Locksley, Potter, and Athos 2

David bent over and laid the blanket over Sara's sleeping form. She had finally fallen asleep, the events of the morning dragging her into unconsciousness. Her sleep was peaceful at the moment, but he wondered how long that would last. He knew she occasionally had nightmares before this morning's incident, and now they would probably only get worse.

The door behind him opened and he turned to see their fellow co-worker, Lucian, poking his head in. David straightened and exited the room, making sure to shut the door as quietly as possible. Once outside the room, he noticed that another co-worker, Alice, was also outside, her face a mask of worry.

"How is she?" Alice asked.

David sighed and answered, "She's sleeping. Peacefully, for now, but that probably won't last." He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall.

"Why did he call her 'Robin'?" Lucian asked.

"What are you talking about?" David replied.

"That guy, he kept calling her 'Robin', which is not her name; but he acted like he knew her."

"Yeah," Alice chimed in, "and she kept calling him 'Potter'. I thought his name was Harry."

David looked at them incredulously, "You two heard all of that?"

"Yeah. Sorry, boss, but we had to know what was going on in there." Lucian replied.

David sighed again, closed his eyes, and leaned his head back against the wall. He stayed that way, for a moment, not uttering a word. Lucian and Alice stayed quiet as they waited for him to answer. Finally without opening his eyes said, "What I'm about to tell you never leaves this hallway. Under no circumstances is anyone to know what I tell you, even Sara. Got it?"

The two replied in unison, "Got it."

"Before Sara came to work for us, she was a student and Patton Academy. She, along with two other students became friends. They did everything they could together. They were the top of their individual classes, but they were even better as a team. Any team exercise they dominated. They were unstoppable.

Subsequently, a government agency took note of them and offered a job as agents. Each of them shared a love for ancient literature, and that was reflected in their code names. Sara, a fan of the tales of Robin Hood, was named Locksley; but the other two just called her Robin. Harry, as joke, was named Potter, after a children series that had a character with that name. And the third member, the leader, was named Athos. His name came from the tale, The Three Musketeers, and the brooding character suited him.

Years went by and they did a great service for the Alliance; but something happened. During a mission that went south, Athos was killed in an explosion. At least, that's what everyone thought. Potter refused to believe it. He was convinced that Athos was still alive; and that the mission had been rigged from the start. He went of the reservation. Eventually he was branded a criminal. Sara, now without her two best friends, was discharged from her contract and hired soon afterwards by Mr. Reynolds. The rest you know."

He opened his eyes and stared at Alice and Lucian for a moment, gauging their reactions. They were both staring at him. Lucian, he could tell, was still processing the story. Alice, on the other hand, was staring at him with a look of comprehension and horror.

"You're him. That guy was telling the truth. It all makes sense now." she muttered.

Lucian looked at questioningly, "What are you babbling about?"

Alice pointed at David, "He is Athos. He must have had reconstructive surgery or something."

Lucian glanced at David. "What makes you say that? You don't have any proof. You didn't even know the guy."

"You didn't see them when Sara first met him." Alice countered, turning to face Lucian, "She acted like she didn't know him, because as far as she is concerned, she doesn't; but he had this look of concealed recognition and relief on his face. I always thought it was odd, and now I know why."

Lucian pondered this for moment. Then they both looked at David, who had stood quietly the entire time. He was staring at the floor and looked very tired.

Lucian spoke, "Is she right, boss?"

"Yes." was the whispered reply. "and heaven help you if I ever find out you tell her."

Locksley, Potter, and Athos 1

"Robin, you have to listen to me." the man before her insisted.  His gun was pointed at the floor, but she knew from experience that he could have in pointed anywhere in seconds.

"I am listening, Potter." she replied. "I just don't believe you. I was there when he died. No one could have survived that kind of explosion. Please, put the gun down." She had to get him to surrender. The authorities outside had only given her five minutes to convince him to surrender peacefully. If he didn't surrender by then, he would end up dead. She would be alone.

"I can't." he responded. "Not unless you come with me. I can prove what I'm saying. I can prove they lied to us. Please, Robin."

The pleading look in his eyes almost convinced her to go. He must really believe Athos is still alive. But that was impossible, Athos was dead. She had seen the body. There was no way it had still been alive. Going with him would only add to the charges against him. She could only help him if he surrendered to her. "Potter, I'll make you a deal. You put the gun down and come with me. You can show me everything, and I'll promise I'll listen. No more running. No more hiding."

He let out a exasperated sigh, "You don't get it. The people we used to work for, they're part of the system you work for. They wanted us dead and I can prove it, but they'll never let me show you the proof. They'll kill me first. They-"

At that moment there was the sound of breaking glass, and Potter's voice cut off. He dropped gun, fell to his knees and then pitched onto his back.

Sara dashed over to him. "Potter!?!"  She knelt beside him and pulled his jacked open. The bullet had missed his heart, but only just. She pushed her hands onto the wound.

"Robin," he gasped, coughing up blood. "my left pocket - take the key." He grimaced in pain and coughed again as she she situated her hands to free one to get the key. She heard the doors behind her open and the sound of footsteps.

"Athos is alive." He gasped between more coughs. "I wouldn't lie to you about this." He coughed again and then lay still.

"Potter?" She started CPR. "Potter, please, hang on. You don't get to die too." He had to live.

She had barely started when she felt strong hands around her arms, pulling her away. She fought against them, but they were too strong. The owner of the hands pulled her into his chest. Some subconscious part of her brain recognized the person as her co-worker, David, and she let her self be pulled into his arms. She stayed there, curled in his arms until she couldn't cry anymore.

The Faolchuln

got there?!"

Those were the words her mother had uttered the night Faernyn had brought Inis home. He was small and bony, obviously the runt of the litter and obviously underfed, and covered in grey and black fur. He had followed her home that day. It was raining so she hadn't noticed him at first, but when she did, she'd picked him up and carried him the rest of the way home. Her mother, despite her protests about bringing a stray do home, gave him some scraps and an old blanket in the kitchen to sleep on. Later that night however, Faernyn had awoken to find him curled at the foot of her bed. He had lifted his head, stared at her for a moment as if checking to see that she was all right, and then gone back to sleep. They hadn't know what he was at the time. He hadn't looked dangerous.They found out what was a few months later when her step-father came home. He was drunk, as usual, and was more than upset to find a stray dog in his home. He had started yelling and had even kicked Inis, who was now three hands tall. Inis had shied away but had made no threatening sounds or movements. It hadn't been until her father had reached for her that Inis reacted. As her step-father grabbed her hair, Inis started growling. It wasn't a high-pitched growl from a puppy either. It was a deep, menacing growl from something much larger. Her father had turned to kick Inis again and froze. Faernyn also stared in shock. Inis was facing her father, ears back and teeth barred; but what they were staring at was the fact that he was now twice his normal size and that there were "quill" like spikes protruding along his back. His claws had also lengthened and were digging into the hardwood floor. Her step-father had let her go and left, never to be seen again. Shortly afterward, Inis had returned to normal, all traces of the transformation gone.When she had told her mother about it, her mother had turned pale and asked to repeat, in detail, Inis' transformation. Then she told her that Inis was not a dog, he was Faolchuln. The Faolchuln were a wolf-like creature from the north-east mountains, and were never found far from there. They were the hunting and battle companions of the elfish people who resided in those mountains. They were said to appear as small dogs or wolves, only to transform when their masters were threatened. It was also said that they bonded for life, and that they and the one they were bonded with could draw on strength of the other. Yet none of those were the reason for her mom's reaction. In all of stories and legends of the Faolchuln, there was never a case of a Faolchuln bonding with a human.


*Faolchu- Irish word for wolf.

**"Prequel" for a larger story that's floating around in my head.