User:Arrow Quivershaft/Departing

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}} {{#if:| — see [[:Category:{{{category}}}|other works by this author]]}}

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The next day we met at the docks. I had everything ready, the backpacks ready for me and Alex, food, everything. We were ready to go. Dawn was there with me as I stood there with our gear, watching Alex and Blossom approach. I’d already paid the boatman for the two of us and gotten our tickets.

“You both ready?” I asked as they arrived.

Alex nodded. "Ready to rumble. Hey, who's the new addition?" he said, looking to Dawn.

Blossom smiled at Dawn and waved shyly. “A friend of Nathan’s."

"Dawn's the person I asked you about,” I explained. "Dawn, Alex and Blossom.”

Dawn nodded her head once. "Hello."

"Hi, it’s nice to meet you." Blossom said.

"Pleased to meet you Dawn." Alex said, holding out his hand to shake.

Dawn didn’t miss a step. "Sorry Alex, I don't do that anymore."

Alex pulled his hand back. "Ah ... anymore?"

Blossom smiled "You’re very pretty." she complimented Dawn.

"Don't worry about me. Let's get you folks underway." Dawn stated. She turned to me. "Nathan, you've got lead, I'm just a tagalong."

"Sure thing." I grabbed the stuff and hauled it up to the boarding plank. I flashed my ticket and waited for Alex and Blossom to cover their fares.

The boat was an old-fashioned caravel. Small, but about the highest tech you could get in realm. Just a quick boat for in-and-out of realm trips. We wouldn’t be the only ones. They had a radio for emergency, but of course that wouldn’t work once we got in realm. Still, I’d been on this boat before. Nice, fast trip in realm.

I lugged the gear aboard and set it down in the main hold. Given the shortness of the trip, there weren’t really guest rooms. Just a main hold, and some hammocks spread out. Nothing really elaborate. I stowed the gear in a compartment and locked it, and then returned to my group.

I sat down in a chair as we waited for the boat to leave.

Alex took a seat next to me. "Hmm. Nathan, I hope it isn't too personal, but that tattoo...?"

I shrugged a bit. "No, it's not too personal. I'm a devout follower of Athene."

He nodded, looking a bit worried.

Blossom was looking at Dawn a bit as she sat down in her own chair. For now she was just listening.

Dawn settled into one of the hammocks near our seats. "Our ride's about a day long... Hope you aren't the types to get seasick."

Alex grinned. "We're about to find out."

"I've never been on a boat..but I don’t think I get seasick." I decided, given obvious documentation that Blossom had been on a boat before with the RAF, that her memory wasn’t very good. Extra watching, this one.

"Keep a bucket handy.", Dawn advised.

“Why, what happens?" Blossom inquired.

“You get sick." Alex stated.

"What type of sick?" Blossom, again.

"Vomit type sick." Alex explained.

Blossom finally got it. "oh.." she smiled a bit, like she was remembering a good memory. Weirded me out a bit, I’ll admit.

Alex took out something and stared at it. Looked like a custom lighter.

"Do you ever fly Dawn?" Blossom asked, changing the subject.

"Not out here in the scientific realm. I'll be able to fly once we're in Greece." Dawn explained, patiently.

"What? Why’s that?" Blossom seemed confused.

I glanced at Dawn with a “See? Green” look.

Dawn returned the look. "Uhm... Honey, I break the laws of aerodynamics."

Blossom looked a bit confused.

Alex spoke up before she could say anything. "The realms are magical right?" He was staring at his lighter.

"I sure hope so." Dawn said. She’s more blunt than me at times, and that’s one of the traits I admire, is being able to just hammer the point home without trying to be nice about it. "That lighter got much plastic in it?"

Alex paused, then shook his head. "Umm, don't think so."

"Here's how it works... Inside the realms, explosions don't happen, electricity doesn't flow, and synthetic compounds break down in an awful hurry." Dawn elaborated.

Alex frowned slightly, holding the lighter tighter. He didn’t know what it was made of. “Ah.”

"Outside the realms, magic doesn't happen, and all the laws of science have to be obeyed." Dawn paused. "There was a reason we had you wear cotton clothes instead of polyester."

"So what if..someone was magically made a certain way." Blossom asked, seeming a bit nervous.

"Like I was? They deal with it." Dawn cut to the point.

"Deal with it how?" Blossom asked, pushing the question line a bit too far.

"However." Dawn shrugged.

A pair of minotaurs and a few other human groups settled in as we got underway, the telltale sound of the engines kicking in as we started to leave. Of course, the engines won’t work once we get past the realm border, but they’re good for moving up until then.

"That doesn't answer my question." Blossom pouted.

"It all depends on the person, hon." Dawn took a bit of a teaching tone.

Alex tucked away his lighter. "You just live with it, Blossom."

Blossom nodded, accepting the answer for now and falling silent.

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We arrived the next day in the Gulf of Corinth. Once we were near, I got called up to the deck to help watch for any marauding monsters. Dawn took off and circled overhead for a bit, seeming to be glad to be back in realm. In a way, I envied her flight, but I tried to keep my mind on my task.

Blossom watched Dawn in awe, closing her eyes after a moment and looking lost in her own world. Alex, on the other hand, seemed to be rather significantly more relaxed once we were in realm borders, for some reason. I’d have to ask him about that later; most people get more edgy going in realm, not relaxed.

After we docked, I helped haul the stuff off, and got the packs distributed between me, Alex, and Blossom. I glanced at the sun; it was early evening. We had 20 miles to go, and we’d make no good time today, so I led them towards the nearest inn I liked.

It was pretty busy here in Corinth, in that rustic realm way. The city was built into the ruins of the original, high-tech Corinth that was abandoned 19 years ago. The weather was warm and humid; standard Med summer.

Blossom rubbernecked around while following "What’s this place called?"

"This is Corinth." I said.

Blossom took a swig of water and nodded to me. Dawn landed nearby.

"We should check in for the evening, and get started early tomorrow. Nighttime is dangerous," I said.

Alex nodded at Nathan's remark. He turned to Dawn as she landed and tried to make small talk. "Hmm, Dawn?" He chats. "You said you didn't shake hands anymore. What do you mean by that?"

Blossom glanced to Alex. "I think she meant she was human once..."

"Kiddo got it in one."

"I know how she feels." Blossom said offhand.

Alex browraised, mumbling something. "What happened?" he asked.

"Got myself caught by some of Echidna's monsters. Woke up with feathers and tits. That's how it goes,” Dawn elaborated with her inimitable style.

Alex shuddered a bit.

Blossom nodded. "I woke up as a human, i went from being 10 inches tall to this height."

"Blossom, shut up." Alex hissed, which got a glare in response.

"Hfff. Trade ya, Blossom,” Dawn commented.

"Make sure to remind me to keep the hell away from the gods ... oh wait..." Alex jokes.

It fell pretty flat. "Don't joke. You two aren't marked. Minions are going to be after you,” Dawn explained.

"That's why I said, don't get captured." I agreed. So very green.

Alex nodded. "Ah."

"Alright.." Blossom said.

I glanced at Dawn with a bit of curiosity as I led the three of them to an inn. It was built into what used to be a schoolhouse, so we got what used to be a classroom, subdivided into two rooms to sleep in. It was built for humans, so Dawn would be a bit uncomfortable, but it was the best they had available for us. Personally, a port warehouse hotel might’ve been better, but they were full up.

The auditorium area of the school had been converted to a tavern, so we hung out there for a bit. A few human teams seemed to be using this as a staging area. Of course, as we were in realm now, there were also satyrs, minotaurs, the odd centaur, elves, nymphs and others.

Blossom looked around as I paid, and exchanged a few words with Alex, closely watched by Dawn. Most of the locals were speaking Greek. Most of the hotel patrons were speaking English, but I picked out some Italian, French, and German. Some group even were speaking some other language...maybe Korean or Vietnamese. I couldn’t tell. I got back to my group just as Blossom started wringing her tail and saying she needed some tea.

Dawn was the first to address the elephant in the room. "Question I got for you kids... Do you want to get yourselves marked to a god before we set out?"

"What..why?" Blossom looked confused.

"Perhaps because it's a good idea." Alex posited.

"Once you're marked of your own volition, nobody else can force a mark onto you." Dawn explained.

"I don't like the idea of that.." Blossom said, nervously.

Alex shook his head. "Me neither. I've been marked and whatnot way too much already."

Dawn tried again. "Think of it like a bank. If you choose somewhere to keep your money, then you're tied to that bank in slightly inconvenient ways. If you don't, then everyone knows you're walking around with your life savings in your pocket."

"I don't know what a bank is..." Blossom grumbled.

I sighed. This wasn’t going well. I tried to play Good Cop. "Let it go, Dawn...if they don't want to, then they don't want to."

"Yeah, I get it." Dawn gave up.

Alex wasn’t done, though. "How do these marks work? Are they tattoos only or is it something more?"

"Some use skin colours, some don't... But all of em are a little bit of an aura that everyone else can detect." Dawn elaborated. "I've got an Echidna aura, Nate here's got an Athene aura. I can sense his when I'm with him, he can sense mine."

"Can it be removed?" Blossom again.

"No." Dawn shook her head. "Not with anything even remotely approaching ease."

Alex nodded. "I know it's stupid but I really don't want to be bound to some god."

Dawn shrugs. "Neither did I,” she said, a bit ominously.

"No I don’t like it..even if i do worship Selene i don’t want to be bound to anything..." She sounded more like she was talking herself out of it than explaining to me.

"I'm sorry, but my .. soul ... is all that I really have left. I don't want to give it up on my own accord." Alex said with slight agitation.

I sighed mentally. The difficulty just went up again. "That's fine."

We spent a bit of time chatting, then retired to our room. I warned them that I would be getting them up early so we didn’t waste daylight. The further I could make it each day with these two, the better.

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I woke up the next morning and got stuff situated, waking up my charges about a half an hour before the break of day. It was quite dark out, and Alex rubbed his eyes a bit, complaining that the sun wasn’t even up yet. I made sure they got up, and went to get the breakfast ordered and fill up on food. Dawn kept an eye on them while I did that. Blossom did some prayers.

Alex had an HUGE breakfast. I had to stop him eventually so that he’d still be able to move with us and not be in a food coma. Blossom ate pretty quietly and mostly just picked at her food...she was bothered by something. Alex checked if she was ok, and she said she was, even though it was clearly otherwise. SHe went out for some air, again, watched by Dawn. We’d discussed last night and the general rule we came up with was that neither of them was to be out of our field of view at any time.

And then we were off! We started down the remains of the roads and highways that were left behind when Realmfall occurred. They were pretty tore up and jagged by now, but it was still easier than roughing it. Just a bit of planning was needed, since the concrete tends to break in big chunks. Dawn was flying above to direct us and watch our route, and I was leading my two charges at a moderate pace. I coulda gone faster if I was by myself, but then I wouldn’t be getting paid.

"Well, I can't recommend the planning bureau here..." Alex remarks.

"Kinda hard to make roads when you can't get cement in." I pointed out.

"Asphalt too,” he nodded.

Blossom followed, not saying much, just lost in her own thoughts.

Every once in awhile, Dawn would come down to tell me of minor threat ahead. Oversize serpent or washed out road, usually. We diverted or waited as necessary as I watched the sky, impatient at the burning daylight. I kept them at a solid pace, though...we could cover 15 miles today.

We did have to take occasional breaks. Whenever Blossom started panting from the heat, I’d slow us down or have us take a break, and I made sure she got plenty of water. She didn’t complain about the exertion though. Quite the trooper. Alex, for his part, seemed to be holding up pretty well. Maybe he did a lot of hiking or such. He was clearly too relaxed like it was a vacation, but for a first timer, he at least was doing well with the physical demands.

We encountered some traffic, but it was other groups just going the other way. They were all civilized and so we exchanged small talk and went our ways. I was glad it was just visitors; I didn’t want to run into the stormwings that claimed this territory.

Everything was going smoothly, and...pretty much it all went fine up until early evening, when Dawn came in low and fast over the terrain, just appearing from behind a low ridge. The only reason for that was to decrease her visibility, so I was instantly on alert.

“Shit, Nate, COVER!” she yelled.

I looked for the nearest cover and quickly ushered everyone towards it. “Heads down, all.” I got Blossom and Alexei hidden with some trouble.

Not a moment too soon, either. Two large harpy-shaped creatures with filthy hair and metal feathers...stormwings...came into view; one from behind the ridge, the other over it. They were larger and stockier than Dawn, so less agile. But Stormwings still generally defeat harpies, because of their wings, which are like a series of razorblades.

"Aw crap, it was just starting to be such a nice day." Alex whined.

"Quiet!" I hisses back.

Blossom took out her miniature crossbow. "Shouldn't we help her?"

I shook my head. "Dawn'll be ok." I hoped.

The stormwings landed heavily on the path, blocking our way forward. One was male, the other female. Dawn looped back around towards us and our cover. The male said something in Greek to the female. I didn’t understand it.

Blossom growled a bit and leveled her crossbow at them, inadvertently giving away our position. Alex was trying to keep his gaze diverted, like the reflection of the sun off the metal feathers was blinding him.

I had my crossbow out and ready, but pointed at the ground.

The male spoke. "Eh, seems she don't agree. Well mate, figurin’ we'd drop in, aya? Yer little choppa's a good run, innit?" He had an accent, northeastern US. Almost certainly a forcemark.

"What do you want." Blossom demanded, trying to do my job. Fuck, not only were they green, they thought they were in charge here, too.

The stormwings moved in a bit closer. "C'mon now mate, ain't no needin fer the pointin' a the pieces..." The male pointed a wing at Blossom. "Ah, here we go. I like th'way this'un thinks."

Alex glanced to me from the corner of my vision.

Blossom stood up and stepped forward. "Leave us alone and go back to the skies.." she said with a hint of nervousness.

I gave Alex a reassuring nod and stood up, going to the front of Blossom. "We don't want any trouble."

"Well, li'l miss, me'n m'esteemed partna here were notin' that you seem t'have a bit of whatsay a manpowah shortage. Wouldn't be responsible of us to be leavin' innocent kiddies all lonesome, would it?" He said, a bit too charitably.

Blossom again tried to disrupt the negotiations. "We are in good hands..we do not need your help." she leveled her crossbow at the male.

"There's a crackin, yeah? See now... A fella's gotta live, so I'm meanin to conduct a little business here, that's all there's to it. Folks can be rude all on that, always assumin us stormies are meanin' violence." He gestures his textured-mirror wings emphaticly.

Dawn made a few low circles overhead.

"What kind of business.." Blossom asked?

I tried to push her crossbow down, echoing her sentiment. I needed to get in here as the primary negotiator. "What kind of business?"

"Yer headin' Selene's way, yeah?" the male asked. As if it wasn’t obvious, there’s little else in this direction.

Blossom let me, thank goodness. “Why do you ask?"

I nodded. "We are." *I* was in charge here and I had to assert it.

Blossom glared up at me, growling deeply from her throat. I ignored her.

"Well, maybe it ain't a realmwalker an' two kids going that way. Maybe it's a realmwalker, two kids, and two /stormwings/. Bit more impressive for wardin off who might come atcha." the stormwing proposed.

I heard a noise behind me like Alex hit the dirt, but I couldn’t afford to look back. Dawn could see what was happening and would alert me if it became critical.

I paused. "You make an interesting offer." I said. Gotta be diplomatic.

"What do you want in return?" Blossom said.

Both stormwings looked to Alex. "Somethin's wrong with yer buddy." the male noted.

Blossom looked back. "Alex!" she ran over to him. I didn’t look back, because two stormwings this close could kill me before I turned around. I breathed a mental sigh of relief that Blossom was out of the discussion now.

"I repeat the question. You have offered to accompany us; I wish to know what you desire in return." I said evenly.

"Just some cash, what any other workin' stiff wants. Nuff cash, we might even give you'n the kiddies a ride." Ok, this was getting bad. No rides on stormwings, that’s for sure. "Cuz trust me mate, we ain't near so bad as who's waitin' for ya further up. Though there is one thing you might help me with and I'd happily waive the fee."

“And what is that?” I inquired.

"In a bit of a bind at my temple, ain't far out of yer way, y'know... Couple good folks like yourselves could just put in a little word for me there that I ain't attacking anyone." he explained. No, just extorting them.

The female made a few remarks in Hellenic, gesturing with a wing behind me. So that’s why the male was doing all the talking. He answered in kind, but neither made a move. Mental note: Learn to speak Hellenic.

I weighed my options. The best option I had for the moment was to try to avoid a fight. "You accompany us. On our way back, we will stop at your temple and clear your name."

Dawn shouted down. "Don't fall for it, Nathan." There was my out. "Two unique unmarked kids? No way in hell are they not slitting our throats and stealing off with ‘em."

"Guilty until proven innicint, I'm seein." the male looked a bit annoyed and hurt.

Blossom walked back over. "We decline your offer, please leave...now."

I glanced to Dawn, then the stormwings. At least I had an out now, while still seeming reasonable. "I cannot evaluate your intentions without putting my charges at risk. If you desire, I will pay you, but we do not require your company." There, a fairly even deal for them.

Blossom looked at Nathan "Are you not working for me..." she asked in a whisper. I held up a finger. My job was to protect her.

"Well... We'd feel terrible if something were to happen to you, but we'll put the word out that you don't need harassing. At least I won't be goin' home with empty talons to the wife'n'chicks, eh?" the male said.

I nodded, then dug out my cash. Coins, in large denominations, counting out into a bag. "Thank you for your time. We apoligize, and I will see about stopping at your temple on the way back."

"Bout a thousand Ceasars will keep the stormwings out of your skies. 500 now, 500 when you're leavin' our territory." ‘Ceasars’ is an occasional realm slang term for “Euros.”

I balked. That was more than the boatride for the four of us! “800.”

"It's a standard fee, fella, this ain't India." the male said with the hint of a threat.

I sighed. I had no other options. "Fine." I counted it out and tossed the pouch over..

Blossom got in the way again. "None.." she voiced as she leveled her crossbow "i suggest you leave."

"Blossom!" Lex shouted, his voice sounding...different.

"Blossom, please leave this to me." I said, firmly and strongly.

The male moved in to check the cash pouch, and took it in his foot. “You're in Athene's club, we know you're good for the remainder on exit. Goes against your code to renege, donnit?"

"It does." I confirmed. No point in trying to weasel out.

The male nodded. "Be seein' ya round, Walker." And then the two stormwings took off and started away, leaving behind a few metal feathers from the takeoff. Blossom promptly reached down and picked up the feathers.

I breathed a sigh of relief for getting out of this, as Dawn took their place by dropping down to the road. I looked over to Dawn.

“Damn.” Alex still sounded different...and now that I finally turned around, I could see why. Shock crossed my face as I saw an anthropomorphic raccoon wearing Alex’s clothing. Tail and all. What the fuck? Did he get marked while my back was turned? Were they that organized, they had a priest with them? No...he didn’t have a mark on him, I couldn’t feel one. Who marked to raccoon anyways...?

I swallowed my shock, to ask the obvious question. “Are you ok, Alex?!” The shock was obvious in my voice.

Dawn seemed to be about the same, reaction wise. “Holy shit...”

Alex looked at me and nodded. "Yes, I'm okay."

Blossom tucked the stormwing feathers into her belt. Souvenier, I guess.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about ... this." Alex said a bit embarrassed.

I relaxed a bit, as I tried to work this one more wrinkle into my plans. After a few moments, I took a deep breath and said, "...ok. Anything else I should know about?"

"The /only/ way I know for you to do that and not be marked is if you're a North American animal spirit... And that you sure as hell ain't." Dawn said, awestruck.

"He's a shifter..." Blossom said, like it explained everything.

Alex nodded. "Not one of the most gifted ones either."

"How the /fuck/ do you do that without drawing on divine magic?" Dawn, again with her style.

I let her ask the questions. They were the same ones on my mind, anyways.

"We’re not from here, or any of the realms." Blossom stated simply. So they WERE from a pocket realm.

I tried to regain composure. We couldn’t stand here, and we could have the discussion on the way. "Ok. Let's get started again, and you explain a bit more on the way."

"I'd heard that, but... Hearin' it and seeing the evidence are two wholly different things." Dawn said, still awestruck.

Alex nodded. "Okay. Blossom, will you put away those feathers, I need to shift back." So...shiny things made him shift? How ironic.

"Careful with those feathers, too... People make knives out of those things." Dawn added.

Blossom blinked and shrugged, putting the feathers inside her robes.

Alex took a few deep breaths, closed his eyes, and then started shifting back. By the gods, he actually could shift. Man, how impressive.

But we could discuss this over the campfire more. I got them going again so we could get to a good campsite out of stormwing territory, or in good cover, by nightfall. Cooked dinner, rested my muscles...we’d make Selene’s grove tomorrow and then the first half of the danger would be over. Lex offered to take first shift of watch with Dawn, so I got some of my sleep right after I ate, mind awash with the implications of Alex’s shifting.