An Affinity For Fire

9. Tarragon

"What in all Hells are you doing?!" Tarragon screamed, picking his sword up.

"Just trust me," Clover said again. "And put your weapons down, both of you."

"No," he said. "Not a chance." He had already lost too many people that day. He didn't feel like allowing his oldest friend to be added to the list.

"Do it, Tarry," she insisted. He refused, instead gripping his sword tighter.

The bear gave a thunderous roar that sent a shudder down his spine. Clover let out a stifled yelp of fear as it pressed its nose to her neck, sniffing at her.

"For Fates' sakes, Tarry, do it!"

"Alright, alright!" He said, dropping the sword. He glanced at Heleonne, who did the same with his own sword and crossbow.

Heart in his throat, he watched in helpless terror as the animal rose to its hind legs, towering over Clover. It raised a paw, ready to slice her to pieces, when something drew away its attention. It dropped back to all fours, head turning in all directions until it settled on something just behind Heleonne. Tarragon followed its gaze, squinting, but couldn't make out what it was looking at. Nothing and no-one was moving.

Tarragon barely dared to breathe. The seconds dragged on in painful silence as the whole of the woods seemed to stand still, waiting. Then the bear growled again, but this time the sound was low and gruff, with none of the force or ferocity it had borne moments before.

It turned with a seemingly indignant grunt and prowled off.

It was all Tarragon could do not to collapse.

His relief was short-lived, however, for no sooner had he bear gone than the trees in the direction in which it had been looking began to rustle. His stomach dropped.

What in all Hells scares off a bear?

Heleonne and Clover turned too. The three of them stared into the darkness, waiting for whatever creature was approaching. Tarragon saw something close stirring, and then the animal came into focus.

A horse, he thought.

No, not a horse.

Oh, Fates.

He didn't know what he'd expected, but the paintings and drawings he'd seen suggested a much sleeker, more delicate animal, with a gleaming coat and a straight, glistening horn. The creature standing before them was something entirely different.

For one thing, it stood at twice the height of the tallest horse he'd ever seen. Its shaggy coat was mottled and dark. He couldn't make out the colour but it certainly wasn't the pearl white that books always showed. The mane, too, was dark, and tangled beyond all hope of brushing out.

But it was the horn that was the most striking. Not smooth and shining, but twisted, gnarled and knotted like an ancient oak.

And somehow still majestic.

"Bloody Hells," Clover muttered.

The unicorn ignored Tarragon and Heleonne completely, striding straight up to Clover. It stooped so that its head was level with hers and nuzzled her shoulder.

"Hey," She whispered, visibly shaking. "Mind if I take something?" She reached up slowly and plucked a wiry hair from its mane. Clearly surprised by the sudden twinge of pain, the unicorn stepped away from her, jerking its head upwards. With an irritated snort, it trotted back towards the trees and out of sight.

Tarragon released a breath, letting his tensed shoulders slump. With shock no longer dulling his sense of pain, the slight ache induced by his rigid stance began to sink in. "How in all Hells did you do that?!" He asked.

Clover was still shuddering a little, but she shot him a giddy grin. "By not letting you kill the bear. Innocence."

The walk back to the Spine was filled mostly with questions from Clover and answers from Heleonne. When they made it to the outskirts, Tarragon jumped in with a question of his own.

"So, what do we need next?"

Heleonne shot him a look of confusion. "What do you mean? We got the hair, that's it."

"You said there were several things you needed. What are the rest and where do we get them?"

Heleonne laughed. "Hold on a second, there is no 'we'. I'm doing the rest of this on my own."

Tarragon echoed his bitter laugh. "Hilarious."

"It's not a joke," Heleonne said with a cold grimace.

"Oh, I know. What's hilarious is that you actually think I'm stepping back and leaving this to you when my family is still in danger. We don't know who's getting attacked next, or when, and I refuse to sit around and wait when I know I could be doing something."

"The best thing you can do," Heleonne said, taking a step towards him, "is stay out of my way. I needed you to get to a unicorn. I don't need you anymore. Besides, the other things I need can't even be found in Ortus."

He wanted to argue, but Clover got there first. "Then where are they? We'll come with you."

Tarragon's eyebrows shot up. "Sorry, what? You can't come."

Clover rolled her eyes. "Oh, so you're allowed to help and I'm not?"

"No-one is helping!" Heleonne cut in. "My father has made arrangements for me to stay in Aestas and Ocassus over the next few weeks. He made no such arrangements for any acomplices."

"Then fix the arrangements," Clover said. "We're both coming with you. My father is currently stitching up the arm of an eight-year-old boy who will bare scars for the rest of his life, if he doesn't get an infection and die. If Mereth can save people like him, then there is nothing in all Hells you can do to stop either of us from helping to find her."

Heleonne squirmed. "You have no idea how dangerous the rest of these tasks are going to be. Seriously, the unicorn was the easy one."

"All the more reason to bring some help," she said, folding her arms.

Tarragon couldn't stop himself from smiling at her refusal to back down. As much as the thought of his friend being in danger scared him, he couldn't deny that he'd appreciate her joining them. If Heleonne conceded and let them come, this would not be the last argument they faced. And there was no better person to have on side in an argument than the fierce, immovable Lady Clover Cadarn.

"Alright," Heleonne muttered.  "I'll see what I can do."

"Good," Tarragon said. "So. What will we be looking for next?"