A/N
My longest chapter to date! Hope you guys enjoy!
Cliché: A trite or overused expression or idea
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"So which way from now?"
"Don't you have any idea where the others are?"
"No clue." I said guiltily.
"Where did you hear about me in the first place?"
"In a city paved with metal."
"…A city paved with metal?"
"Hey, it's not that unbelievable. You got kidnapped by three foot tall monsters in robes and are now riding on the back of a dragon…thing. That reminds me, Crepuscule, are you okay?" I asked him.
"None of you are very heavy, I'll be fine."
"You sure? I can fly, you know."
"Yes…I saw that." He said a little nervously.
All three of us girls were sitting on his back, which, remarkably, could seat three people very easily. But I was still worried he'd over-exert himself. The Marshes were a lot bigger than it had first seemed. I didn't want him to keel over and lose him in a sinkhole or something. There was also the matter of all of us sitting on his back, so we'd hit the ground too.
I was in the middle. My hands had started bleeding again and I was having trouble holding the ropes. Rahne had taken place up front, and since Jean kind of stunk, we put her as far away from Crepuscule's nose as possible. Not only was the sludge that covered her very unflattering, it was also pretty pungent. The only real saving grace was the fact the Crepuscule flew so fast that the smell was being blown backwards.
Crepuscule flapped easily, taking long wing beats to move as fast as possible without tiring himself out. The Marsh below us seemed to flow by. I gazed at the scenery with fascination. I couldn't get over this world. It was fun and so new. True, I hadn't had the chance to talk to much of the animals a lot, but I could hear them and see them and they were incredible. And the geography was beyond belief. Rushing marshes? Natural gauntlets of quicksand? Though, I suppose home is a lot like that too. Death Valley. The Everglades. Everything has its own dangerous charm I guess.
I looked down at my hands and winced. The bandages were stained with dirt and blood. I'd need a new dressing soon.
"What did you do to get that?" Jean whispered. She was gravely concerned for me. I think her need to protect Rahne and I has returned, knowing that she's the oldest and most mature here. I was glad for it. Just knowing somebody's watching out for me makes me feel better.
"I mixed mutation with magic and got these results."
"What magic?"
"The magic that was attached to your ride." I gestured down.
"He hurt you?!" Her voice raised drastically and Crepuscule snorted in apprehension.
"It was an accident. He didn't mean to. So don't hold it against him. He's helping me now, and you too, so don't worry."
"How did he hurt you?!" She still wasn't calm. Crepuscule was getting nervous.
"I was trying to wake him up and his magic was designed to absorb magic. It mistook my mutation for magic, and pulled it out." I said carefully. "He lost consciousness in the temple I was in when I found him. I lost consciousness after the mutation was pulled out. He took me here to see his nice Master Esperanza, and she booted me out of her house. The rest is old history."
She looked at me, then narrowed her eyes.
"Don't sugarcoat the truth to a psychic."
Oops. Forgot about that.
"Worth a try."
"What really happened?"
"Exactly what I said!" I defended.
"My Lady has left bits out, if Lady Jean would permit me to speak."
"Crepuscule. I'm doing just fine. She was about to believe me!"
"Yeah, right." Rahne snorted. I glowered at the back of her head.
"Go ahead." Jean said.
"When I was traversing between worlds, I was attacked by the Demights that kidnapped you. Had the Lady Danny not pulled me the rest of the way into your world, I most surely would have died. I…was exhausted, and fell, only by my most terrible folly it was on Lady Danny. As far as I can speculate, out of self-defense she used her…'mutation' which was mistaken for magic, and caused the wounds upon her hands. Soon after I awoke, and took her to the Lady Esperanza."
"Funny, that doesn't look a thing like my first picture." Jean glared at me. I quickly looked somewhere else. Psychic glares of death are not really something I like to mess with.
"So Demights are wandering around everywhere? What's the point?" Rahne broke in.
"I don't know." Crepuscule sounded a little put out about that. I think he liked being a constant source of information.
"I wonder if this has anything to do with those butterflies?"
"You saw the butterflies too?" Jean asked Rahne. I was totally lost.
"Butterflies?"
"Yeah. There were a whole bunch of butterflies flying around, I think Mr. McCoy called them Morphos. They were acting weird." Rahne supplied.
"Weird?"
"They weren't acting like butterflies should. It was like they were really upset. Or drunk."
"Drunk." Butterflies didn't get drunk. And butterflies don't act in the fashion they were talking about. Did it have anything to do with the temples and the strange feelings I got?
"Yep." Rahne nodded. "Instead of having that nice, floaty flying, they were flying around really weird."
"I didn't see any butterflies at the temple. Did see some interesting stains and stuff."
"Stains?" Jean asked.
"Yeah. Blood. Fresh, too. I asked Crepuscule about it, he said he didn't know anything about it. Right?"
"Yes, My Lady."
"Well, the butterflies I saw acted the same way. And there were weird howls." Jean said to us. Now, that was too much of a coincidence.
Morphos…
"The Demights howl as a war cry." Crepuscule told her calmly. But I could still see he was worried she might turn on him.
"So what else was weird about the temple you were in?"
"Bad vibes. Cleared roads. Clean rooms. Things that happen in a day even though all the animals said that it was totally covered with grass and moss at dusk. Unnaturally creepy things, like birds not flying over the buildings, stuff like that."
"What's up with the birds?"
"Don't you know?" Rahne asked Jean. "It a bad omen, one of the worst. It's one of those omens that tell people there's some seriously bad magic in that place. The worst kind of bad luck. Crossing paths with black cats doesn't even compare."
"You know, a week ago I would have said magic was fake and didn't exist." Jean sighed.
"Hope you didn't make any bets." I joked lightly.
"Weren't you the same way?"
"Grandma told me once that I should never assume something didn't exist. 'Look at Ceolacamps', she said. 'People didn't think they existed, and boom! One gets caught. Imagine what won't exist tomorrow!' Then she would go off on a tangent about how the only non-existent thing was Congress. And then I'd fall asleep while I was still on the phone."
"That's horrible!"
"Yeah, but it made for a great conversation starter. Go to any of my Arkansas uncles when you wanted to get out of something, tell them that Congress didn't exist, and watch the sparks fly while you make your getaway. Of course, now being banned from that state, I don't have to resort to those tactics anymore."
"How can you joke about that?" Jean asked me. I shrugged.
"Because it's funny. And if I don't laugh at myself or things in my life, then I won't be able to deal when something big comes my way. Should it ever happen." I grinned. "My philosophy is that life is only lived once, so you have to be happy to live it well."
"Does it work?" Rahne asked me.
"Wonders."
"Maybe that should be my philosophy." She said decisively.
"We shall land soon. There is a river where Lady Jean can bathe."
"It isn't underground, is it?" I raised myself up a bit so I could see over Rahne's head. There was a winding blue river there in the distance.
"It is not, as you can see. I will land in that grove beside the river, it will give much shelter should we choose to stay the night."
"Might as well. We don't have any leads right now, and I'm tired." Jean said. "We need to be ready for anything, and I'm too tired to make a dent."
"Bet that's not what the Demights are saying." Rahne grinned back at me.
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"How do you clean this stuff off?" I growled as I used a stick to beat dried sludge off Jean's jeans. Rahne had her shirt, and was doing better than I was. She laid the shirt out to dry, picked up a stick and came to help me. I had the jeans slung over a branch. We beat them until the caked on sludge dropped off, then we both stared.
"Uh…Maybe they were camo when she started?"
"I don't think so." Rahne vigorously shook her head. "These were her favorite too. I feel bad for her."
"Well, it's better than nothing. Should we have Crepuscule cut them?"
Speaking of the creature, he was sitting on the bank with his ears straight up but his eyes so tightly closed I was wondering if he'd ever open them again. Probably best he didn't. He might start blushing.
Jean was in her underwear when she bathed. She didn't feel as comfortable when she bathed in the open.
Not that I could blame her, I'm the same way. Rahne too. Who knew what kind of wierdos were wandering around out here?
"Hey Jean!" She looked at me. I showed her the jeans. "Want us to cut the legs off? It'll be easier to move around."
"Go ahead."
"She took that well." Rahne commented. I shrugged.
"Crepuscule." I walked over and lay the jeans on the other side of him, away from the river. "Cut the legs off, like you did Rahne's."
He opened one eye very slowly. Assured there was nothing embarrassing, he lashed out a paw and neatly severed the legs of the pants.
"Thanks. You can go back to hiding your eyes."
"Much obliged, My Lady." He closed his eye tightly again.
I shook my head and silently laughed. I tossed the jeans to Rahne, who hung them over a branch. I squatted by the river and began unwrapping my hands. It was a slow and painful process. I did my best not to look at my hands as I pulled the useless bandages off. I was afraid what I'd see.
I dimly heard Crepuscule sniff the air, and looked down at my hands, which were now free of bandages.
That's…not good.
The outside of the cuts were turning purple with bruising, and in the cuts was dirt, which was irritating the wounds. Blood was coming out of my hands and I winced at the sight. Just looking at it was painful. I closed my eyes and dunked them into the water.
"Ouch!" I lost my balance and tipped backwards. Something burrowed itself into my back, catching me before I fell.
"My Lady, you should be more careful. The cuts are infected."
I looked under my elbow to see the deep dark eyes of Crepuscule. He had really pretty eyes. Not like a lizard, or even a deer. It was a round eye, with a round pupil, not horizontal or slitted. I noticed it was a very dark brown. Very pretty.
"My Lady?"
"Hunh? Oh, sorry, just admiring your eyes. What were you saying?"
"The cuts are infected. You need to be more careful in cleaning them." He nudged me forward a little so I could catch my own balance. I sat down cross legged. I gently put one of my hands below the water as he looked over my shoulder. I winced as the current battered my hand.
"It will hurt. Everything you do to your hands will hurt. But if they are not cleaned correctly, you may catch a sickness, or you may grow fevered. It could very well kill you."
"Thank you, Mr. Comfort. You think I need to stitch these cuts?"
"Most likely."
"Oh. I think I'm in a little bit of trouble. They don't teach those classes at the Institute."
"The stitches don't need to be straight, they just need to hold the wound closed."
"We don't have a needle or thread. Is there a town nearby we can go to?" I asked as I retracted my hand and put the other one in.
"I am not familiar with the area, but I believe that we can reach a crossroads by midday tomorrow if we set out in the morning. There should be an infirmary there."
"Cool. Hey, can you get those jean pieces out of my pack and cut them up for me? I want to use them as bandages. These won't work." I gestured to the dirty bandages with my free hand.
"As you wish, My Lady."
I started feeling bad again. My hands were stopping me from doing my duties. I had to find the rest of my friends, and I was here worrying about myself. But if I didn't worry about myself, I may not be able to find my friends.
This is like some Zen riddle.
He came back with the makeshift bandages and laid them at my feet. I wrapped my hands firmly, but not tightly. The tough fabric was making my eyes tear up. I got up and lightly patted his nose with my fingers.
"Thanks."
He nodded solemnly. I noticed that Rahne and Jean were sitting in the grove, the latter fully dressed. She must have been so for awhile, if Crepuscule could move around without blushing.
I joined them and sat down. Jean nodded at me. Rahne looked curiously at Crepuscule, who was sitting outside the grove.
"Come on inside, Crepuscule, we won't bite."
He looked a little nervous. "It would not be proper."
"We rode on your back for most of the day. Dann and I slept on you last night. Things can't get more proper, no matter how much you try."
He snorted exasperatedly and walked into the grove, staying a respectful distance from the rest of us. We broke open our pack of food, and Jean ate quite a few. I guess psychic power takes it out of her. I ate only two strips. All of a sudden it felt like I didn't have to eat a whole lot. I didn't trust that feeling, so I ate the second one too. We all gave some strips to Crepuscule, who took them with grave thanks. He ate with his head turned from us, being polite.
After about an hour of discussion, we all finally decided to bed down, even though there were a few hours of daylight left. All of us were tired, and worried, even Crepuscule, though I'm not sure what he had to be worried about.
Rahne was worried about the other kids, and probably most about Sam.
Jean was certainly worried about Scott, but the added strain of feeling responsible for everyone seemed to weigh heavily on her.
Crepuscule. His way of moving as he was about to sleep told me he was worried too.
And me. Worried about myself. Worried about my friends who were worried. Worried about friends not yet found.
And worried about butterflies.
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B-BMP.
My heartbeat is so loud.
B-BMP.
Is there something wrong?
B-BMP. B-BMP. B-BMP.
Why is it speeding up?
B-BMP. B-BMP. B-BMP.
Am I scared?
B-BMP. B-BMP. B-BMP.
What's going on?!
B-BMP. B-BMP. B-BMP.
BMP.
I shot straight up in panic, head full of sleep. Light snores from my friends told me I was not alone, but panic was still lumped in my throat. Desperately, I shook Jean. I wanted to talk to her, tell her I was scared. I shook Rahne with my other hand. I had gotten to the point where I fell asleep between people, it was just safer. Rahne was my good friend, she'd help me laugh at everything. It would be all right.
B-BMP.
Why weren't they waking up?!
B-BMP. B-BMP.
I darted across the grove half blind and slammed bodily into Crepuscule's sleeping form. That way of acting could get my head batted off, but I was too panicked to care. I shoved him again, but he wasn't getting up either. I ran back to Rahne and Jean.
B-BMP. B-BMP. B-BMP.
"Wake up!" I had a huge lump in my throat. I shook Rahne hard, but she just kept on sleeping. It wasn't natural. I let her slump back down to her original position and sat down hard in the middle of the grove. I was trying to calm myself down, but it was getting harder and harder as I began to wake up more and more.
B-BMP. B-BMP. B-BMP. B-BMP.
I was scared. Terrified. My friends weren't waking up, I was helpless, the animals had all gone away.
B-BMP.
The background noise was gone. I couldn't hear anything except deafening silence. I closed my eyes and tried to take deep breaths, but it wasn't working.
B-BMP.
I was panicking so badly that it got hard to breathe, and I couldn't think straight. My heart was hammering in my chest, the only sound I could hear. It was drowning out the noises of sleep made by my friends.
B-BMP. B-BMP.
Suddenly I just couldn't take it anymore. I needed noise. I needed to know that I wasn't all alone.
B-BMP. B-BMP.
I bolted out of the trees, at first using my hands to help propel my body than steadying on two legs.
B-BMP.
Something grabbed me around the waist and I screeched like some injured animal and tried to struggle away. I wasn't thinking right.
"It's all right, everything will be fine." A voice whispered close to my ear. It had a very strange effect. I immediately calmed.
I wasn't all alone. There was someone right here.
"I did not realize my spell would frighten you that much. You must be calm."
I dully registered his words but they didn't make any sense. My heart toned down and started acting normally. Soon I couldn't hear it. But I also didn't hear any animals.
"Be calm," the voice ordered. My breathing came deeper and my panic started to subside even as I realized that someone I didn't know had me around the waist. "You will be fine. Everything will be fine."
The voice had an odd quality, like something old yet…strangely youthful. Whoever it was had the build of a human, judging by the way they were holding me. The voice sounded male, but it was dark, and I couldn't be sure.
"You must relax."
But I didn't want to relax now. To relax would let my guard down in the face of an unknown threat. But I was already spent. The panic, my harshly beating heart had taken a toll. My shoulders slumped tiredly.
"Good." He let me go. I fell to my knees. Embarrassment flooded me. Why did I do that? Was I really that tired?
"The fault is mine." He appeared to be talking more to himself than me. "They said she may not be able to deal with such a large transition. I should have watched more carefully."
Transition? They?
A hand gently seized my arm and pulled me up. I looked down at the ground as I steadied myself.
"Look at me."
I looked up hesitantly.
The moon shone bright in this clearing. I hadn't even realized I moved so far from the grove. That seems to happen more and more lately.
Before me stood a dark robed man, in a matching dark hood. The being towered over me easily. From that hood I could see white hair fall across the dark robes. It was long, but not from his beard. From what I could tell, he had no beard. I glanced down at the hand on my arm. It was as white as ivory, but gave off an almost blue undertone to it, and I began to have odd thoughts about why he wore that robe and the sun. I guess my panicked mind wasn't quite back to normal. I looked back at the hood and suddenly felt my heart skip a beat.
Red eyes.
Not glowing red eyes like that Cajun boy Rogue liked, but the kind of eyes that make you think twice, because you don't believe yourself the first time.
Was he an albino? No, not with those eyes. There had to be something else.
His hood kept me from discerning anymore of his features.
"You are the girl that speaks with animals, are you not?"
I dumbly nodded, trying to get past his odd appearance.
"I knew this. Your name is Danielle, yes?"
"Yes." I managed to croak out before pieces started fitting together in my head. I stared for a moment, then the last piece snapped into place. "What did you do to my friends?" I snarled eyes narrowing.
"They are asleep. I placed them under a sleeping enchantment."
"Well, unplace them! You have no right!"
"I have every right. My only desire is to speak with you. They are nothing to me."
"They are everything to me!" I burst out, surprising myself. I bit my lip a little. There goes my mouth again, saying things that don't need to be said.
"Yes…They were right about you." He said smugly.
"Right about what? And who?" I demanded. He was starting to tick me off.
"That you'll find out later. But now…I have a gift for you, and a small piece of information that you might find…useful, in you endeavors."
"I don't think I want anything you can give me."
"You think what you wish. Soon it will come to pass that you'll thank me for my generous gift."
"Maybe after I connect my fist to your jaw."
"Perhaps. But don't count on that. Here." He held out his hand. In his palm lay a small, silver ring.
"I'm not a fan of jewelry."
"That's too bad for you. This ring will help protect you. It comes with the blessing of an entire world. Your world." He grabbed my wrist and pressed the ring into my palm. "You don't have to wear it. Just keep it with you for all time."
"What do you mean, my world?"
"My information for you comes next. Fly north along the coastal border. You shall happen upon a town after several days travel. Look for the sellers and traders. You shall find one of your own when you seek."
"Why are you telling me this?" I searched those red eyes. "What's in it for you?"
"That answer I cannot give now, like so many others. But soon. It is always soon."
"Wait a minute. What are you, some sort of walking cliché? Going to keep one of the main characters of this little charade dangling on a string? Why me?"
"Is that not a cliché in itself? The 'reluctant hero'?" He returned smugly.
"….Don't make me resort to violence to get my answers."
"And what exactly will you do? Your mutation is now dormant, perhaps even permanently, and the part of your mutation you can use is utterly useless in my presence."
"What if I tell you to go somewhere?" I bit back.
"Such manners. But I expect them from humans. Your temperament often leaves much to be desired. Goodbye. And expect another visit from me again."
"Don't inconvenience yourself."
"I don't plan to." Smoke seemed to pop up out of nowhere and envelop him. It swirled around him slowly, then expanded outwards into nothing.
I had to admit it was a nice exit.
Background noise suddenly popped up in my head and I looked around, stunned. They had always been here. Just silent. Something about that man had scared them into silence.
Well, at least it would be easy to tell where he was.
"Danny? Where are you?" Jean called from the grove. I gripped the ring in my hand. He only wanted to talk to me. Why?
"I'm coming!" I forced myself to sound fine. No need to worry Jean about strange white haired men in black robes. She and Rahne were already freaking out about the other kids, they didn't need to worry about this too.
It was probably a stupid idea, not to tell them. But something was stopping me from doing it. Something about what he said about my world and people who talk about me…I wanted to learn more before I started sharing. That, and were they really going to believe me? Yeah, I got up and ran into this guy in black robes and white hair, and you were there and you were there…
I don't foresee this as a good conversation, even if Jean could pick my mind to see what was going on.
Besides, if he was going to hurt us, he would have done so when the others were asleep.
I hope.
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Whew, a long chapter. I couldn't find a good place to stop. So I kept writing! Hope you all don't mind! I know, black robed guy a little weird, but he'll get more interesting as he shows up more. I hope, at least.
Asteria: Still writing, no sign of stopping. Gee, you know I've been cranking out some long chapters for this story. That has to be some sort of new thing for me. Glad you like it!
Raliena: Sorry, Logan is still stuck back on our world, in comparison to this one. So it might be a good long time before we see an interaction between himself and Danny. I know, Jean is not a well liked character, but I'll try to make it as painless as possible. I'll try not to make her as stuck up. Glad you like it!
Anon(girl): The most annoying ones usually are. Herman thanks you for his fly pie! Glad you and Fishy like the story!
Chaotic Dreamer: Yeah, I'm glad I don't too. I always think about it when I look at Jean. She's portrayed a lot as kind of weak. But I can see the potential for a nasty streak in her, which I intend to bring out. Glad you loved it, hope you like this one too!
PrincessofWildfire: Glad you think so! Hope this chapter makes it better too!
Herman will take the reviews today! And in spirit of these strange events in this story, he's wearing his own set of robes!
