Chapter the Second.
Long step, short fall.
Disclaimer. See the Chapter the First.
I lay where I fell. Well, I lay where I rolled to after I fell anyway. I think the conductor chick was pretty amused, though too professional to show it, when I bid her a, "cheery day," right before I jumped off the back of the train. Being thrown of a moving train sounds a great bit more dramatic than it actually was. I took two steps to build momentum, aimed away from the tracks and towards the grass, jumped, applied a cushioning charm mid-air, rolled light-as-you-please, and came to rest.
So, anyway, continuing. I lay where I fell. All my limbs seem to be working alright, my satchel is undamaged, and the sky is the kind of brilliant blue that you really can't take your eyes off of. I decide to have that cigarette I had been talking about earlier.
"Thank you kindly," I call after the train, long gone in the time it took me to find and light my fag, while waving the hand carrying it lightly above me. "It's a pleasure to be taking a part in what I'm sure is a fine and longstanding tradition for new additions to your delightful little town on the border."
"You're welcome," a voice calls back. I drop my cigarette onto my chest in surprise. Swearing, I get it back in my hands quickly. "It's a fine thing to be welcoming you here, as a new addition."
"Thanks," I say. Still laying down I angle my head so I can see the source of the voice.
"Enjoying the view?" a second one asks as I finally track them down. Underneath a tree the two of them sat. They wore dark dusty leather, and sat on dark dustier bikes. Their hair was black and spiky, and their skin was just a few shades paler. The shade from the oak they rested under blurred just about all distinctions beyond that, but I get the distinct impression that the second voice was female. I also realize that the two of them are elves. Not the shriveled pathetic things that so many families of wizard treated with disdain. Tall thin and wild looking elves, from beyond the Border in Faerie. Proud and beautiful.
"Struck dumb by it, I say," the first one, the male, responds back to his companion.
"Eh?" I grunt, before realizing that I had completely ignored the question in favor of ogling the two of them. Smooth Harry, real smooth. I recover as best I can. "Aye, words be failing me." I turn back to staring at the sky, though I keep my magic near the underneath. I've no way of knowing if their friendly, but no reason to assume otherwise at the moment. Still, caution is usually the best. Constant Vigilance! and all that.
"Why's that? Never seen a sky before?" the female asks, sounding mocking.
"Took me years to escape from my cave," I admit. "Didn't realize it would be so blue."
"Right." The male snorts at my lame comeback.
"Well, I've never seen an elf before either, but I thought staring at you all would be rude," I send back. "But really, it is such a nice shade, and that cloud over there looks so much like fish, would either of you be caring to join me?"
A brief silence answered my response. The male spoke up. "Not so much a fish. I'd lean more towards a lizard."
The female snorted. "Anyone with a brain would see it for what it is."
"And that is?" I ask, taking the penultimate drag on my cigarette.
"Toad."
"Toad?" I tilt my head a bit and look at the aforementioned cloud.
"Toad," the male said in agreement.
"Never much liked toads," I admit, before flicking my cigarette away from me. I sat up cross-legged and turned to face the two. Adjusting my satchel I ask, "So what can I be doing for the two of you?"
As they looked at me, I looked right back, and this time my view was a bit better. I was right in my estimation of gender. One male, one female. They're of similar size and features. Probably siblings. The females neck is a bit longer, and her hair shorter. Both their skin is dark, and though their bone structure is delicate and aristocratic, their skin is rough and pitted. I'd heard that some elves dye their features and hair to match human folk, but I doubt any of the proud race would scar themselves purposefully. I take in their features, and realize that these aren't elves. They're half elves.
"Got a bit of potential, this one," the male says to his companion, ignoring me.
"As a recruit or as a meal?" the female returns.
"For half of you I be thinking I could do as a mate," I break in. The female turns to me, and her eyes narrow, before I finish, "but he'll need to shave first."
The male grins. His teeth are sharp and feral. The female snorts, guttural, but surprisingly feminine sound. "He has a sharp tongue. Perhaps he's the lost heir of Elfland," she responds, ignoring my interruption.
"Okay, you talked me into it. You can be first in my heart," I smile at her. The male grins again as the female gives me a look.
"A sharp tongue indeed, Sis. I'm leaning towards recruit, though if you want the second or third option, I'll stand aside," he says to the female, newly identified as his sister. I grin in response, and wag my eyebrows at her. I honestly have no idea if I've really offended either of them, but the way they had been looking at me had led me to believe they were looking for something. I had decided to show a little character, and see if that had been what they were looking for. Seems I'm right.
"I'm tempted by one of those," she says, tilting her head down so she could peer out at me from beneath her lashes. She licked her lips in a way that could imply either mate or meal. "But since you seem so intent on it, he's yours." She kicked off the ground and gunned her bike up. The exhaust it left behind as she sped away smelled like wild flowers. I watched her drive away, before turning to the remaining elf.
"I don't be meaning to offend, guy," I say to him, "but your sister driving away there? Smoking hot."
"To lose your interest so fast? My heart will never mend," he shoots back easily. Good. I didn't want to seem weak and easy pickings if they were predators looking for new meat, but I didn't want to make an enemy if they were merely being playful. If he banters so easily, it looks like I've managed to keep from making enemies today.
Harry Potter, not getting in trouble for his inability to keep his mouth shut. Mark the day in gild and gold, it's a first.
I stand up, brushing my self off before beginning to walk in the direction that both the train and the girl had gone in. "Bordertown is this way, isn't it?" I ask him.
He kicks off the ground as well, but merely walks his bike besides me as I climb off the meadow I had landed in, and start walking down the highway that had shadowed tracks for most of the trip. "Walk this road long enough and you'll find your way there," he tells me as he keeps pace with me.
"Aye, but will I be making it before sundown, that's the question," I return.
"What you'll do when you get there is just as important," he says while pacing me on foot.
I dodge the implied question with one of my own. "Is gas as expensive here as it be in the World?" I nod at his bike.
The half elf grins at me, before leaning over and tapping what looks like a cigar box wrapped in duct tape and marked in neon pen. My eyebrow raises despite myself.
"Is that a spell box?" I ask, interested. It's the first time I've seen one. Spell boxes are one of the more famous little doohickeys from Border folklore out in the World. Designed to power pretty much anything from the ambient magic that soaks these lands, and particularly attached to the "spell wired" bikes of the roving gangs. I was expecting something a little more delicate or arcane, but I suppose not everything is what it seems out in Bordertown. It was one of the reasons I've come here. I focus my magic on it briefly and the construct seems to purr beneath my attention.
My companion dodges the question as easily as I ignored his earlier. "What brings you to our fine city?" he asks instead. I look at him for a moment, thinking of my answer. Most of the runaways come out here for the same reasons. To get away from something at home, to look for something magical that can't be found in the World, or for the just plain stupidity of teenage adolescents.
"The scenery," I tell him. "What be bringing you to this stretch of road?" I return in kind.
"The company," he flashes back just as quickly. We're both grinning at each other, the banter easy. I'm truly enjoying this first experience in this new place. The conversation is easy back and forth, just two strangers getting the feel for the other. No expectations, no admiration, no fear…
The half elf continues. "And now that you've succeeded in admiring the view, where are you heading next?"
"Bordertown, though I've not yet been getting around to planning beyond that," I admit.
"Need a ride there?" he asks.
"This part of your recruiting?" I ask, turning my head to give him my attention. He wasn't being too subtle, but he had caught my attention none the less.
"Aye. If you haven't been around to planning the next stage of your journey, then I would recommend you make a home, however brief, at Castle Pup," he finished with a flourish and a little bow.
"And what may this Castle Pup be being?" I probe cautiously. We had made it onto the road and were now tracking down it at an easy walking pace. A ride and a place to stay were tempting things to be thinking about, but I do know better than to jump in without a little background.
"Castle Pup is the home of the Strange Larvae. We're a mixed bunch: humans, elves and halfies. Though it might mean that the Pack and the True Bloods don't care much for us, they're much to busy with each other to hassle us."
"A tempting thought," I admit. The Pack was the predominant gang of pure humans, while the True Bloods were their elfish counterpart. Neither one has a reputation for tolerance, even back in the World. That isn't to say that Bordertown has a reputation of violence and bloodshed, but no matter where you go there will always be someone fighting about something.
"You have somewhere else? A mansion, perhaps, up on the Dragon Tooth? If so, perhaps you can be putting me up instead."
"Well, I talked to my agent about acquiring one, but after careful review, none of them were up to my incredibly high standards." I pause for a second before continuing. "Though it just might be likely that a castle might be more my style." The half elf grins at my response. "You be feeling the urge to be telling me a little more of these pupae?"
"We look after our own as best we can, though it's not the most luxurious of life styles. You bring in a little extra food when you can for everyone. Sometimes you'll be asked to cook or clean if you can't bring in the food. Beyond that, it's pretty much do your own thing."
"No secret handshakes or sinister motives," I ask sounding disappointed . The half elf snorted. "Doesn't sound like to bad a place," I ad, honestly. "I just might be taking you up on it." The half elf grinned, teeth flashing white and sharp for a moment. "But first, you got a name?"
"Called Mooner, after a habit of my youth," he tells me. "How about yourself?"
He stops, realizing that I already had. When he had told me his name, I had gone very still. He looks at me, cautious at my sudden action, though I just look at him with a serious face.
"Mooner, huh," I breathe. The name had called to mind another name I had known once in my youth. I shake my head quickly and catch up with him. He continues to look at me strangely. "Sorry, I had a friend once named Moony. After the thing in the sky. Be catching me by surprise is all."
Mooner nods slowly in response to my explanation. "With a name like that he must have been a devilishly handsome fellow, full of wit and wisdom."
I smile slightly at that. "Aye, though a great deal more modest I imagine." I pull my thoughts away from my old friend. "Well I guess I should be introducing myself in return, eh?" I extend my hand to Mooner. "I be called B.S.P." Mooner shook my hand.
"B.S.P? What's it stand for?"
"Exactly," I nod at him without answering.
"Well enough, BS," he says, and motions to the spot behind him on his bike. I climb on at his invitation. "Heading anywhere special?" he asks as he guns his engine and takes off.
"Anywhere special be the exact where I'm headed," I answered as we roared off towards the Town at the Border of Faerie.
