Blue Forest Banshee by PlaidDragon
Part 1
My mother died giving birth to me. Her sister and brother raised me. My childhood memories have been unavoidably colored by later events, but I think they loved me, even if they also felt sorry for me. Mercifully, however, they didn't let me see it. Other members of the Clan were not so circumspect. By the time I was eight, the most hated words in my world were, "It's so sad that she is with his father."
I didn't need a translation to figure out that my father was also dead. I did a lot of smiling and pretending that I never heard. I don't know what made me feel that way, but I didn't want to be pitied, and I didn't want people looking at me with sad eyes.
So, I did my best to make everyone believe that I was happy, so that they would be happy. And I guess to convince myself that I was happy. In that, at least, I think I was successful.
I didn't have a bad life; my guardians were good to me, if a little strict, and they were cautiously affectionate. I suppose that if no one had told me my parents were dead, I might have been perfectly happy with my Aunt Shar and Uncle Caz.
Then something happened to begin the mad spiral that eventually turned my orderly life upside down.
Playing in the woods where the Clan lived, a group of us came too near to a Human settlement. Most of the children wanted to run home, but a couple wanted to go closer, to actually see a Human. We never had; any contact between our Clan and Humankind took place far from our home, and we children were not allowed.
Of course, I was one of the bold ones who wanted to spy on the village. Unfortunately, my male cousin, Fael, stepped into a snare and became entangled. My female cousin, Brii, who was with him, ran away and left him. I heard him crying and tried to free him, but he had struggled and managed to tie himself up even worse. We didn't want to be caught by the Humans, but we also knew that Brii was the only one who could have called for help from our own kind. When we heard Men's voices coming near, we both panicked. I started to scream for help. To my surprise, Fael's father heard me and came immediately. He said nothing, but looked at me very hard as he freed Fael and whisked us back to our home.
It wasn't until that night, that I learned that he had answered a distress call; he thought it came from one of the females. My guardians were astonished. The rest of the Clan was dumbstruck.
The Banshee's cry that so alarms Humans comes only from the female's vocal cords. The cry of a male Banshee is little different from that of a male Human. It should have been impossible for me to make that sound, and yet I made it automatically.
That was when my guardians were forced to tell me that my father was not a Banshee. I was born of a mixed mating.
Suddenly, the tiny differences in me began to make a kind of sense. I wasn't a "real" Banshee. It explained why my eyes were purple, while everyone else's were green. Perhaps it also accounted for my boldness and curiosity. Maybe even my volatile temper.
The other children were wary or frightened of me for a long time after that. Even some of the adults avoided me for a time. Eventually, over the course of a few months, things settled down. I stayed inside most of that time, away from the rest of the Clan, and everyone breathed easier.
It seemed that as long as I showed no signs of my unusual ability, the Clan was able to accept me. When my differences surfaced, I became a skunk at the table.
It went on like that for a couple of years. I learned how not to use my Voice; in fact, I kept my mouth shut most of the time. I had discovered a more than normal affinity for animals, birds and plants, and I spent time alone in the forest practicing these new abilities.
I was deep in the woods one day, listening to the complaints of a pair of tree squirrels, when I heard Human voices. Instead of running home, as I had been taught, I hid, hoping to catch a glimpse of the people I was forbidden to meet.
Their accents were rough, but I could understand most of what they said, and it frightened me. They were heading for my Clan's enclave. Somehow, they believed that the Clan had riches hidden away, and they planned to attack the enclave and steal that wealth.
I ran for home then, but I had to take a longer path, and the Humans arrived first. The attack was under way and people were dying. The Humans had weapons as deadly as the Banshees' voices; both sides suffered casualties.
As I watched in horror, a shadow fell across the battle. It swirled lazily, condensing slowly into a dark figure cloaked in smoke. No one, Banshee or Human, gave it any notice, except me. A Human fell. The dark form raised a hand. A soft grey mist rose from the Human and drifted toward the shadow. The hand touched it, and instantly the mist rose into the air, dissipating quickly.
Then a Banshee went down. Again a mist arose and was drawn to the dark shadow, and then flung upwards into nothing. It happened again, and again.
In shock, I stepped from my hiding place onto the battlefield, moving toward the shadowy figure. It turned toward me and its arm came up. I didn't even wonder what would happen to me. But instead of beckoning, it waved me off.
Within the smoky cloak, two glowing purple lights regarded me. I stared in fascination. I knew what it was, had heard the tales from childhood, but I simply could not believe what I was seeing.
Inside my head, a voice like honey whispered my name and I gasped as recognition jolted me like a blow to the gut.
~Son...~ breathed that honeyed voice. ~My son...~
I continued to stare as tears welled in my eyes, burning like acid as they overflowed onto my face.
"Father..." I don't know if I said it aloud or not. I don't remember thinking before I said it. I only knew that it was true. "Death..."
~Beautiful... Child of my love...~
I tried to come closer, but the purple eyes brightened and grew larger, and I had to cover my face from that burning gaze. I think I fainted. I hope I fainted.
When I awoke, I was lying beside the stream where I had first heard the Humans' voices. I flung cold water on my face, but still I felt hot and fevered. I don't know how I got there. I was afraid to go home. I was afraid to find that I had no home left.
I stayed there for a long time, not moving and trying not to think. The moon was setting when I heard voices, Banshee voices.
I was on my feet instantly, wailing like a coyote, and in a moment, they found me. I was so glad to see familiar faces and to know that my Clan wasn't destroyed, that I flung myself into the nearest arms, not even noticing that they seemed less than thrilled to see me.
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