Wishes and Lost Hope

Chapter Three
Wisdom and Ignorance

Weather is a fickle thing. It changes with the seasons, during a single day, or within the hour. The day that Athena left Domina with Elazul and Daena, the sky was clear and the air was warm. Later the same day, along the Luon highway, rain clouds had gathered and a thunderstorm broke with all the ferocity of a dragon's wrath.

Covered in mud, the three trudged though the gale for an hour before Daena suggested they might do better to find someplace to wait out the storm. Athena said a little rain could never hurt them, but relented soon after she got stuck in a pool of mud and had to ask for help to get free. With her pride slightly bruised, she led the way to an old cave.

"So where are we going?" Daena asked, resting near cave mouth and watching the lighting flash from time to time outside.

"I don't know," Athena replied, staring off into space. Her misgivings about Pokiehl had her mind occupied. She kept trying to understand what he meant, and felt like she was trying to put together a puzzle without its pieces.

Daena waited for the echo of thunder to fade so that she would be heard before replying, "Well, I hear the waterfalls are beautiful after the floods, what do you think we go there?"

No answer came, and the tabby turned to look at her friend. Seeing only Elazul brooding against the wall, she looked around nervously, "Athena?" she called, and yelled the same when no answer came.

Elazul stirred and looked around at Daena's exclamation. Understanding almost immediately, he added his voice to hers as they peered into the darkness beyond the entrance.

Elazul's hand went to his sword's hilt as a war cry sounded in the darkness around him, and something tackled him from behind. He hit the ground with a curse and struggled to free himself from his assailant.

"Athena!" he growled, worry replaced with annoyance, "What the hell?"

"Nothing," the woman purred, letting go of the knight, "Just havin' a bit of fun is all."

"Be more careful next time," the Jumi grumbled, taking care in checking himself over. He did not want his core shattered over that woman's pranks, however they seemed to help her mood.

Athena lay on the ground still, watching Elazul with a mix of admiration and envy in her eyes, "I wanna be a Jumi," she declared. Elazul looked down at her, and shook his head slowly. It was not a secret how Athena often wanted to be something other than what she was.

"A Jumi, huh?" Daena asked, sharing Athena's amusement, "Wasn't it a penguin last time? And a basilisk the time before?"

"You've saved three worlds," Elazul scoffed, "Why would you want to be someone else?"

Athena sat up and shrugged, "Anyone could do it," she stated, "I was just lucky."

The storm grew more brutal, and the three decided to spend the night in the cave. Athena's rabite wouldn't come out of his keeper's bag for fear of thunder, and the night wore on dully without much conversation. When morning came, the sky was again clear, but the road seemed to be made of mud.

"Hey, Athena?" Daena asked, "Isn't Gaeus near here?"

"I think somewhere," Athena answered, "You want to go visit him, don't you?"

"If it wouldn't be too much trouble," Daena said, "and since you don't know where you want to go anyway, why not?"

Athena shrugged in response. It couldn't really hurt, she supposed. Half an hour later, the three travelers were standing before the living rock formation that was Gaeus. The Wisdom greeted them with some apprehension.

"You come to me with your mind not knowing what your heart seeks," Gaeus said sleepily, "What you search for might as well be the sun inside an icicle."

"What?" Athena asked, "What do you mean?"

"History listens well to itself, and repeats time and time again," the Wisdom explained, "If you blindly seek the future, you'll encounter only your past. I want you to watch yourself, young keeper."

"Stop talking in like that," the young woman demanded, "I haven't even asked you a question yet aside from How are you?'"

"Young one," Gaeus sighed, "You don't know what you are getting yourself into."

"Tell me what it is, then!" Athena all but shouted, "If you know, then tell me!"

"I cannot,"

Athena was frustrated, and slid down from the granite hand that held her before the Wisdom's face. She ran off before Elazul or Daena could follow. As they pursued, Gaeus called out behind them.

"Guard her well," he said, "For she may well be the last."

They had no time to rest when they caught up with Athena, as she had set a vigorous pace and would not slow down. Elazul and Daena followed devotedly. Eventually, the rigorousness of the travel began to wear on them, and Daena finally halted her friend.

"Hey, where are you going in such a rush?" she asked, "Slow down, you're gonna kill yourself of exhaustion."

"Going to the snowfields," Athena replied, taking the few seconds to rest, "I've got this feeling, y'know? That something's there."

"The snowfields are days away," Elazul said, "Hell, weeks or more if you get lost."

"So what? You wanna turn back, then go," Athena spat, "I'm going to Fieg." With that she turned to leave, but the Jumi blocked her path.

"You won't get there tonight," he insisted, "So why not slow down, hmm?"

"Fine," Athena said sulkily, starting off again at a much slower pace, "If you can't keep up I'll just have to go slower."

"Is it me, or does she get more childish the older she gets?" Elazul asked Daena quietly when Athena had gotten out of hearing range.

"I don't know," Daena replied teasingly, "I've seen her worse."

"You're kidding," Elazul choked, "how much worse?"

"Oh, I'm sure you don't want to know," the tabby chirped, "But not that much worse I suppose."

oOo

The cold could already be felt in the night air, although the Fieg Snowfields were a couple of days away at least. The forest was dark, but the leaves on the trees seemed to reflect the light of the small campfire that burned brightly.

"If she wants to get to the Snowfields so quickly," Elazul whispered, "Why did she insist we go around the woods?"

Daena shrugged and looked towards the sleeping woman. She glanced into the darkness surrounding the campsite and wondered.

"We're being followed," she said under her breath, "I don't like this forest. Give me the desert any day."

"I don't like the desert," Elazul replied, "But I don't like this forest either. And at least in the desert you can see what's sneaking around."

"Yeah," Daena agreed.

"I'll keep watch if you guys wanna sleep," Athena put in from her bedroll, startling both her companions. Daena recovered first.

"Well, if you want to," she said, looking around, "Just promise you'll be careful."

"Of course," Athena replied, sitting up, "How about you, Elazul? Tired?"

The only response she got was a mumble. She smiled and started rearranging her backpack's contents for the next morning. Only when she was sure both her friends were asleep did she stand up and walk away from the circle of fire.

"So why didn't you cut straight through the forest," the familiar voice asked from the darkness, "It's not like you to take the roundabout route."

"I thought they might not be welcome there," Athena replied, looking at her feet though she could not see them.

"They are your friends," Larc said flatly, "Aren't they?"

"Yeah, but," Athena thought for a minute, not quite sure what to say, "Do you know what I'm looking for?"

"No," Larc wondered at this, "But I'm willing to bet it's something strange. You always were an odd one."

"I'm not quite sure," Athena said, "Why don't you come with us so that you can see what it is firsthand when we find it?"

"If us' includes them," Larc stated, "Count me out. I travel with you alone or Sierra, not with strangers."

Athena looked back at the campsite. She did not have to see the wolf man to remember him. She suddenly wondered if he could get her back to the underworld the way that he had before. Not that he would if he did not want to, but just maybe... Maybe she could get these dreams to stop.

"If I took you with me," the woman asked, "Would they be okay here?"

"That depends," Larc answered, "They are your friends, what do you think?"

Athena grinned, and walked back to the campsite quietly as she could. She retrieved her lightened backpack and her sleeping bag before leaving again.

"What makes you think I want to go?" the dragoon asked when she returned.

"Why not? It'll be fun," Athena replied, "Think of the snow."

oOo

"Wake up,"

Elazul groaned, and waved the tabby away irritably. He knew it was still too early for him, the sun was not even up yet. Why could she not just go away?

"Hey, Gem Boy," Daena hissed, "Wake up before I kick you out of that bed."

"Go away," the bullied Jumi mumbled, "I'm tired, and it's cold out there."

"Yeah, well, Athena's gone."

"Good for her," Elazul said from beneath blanket. It took a few minutes for the sentence to completely register, "Where?"

"I don't know, but she's gone real sneaky like," Daena hugged the rabite close to her, "And she left some stuff behind." She watched as the man crawled slowly from his makeshift bed and evaluated the situation.

"What the hell?" he asked, "Where'd she go?"

Daena shrugged, "We'd best find her, don't you think?"

Elazul nodded, and within the hour they had Athena's spare things packed and had set out after her. They had no knowledge of which direction she went in, but both guessed the way towards the snowfields would be quickest through the forest. They had gone about halfway through the forest when they found a stranger.

"Stop where you are," she demanded, appearing from nowhere. Daena's fur stood on end, and Elazul sympathized with the feeling, "Explain yourself, why are you here?"