Wishes and Lost Hope
Chapter Two
Dark Child
Athena slipped her fingers under the small ledge that projected beneath the railing. It was not much, but it was enough to hang onto until her feet fell below her. She only maintained the grip for a couple of seconds before there was nothing left to hold, but now at least she was right side up.
She landed on the hardwood floor heavily, and it took her a minute to remember which direction was up. Elazul's landing shortly after jarred the boards beneath her feet, not helping the process. The rabite, being the sensible creature he was, took the stairs.
Daena watched amusedly as her friend regained her sense of balance. Humans were clumsy for the most part, but at one time Daena would have claimed Athena as an exception to the rule.
"Hello Athena, how are you?" she asked, giving Elazul a second glance. She remembered the man, but never had actually met him.
"Unemployed," Athena replied, brushing herself off, "How're you?"
"Alright, I guess," Daena said, returning her gaze to Athena, "Unemployed?"
Athena knelt to pick up her pet before answering, "No work for mercenaries it seems." She glanced around the tavern, suddenly noticing that a lot of focus was on her. Those that knew her passed her behavior off as normal, but those who did not know her were staring.
"Hmm, I know the feeling. Kinda," Daena said softly, "The new priestess has new guardians, I'm not as needed as I once was."
"I'm sorry," Athena replied sullenly. She suddenly realized what the feline-woman had lost, and it hurt because it made her remember her own losses.
"It's not to do with you," Daena smiled, "Introduce me, will you?" The tabby-marked feline turned an ear in Elazul's direction.
"Huh? Oh," Athena startled, "Elazul, this is Daena. Daena, this is Elazul."
"Nice to meet you," the Jumi nodded politely, "I've never met a… One of your species before."
"You travel with her a lot?" Daena asked, indicating Athena.
"I owe her a debt of gratitude greater than I can repay," Elazul replied quietly.
"I see," the woman-cat purred, "Hey Athena, maybe we should go on a pilgrimage or something, what do you…" Daena trailed off, noticing her friend's attention was elsewhere, "Are you alright?"
Athena was perplexed. She thought she had seen a familiar man amidst the patronage, but he was in plain sight and now she swore that never in her life did she know him. He was one of those gawking at her stunt. Quite suddenly, he stood and left. Athena was snared by curiosity. She pushed the rabite into Daena's arms and dashed out the still open door.
When she got outside, she scanned the dusty road for the man. Seeing no one, she looked to the ground. Whoever the man was, he left a clear track behind him. A track that Athena followed without thought.
Her friends were not the least hesitant in following, but could not keep up as she raced towards the outskirts of the small town.
A sudden gust of wind tore dust and sand from the ground and whipped it about as Athena came upon the fountain of the Goddess in the small park. A figure wrapped in a dark blue cloak stood on the rim of the fountain. The young woman immediately recognized the figure, though seemingly different again, as the man she was after.
"Why were you watching me?" she demanded, ignoring the suddenly roaring wind and sandstorm.
"Why were you following me?" the man countered, his blue eyes sparkling with a light of their own.
"Because you were watching me!" Athena growled, "Why?"
"Many were watching you," the man grinned, "That was a stupid stunt, Athena, one that could have wound you up in the Underworld."
"It didn't," Athena stated, ignoring the use of her name by a stranger.
"I wouldn't want to go there if I were you, you know?" the man continued, "There are many there who want your soul ripped to shreds."
"I know," Athena said. The conversation suddenly seemed ludicrous. Why would she need a stranger to tell her such things? Then it hit her; he was a stranger, "Who are you?"
"I'm bothered that you don't know me," the man said, stepping off the lip of the fountain and beginning to walk away.
"Don't walk away from me!" Athena exclaimed, "You know my name, but do you know who I am?"
"Of course, dark one," the stranger said, not halting, "You are the Gemma that denied her existence."
"What?" the woman asked incredulously, "Come back here and explain yourself or I'll take your heart from your chest."
"With what?" the man wondered, "Your bare hands? You left your heart- piercing spear at the tavern."
Angered beyond words, Athena leapt at the man from behind. She fell on the cloak, but there was nothing beneath it. She uttered a curse under her breath, untangled herself from the heavy cloth, and stood up.
"Now if I didn't know you better," the taunting yet familiar voice sighed, "Don't you want this?" A spear was offered from one side, and she turned to face her tormenter. It was then that she recognized the creature, no longer in human guise. And she fell to her knees in reverence and bowed her head.
"Master story-teller," Athena mumbled, more than a little shocked. The spear, her spear crafted by her own hands, fell before her eyes and she reached for it automatically.
"So I have the great warrior now humbled before me, do I?" Pokiehl asked, staring down at the woman.
"I didn't realize it was you, or I wouldn't have… wouldn't…." Athena couldn't think of a good way to finish that sentence.
"Now, now," Pokiehl chided, "Stand, I would have all as equals."
The woman did as bade, with the spear firmly in hand. The bird-man smiled in the strange way he did. Suddenly, he grabbed for her unprotected throat and lifted her from the ground with inhuman strength. Although his reach had been for her throat, his grip was on her jaw. While painful, the hold was not as threatening as a stranglehold. That fact did not alleviate Athena's struggles, and she almost used the spear in hand before remembering whom she fought. When he saw her restraint, Pokiehl laughed.
"You stay your hand for me, what if I were a stranger?"
"You'd be dead," Athena growled, trying with one hand to free herself while keeping the spear in the other.
"And an enemy?"
"Same."
"And, my dear girl," the storyteller asked slowly, "if I were a friend?" The answering silence lasted long before Pokiehl smiled again and dropped Athena to the ground. "I know your dreams, dark child, don't let them determine who's side of the war your on."
"What do you mean?" Athena asked hazily, deciding to stay sitting in the dirt. When Pokiehl did not answer, she looked up to find him gone. So was the sandstorm and the wind, none of them had left a trace. There were no tracks. Athena was the only thing covered in dust.
"Where've you been?" the voice cut through the woman's musing, and she suddenly noticed the knees that were on eye-level with her. She looked up at Elazul and Daena and smirked.
"I've been here, where have you two been?" she queried.
"Looking for you," Daena replied, cradling the rabite as Elazul helped Athena up.
"What happened?" the Jumi asked suddenly, inspecting Athena's neck with sudden interest. She had no bruises that morning, and these that he now found looked strangely regular. Athena yelped at the man's not so gentle inspection.
"Hey, leggo," she protested, pulling away, "I'm alright, nothing's wrong, I swear."
"Alright, fine," Elazul sighed, "but you should get your stuff if you want to keep it."
"Hmm?" Athena strapped the spear to her back and accepted the rabite back from Daena.
"Your stuff at the tavern," Elazul said dully, "You don't want it stolen."
"Err, right," Athena said, "Let's go back then."
"You're sure you're okay?" Elazul asked, getting just that much more worried.
"I'm fine," Athena tried to assure him. At the very least she was shaken. Not even close to being at the most, she was terrified. She was not going to admit it then, and not for a good long time. She needed to know what Pokiehl was talking about first, and then she could be scared out of her wits.