Hi all! Sorry about the delay getting this out. I am stil experiencing technical difficulties at work. Hopefully the problem will be fixed very soon. In the mean time, please let me know how you like this and previous chapters. They still feel pretty rough to me, and there's been very little feedback about new stuff, so I don't know what to fix. Anyway, new chapter out as soon as I can post one without slamming a fist through my monitor. Mine or someone elses. Doesn't matter. ------------------------------------------------------------------- The Wasteland A Card Captor Sakura fanfic by Michelle Thatcher ============= Chapter Two ============= "Keroberus?" Yue was following his master at a distance that was a bit *too* discrete, but when he motioned for the Sun Guardian to hang back as well, he complied with good humor. "What?" He was troubled by something. The emotional reaction that Sakura was having to this strange child was much more powerful than could really be explained by motherhood instincts or even just that broad and sweeping Sakura-love. "Does it seem a little strange to you? This feeling she's having?" Keroberus snorted. "Moon power. You know how gaga Sakura always goes over moon power. You and Li and that onee-chan. She's always been like that." "That's true." "So ... Sleep well? Yue hurried to catch up to Sakura. She rarely used or even visited many of the rooms in her home. Some were storage, some makeshift magical labs of various types, some stood empty. A few she kept ready for immediate company. Guest bedrooms tended to be the most comfortable rooms in either the space farthest from Sakura's personal quarters, or the space closest to it. Ayumi was brought to the room next door to Sakura's and across the hall from the room that had recently become Yukito's. When she was safely deposited and resting peacefully, Sakura sat at the foot of her bed. She scratched Keroberus' ear when he placed it under her right hand, and she unconsciously held up her left hand until Yue sighed, and gently grasped it as he sat beside her. From time to time he tried to speak to her about privacy and propriety for such displays, but ... she seemed a little troubled, and ... "So, what do you think?" He wasn't sure exactly what she was asking. Surely she didn't mean ... "I like her," Keroberus volunteered cheerfully. "She's sweet." Sakura nodded. Suddenly an uncomfortable feeling gripped Yue. It was almost as if they were choosing a puppy or something. "Sakura! Surely you don't mean to-" She looked up at him, eyes open and innocent. "You can't ... you can't be thinking of ... *keeping* her here!" She blinked. "Well ... I was planning to go around to the nearest villages and ask around about her. See if I can find her family ... but if her story is true, if the whole village knows about her power and they're afraid of her, then ... Yue, we can't just send her back. She's just a baby." And she looked at him; earnest and eager and ... Sakura like. He had to look away when she did that. It was so unfair. She gripped his hand tightly. "Oh, Yue, please don't be like that! She's a wonderful child! Strong and sensitive and powerful! And she's so sweet! Wouldn't it be wonderful to have her here, even for just a little while?" "But Sakura-" The eyes again. Totally unfair. "... I suppose." She leaned against him affectionately. "I have a feeling that you and she are going to get along just beautifully!" Of course, what that meant to Yue was 'The two of you *will* get along just beautifully. *Won't* you, dear?' She did seem like an alright sort of a child, though. For a human. "I suppose you're considering her training." She nodded. "We already know that she can sense magic. What else?" "She has perfect intuition about people. We know that from her story, and 'cos she liked you right away, Sakura-chan. Plus she told me she saw her dead mother." "Right. Anything else?" Yue considered. "She seems to have the characteristic physical stamina, coming as far as she did as fast as she did is quite a feat, especially for someone her age." "Right." Sakura looked again at her new friend. She was still sleeping peacefully with a gentle smile on her face. How did you teach magic to a child? She really had no idea. "Don't worry, Sakura-chan. She's sharp, this one. She'll do just fine." Sakura snorted. "It's not Ayumi I'm worried about." *** An hour later their guest was still sleeping. Sakura decided that she might as well go back to the planned business of the day. Since she'd had that revelation on the care and feeding of Moon Guardians, she wanted to do a little poking around in Yue's magical field. Keroberus had asked to be excused. He seemed to want to remain at Ayumi's side. She'd been through a number of traumas, and he didn't want to risk letting her awaken alone if the terrors came to her in her sleep. Of course, Sakura and Yue had both begun to suspect him of an immediate and adorable attachment to the child, but neither seemed inclined to tease him about it. Much. On the other hand, now that she had Yue naked to the waist and stretched out on a low table, perhaps she was unwise to tease anyone. Her ears burned a little as she tried not to imagine the sorts of things that the seal beast would have to say about this. Yue, though, was enduring patiently. He looked up at her; curious and calm. Waiting. Gently, she laid both hands on his bare chest as she knelt beside him. She closed her eyes, and felt Yue do the same. He was relaxing admirably as she fell farther and farther into concentration. One deep breath, and then another, and then her consciousness was sinking quickly into the cool and gentle flow of his magical field. It shimmered as it gently embraced her. She paused, enjoying the feeling. Yue's magic liked her. That would make things easier. The shimmer of his life force moved around her in a vaguely clockwise direction. She waited doing her best to attune herself to every detail. When she knew the energy patterns by intellect and instinct, she hoped to be able to change them subtly. She was coming to know what it felt like to immerse herself in the gentle moon power within him. The more familiar the taste and motion of his internal energies, the more confident she was that she could change them without causing him alarm or discomfort. Also she'd been hoping ... She'd been hoping ... 'What now?' She felt suddenly warm and happy. 'Ohayo, Onii-chan.' 'Okaeri.' For old times sake, she decided to rise to the bait. 'O-ha- yo.' 'Okaeri.' 'Hmph! Jealous?' 'What do you want?' He couldn't hide his amusement, though. Not from her. 'I wanted to try something in a minute. Right now I'm just getting to know my way around. It's nice in here.' 'Yeah.' 'I have a few ideas ...' 'Really complex magical stuff, right? Oh well. That was never my department.' 'I was hoping you'd help anyway.' 'How?' She took a moment to gather her thoughts. In her mind was a clear picture of what she felt she should do to begin. Explaining it, however ... 'Somehow we need to push back the power right here. We need to make a space.' 'For what?' 'I'm not really sure. Some kind of spell. We need to make it so that the energy flows *around* this spot. We need to train it. It's not going to be easy, but if I move it out of the way, and you keep it flowing *around* for as long as you can, then next time it'll be easier. We can permanently change the energy pattern here so that there'll be room for the new spell when it's ready.' 'Sounds complicated.' 'And you have a better idea?' 'Hey, I didn't say I didn't like it.' She mentally shook her head. 'So you'll do it?' 'I suppose ...' but he was eager to get to work. She could sense it despite all his grumbling. He was just as anxious about Yue's future as she was, and he'd grown tired of merely waiting for her to develop a plan. 'Knew I could count on you!' She gave him the astral equivalent of a kiss on the cheek. 'Sorry I put this off so long.' ''Salright. I figured it'd be a while. He just wasn't ready.' There was something behind that statement. Some secret older brotherly delight, and she found herself feeling a little jumpy. Like he knew something she didn't, but that she'd find out soon and in the most embarrassing way possible to his immense delight. 'Onii-chan, are you being sneaky?' 'Don't know what you mean.' She knew that he knew that she wouldn't buy it, but it didn't matter. He wasn't telling her anything else, so just forget about it, kaijuu. 'Fine. Have your fun.' She thought she felt something from him that seemed suspiciously like that emotion that makes one accidentally send wine through one's nose. Weird. 'Can we get to work now, or what?' She gathered her power around her. *** He hated to think he'd done something so cliche' as 'waking with a sense of something being wrong.' After all, was there space in his life for one more cliche'? On top of the tortured genius cliche' he counted the sullen and misunderstood bishonen cliche' and the hermit magician cliche'. Those were plenty, thank you very much. He couldn't deny, though, that something seemed wrong. Some soft note of disharmony in something important. Something dear and far away. He looked around at the stoic peace of his bedroom. White linen and dark wood. Familiar smells and familiar quiet. The clock on his night stand said it was two in the morning. He really did *not* want to be awake right now. That's why he had taken enough Valium to drop a Bengal and washed it down with half a bottle of bourbon in the first place. He vaguely remembered Spinel looking on like a disapproving housewife, his tail moving slowly from side to side. He hadn't offered any helpful suggestions, though, and had, therefore, been justly ignored. Every day it got a little harder to sleep, and he wanted so badly to sleep. Magic had worked once, but lately he couldn't seem to focus on restful things. What had awakened him? He looked within. His guardians were both sound and content. His own magic was strong. Stronger than ever, in fact. He didn't know why, but he wasn't complaining. Had he really believed once that he'd be happier if his power were limited? He was fine, they were fine, the enchantments in his home were fine, yaddayaddayadda. How important could it be? He was too tired for generalities and too drunk for specifics. Whatever it was would wait. If it didn't go away on its own, he'd discover it eventually. As he drifted back into restless unconsciousness, his mind was full of fragmented images. Soft silver moonlight and soft silver hair and absolute devotion. His most perfect creation. His angel of the white moon ... He smiled. ------------------------------------------------------------------- This story, including previous chapters, is archived at http://www.akane.org/michelle Please send comments to misha@cybergal.com Thanks for reading!