Fanfic

This is a fanfic based on Vae Victis's Council of the Damned, and yes it is shipping Rine (Wolfsbane) and Brandon (Enath). I had a stroke of inspiration, what can I say :P


     Enath, finished with what delicate procedures he had to do to make sure that his poisons brewed properly, stepped out of his laboratory and proceeded into the bathing chambers (as he so called them), which was where any residue was washed clean off of his safety suit. Once that procedure was through, he stepped into the Washer, where a nontoxic chemical destroyed his suit without harming any part of him - his leader always provided him with a steady stream of cash, so he could afford to take all precautions. After every scrap of the suit was disintegrated, he stepped into the final Washroom, where he was showered with water do make sure that everything was off of him. Then his favorite part of the cycle came as he trotted into the heated chambers, its almost sauna-like atmosphere drying him off without making him perspire - the perfect temperature. Smiling contentedly at a day well spent, he strolled into the last room and stretched luxuriously before putting on his traditional outfit of all black. A sudden feeling of being watched hit the chemist, and he cursed at himself for being too distracted to notice before. Usually he was the first to notice if anyone was in the room with him. 
     Before he even turned around, however, he knew who it would be standing by the doors to the dressing room. "Wolfsbane," he called to his apprentice, finally staring at her. "How long have you been there?" 
     The girl with long black hair started, just having realized he noticed her. "Not long, sir," she assured him. It didn't really matter how long she had been there, and they both knew it; one of the hazards of working with such chemicals is that they found each other stark naked in front of the other often enough that they were used to it. Enath never really was attracted to human bodies, so that was never an issue to come up. Wolfsbane had to decline multiple times his offer to experiment with his new poisons on her, however. ("You have a perfect body to experiment on!" he told her - "It is youthful and thus provides plenty of antibodies to fight against my drugs!" Even though he wasn't much older than her, he always forgot how young he truly was.) 
     "So why have you arrived?" he asked her, getting right to the point, and meandering over to her.
     She waited a bit before answering, until they were outside of the building in the warm air, a welcome contrast (for her - he much preferred the cold) from the chill in the dressing room which was the same chill everywhere in that place with the exception of the drying room and certain rooms that had concoctions which required warmer temperatures than those normally provided. "Lord Vae Victis sent a message that he wants all of us in the Council to come and sup with him and the Lady tonight," she replied to his question as they trotted along the hidden path that led to the Mansion of Nova Scotia, where they and the rest of the Council lived.
     A pause, then: "I know this. Why have you come?" Wolfsbane hesitated a bit too long for the impatient tactician, who insisted, "Well spit it out!"
     The apprentice looked away from her master, stung. "I just wanted to make sure you were coming!" she growled reproachfully.  "You missed the last dinner, and the Lord and Lady were exceedingly disappointed in you. I had to cover your ass!" 
     Enath continued on as if there was no hostility coming from her. In his same cool, level voice as always, and without looking at her, he imparted, "As you should have. You are my underling, recall." 
     In silence, Enath thinking his thoughts and Wolfsbane moping along, they reached the Mansion. Since they were master and apprentice, they had adjoining rooms, and as they were unlocking their doors Wolfsbane muttered, "I need to borrow a coat. It is cold in here and all of my coats are needing to be washed yet."
     Enath nonchalantly handed her the first relatively warm coat-like thing he picked off of his hangers. "That's what happens when you are lazy and don't wash your clothes," he snorted, then closed his door so he could read in privacy until the dinner. She also went into her room and shut the door, but she, on the other hand, was getting ready for the dinner; she didn't have much to do, but her hair needed straightening out after being in the wind and she had worn the same clothes for three days in a row. She figured she ought to take a shower before she went in front of the leaders of their band of misfits. 
     The water was blessedly warm, and thus fogged up the walls so she didn't notice the figure stride into her bathroom and leave a few seconds later, and the water was so loud she didn't hear the door either. When she got out of the shower, she was surprised to see a note taped to the bottom of her mirror. At first appalled that someone got into her locked room while she was so helpless, she soon realized with annoyance that it was Enath whom had left the note in a place it was sure to be discovered. It read: I'll be waiting outside of your room at 6:25 exact. Don't be a second late or I will head to the dinner without you.
     The fact that he had actually thought to wait up for her this time made her strangely pleased, and she stroked the note softly before coming to her senses and throwing the paper in the trash bin and subsequently putting her clothes on, brushing and blow drying her hair, and shrugging on the jacket Enath had given her, a black hoodie-less zipper-up sweatshirt. At 6:24 she walked outside of her room and shut the door behind her, locking it. 
     "On time for once. Good," Enath's voice chortled from behind her. Wolfsbane hurriedly turned to see that Enath was already sauntering off towards the dining room so she had to take a few quick steps to catch up. Once escorted into the dining room, Enath went so far as to pull out her seat for her. She was utterly shocked, but sat down anyway as he plopped down next to her. As was per the norm, they were the first ones there, so no one was there to see that chivalry of Enath's. 
     A minute later, Lady Chisani Kiti arrived with Lord Vae Victis at her side, and they sat together at the head of the table, him in his bejeweled throne and her in her ornate but simple stained oak chair. Enath was the one to sit right by their leader and Wolfsbane was on her master's other side. Sitting next to her was Shyruni, their R&D (research and development) specialist (whom she had considered as her master, but she didn't feel that she could work under her own cousin, so she chose the Tactician), and on his other side was Cæsar,  the military general. On their Lady's side of the table, seated from closest to Lady Chisani to the farthest was: Silver Widow, the R&D lead researcher; Girardin, the president and basically the one who kept diplomacy if the need arose, but otherwise had not much of a job, though he often helped out (or tried to) the others in the Council; The Soviet, who was in charge of covert operations; and Vix, the chronicle keeper, making sure that every shred of information was written down and stored in a secure safe that was rigged by his brother Enath to disintegrate everything if the wrong person was to enter in the code. The last person at the table, who sat at the opposite end of the table from the Lord and Lady, was Whitefang, the general, though no one really knew exactly what her purpose there was except for the Lord and Lady. 
     Once everyone was seated, Lord Vae Victis had his wife's favorite servant, Johan, bring out their dinner, which was a very tasty looking stew, a roll, and the beverages of each member's choice. After everyone was served, their leader excused Johan, and they sat in silence as he retreated into the kitchen. Then chatter broke out as everyone discussed what went in in their day to those next to them, and ate their meal. This was a custom of theirs; they wouldn't discuss work until after the had eaten their fill.
     The Lady didn't talk much unless spoken to; she preferred to eat her food in silence, listening to whatever was being divulged around her. Her ears were sharp; she would know if anything untoward was spoken, and would report it to her husband the leader of their group if necessary. Lord Vae Victis had no problem chatted about while he ate, however. 
     Wolfsbane also kept mostly quiet, like her master, who only had a few quibbles to mention. When they were finished eating - usually they and the Lady were the first ones eating, and today was no exception - Enath surprised her yet again by engaging her in a conversation, which they never do at the dinner table. "Shyruni really should quit letting strangers dupe him," he commented, referencing what her cousin was talking about.     
     "He can't help it, he is naturally friendly," she prodded him, smiling teasingly.
     Enath's eyes lit up. "A bit too friendly - I'm surprised he hasn't brought this place to flames yet!"
     "Despite it being made of wood," she giggled. "Though really Vix would be more likely to accomplish that!"
     Enath smirked. "You certainly have a point." Before any more bantering could occur, everyone had finished and the Lord and Lady stood up, ushering them into the main sitting room as Johan cleaned up the plates and bowls; they brought their drinks with them. 
     Lord Vae Victis waited for everyone to quiet down before instructing, "I'd like to hear your reports."
     Enath informed him that the poisons were going well, to which Lady Chisani Kiti was very eager to hear. Wolfsbane was not required to speak.
     Shyruni revealed that a new weapon was in the making; Silver Widow explained it in more detail, that it was to be a new torture device for the Lady - Lady Chisani Kiti, along with being the wife of the leader, happened to also be the torture master. She was very pleased to hear this.
     No one else had anything to report, and the meeting dispersed. Enath and Wolfsbane were the first to leave, as usual. What was very unusual was that as soon as they were down the corridor far enough, Enath slipped his hand into Wolfsbane's. Was this day to have no end of shocks for her? Deciding that she liked the feeling, though cautiously - she had no idea why he was doing this, after all - she opted not to withdraw her hand.  In an even tone, without making verbal note of the physical contact or even looking her way, he suggested, "Let's take a walk."
     Wolfsbane was briefly speechless. When she could talk, she agreed, "A-all right." She was certain that she was in some sort of trouble - why else would Enath go though all of this? 
     They shuffled outside, and padded on the walkway that led in a trail through the woods, not saying anything, though she was growing more and more nervous. She had forgotten that it was warm outside, however, and started to overheat in the sweatshirt she had on. Enath somehow sensed this, and stopped to take the jacket off, handing it back to her before taking her hand again and heading off. At long last they reached a spot in the woods, a meadow with a sparkle of sunlight through it, and - "A table?" she asked him, not quite sure what it is, her curiosity overwhelming her inhibitions. "A glass table?" 
     Enath smiled, one of the rare times he had done so, and whispered, "Yes, it is." He let go of her hand and she almost tripped over her feet in her eagerness to discover why it was there. 
     It was a beautiful table, the glass being multiple colors, in layers from the bottom up but also in a huge swirl, and the glasswork was incredible. The sun hit it just right to make the colors glitter and shine. She knew instantly that Enath must have made it; she recognized his artistry in the design. Slowly it dawned on her that inlaid in the smooth glass top of the table were obsidian letters - no, words. The work was so perfect that there was no space between the obsidian and the colored glass, so it looked without flaw. Then she read the words, and her heart skipped a beat or five. 
     My heart is yours, was inscribed. 
     She didn't think there could have been a bigger shock, but then the pieces started to assemble.
     "It was time you knew," Enath told her. 
     She touched her fingertips to the cool glass, tracing the words. She didn't have to say anything, she knew just then. Now that she knew, nothing had to be said. Except for: "I don't think Shyruni will approve." Not would, but will, for she had made her choice a long time ago, it seemed to her now. 
     Enath touched her hand. "I don't really care. Or, rather, I don't care at all. Not one bit."
     She giggled a bit, giddy with this new knowledge. "Well that makes it easier, now doesn't it?"
     He smiled, satisfied. "Oh yes it does." 
     They stayed in that glade all night, just watching the stars from the tree branches and chatting about nothing and everything, or sometimes sitting in silence just enjoying being near each other. As it got later and later, they grew tired. Wolfsbane fell asleep first, leaning against Enath, her head on his shoulder as she drifted off. Enath stayed up for a while longer, pleasantly content with how the day had gone, holding on to the trunk of the tree with one arm and wrapping the other ever so gently around his Wolfsbane, until he too drifted off to a peaceful slumber.