Catherine heated the water to make tea. She needed something to calm herself down and thought it would be hospitable to everybody else. Some tea bags were in the cupboard, she opened the door, procuring them and dropping the ingredient into four white cups. Adding sugar, she waited for the kettle to sing, Virginia at her heels. It was such a different experience to work in the kitchen without Kaitlyn a stone's throw away, there were other people in the house, friends, but it seemed so much lonelier than before. The thought made her brush a tiny tear away with shame, she should not be the one to cry. She had to stay strong.
"Catherine," Virginia asked tactfully, finding a tray to put the cups on, "Who is Ravendor? I met him briefly the other day, but I don't know how he could have been the kidnapper. He was very polite. Maybe Clive could have been wrong."
"Deception is Ravendor's forte, I could never really tell what he was thinking half the time. But, I trust Clive's judgement absolutely, I have no reason to doubt him." There was some clean utensils lying near the sink, Catherine gathered them up in her hands and placed them neatly in a drawer, sliding it shut afterwards. She routinely wiped her hands on her apron and took the boiling kettle from it's place, preparing the tea. "Who Ravendor is… I'll be more than happy to explain, it will be a great relief, believe me. In return, I want to know in detail what is wrong with my husband, he doesn't seem like himself." Catherine mentally reiterated her statement. He doesn't seem… human…
A meow, Virginia knelt down to pat the small white cat rubbing itself against her leg, purring. It had a name, Kaitlyn had told it to her a little while ago. The cat was a tom, and that was it's name. Tom the tomcat. She picked up the feline and stroked his fur distractedly, it was rare to find a pure white animal on Filgaia. "Do you need any help?" She inquired before realising something of importance. "Hey, where did Clive go?" She looked around as if she expected him to jump out at her from a secret hiding place. Tom pawed at her dress as if he was trying to communicate somehow, increasing the depth of his purrs.
"I… I let him go." Catherine explained, not looking up from what she was doing. She stirred the beverages carefully and set the streaming cups on the tray, holding it with both hands. "I could not have forced him to stay, even if I wanted to. He can be very stubborn sometimes."
Virginia nearly dropped the cat, the poor creature digging it's claws into the sleeves of her dress just to hang on. "You did what? Where did he go? What-" So, Clive had managed to sneak away though he had promised to stay. To find Kaitlyn was no doubt his intent, but could he be trusted to keep himself under control during that while? Catherine was unaware of the change that had come over Clive, but it would have been best if he had remained in their custody. Mindful of the cat she held, Virginia released it gently on the floor, the creature padding into the living room, tail held high.
"He has his own task to complete now, please leave him be. I honestly believe he is the only one who can truly confront Ravendor for who he really is. I'm sorry if it is a hindrance, but I will not let you go after him." Catherine narrowed her eyes, "I made a promise that I intend to keep."
"I understand," Virginia responded, hands falling to her sides, "But Clive really shouldn't be left alone. From what we have gathered, he is a general danger to anyone he comes in contact with."
"The tea is ready," Catherine said, steam rising from the china cups. "Come into the living room before it becomes cold." She lifted the tray a little bit and wandered back into the main room of the house, where the other drifters awaited their arrival. Virginia mentally sighed, it would be hard enough to explain to Catherine exactly what was wrong, and as the leader, it was her duty to do it.
"Ooh, what's that lovely smell?" Gallows asked goofily as the two girls re-entered, leaning forward to sniff the air.
"Herbal tea," Catherine replied, setting the tray on the table, away from the pile of books and notes. "It is very effective at calming a person's nerves, I thought I should prepare some." She took her original seat on the couch and obtained a cup, feeling the heat of the liquid warm her hands. "If you want, I shall begin first. The history of Ravendor, myself, and Clive…"
A clock chimed the time of day. High noon. The time had sure flown by as the sun reached it's highest point in the blue ocean of air. The congregation of people in the house all briefly turned their attention to the clock, letting it ring without interruption. Only two-and-a-half days were left before it would be too late for Kaitlyn, for her sake, they hoped Clive knew what he was doing, searching for her without any help from his friends.
"I am a migratory bird at roost." Catherine confessed to all who was listening to her. "I lost my wings as I fell from the wasteland sky, and I never found the inclination to recover them again." She looked reflectively into her warm cup of tea, thinking back a long time ago. Whimsically, she changed the subject so that she might continue with her story. "Did Clive ever mention to you anything of his past in Little Twister, concerning a gang?"
"…'Can't say he ever did." Thought Gallows, settled down into his armchair. Jet shrugged, unable to answer and seeming like he wanted to get rid of the fragile teacup somebody had handed him.
"Well…" Virginia mused, thinking as hard as her brain would allow, "He said something about that yesterday. He mentioned a… coterie?" Now that she thought about it, Clive had never really talked openly about his distant past at all. Had he been hiding something?
"Years ago," Catherine explained, "Clive was a very different man to the one you might know today. Of course, he grew up in Little Twister, so you cannot be too surprised, but he used to be a particularly prominent larrikin, good-natured, I assure you, for as far back as I have known him." She set her cup on the coffee table, awaiting an interruption that did not come. They were listening attentively. "This does not have much bearing to my story, unless you take into consideration that he was thrown into prison too many times to count, whereupon myself, my father, or another person would come and bail him out."
"Another person?" Virginia asked. The way Catherine said it, it seemed that his method of bail was unorthodox and maybe even illegitimate. Yet, in Little Twister, she supposed stuff like that could not be helped. It was well known that the legal system there was as rickety as a matchstick fence. The sheriff turned a blind eye to the horrible things around him and simply plastered false conceptions on the true meaning of his work. Virginia could honestly say that it peeved her off to no end, perhaps if he did his duty correctly, then the town would be a slightly better place to live in.
She nodded. "A young boy by the name of Ravendor. He was a runaway child, separated from his family by personal choice. A common occurrence, in those days, just about every girl and boy in Little Twister was either orphaned or a runaway, excluding myself, I still had my father, who brought me to live the summers in that place while he investigated the ruins there. Clive and Ravendor were very close, almost like blood brothers, they virtually grew up together. However, about seventeen years ago, there was a series of rather severe incidents and their friendship suffered dramatically. It was a death, a very painful death."
"He killed someone?" Jet drank away his tea in the only method he could think of to get rid of it. He couldn't lie, it did taste good, and gave him a feeling of warmth in his stomach that spread through his body. What was in this stuff? It sure gave him a lot of energy. "Wait, which one? Clive or Ravendor?"
"Oh, no!" Catherine protested, surprised that Jet had misunderstood her explanation, "They did not kill anyone, well, no-one concerning my story, anyway. But, that is not what is important, you see, they had several fights over a girl, and that girl was me. I guess… a fraction of the blame should be placed over my head. You must have heard the stereotypical story of the two boys and only one girl before, am I right?"
"I used to read about them all the time when I was younger." Virginia replied, a long-time fan of the romance genre. "So, it was rivalry and jealousy? And Clive won your favour against his best friend? I see."
"It was not really favour, we were merely fooling around in our youth, but I had previously been involved with Ravendor romantically, and because I had lost interest in him, Ravendor set the blame squarely on Clive's shoulders." Catherine was beginning to blush, this was an exceptionally personal subject for her, and she had not reflected on it for so long, in her memories, it was like she was reliving them all over again. "For the next few years, they remained uneasy rivals, but I could deeply see Ravendor's contempt for my husband, Clive was quite oblivious to it. How naïve he was…"
"Geergh… Mushy bullshit…" Jet said with distaste, softly nudging away the white cat that had decided to rub relentlessly against his leg. It came back after a few seconds, and Jet repeated the motion, albeit a little more forceful this time.
"I will skip forward a few years, it will save some time. Clive became a drifter in order to assist my father with his studies, but in all truth, they really were not that good at it. They never would have made it past their beginning phase had it not been for sheer perseverance, and a good bodyguard. They were reckless to a fault, I suppose." The smile Catherine gave was a distant and wistful one, thinking back to memories that were her very fondest. "We travelled from ruin to ruin, this was before the Yggdrasil accident I have been informed about, researching the Guardians and their powers, it was just the three of us."
"What, you, Clive and the bodyguard?" Gallows questioned. How flimsy had Clive been in the past in order to need his own bodyguard? Pfft, Gallows was sure he was not that weak.
Catherine gave a bemused smile, slowly shaking her head. "No, no. Me, Clive and my father. I was the bodyguard. They called me Aegis, the defending shield. I was their barrier, their protection. As I have said before, in years past, I was also a drifter of much acclaim. Look through the newspapers of about twelve years ago and you may just come across my face a couple of times." Sifting through the mound of books and notes, she pulled out an aging pile of old papers, a Little Twister newspaper with the ink just beginning to fade away. Flipping through the pages with dainty grace so she would not tear them, Catherine placed her finger on a certain article and tapped the page. "Look here."
Again, Virginia read aloud the words for all to hear. "Recent advances in archaeological discovery around the Lunatic Garden excavation site can be entirely accredited to the drifting trinity, Berlitz and Catherine (Aegis) Erdesparen, a father and daughter team hailing from the Eastern Highlands, and our very own Clive Winslett, header of the felonious 'Black Shuck Gang'." She paused to re-read the sentence, having trouble accepting the information. It did not entirely seem real to her, Catherine was a legendary drifter and Clive once led a criminal gang? Mysterious.
"Yes…" Gallows drawled in his thoughts. "Aegis, Aegis… Yes, I think I've heard about her before, the 'Thirty Man Fortification'." His eyes widened as the truth manifested inside of him. "Hey, that was you?! I mean, I had a kinda different picture in mind when I read about you, no offence." The article also had a picture suspended above it, so the Baskar appraised the image thoroughly. The three people looked much younger then, except for the old professor who appeared to be smiling meekly at the photographer as the picture was taken, trying to ignore the other two youngsters behind him. Gallows recognized the place where the photo had been taken, the chamber that housed the chock in Lunatic Garden, one of the eternal reminders of the sin that marked mankind. The priest snorted with amusement as he made out the other figures in the picture. Clive was hanging off one of the rings of the chock with one hand, several feet from the ground and blowing a raspberry, a much younger and more energetic version of the sniper, whilst Catherine, garbed in proper drifter clothing, seemed to be yelling at him, hands on her hips.
"Well, I have settled down a lot since that time." She replied, smiling. "But it is nice to know that I can still be remembered for who I used to be, before the two incidents that changed our lives, both my husband's and myself." Catherine folded the newspaper with care, placing it back in it's nook under all the old notebooks. "The first incident you are already aware of, it was the date of death for my father, the one time Clive was unable to assist him. It scarred him deeply, and although you have managed to heal him of that ugly wound, it was merely overlapping a much worse one, hidden in the recesses of his memory."
"You two must have lived very difficult lives." Virginia said with feeling. So, even before the Yggdrasil accident, there was still much hardship to be had. And that was the reason for the project in the first place, to relieve that suffering. But people had still endured. The prophets in their ivory towers did not count on that simple truism.
"My career was cut short at it's peak," Catherine sighed, "Eleven years ago, I almost died in an accident during the excavation of a ruin to the far south of this town, yes, it nearly cost me my life. Clive and I thought it took Ravendor's life as well, until today, I believed those ruins to be his final resting place. My father was unable to help us on this venture, and if he did, who knows how my story would have ended? But it was only Clive and me that fateful day, one I shall never forget for the rest of my life."
Jet jumped, discovering that the annoying white cat that refused to leave him alone had decided to use his leg as a scratching post, sharpening his claws with serene happiness and content. He booted it away again, making a hissing noise that scared it away for good. Showing a rare grin, he continued to listen to her tale with satisfied silence.
"What happened?" Virginia asked curiously.
"My team owed money to various people after acquiring a base at Humphrey's Peak, this very house that you sit in right now. We were in financial crisis, so Clive and I tried to alleviate the problem by excavating an amount of dragon fossils to pay off the debt. Several good leads told us about a ruin filled with the material we needed, but unsurprisingly, we were not the only ones on such a venture. We were very shocked to find Ravendor and a few others working the ruins themselves, and for that, we had no choice but to become direct rivals. However, his goal was a very different one to ours. While we wanted the fossils scattered in the walls, he was using his knowledge of history to hunt for one of the legendary golems, Diablo, the crimson Hellstorm, rumoured to sleep in the site's depths." Abashed, she rolled up the sleeve of her clothing, exposing her bare arm. A long scar that spoke of previous agony marked most of her upper arm and a little past the elbow, healed but capable of making a hale onlooker squirm. "Here is one of the scars I bear, my own personal chock, you could say."
"Guardians!" Gallows exclaimed, "Who did it to you?" How blasphemous, to see a beautiful woman like Catherine mutilated so. Gallows's mind was usually one track, but a girl like her did not deserve such a terrible brand.
"Fate." She replied calmly, continuing with the recollection. "You see, Ravendor's team and my team split ways at an intersection, we went left and they went right. Apparently, both led us directly to the heart of the ruin, though we met many monsters along the way, we were able to dispatch most of them and escape unscathed. In the heart of the ruin, there was a huge edifice, encrusted with all the fossils we would need to pay off all our debts and then some, it was an opportunity we simply could not pass up. Clive had been experimenting with a new type of bomb he had invented to shatter stone in a controlled environment. He set the danger area, just enough firepower to remove the wall without causing damage to the foundation, while I covered his back, but…" Catherine paused to suppress a small giggle of irony, thinking back on it, the next part was almost humorous. "What neither of us was aware of, on the other side of the edifice and wall, Ravendor's team was also setting a blast area with just enough firepower to take out the wall and keep the ruin standing. You can guess what happened next, can't you?"
"Heh, I get it," Jet declared softly, "Twice the power, explosion gets over the top, everything goes 'Boom!'"
Virginia held a hand over her mouth, cringing at what she pictured the next part to be like. Death by a crushing burial, she shuddered, imagining how frightful it would be. "And that is why you thought Ravendor died?" Catherine nodded, "But you survived… how?"
"Instinctively, I shielded Clive from most of the impact with my body by throwing myself on top of him. I am the Aegis, it was my duty to protect him. All that I knew afterwards, I heard from Clive himself, ages after the incident itself. As it were, a small fraction of the ruin kept some of it's structure, and Clive was fairly unhurt because of my efforts, except for a broken arm, wrist and total blindness from the flash of the explosion. He carried me out of the deathtrap, despite his impaired vision and injury, aware of the fact that I was more than half-dead, he refused to leave me there to rot. Luck saved us all, Ravendor's horses had remained tethered outside the ruin, so he stole one and managed to ride back to Humphrey's Peak with me in tow. How he navigated the horse without the aid of sight, I shall never uncover, but he got us to the town's clinic before he himself fainted and did not revive again for three entire days."
She traced her finger around the rim of her teacup, the liquid inside had finally gone cold. "It was touch and go from the very beginning, I was told that I practically died several times during my critical stage. Eventually, my condition stabilized, but I was in a coma for two whole months, almost every bone in my body had been broken, it was a miracle that I did not suffer any brain damage. I was so lucky that the doctors in this town were some of the finest, or I would have never been restored to the waking world. When I regained consciousness, you could not believe how mortified I was to find Clive sitting beside my bed, no longer capable of sight. It was so scary, I wondered what had happened, for I had no memory of the incident itself. It came back through time, but it was an awful era of my life, it seemed to never end. Six months passed before Clive could see again, and in those months he cared for me and brought me back to health, despite his blindness. That was how I came to… truly fall in love with him."
"Wow…" Virginia breathed, baffled. "How romantic! I never thought things like that actually happened out of novels… Wow." The more important part of the tale hit her and she added; "So really, you were too busy to even think of Ravendor until after you recovered. Well, you can't blame yourself at all, Catherine."
"You are right, I do not blame myself, but Clive still does, though he and Ravendor had become bitter rivals. He still honoured their friendship, but he could not go back, not when he was blind, and after that, he was taking care of me." Catherine hung her head sadly. "I was such a burden, I could not drift anymore, I had lost the strength to continue my flight, my wings were too broken to fly… Nevertheless, Clive remained to help my father, with or without me, and after we had arranged to be engaged, years later, the second incident occurred, of which you already know. If only I could have flown, perhaps my father would still be around today. I always wanted to show him his granddaughter… But this is how my story ends." She set her teacup on the coffee table, sighing.
"That still doesn't explain why that guy took your kid." Jet pointed out bluntly.
"The reasons I am still unclear of, but I am sure Clive will uncover them, if he is able." Catherine stood up, the other drifters seeing the woman in another light now that her tale was over. She had strength, great strength, a power that could not be found in an ordinary run-of-the-mill housewife. "Now tell me, what is the change that has come over my husband?" She looked directly at Virginia for an explanation, because she was their leader.
Virginia's gaze fell to the ground, trying to find some words that would best explain their predicament. When she tried to start, she found herself tongue-tied, and wished that somebody else could just take her position over. "It would be easier," She managed to murmur out, "If we were to head for Baskar Colony, I would want to explain it to everyone there, so we can have the input of Shane, Halle and the others for direction. I'm not really gifted with words, Catherine, I honestly hope you don't mind."
She smiled reassuringly. "Of course not. I do not wish to make you uncomfortable, Virginia. Heaven forbid, I do hate the feeling myself. If you think it is a good idea, then I will trust you." Reaching out with a hand, she pulled Virginia to her feet, "I have not visited Baskar before, it will be an interesting experience."
"Oh, sure!" Gallows's agreed positively, "You'll love it! We got lots of, um, stuff… and some more… stuff."
"Somebody find this guy a thesaurus!" Virginia laughed, glad that Catherine could understand her predicament, "Before it's too late!"
"Wait a sec!" Jet cut in disapprovingly, standing up from his seat against the wall, "We're takin' her with us? You sure that's a good idea?" Jet hated the idea of dragging extra dead weight along with him, it was troublesome enough to defend his other companions without taking on another inexperienced third.
"Turn around." Somebody said commandingly. Jet automatically did so, turning to the left. He froze, the end of the Gungnir only an inch away from his nose. Click, click. Snap. The bolt was cleared and Catherine smiled. "Clive is not the only sniper in the family." She admonished, playfully taunting him and lowering the weapon.
"But it ain't your ARM!" Jet protested, "How the hell can you synchronize without your own ARM?"
"That is simple," She answered smoothly, "People with a high compatibility to each other have very similar synchronization rates. Clive and I are very compatible, so therefore, I am capable of wielding his weapon." It had been years since she last held a gun, it felt very comforting to feel the trigger under her index finger once more. But did she still have her skill? She would just have to find out. "Come outside," She implored, "I would like to test my accuracy, if you will."
Grumbling at being slightly humiliated by Catherine, Jet huffed out of the door in silence, able to display his discontent without any words being shared. Gallows reluctantly got up from the very comfortable chair he was lodged in, following Virginia out the door. The birds were still chirping outside, oblivious to the tragedy that had befallen the occupants of the house. Catherine was the last to emerge, locking the front door with a key and facing everybody else. "Well?" Jet said impatiently, "Let's see what you got."
Catherine could not help but feel that she was being tested, it made her a little nervous. "Can somebody please lend me a gella coin?" She asked, "I will need it for my demonstration." Receiving money from Jet was out of the question, but Virginia and Gallows searched their pockets until one of them found a small circular silver coin to use, it had some pocket lint glued to it's surface, but it was brushed away and shown to her with confidence. She readied the ARM. "Thank you, now take five steps back and throw the coin high into the air, do it steadily and don't hesitate."
"Heads or tails?" Gallows asked.
"Just do it." Jet ordered, crossing his arms.
Shrugging, Gallows flipped the coin with his thumb, sending the piece of silver sailing up and over their heads. As quick as lightning, Catherine pointed the rifle up, squinted one eye shut and paused for a second to gather her bearings, looking through the scope and slowly squeezing the trigger. The surrounding crack of the ARM being fired whistled past their ears, two separate tinkling sounds following as a gentle afterthought to the noise. An empty bullet shell rolled to a halt at Catherine's feet, smouldering from the sudden discharge of it's gunpowder and pellet. Nearby, the gella coin also fell to the ground, in a different shape to what it used to be. Gallows picked up the coin, impressed. It looked like a crescent moon, half of it's body had been blown away.
"Cool…" Gallows breathed, "Majorly cool."
"Well, I am a little out of practice…" Catherine apologized, rapping her fingers against Gungnir's side, "But I think I can improve, if given the time. Is that adequate, Jet?"
"Fine. Alright, she can come… but only if she can hold her own." He mumbled, secretly impressed by her accuracy like the others, but determind not to show it.
Happily, Virginia moved around and slung her arms around both Catherine and Jet, smirking cheerfully. "Well, well! I can see this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship, you two! Welcome to the team, Catherine!"
She watched the subtle look of loathing merged with a concealed fondness that Jet shot their young leader, and she strapped the rifle to her back, vaguely wishing she still had her old drifting clothes. It didn't matter, what she was wearing would be fine enough, but she untied the white apron around her waist and let it fall to the ground, severing her ties to the life she had recently lead. Catherine had mended her broken wings, strong enough to fly against the winds of adversity and bring those she loved back home. It was her strength, the dormant drifter had been born again.
"I shall do my best to protect you from danger," She promised, "The Aegis had reawakened."