Hannibal exhaled sharply, his breath misting as soon as it left his body. He rubbed his sore shoulders, grateful for the chance to release his heavy burden for a bit. His Durance had been totally lacking in both glamour and creature comforts, he had been nothing than a beast of burden. These days he looked the part, a massive hulk of a man with soft, white fur and subtle bovine features, explaining why he was sometimes refered to as the "White Bull". Here he was, he pondered, free from slavery for many years now but still carrying or dragging heavy loads wherever he went. The more things changed the more they stayed the same he mused in a philosophical outburst totally uncharacteristic for him. But these days, when he was strapped into his harness in front of the wagon, he did so with pride, for it was his job and his job alone, to pull the wagon of the honored elder Nikodemus, a man Hannibal had great affections for.<br/>He wiped his sweaty brow with a massive fist. His body was steaming as he stood there in the snow, the exertion had overheated him again despite the cold and his lack of clothes. He was barefoot and bare-chested, wearing nothing but a modest pair of jeans with a piece of string acting as a belt. The cold didn't really bother him much anymore, one of the benefits of being part beast he supposed.<br/>He looked around the hastily erected camp. All wagons were accounted for, no one had gotten lost in the storm, and that lifted another weight of his chest. Far from every wagon was pulled by manpower, most of them had far more exotic means of transportation, but the number of wagon-pullers was still substantial and Hannibal was glad none of his friends had gotten in trouble.<br/>Cooking fires were lit with impressive speed all around the camp. The pullers knew how to take advantage of every minute of respite because no one knew how long it would last.<br/>"How goes it, friend Hanni?" Hannibal almost jumped out of his skin, startled as he was by the voice coming from somewhere close behind him. He slowly turned around, not really worried despite the initial shock. He recognized the voice.<br/>"You do know you will be the one pulling this wagon if you give me a heart attack, right?"<br/>The man who had just startled him smiled at Hannibal's remark. He was a rail-thin man clad in nature green and brown clothes, a sword hang from his belt and he was casually leaning against a longbow. The features that identified him as one of the Lost was his light green skin, his pointy ears and his hair that was like long strands of beaten copper.<br/>"Oh I hope not," he said with obvious mirth in his voice, "I fear we would be stuck here. Besides, can you really blame me for honing my skills? Skulking around is what I do."<br/>That much was true, Hannibal had to agree. As one of the Outriders his friend Liam filled a vital role in the Carnival, especially when they were on the move. The Outriders were trailblazers, scouting ahead of the Carnival and making sure they weren't walking into an ambush.<br/>Liam offered Hannibal his hipflask and the huge bull thankfully drank from it. The golden honey mead warmed his frozen limbs and he wished he could keep the flask. It never seemed to be empty.<br/>"Anything?" Hannibal asked, as always a man of few words. Liam shook his head.<br/>"Quiet as the grave. This infernal snow puts a damper on everything. Even the sounds seem sensible enough to stay indoors on a day like this." Liam made a face in disgust.<br/>"I doubt I'd be able to spot a fiend at 10 feet in this weather. It doesn't even seem to be any use sending out patrols under these conditions."<br/>"Well..." Hannibal replied slowly, "I know that I feel a lot safer knowing you guys are on the job. I'm sure most feel like I do."<br/>Liam tipped his hat in response to the praise, and for a couple of minutes they passed the flask between them in silence, comfortable in eachothers company despite the lack of conversation. It seemed to be dawning, but the sun didn't improve the visibility much, you couldn't even see it through the storm and the dark, heavy clouds.<br/>Hannibal had actually made a very good point. Sending out patrols when you could barely see your own hand might seem like a fool's errand, but the effect on morale was vital. One of the things that made the Hedge such an alien and frightening place was that it somehow seemed to react to the moods and emotions of those traveling through it. While the result could be quite pleasing, as with the case of two lovers sneaking of into the Hedge for some privacy, it was far more likely that the surroundings would be affected by negative emotions. If the people of the caravan were to panic their fear would with all certainty be a self-furfilling prophesy. Therefore the sense of security the Outriders provided was essential for the caravan's survival, even on days when it was only a false sense of security. Some would argue that those were the days when the Outriders were needed the most.<br/>The tranquility was broken by a door slamming shut, someone was leaving Nikodemus wagon. Hannibal turned his attention to the wagon, the door was in the back so he wouldn't be able to see who it was right away. He could guess though. Nikodemus rarely left his home these days, especially under these conditions, so it was most likely his guest.<br/>Hannibal could feel himself starting to blush, he was grateful it wasn't very noticeable due to his fur. Despite his size Hannibal was very shy and didn't have much confidence to speak of when it came to dealing with the fairer sex. This time it was worse than usual, ever since he had saved Ember from the snow's deadly embrace his heart seemed to skip a beat. He had found that rescuing damsels in distress had been to his liking. The problem was that she wasn't distressed anymore, and because of his shyness they hadn't had much contact to speak of, not since the day he found her.<br/>Hannibal had guessed correctly, it was Ember but she wasn't alone. With her was Pylea, the two girls seemed inseparable these days. Hannibal cringed. As awkward as he felt around Ember he knew it was nothing compared to the torment her companion could subject him to if she put her mind to it. Pylea was shamelessly outspoken and a tease in every sense of the word. If she had had the tiniest piece of malice in her heart she could have made his life a living hell, but when all was said and done she was actually a rather sweet girl. That didn't mean she didn't enjoy seeing him squirm now and then though.<br/>Liam gave the girls an overly elaborate bow, making them giggle as they passed. Liam's reward was Pylea blowing him a kiss and once again Hannibal envied the ease with which his friend interacted with women. The only thing Hannibal had managed was mumbling a greeting while staring at his feet. He doubted anyone had even heard him.<br/>For a short while Liam also had seemed to have forgotten all about his friend, the sight of the two ladies walking away held him mesmerized. Finally he managed to make himself look away and he turned to Hannibal with a smile.<br/>"Wow, those two makes the snow melt wherever they walk, and not only because of their fiery personas either." Hannibal only managed a shrug in reply, and Liam's smile dissolved into a serious frown as he studied his friend. Then his face lit up as he grinned at the big man-bull.<br/>"Oh, my dear friend, you have gotten it bad, haven't you?"<br/>Hannibal silently cursed Liam for being so damn perceptive, but what else could you expect from an Outrider?<br/>"It's nothing," he protested, his voice a great deal louder than he had intended, no doubt only confirming Liam's suspicions. "I just have a hard time talking to women. I don't have your way with words. I just don't know what to say."<br/>Liam somehow managed to place his arm around his tall friend's shoulders.<br/>"Hannibal, oh Hannibal. I know, and listen to me for once, you are making it harder than it has to be. Your first mistake is placing women on a pedestal. No wonder they make you feel small, make you choke on your words! Me, I worship women, I kiss the ground they walk on, but I'd never make the mistake of placing them on a pedestal! How are you supposed to talk to someone when you feel you ought to apologize for even addressing them? She might be the princess of Dusk and Dawn, with a beautiful laughter like a hundred tiny crystal bells, and a face that has launched a thousand ships. Fine. So she's one hell of a woman, but you have to believe, you have to know, that you are also bringing something to the table. That you aren't a man without qualities of your own. Courtship isn't a onesided affair, she isn't granting you a huge favor by granting you the pleasure of her company. Instead, she is getting to enjoy your company in return. Do you follow me, big guy?"<br/>Hannibal shrugged.<br/>"So it's a confidence thing?" he asked, not without a hint of bitterness in his voice. "Seems they were all out when it was my turn to get mine."<br/>Liam smiled.<br/>"You think confidence are something you are just born with? Well, I suppose some people are like that, but have you ever known them to be anything but insufferable pricks? No, for most people confidence is something you work at. You train it, just as you would anything else. If you just make an effort and try best you can to strike up conversation with the girls around camp, and don't give up even if it goes badly at first, you'll see it gets easier with time."<br/>"But what would we talk about?" Hannibal said, throwing out his arms in dispair. "I don't know the first thing about talking to girls. I missed out on my formative years, there were no girls in the stable where my Keeper kept me. They might as well be from another planet as far as I'm concerned."<br/>Without realizing it, Hannibal had just revealed more about his Durance than he ever had before. Never a man of many words under normal circumstances, the subject of his stay in Fay where total taboo. Not many realized how utterly humiliating the experience had been for him. Never treated as a person, only as a beast of burden. Eventually you started forgetting yourself that you once had been a man. He supposed many Beasts had shared similar experiences, but it was not something he was comfortable talking about. So he carried the burden alone as he was used to, as he always had.<br/>If Liam realized how momentous a moment it had been, which he probably did, being as close to Hannibal as anyone in camp, he didn't make a big deal of it, he just smiled. And Hannibal found himself loving him for it.<br/>"Well, it isn't to late to start now. I'm actually a little bit jealous of you," he said as he playfully punched Hannibal on the shoulder. "You have no idea what wonders awaits you! Ah, to be young again..."<br/>Of the two of them, Hannibal was probably the older, and neither of them was that old to begin with, but he let it slide. In these matters he was very much the novice, while Liam had a wealth of experience, at least if you could believe the gossip around the camp fires.<br/>"And what do you talk about? Anything you like, anything you find interesting or amusing. You want to know the secret with women? The real secret with women? It's that they aren't so terribly different from you and I."<br/>That couldn't be right. That was the exact opposite of everything Hannibal had heard whenever men stood around discussing women.<br/>"They aren't remotely as enigmatic and mysterious as you might have heard. Except when they are, those times sucks."<br/>Hannibal couldn't tell if that was Liam's attempt at humor or not, all he knew was that now he was even more confused.<br/>"They want the same things from life as we do, they want to be safe and happy, they want someone to love and someone who loves them. All the rest is just window dressing."<br/>Hannibal had a hard time believing that as well, even though he had to admit Liam was making a lot of sense.<br/>"And never, I mean never, let anyone tell you that women don't love sex just as much as we do."<br/>That last comment made Hannibal's mouthfull of the honey colored liquor come shooting out his nose.<br/>"Well, I think that might be skipping ahead a bit, teach," he said dryly. Liam grinned.<br/>"The basics then. Make a woman feel you are paying attention to what she's saying, make her laugh, make her fell pretty, feel special and always, always treat her good...well, I think you'd be surprised just how far that will get you."<br/>He leaned closer while overly dramatic looking around for people that might be eavesdropping.<br/>"Then there are a certain few who don't want you to treat them nice. You might meet a woman who wants you to be strict with her, a bit...rough. She might not want your respect. You give it to her anyway, only you do it in secret. That way she's happy, you are happy, everyone is happy."<br/>Now Hannibal knew he was being made fun of.<br/>"Respect her in secret? How stupid do you think I am?" He was starting to get a bit worked up. He was always slow to anger, but if you got him there he would rage like you'd never seen.<br/>Hannibal knew there were some that thought him stupid, that people sometimes had a laugh at his expense. He'd just smile, of course, pretend he wasn't bothered, but it sure stung, just a little bit. The truth was that he wasn't stupid, not really. He was just a bit...slow. He was as clever as the next guy, only that by the time he had figured something out all the others had moved on to new things. So he was sensitive to people trying to make him feel stupid, especially if it was someone he'd consider a friend. Like Liam.<br/>Liam, on his part, was as perceptive as ever and threw his arms up in the air, putting on his most honest face.<br/>"God's truth, I swear it! I've actually dated a couple myself. I had a blast, it was about as passionate as a relationship can be while still being legal, but in the end you just get tired. It's hard work being that much of a bastard all the time, pretending you are someone you're not. Does a number on your nerves."<br/>Having accepted that Liam wasn't making fun of him, Hannibal had gone from angry to confused in a heart beat.<br/>"But why on earth?" he asked. "Why would anyone actually want you to treat them like that?"<br/>"Hey, I'm not saying it's that common, it's quite rare. Remember when I said that women was just like us, except for the times when you can't for the life of you figure out what's going on in those heads of theirs?"<br/>"Yeah, it wasn't at all confusing then either, " Hannibal answered dryly.<br/>"Ha. Well this is one of those times, I think." Liam frowned as a new thought struck him.<br/>"Unless it's not a women thing at all. Maybe there are men like that to? There probably is, but I wouldn't know. I do know that many women get attracted to what you and I would call pricks, thugs. It's that bad boy thing, a certain amount of danger in their lives excite them."<br/>Hannibal's shoulders slumped.<br/>"So I should do...what? Be meaner?"<br/>Liam placed his hand on the big Beast's shoulder.<br/>"No my friend, I don't think that's a path you'd want to take, you are far to good a person to ever feel comfortable in that role. You are perfect as you are. Just, you know, live a little. Dare to make stupid mistakes, risk making a fool of yourself if the reward makes it worth it." Liam grinned at his big friend.<br/>"Now, stupid mistakes is an area where I'm expertly suited to lend my assistance. We'll make a fool out of you before you know it. But with some luck you'll be a fool with a beautiful woman on each arm."<br/>"I don't know about that..." Hannibal protested, feeling slightly embarrassed about the amount of time his friend seemed willing to invest in improving his social life. Hannibal never expected much from life or the people around him. He was the type of person who was always willing lend a hand but never demanded anything for himself. He wasn't used to this amount of attention.<br/>"Never doubt it. Are you aware what people say about you around camp?"<br/>"What?" Hannibal asked, eyes narrowed in suspicion.<br/>"The reason you got this massive chest of yours? It needs to be, to leave room for your big heart."<br/>Hannibal blushed. "They say that?"<br/>"Sure. And just not the guys either, the women too. People think higher of you than you allow yourself to think."<br/>Hannibal smiled, warmed by Liam's words. He was suddenly very grateful to have him for a friend, and he said as much.<br/>"Right back at you, big guy," Liam replied. He was about to say more, but something cut him off before he got the chance. Suddenly Hannibal was blinded as something splashed in his eyes. It felt thick and rather sticky, and it's scent made Hannibal think of spring. He realized with a gut wrenching sensation that he knew exactly what it was, blinded or not. He actually wished he could keep his eyes closed forever, that way he could tell himself he was mistaken, that he was just jumping at shadows. But Hannibal had always been pragmatic and knew wishes amounted to nothing, even in the land of Faerie. He opened his eyes...<br/>...and immediately wished he hadn't. That way he would never had to witness his friend Liam Farstrider's last few breaths on this earth.<br/>Hannibal fought back the tears that welled up in his eyes and threatened to blind him again. Somehow he felt he owed it to Liam to never blink, never look away, for as long as it lasted.<br/>His friend had a crude looking arrow sticking out his neck. Somehow he was still standing, staggering and swaying but somehow through sheer stubbornness refusing to lie down. Say one thing for Liam Farstrider, say you never would find him horizontal unless he was with someone.<br/>Hannibal had been right, the substance in his eyes had been his friend's blood, quite like tree sap due to his close kinship with the forest.<br/>Liam's eyes met his, and Hannibal realized that Liam was confused, he couldn't understand what was happening. But he understood now, it was written all across Hannibal's face.  He could see the fear in Liam's eyes as he realized that this was his last, fleeting moments in life. Hannibal tried to offer his friend some comfort, his lips moved but no words would come. What did you say in situations like this?<br/>But no matter how inadequate Hannibal felt, his mere presence seemed to help. He could see in Liam's eyes how he moved from fear to acceptance, from acceptance to a strange sense of peace. He gave Hannibal a last smile, then the grief stricken bull could see the light leave his friends eyes for good. He was still on his feet, Hannibal thought he would've liked that, but now he slowly toppled over and fell to the snow's waiting embrace.<br/>Hannibal fought back the tears as he frantically looked around for the hidden threat. That he also could be in danger hadn't even dawned on him until now. He gasped as the snow seemed to rise up before his very eyes, like a ghost army coming for the living...<br/><br/>---<br/><br/>Nikodemus had a hard time staying awake now, he kept nodding off mid sentence. But after awhile he would snap back and pick up where he left off, not missing a beat. He probably didn't even realize he had been asleep. He was obviously very tired, but because he was having such a good time he refused to admit it even to himself. He wouldn't be able to keep it up though.<br/>"Well," said Pylea, "it has been fun and all, but this girl needs her beauty sleep. They must've made you out of stronger stuff back in your days, because us young girls can't keep up with you." She winked at Ember as she said it. Clearly she wasn't very tired at all.<br/>"Also, I thought I'd take Ember over to meet the girls. The Sisters have been asking about her."<br/>"Dear child!" Nikodemus said, "I didn't quite realize how late it was! You must be tired, time to call it a night." Ember couldn't be sure, but she didn't think he was fooled by Pylea's act. He seemed grateful though, and touched by how she had allowed him to save face.<br/>Pylea gave him a goodnight kiss on the cheek and she and Ember turned to leave. Nikodemus had some parting words for them first though.<br/>"Pylea, since you are going over to the Pavilion you might ask your Mistress to teach Ember a thing or two as well. About Glamour and Harvesting, perhaps?"<br/>Ember could see Pylea's care free attitude drop in an instance, replaced by an unexplainable reluctance.<br/>"Yeah, about that...I don't think my Mistress is quite as keen on the role of teacher as you are..."<br/>Nikodemus' friendly face certainly got a stern look.<br/>"Then you remind her that if she want to be an elder she should pay as much attention to her duties as she does her privileges."<br/>Pylea looked like she was about to reply, but decided against it. She just nodded and waved goodbye, looking thoroughly unhappy. Once outside in the cold she confided in Ember.<br/>"I'm not very keen on delivering Nikodemus' message, not very keen at all. Nikodemus is a sweetheart, and smart! Knows all sorts of amazing stuff that would make my head spin. But I think he might have a very poor grasp of how things work in the Sisterhood. Very big on rituals and ceremony, the Sisters are. For an initiate to make demands on the mistress, even if she's only passing along a message, it just wouldn't do!"<br/>Ember still knew very little about the day to day life in the Carnival. She did know that the Seasonal Courts she had heard mentioned now and then played little part in Carnival politics. In camp Court allegiance was a personal matter and wasn't expected to influence who you went about your day, at least not much. As far as Ember had figured out the Courts were replaced by four factions unique to the Carnival, and these Sisters Pylea was talking about was one of them. They sounded pretty strict, Pylea hadn't really spoken about them before and what Ember was hearing now didn't sound very promising.<br/>But as Pylea climbed down the wagon's ladder her mood seemed much improved, so maybe she'd thought of a solution to her problem. She shamelessly grinned as she looked up as Ember prepared to descend, no doubt expecting a nice view of Ember's ass. The scented and multicolored smoke from Pylea's hair lazily drifted upward and made Ember's head spin. She felt flushed, she thought she'd be used by now, but maybe this was something you couldn't get used to. Not for the first time she thought how hard it must be to be a guy around her bubbly friend. It was a small wonder that the men were wearing pants at all.<br/>"Come on girlfriend! Shake it!" Pylea yelled. "We have enough time to take a walk around camp, so let's get you caught up on the gossip!"