How to be of shadow and light (bxb)

Chapter 23- The palewood dream

A/N music for the forest and a picture of it

It was pitch black. So dark that Alec could scarcely see his hand in front of him. Mist also coiled it's way around the leshy whispering secrets into his ear, dark and terrible secrets that he could not block out. He felt completely and utterly lost, having no idea how he got there or why he was here. It almost felt like he'd been here for days and he had a creeping feeling of deja vu. The worse thing was though he was enjoying himself. It had been such a long time since he'd been alone with the darkness that called to him. 

     Something odd was happening to the calling though. For once it had direction! Eagerly and with little thought into the matter he plunged forward towards the voice on the wind. He imagined this is what wolves felt like when they howled to the moon, not even they knew why they answered it's command but they did nonetheless. 
     The trees surrounding him looked like the spines of great and fallen beasts, it gave Alec the chills. For someone so connected to life it was eerie to walk in a place so still and deathly. Nothing moved here which should have been a comfort but it made him feel tense, briefly he wished that Fai was here to cast his signature glow. Some intuitive part of him though told him that this was a journey he should make alone despite the loneliness that brought. 
    Still he was surprised by how much he missed the lanky candle stick. Fai had a calmness about him that gave Alec confidence and he realised how much more he spoke in the Illuceo's presence. It showed just how far he had come from the boy too scared to speak. 
   Crack! Alec's green eyes snapped forward to lock on a small boy scampering away through the forest. He could only see the back of the boys raven head but he could tell the boy was too young to be out here alone. "Wait!" He yelled before tearing after the child. 
    The chase was on but it was different to any that Alec had experienced. He had always been an expert at picking the perfect path through the forest for a speedy escape. However this boy was still besting him appearing just as lithe and quick witted as the leshy in this environment which admittedly wasn't strictly one Alec was used too. The noiselessness of both of them was astonishing as they seemed to glide across the leaf litter.
     On the horizon a peak appeared. The mountain was a barren crag constructed from sharp black stone, it was a formidable structure. "The mountain," a voice whispered in his head sounding suspiciously like the usual stalker of his mind. However it was apparent that the voice was younger and seemed to be coming from the boy. 
   "What about the mountain?" Alec asked in confusion watching the wide eyed young boy ogling him. The child shared Alec's raven black hair and stark white complexion. 
    "Come to the mountain Vita, my brother," the voice asked pleadingly. 
"But I don't know where it is. Who are you?"
"Come to the mountain Vita," it said this time more damandingly. Then a huge flock of crows filled the gap between Alec and the boy. They shot toward the leshy with an unparalleled fury, their sharpened beaks glinting in the faint moonlight. They bore down on him suffocating Alec in a wall of frenzied feathers. He coughed and choked and cried out against the abominable noise of the birds cawing. His body trickled with blood from a thousand scratches, he felt like a rock from which was cascading hundreds of waterfalls. 
    And then he was awake gasping for air and yet still choking on those glossy feathers. No matter how much willpower he put into it he could not remove his trembling hands from their protective stance over his face. Tears trickled down his face, not from the pain those beaks had inflicted though. He felt like he had lost yet another thing, it was like the sensation he'd had when saying goodbye to his sister. 
And then Fai was there. His friend and guardian who's beauty and radiance made it seem like everything was okay. His glowing eyes were fixed on Alec's displaying concern and another emotion Alec couldn't figure out. Their intensity though was enough to prompt Alec to forget his dream and try to figure out how he usually breathed. 
   "Are you alright Alexi," Fai asked. He stood at the door quiet, pensive. His concern was not a welcome sight though, Alec's darkened mind twisted it made him feel fragile. Like a broken doll you had to be careful when playing with. Then there was that pet name that made him feel elated most of the time that now felt like a name a fathers nickname for his child. He wasn't a child
   "I'm fine, just a nightmare again," he grunted getting up from the tangle of sheets he had created. 
   Fai was a little perturbed by the other boys abruptness but did not mention it. "Did it feel like the Olin one. It might be another image of the future. Or a guide to the next path you should take."
    "Maybe," Alec replied vaguely feeling cranky and tired. "Do I dare ask how long I've been out?"
"8 days, poor Fern has been beside herself. She's been guarding you most of the time."
   "And you?"
"Nah I knew you'd wake up soon goth boy. You're not lazy enough to stay asleep much longer," Fai chuckled. For that smart comment he got a pillow to the face. The boys both growled at each other then lapsed into more laughter. "I missed you though Alexi. Did anything important happen while  you away?"
   Alec had to think about that. Summarising the sheer amount that he'd seen and felt was no easy task. However he didn't really want to tell the full story yet. That wound was still fresh. "My deer is dead and there's a voice in my head." The rhyme was unintentional and Alec was annoyed that he'd cheapened these very serious points. 
    "I'm really sorry that you lost him. Charges are so important to a leshy. You feed them part of your power you know? Otherwise it becomes too much for your body and you get sick. Phoebe has slowed down the process with a spell but that's why you slept for so long. Having Fern and Cada might also help. What did you say about the voice?" Alec was glad of the change in subject. 
    "I'm not sure I think I need to spend some time with Sylvester and maybe he can make some sense of the mess I'm in."
  "Sure the old oversized chicken that Phoebe dotes over has to be good for something," Fai chuckled trying to disperse the somewhat heavy atmosphere in the room. 

The two crept through the halls to the aviary as quietly as possible like thieves in the night. Alec didn't feel ready to reunite with the girls who's caring natures would mean lots of questions the boy as not ready for. Fai sensing his friends reluctance, did not push the matter. 
    The aviary was as ornate as every room the only difference being the various perches and the huge open window. Sylvester could fly in and out as he pleased to find his food. Alec wondered what a huge raven ate but had a feeling he didn't really want to know. 
    "So you seek my truth leshy," a croaky voice chuckled somewhere in the room. Alec looked to Fai for confirmation that the other boy had heard the voice. 
 "He's making an awful racket. Doesn't usually caw like a normal corvidae," Fai remarked. Alec's thought was confirmed, he was beginning to understand languages other than the new tongue which most intelligent life spoke.
     "Yes I want to know what my next move is. What the voice is and why I had that dream. But I guess you probably already know that."
   "Yes and no young one, intentions are more fleeting than sure events and facts are more clear. You come bearing grief and confusion but all of your questions are connected to find the answers you must seek the boy from your dream. The owner of the voice."
    "Why is he so important? Who is he?" Alec asked while Fai stood at his side looking extremely befuddled. 
    "He's your twin Alec and the two of you are the most important people in this world. Find him young leshy there are many lives that rely on your reunion."