A/N
I'm sorry, I know I haven't updated in what? Three days? However, I do have an excuse! Or rather several!
Monday: Eye appointment! (vision is getting blurry again-now I get nice new glasses!)
Tuesday: Wizard of Oz Practice! (I'm in the pit! I get to play 'If I only had a Brain' the Scarecrow's song!)
Wednesday: Chores! (Housework is a little bit of a drag, no?)
Thursday: Concert! (I wrote most of this chapter yesterday, then I made the final changes today.)
Anyway, Friday is free, I have to update my LXG fic, and then I'll apply myself to The Camping Effect. Sorry for the delay in updates, I try to keep up. I hope you all like the chapter!
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I shot straight up in bed, gasping. The dream I had was vivid, or at least I think it was, it was fading away so fast I couldn't remember what I had dreamed of. My eyes were fuzzy at first, and the fuzzy portions of my vision slowly blurred back into recognizable shapes.
What was this? It wasn't the Institute, nor was it my room. It was lavishly furnished, with lots of bright colors. It reminded me immediately of a villa of some sort. Woven rugs hung from the walls, which was a bit confusing. I didn't dwell on it, though, and let my eyes wander a bit more.
A wood desk, ornate and very pretty, stood close to the bed I was on. Here was no windows, but there was a door far across the room. It was a very large room. I was impressed.
I was also very thirsty.
I put a hand on the bed to steady myself so I could get up.
"Oww!" I snatched my hand back up, accidentally unbalancing myself. I took a headfirst tumble off of the bed and landed on the floor hard.
"Oww…" I sat up. Second time in two days that I've fallen on my butt. Or was it two days? A thirsty as I was, it could have easily been ten.
"I see you're awake." A heavily accented voice yanked me out of my thoughts. My head shot around to look at the door.
A woman in a black dress stared back at me. She was obviously of some Native descent, though I couldn't place it off hand. She was tall, regal even, but something about her made me a little on the nervous side. Maybe it was her eyes. Her eyes were a very dark color, almost black. She looked very young. If I went just by physical looks, I would have said she couldn't be older than twenty-five.
But something told me she was much older. Maybe it was the way she stood, or the look behind the eyes. But she had to be older than what she looked.
"Who are you?"
"You may call me Esperanza, that is what I call myself now. Now, before you get under impression that you may ask questions, you should know I am Master of household, you answer my questions first."
Esperanza had a very imperious air about her. I got the basic idea that I was supposed to be intimidated. And really, I was.
"Who are you?" She asked.
"I'm Danny."
"Dani?" Her heavily accented voice pronounced it oddly, but it was still understandable.
"Close enough."
"Do not be so flippant with me. I could have you killed, it is well within my right."
"What?!" I gaped at her.
"You have delayed a very important ceremony. Now I must wait another thirteen days for the stars to align in such a way that the herbs may be collected! You delayed my servant. Not only that, but you have also injured my servant!"
"What? Me?! He fell on me! I didn't do anything!"
"You blame my servant?! Was it not you who attempted to harm him with magic?"
"Magic? You expect me to know magic? I don't even know how to do magic card tricks!"
"Then how do you explain the strain placed on the magical absorption enchantment?"
"The what-a-what?"
"Indeed, it was a great amount of power for such an insignificant and unruly child, but it came from you!"
Those words really stung.
"The bandages about your hands are proof of this."
I looked down at my hands. They were very bandaged. And obviously not healed, some dark red was staining the white.
"Magic…NO! That wasn't magic! That was my mutation!"
"A mutation? What is this?" She looked at me curiously.
"It's…uh…kinda hard to explain."
"Lies." She said decisively. I gaped at her again.
"You're gonna write me off like that?!"
"And how should I 'write' you? The enchantment you damaged beyond repair. The beast is useless now. And I have but your word to go on. His word is much too soft. So, who should I believe, a child that has every inclination to lie and a beast who cannot leave his own compassion behind?"
"Compassion isn't such a bad thing. He can talk? Why would I lie?!"
"Why would you not?"
"Because…Okay, you got me there. If being threatened by a woman I don't really know would give me a good reason to lie, I suppose it would be in my mental list of options."
"So you admit it!"
"No I-" I left off. It was pretty obvious that she wasn't in the mood to listen to me. Whatever the errand was that I messed up must have been really important to her to put her in such a foul mood. "-fine. Think whatever you want, lady."
"I shall. And what must I do with you? A servant? Food for the Chupakabra?"
"You drive a hard bargain. Why don't you just send me home? "
"I don't have time to waste with little children who do not know their place in life."
"Fine, let me go, and I'll find my own way home."
She laughed. It was a beautiful, rich sound. I stared at her. I didn't know what caused this interesting change, but I was feeling a little guarded now.
"How will you do this? You are far, far away from home now, little child."
"I'll manage." I said stubbornly.
She looked at me for a long while. I think she was searching my eyes, which gave me a really creepy feeling. I kept my eyes locked with hers, not willing to lose the battle of stares. Then she smiled.
"I know that look. I have seen that look before. Very well. You may try to find your own way home, but do not expect help from my house." She turned to the passage behind the door. "You may rest for now, but come the next morning you will leave my House."
And she left. I stared after her. This had to be the oddest conversation I have ever had.
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Logan ran the entire way back to camp. He had been chasing after scents for days, and all of them ended in the same-the smell of fight, and the disappearance of the scents. He needed to get back to Xavier, to tell him what happened. Maybe they could use Cerebro to find them
They had to use Cerebro. It had to work.
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"What? No food?"
"You had food earlier. And drink. Now go."
"I'm going, I'm going." I rolled my eyes and started walking. I was still wearing my shorts and shirt from a night about five days ago, and didn't have any shoes on. That was okay, because I didn't mind walking barefoot.
"Watch yourself child. There are more dangerous things in this world than there ever was in your own."
I nodded and waved to her cheerfully, which seemed to perplex her. Oh well.
This world. So that beast must have been trying to move between worlds. Took me back to this one. So what now? It couldn't be easy to slip between worlds. I'd just have to figure something out, I guess.
The road was dirt ridden and dusty. It reminded me of home. I kept walking on, following my feet. The background noise here was different only because it was new. The same basic feeling I got around animals back home, where ever home was, was here as well, except it was a different pitch. Not unpleasant. Just new.
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He snuffled warily. The stalls around him were full of Chupacabra, the strange, kangaroo like beasts that sucked the blood of livestock, with wings and spikes riddling their backs. They were voracious eaters, and he did not relish being stalled next to him, especially not now, with the special enchantment being damaged. That enchantment made him almost unstoppable as he rushed through worlds. Physical attacks could harm him, but magic was sucked into his own body, replenishing his own life force. But the girl, Master Esperanza had said that her magic had all but destroyed the enchantment, and had not healed him. Now his chest was swathed in bandages, and he was severely out of favor with his master.
She had threatened to feed him to the Chupacabra. That was the price for failing the Master.
His ears pricked at a noise.
She came whisking about the corner then, as beautiful as always. She regarded him a moment, then smiled.
"Two lame creatures should keep themselves company in their fruitless exploits. Go, follow that girl." She opened the door to his stall and pointed to the exit. "I have no need for a creature that shall not follow orders. And with the enchantment destroyed, you are useless as a courier or a ferry beast. Now leave my house and never return. It is only by my good grace I allow you life."
He bowed, uncertainly, and swiftly walked out the door. From the grounds he lifted his wings, beat them down in slow rhythm. To be exiled from a Master is a horrific thought, and he was loathe to leave the place he had lived in for over fifty years. But she had exiled him. Thrown him in with the same lot as a girl from another world. That in itself was painful to think about. Those exiled with those of other worlds were considered low creatures. But this was his life now, his drawn lot. He would have to accept that.
And find the girl.
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A/n
Hmm, Not as good as I liked, but to do the things I want this chapter has to be like this. Oh well. I tried to make it as interesting as possible.
Asteria: My goodness…Heheh, I admit, that was my own fault, I forgot to spell check. Usually I catch things like that, and I did, but it slipped my mind when I made the final cut. Oh well. All of us make mistakes, yes? Thank you for the compliment!
Chrissy: Not…exactly. More on that later. I have a very special idea for that beast, one of my better and slightly confusing ones. I think you may like it when I finally get around to it. Thank you very much!
Anon(girl): Heh, thank you. Arcane? The definition of arcane is basically 'secret'. I usually heard it in context of like 'the evil arcane spirits' so I figure, if arcane is 'secret' then it would be hard to unravel, and so the 'arcane identity' thought was born.
Laureate: I hope this day isn't as bad! Thank you, I really like the creature myself. Sorry for keeping you in suspense!
Raliena: He does indeed! He thanks you. Kill Danny? I'd never dream of it, I like her too much.
Anee/Arain Rowan/Arin Ross: Thank you very much! I see Anee likes my story, I'm glad she does, as for Arain…you may get your wish, not everything about magic is fairies and love potions.
Dragonet: Not a lot happened here, but I hope to get into some action bits in the weekend. I'm glad you like it, I think I did a better job on that horror chapter than my horror story, in a way.
Herman shall take the reviews again! He has a very nice stash of baked bug goods now.
