some coffee?' Drandar says, rising to move towards the pot set on the table by the window. Even though they are both wearing the same dark green uniform with tan flashes on the sleeves, they really couldn’t be more different physically. Gemini is not what you would call scrawny, his long white fur covering a muscled and powerful physique. But he is dwarfed by his superior, his frame much stockier and solidly built as much as he is taller.
\t
'That would be very kind sir.' Gemini pulls out a chair, sitting back straight against it. Another military habit, one he isn't so willing to shake. Discipline has always been a big part of him.
\t
'So..' Drandar says, joining him a moment later, passing one cup towards him before dropping two sugar lumps into his. 'No problems, I trust.'
\t
'No, sir.' Gemini skips over the sugar, taking a sip of his drink. 'No sign of any increase in Predator movements or activities. Which has to be a good thing.'
\t
That is an understatement. Gemini was too young to remember the Predator War, having joined up three years after it had ended. But he had heard stories of it from surviving veterans. Even if what he has seen of them first hand more makes him think of wild beasts than a military asset. The thought of them being used as a cohesive army is terrifying. The Predator had ended a scant ten years ago and the damage done is still being repaired. Most of it anyway, some of the loses this city and its people endured cannot be regained. Certainly no one wants to see a return to those days, but if they do return they will be prepared.
\t
'Indeed.' Drandar says slowly, clearly thinking the same way he does. 'But now, we come to you.'
\t
'Sir?' Gemini asks, even though he knows what is coming. In truth, he had been fearing this might come up.
\t
'You shouldn't be doing missions like this, Gemini. You really are too valuable an officer to waste on something any junior officer could do.' Drandar sits back, as if steeling himself for the argument to come. 'You should be commanding your own squad by now, at the very least.'
\t
'But I'm not an officer, am I?' Gemini said carefully, not wanting to go over this ground again, to start this discussion again. Hoping at the same time his short answer will cut it off.
\t
'You may not have accepted it, but the rank is yours. You have more than earned it.' Drandar says, not having been put off in the slightest. Not that Gemini had really felt her would have been. Then again, he has a much reason to bring it up as Gemini has to avoid it. 'You know you have.'
\t
'And you know why I haven't taken it, sir.' Gemini bit back the last word harshly, more harshly than he had meant it. 'You know what would come with it. And that I am not ready for that.'
\t
'Freya is ready.' Drandar eyes him over linked fingers. 'Is that not reason enough?'
\t
'No sir. It is not.' Gemini says flatly. 'Permission to fall out?'
\t
'Granted. But do me one favour, go and see her. She deserves that much from you.' Drandar says firmly.

********************************************************************************************

Gemini really hadn't intended to do anything of the sort, his last thought as he left the major's office was to not go anywhere near her. He didn't want to see her, and she was better off without seeing him.

Those were both lies, lies he accepted somewhere deep down. Perhaps that is why his feet carried him to this spot, to the place they had first met all those years ago. Where he had made his vow to her. More than years ago, a lifetime ago. In some ways it feels like that person he was back then is dead and someone else stands in his place. Is that how it feels to Freya? He has no answer to that question even as a pang of guilt clutched at his heart. The cove hadn't changed at all, staying exactly as it had in his memories. But that is the point, it will stay unchanging for the remainder of his life, the massive breakers of rock barely scratched by the water cascading over them in high waves. If he closes his eyes and just listens to the waves rolling across the shore he could almost believe he was back in those days, days he knows he can never return too. That is his worry, that he can never get back what he has thrown away. And he does desire to get it back, even if he tells himself he doesn't.
\t
'Do you often bring your troubles here, my love?'
\t
That voice cut through his recollections sharply, bringing shock with it. How could she be here? Gemini started, pain now gripping his heart. Pain he almost cannot bear. So he turns away quickly, only to feel a paw rest on his shoulder. He didn't want to look at her, but couldn't resist as Freya turned him around slowly. She is more beautiful than he remembered, her russet hair and crimson fur waving in the cool sea breeze brushing his face.
\t
'Why do you fear to be near me?' Freya asks softly. 'What is it that drives you away? Stay and tell me, I beg of you.'
\t
'I..I can't.' Gemini says, wanting very much to leave but something holds him here. Those are more words than they have spoken in the past year. And yet no more will come.
\t
'Are we not promised to each other?' Freya continues softly, her voice absent of the pain he knows she must be feeling. He did that to her, made her drive away her feelings. How else could she keep going but to hold them in tight and close. 'Did we not say that we could tell the other anything.'
\t
'Freya.' Gemini whispered, that use of her name hurting more than anything, like someone had just stuck a knife in his heart. He has never been so good at hiding his feelings. And what he was going to say next would be twisting it. 'I..I can't...I can't be with you the way you want. I don't think I ever can be. You shouldn't wait for me. You should...find somebody else.'
\t
He didn't know what to expect then, completely unsure how she would react? Would she be angry? Furious even? He braces himself for a blow, a stinging slap. He might even deserve it. Maybe he wanted her to be angry, to push her away from him. But her reaction was typically Freya.
\t
'We are promised to each other, my love. I would wait for you for ever if need be.' Freya said, her paw caressing his cheek as she lifted his face to look into his eyes. He wanted to stay with that touch, so badly. And yet he wanted to pull away too. Instead he is stuck, at war with himself.
\t
Gemini followed her motion and their eyes met, and it was like he was looking at her for the first time again, his heart souring with emotions he thought he had buried. But those are quickly drowned out by a wave of sorrow and pain. 'I..I..' Gemini starts to say, something catching his gaze. He barely has the chance to process what he saw as movement, quickly throwing himself on top of Freya and knocking them both to the ground in a flurry of sand.
The long, prehensile body he had just barely seen cuts through where the hand been, landing in a coil on the sand. Quicker than thought, it raised its head to strike, lethal fangs extending from its jaw.
\t
'Predator.' Gemini mutters, rising to protect Freya without thinking or any conscious thought. Then he doesn't have to. A fierce and welcome snarl cuts through the air, Barr leaping onto the back of the Predator. Barr cannot use his weapons without Gemini's help but it seems he didn't need them. His teeth quickly sink into its neck, its hard scales proving no match for razor sharp metal. The Predator screeches and screams, thrashing violently. But Barr holds on, his jaw locked until its struggles ceasing as its life blood stains the sand around them a jet black.
\t
'How did one get so close to the city?' Freya asks, stepping away from Gemini to eye the dead creature. At least, he hopes it is dead. Then they have bigger problems.
\t
'Not just one.' Gemini says coolly, his blood still running cold. As he watches, five more predators come striding purposely out of the sea. 'Run.'
\t
Running is all they can do, hearing the loud snarls and blood chilling cries behind them, cutting over the thundering feet. These Predators aren't like the shadow class Barr had just killed. These are Behemoth class and he has never seen two together before, let only five. He'd only heard about such things from veterans of the war. Back when they had been an army, not just a danger. The reptilian creatures are easily 15 feet tall when erect, with teeth and claws capable of tearing another Behemoth to shreds. Never mind two fur kind. Or one Auravei. Of course, the rocklike spines jutting out from their backs and heads are lethal enough by themselves.
\t
Barr has realised this too, matching pace the their strides easily, when he could have just raced ahead of them. Well, he won't abandon them, sticking by their sides and hoping Gemini has a plan. Which he does.
\t
The crystalline cliffs that give the city its name are barely a few hundred metres away and Gemini can see what he had been desperately searching for, one of the dozens of caves that line the faceted cliff face. They just have to reach it. Fuelled on by a desperate surge of adrenaline, Gemini takes hold of Freya's paw and races towards it with all the speed they have. Feeling hot breath on his neck, he fights to keep his eyes open, racing through the low archway barely higher than he his head.
\t
He has just turned to check on the others when the cave shakes, then again. Dust and flecks of stone are falling from the ceiling. 'Back.' Gemini shouts over the sudden loud crack of splitting stone. He uses that fear in his voice and body to push Freya away from him even as clouds of dust surround him, tiny stones bouncing of his shoulders and back. Then he feels a sharp impact on his head and remembers nothing else.

********************************************************************************************
'...mini. Gemini.' The soft muttering of his name rouses Gemini, although he is not so sure that it is being muttered. His ears are ringing and his head feels fuzzy in away...a way. He shakes his head slowly, instantly regretting it as a spike of sharp pain lances through him. That is not good. He is pretty sure he has a concussion. Which in itself if pretty strange. He cannot even tell which way is up or where he is. And yet he can diagnose himself. Keeping his eyes open hurts too, but he has too. He is pretty sure the voice belongs to Freya but he has to see if she is okay for himself.
\t
'Don’t move, love.' Freya presses him down to the floor, her paw resting lightly on his chest. 'You have a concussion. And you've lost some blood.'
\t
Gemini nods, or tries too. His head can only bob a little. Now that he concentrates, he can feel the cloth wrapped around his head, most likely torn from Freya robes. And the wetness on it. That most likely explains his disorientation as much as the concussion.
\t
'Are..you..hurt?' Gemini says, wincing with each word.
\t
'No.' Freya says. 'I'm fine. You shouldn't talk. And you defiantly shouldn't move.'
\t
Gemini doesn't listen, standing slowly even if he has to lean on Freya. His dizziness returning, making the cave swim around. They are still inside, he has just worked that out. What he hadn't worked out was why it is so dark in here.
\t
'We're trapped aren't we?' he says, his words not really necessary as he sees the rocks dropped over the entrance. Not just covering it, obliterated. The ceiling has completely collapsed. 'Where's Barr?' He is ambushed by a pang of guilt, suddenly terribly upset that he hadn't thought of him sooner. But his head is still not right. He then relaxes as he feels his muzzle press against his paw.
\t
'I'm glad you’re okay, pal.' Gemini rests his paw on his head. 'I'll get us out of here.'
\t
Gemini pushes away his pain, leaning on Freya for a second until his head stops spinning. He has to make sure he doesn't grab his ribs, not wanting to show how much pain he is in there. He fights back a flinch as Freya helps him stand, keeping his face even through sheer force of will.
\t
'Are you okay to be doing this?' Freya asks, obviously concerned for him despite his efforts.
\t
'I'm fine. Let's look around.' Gemini says, hoping he sounds stronger than he feels. Still, she supports him as they move towards the entrance. He cannot see much in this gloom, until it is broken and the darkness recedes from the light being emitted from the device in Freya's paw. Even now he is still being surprised by what her Magical Device can do. Although he fears even with its power they may not be able to get out of here. By the soft glow, Gemini surveyed the damage. In truth it was as bad as he feared, the whole mouth of the cave buried under tons of rubble. Not even Barr's cannons could shift that, not without bringing the whole roof down on them.
\t
'We'll have to find another way out.' Freya said. Gemini had to bite back a response, his head pounding. Of course he knew that, she was probably trying to keep his spirits up.
\t
As luck would have it, and they could do with some now, they could both see a number of smaller passageways leading off this cave, all of them accessible to them, even if some would require them to crawl. And Gemini doesn't feel he can do that.
\t
Fighting down a wave of nausea and dizziness, Gemini picks the closest and nods towards it. The light is more concentrated in here as the tunnel becomes more enclosed, making it much easier to see where they are going. And the moisture trickling down the walls. That is encouraging. If it can get in, there must be a way out.
\t
Hope blossoms in him, hope that is dashed as they round the corner up ahead. Gemini sighs, this cave is blocked too. But with only a pile of stones and rocks having fallen over the archway, not collapsing it. Probably secondary damage from the creatures that attacked them. He tries not to think about if they could be waiting outside.
\t
Stepping away from Freya, Gemini looks over the stones, eyeing them carefully. Pain lances through him, but he is able to keep it off his face. The rocks aren't too big and with enough time, they should be able to dig their way out. Ignoring his pain, he kneels down, feeling for a loose rock. It is slow going, and has been for the past twenty minutes. But it feels a lot longer to Gemini. Between him, Barr and Freya, they have managed to shift about 20 rocks but aren't making much of a dent yet. Gemini is sweating, his stomach still spasming in little shocks of pain.
\t
'Are you alright?'
\t
'Yes, I..' Gemini winces as he reached forward, caught by a fresh grip of pain. Losing his grip on the rock he had grabbed, he drops to his hands and knees, coughing violently. Red splashes across his hand and the rocks in front of him, his chest feeling like someone is slicing it with a knife. Freya is at his side in an instant, laying him down on his back.
\t
'Why didn't you tell me?' she sounds more than concerned now, her tone having slipped into genuine fear.
\t
'I thought you...were..the doctor.' he coughs again, bringing up more blood which he spits to the side.
\t
'Shut up.' Freya snaps. 'This isn't funny.'
\t
Oddly the tone in her voice hurts more than the pain in his chest, really hitting home how cold he had been to her these past months. She had never truly stopped caring about him, willing to wait until he came back to her. And now he was going to die here.
\t
Freya closes her eyes, her paw hovering inches from his chest. The darkness of the cave is broken by a flickering light, her aura flaring to life. He has seen her do this before, her power enabling her to feel and shape a furkind's wounds with her spirit, even control them to some degree. Of course, she needs help with that control, her power given focus by the device in her left hand. The small smooth cut gem may not look like much but it actually the combination of sophisticated science and ancient magic. It is certainly technology he doesn't understand. Then her eyes suddenly flick to him, and he doesn’t like the look she gives him. A look she quickly hides.

\t'How bad...is it?' Gemini asks softly.
\t
'You have some internal bleeding, maybe some cracked ribs. Okay, definitely some cracked ribs. I can stop the bleeding but not heal it altogether. If you keep digging, you could hurt yourself more. We just have to hope help finds us.'
\t
Gemini had expected that. Freya isn't a doctor, her magical skill suited to field medicine. Just a patch job really, as he had once put it. 'It won’t. We're too deep here. I'm sorry, this is all my fault. I don't want to let you down again.' Gemini tries to stand but Freya tugs him back down to her. He is too weak to resist, his body sending another spike of pain that makes him think again. He rests against her, her arm holding him comfortably and comfortingly.
\t
'You never let me down. I don't see how you could let anyone down, my love.' Freya presses her muzzle against his, a touch of slow passion and tenderness and love they haven't shared in so long. Too long really. He had almost forgotten how good her body felt against his, how right. How long has it been since they sat like this. He can't recall and that makes a single tear run down his cheek. A tear that Freya sweeps away with a delicate touch of her paw.
\t
'But I did.' Gemini sighed. He has to tell her this, he has held onto it for far too long. And this could be his only chance. His last chance. 'You know before I became a Pathwalker, I was a soldier of fortune with three companions. We we're comrades, more than comrades. Friends. ' Gemini says slowly, lost in his memories. 'And I lead them into a mission that turned into an ambush. Only I made it out alive, just barely. After that, I swore I couldn't get close to anyone, to risk losing someone again. That's why I joined the Pathwalkers.'
\t
'And why you felt we couldn’t be together.' Freya said understandingly.
\t
'Yes. Of all people, I couldn't stand losing you. Not even the thought of losing you. My friends died because of me. How can I trust myself again, how can anyone trust me?'
\t
'That wasn't your fault. You couldn't have known about it. I trust you. I would stand by you no matter what. We are pledged together. We may have be promised to each other through union of our families, but it is more than that to me. I want to share my life with you. And you can trust me. I will get us out of here.
\t
'I should have been there. Instead I was away from the camp. I should have been there, fought and died with them.' Gemini says with a shuddering breath, his body wracked by pain and emotion.
\t
'Do you think they would want that?' Gemini has pause to consider that question. 'I know I wouldn't. I couldn’t live without you either. I have been dying without you, Gemini. Each day without you I feel I have lost a little bit of yourself.'
\t
Gemini started, wincing slightly. He hadn't expected her to feel that way. And maybe he should have. He had been too caught up in his worries and fears. He is disgusted with himself, blaming himself for that.
\t
'I'm sorry.' Gemini blurts out quickly. 'I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to get you into this. This is all my fault. If I hadn't pushed you away, we wouldn't be here now. I'll get you out of this. I promise.'
\t
'We'll get out of this.' Freya slips her arm around Gemini's shoulder. Her mouth brushes his cheek in a soft kiss, a kiss that had started out reassuring. But quickly grew into something more. They both deepened the kiss, their attention totally focused on each other, not noticing that Barr was snuffling around the pile of rocks still blocking the door, then backing away quickly. They are still embracing each other softly when with a loud crash, one of the stones is pulled away, then another and another. Daylight streams into the cave, falling around the silhouette in the archway. One that Gemini recognises instantly even as Freya blushes, resting her head on his shoulder. She is embarrassed at the sudden audience and Gemini has to admit he is too.
\t
He sees Drandar standing in the archway, his massive frame towered over by the pair of Auravei that dwarf even him who are still clearing away the last of the rocks. 'You know, why am I not surprised to find you here.'
\t
Gemini didn't respond, no words passing between them as he is helped towards the transport waiting on the sand. Helped is his more..dignified way of putting it. In truth, he was pretty much carried there, medics swarming around him as soon as he is laid on the deck. He really didn't remember very much after that, one medic attaching a cannula and iv to his arm at the same time as the other gives him a shot of pain meds.
\t
'So, how did you know where we were?' Gemini could just about make out that question over the thrum of the landing crafts powerful engines working flat out to get them back to the city as quickly as they can. He was more than content to let Freya talk, the drugs that the medics had given him making him feel a bit..detached. But is certainly better than being in pain. He can't even feel the needle in his arm, really not caring that it is there.
\t
Freya had often joked about that, about that one fear of his. When he seems so fearless in front of everything else. Well, know she know that isn't true. He shakes his head, not wanting to think about that. With effort, he returns his attention to Freya. No, Drandar. He is the one speaking now. At least, he is pretty sure.
\t
'We didn't. Not exactly. Luckily a sensor post picked up the Predators and we were able to scramble some units. Only old WF-50s but they were enough to deal with the Behemoths.'
\t
Gemini nodded. Or thought he did. The 12 metre Auravei are outdated compared to current military vehicles but still pack a real punch. More advanced than Barr in some ways, requiring a human pilot to help operate them, despite their own intelligence, soul even. Devastating war machines either way. For years they had held the line against the Predators.

\t'Without them we wouldn't have found you. You know how good the heat sensors on those babies are. Strong enough to spot a Shadow Class behind solid steel and rock. As well as you two apparently. After that, digging you out was simple.'
\t
'Did they..attack anywhere else?' Gemini managed to ask, barely managing to form even that simple question in his head.
\t
A simple question maybe, but Drandar takes his time in answering, the normally unflappable bear looking worried for a moment. Even in his drugged out state, Gemini can recognise that, maybe the only one here who can. The other soldiers in here don’t seem to have noticed. But then again, it is so hard to tell with their helmets on. 'No. It's almost like they were testing our defences, seeing where we are weak. Like they did during the war. But I don't want you thinking about that now. The 22nd fighter wing is running patrols and we've got Radar Alert Scanning Aircraft up too. We should be ready for another attack. Marshal Weststar has a good head on his shoulders. So you just rest till we get you checked out.

********************************************************************************************

'I'm fine.' Gemini shrugged off the healer's attentions, pushing her hand away softly. 'You've checked me over three times now. What's the point of being able to just wave your hand, heal someone up and then keep checking him over. I..'
\t
'Does he complain this much to you?' Sandi lowers her device, its light fading; shoving her hands into the pockets of her long white coat. Her voice is lowered too, almost in a subtle rebuke. 'I thought you might have trained that out of him?'
\t
Drandar presses a paw to his chest, mock wounded expression on his face. 'Me? You can't blame this on me.'
\t
'Don't I usually?' Sandi laughs, her soft laughter joining in with the bear's before her attention turns back to Gemini. 'Now, for you. It's not as easy as that. And you know it. And I know you. Your type. You won't rest up, will you. No, you'll get back out there, onto the front line again straight away. So, forgive me if I check you over a few times.'
\t
'Yeah, about that.' Gemini says. 'Could I have a word with Freya alone.'
\t
Gemini doesn't look up as the other two file out, his head dipped until he is sure they are alone. He waits a few seconds after he hears the door click, drawing in a couple of slow breaths. Only then does he look up at Freya.
\t
'I...I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pushed you away like I did. I just couldn't bear the thought of losing you. But the thought of being without you was worse. I maybe can't ask you to forgive me. But I hope I can make it right. I'm going to take that promotion. Then we can be together, like we promised. If you'll have me.'
\t
The seconds until she answers are the longest he has felt, his eyes scouring her face for any sign of how she feels. 'Yes, my love. Of course, I will. We promised, remember.' Freya links her arms around her lover’s neck, kissing him softly. 'We are promised to each other, now and forever.'
\t
The kiss only lasts a few seconds, Gemini pulling back first. But only so he can look at his promised, his betrothed. He has so much to make up to her, so much to make right. And he is going to do all of it. 'I am promised to you, my love. You and no one else.'
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