@MadEmperor
Nani had thought that the most difficult part of leaving home would be the actual
leaving. And yes, those first few steps onto the deck of a ship had been a strange combination of exhilarating and agonizing--even with her mentor at her back, telling her she was making the right choice, a part of her couldn't help feeling like maybe, just maybe, she was in fact making a horrible mistake instead.
But that had been a little over three months ago, and honestly? She would have given quite a lot to be back thinking that
that was going to be the worst of it.
The mainland was so
crowded! Granted, that might have had more to do with the densely clustered port town where she'd landed than with the mainland in general, but she had seen very little in her travels since then to disabuse her of the notion. First she'd joined up with a trade caravan heading from the coast inland, toward Ketra--and of course that too had been crowded, dozens of strangers camping in close proximity. Most, if not all, of them had obviously not met a Yoreiqi before; she'd spent a majority of those weeks feeling stares that ranged from curious to awed to hostile constantly on her back. Or, perhaps more likely, on her wings.
And then the city itself: noise noise noise, people people
people. So many people, and yet somehow none of them were the one she was looking for.
Because that was why she had come here, why she had left everything and everyone she'd ever known an ocean away. She was looking for someone...she just wasn't sure
who.
I'll know when I find them. She repeated the mantra to herself as she walked. It was what her mentor had told her, when her dreams became to frequent to ignore and they finally decided she needed to follow the pull where it led.
I'll know when I find them...The current stretch of land she was passing through was at least less stifling than most of her experiences on the mainland had been thus far. She thought it was farmland of some kind--she'd passed a field a few miles back boasting some sort of shaggy, hoofed animals kept penned together, and the one on her right now was clearly growing a crop, albeit one she didn't recognize. She thought it might be a grain of some kind.
"I'll know when I find them," she sighed aloud to herself, stopping in the middle of the thin dirt road. Because
finding them would have to wait--she was exhausted, and sunset was coming on fast. She needed to find a place to rest for the night.
There was a small house in the distance. Probably the home of whoever owned this particular field. Hoping the farmer in question would be willing to barter for a night of shelter, she squared her shoulders, fluffed her wings, and set off again with a bit more purpose in her step.
Einhardt had been enjoying the evening's solitude as he ate his dinner of stew. There was something about food made from ingredients you yourself grew that made everything taste better. He had never understood the reward of hard work before settling in the farmlands of Tintintin.
But then there was a knock at the door, and the moment was lost. He poured the remains of his meal in Vander's bowl, said canine rushing to gobble them up, and approached the door. After a breath, he put on his least scowling face and opened the door halfway.
Wings? I didn't expect that when I woke up this morning.
"Can I help you?" he inquired, a little suspicious of a random stranger on his doorstep. Was she a bounty hunter? She did look like she could handle herself in a fight.
Oh.
Oh, that--
Nani frowned abruptly, and reached up to rub at the center of her chest. It was where she normally felt what she called her "pull", and for some reason though it had been growing stronger by the day since she'd crossed the Thunderblacks, all of a sudden it seemed to be...fading.
Odd.
She gave herself a brisk shake and refocused on the person in front of her. She was just tired, that was all. "Ah, yes, I'm rather hoping so."
She offered the farmer what she hoped was a friendly-and-not-in-a-suspicious-way smile and shifted the strap of her pack over her shoulder a bit. Though she knew she looked out of place in Adela, she had at least changed her Yoreiqi clothes for soft breeches and a loose shirt some months ago. Hopefully she didn't look too odd. "I'm...well, I'm a traveler, and I was wondering if you might have a barn or something I could stay the night in? Sunset came on faster than I was expecting, I'm afraid. I can pay!"
She'd learned quickly that the ability to pay with coin was something most mainlanders looked for in a transaction. She started digging through her pockets to fish out what meager coin she did have while at the same time adding, "Or if you need any work done in exchange for shelter?" She'd done that a few times over the last several weeks too.
Ein thought it over. He supposed this... a Yoreiqi, maybe?... could be helpful if she knew how to milk a cow. His large, rough hands weren't the best for such gentle work.
"Ever milked a cow?" he asked.
Nani perked up. "No, but I've milked goats!" It couldn't be that different, right? Just...bigger. And from what she'd heard, cows were more placid animals, which could only make the task easier.
A chill breeze swooped northward over the fields and she shivered, fluffing her feathers up and hunching her shoulders to draw her wings around herself a bit more. She may have been on the mainland for a while now, but the weather was still...an adjustment.
"Does...that mean I can stay?" she ventured slowly, with another cautious little smile.
He nodded. "Yes. You can sleep in the barn. But I expect you to be ready to work bright and early. I have no intention of delaying the morning chores so you can sleep." He spoke as if he had been left high and dry by travelers before, but he still wanted to be hospitable.
"Of course!" She beamed at him. "Thank you very much."
She shifted her pack again and glanced over her shoulder, then looked back to him a bit sheepishly. "Er...would you be able to point me in the right direction?" She assumed the barn was the building a little ways off to the east, but there was no clear path, and she didn't want to wind up on someone else's property accidentally.
He scratched the back of his head thoughtfully. "I'll do you one better and take you myself. I have to check on the animals before the evening's done anyway."
He stepped out and closed the door behind him, leaving Vander to his scraps. "It's this way," he said, heading around behind the house. A barn she hadn't noticed before stood looming across a patch of barren earth criss-crossed with wheel tracks.
Her smile widened. "Then thank you again."
She let him take the lead toward the barn--ah, it seemed she would have been heading to the wrong place, if left to her own devices--but once she had a fair idea of where he was leading her she increased her stride to fall in more beside him rather than behind.
"Is it just cows?" she asked as they walked. "Or do you keep other animals as well?" Yoreiq's topography wasn't exactly conducive to livestock farming, so pretty much all she knew about it she had learned since her arrival to the mainland. She still had questions, to put it mildly.
"Just a pair of cows," Ein clarified as he walked. "Also a few pigs and chickens. I mainly grow grain."
"It's a simple life, but I enjoy the relative solitude. I've never much cared for people."
Nani winced slightly. "Er, sorry?" she offered. She was the one interrupting his solitude after all.
Clearing her throat, she asked a little more cautiously, not wanting to irritate him, "Those grain fields, then--those are yours? We don't have that plant on the islands, I wasn't sure what it was."
"Only the nearest one. Any more would be too much for one man," he answered.
When the rest of her question registered, he blinked. "You don't have... wheat? How do you make bread?"
Nani returned his look, evidently equally confused. "With hirsu'a. Err--" She frowned, trying to think of the translation. While her Common was fluent enough, albeit with more than a hint of an accent, there were certain words or phrases that she'd never had to find an equivalent for. "It's...it looks sort of like rice? But smaller and rounder. It--"
She frowned, mumbled something frustrated in Yoreiqi, then waved a hand vaguely. "Well, anyway. It doesn't rise quite the same way--I'd never seen bread loaves like the ones you have hear before I left home." She smiled at him a bit and shrugged. "I like them." Glancing back at the field, she repeated softly to herself, "Wheat," committing the word to memory.
Ein had only seen rice once after raiding a merchant caravan, but he remembered finding its shape odd. It tasted good, though, once they figured out how to cook it. Of course, the wine was more memorable.
"So I was right. You are Yoreiqi," he said with interest. "I've never met one of your people before. I was curious about the wings, but was afraid to ask."
She laughed lightly and nodded. "You'd be one of the few mainlanders I've met too afraid to ask," she noted wryly. Her wings fluttered a bit as she shrugged and added, "Though most people just assume. Yes, I am Yoreiqi."
Stepping lightly over a small rock in the path, she mused, "I believe I have been the first of my people about half the people I have encountered so far have met. It was...strange." She shrugged. "My village isn't so far from Ainu, so I've certainly met mainland traders before I cam here. I suppose I didn't think much about how few of my kin really make the journey in reverse."
"What makes you one of the exceptions? If I may ask." Normally, he didn't want to pry into anyone's business any more than he wanted anyone to pry into his. But something about her made his curiosity outpace his discretion. Perhaps it was the novelty. Or maybe he was more lonely than he cared to admit, even to himself.
Nani sighed. That was the question, wasn't it?
"I'm...afraid I don't have a very satisfying answer to that," she said softly. "I suppose the long and short of it is that, well...I simply felt as though I had to leave."
She shrugged again, unsure exactly how much she should tell him. It wasn't suspicion, exactly--while she wasn't quite so naive that she wanted to tell just any random stranger her life story, she also didn't think there was really much danger sharing her odd little quest could put her in. It was more than she was still unfamiliar with the social rhythms most mainlanders seemed to know, and she wasn't sure how much was appropriate to share.
"I'm...looking for someone," she settled on after a few moments. "I just...don't exactly know who."
The big man hadn't actually expected her to provide even that specific an answer. He fully expected to be told to mind his business. Perhaps the Yoreiqi were just a more open people?
"Surely you know something about them, or you wouldn't be looking," he found himself saying.
She made a sound that was half a laugh, half a sigh and shrugged her shoulders again. Her wings echoed the movement, unfurling slightly before she shuffled them back into place.
"Not enough. Just that I have to find them. And...help them, I think." Her hand drifted to the strap of her pack. "Ina, my mentor...they traded for a book. It took months to get the request to the mainland--I didn't even know they'd done it until they gave it to me." She pursed her lips. "It's a study of connective magics. The sorts of powers that draw people together--that's what they think is happening to me. But I'm afraid it's not very specific."
That, and while her Common was more than passable, the book was mostly written in a flowery, academic style that made her translation efforts a tedious, troublesome slog. She knew the book could prove invaluable in her quest, but so far it hadn't really taught her much of anything.
Ein was beginning to wonder if he made a mistake opening the door. She was either unhinged or was deep into things he wanted nothing to do with. He couldn't risk drawing the kind of attention such a person brings.
"I'm afraid I'm not well-schooled enough to be of much help with that." His expression gave away his discomfort. He had never been skilled at keeping his emotions to himself.
Ah. Clearly she'd overstepped, though she couldn't quite say where. This was why she was hesitant to tell her story to mainlanders.
Shaking her head, she assured with a gentle but slightly more distant smile, "Oh, I would never ask you to--my quest is my own. I'm only grateful you're willing to put me up for the night."
They'd nearly reached the barn now, and she perked up a bit as the sleepy, shifting sounds of animals within.
"Here we are." Ein cracked open the barn door and led her inside. He pointed out a pile of hay in the corner. "You can sleep there."
He inwardly chastised himself for his lack of manners. "Would you like me to fetch a blanket from the house? Hay can be quite prickly."
Nani gave him a grateful look. She would have slept on the bare hay without complaint, but the offer of a blanket was certainly appreciated.
"If that's not too much trouble, I would like that very much," she admitted with a quiet laugh. "I, ah, I'm afraid I still haven't quite adjusted to mainland weather, either. I'm honestly not sure how you all stand the cold!" she chuckled.
"If you think Adela is cold," he laughed, the first bright expression she had gotten from the man. "Don't travel to Hyoite! You'll freeze on the spot! Hells, I know I would!"
Nani smiled. For some reason, the way his expression lightened made her chest feel lighter too. Chuckling, she nodded and agreed, "Oh, I can't even imagine! I've heard some stories of the tundra—I can't say I'm anxious to visit."
She dropped her pack next to the bundle of hay where he'd indicated she could sleep and took a proper look around the barn.
"Oh!"
Blinking, she stared at large, four-legged animal placidly munching on some feed. It was much bigger than she'd imagined.
"Is...is that your cow?"
"That'd be Brunhilda," he chuckled, "And next to her is her sister, Byrna."
"Beautiful creatures, aren't they?" He smiled as he walked over to pat Byrna on the head. "Gentler than I am, that's for sure."
"They're..."
She tilted her head at the cows, watched as they munched on their feed and lowed quietly when her host moved to pat one.
She smiled. "I like their eyes. They're sweet."
She looked between the two animal, repeating, "Brunhilda and Byrna."
Abruptly, her eyes widened and she found herself laughing again. "Oh, goodness, I just realized--I'm so sorry, I never actually got your name."
"Nor I yours," he pointed out matter-of-factly. With a small chuckle, he said, "The name's Einhardt, but everyone just calls me Ein."
"Oh." She smiled, a bit bashfully. "Haunani. But mostly I just go by Nani."
She dipped her head to him politely. "It's very nice to officially meet you, Einhardt. Er, Ein."
One of the cows--Byrna--gave a low noise of protest at the sudden lack of attention, and Nani chuckled again. "And you, too," she told the animal, cautiously moving a little closer and holding her hand out before she paused. Glancing at Einhardt, she asked, "Ah, can I...?"
Ein laughed lightly and nodded. "They like people more too."
"Though I sometimes question why they put up with my less than gentle manhandling," he said self-deprecatingly and he patted the cow again.
Nani smiled and stroked her palm over the cow's shoulder, cautiously at first, and then gradually with more confidence when the animal accepted her touch.
Glancing at Ein, she said easily, "Oh, well that's because you care for them. Animals can sense that kind of thing, you know."
Byrna lowed softly, as though in agreement, and flicked her ears. Nani grinned. "I've never seen anything like them," she marveled, as though she was looking at some sort of mystical beast and not a common dairy cow.
Ein couldn't help but smile at the way the Yoreiqi woman marveled at what, to him, was mundane. "I imagine you have animals in Yoreiq that would fill me with equal wonder."
He glanced outside at the dying light. "I should retrieve that blanket. It's getting quite dark."
"Oh, right." In the wonder of meeting a cow, Nani had actually forgotten about the blanket. She gave him a grateful smile. "I appreciate it. And I promise, I'll be ready to work whenever you need tomorrow! First light. Or earlier!"
"I'm holding you to that," he answered with the barest hint of a smirk.
As soon as he got some distance from her, something unexpected happened: her feeling of being drawn toward someone returned.
Nani was just starting to settle herself, rummaging through her pack for any leftover travel rations, when the pull started up again faintly in her chest.
She sat back on her heels, frowning, and rubbed her palm over her sternum. Odd. She'd assumed the lull in that sensation was because she was tired, or perhaps it was simply random. That it had started up again so quickly made her think there was a pattern.
She closed her eyes and stood, turning slowly in place as she tried to focus on where the pull was leading her. When it felt strongest, she stopped and opened her eyes again.
She was staring at the door that Ein had just left.
...Oh.
That--
Hmmm.
The feeling began to weaken once more, and mere moments later, the large man returned. He held out the folded blanket before noticing the odd, thoughtful look on her face.
He glanced back the way he had come, expecting to spot whatever it was that captured her attention. When he saw nothing, he turned back to her with a raised brow. "Is something the matter?"
"It's--" She stopped herself, biting her lip. He'd seemed uncomfortable when she'd first brought up why she left home; she doubted he would be all that thrilled if she just blurted out that she was now fairly sure that he was the person she was looking for.
Not to mention she still didn't entirely understand it herself. Perhaps if she'd been able to decipher more of the book...
"It's...nothing," she sighed, feeling like a liar and not much caring for it. Shaking herself briskly, she tried to summon up a friendly smile. "I suppose I'm just tired."
She would sleep on it. That would give her time to think this through, to try to figure out what was happening, and the best way to approach him.
Ein shrugged his powerful shoulders. "I suppose we all get a bit strange when we're tired."
He handed over the blanket. "Rest well. We work in the morning."
"Yes, ser." She gave him an easier smile and a quick nod as she accepted the blanket. Immediately bundling herself up in the cloth, she settled down onto the patch of hay. "Thank you again, Einhardt--ah, Ein," she told him tiredly, but with genuine gratitude in her voice and eyes.
She was so tired; she couldn't think about the implications of all this properly. Some sleep, that was what she needed. Some sleep, and she would deal with it in the morning.
Ein finished checking on his animals and left her to sleep.
A rooster crowed bright and early, pulling her out of sleep. Ein would, no doubt, be there shortly to begin the day's chores.
Nani slept so deeply that she honestly couldn't remember if she'd had her usual dream--she thought she had, but it had been more as though she was searching a single house for someone rather than wandering endlessly in a great wide world. The sense that she was close, if she could just reach out and knock on the right door...
The rooster's crow dragged her back into the waking world, and the dream dissipated quickly, leaving only fragments of sensation in her memory. She blinked, reorienting herself to the world around her.
She was in barn. Right.
"Oh!"
Brunhilda the dairy cow had shuffled closer to her sometime in the night, and was sniffing at her white-streaked hair curiously, clearly wondering if it was edible. A surprisingly long tongue lolled out of the animal's mouth and began lapping at the side of her head.
Nani blinked, still half-sleep, then burst out laughing. "Cowlick," she realized with a giggle, remembering one of the trader's she'd traveled with briefly had used the word. "I get it."
The cow lowed softly in such a way that, if Nani didn't know better, would have sounded amused. But the licking stopped.
Soon after, Ein appeared in the doorway. Had he been awake before the rooster crowed? Chuckling, he said, "I see Brunhilda's already said good morning."
With half her hair now a certifiable rats' nest licked into the side of her head, Nanai glanced up at him and chuckled before getting to her feet.
"Indeed she has." She patted the animal's head with one hand while she tried to sort out the matted mess on the side of her head with the other. "So!"
Turning back to Einhardt, she clasped her hands in front of her body and straightened her shoulders. "Where should I start?"
"Your new friend needs milking," he answered with a slight smile. He pointed to a pair of buckets in the corner. "Milk buckets are over there. I can carry it back to the house if you can't manage it."
"Then Byrna. After that, I'm sure I'll think of something else I wouldn't prefer to just do myself."
Nani nodded quickly, already moving to gather up the buckets.
Hmm...maybe she could...
"I--I wouldn't want to inconvenience you," she said slowly as she settled the buckets in place and moved what she assumed was the milking stool. "You've already been very kind, and I don't want to put you out, but...I've been traveling for over three months now. If there's work to do, and if my help is useful, maybe--maybe I could stay a few more days? As long as I keep helping?" she offered cautiously.
That would give her some time to better figure out just what was happening with her pull and this farmer.
"As long as you keep being helpful, I suppose I can agree to that," he said, nodding.
He gave her a sterner look. "But if you're bringing any complications to my doorstep, I suggest you tell me now."
...Well then.
So much for trying to do this subtly.
"I...might be," she admitted with a sigh, settling herself onto the stool. Her wings unfurled slightly behind her. "But the problem is I honestly don't know if I am."
She worried at her lower lip, then glanced up at him sidelong. "Do you remember what I said yesterday? About why I left Yoreiq?"
"You said you were looking for someone, but you don't know who. Are you telling me that isn't true?"
He shook his head. "No. A lie would be more believable than that, so there must be something more you aren't telling me."
"No no, it's true!" Nani exclaimed quickly, starting to pop back off the stool before Brunhilda made a nervous noise at her sudden energy and she forced herself to settle again.
"I...since I was quite young, I've had these...dreams," she started to explain, not quite looking at him. "Dreams where I'm searching for someone. And then, in the last few years, there's been this pull." She put her hand over the center of her chest. "Here. Like there's a compass inside me, but it doesn't point north, it points to this--this person I'm meant to find. And--"
She glanced up at him and bit her lip again. "...You think I'm mad, don't you?"
"All the best people are a little mad." He smirked briefly before becoming serious again. "But that much depends on what you say next."
She chuffed a bit at that, a sound that wasn't quite a chuckle but came close.
"...There are powers in this world beyond our understanding. Beyond even magic," she said softly after a few more moments of thought. "Different peoples have called it all manner of things--fate, destiny, chance, luck--but there is something that called me here. Pulled me here. To...to you."
Nani looked up at him again, sincerity and something like excitement shining in her eyes. "I don't know why, but I've been looking for you."
"Is this a con?" Ein asked nervously but with an annoyed tone. "Because there's no way I'm a chosen anything. I just want things to be simple. And besides, I've got nothing worth stealing."
"I'm no thief!" Though usually soft-spoken, Nani's voice rose sharply in indignation at the perceived accusation. The cows lowed nervously and she winced, forcing her tone to be calmer as she continued, "I am not trying to trick you, Ein. I do not want your material goods." She spread her hands. "I am Yoreiqi--what use would I have for such things? Why would I leave my home and come all this way if all I wanted was to take something from you."
She tried to hold his eyes, her own gaze now almost pleading. "You don't have to believe me, but I...I am meant to be here, I know I am. Please don't send me away?"
Ein's thoughtful gaze bore into hers, as if he were trying to see into her soul. He exhaled through his nose as if he were a bull himself, accepting her story but not liking it. Why couldn't things just stay simple?
"And what am I in this destiny of yours?" he inquired with a touch of aimless anger.
Nani went still, hearing the hint of anger in his voice and not sure what she should--or could--do to soothe it. She couldn't blame him; if a stranger showed up at her doorstep claiming she had some sort of pre-destined meeting and...and whatever else while she was just trying to live her life, she doubted she'd be thrilled herself.
"I'm...afraid I'm not sure," she admitted carefully. Twisting on the milking stool to gesture to her pack, she said, "That book I have, the one I mentioned last night--it might have some answers, but I'm afraid most of the text is...challenging, for me." She shrugged. "Some of it isn't even in Common, which is the only mainland language I speak. I don't suppose you know any other languages?"
Traveling around the western territories and communicating with members of his gang that hadn't spoken common had forced Ein to pick up a sampling of many languages. Unfortunately, he couldn't actually read most of them, nor would they have been in the context of magic. Well, except for the former orc shaman who had joined their violent little family.
"I know enough of quite a few to get by, but none that I think could possibly be of help with a book of magical lore. Unless there's any orcish in there," he said as if that were perfectly normal for a farmer to know.
Nani gave him a very sheepish smile. "Honestly--there might be. I wouldn't recognize it, and there's certainly passages in languages that I can't even guess at. But..."
She flushed a bit, feeling foolish, although she knew that wasn't logical. Yoreiq's contact with the mainland was relatively recent, all things considered, and she knew in the grand scheme she was actually quite a bit more fluent in Common than many of her countrymen.
So she straightened her shoulders a bit and continued, "To be perfectly honest, even most of the more arcane passages in Common are difficult for me. If I had a little help just getting through those, they might...shed some light on the situation."
Ein sighed, expelling his rising temper in one long breath. He held out hand, palm up in a 'hand it over' gesture. "I might as well take a look. Just don't expect anything."
"Oh, of course." Nanie stood and rummaged about through her pack for the book, then handed it over easily before she resumed her seat on the milking stool. Seeing as she had yet to actually begin that work, she did so, setting one bucked beneath Brunhilda and patting the cow's side gently before she started milking her.
Ein began fingering through the tome. He went through page after page, until he reached something he could make sense of. Frowning deeply, he said, "There's a passage here about what happens if the 'Paladin' doesn't reach their 'Charge' quickly enough."
"One, who couldn't reach their 'Charge' in time, finally ended his search at the graveyard of a gargoyle clan in the Thunderblacks. Another found that hers died in a bandit raid. There are more, but the results are the same; an untimely death that could have been prevented."
"So if I choose not to believe you and send you packing only to find that you're right, I'll die. And not long from now. So, that's fun."
"What?!" Nani shot upright, just barely missing smacking her head against the underside of Brunhilda's belly. Luckily, the cow was a placid creature and only made a mild noise of protest, which was quickly mollified when Nani patted her side in apology.
"I--I'd read that word before, Paladin, but I didn't realize...you're saying you're my...my Charge?" She blinked, trying to process that. She still wasn't sure she entirely understood what Paladin meant, and then to be told that--well, she was responsible for someone else's life!
But it made sense, in a strange, nonsensical way. Her dream had always had an undercurrent of urgency, of protectiveness. She just hadn't quite put it together.
"How do you think I feel? Apparently I can't protect myself as well as some random islander can. Aren't your people pacifists of some sort? Do you even know how to fight?" Ein was flailing, trying to find a reason to bury his head in the sand. He didn't even realize he had put the smallest crack in his 'simple farmer' identity.
"Of course I don't!" Nani snapped back, growing frustrated herself. In all the time she had been searching, she hadn't ever really let herself feel this part of it. How--how unfair it seemed. She hadn't asked for this! She'd just been picked by some sort of cosmic force, and now apparently so had he.
Or, rather, he had been picked before her? Stars and seas, this was confusing.
She struggled to calm herself, taking a few deep breaths as her mentor had taught her: in for three, hold for five, out for seven...
"I am not a fighter," she said, voice soft and even again. "But...there are other ways to offer protection. Other kinds of strength. Perhaps that is what it means?" She gestured a little helplessly at the book he still held. "Does it say the--the Paladin has to serve as...well, as a glorified bodyguard, I suppose?"
He looked further. "That's usually the case, but it looks like they've also been advisors to kings and tacticians to generals."
He sighed. "If they've ever been farmhands, it wasn't interesting enough to write down."
Advisors and tacticians.
She was certainly not qualified for any of this.
Nani sank back onto the milking stool with a sigh. Chuckling wryly at his observation about the lack of mention of farmhand Paladins, she agreed, "I suppose that isn't exactly the stuff songs are made of."
She frowned and looked up at him. "Wait—what do the Charges do? I mean—does it saying anything about why someone would need a Paladin?"
"Nothing specific enough to be helpful. Just vague nonsense about affecting the world in some way. I assume for better but it's not clear on that either. Just that they're supposed to live and do these things. And there are theories that some other force is working against them."
"Because that's just what I need," he said sarcastically, "an evil force that wants me dead."
"Oh dear." She exhaled slowly and rubbed at her temple; she could feel a headache coming on.
Moving one bucket aside, she collected the next and continued milking. It was oddly soothing, to have the repetitive motion while she tried to process all these revelations.
"Do you...have any idea what it is you might be meant to do?"
"Not a single gods-damned clue," he fumed directionlessly, causing the cows to gently protest.
"I've never made a single person's life any easier. So, what insane god decided I was worth protecting?" His anger had devolved into self-loathing with an efficiency that suggested this was far from the first time he had questioned his worth.
Nani sighed, rubbing at her eyes with the heels of her palms. "I don't know that it is a god," she mumbled. "I—I don't know much of anything..."
She looked up at him again, chest tight and stomach sinking at his clear distress. She didn't think he would welcome her prying, and so all she could think to say was, "I...I'm sorry, Ein."
He handed her the book, unable to stand looking at it for another moment. "I... need to think about this..." he said, abruptly leaving with chores undone.
He couldn't say how long he had been sitting on his porch, gently stroking his farm dog's back as he watched the wind blow through the wheatfield. If the book were to be believed, his simple life as a farmer was doomed to come to an end sooner rather than later. Some fate that would have killed him would undoubtedly upend everything he had built with his own two hands. In all likelihood, it would be his past coming back to bite him. He wasn't ready to give it up, not without a fight.
Nani didn't know what to do. Her mind was whirling, turning over all the new information, all the possibilities--both good and bad--that suddenly seemed to have opened before her.
Well, before them.
With few other ideas of just what she could do to be most useful, she continued milking. She was slow at the work, rather preoccupied with her own thoughts, but eventually made her way back to the farmhouse with the buckets.
She hesitated a moment when she saw Ein on the porch before approaching slowly. She set the buckets down just beside the stairs, then seated herself on the lowest step.
She smiled slightly that the dog he was petting and carefully stretched out a hand for the animal to sniff.
"...What's his name?"
"Vander," Ein answered. He sometimes wondered if it was too morose, but he had named the dog after the boy he thoughtlessly sentenced to death as a reminder of what he had done. Not that it wasn't already always on his mind. At least, it let him keep some small part of the boy alive.
"He's a very good dog."
Nani smiled when the animal darted his tongue out to flick across her knuckles. "I'm sure he is." She rubbed the dog's ears, going quiet again for several moments.
Finally, she said softly, "I don't...I won't pretend I understand this. Any of it." She shook her head with a low exhale. "But I came here for a reason. I don't think I can go back, not with this--whatever it is--unfinished."
She looked up at him, expression open and vulnerable. "I don't know what to do. But...but I can milk cows, and feed chickens, and help in the field. And...maybe, for now...that might be enough?"
He was quiet for a long moment before finally responding. "And what if whatever bad luck or worse is taking Charges out decides to come for me? What then?"
The last thing he wanted was to tell her about his past, but if she was really going to help... he would eventually have to.
"Then..." She exhaled heavily, drawing one knee up toward her chest and wrapping an arm around it. "Then I suppose we deal with that when it comes. And maybe...maybe that will tell us what we are supposed to do next. Why you need a Paladin, what it is you are meant to do."
"Perhaps. I can only think of reasons I'm not worthy of this."
He sighed, looking down at his feet. "... I'm not a good person, Nani. "
She frowned slightly.
"...Is anyone?"
Glancing up at him, she shrugged slightly and elaborated, "We are all capable of good and evil deeds. I've always been taught that what matters is what we do."
After a moment, he straightened up with a sigh. He turned his head to let his bright, orange eyes bore into hers. There was resolve in them.
"You're right. And feeling sorry for myself certainly isn't helping anyone."
He looked back at Vander, giving him a good scratch behind the ears. "Maybe I'm doing this all wrong, hiding on this farm while the world goes by. I just didn't know what else to do with my life."
"You weren't...born to this, then?" Nani asked carefully. Her limited experience on the mainland had led her to expect that there were certain occupations--like farming--that were almost inherited rather than chosen.
It didn't sound like that had been the case with Einhardt--but despite the revelations of how they were connected, she didn't want to make him uncomfortable by prying.
"No, I wasn't. I lived on a farm for a few years as a kid, but I wasn't born to it. I was gone the first chance I got," Ein answered.
"So, it was the only thing I knew I could fall back on after..." He clammed up before saying anything else. Having never had anyone he could confide in, it had almost spilled right out of him.
She looked at him quietly for a long moment before saying, "You don't have to tell me. If you don't want to."
She looked away, out over the fields. "I know some people here assume that Yoreiq is...some sort of paradise, where we never know a negative emotion or longing. It's not true--and I'm not so naive as to think everyone is so lucky as to have the kind of support of community that I had growing up."
She shrugged and glanced back to him. "So you don't have to tell me, whatever it is. Even if you think it would help us figure this out, I won't pry."
"Maybe I will tell you everything; I should tell you. But... not today. This is--all happening too fast. I need time to wrap my head around this destiny bullshit."
He chuckled ruefully. "I told myself that there was no such thing. How could it when some reap rewards they didn't earn while others work all of their lives for nothing? I told myself that whatever I had to do to not be among the latter was justified."
"I learned the hard way that it wasn't. So I came here. That's... that's the simple version of things."
Nani nodded again. She'd meant what she'd said; she wouldn't pry.
With a short, unamused laugh, she noted, "I'm not sure which idea is less appealing—that destiny does exist, despite all the evidence that it shouldn't and it treats some folks like dirt...or that it only exists for some people."
She huffed, ruffling her wings slightly. "I always thought...I suppose I never really looked at it from a wider view. I just knew there was something that I had to do, somewhere I had to go, someone to find...it didn't occur to me that if I felt that way, it meant there was some force creating the feeling. It's always just been...part of me."
Ein thought for a bit and decided opening up just a little more couldn't hurt. "I actually know what that feels like, having this feeling you can't explain other than that it's part of you."
"I've never felt like I'm in my own skin, like I'm meant to look different, or even be something different. I just know this--" He motioned to himself. "-- isn't me."
"Really?" She blinked at him, both oddly touched that he would share something like that and now also quite curious.
She smiled gently, cautiously. "Perhaps we are more alike than we thought."
Ein laughed heartily despite himself. "Perhaps we are, at that!"
"And we should really get back to work before the day is wasted," he added, rising to his feet.
Nani got to her feet as well with a quick nod and another, slightly less cautious smile.
"Right! Where do you need me?"
Farm life agreed with her, in a way she hadn't expected. She liked the animals, and the physical labor was oddly rewarding in its own way. She would be tired and sore after a full day, but in a way that felt earned.
She was also learning to cook; she'd been handy enough in a kitchen back on Yoreiq, but mainland ingredients were so foreign to her that before Ein's hospitality had allowed her to stay in one place she hadn't had any idea what to do with them.
"No," she told Vander without making eye contact with the puppy eyes he was giving her as she kneaded dough.
He whined, and she repeated with a laugh, "No. You've already had your scraps from breakfast—and this is raw dough, you don't want this!"
The dog whined again. Clearly, he disagreed.
"Spoiled beast," Ein chuckled heartily as he returned with some fresh apples from the market in town.
The man had yet to open up any further, but he had gradually warmed up to having her around. In fact, he rather appreciated having an extra pair of hands; it made things much easier than insisting on doing everything alone. Grudgingly, he admitted to himself that the company wasn't so bad either.
Setting down his haul, he said, "How many do you think we need? I've never made a pie either."
"Mmmm..." Nani leaned over the counter and squinted. "The recipe says...six to eight?" She blinked. "Well--that's maddeningly unhelpful. That's two whole apples of difference!"
Looking back at him, she shrugged and laughed a little. "I guess seven? That's right in the middle."
Vander was sniffing at his master's boots, clearly intrigued by the smell of the market. Nani smiled at the sight before asking, "Did you find everything alright?"
She had been sent on an unsupervised market trip once herself--just the once, as she had been thoroughly distracted by the sheer volume of offered goods that she didn't recognize, and had wound up returning with only half the appropriate shopping and two armfuls of odds and ends they didn't need. It had become something of a joke for her to ask Ein--who was significantly more familiar with the place--if he had had any trouble.
"Yeah. Though, if I had gone any slower, the apples would have run out. Apparently, the orchard had a bad harvest this season. Some kind of tree rot Blackstone hasn't seen before." Ein sighed worriedly. "I just hope it doesn't spread to other crops. A lot of us aren't prosperous enough to take the hit."
Nani winced slightly. "A rot? That sounds...bad."
She glanced out the window of the farmhouse at the fields before refocusing her attention on shaping the dough in front of her. "Won't the farmers help each other, though?" she asked as she worked. "I mean, if it does spread--some of the fields around here are massive, surely even with a bad harvest the community could support itself?"
Despite all the time she'd now spent on the mainland, it was still difficult for her to conceptualize the idea of farming as an occupation, something that one did for profit as much as sustenance.
"Some will help each other, some won't. We mainlanders aren't as community-minded as your people, some less than others," Ein answered with a hint of apology in his voice.
His own actions in the past were more selfish than she had experience with which to compare. He couldn't help but wonder what she might think of him—what she would think of him—when she learned the truth.
"Most people are more concerned about how much they think the world owes them than how they can help each other."
Though it wasn't the first time someone had tried to explain that to her since she'd left home, each time struck her anew. Nani sighed, pausing in her work of arranging the pie crust in a dish.
"I just..." She bit her lip. She knew to most mainlanders it would sound naive, but... "It just seems so sad," she murmured. "I can't even think--I know things are different here than they are on the islands," she murmured. "The world is just...different. There are people who have power here, but no incentive to use it well. It's just...hard to wrap my head around, sometimes."
"I never said it was a good arrangement. But people are good at one thing above all else: convincing ourselves they've done nothing wrong. While, at the same time, we blame ourselves for things that actually aren't our fault."
"We're all a bit mad, if you ask me." He shrugged slightly as he started preparing the apples.
"...I suppose." Nani lapsed into silence for a while as they worked. It was a not unpleasant habit she'd fallen into with Ein; working alongside one another but not really talking. She had a feeling it was a combination of their natures and the rather dramatic topic that neither of them ever really wanted to bring up, but all in all it resulted in a typically comfortable quiet.
After a few minutes, she moved around him to get at the spice rack--and accidentally clipped his shoulder with the edge of her wing.
"Oh! Sorry." She shot him a sheepish look--it was certainly not the first time something like that had happened. She drew her wings in tighter to her back in an effort to minimize the space they occupied. "Did I hurt you?"
"I'm afraid I'm a tad more durable than that," he answered; his response was usually something along those lines. While it was true that he hadn't particularly built his home with the intent of sharing it, he had made it generally large enough for a second person. However, he did not account on that person having wings.
After some more of that companionable silence, they eventually slid their creation into his wood-fueled stove to cook.
"So..." He sat with a groan, relieved to sit for a moment. "What do you think the chances are our first attempt at pastry doesn't turn out a disaster?"
"Mmmmm." She tapped a finger to her lips in thought dramatically. "I'd say...coin flip? The herb bread last week turned out okay, but that roast..."
Suffice to say, her first attempt at a roast had not exactly been an unqualified success.
"I thought we agreed never to speak of that again," he quipped with a teasing smirk. "Or the life sacrificed in vain to spawn that vile creation."
Nani groaned and leaned back on her chair, throwing one arm over her face theatrically.
"It's a pitty you're such a well-behaved dog, Vander," she told the hound balefully. "Aside from the begging. Otherwise I would sic you on your master for his cruel teasing."
The dog's tail thumped against the door and his tongue lolled as he looked up at them with his ears perked.
"You couldn't eat it either, could you, boy?" Ein chuckled softly as he reached down to pet the dog.
Vander released a happy groan and leaned into the attention.
"See? He's on my side," he said smugly.
"I am assailed on all sides!" Nani exclaimed, pretending to swoon over her chair. She'd been steadily working her way through the book she'd brought with her—often with help from Ein—and occasionally liked to show off her newly expanded Common vocabulary.
Standing, she chuckled and leaned down to give Vander a scratch of her own as she passed him on her way to the door. "Well, the pie will be baking for an hour; I can go feed the chickens while we wait."
He gave her a curt nod as he stood. "And I'll get to cleaning up the kitchen."
"Oh my gods," he exclaimed through a bite of pie. It had turned out better than he had dreamed. Though there was a flavor that, while he couldn't quite say it was out of place, somehow seemed odd.
"Mmhm," Nani agreed emphatically around her own bite of pie. She swallowed, then tilted her head from side to side. "Though...maybe I didn't get the spices quite right? I mean, it's good, but there's this...sort of a sour aftertaste? Are you getting that?"
She glanced toward him, and her eyes widened a bit. "Vander, no! Down!"
She stood quickly to shoo the dog away from where he'd braced his paws on the counter to try to sneak a bite of pie. Clucking her tongue at the animal, she half-huffed, half-laughed, "Gods, I can't even tell if he got any—we didn't exactly do a clean job of cutting this thing."
Ein eyed the dog with a disapproving look strong enough the elicit an apologetic whine before he even said, "Bad dog."
He got up and shooed the misbehaving canine outside. "I swear, he's become even more spoiled living with two people. But I suppose it's more our fault than his."
"Mostly my fault," Nani admitted easily enough, though with a sheepish glance in his direction. She shrugged. "I can't help myself—I'd never met a dog before him, and they're so cute."
She had said much the same thing of every animal she had met on Ein's farm: the cows, the chickens, a wandering truffle pig from one of his neighbor's properties, the rabbits that pestered the garden...
"Have you ever met an animal you didn't like?" he half-complained, half-chuckled as he returned to finish his piece of pie.
As he took his second bite, he again noticed the strangely sour aftertaste. He frowned, trying but unable to place it.
"Geese."
Nani shuddered dramatically. "One of the traders I crossed the mountains with kept one as a guard animal for the caravan. Thing was vicious."
She lifted a second bite of pie toward her mouth—then suddenly cried out, dropping her fork.
"Don't eat it!" She tried to slap Ein's plate away from him, wide-eyed. "There's—there was some sort of worm!"
The bit of pie still on her fork looked perfectly innocent—until something dark and slender started to wriggle across the table toward her plate.
The plate went over the side of the table and shattered on the floor. Out of the resulting mess came crawling a small host of hideous, black worms.
Ein went pale and raced over to the sink to retch. "Huugh... what in blue fuck? Those were not there when I cut the apples!"
Nani pressed a hand to her mouth, shaking her head quickly. "Definitely not. What—what in..."
She looked at the rest of the pie sitting on the counter, then abruptly snatched it up and tossed the whole thing into the hearth fire.
It went up with a hissing, squealing sound that apples and pie crust should not be making.
"Oh, eugh!" She gagged, then stomped down on the squirming mass that had crawled from his plate. "What are they?!"
"I think we found the source of the rot. Somehow, the heat must have made them hatch." He shuddered.
He rushed to the remaining apples, inspecting each carefully. "Gods, I can't even see how eggs got in them."
After a second, he shivered. "This isn't natural."
She shook her head. "No—no, I don't care how strange the mainland is, you're right. Those are not natural.
A rather upsetting thought occurred to her, and she looked at him with wide eyes. "Do you think...do you think someone did this? Infected the orchard, somehow?"
"If not something," he said grimly. "Not every horror on the mainland is the work of people."
His eyes widened a little. He tossed the apples into the fire, and started stomping every worm he could see. "Gods. A lot of people buy from Blackstone. These things are all over town by now. The crops will be ruined!"
"Oh gods." Stomping down on the last black wriggled she could see, Nani looked up at him frantically. "We—we have to warn people. What if someone just eats the apples, not knowing? If those things survived in the oven, they'll survive...inside someone."
She rushed to the door, already grabbing for a coat. "We need to tell the healers or, or something."
Ein wasted no time in grabbing his own coat and following her out. "I'm more worried about us, but the destination is the same."
He had already whistled for Vander to follow as he hurried down the path to the road when he saw it. A horse was making a mad dash down the road, flailing its head and making an ungodly sound he had never thought a horse could make. Then, it collapsed.
Nani cried out, clapping her hands over her ears instinctively for a moment. She'd heard the phrase "horse's scream" before, but had never imagined...that.
"Oh!" When she saw the animal collapse, she started running toward it. "Come on, it's hurt!"
The horse's body jerked sickeningly, one hind leg lashing out and narrowly missing her. She skittered back, staring in horror as it jerked again and...started to change.
Ein pulled her back even further, putting himself between her and the horse, as if he were the one tasked with protecting her and not the other way around.
The animal's entire body began to ripple and squirm, muscles writhing under the skin and bones snapped and reshaped. Its head shot upright, turning its milky gaze towards them. A line appeared along the length of its snout as the thing that used to be a horse climbed to its feet. The creature's mouth opened up like a flower lined with jagged teeth, long tentacular tongues probing the air.
Then, it took a step.
"Oh my gods!"
She grabbed at Ein's arm, clutching him in some strange mixture of a search for comfort and that instinctive desire to protect. "What--what is that?!"
She stumbled back another step, dragging Ein with her. Her eyes darted toward the house, trying to judge the distance, if they had a chance of making it back inside before that...thing caught them.
She thought they did. Just barely. Assuming it could only run as fast as a horse.
"We need to run," she hissed. "Now."
He had to pull his eyes away from the hypnotically grotesque sight before him. Never had he seen anything so horrible.
Nodding to her, he broke into a run back towards the farmhouse. Within seconds, the monster gave chase. It shrieked, spidery legs tossing up dirt as they stabbed at the ground.
They managed to get inside and shut the door just before one sharpened hoof-talon broke through. Without a word, he started pushing furniture in front of the door.
She pushed down the urge to retch as they threw themselves inside and fought passed the rolling in her stomach to start shoving furniture toward Ein so he could barricade the door.
And then she froze. "Wait!"
She looked up at him with wide, plaintive eyes. "Vander's outside." The other animals were in the barn--she'd locked up the doors earlier that day to protect them from the rain, they should be safe. But the dog roamed free.
She darted for the hall that led to the back door.
Ein felt a hole in his heart as he chased her down to grab her arm her. "We can't help him!"
"He's infected, just like that horse. If we let him inside and he changes, what then?" His tone was as if Vander was just a possession, but she knew him well enough to know he was destroyed by the idea. And in denial that they were infected too.
"We--"
She stared at him, panting lightly, and gave a slight tug of her arm, but not enough to break his grip. "We can't leave him," she whispered, tears starting to fill her eyes. "We can't..."
Her lips trembled and she turned her head away, clenching her eyes shut tight.
"We..." She swallowed thickly. "We ate it too..."
"I know... I know, damnit!" Ein hit the wall with his free hand.
He let her go and slumped for a moment before heading to the back door himself. "Aaagh! Damnit, damnit! I can't let him die, not again!"
Opening the door, he whistled and the frightened dog rushed inside in no time at all. At least, he hoped that was why the animal was trembling.
Not again?
No, they didn't have time. There were bigger problems at their door--literally.
Nani gasped and dropped onto her knees as the dog came tearing inside. She wrapped her arms around the shaking animal, stroking his ears and whispering soothing nonsense.
"If it--" She licked her lips, swallowed, then rasped, "H-how many do you think are...infected? You said there weren't that many apples left at market, do you think...?"
Gods. There was no way it was just the animals being affected.
Ein secured the door and went about pushing a cabinet down the hall to block it. He was muscular, sure, but should it really be that easy a job?
"I think if you hadn't been here, I might have already fallen to this or been blissfully unaware up until monsters broke down the door."
In the back of her mind, the thought sparked that perhaps this was the "why" they had both been studiously ignoring for the better part of a month now. She quickly refocused; the more immediate problem was not "why", but "how do we stop it".
She stood, ushering Vander up onto the armchair near the hearth that Ein usually took, and turned to look at her companion.
"Okay." She forced herself to breathe. "Okay. We need to--we need to do something--"
The creature at the front door slammed into it again, making a awful, shrill screeching sound. She yelped and automatically staggered back from the noise.
"Oh gods." She clasped both hands over her mouth, eyes wet. "We...there has to be something, a cure, or--or a way to...I don't..."
She whimpered, looking around at Ein. "I don't know..."
Ein slumped against the wall, but stayed standing for now. This was not the time to give up, even if all seemed hopeless.
"Do you... feel off in any way?" he asked. "My stomach is roiling, but that could just be the situation getting to me. Just imagining those things inside me is enough to make my stomach churn."
Nani swallowed and closed her eyes, trying to focus on her body. "I feel...the same, I think," she muttered. "I mean, I do feel like I'm gonna be sick, but I think you're right, that's just..."
She waved a hand around vaguely. "We--we didn't eat that much. Maybe we're...not so bad off as the horse?"
"You say that, but it might only take one w--" Ein froze, hand cupping his mouth.
He rushed to his kitchen's washtub and vomited up something dark and wriggling. "Oh go--" And a little more.
"Are you al--"
She couldn't even get the full question out before her stomach rebelled. Unable to make it as far as the kitchen, she turned and snatched a bucket by the door before heaving into it.
She didn't even want to look, but she could hear that awful, high-pitched squealing from the dark, wriggling mass. She heaved again, waited a few breaths, and then when her body didn't seem determined to chuck anything else out of it, staggered to her feet and moved toward Ein.
"Is that...it?" she rasped. She'd hauled the bucket with her with the intent of tossing its--and the washtub's--contents into the hearth fire. "Or do you...do you think we still might change?"
Ein made a disgusted groan as he wiped his mouth.
"I think we're safe. I don't know why we're safe, but we are." He frowned thoughtfully. "I get why maybe you are. Your vague Paladin powers could have protected you. I just can't imagine why I am."
As he spoke, he used a washrag and a wooden spoon to move the contents of the wash tub into the bucket before tossing them in the fire too.
She nodded in dazed agreement. "There--there was something in that book about us being more resistant to poison and illness...maybe this counts? Whatever it is?"
She rubbed his back reflexively. She still felt a little ill, but that was just the sort of empty ache that often accompanied nausea. "Well, whatever the reason why, at least it seems like you're...clean, I suppose--"
Another shuddering slam against the door and she yelped, nearly jumping out of her skin as she whirled toward the sound.
"W-we have to...take care of that thing," she whispered. "It won't stop."
She was right; the creature wouldn't rest until it forced its way inside. If that happened without them having a plan, it would tear them apart. He urged himself to think of something—anything they could do short of burning down the home he had built with it inside.
Maybe...
If they could make it to the barn, they could arm themselves. No, they'd never outrun it a second time. The porch! If they could distract it, they could get the pitchfork from the porch!
"Do those wings of yours actually work?" he asked.
"My--"
She looked at him, wide-eyed. Then her expression hardened and she nodded firmly.
"Yes. Not for very far or long, but yes. What do you need me to do?"
"I need you to do whatever you can to lead it away long enough for me to get the pitchfork I left on the porch. It's the only thing that'll give us a fighting chance." His tone was that of someone used to commanding others. Perhaps he was in the military before this?
"If that isn't enough, we'll--" He paused, wrestling with the next few words. "We'll lure it into the house and burn it down around it."
"Burn it--?!"
She swallowed back the instinctive protest. It was clear Ein didn't like the idea any more than she did; he wouldn't have suggested it if he saw another way.
And they had another way, so they just had to make sure it worked. She nodded at him and rolled her shoulders back to extend her wings slightly. Facing the door, she murmured, "If I get a running start, I should be able to get airborne right out of the door--but I'll need you to open it." It would require very impressive timing, but she didn't see that they had much choice.
Ein nodded in wordless acknowledgement, determined to survive this. He could always build again. The important thing was that they lived to mourn the loss.
Once barricade was moved and he got into position, he waited for her to do the same. He nodded and, as soon as she got a sufficient running start, reached to yank open the door.
Nani exploded out of the door in a burst of frantic feathers, just barely missing the snapping teeth of the no-longer-a-horse as she took to the air.
The thing wheeled after her, it's strange trisected jaw opening wide as it skittered underneath her and leaped, snapping at her heels.
Shit, that was close!
She banked, leading the creature back toward the main road in as much a straight shot from the house as she could manage. She just had to hope Ein could catch it unawares soon; she wouldn't be able to hold herself aloft for more than a few minutes.
Ein sprang from the door and grabbed the pitchfork that the beast's attacks had toppled to the ground. With it in hand, he whistled sharply to signal her to bank back towards the house.
But she didn't have to. The monster turned its attention on Ein. With a shriek, it charged directly for him.
With a savage cry of his own, he charged to meet it, his pitchfork thrusting for its neck like a spear.
"Ein!" It was an instinctive cry as she cut her wings to turn sharply just in time to see the farmer and the creature crash together. She cried out wordlessly, dropping back to earth and running a few stumbling paces to lose momentum, when two tines of the pitchfork thrust out through the back of its neck.
The creature made a horrible, gurgling shriek and thrashed, not quite finished yet despite the spikes of metal through its neck.
Moving entirely on instinct, Nani grabbed a rock and hucked it at the beast's hindquarters with all her strength. It bounced off harmlessly, but it was enough to draw the thing's attention. It tried to jerk its head around, shrieking again when that only drove the pitchfork deeper.
Ein roared, using all of his strength to twist the pitchfork and tear the creature's neck open. It shrieked as the pitchfork tore free in a spray of black blood. But it didn't even slow it down.
Enraged it turned back towards him and shrieked again, spraying him with flecks of bloody saliva. He instantly ran for the house. Inside, he grabbed his oil lamp and waited for the beast to push it's way inside.
It soon exploded through the doorway, sending shattered pieces of doorframe flying. It charged straight for him. He leaped aside at the last minute and it crashed into his fireplace.
"Taste this, hellspawn!" He threw the lantern at it's feet, causing the fire to belch into life around it.
Nani went tearing after them, hesitating only until the creature was through the shattered doorway before she darted inside and snatched Vander off the armchair where she'd left him.
"We need to get out of here!" she yelled at Ein. She seemed caught between the instinct to run herself, and to make sure he was out of the house before she did.
Ein froze momentarily as the flames licked up the walls behind the creature. It was like the world was miles away, but Nani's voice pulled him back. He snapped out of it and nodded before running outside with her. Behind them the unearthly shrieking of the creature reached a fever pitch as it clamored for the door.
Ein roared and kicked a porch beam hard enough to crack it and send the whole porch tumbling down. Either he had built it to do that, or he was even stronger than she thought.
"We should keep running. In case that isn't enough."
"O-Okay." Breathing hard, she bent to put Vander on his feet—Ein might have been strong enough to carry the dog some distance, judging by that display, but she certainly wasn't. "Okay, let's move."
She waited until he was moving before she started to run again, keeping pace easily despite his longer legs. She may not fully understand what was happening with his strength, and she certainly didn't know how to fight the way he did, but she could run.
As they ran, Ein collected his thoughts enough to be surprised he was headed in the direction of town. Logically, they should be running away; town could easily be overrun already. Damn; she was rubbing off on him.
He stopped. "Wait. We can't go this way! I got the last of the apples. If people changed into monsters, we'd be walking into a bloodbath!"
Nani drew up short when she realized he was no longer running with her and turned back to him. "That..."
She looked back over her shoulder, toward town. He was right--they'd barely survived one creature. Who knew how many more there were by now?
But...surely they couldn't just do nothing!
"There has to be something we can do," she said desperately as she looked back to him. "There's--where's the next nearest town? M-maybe the blight was isolated, we can find a healer or...or something..."
Her eyes had drifted down as she spoke, and her voice dried up in her throat. "Oh no." It wasn't a whisper so much as a whimper as she looked at Vander, who had stopped several lengths behind the two of them and was shaking violently. "Oh no, please..."
Ein's heart sank even before the dog started to whine in pain. Against his better judgment, he rushed over to comfort his canine friend.
"No... No... Not you..." he pleaded, reaching out to Vander. With a snarl, the animal bit his master on the hand. Ein embraced him anyway.
"I'm sorry... I'm so, so sorry..." His voice was sorrowful, as if he were losing a child.
Vander's flesh began to writhe.
Already crying, Nani took a stumbling step forward and placed a hand on Ein's shoulder. "It's...it's okay..."
It wasn't, of course, but she wasn't actually talking to the farmer. She knelt next to him and ran a hand down the dog's back comfortingly; her stomach rolled at the feel of his shifting, writhing flesh, but she continued to pet him.
"You're a good dog," she told him tearfully as he snapped and snarled at them. Ein's blood was on his teeth, and his eyes had gone black. "You're a good dog, Vander, and we love you."
The dog's entire form swelled, his bones cracking and expanding to accommodate the changes to his body. Fur fell off in clumps as Vander's skin became thick and gray. But something was different about him than the horse; he wasn't twisting into something entirely strange and alien. He seemed... not draconic, but similar. However, he was still trying to break free of Ein's grip and attack.
Ein stroked the changing animal, praying for some way—any way—not to have to kill his loyal friend. Yet, his grip was slowly moving into position to snap the animal's neck.
Nani sobbed, one hand clutching at Ein's arm and the other still stroking the changing dog's back. She hid her face against the back of Ein's shoulder, knowing what was going to happen, what needed to happen, but unable to make herself watch it.
And then she felt something...shift. Vander was still shuddering, but the changes seemed to have stopped. He'd stopped trying to bite Ein's hands holding him steady, and instead was--was retching violently.
Nani gaped as the no-longer-a-dog coughed twice, and then spat out a half handful of dark, shiny worms. These were not wriggling; they seemed to be dead.
When Vander started retching, Ein jerked back to give him room. He marveled at the disgusting miracle lying in a small pile at the ex-dog's feet. Vander whimpered and gently licked his master's wounded hand with a long, black tongue.!
Ein hugged him again. "Good boy, Vander." His voice cracked as he fought back tears. "That's a very good boy."
"H-how...how?!" Nani just stared, tears still streaming down her face and mouth agape. Then she was laughing and crying as she put her arms around both of them.
Vander was not a dog anymore, but was somehow still Vander. Nani shook her head as she sat back, marveling. "I don't...understand anything that's happening," she whispered, "and I don't think I care."
"I don't much care either. I'm just glad he's still in there." Ein wiped his eyes with his sleeve and sniffed.
Rising, he turned away from town. "We shouldn't stay here any longer. Our best bet is to head south to Briarhill."
Realizing something, he added, "But we can't take the road or we'll run into the orchard where this started. We'll have to cut through farmland and hope we don't run into anything."
"O-okay." Nani wiped at her own eyes. They would worry about the particulars of the situation once they were safe--like what had killed Vander's worms, or forced him to cough them up in the first place.
Sniffling, she looked in the direction Ein had indicated. "Do you think there will be someone in Briarhill who can help?" she asked quietly, eyes scanning the fields warily as they started moving.
"There's a small dragon knight outpost just outside of town," Ein answered, "If anyone can stop this, they can."
He hoped that his voice didn't betray just how much he dreaded approaching a military outpost for any reason. It was paranoid, he knew, but he couldn't shake the fear that, even out east, he was still being actively hunted for the crimes of his past. And that worry was small against the fear of just how the dragon knights would contain the corruption.
His voice did.
She glanced sidelong at him, brow starting to furrow. "Ein?" She looked from him to Vander and back. The ex-dog didn't seem to have any ideas either--though of course, the poor creature rather seemed to be busy trying to acclimate himself into a new shape.
"Is there...something wrong?" she asked cautiously. "I--I've never met a dragon. Or a dragon knight. Is there...something I should know?"
Ein gave a weary, sad sigh. "There's only one way to stop something like this. Burn everything."
His home, his crops, his animals—everything he had built would be reduced to ashes, and there wasn't anything he could do to change it. The only things that would remain were Vander, Nani, and the clothes on his back. What came next? He had no idea.
"What--"
She stared at him, horrified. "You can't mean--surely they wouldn't! There must be something else that can be done?"
Even as she said it, she was processing his words, scanning it against what little she knew of Adela's military. What they new of this--this blight.
...There might not be another way.
"If fire is all that can stop them, the dragons will do what they do best."
It hurt, but he saw no better way. Besides, he started over once; he could do it again.
He sighed. "Look. I don't like it either. In fact, I hate it. But this can't spread. I'm not a particularly selfless man, but no creature deserves having its body stolen and changed like that."
He paused. "Whatever happens, we can't let them see Vander. Even if they accept that he isn't a monster, they'll want to send him to be some mage's research subject. Maybe that would even help prevent this from happening again somewhere else, but I--"
His voice grew emotional. "I can't lose him. Not like that."
"But..." Nani looked back the way they'd come. "The other animals..."
She sniffed and looked away, trying to swipe at her eyes surreptitiously though she knew it was a pointless effort. It wasn't like he couldn't tell she was crying.
"O-okay," she murmured. She laid a hand on Vander's head--and didn't have to reach down so far as usual to do it, which was its own sort of oddness. "Okay. We...do what we have to..."
As they proceeded across a field of grain, they had yet to see a single soul. It was worse, somehow, not knowing if they were safe or just lucky thus far. Ein had never understood what a deafening silence was until that moment.
That was, until they came near enough to a farmhouse to hear a plaintive keening.
Practically shivering with tension as they crept through the field, Nani drew up short at the sound and turned her eyes to her companion.
"...What if they haven't changed yet?" she whispered. "We—we could still help someone."
Knowing that she wouldn't forgive him if he left someone to die, he rubbed his forehead in annoyed surrender. "Fine. But if anything seems off, we're gone. Got it?"
He headed for the farmhouse, alert for potential dangers both in the building and lurking in the swaying rows of grain. As he exited the wheatfield, he grabbed a hastily discarded sickle and crept towards the building like a thief in the night before signaling her to follow.
She nodded quickly. "Got it."
As they approached the house and Ein snatched up a sickle, she silently cursed for not thinking of finding a weapon of her own. She glanced around, then settled on picking up two smallish but pointed rocks. A ripped bit of frantic from the hem of her shirt would serve well enough as a sling in a pinch.
Gods, what she wouldn't give for a proper bow. She may not have been much of a fighter, but she did know how to hunt. Which was at least something.
As they drew closer to the house, she glanced sidelong at Ein. "Do we just...go in the front door?"
"First, we knock. Then, if nothing happens, we go in," he answered. He quietly creeped around to the front of the house to find that the front door was wide open.
He rapped on the open door, calling out, "Is anyone in there? It's farmer Alberic from up the road!"
Then, he waited. It was eerily silent. But something had made that sound.
"Vander, stay," Nani whispered as she crept up behind Ein. If there was someone they could help in the house, she didn't want the not-a-dog to scare them. Or, worse, for the person to attack Vander assuming he was corrupted the way the horse had been.
When Ein got no response, she gave him a questioning look, then slowly started to push the door open.
"Shhh!"
A pair of terrified dark eyes peered up at her from under a table that had been knocked out of place in some sort of struggle. A little girl, no more than eight, in the arms of an older child Nani assumed to be her brother. Both put fingers to their lips.
She froze, and the boy pointed. Her eyes followed the movement to the far corner of the room, where a gently seething something was crouched. There was a hideous, wet slurping and crunching sound--it was eating something.
A brief glimpse of a bloodied hand made her think that something was one of the children's parents.
One hand to her mouth to stifle an instinctive cry of disgust and horror, she looked at Ein, eyes pleading: We have to help them.
Seeing the children in danger lit a fire of purpose in Ein. He would sooner die than allow a child to die when he was in a position to do something about it. Not just for redemption, but also because he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he let it happen again.
He nodded, stepping inside and getting between the children and the monster. He motioned for them to quietly hurry to Nani. The big brother had to coax his little sister to move, but when they did it was silent.
That was, until she dropped her stuffed doll. The soft thump might as well have been a dinner bell.
Nani bent to be closer to the children's level, ushering them closer when they darted out from behind the table. She wished she could say something to reassure them, even if it would have been a lie, but they couldn't risk the noise.
Then the doll flipped to the floor—a soft enough sound in the grand scheme, but enough to make the creature in the corner jerk it's head up and swivel around toward them.
Nani caught her breath as it began to dawn on her what that thing was: it straightened up, almost completely bipedal, and though it's jaw hinged too far and in odd places—like the horse—its eyes...its eyes were still human.
"Mama!" The little girl suddenly wailed. "Mama, Mama!"
Heart cracking down the middle, Nani planted herself in front of the children and said quickly, "Get outside, now!"
The boy ran, dragging his sister with him and gasping something about how that wasn't their mother anymore.
The thing lunged, swiping at Ein's shoulder, and Nani quickly loaded a rock into her makeshift sling, shouting, "Duck!"
Ein ducked out of the way just in time for the sharp stone to embed itself in one of the thing's eye, causing it to miss. It's angry shriek was deafening, and not the least bit human. It ignored the injury, preferring to lunge at it's prey.
Before Ein even thought about it, he swung the sickle. The weapon caught it in the side of the head and it went slack, jaws wide and dripping with bloody drool.
He shoved it back, where it landed in a heap. Panting from the adrenaline, he said, "Keep them outside. They shouldn't see this."
"O-Okay." Nani backed away slowly, then turned and darted back through the door.
She came out to see both boy and girl backed against the wall of their house, staring in terror at Vander--who whined quietly and had lowered himself to the ground, likely to try to seem less intimidating.
"Oh!" She ran up to them, assuring quickly, "It's alright, it's alright. I know...how he looks, but he's not like the--the others. He's just a dog, see? Vander, here, boy."
Vander whined again, then scooted himself forward to lap at her outstretched hand with that long black tongue.
The little girl just stared, clearly in shock. But the boy looked at her. "Does that mean...Mama...?"
She swallowed. "I--I'm so sorry. But I don't think so."
Once Ein was satisfied that a strike to the brain worked as well as fire, he covered the bodies with bed sheets and stepped outside. His sullen expression said everything that the children feared; their parents were dead.
"We should bury them, then leave. Someone in Briarhill will be able to help the children."
He looked to the pair with a sadness only eclipsed by that Nani had seen when he thought he would have to kill Vander. "I'm sorry. Your parents were good people."
The little girl still didn't react, eyes vacant. The boy's lip quivered, his eyes wet, but he nodded jerkily, clearly trying to keep himself from falling apart in front of his sister.
"We--" He swallowed thickly before choking out, "We should go now. There was a sound, in the barnyard--I think the animals--" He swallowed again, then put his arm around his sister and drew her in close to her side. "We can't stay. N-not long enough to b-bury them. We need to g-go."
Nani wished she could offer some assurance, but she had an awful feeling the boy was right. Kneeling in front of the children, she told them gently, "We can do something for them when you're both safe, okay?"
The boy nodded, looking between her and Ein. He seemed to recognize the farmer--they were neighbors, after all--and the winged woman supplied quickly, "My name is Nani."
"Deacon." He nodded to the girl, who was still silent. "This is Minna."
"Minna." She smiled at her, even as a high, thin shriek rose up from further in the fields. The little girl clung to her brother with a quiet whimper. "Minna, is it okay if I carry you? We're going to have to run very fast."
She nodded stiffly, and Deacon ushered her forward. Gathering the girl up in her arms, Nani looked back at Ein and nodded to the boy. "You're stronger than me, can you manage him? We have to move."
"I can run," Deacon protested, but Nani wasn't sure the power of his legs would be enough if whatever had changed in their barnyard got out.
Ein kneeled in front of the boy. He was a bit stiff, clearly unused to dealing with children, but also clearly trying. "Deacon, is it. I'm Ein. I'm sure you can run, and fast too, but I can run faster."
"Okay? I promise I won't let the monsters hurt you; either of you."
Deacon surrendered his pride and nodded, allowing Ein to carry him piggyback. In moments, the group was off, Vander easily keeping up despite being unused to his altered legs.
Having cleared the farmland, they spent the night camped beneath a large tree on the road to Briarhill.
With the children asleep, Ein sat off to one side, Vander's head resting in his lap. He idly stroked the animals strange, stony skin as he started back from whence they had come.
Though she had no children of her own, the communal nature of her home meant that Nani had no small amount of experiences with young nieces, nephews, cousins--even just neighbors who might leave a child in her care for an afternoon if she was the most convenient person in the village. It didn't mean it was easy for her to keep herself steady enough to settle Deacon and Minna and make sure they actually slept, but at least she managed it without breaking down.
She waited until they were asleep to do that. Once their breathing had evened out, she promptly sank down in front of their small campfire, buried her face in her hands, and began to weep quietly.
Vander left his master and trotted over to Nani. He gave a soft, worried whine as he gently bumped his head against her arm.
"O-oh..."
She looked up at Vander with something like confusion for a moment, then sniffed and wiped at her eyes before reaching over to pat his head. "Good d--good boy," she murmured, still a little watery. "Very good boy, Vander."
Glancing in Ein's direction, she took a deep breath and tried to pull herself together. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "It just...that was all...I just can't believe..."
She bit her lip and shook her head, looking away again. "Gods."
Ein moved closer to her. "I know. Believe me, I know." He sounded to be on the edge of tears himself, with only male pride keeping them in check.
"Knowing it could have been my life lost as well had we never met—and quite possibly the children as well—is cold comfort."
The thought brought him up short and he looked straight at her. "You don't think... that's what I was meant to do, do you? Save those two?"
They had spent enough time together that Nani knew he wasn't exactly the physically affectionate sort. Still, she desperately needed the comfort of contact, so when he moved closer she shifted over until her shoulder pressed to his, giving him a quick look to make sure that was okay.
"I...don't know," she sighed in answer to his question. "Maybe?"
She looked to where the children were sleeping, worrying at her lower lip. "Maybe...they're meant to do something. Be something, someday." She sighed again and shook her head. "But I don't know--that's true of any child. We couldn't just leave them, no matter what their future holds."
"No. We couldn't," he agreed distantly, trapped in the painful memory of his greatest sin. "I've seen enough dead children for one lifetime."
It was the first clue to his past the man had given her, and he immediately regretted it.
Nani looked at him in surprise, not having expected that. But it was clearly something personal, and something in his expression made her not want to push. She assumed if it was important, as it seemed to be, he would tell her when he was ready.
"...I'm sorry," she murmured instead of asking the question she wanted to. Glancing over to Deacon and Minna again, she added quietly, "At least these two will have a future. I guess...that's the thing to focus on, now."
Ein took a slow, deep breath and pulled himself back to the present. "Yes. You're right. It doesn't matter if that was my task; it was the only thing to do."
"I can take first watch. So, get some sleep while you can; we still have a great deal of walking to do before we reach Briarhill."
"Okay," Nani said slowly, softly. "Don't try to stay up all night though--you need sleep too. Wake me for a second watch."
She touched the back of his arm lightly, then stood and moved to settle herself on the other side of the campfire from where the children slept.
The night proved safe from the horror that had befallen Redhawk, the sleepy farming village they had so recently called home. And in the morning, they continued on.
Ein hadn't said much as they spent the morning walking down the road, content to let others do the talking. Yet, the traumatized children weren't particularly inclined to do much talking either. That was, Ein was silent until the dragon flew overhead on its patrol of the lands near the outpost.
He cupped his hands around his mouth and called out to the rider in the slim hope of being heard over the wind. "Hey!!! Down here!!!"
Nani wasn't much more inclined to speak than it seemed Ein and the children were—she did try once or twice, but her voice consistently fell flat, and eventually she gave up. There was no easy way to cheer up two children who had just lost their entire world.
Her eyes widened as the dragon's shadow passed above them. She'd never seen one before, and was so stunned by the sight that she actually startled when Ein called out to the rider.
Oh. Right! Dragon knights!
"Hey, here!" She joined in the shouting, waving her arms and even spreading her wings wide in the hope that might draw attention. "Here, down here! We need help!"
It seemed like the dragon would pass them by—but then it banked sharply and came in to land a few dozen lengths behind them. The massive creature snorted, and its rider cupped his hands around his mouth to call back to them.
"Hail, travelers! What seems to be the problem?"
Hoping that Vander stayed out of sight, Ein stepped forward. "We have come from Redhawk. A corruption has taken root, in the form of strange worms that change both man and beast into foul monsters. We don't know how much of the village and farmland has been overtaken, but we believe it started at the Blackstone Apple Orchard."
He motioned to the children. "As we fled, we saved these children from what became of their mother. We will manage, but they need someone to care for them."
Dragon and rider drew slowly closer--as they did, Nani saw that the knight had his hand on an axe at his hip.
He seemed to soften some when he caught sight of the children, and just barely had time to thank whatever gods or spirits were watching that Vander had had the sense to crouch low in the grass and wait.
"You're lucky Bane caught sight of you," the dragonrider said as he swung off his mount and landed lightly on his feet. The dragon--she assumed this was Bane--snorted. "I would have missed you entirely."
He looked them over, brow slightly furrowed. "You were heading to Briarhill then? The barracks?" It wasn't a difficult conclusion to come to; from what Ein had described, the dragon knights might be their only option. Jerking his head back toward his dragon, he said, "We can escort you there. From what you've said is happening...you'll need to make a report to my commander." His tone shifted to something almost apologetic. "I'm afraid I've not the authority to investigate this on my own--and it sounds like it wouldn't do much good."
Ein nodded in understanding. "Yes, I expected as much. Thank you."
"Right." He exhaled, remembering his manners. "I'm Einhardt, this is Nani, and the children are Deacon and Minna."
The former bandit hoped that his nerves were chalked up to surviving such a horrific event and not being wary of the knight himself. He was sure he was still a wanted man.
"Verik Ares." The dragonrider nodded to them--it may have helped put Ein somewhat more at ease that he didn't introduce himself as "Knight Sergeant Ares", as many in his position would have. With a small smile for the children, he added, "Verik is fine. Ah, and Bane."
He gestured to the dragon, who snorted again and lifted his head slightly.
Nani, who had unconsciously positioned herself slightly in front of the children, felt some of the instinctive tension start to bleed from her shoulders.
"Are we gonna fly?"
It was the first time Minna had spoken since they'd fled the children's farmhouse, and Nani started slightly as she looked down at her. "O-oh, um...I don't think so, keika," she murmured, automatically using a Yoreiqi term one might employ with a niece or nephew. "Ser Verik here is going to escort us to Briarhill though..."
She trailed off when Verik scratched at his cheek and said, "Well...I mean, it's not a far trip by dragonback. And this seems like an urgent situation. Bane can carry five for that much of a distance, at least."
Nani glanced at Ein, then nervously back to where Vander was still hiding in the grass.
"Can you handle making the report?" Ein asked Nani, deciding to lie. "You know how much I'm afraid of heights, but the sooner Redhawk gets help, the better."
"I should catch up to you by the time you finish up."
"Are you sure--?" She frowned, glanced toward Vander again, then nodded. "Right. Okay. Yes, I can handle it. Just...be careful, okay?"
The dragonknight looked a little confused, but was either polite enough or simply not interested enough to press. "Four of us it is then," he said, patting Bane's shoulder. "Here, you two, lemme help you up."
He knelt when Deacon and Minna edged closer, both eyeing the dragon with a mix of awe and wariness, and linked his hands together to form a mounting block. The dragon lowered himself as much as he could and waited patiently as the children clambered onto his back.
"Miss?" Verik held his hand out to Nani. She glanced back at Ein, worry clear in her face, but took it.
"Be careful," she begged her Charge quietly as Verik helped her onto the dragon's back.
"I will," Ein whispered with a quick nod.
After he watched the dragon knight fly off, he rejoined Vander.
Sometime later...
Ein, alone, approached the outpost. He quite hoped not to have to go inside and fetch her. While remote, the chances of encountering a knight he had once crossed was too high for comfort.
Making a report to Verik's commander was every bit as nerve wracking as Nani had expected. Luckily, the dragon knight seemed to actually be listening—at the very least, the children's additional testimony convinced him that there really was an imminent danger in Redhawk.
She was dismissed from his presence while he evidently deliberated. Left alone with Verik and the children, Nani found herself at something of a loss.
"Is Mister Ein okay?" Deacon asked her. Verily had led them to a civilian bunker where he said they were welcome to rest.
She bit at her lip. "I'm sure he is."
She hoped.
A soldier opened the door and saluted the knight. "Sir! There's a man at the gate claiming to be with the Yoreiqi woman. Do we let him in?"
"Oh!" Nani jumped to her feet, looking to Verik and saying quickly before he could answer the soldier, "I can...go see if it's him? To be, well, safe?"
Verik seemed a little confused, but couldn't see why she shouldn't. He nodded to her, then said to the soldier, "Escort Miss Nani here to the gate."
She bent to quietly reassure the children, "I'll be back soon with Mister Ein," before hurrying after the solider as he led her back through the outpost.
When she reached the gate, a tension she hadn't even realized had settled into her shoulders began to melt away as she caught sight of Ein. She started toward him, half reaching out as though to hug him--then seemed to think better of it and quickly drew back. "You're safe," she breathed, eyes closing for a moment. "I--are you alright?"
Ein was surprised by just how relieved he was that she had made it okay. In their short time at the farm, they had made a connection unlike any he had made before. He didn't know what that connection was, just that he knew they were bound.
"I'm perfectly fine, Nani. You don't need to worry," he reassured.
"How did the report go? They believed you?"
She nodded, stepping a little closer. The soldier who had led her to the gate was waiting by it, and she was unusually conscious of his eyes on her back.
"I think so," she murmured. "They're...having some sort of meeting about what to do next. Verik found a place for us and the children to stay while we're here..."
She trailed off with a small sigh and shook her head. "I...don't know what happens now. What are we meant to do next?"
Ein pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled. "Gods, I have no earthly idea. I have no money but the pittance in my coin purse, no home, and no land that won't soon be reduced to cinders. I don't have any family to lean on either."
"Where were you headed next if you hadn't found what you were looking for in Tintintin?"
"I..."
She sighed, dropping her eyes. Her wings even drooped slightly against her back. "I didn't...really have a plan. I was just following that pull, the sense of looking for something. I suppose if—if I hadn't found you, I would have just...kept going. South, maybe, I hadn't tried south yet."
She shrugged helplessly. "I don't know, Ein. I don't know what to do. I'm sorry."
"Then we go south." He gave a depressed, noncommittal shrug. "It's as good as any other direction."
Straightening his defeated slouch, he said, "We should head inside before someone decides our hushed conversation is suspicious."
"Right. Okay." Nani glanced back toward the solider—who was starting to eye them with a hint of wariness—and raised her hand to him. "We're coming," she said, loud enough for him to hear.
She took a small sidestep closer to Ein and said a little softer, "Ser Verik stayed back with the children. We...I'm not sure what happens next for them, either..."
"We've done all we can for them. We can only hope that the knights find them a good home," Ein answered matter-of-factly, but with an undercurrent of compassion not often apparent in his tone.
As they traveled through the gate, she might notice the worry on his face. He really didn't want to be there.
Nani sort of wanted to argue that point, but ultimately she knew he was right. It wasn't like they could take care of the children--they'd be much better off under the knights' protection.
She glanced over at him and frowned slightly. Lowering her voice in an attempt not to be overheard, she leaned a little closer and asked, "Ein? Are...you okay?"
Ein shook himself and lowered his voice in turn. Nervously, he answered, "Yes. I just... I'm not fond of military men."
His eyes locked on a message board, where information on various criminals had been posted for knights to be on the lookout for. He looked away just a bit too suddenly, afraid to be caught studying it. But he was relieved as well; he wasn't on it.
"Oh." That didn't seem all that odd to her--from her limited experience with them, she couldn't say she was overly found of the structured hierarchy that seemed to come along with military folks. Other than Verik, not a single person here had so much as spared a kind word or smile for the Redhawk refugees.
"They're certainly not a welcoming bunch," she murmured in agreement. Their soldier guide stopped at the small structure where she'd left Verik and the children.
"Sometimes it's almost like they resent the very people they're sworn to protect, like civilians are a waste of their time," Ein said quietly, not wanting to badmouth the people helping them where they could hear.
He nodded gratefully to their escort and headed inside. Minna immediately hugged his leg, before just as quickly becoming shy and retreating behind her brother. Despite himself, the man laughed. "I'm glad to see you too, little one."
Verik was leaning against the wall, and he smiled distractedly at them when they came into the small bunker. The smile grew when Minna grabbed onto Ein but then just a quickly retreated.
"Reminds me of my nephew," he said with a small chuckle and a nod to the girl. Sobering, he looked Ein up and down before nodding briskly. "Glad you made it here safe. Didn't run into anymore trouble, did you?"
Ein shook his head. "Not so much as a highwayman, disappointed as they would be by my coin purse."
And by my formerly canine protector's teeth.
"I almost wish one had accosted me. At least then I'd be able to vent my frustration at losing everything I have to this horror." It required no deceit to focus on the very real problems before him instead of those long buried. The fewer lies and evasions, the better.
Verik's brow furrowed and his jaw tightened. "I'm...truly sorry," he said, a little awkward but clearly trying to be gentle. "Please know that my commander will do everything he can to save as many folk from Redhawk as possible. And the four of you are welcome to stay here as long as you might need."
Nani glanced at Ein, then back at the children. She didn't say anything, but she didn't exactly love the idea of staying here much longer. Not to mention Vander was out by himself until they could leave the outpost.
But the children...
She knelt in front of Minna and Deacon. "Do the two of you have any family outside Redhawk?" she asked as gently as she could.
Deacon nodded slowly, one arm around his sister's shoulders. "Ma's sister. Went to Ketra a few years back."
Ein turned to Verik, a question on his lips. They had to hope that the knights had the resources to get the children to what remained of their family.
"Do you think you can get in touch with their relatives? We are ill-equipped to help them any further. Nor should we take any more resources away from others who were not as fortunate to have escaped unscathed."
Verik seemed to hesitate, then nodded. "I...don't know about "the knights", officially, but—I can certainly do it. My sister lives in Ketra, but she had leave to visit me here; I'll let her know what's going on, she can make sure they get to their aunt safely."
Nani looked from him to the children. "Is that okay? You understand what Ser Verik is going to do?"
Minna nodded, and Deacon murmured, "Yes. But...you aren't coming with us?"
She looked back at Ein. "We...can't. But you'll be safe with Ser Verik's sister."
"Where will you go?"
...That was the question, wasn't it?
Ein came over and kneeled by Nani in an awkward attempt to be reassuring. "We have no one in Ketra and we certainly can't impose on your family when they'll already have two extra mouths to feed. But we'll be okay, trust me."
At least, I think we'll be.
Deacon nodded, though he still looked a little worried. Nani smiled at him reassuringly.
"We'll be okay," she echoed Ein, regardless of if she fully believed it herself.
She straightened up and looked to Verik. The dragonrider was frowning at them slightly.
"You don't have to head out in your own, you know," he said quietly. "It is in the purview of the military to assist in resettling refugees."
Ein stood and turned to face the knight. It was a dangerous situation, but he had to find a way through. They would never understand that Vander didn't pose a risk of infecting anyone. And if they were to discover who he, himself, used to be, that would be it for him.
"I have lived on the road before. Doing it again is more appealing than trying to make a fresh start wherever the military would plant me." He had to pray the answer wasn't suspicious.
Evidently, that was the sort of answer that Verik had been expecting. He actually winced slightly and nodded.
"I can certainly understand that," he said quietly. "Our forces are often...stretched thin, in that regard. Unfortunately we don't usually have the man power to find appropriate settlements."
It was a tad to close to outright criticism of the military's priorities, and he quickly pivoted. "Well in that case, I suppose I can only offer some supplies before you are on your way. I'll speak with the quartermaster, I'm sure he can spare something."
"We will gladly accept whatever you can spare," Ein said with a smile, "Thank you."
After saying farewell to Verik and the children, and acquiring what few supplies the military could spare, the pair headed away from the outpost.
Upon seeing them, Vander tackled Ein to the ground and furiously licked his master's face. "Easy! Easy, boy!" Ein laughed between licks, trying to hold back the strange creature that used to be a dog.
Nani drew in a sharp, instinctive breath of surprise when the large, dark shape came barreling toward them. She even started to move to grab Ein and pull him back before she realized who it was and relaxed immediately.
"What a good boy," she told Vander in a cooing, babyish voice, patting his head. "Thanks for waiting out here for us."
She glanced back over her shoulder even as she said it, just a little bit nervous that someone from the outpost might see the not-a-dog and decide he was dangerous.
Ein finally pushed the large creature away long enough to get to his feet. "I hope he gets used to being so much bigger before he hurts someone without meaning to."
He sighed. "But that's tomorrow's problem. Today, we have to decide our next step. How far south do we want to go?"
He had some connections in Zantaric, but he didn't want to open that door unless he had no better option. It would be better if she never knew that part of him.
Nani sighed in turn and shook her head. "I—I don't really know," she murmured. "Up until a month ago, every step I took was into unfamiliar land—living in Redhawk was the first time since I left home that I actually started to know where I was."
She frowned slightly. "How far are the mountains?" She'd heard stories of the Thunderblacks, and they certainly seemed like a natural endpoint to many a journey. Hopefully they wouldn't even need to go that far, but...well it was a destination, if nothing else."
Ein raised an eyebrow at her. "Without horses? It would take quite a a while to get there. But, the Thunderblacks are quite treacherous. We would do best not to attempt crossing them; not without means of protecting ourselves."
After a quick thought, he said, "Although, they would be an excellent place to keep Vander hidden until we figure out what to do with him."
"Right. Okay." She nodded. "That's at least a start then, right? And..."
She frowned in thought. "Well...I suppose we could get horses, if we think we could get them used to Vander?"
She decided not to mention that she'd never been closer than a hundred paces to a horse in her life--certainly she'd never ridden one.
Ein shook his head doubtfully. "With what coin?" he asked, "Horses don't come cheap."
He sighed, giving her a less unhelpful look. She couldn't help that she was raised in an environment where people actually shared with each other freely. "Perhaps we can find a job that pays enough that we don't have to stay in one place too long."
Ah, right. Coin.
"Oh. Right, of course. A job." She furrowed her brow in thought. "Well...when I first arrived on the mainland, I traveled with a traders' caravan for a while. I mean, I had to trade them some Yoreiqi trinkets for it, but...maybe there's another one headed south?"
Ein looked between her and Vander. "Another option that's off the table. Until we get further away from here anyway. Then we can just claim he's something exotic from Essyrn."
He scratched his neck. "Perhaps the town after Briarhill is good enough. We should be out of Tintintin by then."
Nani nodded again. "Okay. Do we know...how far that is?" She'd been traveling for so long before she met Ein, but she hadn't really given much thought to the actual logistics of it, since she hadn't had a real destination in mind.
"Wandering" was a bit different than "going somewhere."
She glanced at Vander and pursed her lips. "I suppose we should be staying off main roads for a while too."
Ein took a moment to think about the question. It had been a while since he had gone further from the farm than Redhawk proper—far longer since he last braved the wilderness. "On foot? It would take us until about late afternoon tomorrow if we kept to the road. Off the roads, probably after dark if we don't run into too many obstacles."
She sighed, but quickly shook herself and tried to hide away any weary reaction.
"Well. I guess we'd best get started sooner than later, right?" She tried for a smile and clicked her fingers at Vander, which made his ears perk up as he sat at attention. Well-trained as ever.
"Yes, good boy." She patted his head. Then, to Ein: "Ready?"
It was early the next day when, crossing a stony stream, Vander suddenly started barking—or whatever sound it was he made that used to be barking.
Ein tensed, reaching for the rusty blade the quartermaster had given him. It wasn't great, but it was a weapon. "What is it, boy?"
"Damn beast, ruining a perfectly good ambush," complained a lanky man as he and several others emerged from behind various trees and large rocks.
Ein frowned inwardly. Had he really lost so much of his edge that he would walk straight into a bandit ambush? Apparently so.
Vander's barking brough Nani slowly from quiet contemplation as they walked, but it was the stranger's voice that made her spin stiffen instantly. She actually reached for a weapon--she'd been on the mainland long enough to develop that reflex, at least. Like Ein's sword, the bow wasn't exactly a masterwork, but it would serve.
She nocked an arrow and sighted down the shaft on the man who had spoken. "What do you want?"
The ambush was ruined--maybe they could just talk their way out of this?
The bandit's lips curled into a sly smirk. "What've ya got?"
They were outnumbered and outmatched, and Ein knew it, but he wasn't going to make it easy for them if it came to a fight. Hopefully, it wouldn't. He slowly put his weapon on the ground and nodded for Nani to do the same. "We only have a mostly empty coin purse and a few supplies. They're yours if you want them. It won't be easy, but we'll manage without them somehow."
The bandit was clearly surprised by the quick surrender and just as suspicious. "Search them. No way anyone gives up that easy unless they're hiding something valuable."
The gang drew closer. Vander growled a warning. Ein clicked his tongue. "Down, boy... it's alright."
Nani gave Ein a brief, questioning look, but she followed his lead. She bent slowly and placed her bow on the ground, hands up when she rose again.
"We're refugees," she said softly as a few of the bandits approached to search them. "We had to leave everything behind. We really don't have anything."
One of the bandits searching Ein tossed his travel pack to the others, while another inspected his coin purse. They both reported their meager findings, causing the leader to scowl.
A female bandit with the ears of a half-elf kneeled before Vander, head cocked curiously to one side. "What in the hells even is this thing?"
Nani forced herself to hold still as she was searched, but Ein hadn't been lying--they really didn't have anything of value.
When the half-elf bandit started to approach Vander though, she found herself automatically moving toward the ex-dog.
"He's, ah--" She thought quickly. "H-he's a Yoreiqi mountain hound."
She had to hope this group didn't know enough about her homeland to question that.
Bows were instantly aimed in her direction. The leader stepped close and punched her in the gut. "Did I say you could move?!"
It was all Ein could do to not lunge over and beat the man to a bloody pulp.
Vander, however, leaped clear over to the bandit leader with a snarl, knocking him to the ground.
The bandit screamed for help as the others not minding the two humans fought to pry Vander off.
"Call it off or you two both die!" the half-elf demanded.
Nanai gasped, doubling over as she was struck firmly in the gut. It was a quick, sharp blow that efficiently drove all the air out of her body and made her vision spot.
She had never actually been hit like that.
"Wa-ait," she choked out, trying to force herself back upright. "Vander...Vander, stop!"
"Vander! Off!" Ein commanded.
The animal backed off, his head hanging low as he whined.
The bandit leader's arms were a bloody mess. "What are you waiting for, Vila?! Kill the damn thing!" he roared.
The half-elf smirked, "Actually, boss, I've got a better idea. Think about it; the Houndmaster would pay a fortune for an attack dog like that."
Ein tensed to put up a fight, but a blade point against his gut stopped him cold. The bandit holding the sword sneered. "Don't even think about it."
"No!"
Nani lurched forward, grabbing for Vander with one hand and throwing the other one up toward the bandits in a gesture of supplication. "Please," she half-gasped, still winded from the blow to her stomach. "Please, he--he's all we have..."
"No, no, no," Vila chided with a smirk as she looped a rope around Vander's neck to serve as a leash. "Your lives are all you have. And not even that if you don't shut your fucking mouth."
The boss hissed as his men helped him to his feet. "Then it's settled; we take the beast."
Ein clenched his eyes shut to keep from flying into a rage and getting them killed. Even with his strength, he couldn't take them all, not without a weapon, not before Nani was killed. But they would get Vander back, or he would die trying.
"You can't take him!" Nani started forward, but was brough up short by a point-blank arrow aimed squarely between her eyes. She trembled with the effort to hold still, eyes flicking from the archer to Vander.
"Be good," she told the "mountain hound" desperately, already feeling her eyes start to burn. She could only pray the bandits wouldn't simply turn on the animal before they could get him back.
Because she knew Ein wasn't letting this go without a fight.
"Yes, he'll be well taken care of so long as he behaves," Vila assured.
Looking down at Vander, she gave the rope a tug. "Come along, beast."
The ex-dog gave his humans a sad, soulful look that suggested he understood the situation more than any mere animal should and turned to follow Vila.
Ein's heart burned with fury as the bandits walked away. How could he let this happen to his friend? How could he let another Vander down?
When the last of them was gone, he dropped to his knees and punched the ground even as he sobbed.
Nani watched them go, trembling. Eventually, she too sank to the ground, though it was less with a helpless rage and more simple helplessness.
She leaned into Ein's side, crying quietly as he struck the earth. She couldn't even speak, struck mute by the overwhelming wave of loss.
What good was she? She was supposed to protect her Charge, protect what was important to him—and she'd failed. It was all gone. Everything was gone.
Even Vander.
Eventually, he sat back and ran his fingers through his hair as he roared impotently at the heavens.
"I'm sorry, Vander. I... I failed you... again..." He sounded small just then, as if being crushed by the terrible weight of being alive.
"I'm sorry," Nani whispered, feeling worse than useless. "I'm sorry..."
It wasn't the first time he'd said something that made her question exactly how much Vander meant to him--or rather, the way he meant something to him. But she never wanted to push, and now...well.
Now, she was just so tired. Tired of the loss, the frustration, the sheer futility she felt in her role. Or what was meant to be her role.
"It's not over," Ein declared, defiantly rising to his feet. "I'm getting him back. Even if I have to fight all of Zantaric, I'm getting him back."
How was it that he was so sure that's where the bandits were going? Sure, he was freakishly strong, but what chance did a farmer have against a notorious town full of people who make their attackers look like kittens? And—wait, shouldn't his knuckles be bleeding after punching the ground so many times?
"Ein--" Nani reached for his shoulder, then drew her hand back. She shook her head as she stood, hands spread helplessly. "We don't even know they're going to Zantaric. And there's only two of us, we...how could we..."
She trailed off, shoulders slumping, and hung her head. Which meant she could clearly see the entirely unmarked skin of his knuckles.
Her brow furrowed, and she reached out again, this time to take one of his hands between both of hers. "You're...not bleeding. I--you hit the ground so hard, I thought..."
Ein furrowed his own brow in a look of confusion as he looked at his distinct lack of injury. That couldn't be right. But, on the other hand, it didn't hurt when he punched the ground either. "I... must not have hit the ground that hard..."
Come to think of it, she had only seen him bleed the one time. He had narrowly avoided a few injuries, but had that really been luck?
Nani's frown deepened, turning his hand slightly as though she might suddenly find the injuries that should be there if she looked from a different angle. "I don't...I suppose so," she murmured eventually, though she wasn't convinced.
But she wasn't sure they had the time to examine the situation more closely. Her eyes flickered in the direction the bandits had gone, and she bit her bottom lip. "We could...go back to the barracks? Make a report, they might...they might help..."
Despite not having the same history with the military that Ein did, even in her limited time in their company--and with the tone of some of Verik's comments--she didn't really believe that.
"They wouldn't help, even if it wasn't Zantaric," Ein answered with certainty. "We're on our own."
He knew his secret would be revealed soon. He wasn't actually sure he even wanted to keep his past from her anymore, but he couldn't bring himself to tell her. She had to ask the right questions.
"...So what do we do?" Nani looked at him helplessly, eyes wide and sad. "I don't know what we're supposed to do, Ein. I--I just know I can't let you walk into danger, into a fight you have no chance of winning." She took a breath. "So--so do we have a chance?"
Ein sighed heavily; there was no other way. He just hoped she didn't hate him for his past. "We do if I call in a few favors."
He looked her in the eyes, his own full of regret. "I appreciate that you never tried to pry into my past, but I can't keep it a secret any longer. Not from you."
"I... I used to be like them—the ones that took Vander. I never targeted random civilians, though, only people who could afford to be robbed. Or deserved it. But I did hurt people, and I did kill people; most of them were just doing what they were paid to. I told myself they weren't innocent, that they couldn't be and protect greedy men. But some of them surely had families. I understand that now."
"Hence... the self-loathing."
She took a step back from him. It was an automatic move, more instinct than choice. She couldn't say if she'd expected something like that--if the hints she'd picked up on in their time together had puzzled themselves together somewhere in the back of her mind. Regardless, hearing him say it aloud was something else altogether.
She had been taught her whole life that what he was describing was anathema to a peaceful existence. That there was no justification for it--she even thought a part of her still believed that.
But she had also learned much in her time on the mainland, about how a person could be convinced so completely that violence was their only choice.
"I..." She took a breath. "I...don't know if I can understand that, really. And I don't think I'm the person who could...forgive it, if that's what you want." She was quiet for a long moment before saying slowly, "But...I think, maybe...maybe what matters now is what you do next. If you're...trying to do better today than you did yesterday."
"I want to be a better man; I really do. But right now, all I want to do is hurt those bandits and anyone else who gets between me and rescuing Vander. I know you can't understand that, and I'm not sure if that means I haven't changed at all."
Ein's face was locked in a tortured expression as his inner turmoil over what to do grew more and more volatile. He wanted--no, he needed to save Vander from becoming some criminal's attack hound. If he could do right by him, do right by the memory of his namesake, then maybe there was hope for a former bandit yet.
Nani shook her head. "No. I...don't think I can understand that."
She drew in another slow, fortifying breath. "But I understand wanting Vander back. And I want to help with that." She straightened her shoulders, then lifted her head a bit to meet his eyes properly. "And maybe I can help you, too."
Ein took his own deep breath to gather his wits. "Maybe, between the two of us, we can find a way that doesn't involve bloodshed. I would... like that very much. At the very least, no one needs to die or be crippled in any way."
After a beat, he added, "My temper tends to get away from me, but I can at least promise that."
Nani nodded slowly. She still wasn't sure she had fully processed what he had told her, but she knew she couldn't just leave him on his own.
...Was that a Paladin instinct? She couldn't tell.
"So." She took a breath. "Where do we start?"
"I still have a few debts to call in that should get us an audience with the Houndmaster, and something to trade for Vander. But we may have a problem if he figures out he's one of a kind."
Ein sighed. It was a tricky, dangerous situation. "Of course, our best hope is that we'll catch up before they sell him. They will be much easier to get the better of."
"Okay." Wrapping her arms loosely around herself, Nani hunched her shoulders a bit and allowed her wings to curve around her body slightly. "So...do we track them? I can track in the jungle, but I haven't had much experience with that since coming here."
Ein shook his head. "No need. I know where they'll take him. Depending on their route, we might even get ahead of them. At least if we can get a horse."
He gave her an apologetic look. "I didn't want to have to explain it unless we were desperate, but since you know now... I have a stash buried not far from the next town. There should be enough coin for a decent horse or two and fresh supplies."
"...A stash." Nani drew in a deep breath. "Right."
She gave herself a little shake, then nodded quickly. "Well, I--I suppose I'm following you, then."
She could just leave. Theoretically. But at the same time, she couldn't.
Until we get Vander back, she told herself. I'll stay until we get Vander back, and then--then I'll decide what to do.
Ein really couldn't blame her change of attitude towards him. Fate had bound her to someone who was an anathema to everything she had been taught about how to live. He would understand if she wanted to leave.
Some time later, at the base of a willow tree outside of the town of Draca, Ein went about digging with a rock and then his hands. Eventually, he pulled out a burlap bag. From it, he removed a box and a pair of rather villainous-looking gauntlets of reddish metal with clawed fingers.
He gave the gauntlets a hesitant look. Perhaps he should leave them buried. But he may need a weapon, even if not against people. Even without avoiding the main roads, there was always the chance of attack from a monster or wild beast.
Opening the box, he counted the money within until he closed it with a satisfied nod. "Good. It's all here."
Nani stood guard as he dug up the hidden stash, her wings half unfurled and her hand running nervously up and down the length of the hunting bow she'd taken from the barrack's offered stores.
When Ein spoke, she started a bit and turned back toward him, eyes a little wider than normal. Clearly, the whole situation had her on edge. "O-oh. Good."
She swallowed, then nodded briskly. "I...assume we don't want to spend it here? We're still close to the area of the blight."
He nodded. "We spend only as much as it takes to get to the border of Tintintin, then we can get the horses."
He looked her over and chuckled weakly. "Maybe just the one. I'm assuming you've never ridden; there can't be much call for horses in Yoreiq."
She shook her head with a small, not very amused snort. "No, I haven't. I hadn't even seen a horse until I was on the mainland nearly a week."
A potential problem occurred to her, and she shuffled her wings uncomfortably. "Ah...will both of us...fit on one horse? I mean—we're neither of us exactly small, and I have..."
She nodded over her shoulder, unfurling her left wing in demonstration.
"As long as you ride behind me, we should be fine. Provided we find a large horse," he answered as he looked her over thoughtfully.
Although... perhaps teaching her how to ride wasn't the worst idea. It could ultimately save time.
"Actually, maybe I could teach you enough to get by. Larger horses tend to be bred as beasts of burden and are thus slower."
Nani swallowed a little nervously, but nodded. Her only experience riding any sort of animal was the brief flight on Verik's dragon partner, and she couldn't exactly say she was looking forward to the idea.
But she'd do what she had to. "If you--if you know where those bandits are heading, is the plan to get horses first? They didn't seem to have any."
Whatever time was spent teaching her to ride could be made up if they could travel faster on horseback than their quarry on foot. Theoretically.
"They likely had horses stashed where we couldn't see them, but transporting Vander will slow them down considerably," he answered.
He thought over the plan with that in mind and came to a conclusion. "Yes. Forget waiting for the border. We get horses in Draca and ride to the pass into Zantaric. We should get there first. Ambushing them with just the two of us will be risky, though, so we'll need a better plan unless we want to risk the den of scum and villainy itself."
She couldn't repress a small shudder at the word "ambush". The memory of the bandits appearing seemingly from nowhere, how there had been no reasoning with them.
A part of her thought that they would be no better, if they did this. Another part knew they were only doing it to save Vander.
...It wasn't as clear-cut as life in Yoreiq had been, certainly. When your world forbade violence for any reason, it was just such a rare thing to encounter. So when it did, the perpetrator was easy to condemn. But what happened in a world that was violent--often, as she'd learned, by the design of those wielding ill-gotten power?
Spiraling in her own thoughts, she only managed to murmur a vague affirmative in Ein's direction, accompanied by a listless nod.
At her obvious discomfort, he felt the need to clarify his intentions. "Of course I would prefer not to use violence at all, and I really hope we can talk our way through this. But I know how bandits think, and unless we can negotiate from a superior position, they won't listen; they'll just kill us for getting in their way."
She nodded quickly. "No, I--I understand. I just..." She trailed off, frowning into the middle distance, then shook her head abruptly. "Nothing. Never mind. We should--we should get moving, yes?"
She slung her bow back over her shoulder, absently adjusting the quiver at her hip; the size of her wings meant she couldn't carry one across her back, but it had been a long time since she'd properly used a bow at all. She was out of practice.
"Yes. We should." Ein returned the gauntlets and box to the sack and straightened up. For now, he left her to her thoughts.
It was well into the next day before Ein was comfortable enough with her riding to even think about their best route to Zantaric. After some debate, they decided to get a room at the inn and leave at first light. Ein, for his part, barely hit the mattress before sleep took him.
After spending the better part of six hours falling off and then climbing back onto a horse, Nani was absolutely dead tired. She barely even made it to her bed before sleep claimed her--she didn't even bother to undress, collapsing in her full travel gear.
When she opened her eyes, she was in a familiar dreamscape--the emptiness with that faint pull that had first started to lead her to Ein. She frowned. It was odd; she hadn't had a dream like this since finding her charge.
Unsure what exactly was happening, she started to follow the pull, but it was...it was sort of everywhere. And, slowly, the dreamscape around her began to change...
A large tent materialized around her, where Ein was poring over a map of an area she didn't recognize. But it wasn't the Ein she knew; this Ein was a harder, less kind soul that looked quite at home dressed in the dangerous-looking armor of a bandit chief, all leather and fur and spikes. He appeared agitated but didn't seem to notice her.
An underling was speaking, but the only word she could make out was "intruder."
"What are you bothering me for?!" Ein snapped impatiently. He had a raid to plan, damnit! He didn't have time to waste on things his men should be able to do on their own! "Just take care of it!"
Blood dripped from his hands, which were suddenly covered in it. But he didn't notice even as it obscured the map.
Oh.
Oh no.
Nani drew in a sharp breath as she realized what must have happened. She'd spent so long working to control her dreamwalking abilities that she had somehow forgotten their first tenant; a disquiet mind was a wondering mind.
And her mind was certainly disquiet these days. After all that had happened, she hadn't done her proper meditations before bed to better ensure she wouldn't accidentally slip into neighboring dreams.
"I'm sorry," she said automatically, despite knowing that the Ein in front of her wouldn't know her--or at least, she didn't think he would. It seemed like this dream drew on old memories, memories from before they'd met. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to--I should go."
She tried to find the way out--it was always something physical--but the only portal was the entrance to the tent behind Ein.
A boy was suddenly in the entryway, pointing an accusing finger at the bandit leader. He was deathly pale, with milky eyes and clothes drenched with blood from a sliced throat.
Ein went nearly as pale and stumbled back, falling backwards as he tripped... and landed in a pile of a dozen or so corpses. He shouted in terror and scrambled back as the dead rose.
"Murderer!" accused the caravan guard.
"Beast!" the merchant rasped.
"Why?" asked the boy sadly as the others blew away like ashes in the wind.
Ein watched him with terror, guilt, and shame. "I'm sorry! I didn't know... Gods help me; I didn't know..."
"I'm sorry... Vander."
Oh no. No, she didn't want this, she didn't want to be here, she didn't want to see this.
It seemed that Ein couldn't hear her, and as the dream changed, her method of escape faded away. Not knowing what else to do, she swallowed a cry of horror and reached out to grab the man she'd known as a farmer by the shoulder.
"Ein, wake up!" she pleaded, shaking lightly. "Wake up, it's not real."
His eyes suddenly locked on hers, and then he woke up. He shot bolt upright in his bed, cold sweat across his brow. Gods, would his dreams ever cease to be haunted by his sins?
But wait... why was Nani there? He slowly looked in her direction, unsure if he should expect anything unusual.
The dream collapsed around her, and Nani woke with a start. She stared at the ceiling, breath coming in heavy gasps as her chest rose and fell rapidly.
She could hear Ein moving in his bed across the room. With a quiet sob, she reached up to cover her face with her hands.
"I didn't mean to," she whispered, unsure if he would even hear her. "Really, I didn't mean to..."
Ein did not, in fact, hear her. But her behavior made it clear enough what she had done. Though he couldn't tell if it had been on purpose, she had never expressed an interest in prying, so he doubted it was intentional.
Still, his face reddened with shame and anger from the violation. "So you can do that, can you?" His frown was inching towards a scowl.
"I'm sorry," Nani gasped, not looking at him. Her heart was still racing, and she couldn't seem to get it to calm. "I didn't--I didn't try to. I didn't mean to, I wouldn't--once I learned what I could do, I learned to control it. I haven't...I haven't had a slip like that since I was a girl..."
"You clearly didn't learn to control it," he said with an angry huff.
Then he took a deep breath and released it with a shaky sigh. "Look, I'm not mad at you, not exactly. I just... I wanted to tell you about him on my own terms."
Nani shook her head helplessly, still gulping air. "I'm sorry," she repeated quietly, unsure what else she could--should--say. "I really didn't--nothing like that has happened in years. I didn't think..."
She swallowed and turned onto her side, putting her back to him and folding one wing over herself like a blanket.
"...That's why you named him Vander?" she asked after a moment, voice a little rough. She'd spent so long trying not to pry, but she just couldn't say nothing.
"At the time, I told myself I was honoring him somehow. But, honestly, I think I was just punishing myself," he admitted, not bothering to hide anything anymore. "But then, through taking care of the dog, I slowly began to feel true love for another creature for the first time since I was a kid."
He studied his hands for a long moment. "And I understood the true depth of my sins. I know forgiveness is something I will never get, and asking for it is self-indulgent at best. But if I could be good to him, good to one innocent soul, then maybe I can begin to forgive myself."
"Or maybe just find the courage to turn myself over to the authorities."
Nani said nothing, though she did sit up slowly in her own narrow bed. She kept her shoulders hunched, wings curved around herself, but she risked looking in his direction.
"...What would they do?" she asked softly after several long moments. "If you turned yourself in?"
"Tintintin has a lax relationship with the law, but only up to the unspoken rule of 'do whatever you want; just don't get caught and don't interfere with the Families.' I would almost certainly be executed," he answered. "And I'm not sure I don't deserve it, even if the me that did those terrible things is dead and buried."
She didn't know what to say to that. She didn't know if there was anything she could say to that.
But there was another question on her lips, one she couldn't swallow back.
"You didn't...know," she whispered, looking at the wall rather than at him. "The boy. You didn't know. You thought it was...an enemy?"
He released a weary, sad sigh. "They tried to tell me it was a kid... I was just too wrapped up in what I was doing to listen. My second was out on some reconnaissance, and the ones who caught Vander were too new to know that we didn't hurt kids. So when I said to take care of it, they killed him."
"So, while I didn't know, I had every opportunity to find out. I just... didn't try. And when I found out, it broke me, and the next thing I knew, my men were pulling me off the one that did the deed. After that, I quit the gang; I just couldn't do it anymore."
Another question she couldn't keep in—she didn't know why it was the first one that came to her tongue, it just was.
"How did...you know his name?" If he was telling the truth, if he really hadn't known—regardless of what he said about having the opportunity to find out, in the moment he hadn't known—then he shouldn't have known the boy's name was Vander.
It was what she was clinging to; if he lied to her now, she didn't know what she could do with that.
"I met him earlier that day. He was being harassed by some bandits from another gang and, on some impulse I didn't understand then, I stepped in to help," he answered.
He hesitated; the next part was painful to remember. "He called me a hero. I told him I was nothing of the sort and to run on home before I decided not to be so nice."
"He followed me instead."
"You tried to send him away," Nani realized, "you tried to protect him."
Yes, he had been one of the dangerous things a child might need protecting from. She couldn't--and wouldn't--minimize that. And maybe it was just her desperately trying to find some way she could justify the whole thing to herself, but that was what she found herself able to focus on.
She exhaled slowly, drawing her knees up toward her chest and wrapping her arms around them. "I'm not the person who can give you forgiveness, Ein," she murmured after a few long moments of quiet. "I know you know that. I don't--I'm not sure what I think or feel about...any of this."
She let her chin rest on her knees. "But I'll stay. Until we can get Vander back, at least. I'll stay."
Her trepidation towards him was like a dagger of ice in his heart. But he couldn't blame her for feeling that way. He had done things even mainlanders abhorred; it could only be more difficult for a Yoreiqi to overlook, even if he wasn't that man anymore.
"That's more than I have any right to ask," he answered.
She didn't say what she was thinking—that him being her Charge might mean she couldn't leave. Or at least, that if she did she would live the rest of her life with that pull in her chest, a constant reminder.
She just nodded, still staring vacantly at the wall. "You should...try to get some more sleep. I'll do some meditations, make sure I don't—I don't slip again."
"Make sure to get some sleep of your own," Ein responded before closing his eyes.
Things were strained between the two, but with a common purpose, they pressed on. But on the second day of riding, Ein broke the awkward silence to suddenly stop his horse. On the road before them was a smoldering, broken-down wagon. Yet his eyes were locked on the fist, crudely drawn in the dirt next to it.
The silence wasn't the comfortable sort that had formed between them in their time on the farm, and Nani didn't know what to do about it. She spent a lot of time thinking about it, but couldn't figure out what to do.
Then Ein brought up his horse and she quickly slowed hers to stop beside him. She leaned forward to stroke her mount's neck as the gelding shifted nervously beneath her at the smell of smoke.
"What is it?" she asked quietly, trying to figure out what had caught Ein's attention. "Should we...go around? Off the road?"
"Yes, and quick," he said, snapping out of his stupor. "This is a trap for those curious enough to investigate."
He flicked his reins and guided them around, his eyes peeled for signs of observers.
"A trap?" She nudged her horse after his, looking around warily. Her own tension translated through the reins to the animal, who tossed his head and pawed nervously before picking his way after Ein's mount.
"How do you know?" Nani asked, lowering her voice a bit.
"Because my old gang set it. We used that tactic all the time," he answered quietly. "It seems they've moved further south since I left."
He suddenly cursed. "If this is their territory, those bandits might have been a new crew. We'll just have to hope not."
Nani's spine went rigid, and once again her horse shifted in protest.
"...Oh." she murmured at length, glancing back over her shoulder at the wreck of the wagon.
Then she gave herself a brisk shake. "Well. At least we know there isn't someone else in trouble on the road. Not really."
"The lack of bodies is a tipoff, and the symbol in the dirt is a calling card to warn off other bandits," Ein explained.
Then the arrow planted itself in the dirt in front of his horse. He stopped the horse, which whinnied indignantly. "That... is not good..."
Also, again? Seriously?
Nani pulled her horse up quickly and reached for her bow.
"What do we do?" she hissed at Ein, eyes darting around as she tried to figure out which direction the arrow had come from. "Run?"
They had horses now—their chances of outpacing a group of bandits in foot were pretty good. Though she supposed that depended on how skilled their archers were.
He shook his head. "We'd just get ourselves shot."
Pointing to the arrow, he explained, "See the peculiar blue fletching? I only know one woman who uses that kind of feather, and she doesn't miss."
"So put the bow away. It's not going to do us any good." He sighed worriedly. "Our best hope is that they aren't holding on to any ill will from when I left them. It wasn't exactly a heartwarming scene."
Nani obeyed, albeit reluctantly. She may not enjoy or approve of violence, but she couldn't deny there was a certain amount of security that came with having a weapon in her hand when facing a dangerous situation.
...And that was something she didn't have the emotional energy to examine too deeply just yet.
"Is it just a warning?" she asked in a low murmur. "Or are they actually planning on approaching us?"
As if in response, several figures emerged from hiding atop a hill. "Aldebrand Navarre, as I live and breathe," a broad woman holding a longbow called out. An innocent enough greeting until one noticed there was no love in it.
As the bandits closed in, Ein gave Nani an apologetic look for always having another secret. Then he looked at the woman. "Cyndra. It's been a while. Not long enough, I'm sure, but we aren't here to start trouble. I meant it when I said I was out. Stumbling into Sanguine Hand territory was merely a coincidence."
"Well, unless the men who robbed us a couple of days north are yours. Then we need to talk. The arrangement with Eldred was that we leave each other be," he added.
Aldebrand.
Of course.
Nani swallowed, another quick icy shard stabbed through her heart, but she shook it off to deal with later. She didn't reach for her bow, but she eyed the bandits that closed in around them warily.
This didn't seem like the sort of conversation she should be butting in on--and besides, what would she say? Nice to meet you all, I'm your former boss's bodyguard who's terrible at her job and also he's not the man I thought he was and the uncertainty is tearing me apart?
Yeah. No.
Cyndra frowned and grumbled something under her breath. "So that creature the newbies brought in was yours?"
Ein—or whatever his real name was—nodded. "He was. I would very much like him back too."
"That's where I'm afraid we have a problem. Eldred... isn't with us anymore. He took an arrow from a lucky guardsman. And your little arrangement? That died with him," she explained.
Ein felt a cold dread rise in his throat. If Eldred was dead and the new boss didn't care about the deal, then the situation just got a great deal more dangerous. "Who took his place? Piers?"
"Reynard."
"Shit."
"Yeah." She thought something over. "The best I can offer is that if you forget about your weird pet, I'll forget I ever saw you."
Ein shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't do that. He's important to me... to us."
Cyndra looked at Nani as if she hadn't even noticed her. "And what are you to whatever he's calling himself now?"
Nani tensed even further, and her horse bobbed his head anxiously. "I'm..."
She glanced at Ein, then away quickly. "I'm just...here for Vander."
She winced. She didn't mean that to sound as harsh as it did, she she shot another quick, guilty look in Ein's direction. "I mean, I--we want to get Vander back. That's all that matters."
Ein took a slow breath. "Then, as a former member of the Sanguine Hand, I demand a trial by combat. I'll challenge whoever Reynard chooses. Not for leadership, but for what's mine."
Cyndra nodded, smiling just a little. "That's the Navarre I remember—before you went soft, that is."
"Don't get used to it; I have no intention of coming back," Ein answered.
"Let's just see if Reynard accepts your challenge before you declare anything else, okay?"
Ein nodded and soon the group was off.
Nani waited until they were moving again to bring her gelding closer to Ein's--luckily they had purchased to two from the same stable, and had been told that they were quite appropriately pair bonded, so her mount was much more comfortable nearly walking on top of Ein's than he was straying closer to the bandits.
"What is trial by combat?" she asked quietly, then made a face. "I mean--I'm not an idiot, I know what it is. What are--are the rules, I guess?"
"In the Hand?" he answered quietly. "The first to yield loses. If nobody yields, then the first to be incapacitated or be killed. It... rarely goes that far, but it's up to the victor if the fight is to the death."
That, he knew, was beyond her worldview. But he had known little else until he moved to Redhawk. He hoped, however, that she didn't believe he was still a killer. His attempt to make an honest living had been genuine, as had his desire to continue to change for the better.
Nani stared at him. "So...if you lose...they'll keep Vander, and they might just decide to kill you anyway?"
And she'd heard mainlanders call her home barbaric.
She managed to keep her voice low, but the clear shock, horror, and dawning anger was there. "This is--I can't let you do this. This is insane."
"My ears are open for a better idea," he answered. His own voice was colored quite clearly by his revulsion at having to be in that situation. He was terrified the heat of the moment would unleash the bloodthirsty beast he had kept chained within himself.
He took on a plaintive expression. "Please have a better idea. These people were my friends once; I don't want to fight any of them."
She didn't have a better idea. And gods she wished she did. But if Ein didn't see a way of convincing them not to do this, how could she?
How could she let him do this?
...Oh.
I've ran down her spine, and her lips felt slightly numb as she murmured, "Let me do it, then."
Ein stared at her like she had lost her mind. "You can't be serious. You don't even know how to fight, and you can't protect anyone if you're dead."
"And I thought you were done with me after this. Why would you take my place?" he asked disbelievingly.
"I know how to fight," Nani protested in a hushed whisper. "I mean—my mentor taught me a moving meditation that relies on anticipating your partner's movements. I could hold my own."
She hoped.
Looking away, she added in a slightly rougher tone, "Maybe this is how I'm supposed to protect you. If—if I leave after this, or if I die, it's all the same, isn't it?"
Her words stung like a frozen needle in his heart. Did she really think he didn't care about her at all?
"It's the furthest thing from the same!" he whispered passionately. "Maybe your feelings have changed, but I still think of you as a friend—a far better one than any I've ever had! You dying for the likes of me is the last thing I want."
"Maybe what we want doesn't matter," Nani hissed back. "Practically my whole life I've had this pull, the need to be somewhere else, and then finally, with you, it went away--and now we're in this."
She made a sharp gesture up ahead toward their bandit escort. Then most of the energy seemed to drain from her and she slumped in the saddle.
"Maybe this is what I'm supposed to do," she said dully. "I mean--why else would a Yoreiqi be a Paladin? Someone whose whole culture is antithesis to violence? Maybe I'm not supposed to be a guard, maybe I'm just...a replacement for your life, in this."
"I love Vander, but getting him back can't possibly be what fate brought us together for. Besides, if you die, my life is forfeit anyway," he argued desperately. But somehow he knew his pleas fell on deaf ears.
Nani frowned. "Wait—if one of us dies in the trial by combat, they'll kill the other anyway?" she tried to clarify, aghast.
Because gods forbid this situation couldn't feel any more precarious.
"Not necessarily. While it's mine to pay, Reynard could choose a different price. But he made it clear when I left that he hates me." Ein sighed heavily. "I won't lie to you again; he might be satisfied just leaving me with nothing but regret. Your life and your freedom are in more danger than mine."
She frowned in confusion. "My...freedom?" What good would she serve them as a prisoner?
She shook her head. It wasn't worth thinking about just then. "Do you think they'll honor that? I mean--if you win, they'll just...let us go?"
Ein frowned, sighing. "Honestly? With Reynard in charge, I don't know. I believed in honor amongst thieves, but he believes in no one but himself."
"Knowing the risks, do you still want to be my champion?" he asked. "I won't stop you, if you really think you can win without losing who you are in the process."
"I—"
She took a breath. "I don't...want to, not really. But I feel like—like if I step aside and let you do this, fighting for both—no, for all three of our lives, it..."
She shook her head. "I don't know if I can do this and...feel okay about it. But I know I'll feel worse if I let you do it." She glanced at him, brow upturned and expression open and vulnerable with him for the first time in days. "You...I've seen how hard you've tried to leave this life behind. I can't let you be dragged back into it."
Even if that meant she had to be the one fighting.
And it wasn't a Paladin impulse—she knew that now. There was no pull in her chest or tingle on the back of her neck guiding her, it was just her.
His mouth turned up into a sad, slight smile. "I thought you hated me now, for what I've done... for keeping you in the dark about the person fate chose to tie you to."
"Roles reversed, I'd be angry too. Furious, even," he admitted. " If we make it through this, I'm never keeping anything from you again. At least, all you have to do is as."
"...I am angry." Nani sighed. "But...I don't hate you. I think I--I wanted to, for a bit. And then I was angry that it felt like I couldn't. I thought it was because of this--this tie between us. But now I think..."
Another low exhale. "I think I've been... Everything I was taught back home wanted me to hate you. But since I've come here, I--I've learned how different your world and mine are, how you must have felt like you didn't have much choice. And you're my friend, and--"
She closed her eyes. "...I don't hate you."
Ein released a breath he didn't realize he was holding. "I'm sorry I made you go through that. I promise I'll find a way to make it up to you."
With fresh resolve, he straightened in his saddle. "Not if we survive, because we will survive this. All three of us, you got that?"
For the briefest moment, she smiled at him. It was tired, and scared, but it was a smile.
"Right." She nodded. "All three of us."
Some time later, they were taken through a gate into an old, abandoned fort. It appeared crumbling and dilapidated on the outside, but once inside, they would see that the bandits had reinforced the structure in such a way as to cleverly hide how defensible it actually was. When those enforcing the law had dragons, you couldn't just build a wooden fort.
Ein counted all the unfamiliar faces bustling to and fro with a deepening frown.
Cyndra noted his expression with a laugh. "As you can see, Reynard has expanded the operation. That's why we aren't still in the cave hideout."
"He always did have a certain charisma," Ein admitted.
"Oh, good," Nani muttered just loud enough for Ein—closest to her—to hear, in what was probably the most overt display of sarcasm she'd ever shown around him.
Her shoulders hunched as they traveled further into the fort; she could feel curious eyes on her back, on her wings, and it held an undertone of something menacing that she wasn't used to and didn't care for. Like they were sizing up how much she might be worth.
After hitching the horses, Cyndra led the pair up a flight of stairs and down a torchlit corridor. At the end, they emerged into a large command room repurposed into a, sigh, throne room of sorts. There, sitting on a ratty, plush chair, was a lanky man with a black goatee and narrow facial features that made his vulpine name rather apt.
"You'll never guess what the cat dragged in," Cyndra announced as she presented their 'guests'.
When Reynard looked at him with angry disdain, Ein—or rather, Navarre—said, "I wasn't exactly expecting to run into anyone from the Hand this far south, either. So neither of us is happy."
"And why are you this far south, Aldebrand?" Reynard drawled. "No luck hacking it with the plow, then?"
Nani didn't like the discrepancy between his voice and his eyes. His tone was lazy, arrogant, but his eyes were darting and alert, calculating in a way that made her hackles raise.
"There was a supernatural blight that wiped out the town and all the farms nearby. So I suppose my luck ran out," Ein answered regretfully.
"And then it got worse when some wet-behind-the-ears rookies stole my dog. I should have known they were yours; Eldred would have tanned their hides for robbing refugees." The loathing in his voice was palpable. He may have been a bad man, but at least he had a code.
Reynard tutted. "Bad luck. Or perhaps comeuppance, depending on how you look at it," he said in that same lazy drawl. Ignoring Ein's clear disapproval and the gang's current operating policies, he chuckled and added, "And dog is a generous description of that little monster. Where'd you find him? Same place as the new bitch?"
He nodded vaguely in Nani's direction. Her feathers fluffed out instinctively, trying to make herself seem bigger, but she held her tongue.
Ein gritted his teeth but controlled his temper. "I'm only here to invoke my right to challenge whatever champion you choose and win back what was stolen. Surely you haven't fallen so far as to deny me that."
The ones present who didn't know who Ein was were getting increasingly incensed by the way the big man was speaking to their boss. "Oi! Boss!" a young man with wild hair interjected. "Who is this clown?"
Reynard held up a hand to silence the younger man, though his eyes remained fixed on Ein. "You want to make a fool of yourself so bad? Again?" He shrugged. "What makes you think you haven't fallen so far that the right to challenge no longer applies to you."
"But that--" Nani started angrily, before she bit her tongue. She felt a few of the sets of eyes around the chamber snap to her, but she took a breath before trying to control her tone. "We came here because we were told you would respect Ei--Navarre's right to challenge."
Reynard sneered. "Who the fuck even are y--"
"If not for Aldebrand Navarre, you'd still be a nothing pickpocket in Ketra," Cyndra pointed out. "He may have burned a lot of bridges when he left, but you still owe him that much."
Reynard frowned deeply, clearly unhappy with Cyndra's defiance. "Fine. You can have your little challenge. Not that you can win anyway, farmer." He spat out the word like most people would 'thief' or 'murderer'.
Nani took a breath and drew herself up a bit taller, glancing at Ein as she did so.
"Who's your champion then?" she asked Reynard, not caring if it was her place or not.
Judging by the spattering of mutters that broke out, there were plenty of the bandits who leaned toward not.
Reynard broke out laughing in pure mocking disbelief. "I can't believe my eyes. Are you, the so-called invincible Crimson Ogre, seriously going to call this—this gutless pigeon as your champion? Oh, I changed my mind; this I have to watch!"
"Your misery after dooming another of your precious innocents is going to be absolutely delicious," he continued to laugh.
Crimson Ogre? That was definitely a new one.
She shot a quick, curious look in Ein's direction, but otherwise gave little reaction to Reynard's words. Save to tilt her chin up a bit and say quietly but firmly, "He's not calling me anything. This is my choice."
She could do this. She could do this; all she had to do was last long enough to tire her opponent, then knock them unconscious. It was a form of self-defense her mentor had taught her when it became clear she would be traveling to the mainland, a form built off her moving meditations that sought to deal as little true violence as possible.
Reynard stroked his goatee before grinning devilishly. "I have just the opponent in mind."
He snapped his fingers at Cyndra. "Bring in Galeos."
The archer's eyes widened. "Please tell me you're joking! That lunatic will tear her apart!"
"Do I look like I'm joking?" Reynard responded with a hard stare that said he very much desired that result.
Cyndra mouthed an apology to Ein and Nani before walking from the room.
Nani watched Cyndra leave, then looked to Ein quickly. "Do you know who Galeos is?" she muttered out of the corner of her mouth.
She did not like the way Reynard was grinning on his makeshift throne.
"Not the foggiest idea," Ein muttered in return. He didn't like the expression on his former underling's face either; it implied that he wanted to make an example of them both. Ein could only hope that they were underestimating her abilities.
It wasn't long before Cyndra returned, trailed by a lean, muscular man with a shaved head, absolutely covered in tattoos and old knife scars. He regarded Nani with a sinister, amused gleam in his dark eyes. This was the kind of man who enjoyed hurting people, especially those he considered weaker.
Galeos smiled with sharpened teeth. "Ooo... a Yoreiqi... I've never gotten to play with one of those before."
Oh goodness.
This definitely hadn't been her best idea.
I can do this, she told herself silently, desperately trying to believe it. I don't have to hurt him badly. I just have to keep moving until he's tired, then all I need is one shot.
She could do this.
She glanced at Ein, then at Reynard. "And Vander?" she asked, raising her chin. "Where is he?"
"Your monster is chained up downstairs. But you should be worried about yourself right about now," Reynard drawled venomously.
Ein nodded to Nani. "Be careful. Men like this Galeos live to make others suffer."
"He's not wrong," Galeos chuckled gleefully.
Nani swallowed thickly, but gave Ein a determined nod. "I can do this," she told him quietly.
She could do this, and she could show him--and the rest of them--that they didn't need to fight.
She looked up at Reynard, jaw tight. "How do we start?"
The gathering moved to a larger space where dragons were once kept, but it has since become a makeshift training room and arena where the bandits honed their skills. As what might just be the entirety of those currently at the fort, short of those on watch, filed in for the festivities, Reynard raised his voice. "Alright boys, girls, and whatever else you filthy degenerates call yourselves, because certain ignorant little shits robbed him, our once glorious founder has returned to challenge me for what was taken! Of course, he's so weak now that he's letting a Yoreiqi do his bleeding for him."
Boos filled the room.
"So, without further ado, we have everyone's favorite cannibal, Galeos--" Cheering. "--versus... well, whatever the fuck her name is! The rules are simple: the first to surrender or die is the loser. Now... fight!!"
Galeos dropped into a fighting stance suited for grappling and began circling his prey. Because that's exactly how he was looking at her. This wasn't a man; this was a predatory animal in human skin—and not in the good way, like a shifter.
"Show me what you've got, pretty bird," he said, smiling wickedly.
Oh. Cannibal.
Wonderful.
Alright. Maybe I won't be changing his mind, Nani thought to herself, swallowing nervously as she turned to keep Galeos in sight while he circled her. But she could still do this, she could prove to herself at least that this was possible.
She pulled her wings in tight to her back and raised her hands into a defensive position, shifting her weight onto the balls of her feet to be better ready to doge an incoming blow.
"Not going to make the first move, huh?"
With the cruelly playful smile of a child who enjoys pulling the wings off of flies, Galeos lunged for his opponent like a spider.
Nani didn't respond to his baiting. She tried not to even let her expression shift, keeping her lips in a thin line and her jaw tight.
When Galeos lunged, she spun to the side—truly moving faster than someone with wings hindering them had any right to—and let his momentum carry him past her.
She fell back a step, circling around to the left, and sank back into her prepared stance.
She still didn't say anything, but her expression had shifted into something fiercer.
Galeos sailed past her and hit the ground in a roll before springing back to his feet. Turning, he frowned at her as the crowd voiced their dissatisfaction.
As he stalked closer, he sneered. "I thought you were here to fight? Or are you so afraid that you can't?"
He suddenly lunged again, feigning an attempt to grab her arm in order to test how she reacted.
Nani continued to watch him silently, waiting. Her whole body trembled slightly, some combination of expectant tension and fear.
Don't let him see it, she told herself firmly. If he knows you're scared, he'll dig in worse.
"I'm here to help my friend," she said finally, voice flat. "That's all."
He feigned again, but this time he immediately switched tactics and delivered a sweeping kick aimed right where he expected her to dodge.
Ein watched the fight anxiously. He had faith in her, sure, but every move her deranged opponent made left him with a terror that he was going to get her killed by agreeing to let her do this.
She could guess when he was feinting--he centered his weight just slightly back when he did--but she didn't quite manage to dodge the following kick. His leg caught her at the knee and she reeled backward.
She would have fallen without her wings, snapping them open and flapping once to bring herself briefly airborne before she set down again, once more sure on her feet. The magpie-like feathers swept out in a quick blast of air, then she brought them back in against her spine.
She settled her weight onto her back foot, ready to dodge again.
Galeos clapped with a grin, laughing madly. "Nicely done! Do you think if I cut them off, a mage could put them on me?"
He didn't wait for an answer before rushing her in an erratic zigzag. When he got close, he pounced, grabbing for her.
Nani whirled away again, but he managed to catch her wrist.
She twisted in his grip, bending turning until his wrist nearly popped from joint and he was forced to let her go.
She took to the air again once she had space, circling half of the cleared space before landing on the other side of the "arena" from her opponent.
Eyes narrowed, she noted calmly, "You'd have to catch me first."
The fighter's eye twitched in annoyance, a clear indication that she was getting to him. Anger would make him sloppy, but also more dangerous.
He approached like a wild beast, low to the ground and ready to pounce at the first opening. "You shouldn't mock the cat, little birdie. He just might decide to stop playing with his food." He emphasized this by baring his sharpened teeth.
Through some magical trick, he seemed to lunge in two directions at once, cutting off both avenues of escape.
And Nani jumped, beating her wings twice to gain altitude so she could simply "hop" over Galeos and land behind him once again.
"Like I said." She ruffled her feathers and tucked her wings primly back in. "You'd have to catch me. Seems like you're not quite quick enough."
"This officially isn't amusing anymore. Quit dodging and fight!" Reynard fumed. "Or the deal is off!"
Galeos turned to grin at her, his arms wide, tauntingly leaving himself wide open. "What now, birdie? You have a spine between those wings?"
Nani snapped a quick glare in Reynard's direction. "Since when was that part of the deal?" she asked sharply. "You said trial by combat--you never specified how I had to engage in that combat."
She'd left herself open, attention on Reynard rather than her opponent.
"Yes. Combat, not dancing," the bandit boss argued.
Galeos, not being a creature of honor or dignity, seized the opportunity. He tackled her to the ground, attempting to pin her to the stone floor.
The air left her lungs in a rush from the two swift impacts: first Galeos against her side, and then her back against the floor. She gasped for air like a fish on land for a moment before managing to roll and shove her knee into the fork of his legs. Hard.
With the bare moment that gave her, she shrugged upward and moved her wings as though scooping air under them, forcing her upper body upward sharply and rolling again to dislodge her attacker.
Galeos brought his legs together to lessen the impact, but he was still left dazed as he was tossed aside. "Y-you bitch..." he moaned as he forced himself to his feet.
"You're going to die for that," he sneered angrily. He rushed at her like a furious bull, seeing nothing but red.
Nani waited, standing perfectly still as he charged—until the absolute last moment, when she dropped her low and turned her shoulder into his gut, allowing his momentum to send him flying over her back and skidding along the dirt behind her.
She spun and leapt onto his back, pinning his hands quickly. She may not have looked it, but years spent hunting the jungles of Yoreiq meant she was strong; and with her wings half spread, she could beat them to create a downdraft that helped pin Galeos in place.
She looked up at Reynard, silent but defiant.
Galeos thrashed briefly before accepting that he had lost.
Reynard cursed colorfully under his breath. "Winner, in the worst fight I've ever seen, the Yoreiqi!" he announced grudgingly. "Just take your monster and go. And I hope never to lay eyes on you two again."
"Believe me, I want the same," Ein replied as he approached Nani. He chuckled. "Good job. I never should have doubted you."
Nani pushed herself up slowly, taking a careful step back from the downed fighter before she finally began to relax.
Her heart was racing, and it took a great deal of self control for her to force her breathing down to an even pace. She swallowed and nodded once at Ein, eyes a little glassy.
"Right. We—" She licked her lips, clearly struggling with what had just happened now that the adrenaline was ebbing away. "C-can we get Vander now?"
"Assuming Reynard doesn't go back on his word, which is sadly a real possibility," Ein answered calmly.
They were escorted to the kennels, where, chained to a wall, Vander paced back and forth. The second he caught their familiar scent, he let out a happy 'bark' and rushed to the end of his chain with a wagging tail.
Ein intercepted the animal with a quick hug, letting him lick his face a couple of times before standing up. "Well? What are you waiting for? Unchain him," he said.
Nani gave a small cry and dropped to her knees to wrap her arms around Vander's neck once Ein had stood again.
She began petting him, murmuring in a mix of Yoreiqi and Common about what a good boy he was and how brave he had been while they waited for Reynard's men to unlock the chains.
Once their escorts unlocked the chains, they backed up quickly. Had Vander put up a fight?
"We should get going before they stop being hospitable," Ein advised.
Nodding quickly and sharply in agreement, Nani straightened up and laid her hand in the transformed dog's back. She glared at the bandits as she fell in beside and a step behind Ein, silently cursing them for any mistreatment Vander had suffered.
As they reached the gate to the outside, they encountered an alarming number of bandits between them and freedom.
Reynard stepped out from the throng along with a large man who tossed a bloodied Cyndra to the floor. "I've had enough of people taking your side. This is always how it ends."
Ein's temper burned hot. "You duplicitous son of a bitch."
Nani was actually confused for a few moments—though just a few, and Reynards dismissal of Cyndea certainly would have clarified things if it had lasted longer.
She clenched her jaw, glaring at the bandits. "No honor among thieves, then?" she asked quietly, one hand still on Vander's back while the other balled into an anxious fist.
"Not this time," Ein answered quietly, fists clenched. He didn't have time to put on his gauntlets. "No choice but to fight for our lives. Can you handle that?"
"Do I have a choice?" Nani replied quietly. She reached slowly for her bow, wings spreading out from her back in preparation to take flight. A quick hop would make her a target for their archers, but it would also take her out of the thick of the fighting.
Reynard drew his rapier. "I'll take Navarre personally. Abel, take out the bitch and the mutt. The rest of you, keep them from leaving."
The big, amethyst-haired Serenian grinned, cracking his neck as he pulled a stone quarterstaff from the very ground. "You've got it, boss." He charged Nani and Vander, twirling his weapon before striking.
Nani leaped upward, beating her wings twice to keep herself airborne long enough that when her feet touched the ground again she had her bow fully drawn and an arrow nocked.
"Vander, help Ein!" she told the dog quickly, sighting down the shaft of her arrow at Abel.
"I don't want to hurt you," she pleaded quietly.
Vander "barked" and rushed to his master's side. He growled at Reynard as the man approached.
Ein gave him a pat. "Just keep the others from interfering, okay boy?"
The animal chuffed in response and turned his attention to the henchmen.
Ein regarded Reynard with cold fury as he took the opportunity to don his gauntlets. "I suppose I'm lucky you at least have the pride to face me yourself."
Abel smirked cruelly. "I can't say the same." He stomped once, and a stone block jumped up from the ground, which he struck with his quarterstaff and sent flying at her.
Nani dodged the projectile, loosing her arrow to glance off Abel's arm.
She winced. She'd meant it to be a warning shot, but dodging the rock had thrown off her aim.
Reynard scoffed and twirled his rapier, pointedly casual. "It's not pride," he drawled back. "Call it a last gesture of respect that I'm facing you myself, rather than just putting you down with your bitches."
Abel sneered, ignoring the wound as he stomped again. This time, numerous shards arose. Swinging his staff through the shards, he dragged them through the air as he twirled and sent them flying at Nani.
"You underestimate how much strength farm life requires. I'm not as rusty as you think," Ein said. He clanged his fists together and dropped into a fighting stance. "Your move, Reynard."
Reynard rocked between his feet, sighting down the length of his rapier at Ein—then burst forward in a flash of movement, tip darting for the ex-farmer's throat.
Nani jumped again to avoid the stones, but a few clipped passed her ankles and she landed awkwardly, stumbling as her feet bore her weight again.
Hissing, she swung her bow up and loose another arrow, this one skimming just passed Abel's cheek.
Ein quickly deflected the blow with his left gauntlet and lunged close for a right hook at Reynard's side.
Abel brought a hand to his cheek and examined the blood on his finger with displeasure. "You're going to have to fight harder if you wish to live."
He magically reshaped his quarterstaff into a spear and stomped again, giving himself a stone shield. He lunged, shield out front to block her arrows, before pivoting into a stab with his spear.
Nani fell back, one step after the other, desperately trying to dodge the flurry of stone and the spear point at the same time.
Her heel caught on an uneven dip in the floor and she toppled backward with a cry, throwing her wings open in time to keep herself from collapsing entirely, but still one knee buckled.
Reynard spun away from Ein's fist, but the blow still grazed along his ribs. He bared his teeth, more in anger than pain, and jabbed for the other man's shoulder, elbow, and neck again in quick succession.
Ein prioritized protecting his neck, allowing the other strikes to land. At least Reynard could have sworn they landed. But there was no blood—only holes in Ein's shirt.
The former bandit countered with a lunge and a swift blow to the gut, using his longer arms to bridge the gap.
Abel came in for the kill, thrusting his spear straight for her heart.
Reynard was fast, but perhaps the two landed blows inflated his confidence--he didn't move fast enough to avoid Ein's strike, and doubled over with a gasping groan as the air was driven from his lungs.
Nani tried to duck away, to avoid, counter, anything, but she couldn't move fast enough; terror gripped her heart and she twisted into a ball, snapping her wings open with as much force as she could in a last desperate attempt to beat him back, to protect herself.
The spear lodged deep in the joint of her right wing, drawing a sharp cry of pain. But her left wing struck something solid--and threw it back into the wall of the crumbling fortress with a sickening crunch that she swore she could feel in her own bones.
Panting, still half-curled on her knees and trembling from the pulses of pain originating from the spear stuck in her wing, she forced herself to look up and saw Abel slumped against the wall, blood trickling from the side of his head.
For a moment, she thought he was dazed. Then she saw that his eyes were still open, and his chest wasn't moving.
Abel coughed, blood trickling from his mouth, as he lost consciousness. The unexpectedly powerful blow had completely overpowered the hulking Serenian. His fight was over.
Ein wrenched the rapier from Reynard's grasp and lifted him by the collar. "Now. You're going to let us walk out of here and never bother us again, or I'm going to break your sword arm. Good luck keeping the gang in line as a cripple."
Reynard glared, panting. He clearly wanted to spit in Ein's face—but he was already down one fighter, and the ex-farmer was more than capable of following through on the threat.
"Get out," he spat raggedly. "You, the bitch, and the mutt. Out. And never show your face in this territory again."
Ein drew him close enough to feel his breath. "You aren't in any position to give us conditions. We will go where we damn well please. Are we clear?"
He had no intention of coming this way again. But he'd be damned if he let Reynard define the terms. Not that he'd abide by them anyway; it was a matter of principal.
Reynard bared his teeth, but after a long moment he jerked his head in a single nod.
Nani was still crouched on the floor behind them, staring silently at Abel's slumped form against the wall. Sensing Ein was no longer in immediate danger, Vander had shuffled his way over to nose at her shoulder, whining softly.
She didn't even seem to notice him, just kept staring.
Ein shoved Reynard into his line of goons and walked over to Nani.
He looked over her injury with concern on his face. Putting a hand on her shoulder, he asked, "Can you walk?"
Nani looked up at him, eyes glazed. She glanced over her shoulder at the spear still lodged in her joint, and reached for it fuzzily, as though intending to pull it out herself.
Vander growled quietly, nudging her hand away, and looked up at his master with a worried whine.
Ein kneeled down beside her to examine the injury closer. "I'm sorry about this, but this spear has to come out."
He gave her a moment to steel herself before carefully pulling out the spear in one quick tug. He tore a strip from his shirt and wrapped the wound, wondering if she would ever fly again.
A soft cry, far too soft for the extent of the injury, forced itself from her lips, but she clenched her jaw against it quickly and nodded at Ein in a quick, jerky movement.
"I can--I can walk," she muttered as he wrapped her shoulder. Honestly, she could barely feel it; a small corner of her mind knew she must be in shock, but she couldn't make herself worry about it.
"Then we should go before Reynard rediscovers his spine," he urged.
Vander followed close at her side as they left the crumbling fort, alternately nuzzling her hand and giving growling death glares at any bandits he felt were too close. They were more worried about the humans and their unusual strength, but the possibility of tangling with an unknown animal certainly kept anyone from trying anything.
Once they had given themselves some distance from the bandit hideout, Ein looked her in the eyes. "He gave you no choice but to defend yourself. You know that, right?"
Nani moved where Vander and Ein directed, but she was silent and dazed the whole way. Eventually, the shock and adrenaline began to fade just enough that she was gradually starting to feel the pain from her shoulder.
When Ein stopped her, forcing her to meet his eyes as he told her she'd had no choice, she just...stared at him.
"...I didn't mean to," she mumbled, tongue feeling too thick in her mouth. "I just--I just wanted him off me..."
Ein gave her the kindest, most empathetic look she had seen him give another person. "I know you didn't. That's not who you are. All the same, he would have killed you, and anyone fighting to end a life has to accept the possibility that they will lose theirs. Or, in this case, get severely injured trying. I'm sure it's little comfort, but he knew what he signed up for."
He shook himself. "What I'm trying to say is that I've been where you are right now. For me, it got easier. But I hope you never have to find out how easily hurting people becomes second nature."
Nani stared at him for a long moment, blinking in that vague haze. And then some clarity came back into her eyes--just enough for them to well up with tears.
She leaned her head forward until her brow rested on his shoulder, but didn't actually move any closer to him. Her own shoulders trembled as she gulped back sobs.
Vander whined quickly and licked at the hand hanging limply from her injured shoulder, then looked up at Ein with an emotional intelligence that seemed to be the sole purview of a good dog--even when they had been mutated.
Stiffly, Ein patted her back in an attempt at quite possibly the most awkward hug in history. He felt ridiculous, but the way Vander had looked at him made it feel necessary.
When her eyes cleared a bit, she might notice the hole left in his shirt by Reynard's rapier. Strangely, there was no blood to speak of.
Nani took a few breath there, just trying to get herself under control so they could move on, could get away.
When she finally lifted her head and wiped at her eyes, she saw the torn fabric. Torn fabric, but no sign of blood.
She frowned. "Ein...didn't he hurt you? I mean—did you bandage yourself?" She supposed he could have, while she had been...drifting.
Ein regarded her in confusion as he felt his shoulder and found the tear. He stuck a finger through and felt where there should have been a wound. Jerking his hand away, he quickly moved it to his elbow. He spread the larger tear so that he could see and his confusion only grew.
Where there should be a gash, there was a line of skin that was the dark gray of mountain stone. "What in all hells..."
Looking between him and the patch of seemingly discolored skin, Nani frowned. "Is it--is that--was the blade poisoned?" It was the only explanation she could think of; her mentor had taught her there were several plant toxins that could cause a similar symptom, but now that looked quite like that.
It wouldn't explain the lack of blood, either.
"There's no break in the skin; it can't be poison," he said bemusedly.
As they watched, the discolored streak began to shimmer at the edges. It shrank, reverting to its normal color until it was gone entirely.
"Magic...?"
"I...it must be..." Still frowning, Nani reached out with the intent to examine the skin, then hissed as she realized she'd tried to use her bad arm without thinking.
Shaking her head and drawing the arm back in to her side, she looked up at him with a confused frown. "I thought you didn't have any magic?"
"I don't; at least none that I know of." Ein felt the vanishing discoloration. It was smooth but textured, like the stone it resembled.
"Whatever this is, I'm not consciously doing it, if I'm doing it at all," he added, clearly just as perplexed by the discovery. Could this be the secret to his incredible strength and durability? Was he enchanted in some way? But... when? Surely he'd remember.
Nani sighed and shook her head again slowly. "I—I don't know. I don't know much about magic in general, honestly."
Another wave of pain rocked out from her wing and she gritted her teeth, trying to push it aside. "Do you...know anyone who might be able to help? To tell you more?"
Ein rubbed his neck as he thought about it. "The village I grew up in before my mother passed had a trio of wise women. If any of them are still alive, they might be able to help. I suppose it's as good a destination as any."
"How far is it?" Nani asked--not argumentatively, but already trying to put a map in her head.
It occurred to her that she didn't even actually know where Ein was from; he'd never told her on the farm, and after that...well, things had gotten very complicated, very quickly.
"It's in southern Talu, so we're basically halfway there already." Ein wasn't entirely happy with going back there, but he needed answers. Answers to how he always seemed to avoid injury. Answers to why he always felt like a stranger to himself.
"Do you think you're okay to ride with that shoulder? If not, perhaps we can share a horse."
"I...I think so." She frowned slightly at her hastily bandaged shoulder and wing. "As long as we don't hit any really rough terrain, anyway. Oh!"
She blinked, then looked down at Vander before flicking her eyes back up to Ein. "Will he—I mean, can he keep up with the horses, do you think?"
She hadn't even really considered that part, she'd just been so focused on getting him back.
Ein regarded Vander with a quizzical expression. "Before he changed, I would have said no. But, as he is now, I have no idea. There's no telling what he can do now unless we test him."
"You up for a run, boy?" he asked.
Vander barked once in affirmation, wagging his tail.
Nani nodded; if he started to lag, they would stop and figure something else out.
She smiled faintly at Vander and reached down to pay his head before looking up to Ein again. "Alright. I suppose we'd best get moving then, while we've still got the light."
She knew she'd need to take better stock of her injury soon, but for now she just wanted to get away from here.
The journey southwest went surprisingly smoothly. Vander seemed as fast as any horse and, after spending some time in a nearby town for Nani to mend, they crossed the border into Talu with ease.
Eventually, they reached the village of Ulam in the shadow of the Thunderblacks. It had changed little from when he was a boy. At least, as far as he remembered with any certainty.
"I never thought I'd be here again," he said with bittersweet nostalgia.
Nani had retreated back into herself while they traveled. She did smile a bit more than she had—mostly at Vander—and this time there was less a sense that she was uncomfortable around Ein. It seemed more that she was uncomfortable with herself.
Of course, part of that was purely physical; her wing and shoulder had healed enough that she could travel, but the wound was still there. She certainly couldn't use the wing—and she spent a good deal of time trying not to think about what she would do if she never could again.
She glanced at Ein when he commented on his return, head tilted slightly. "Did you...like it here? Why did you leave?"
Ein let the wind blow through his hair for a long moment as he dredged up his memories. "There were good times and I suppose I was as happy as any kid in the village. But all of that is tainted by my mother's sickness. Then I went to live with my uncle in Tintintin, and he resented it as much as I did. It's no wonder I went down a dark path."
He wondered if anyone in the village even remembered him. It had been a long, long time, and he looked very different except for his bright orange eyes and his untamable crimson mane.
"You never told me about your mother," she noted quietly. "I'm...sorry."
She couldn't even really imagine that; her birth mother was one of the most important people in her life, she couldn't even begin to fathom what it would have been like to lose her as a child.
Not only that, but that Ein had been sent to an uncle far away—that there hadn't been other mothers and fathers ready to care for him. The mainland could be so...cold.
"What was your name here?" she asked abruptly, simply wanting to refocus her attention. "Ein? Or Navarre?"
Ein was surprised by the question. He hadn't thought she would believe him if he just told her that he hadn't lied about that. By the time she had started to trust him again, he had forgotten to bring it up.
"Ein really is the name my mother gave me. It... didn't feel right to do the things I did under it." Emotional honesty made him uncomfortable, but he had come that far. "Maybe it was just a cowardly way to distance myself, but I couldn't do it."
She nodded, accepting that easily enough. "Do you...have any family left here?"
She doubted it--if he did, he likely wouldn't have been sent away to live with someone else as a child. Still, there was a chance. And if he did, that seemed like the place to start with some questions.
He shook his head. "No. My mother was my only family here."
Exhaling slowly, he shook himself. "We should start asking around about the wise women. Even a village as small as Ulam has a tavern, so let's start there."
The Storm and Flame was the exact opposite of what its grandiose name suggested. It was a small, one-room establishment made of logs and planks, whose walls barely kept the wind out. What few patrons there were eyed the strangers warily.
"Stay, Vander," Nani told the...well, they still called him a dog, even though he clearly wasn't exactly that anymore. But what else were they supposed to call him?
She patted him in the head before following Ein into the tavern, promising, "We'll bring you something to eat." This earned her a lolling tongue and a happy bark, which made her smile a bit for just a moment.
Of course, even leaving Vander outside only did so much to minimize the attention they drew; Ein was eye-catching himself, with his muscled build and bright hair, and then of course she trailed on behind him with her wings and tattoos and well...they didn't have much chance of being "subtle".
"What can I do you for, travelers?" the barkeep inquired as the two approached.
Ein put some money down on the bar. "A couple mugs of ale, and some information."
That made some patrons nervous. The bartender frowned. "We don't much appreciate bounty hunters in these parts."
Ein supposed he looked the part, lack of proper equipment notwithstanding, so he couldn't fault the assumption. Still, the irony made him chuckle. "No, no, we're not bounty hunters. The name's Einhardt Alberic. I used to live here a long time ago. I just need directions to the wise women, assuming they're still with us."
"Alberic, you say? Must have been before I came to town. Unfortunately, they aren't. They did, however, pass on their knowledge to an apprentice. I can give you directions to her place."
Ein gave an appreciative nod. "Thank you."
Nani kept quiet, which did rather seem to be her default these days. She looked around while Ein talked to the barkeep, but it was more wariness than curiosity.
She noted the way the patrons shifted nervously and looked away, but didn't comment on it until the directions were relayed and they were moving out of earshot.
"Why don't they like mercenaries?"
Ein thought for a moment as they walked along the village's main dirt road. He could only guess from his own experience. "Most likely because, just like with lawmen, some are worse than the criminals they pursue. One such bounty hunter must have come through here."
Nani stopped in he tracks. Then she gave a short, sharp laugh that held absolutely no amusement in it.
"Of course," she muttered as she started walking again. "Of course they are. Why should there be a single, uncomplicatedly decent person in a position to wield power over others? What sense would that make?"
"In my experience, uncomplicatedly decent people don't seek power to begin with. And when it's thrust upon them, it invariably corrupts them. And when you're born into it, the corruption starts early," Ein answered thoughtfully.
"At least, that's the case with any race that thinks like humans do," he clarified. "I can't speak to how power works for those that don't."
"Is it the case?" Nani's voice was suddenly cold. Frigid, really. "I suppose Yoreiqis aren't human then, by that estimation, as we don't use power to subjugate."
She let that hang for a moment, then said bluntly, "If that were true, I'd rather be anything but human." She shook her head slowly. "But it isn't. That is...maybe it's true here, but it's not back home. I just...don't understand what's so different. Why the mainland is so different."
Realizing he put his foot in his mouth, he gave her a look of embarrassed apology. "I didn't mean it that way, Nani. I just--no, you're right. I guess it's cultural rather than anything innate."
"Better yet, ignore my cynical viewpoint entirely. I'm no scholar, nor have I met anyone with real power. What do I know of human nature?"
"No." Nani sighed quietly and started walking again. "I mean--I appreciate it. But...that is how things work here, at least as far as I've seen. You've only led the life that you have because they work that way."
She shrugged and shook her head again. "I suppose I just...don't understand it. Maybe if I'd been born here, raised here, I would." She ran a hand through her hair and sighed once more. "It's so frustrating, to know things could be different but they're just...not."
"That very anger is what put me on my dark path," he told her warningly. "I felt that lording my strength over those weaker than myself was only way to survive an unfair world. I felt power and strength were all that mattered."
In an unprecedented display of honest emotion, he looked her in the eyes with pure gratitude. "It wasn't until I met you that I truly understood how wrong I had been. The human Vander's death broke me, but you—you put me back together."
She cut a quick, sharp look in his direction. The barest echo of a smile flitted across her lips.
"Well. Maybe that's what I was supposed to do," she said quietly. "Maybe that's why you needed a Paladin."
"Maybe so," Ein responded.
Perhaps mercifully, the awkwardly emotional moment ended as they reached the house of the current wise woman.
Ein just stared at the dwelling in perplexed disbelief. "I... know this house..."
She cocked her head at him. "You do? Did you...visit the wise women as children?" Having no real idea how the structure of such a position worked, she assumed that the apprentice--well, the wise woman herself now--might have moved into her predecessors' lodgings.
Ein shook his head slowly as he tried to remember. He experienced a flash of memory—of pain and confusion—but it was gone just as quickly. "Only if we were sick and needed their medicines. But, no, this is—"
The front door opened and a woman about Ein's age emerged carrying a basket, presumably stepping out to pick herbs from her front garden.
He blinked. "Rosamund?"
She screwed up her face for a second in the same way she had as a girl. "Ein?" She laughed. "Holy hells, you got big."
Nani looked back and forth between Ein and the wise woman--Rosamund. She'd known the person they were going to meet would have had to have been younger than the old women Ein had described, but this woman was...their age. Well, maybe closer to Ein's age than hers, but the difference wasn't all that significant.
She hung back, unsure what she should be doing or saying. Vander pressed against her leg, but not in a nervous way; his tongue was lolling happily, ears perked, so she got the feeling he was more trying to comfort her than being wary himself.
"And you're the village wise woman now. How'd you swing that?" Ein asked curiously..
Rosamund shrugged, smirking. "What can I say? I had the knack for magic and Ulam isn't exactly full to the brim with mages. Less so now."
She looked over at his odd companions but didn't seem phased. "Why don't you all come inside? I sense you came for the wise woman, not the childhood friend."
"Um...yes. Please?" Nani offered. She felt suddenly more out of place than she had before, which was saying something--and she was also oddly and abruptly aware of her own accent. That wasn't even something that had occurred to her when meeting Ein's old gang.
Perhaps it had something to do with meeting someone he had a history with. Well, a history not steeped in violence, at least. This somehow felt...stranger. Like she was intruding on something.
Rosamund guided them inside, occasionally stealing a secret glance at Ein when he wasn't looking. It was as if she knew something that she didn't want to be the first to say. Not out of fear—out of something more akin to sadness.
Once in her kitchen, she prepared to put a kettle on. "Tea? I'm told my blend is quite good."
Ein glanced at Nani in a way that said that this was awkward enough for him. "I could use a cup. What about you?"
"Ah--yes. I mean, yes, please. Thank you?"
Vander whuffed softly at her, clearly judgmental, and Nani shot the animal a betrayed look. She glanced up at Ein and mouthed, What do we even ask her?
I'm making this up as I go along, he answered.
When the water was hot, she brought over her humble tea set over to talk while the tea steeped. Sitting, she studied Vander for a second before looking to Nani. "Your wings are quite lovely. We don't get many Yoreiqi in these parts."
Nani sipped carefully at her tea. When Rosamund complimented her wings, she choked quietly and quickly set it down again.
"O-oh, um, thank you," she murmured. "They're...not as colorful as some of my kinfolk, I'm afraid...ma'am?"
"Just Rosamund is fine," the wise woman chuckled. "I don't much stand on ceremony."
Ein stared at his childhood friend for a minute as he sipped. "I still can't quite believe you became the village wise woman. A lot must have happened to put the wild child I used to play with on that path."
Rosamund chuckled. "Nothing so dramatic as that, I'm afraid. I just grew up."
"Speaking of growing up; you sure got big and strong. If even one of the men around here were half as strapping, I would be married by now," she added with a laugh.
Ein actually flushed. "I... err... thanks?"
Nani snorted a bit into her tea, though she tried to cover it with a light cough. She couldn't say she really understood the concept of mainland marriage--at least, she understood it in theory, she just didn't find it particularly appealing--but she found Ein's reaction entertaining despite herself.
"How long have you...served your village this way?" she asked Rosamund, stumbling a bit as she wasn't sure exactly how to phrase what it was the woman did, seeing as...she still didn't really know.
"A few years now," Rosamund answered. "Ideally, I would have studied under the sisters for a few more years, but they divined that their... their time among us was drawing to an end and accelerated my education."
As if reading Nani's mind, she explained, "In this village, the wise woman is sort of the shaman, the healer, and the village historian all in one."
She gave Ein a sympathetic look. "And a keeper of secrets."
Nani looked back and forth between the two of them. When no further information was immediately forthcoming, she risked pressing, "Secrets?"
Her eyes flicked toward Ein—then inexplicably out the window where they'd left Vander curled in the yard—and back again. "What kind of secrets? I-if I can ask?"
Suddenly all business, Rosamund took one last sip before saying to Ein, "They told me that one day you'd return to Ulam, and why."
Ein was confused and... frightened? Why was—what did... suddenly the memory of pain became a little clearer and with it came anger. "... They did something to me... didn't they?"
Rosamund put a hand up to stop him. "I can guarantee you it's not whatever dark deed you're imagining."
Nani shifted uncomfortably in her seat as the energy in the room changed. She looked between the two old friend and felt abruptly even more out of place.
"Should I...go?" she asked quietly. The question was ostensibly for both of them, but she was looking at Ein.
He had promised he would be honest with her; while she appreciated and respected that, she at least wanted the honesty to be on his terms.
Ein shook his head. "No. Stay. I... want you here for... whatever this is."
Rosamund watched them curiously, wondering just what their relationship was. It didn't seem romantic. She gave them a moment anyway.
Nani held his eyes for a moment, then nodded slowly. "Okay," she murmured.
She looked back to Rosamund, and realized that the wise woman had been watching them. Her cheek darkened just a bit and she cleared her throat. "I'll just...stay. And be quiet," she mumbled awkwardly.
Ein turned his attention back to Rosamund with a repeat of his question in his eyes.
The wise woman took a slow breath and looked at him with empathy. "I've gone over this moment in my head over and over again, but I still don't know exactly how to tell you this. So, I'll just get to the point. Ein... well, you weren't born entirely human. But your father's people wouldn't accept you and your mother was worried humans wouldn't either. So, she asked the sisters to hide your true self."
"...Hide him? Like...with magic?" That would explain the healing, and those odd streaks of stony skin, at any rate.
It was a lot to absorb, but if she was being honest, it wasn't that surprising. At least not from what she'd seen—she had no idea how Ein would take it.
Ein wasn't sure how to feel. She had wanted to protect him, but how could she lock him into a body that wasn't his? All of his life, he had felt a strange disconnection with his body, something that played a part of its own in leading him down an angry path. He would need time to forgive her and the sisters.
"Yes," Rosamund answered. "They cast a powerful enchantment so that you may live as a human. But they weren't powerful enough for it to last forever. They knew that when it started to weaken, you would come back for answers, as your mother never got her chance to tell you the truth."
Ein exhaled slowly, asking the only possible question, "What am I?"
Rosamund hesitated briefly, but powered through. "Your father was of a reclusive clan of magic-blooded gargoyles living atop the Skyspear, deep in the Thunderblacks."
Ein had heard tales of a stone tower with no doors stabbing upward from a broken mountain like a spear thrown by a god, pieces of the mountain floating around the top to which they were bound by massive chains. But he hadn't heard that anyone lived up there.
Nani found herself once more looking back and forth between then, feeling quite at a loss. Finally, she decided just to eat the awkwardness and asked, "Gargoyle? Skyspear? I don't...what are those? I'm not familiar with any of those words..."
She honestly couldn't even tell if it was obscure Common that she just didn't know, or if there was more layers to it than that.
"Winged humanoid, stony hide, tough as nails, and often just as mean. Their appearance, other than that, varies wildly," Ein answered distantly. It explained every last strange thing about him: his strength, his resistance to physical damage, that longing whenever he saw a bird in flight, even his temper.
Rosamund answered the other question. "Skyspear is a mysterious pillar of stone piercing a shattered mountain in the Thunderblacks. The Skyspear Gargoyles are actually a rather civilized people, but they are a secretive and xenophobic breed."
Nani looked between them for a moment before noting wryly, "I can't imagine why—their human neighbors clearly have such a high opinion of them."
...Alright, she'd never been this sarcastic back home. Maybe it was something in the water on the mainland.
Ein hadn't known Nani to be that cynical, but he supposed that was what happened when your illusion of a kind world was shattered. He didn't know why, but hearing her talk like that hurt, as if he had corrupted her somehow.
"We—I guess I should say they—fear what they don't understand, and hate what they fear... at least, on the mainland they do. And humanity is uniquely adept at eliminating threats to itself, real or perceived."
"Aren't we just," Nani muttered, not seeming to realized she'd equated herself with that "they", with humans on the mainland.
She gave herself a little shake, automatically starting to fluff out her feathers and then wincing when her injured wing protested. "So." She looked to Rosamund. "Will the spell just...stop working? Or does it need a--a catalyst of some sort?"
"That's the decision he needs to make," the wise woman answered, turning her perceptive eyes back on Ein. "Do you want to have the spell prolonged, or do you wish to be what you were born to be? Keep in mind that if you choose the latter, I do not have the power to cast the spell anew. You may stay here while you think it over."
Ein couldn't yet say what he wanted. As liberating as it would be to finally belong in his own skin, it would make the immediate future even more uncertain. "Thank you, Rosamund, for not sugarcoating this... revelation. It gives me a great deal to think about."
Nani nodded her own thanks toward the wise woman, but her focus was on Ein, trying to read him.
She'd gotten rather good at that in the time they'd spent together on his farm, but things had changed as of late.
"Do you want to be alone?" she offered quietly after a few moments. "To...think?"
Ein nodded stiffly, still stunned by the unexpected truth. "For a little bit, yes. But I... I'll want to talk my thoughts through with you once I have thoughts to share."
"Of course." She reached out to touch his hand, but hesitated and then pulled back, unsure. "I'll just...I'll wait outside with Vander. Whenever you're ready."
She nodded to him, then stood and made her way to the door.
Sometime later...
Vander lifted his head from Nani's lap as Ein stepped out of the house. The large man seemed, paradoxically, both diminished and more free. He wasn't even sure himself which he was.
Quietly, he sat down by her and gave Vander a pat.
Nani kept quiet when Ein joined them, continuing to scratch Vander's ears. She certainly had quite a few questions, but she decided to wait until Ein decided he wanted to speak--it seemed only fair, given the circumstances.
She did move closer to him when he sat, just for a moment, just long enough to press her shoulder to his in a brief show of solidarity before she moved back again.
"If I give up living as a human, I don't know what comes after that." Ein chuckled ruefully. "But I guess that's where we are either way."
He sighed heavily. "I just don't know who I am anymore. Not after having my life fall apart all over again."
"Every single time I find my footing, something comes along to shove me off whatever path I'm on," he said in a tone of aimless anger and frustration.
"...If it's any consolation," Nani murmured after a moment, "I think I know how that feels..."
She'd spent her whole life being pulled, feeling out of place, that there was somewhere else she needed to be, someone she needed to be with. And then she'd found him--and in just a few short months that had all come crashing down around them.
That, along with most of her understanding of him, and of herself. She was still working to build those understandings back up.
She looked down at Vander, who had settled his head between them on Rosamund's stoop. With a faint smile, she patted his head and added, "Vander seems to manage it alright."
"Dogs are enviably simple creatures." Ein smiled slightly as he scratched the animal behind an ear. "Though he does seem less so now. Still... to be so easy to please is a blessing."
After a moment of quiet contemplation, he asked, "Is it even possible to figure out who I am without first experiencing what I am?"
"It sounds like you've made a decision already," Nani pointed out gently. She continued to pet Vander, then let her hand slide among the not-dog's back to touch Ein's hand lightly.
Ein didn't pull away from the touch. The contact felt more reassuring than he would have thought. She had quickly become an essential part of his life that he couldn't imagine being without. It wasn't love, he knew; it was just that she was exactly the friend he needed to get through all of this hardship with his sanity intact.
He nodded. "I'm tired of being something I'm not, in every sense of the phrase. It's long past time to find out what it is I truly am. Because I'm not a bandit, I'm not a farmer; I'm something else, something I haven't even imagined yet."
Her mouth twitched up just faintly on one side, and she gave his hand a little squeeze before pulling back. "If you could be anything," she started softly, "anything at all--regardless of our heritage...what would you want to be?"
Ein released a dry chuckle. "As a kid, I dreamed of being anything that would get me out of the boonies. An explorer, a dragon knight, a prince... every one more impossible than the last."
After a second, he added, "These days, I just want to see the world beyond the small slice I've lived in. Which, I guess, is just what an explorer is."
"Well, it sounds to me like you could do that as a human or a gargoyle," Nani pointed out gently, forming the new word a little more slowly and carefully than the rest to make sure she was getting it right. "So if there's any thought of that keeping you tied to this particular shape..."
"That is true. But ever since I learned the truth, the old feeling of wrongness is more powerful than ever. I'm tired of feeling that way," he answered wearily.
"I know it won't erase my crimes, but it's time Aldebrand Navarre ceased to exist in total. Perhaps in this new life, I can finally begin to atone for my crimes."
"It sounds like you've made a decision," Nani noted quietly. Vander gave a huffing whine that she took as a noise of agreement, and she scratched at his jaw. "Do you just...tell Rosamund, then? That you want the spell lifted."
"I'll give it until the morning in the event I have second thoughts, but yes," he answered.
He patted the ex-canine. "What do you think, boy? I'm going to look more like you, just without the wormy bits."
Vander gave a muffled bark of excited agreement and nuzzled his master's hand.
Ein chuckled. "I think that about settles that he's smart now."
"Oh, he was always smart," Nani laughed lightly, scratching Vander between his shoulders. She gave Ein a quick look and nodded slightly.
"Well. Whatever you choose, I--I'm with you."
Ein actually smiled. "Thank you, Nani. It means a lot that you're still with me."
Before he could get any more emotional, he stood up. "Rosamund should be done preparing dinner about now. We should head in."
"Are you sure you want me to.." She trailed off, unsure how to complete the thought. "I mean...I don't mind waiting out here with Vander for a bit, if the two of you wanted to...catch up?"
"We can always catch up after we eat. I'm sure you are dying for a hot meal as much as I am," he responded, offering her a hand to pull herself up with.
"You shouldn't feel awkward. After so long away from here, we're almost strangers to each other."
She took his hand to stand, but still seemed...hesitant. Or maybe shy was a better word.
"Well...if you're sure." She tried for a small smile, then gave Vander one last pat on the head before following Ein back inside the small house.
The next morning, Ein told Rosamund his final decision. It was past noon by the time she had prepared, returning from the room they were to use to find the pair engaged in companionable silence. The big man rose from his seat and looked to Nani.
"Wish me luck. When next you see me, I'll finally be myself."
Nani smiled at him and nodded. "Luck," she murmured.
She felt...oddly comfortable. She took it as a good sign--maybe her role as his Paladin was approving of the decision, if that made sense.
If anything about them made sense.
Ein disappeared into the other room. Nani could hear muffled incantations as the procedure began. Light swelled through the gap under the door as magic flooded the room. She could feel the current as the metaphysical chains binding her Charge fell away. Then he began to groan and cry out as his true form asserted itself, but she couldn't sense any actual danger.
Eventually, the room fell silent and the sense of power was gone. Rosamund stepped out and gave her a nod. "He wants to see you now."
Nani found herself pacing like an anxious parent; she trusted the pull between herself and Ein enough by now to trust that she would know, somehow, if something had gone wrong.
That didn't make it any easier when he started crying out.
She was practically vibrating when Rosamund told her she could go in—and yet somehow she stopped herself right in the doorway, suddenly unsure.
"...Ein?"
A familiar chuckle came from inside the room, though Ein sounded exhausted by the ordeal his body had been through. "Oh, come in already."
When she did, she would be confronted with the being he had become. The face was nearly the same, but with sharp teeth, pointed ears, and hairless eyebrows adorned with broad spikes. He also possessed a quartet of horns that appeared to be made of the same dark granite-like material as his skin.
His bare chest was as free of hair as everything aside from his signature red mane. There was a broad spike upon each elbow and knee, and fingers and toes were tipped with sharp claws that blended seamlessly into his flesh--five fingers, but three toes at the end of digitigrade legs. From his back, he extended large draconic wings and, from his torn pants, a long, tapered tail with a webbed spade at the tip.
"Well? Is it at all what you imagined?" he asked.
Nani froze again when she saw him--from shock, this time, rather than simply hesitation.
Without thinking, she breathed the first thought that came to mind: "You're beautiful."
She blinked, seemed to remember herself somewhat, and gave herself a little shake. "I-I mean...how do you feel? You have a tail. And wings!"
"Beautiful, am I?" Ein genuinely laughed, lighter in spirit than he'd been in a very long time.
He grew thoughtful. "I feel... I feel like I've been crammed into a ball as long as I can remember, fighting to break free, and now I'm finally free to stretch."
Nani smiled, perhaps a tad bashfully, and nodded. "I think so, anyway," she replied with a small shrug.
Her smile widened and softened a bit when he continued. "I'm glad you feel...better." She couldn't even imagine living as he had--especially seeing him now.
"Most definitely." Ein flexed his wings and frowned thoughtfully. "And I'll be even better when I learn how to actually use these things."
Flight. The idea made him smile. He had long dreamed of being that free—to not be bound by even the Earth.
Nani' smile turned a little wry. "Wish I could be more helpful with that," she noted with a soft, dry chuckle. "Mine aren't exactly proper flying equipment on my best day."
And she hadn't even tried gliding since her wing had been injured. She didn't know if she still could.
Rosamund cleared her throat behind Nani. "I've been thinking about that. I believe I can heal them and even enhance them for true flight. You wouldn't be much of a protector if you couldn't keep up with your charge, now would you?"
Nani stared slightly and turned to look at the wise woman. "You can...do that?" she asked, wide-eyed. "I—I didn't think that sort of thing was possible..."
"Normally I wouldn't have the power, but we just so happen to have a magical creature to act as a catalyst," Rosamund answered.
Ein had to remind himself that she meant him. But what did she mean by that?
"Your blood, dear Einhardt. You saw what it did to counter what infected your dog. Imagine what a skilled mage could do with it," she told him.
"His blood?" Nani repeated. She didn't sound as put off by the idea as many mainlanders might have been, merely startled. "I mean...but wouldn't that...change me? Like it did Vander?"
"Oh, no, nothing like that," she reassured. "It merely interacted with the process his body was already undergoing."
Noticing Ein's dubious expression, she said, "This, of course, assumes you are okay with a little benign blood magic. I'm not the kind of mage to do anything without permission."
The newly freed gargoyle nodded. "Take whatever you need. I'm not one to get hung up on superstition or a little pain."
"I..."
Nani hesitated. Healing her wing would certainly be a boon, but the rest... It felt like a big decision. Not as big as the one Ein had just faced, but bigger than anything she was used to.
But...the idea of being able to fly... Not just glide, but fly.
She looked to Rosamund and nodded once, sharply. "Yes. If Ein is comfortable with it, then yes. Please."
The mage smiled. "Excellent. Just give me a little time to make sure I have everything I need."
Sometime later...
The three were seated around a magic circle as Rosamund mashed several unfamiliar and odorous ingredients into a fine paste in her mortar bowl. She stepped over to Ein, who nodded and cut his hand with one claw before squeezing a few drops into the mixture. Rosamund stirred the blood in and nodded to Nani.
"I need you to expose your back. I have to apply this to your wing muscles."
"Right." She nodded swiftly and turned to offer access to her back, easily stripping off the rather well-worn tunic that had been with her since Ein's farm. Unlike most mainland women, she didn't wear a breastband--there wasn't really a way to get one on comfortably, not with her wings--but she also didn't seem to care overmuch about her own "modesty" either.
"Is this...what will this feel like?" she asked curiously, and with perhaps a bit of trepidation, over her shoulder.
"Warm and itchy, but there should be no pain. The spell won't reshape anything; it will merely strengthen your musculature so that your wings do not tire so easily," she responded as she moved behind the Yoreiqi woman.
She began slathering the paste on her wing muscles and select spots along the wings themselves, paying special attention to Nani's wound. The substance didn't seem to warm until Rosamund poured magic through it, at which point the familiar itch of knitting flesh grew almost unbearable.
Nani help perfectly still while Rosamund worked, a state she tried to continue throughout the process. But after a minute or so the itching grew so bad that she started to fidget helplessly, and clenched her hands into fists in her lap. Her wings trembled with the effort it took to remain still.
"How—how long should I wait?"
"Until the itching stops and the warmth fades," she answered as she began kneading Nani's muscles to encourage the magic further.
After a good half of an hour, the sensations suddenly faded. What was left was the invigorating soreness of a lengthy exercise session.
Though she knew it was under an hour, Nani felt like she sat there for half the day waiting for the discomfort to fade. When it finally did, she sighed and cautiously rolled both shoulders and wings back.
She winced at the soreness, but it wasn't pain, exactly, and that was certainly a marked improvement. She looked up at Rosamund hopefully. "Can I—I mean, is it...done?"
Rosamund nodded. "It is. But I recommend you both rest before you attempt to fly. Your bodies have been through a lot for one day."
"You most of all," she told Ein pointedly. "None of your tough guy nonsense, do you hear me?"
Ein chuckled. "Alright, alright, I'll be good. Gods, I forgot I was like that as a kid."
Was?
Nani snorted quietly and shot him a droll look at his use of the past tense, but didn't comment. She glanced to Rosamund and asked hopefully, "Could I at least...go out? I'm not sure I could stretch to my full wingspan in here--not to try them," she added hurriedly, "but my whole back feels...tight."
Rosamund smiled and chuckled lightly. "Yes. Of course you can. Just take things slow and you'll be fine."
"I actually need to step out myself. I need to take Ein's new measurements to the seamstress. Can't very well let him walk around with nothing but torn underpants." She smirked.
"Perhaps you should come with me and show her how your shirt works. She's never made clothes for anyone with wings before."
She nodded obediently. "Of course, if you like." She gathered up her shirt, holding it bundled in front of her chest but not seeming all that inclined to put it back on. She glanced back at Ein over her shoulder.
"You'll, ah, be alright?"
Ein chuckled. "I can handle being alone, if that's what you're worried about."
"I think I'll visit with Vander and take a nap. That really did tire me out."
Nani smiled and nodded at him. "We'll see you in a bit then." She looked to the wise woman and dipped her head respectfully. "Lead on then, Mistress."
After a day of rest, Ein was excited to give his true body a workout. It was the first time since his childhood that he could remember looking forward to what the day might hold. Nani had never seen him with anything like the bounce he had in his step when he emerged in his new clothes.
The cloth and leather ensemble Rosamund had provided weren't anything fancier than he was used to wearing, but it was new and it was the first thing that truly fit him as he was meant to be. Turning to give the ladies a complete look, he asked, "Well?"
Sitting with Vander--who had been allowed into the house after a combined effort of puppy eyes from himself and the Yoreiqi woman--half in her lap, Nani smiled faintly and nodded at him.
"You look comfortable," she noted softly. It wasn't even that he'd looked uncomfortable before, at least not in an obvious way. But now, seeing him as he was supposed to be, she couldn't help comparing it to the way he used to hold himself and noticing in retrospect the difference.
"I just hope getting this kind of shirt on gets easier. But, yes, comfortable is a good way to put it." He sat on Vander's opposite side and gave his back a stroke.
"Have you thought about where we go after this? I have, but I want to know what you think first."
"I expect you'll get used to it," she chuckled. It had certainly been an adjustment for her, coming from the islands and facing the social expectations of modesty that permeated the mainland--a sarong or simple wrapped band was so much easier to adjust to one's wings than the laced contraption she'd had to contend with since leaving home.
"And I...suppose I assumed we'd be going to the Thunderblacks," she answered after a moment. "To find your father's people?"
"That's what I've been thinking. I'm just... hesitant to get you involved in another potentially dangerous situation so soon. Rosamund didn't make them sound like the type to welcome guests graciously. And if my mother didn't believe I'd be welcome, they might react poorly to a half-breed showing up." He made a strange, uncomfortable face when referring to himself as a half-breed.
"Maybe." Nani shrugged slightly, head turned slightly downward as she stroked Vander's back. "I can't make the choice for you—but I don't suppose we'll know what they'd think until we try to talk to them."
Ein grew solemn. "I... need to know if I have a home to go to, if my father lives, and if he does, why he never made himself known to me."
He smiled softly, grateful to have a friend to support him. He didn't think he'd have the courage to do it alone. "And I'd be honored for you to meet him with me."
She smiled back and nodded slightly. "Of course."
What else could she do? He was her Charge--but more than that, he was her friend. And this was what he wanted. He deserved answers, and if he wanted her to go with him while he found them, she would.
Ein nodded. "Then it's settled."
"But first..." He actually grinned, excited for once. "We learn to fly."
Vander barked, as if he wanted to have wings too.
Nani laughed and got to her feet, patting Vander apologetically. "Sorry, boy. We'll be back soon. Be good, okay?"
Vander whuffed, dejected, and stared at them balefully, but padded away to make himself comfortable in the shade of Rosamund's porch.
Nani looked to Ein and tilted her head slightly. "Well...I know how to glide. Perhaps we'd best start from higher ground?"
Ein nodded.
The slope that the village rested on led up to a large outcropping overlooking the area. It was quite a majestic view of the lands to the north and the perfect spot to test one's wings.
Ein gazed over the edge, feeling a sense of nostalgia for the view. "I think I used to climb up here when nobody was looking, just to feel like a king for a few minutes."
"A king?" Nani repeated as she moved up beside him to look out over the edge. Slowly, she shook her head. "Maybe. I mean, I can understand that, from what I know of your childhood--but I wonder if it was...this." She gestured to his new form. "This part of you, looking for freedom."
Ein smiled slightly as he thought about that. "I think you're right. High places have always relaxed me. Knowing that I have blood ties to a place higher than the Thunderblacks certainly explains that."
He flexed his wings, letting them feel the wind. It was freeing to even simply imagine flying on them—to escape the tyranny of the ground and soar.
"Right." Nani judged the slope of the hill, then glanced between herself and Ein. "Well, if we're going to do this, we should start trying on that southward lee." She pointed. "The slope is gentler there, so if we fall it shouldn't be too bad."
Ein nodded and climbed down from the outcropping. Once at the specified location, he asked, "So... How does this work? I expect instinct to take over once I'm airborne but I don't even know where to start."
Nani drew her bottom lip between her teeth. "To be honest...I'm not entirely sure myself," she admitted with a small huff. "I've never really properly flown before--I mean, island hoping, sure, but that tends to rely quite a bit on the winds off the water..."
She tilted her head, cautiously spreading her own wings and flexing her shoulder muscles experimentally. With a soft huff, she shrugged and looked up at him. "So far, my only real plan is to...run down that slope, and try to use the momentum for a takeoff. Make sense?"
Ein nodded, eyeing the slope to calculate his plan of attack. "I always did learn best by doing. But perhaps it's best if I see you do it first. You at least have experience gliding."
Nani nodded firmly. "Right. Okay then."
She spread her wings carefully, rolling her shoulders back, feeling the newness of the strength in those muscles. She took a few steps back, then started jogging down the slope, picking up speed gradually until when she hit the middle of the hill's incline she was nearly sprinting.
Then she jumped, beating her wings downward sharply--and she was flying.
It was much different that long "hops", like she'd employed in their trial by combat, or catching the wind to glide further distances. She could feel the strength in her wings scooping and molding the air beneath them, and it took a few moments before she figured out how to angle her body properly.
She only flew to the base of the hill, then dropped down for a stumbling landing, but she was laughing. The first proper laugh she'd had in a while.
Ein flashed a grin and chuckled quietly. "Wish me luck!" he called down to her.
He spread his wings and sped down the slope, faster and faster, until he leaped into the air. With a powerful flap of his webbed wings, he launched himself into the sky. It took him a few frightening seconds to level off, but once he did, he began to feel the natural exhilaration and joy of flight.
The gargoyle repeated her staggering landing, laughing happily. "That! Was! Amazing!"
Nani beamed, then suddenly bounced forward to wrap her arms around his neck exuberantly.
"It was," she agreed with another little laugh. "Imagine doing that with practice!"
Ein grinned excitedly. "Gods... how did I ever live without this feeling?"
Suddenly registering the rather intimate closeness of her embrace, he flushed, turning his gray cheeks faintly purple. "I... err..." he stammered, unable to form proper word.
Feeling him suddenly tense up awkwardly, Nani quickly stepped back. "Oh--um, sorry," she muttered, glancing away and scuffing one foot against the earth.
She hadn't really been thinking, just...reacted. But now she thought of it, she and Ein had never exactly been particularly physically affectionate with one another.
Gods, she missed home. Missed the comfort of casual contact.
"We should, ah, try again," she said quickly, turning to make her way back up the hill. "Get some practice in."
Several practice attempts later...
Ein soared over the village with a whoop. "Catch me, if you can!" He felt like an entirely different person in the air—someone vibrant and happy. For the moment, he wasn't hung up on whether or not he deserved that. He was just... in the moment for once in his life.
More content to coast on the updrafts, Nani chuckled a bit and beat her wings twice to start to match his speed.
"Above you," she called lightly as she caught a breeze and allowed it to buoy her a good fifteen feet up and over him before diving shallowly back to his altitude.
Ein laughed. "Playing it that way, are we?"
He caught an updraft and rocketed further skyward with a few beats of his wings. This was what true freedom was like: the freedom to go anywhere and see everything.
Nani watched him rise with a small smile before beating her wings firmly to follow him upward.
"I keep expecting it to stop working," she laughed lightly. "Whatever Rosamund did to my wings, I keep expecting it to...wear off."
Ein smirked. "I know what you mean; I keep expecting to suddenly change back into a human and plummet to my doom."
As they reached the edge of town, he banked back towards Rosamund's house. "On that note, perhaps we shouldn't tempt fate further... for now."
"You're probably right." She chuckled again and followed him into a shallow bank and dive, then touched down and ran a few paces to lose momentum from her flight.
She stretched and flexed her wings a few times before folding them into her back.
She glanced an Ein and smiled slightly. "I have a feeling we're going to be sore tomorrow."
Ein touched down an instant before her, but not as gracefully, nearly losing his balance. Folding his own wings, he nodded. "Agreed."
Rosamund, who had been watching from outside the back door, clapped. Smiling, she said, "Impressive for a first flight. At least, I would think."
Nani shrugged with a little smile and spread her hands. "Honestly? I don't much know myself. But it felt good."
Her smile widened when Vander came bounding over to them, and she knelt to wrap her arms around his neck. "Aw, did you miss us? Sorry, boy--we'll figure something out for you."
Rosamund laughed. "I've got just the thing in mind for that. I can bake some treats for him with a featherweight potion mixed in. That way, you can easily carry him if you need to."
"I suppose that is more realistic than finding a way to give him wings too," Ein chuckled lightly as he too kneeled to give Vander some affection.
Vander grunted with pleasure at the attention, rolling over for a belly rub that Ein was happy to provide.
"That sounds like a wonderful solution," Nani said with a smile for the wise woman. The expression softened slightly and she tilted her head a bit. "Thank you, for everything you've done for us. Truly."
Rosamund waved the gratitude away. "No need for thanks; I am merely setting right the mistakes of my predecessors. They always regretted how what they did tore Ein up inside."
"But you've gone the extra mile, so thank you all the same," Ein said, not letting her off that easy.
Nani nodded rapidly in agreement, still smiling at Rosamund. "If there's anything we can ever do to repay your kindness, don't hesitate to ask," she said softly.
Vander rolled up from his belly rubs and barked agreement, ears perked happily.
"I'll... keep that in mind." The Wise Woman smiled shyly, finding receiving gratitude awkward.
Ein could sympathize, having never been one for niceties. So, a change of subject was in order. He could smell food, so he went with that.
[ Continued Here (https://www.spiritsoftheearth.net/smf/index.php?topic=27397.0) ]