Chapter 4

"I'm hungry, servant." Babbo complained.

"Call me a servant again, you bloody kendama, and I'll dump your ass in a lake." Sol snarled. "And you've already said you're hungry. 15 times. My answer hasn't changed. Unless you want to chew on a tree branch, I've got nothing for you. Now, quit whining. I'm hungry, too, but you don't hear me constantly bitching about it."

"Hmph." Babbo sulked as he hopped along next to her. If he had arms, he would have crossed them.

It had been several hours since the two had set out. The sun had set and Babbo had realized that he hadn't eaten in a very long time. Sol herself was mildly cursing her habit of not eating breakfast. Since she had left before lunch, she hadn't eaten all day.

*Sniff, sniff. Sniff, sniff.* "Do you smell that?" Babbo asked.

"No. Though even if my sense of smell was as good as the average person's, which it isn't, I doubt I'd smell whatever it is since you seem to have a very powerful sense of smell."

"I- oh…Well, I smell food! Let's go!" Babbo took off, with Sol following. They came up to a small house with a large vegetable garden. At least, So assumed they were vegetables. The orange and yellow zigzagged spheres didn't look like any food she had ever seen before. Babbo charged forward with an excited yell. Sol grabbed his chain and pulled him up short.

"Hey! What are you doing?! There's food and I'm hungry!" Babbo complained.

"You know, for a 'gentleman,' you're pretty damn rude. This belongs to someone, ya dunce. We need to ask first!" Sol barked.

"Oh, come on." He whined.

Just then the door to the house slammed open. "You're not stealing anymore from this garden, you filthy bandits!" A young man yelled from the doorway.

Seeing Sol standing in the garden, clearly arguing with an ÄRM, the boy froze in confusion. Sol and Babbo just looked at him. "Wh-who are you?" he asked.

Several minutes later, Solara was sitting at the table, munching on one of the vegetables. Jack and his mother, who insisted Sol call her Ma, lived on this farm, working it and selling or eating the food. When Sol stated that she didn't have any money, Ma waved it off.

"Its been so long since we've had a human guest. It's almost like having a daughter! Tomorrow, I'm gonna make soup!"

Sol blinked.

Yo, Sol. I'm gonna make pizza!

Are you sure that's a good idea? You set off the smoke alarm last time.

*CLUNK* Ow! What the hell, Mama! That spoon was metal ya know!

With a slightly sad smile Sol said, "I'd love some soup." She looked over at Jack. "Um…is he okay?" Jack was staring at Babbo, who was chowing down on his fifth vegetable. Jacks eyes had unfocused and he'd actually gone somewhat cross-eyed. He was slumping over the back of his chair.

"Jack?" his mom called.

He sat up immediately. "Huh?"

"Is something wrong?"

He stuttered. "N-no! Of course not!"

"I think he confused himself trying to figure Babbo out." Sol said. Jack's whole face turned red. Babbo laughed.

Just then a haunting howl rang through the air. Ma looked nervous and Jack looked stressed. "You got a wolf problem?" Sol asked calmly. Jack and Ma looked at her in surprise.

"I suppose you could say that. They're werewolves though." Jack said darkly.

"Ah. That makes more sense." All three looked at her in confusion. "Wolves usually avoid humans. Since you don't raise livestock, they would have no reason to come near you. Though, again, since you don't raise livestock, what are werewolves bothering you for?"

"They're vegetarians." Jack stated. Sol looked at him blankly. "They only eat-"

"I know what vegetarian means. I want to know how they haven't starved to death. Canines are carnivores, meaning they need meat. They can process plants better than cats, but not that well."

"Um…"

"Not that it really matters. We'll get rid of them for you." All three started to protest. Babbo shut up when Sol glared at him. Seeing that, Jack and Ma stopped as well. "It'll be our payment."

Jack looked frustrated. "Stop." He looked up when Sol spoke. "Stop beating yourself up. Everyone needs help sometimes. I'll hazard the guess that they're bigger than you?" Jack nodded. "And you've never had any kind of real combat training?" Jack shook his head. "Obviously, you'd be scared. There's nothing wrong with that. Only an idiot wouldn't be scared of big monsters with claws and fangs and not knowledge of how to fight."

"She's right." Babbo spoke up. "Fear is nothing to be ashamed of. Everyone feels it at some point. Feeling it doesn't make you a coward or a failure."

"True. What defines bravery isn't a lack of fear. It's acknowledging you're scared, but not allowing it to hold you back. You rule your fear, your fear shouldn't rule you."

Jack looked shocked. He didn't know how to respond. Ma suggested they all get some sleep.

The next day, Sol helped Jack and Ma in the field. Or rather, she tried. She knew nothing about farming or gardening. After she accidently uprooted a fourth seedling, thinking it was a weed, she admitted defeat and asked Ma if she needed any handywork done instead. Ma smiled and had her fix a section of damaged fencing. Babbo complained loudly when she used his hammer as an actual tool. At least, he did until she threatened to use him, using his nose as a handle. Jack and Ma laughed at how easily she cowed him.

That night, Sol stood in the shadows, waiting for the "Rogelu Brothers" to show up. When they did, she stepped out, Babbo hooked over the handle of the hammer, and the hammer hooked over her right shoulder.

"Eh? Who are you?"

Solara smiled. "As far as you're concerned," her smile turned nasty and her voice dropped, "your worst nightmare." She threw Babbo, hitting one square in the jaw.

"Ruga!?" The second werewolf turned back towards their attacker just in time to catch a hammer to the muzzle.

The commotion waking them up, Jack and Ma raced to the window. They stared as Sol dodged Garu's attack and planted her boot square in his chest, knocking him back. Ruga caught a brutal swing of the hammer in the side of head.

Two minutes and it was over. Both werewolves were whimpering on the ground, while Sol wasn't even breathing hard. Jack and Ma came outside.

Sol slammed the head of the hammer into the ground and leaned on the handle. Babbo wanted to keep hitting them, but So grabbed him by the chain. "Here's the deal, boys. You have two choices. 1) You show up tomorrow during the day and start your new job working for Jack's Ma. This is how you will earn the right to eat some of this food. 2) I let go of Babbo and he knocks out all your teeth and busts all you claws. What's it gonna be?"

"We'll be here! We'll work! We don't know how to farm, but we'll learn!" they exclaimed.

"I want you here not long after the sun rises. If you are not here by noon, I will come find you. Trust me, you don't want that. Are we clear?"

"Yes ma'am!"

"Good. Now get." The two scrambled up and ran away to tend their wounds.

*Sigh* "Done. Let's go to bed."

The next morning, the Rogelu Brothers showed up on time. They looked pretty rough, with a number of poorly wrapped bandages and nasty bruises. Ruga's left arm was broken and his sling wasn't tight enough to keep it safe. "You won't do us any good it you're all beaten up! Get in here and I'll get those wounds properly tended."

"But Ma! They've attacked us! Repeatedly! Sol didn't give them anything they didn't deserve." Jack protested.

"That is true, but now they're going to work for us and that means they will be taken care of. And if they step out of line, they'll get the same beating you do." Jack flinched at that. "Now, inside."

The werewolves glanced hesitantly at Sol. "What are you looking at me for? You work for her. And don't think you can push her around. You don't like what I did to you? You'll hate what she does." The two wolves whimpered and slunk into the house.

"I'm gonna go finish fixing the fence. Try not to kill them, Jack. Come on, Babbo." Sol walked away. Babbo followed, complaining about how Sol hadn't let him completely debilitate the werewolves and how he knew Sol was gonna use his hammer to fix the fence again.

Later that day, Jack went looking for Sol. Despite their injuries, the brothers were hard workers and caught on pretty quickly. After having their asses handed to them, the two werewolves had become much quieter and were at least trying to be more respectful. Sol had done so much for them in one night. She'd saved their farm and gotten them hard workers. Jack wanted to pay her back somehow.

He found her sitting in the field, with Babbo gnawing on her shoulder. "There you are, Sol." She looked at him. "Dinner's about ready."

"Hm." She looked back out at the skyline.

"Something wrong?" she seemed out of it.

"Just thinking…about home."

"Oh. Where is your home, Sol?"

"Tokyo."

"Huh?"

Sol grinned. "I'm from a different world." Jacks jaw hung open. "You're gonna catch flies there, Bucko."

Jack closed his mouth. "S-sol…you're really from another world?" Sol nodded. "How's your world different from ours?"

For some reason, Sol wasn't expecting the question. She blinked, then said, "Well, there's a lot more people. Which, of course, means more buildings and houses. Schools for the kids. Technology is a big thing in my world. Ya'll don't seem to have that at all, but we don't have magic." Sol found herself talking about her world for a while. She hadn't talked like this in… almost six years.

"An other-worlder! Amazing!" Jack exclaimed. "How did you get here?"

"…I went through a door."

"What door?"

"Chained, with a weird, clown-looking guardian."

"Where's this door now?"

"I don't know."

Jack looked at Babbo. "Definitely an ÄRM. Most likely a dimension ÄRM."

Just then, Ma came looking for them. As she got closer she heard Sol talking.

"I've dreamed of MÄR all my life. Six years ago, he stole…everything from me. When I got the chance to come here, I took it. I want it back…but, I came without saying anything to Mama. I know Koyuki will take care of her…but it's not the same. I need to go back eventually, but I can't do that until I reclaim what I've lost. And I'm not gonna do that sitting here. I appreciate you and your Ma helping me, Jack, but tomorrow, I'm gonna head out."

The next morning, Ma gave Sol a pair of Jacks pants and one of her shirts. The black pants were made of a sturdier material than her school clothes and the shirt was a pale blue short-sleeved blouse. Given that Sol had broader shoulders and thicker arms than Ma, the shirt that was loose on her, fit Sol more snuggly, but Sol preferred that. Finally, Ma gave Sol a bright red sash to use for a belt.

"Thank you very much."

"They're just hand-me downs. It's too bad that you can't stay a little longer, but…at least you can take Jack with you!"

Jack looked as surprised as Sol. "But, Ma! What about-"

"The brothers are helping me now. Even if they weren't, I'm not incapable, boy!" Jack flinched. "Sol, helped us. Now, you'll help her." Jack smiled and looked at Sol.

Sol blinked, then smiled. "Sure."

"Sol," she looked at Jack, "will you teach me how to fight?"

Her eyebrows rose and she smirked. "Alright. I assure you, though, you will regret asking me to teach you how to fight."

Babbo and Ma laughed when Jack blanched. Jack didn't back down though, and that was improvement right there. Sol and Jack waved as the trio started down the path.