This chapter is coming up earlier than intended because:
1. The last chapter was such a disappointment to me (despite the lovely comments I had about it. Thanks guys!)
2. The last one also took forever to be put up, but this came in, like, three minutes.
3. This chapter is also painfully short.
Basically, it's all the last chapter's fault, and it needs to be PUNISHED! Well... eh, you catch my drift, hopefully.
EDIT: Altamira to Heimdall in two days? THAT'S CRAZY TALK! That's all I changed, because I realised my geographical skills are shite and walking all the way across a continent would take a while longer than a day and a half. And please remember, this is only Kratos' estimation, and he's used to powering his way through the universe itself with his sheer bad ass-ery. Please don't judge me: I'm already doing that quite harshly to myself.
The afternoon was drawing on as they crawled onto the golden shore, gasping for breath and greatfully grasping at the damp sand. Their clothes and posessions had added considerable weight that made the swim that much harder, and once out of the water everything that could be shrugged off was quickly discarded. Arms wrapped tightly around himself Sam was curled up in no time, shivering in the cooling air of the late afternoon, which Claudia did her best to stop by sitting beside him and pressing her back to his. Peeling off her jacket she squeezed out all the water she could, before wrapping it around him in a feeble attempt at warming him up.
"I-I-I... n-never want t-t-to go swimming... e-e-ever ag-ag-again...!" the brunette whimpered, curling up with her head to her knees as she folded her arms across her middle. Wringing out her long pigtails Valanoir was sat next to them in no time, trembling viciously.
"S-s-sorry C-C-Claudie..."
Wiping sopping hair from his eyes Kratos stood before them, looking down at the wet lump they'd amassed as with a soft shake of his head. Noticing this almost instantly, Valanoir frowned.
"S-sorry... f-f-for jumping off the b-b-boat." He sighed, wiping his face as well.
"I-i-it was the b-b-b-best op-option we had a-a-at the t-t-time," Sam quickly interjected, finally sitting up and keeping as close to both girls as possible.
"Think about your actions before you do something impulsive like that again. We might not have all made it here," he told them as he crossed his arms with purpose. Not only were they miles from civilisation, but his bag was still on the boat, with the map and compass inside. And any small amount of food they had would be ruined by the seawater...
"I-I-I did think...!" Drawn once again from his thoughts when Valanoir spoke he met her gaze, her eyes wide and apologetic. "Thinking 'i-i-if w-w-we don't do something, w-w-we in t-trouble'! T-t-they gonna k-k-kill Claudie a-a-an' m-m-me!" Though pleading for understanding, her expression was steadfast, gold and black shining in the light of the slowly sinking sun.
"It could've become much worse," he scolded regardless, to which she hung her head. "...But we made it this far. I guess we can be thankful for that."
"I-I-I thought you w-were r-r-really brave...!" Bringing an arm around her shoulders Claudia swept the young half demon up into a greatful embrace, cheek to cheek as she smiled through her shaking. "B-but a lit-t-ttle warning would b-be nice next t-t-time."
"O-okay! I-I remember t-that!"
Looking up and down the shore it wasn't hard to spot a collection of rocks a little further south, large enough to shade them from any winds that might come in off the ocean during the night. It was hard to rouse the wet teens from where they'd collapsed, but once they were on their feet they were quick to get moving, wringing water out of whatever they could as they went. Any place that could be considered camp at the moment would be an enormous help, especially as the sun sank towards the distant horizon.
It was a long walk, but they arrived with a little evening to spare. With what was left of the dying light they removed what clothes they could, the sand and rocks still hot from a whole day of sunshine and hopefully enough to dry them a little before night fell completely. Scouring the beach for firewood they convened amongst the larger rocks for shelter, forming the best kindling they could around an old log wedged between the stones, which the eldest of them lit with a quick spark of magic. The only food available was whatever crawled close enough to the fire, but once caught no one felt particularly hungry.
As the stars started blinking into being up above they pulled their damp clothes back on, considerably warmer than they were before. One plus to being near Altamira was the warmth the land kept by the end of the day, and the calm evenings. With their backs to the larger rocks Claudia and Valanoir were gazing out towards the mountains in the distance, at least an hour's walk away, whilst Sam had his two firearms laid out before him. Both had been full of water, and neither seemed capable of fire any more.
"I can't believe the Eques were on board..." mumbled the half elf, rolling his head back against the stone with his eyes clenched shut. Drawing her knees up to her chest Claudia stared sadly into the fire, resting her chin on her folded arms.
"Is it because I was talking to that guy at the bar...?"
"It's most likely that they came on the boat straight from Izoold, and didn't leave when it was docked. They didn't seem to be expecting us either." Kratos' words didn't seem to reassure her much, and with a quiet groan she hid her face.
"I've gotta learn to keep my big mouth shut..."
This time it was Valanoir who brought an arm around Claudia's shoulders, rocking her gently like a child as she petted her still-damp hair.
"Is alright, Claudie. It'll be fine. Eques are after Sam, and we need to keep him safe, yeah?"
"That's kind of why I need to keep my mouth shut, Valanoir..."
Sitting up straight again Sam watched both, downcast by the rose haired girl's solemn words.
"Need to keep Kratos safe too. Big, scary man like him need it if he going to a dangerous place: he seem to stand out with Eques." When Valanoir said this, the navy haired boy turned instead to Kratos, a sudden curiosity in his eyes.
"That Aber guy acted like he knew you," he said, before scrunching his nose slightly in thought. "What was it he called you...? Nefelum? Nifel... Nebilim-"
"Nephilim. Loosely translated, it means 'children of angels' in angelic." And to be refered as something like that-
"'Angelic'? What, like, a language?" Sam sounded more than a little confused, but much to the mercenary's surprise Valanoir was nodding.
"Yeah: church people know it. They go travelling every year, following last Chosen's journey. I ask once, when they stay at the inn: not many people left that can read it though," she explained, following it with an almost dreamy sigh. "They go all over the world..."
"They come to Flanoir sometimes. They come into the shop where I work to get supplies, before heading off to the old temple to the south." By now Claudia had sat up again, nodding softly as she listened to Valanoir, before nudging Sam. "Remember those guys stopped by for bikes one day? The guy in the robes was a priest from Palmacosta."
"Really? I just thought he was a crossdresser," mumbled the half elf in reply, earning himself a dig in the ribs. "Ah-I was kidding!"
"When you say the 'Last Chosen'...?" Kratos intervened as Sam prodded Claudia back, quickly seeing how the conversation was going as the younger of the two compared the other's sense of humor to that of a popular component of earth. Thankfully he managed to draw them back to meaningul conversation, though Sam shrugged as he buttoned up his waistcoat.
"Eh, I kinda zoned out of that in History..."
Rolling her eyes Claudia nudged him again, sighing softly when he lifted his shoulders again with a shake of his head.
"Idiot..." she grumbled, crossing her legs instead. "The Last Chosen was Colette... uh... Brunette..? No-wait, Brunel. Anyway, she completed the last Regeneration with the hero, Lloyd the Great, and... yeah, that's about as much as I remember," she explained offhandedly, raising an eyebrow as she looked at Kratos again. "Didn't you learn it when you were at school? They teach it in History, right?"
"I didn't go to school, and I still know!" Valanoir cut across indignantly, ignoring the auburn haired man's blank expression.
"I think you learnt less than I did," ribbed Sam, and once again Claudia elbowed him in the side.
"Hey, I remembered more than you did, and I'm older than you!"
"You can say that again-ack! Stop it!"
"That's all you know?" They stopped their bickering when Kratos spoke up, staring dumbly at his incredulous exclamation. It wasn't loud, just sudden, and they looked at each other before each one gave a bemused shrug in return.
"Well, yeah. They went on a pilgramage around the seals of the Summon Spirits when two nations were fighting over the seed of the Great Yggdrasill Tree, and sealed it in the Holy Ground to the west to keep it safe with the help of the Goddess Martel and the angels. Unless you're planning a career in history or the church, you don't need to know much more than that."
"Mama told me it was two worlds," said Valanoir, but Claudia shook her head with a disbelieving smirk.
"When they say two 'worlds' they mean the two Nations. They were so different back then, it must've been like two different worlds, and that's why it's mixed up." Nodding thoughtfully the half demon seemed satisfied with this answer, and all three were soon looking at Kratos like he was insane.
"So if that guy was calling you nephilim, does that mean he thinks your some angel's kid?" asked Sam, a little dumbfounded by the idea.
"He really looked like he knew you. Kept calling you that like it was your name," Claudia added with an amused chuckle. "Got a twin brother? Maybe he mixed the two of you up, and he's the one who's actually in a heap of trouble with the Eques!"
Valanoir bumped gently into Claudia, causing the older of the two to look back and find the other stretching tiredly with a yawn. In succession, Claudia did the same, followed closely by Sam, and all three were sniggering in fatigue in minutes.
"Damn it. It's hardly past sunset...!" grumbled Sam, shuffling down a few inches as he reclined against the rock, pulling Claudia's arm around himself like a blanket. She voiced her displeasure, but when Valanoir did the same she merely shook her head and turned her attention to the distant mountains again.
A flurry of sparks escaped the fire when Kratos threw another thick branch amongst the flames.
"Hey, how far are we from, well, anywhere?" With the two teens dozing at her sides Claudia lowered her voice as best she could, but it was difficult to still be heard over the lapping waves and cackling fire. Lifting himself up to look over the rocks Kratos spotted a beacon of lights almost instantly further south: being a hub of tourist beach activity, with an equally popular roster of night time attractions, it wouldn't be much of a shock if Altamira was visible from Derris Kharlan (if you looked through the right window, at least). But it was still a fair distance away, and even then the Eques were waiting for them, most likely writhing in rage from having lost two apparently important captives.
"We're a few hours from Altamira, but going there isn't an option anymore..." Recalling the map was difficult: he hadn't looked at this area so much, considering they were supposed to be in Flanoir by now. There were a few little pockets of civilisation between here and the south of the continent, but other than Altamira the only real town was...
"So we're stuck out here in the wild?" Claudia didn't seem to pleased when she said this, a gentle shudder running through her making Sam mumble something in his sleep before settling again.
"No. In a forest further south is the elven village. It's about four days on foot."
"Four days? But... what about food?"
"We should be able to find some on the way," he reassured her, but her demeanor didn't improve. "Sleep for now. We need to be up early, and all three of you haven't slept properly for days."
She nodded, but was still staring pensively into the clawing flames.
"...Why are you going to see the elves? I thought you were headed for Meltokio."
"It's on the way, since we're taking this detour. I'm sure there's a way to get to Flanoir from Heimdall as well." It was also a chance to see if he could find either of the Sage siblings and ask what they knew about nephilim, or at least information about the two of them. For all he knew, they could be dead as well.