At sunrise the next day, the couple awoke by stretching their still sleepy muscles before giving a grin to each other from the other end of the room. They clean up at the nearby river as usual before going to make themselves breakfast with Huntress eating some meat from her answer seeking hunt, and Finn an apple he found on the way back from the river. It was as they were munching on their food did Huntress start talking,
"Let go on another hunt Finn." She says out of the blue.
"Err Diana I think we've got plenty of meat." He says, taking a peek at the overfilled pantry, but Huntress just shakes her head.
"That's not why I want to hunt, I want us to hunt to show you tricks and how to hold a bow." Finn nods, and reaches for his new bow, "Bring it, but don't expect to be shooting anything."
"Sure, I'll probably miss anyway." He slings it and his sword, "Oh, just to let you know, we are totally going to get you a sick sword and I'm going to teach you sword combat with Fionna! And who knows, I might have to give private lessons for you to catch up."
"Will we now?" Finn nods with a grin on his face to which she shakes her head at, "C'mon, lets just show you how to hold a bow." Exiting their home, she leads him into the forest, keeping an eye out for any animal to hunt that wasn't a bird. They have killed a lot recently, anymore and it might upset the balance. And she was going to start getting bored of their taste if she keeps eating them. Spotting a hog from afar she grabs two apples from a low hanging tree branch and drops them on the forest floor as bait. She then signals Finn to follow her, leading him to enters a bush, what he does loudly as multiple sticks to snap and crack loudly, "Can't do anything thing quietly can you?" He looks up expecting a disappointed look but instead sees a grin tugging at the edges of her lips.
"If twigs were made to be quiet then Glob wouldn't of made them loud." What just causes Huntress to do her cute giggle, but it lasts less than a second and she was back to stoic hunting self, making Finn question if she even made the noise. "... I'm totally going to make you do that again." She turns around with confusion.
"Do what?"
"Make you laugh, it sounds adorable." What just causes her to gain a slight blush that was mostly hidden by her mask.
"Shut up."
"No I'm serious, it is cute. You don't giggle... ever now that I think about it, what is a shame to say the least."
"I usually don't make a noise at all, but to be honest? Being around you makes my emotions go hyper, and I can't help but laugh at even the stupidest of jokes." Finn was going to reply but Huntress suddenly signals him to be quiet with a finger to her lips. She then reaches over his shoulder and grabs his bow, still not making a single noise. Gripping it in her left hand she uses her right to point two fingers at her eyes, then the bow, before she then looks outside of the bush.
The hog had fallen for the bait, and was standing in front of them, munching on the apples noisily. She readies to fire, pulling an arrow from her quiver and pulling the string back as Finn watches. 'Shoulders and elbows are straight, right hand on string below the arrow, thumb behind the arrow-' That was all he saw as she releases the arrow, due to the hog starting to move. She nails it in the face as it squeals in pain, before dropping to the floor. Finn sighs before they exit the bush and head towards the hog,
"I saw how to hold it, but just barely." He admits.
"Sorry I didn't hold it for longer but it was about to leave." She hands the bow back to him, before coming to a realisation. "You stick out like a sore thumb." Finn blinks before looking down at his bright blue clothes and dazzling white hat, then the light and dark greens 'n browns that made up the rest of the environment.
"I do, don't I?" He mutters, coming to the same realisation.
"Maybe we should get you new clothes." She says putting a hand on her chin in thought.
"What are you talking about! This is my iconic look, it's how people recognise that I'm a hero! Anything else and I'll look... weird."
"Remember Finn, your not a hero here... not yet at least, knowing you. People won't see Finn, they'll see a Fionna fan boy. You might want to change that." He looks down and pinches his shirt with a sad look in his eye, "... Besides they're getting dirty with no way to clean them." Also true.
"Alright, I'll look into new clothes. But I'm keeping the hat!" It was always with him, it was part of him, it was his last link to his real mum, it might as well be him with how hard it will be to remove it from him.
"That will still make you stand out-" She notices the look of determination at keeping his admittedly cute hat, "...You can keep that hat."
"Thanks Diana." He says patting the white hat on his head before an idea pops in his head, "Could we get a hooded clothing to cover it during our hunts? Would that work?"
"Yeah, that is also an option." Pulling the arrow from the hogs head she allows Finn to carry the body back home as she inspects the arrow for damages.
"Who knows, maybe we will find you a sword as well in a nearby store." She didn't reply to that, ending the conversation as they walk across the forest to their home with still alive birds singing above their heads, spared of the deadly arrow for today.
"We should turn this into jerky, so we have some lunch ready. Or will that get in the way of Gumball's appointment?" What causes Huntress to freeze.
"Shoot I forgot about that! Let's drop the body off and come back to deal with it later." She's not used to the non-wild world of appointments and people relying on her position, she was used to being able to decide her day and what happens, if magic stays out of it. She had gotten too preoccupied with showing Finn how to join her in her life. With a slight sprint, their speed being hindered by the body, they went back to their trusty home. "Now that this is becoming more permanent I should probably expand it at some point." Huntress says looking at how cramp it was, with the food and gold taking up most of the room, let alone having privacy or personal belongings.
"Lets get furniture first and then adjust around that, last thing we need to do is make a room too small or waste magic making a room to big." She nods before looking around the house once more, before they sprint towards the Candy kingdom.
They quickly arrive, and the slow to walk as they walked up the candy streets. As they go through the candy market, Finn notices a furniture shop. Just one problem. "Want our furniture to be made out of bright pink candy?" Huntress stops in her walk to look at the display of the furniture made of gingerbread and icing.
"No thank you Finn. Are those even comfy?"
"No, they're rock hard. But that does remind me to bring money for some furniture while we are searching in wizard city." They turn and walk away, leaving the shop but not the conversation behind.
"You sure? They are going to be magic and weird."
"Good point. Glob where can we get some normal furniture?"
"I'm sure we can find some place, I don't know since I don't really have much furniture in my home. Where did you get yours?"
"Came with the tree house." He shrugs. Where Marceline got them? He had no idea, probably from pre-mushroom war buildings, what was no longer an option.
It was well into morning when they arrived, sweat starting to form on their bodies as they go to Gumball's castle, and were once again greeted by Butterscotch Butler, "Hello, Gumball is expecting you, he is the throne room talking to Fionna." They nod as they walk along the corridors that Finn knows so well, and encounter a giant double door with dual banana guards standing outside them. Finn ignores them and pushes the door open to see Gumball talking to Fionna, who both stop to look at the new guests.
"Ah! There you are! Fionna, I'm sorry to cut this short but I need to help these two, I hope to see you again soon."
"Wait, you need help? I'll be glad to help!" Fionna says pulling her sword out, eager to fight something.
"Not that type of help. We need science that no one but Gumball only seems to know, that type of help." Finn replies, the shorter girl sighing.
"Alright." She then leaves the room slouching, Huntress and Finn parting way for her exit.
"Now, I know I need to help you, but I've got no data to."
"Huntress Wizard has got the spot where we came from marked up I believe." Finn replies, turning to Huntress for confirmation,
"I have, and using magic I've confirmed that there is something different there but can't tell what." What earns an eye roll from the Prince at her mentioning 'magic'.
"Lets go to my lab, I should have some devices that can read the area." Standing from his throne they allow him to lead the way, and soon they arrive at the labs once more as Gumball starts searching the place, moving techno's and gadgets with light clunks. Eventually he pulls out a device with a handle and antenna, and brushes dust of it rectangular screen before powering it up to check if it is working. "This is what we will need, it reads radiation levels, elec-" He was about to continue when he saw the duo's blank expression, and remembers he is talking to a male Fionna and a wizard. Science was never going to be understandable to them, no matter how hard they try. "Let's just get going already." Turning it off to save power they let Huntress leads them to the 'gate'.
They walk through the forest, and after a few minutes of awkward silence, Finn does anything to end it. "Hey Gumball." He only turns his eyes to look at him, "Is it true you've got a crush on Fionna?" Now that got a full head turn, and a blush.
"Why are you interested in my personal life?" The hero shrugs,
"I just heard from Cake that you do, that's all. I was wondering if it was true or not." 'This could be my chance to check if these dimensions will be the same or not, and if so, the future.' Gumball however has a different conclusion in his mind about the question, 'Why is he interested in my crush?' Then it hits him as he remembers yesterday.
Gumball was going to the librarian, Turtle Prince, to take some books that he was going to need in an upcoming robot creation. "Hello Turtle Prince, I would like to take these." The sentient turtle nods and starts to write it down in a large tracker as Gumball puts the science books into his bag.
"Is that all?" He nods and moves to go back to the lab. "Have you heard the rumours?"
"Whatever they are I doubt they are more important than my discoveries." He continues walking, hoping to avoid conversation about silly rumours that usually end up being fake.
"You sure? It's about Fionna!" He raises his voice at the candy prince, but he doesn't stop walking away. "She's got a boyfriend!" Gumball freezes at the door, before turning back around and walking back towards the other prince.
"What?" Confusion and shock filled the word.
"Yeah LSP walked in on her holding another human's hand, he's been telling everyone about it!" 'Another human? Finn? Probably a misunderstanding then.' Gumball calms down tremendously before replying.
"... Whatever I won't probe in on Fionna's personal business." Gumball says before walking away and through the library's door. After a few silent seconds the turtle whips out his phone and immediately starts typing, 'OMG I just told Gumball about Fionna's boyfriend and he tried to act all political about it!' A minute later he gets a reply, 'Drama bomb! I'm going to tell Marshall and see his reaction!'. The doors library's door open again and Gumball strides back up to the Prince, "I forgot my card." Sure enough his free books card was sittings on the desk, forgotten in his rush to escape hearing a rumour. Grabbing it, he turns and leaves once more. Turtle Prince types on his phone again 'He's so jealous.'
Gumball mentally shakes his head in the forest. 'Why was Finn asking if I had a crush on Fionna?... Unless he is interested in Fionna and that rumour was true, then he really might of been holding hands with her. So he is wondering if he's got competition to date... himself?... I won't let him get Fionna! Marshall Lee dotting on her is bad enough!'. "To be honest Finn, I do. And I think she will choose me. I'm a Prince with lots of money, power, and genuine feelings for her." As he admits his feelings for his knight, Finn immediately thinks: 'Ok, somethings are definitely different here.'
"That is true, but I wonder if you would choose Fionna over your kingdom?" Finn asks. He remembers what PB was like: highly manipulative, choosing her kingdom over personal feelings and well being, sitting in the lab for days on end, and what it did to him emotionally whenever she did manipulate him. Gumball was not good for a relationship if he acts the same way, and it won't do Fionna any good either. Gumball however saw this as a threat,
"While I'm willing to make sacrifices and willing to fight for her, I won't abandon my kingdom either." He glares at Finn, much to his confusion.
"We're here." Huntress ends the conversation. In silence Gumball walks forward while turning on his devices.
"Strange." He says walking around, scanning the environment, leaving the duo to stand around and unsure of what to do. "Can you raise me in anyway?" What Huntress answers by walking towards him.
"Yeah one sec." Huntress just puts both hands on the ground before disappearing under the dirt, appearing not a second later as a tree under Gumball who lets out a noise of startlement as he gets carried by the growing tree. When she stops growing the Prince takes a second to re-adjust himself before continuing his work. He looks at his device with confusion,
"Alright you can bring us back down now Huntress Wizard." She rapidly shrinks, changing back almost instantly, what is faster than Gumball can fall as he lets out a startled scream, however Finn catches him before he hits the ground. The prince hurriedly gets out of his hands however and brushes himself off. "If my devices are working correctly, then there is absolutely nothing different here than anywhere else." What shocks Finn who quickly expresses it.
"Not even a single... what's the word PB uses... anomaly!?" Snapping his fingers as the world come to him.
"No."
"Strange, because my magic can feel something is different here." What earns an eye roll from the prince, something Huntress picks up on. "What's with the eye roll?"
"Just the thought of 'magic', it doesn't exist! It's just science that we don't understand yet, what you idiot wizards keep on calling something so childish as 'magic'." Gumball snaps, annoyed at having this conversation so many times, "Not everything that is misunderstood or confusing is magic, You don't know what the square root of a 1732 is, does that make it magic?" He rants, as he turns away from them, the duo take a step back, Finn flinching from Huntress's annoyed look,
"You use to serve this?" She asks, starting a whisper conversation,
"I... was in love. Also you've seen what PB becomes, he'll relax eventually… I think… In a few years..." They turn their attention back to the Prince who was staring at them, causing Finn to cough awkwardly.
"Sorry, use to that conversation with Princess Bubblegum, everyone got tired of hearing it, especially when it put us in danger." He remembers his visit to wizard city with the Princess and her stubborn pride. The Prince looks very irritated by the response, but does not say a word. Huntress looks down in thought before looking at the royal once more.
"Well if that's all then, we will try wizard city. There's got to be someone there who can help us."
"Good idea Huntress." This however sparks an idea in the Gumballs mind,
"I've got a science fair tomorrow, to show off some real science and scientists, not 'magic'. If you two want, I can get seats for you. Together." If he can get these two to fall for each other, Finn will no longer be going after Fionna. Of course, getting him home will also solve that problem, so it is still a priority. This might require some pushing to get them together, but if anyone can do it, it is him with years worth of experience of manipulation. He just needs to get some spy gear on them to find their interests and what they both like...
Finn was having different thoughts though, 'Isn't that the fair where I made a black hole!?' "Sorry PG, we might have to pass on that, We've got... things to do."
"Things?" The Prince questions, not wanting his plan to fail, or at least delayed due to him making a lame excuse escape, as it meant more time he was with Fionna.
"Yes, things. Huntress let's go home, we need to gather some gold." He says with a bit of urgency in his voice. She nods, understanding that he was wanting to get away from the Prince for some reason. They left the Prince behind to stew in his thoughts, before the royal realises he has no way of finding his way back, before grumbling as he begins his search for home. The OOO duo were currently power walking home, trying to get away from the royal without looking rude.
"So what was that about?" Huntress questions, what causes the human boy to sigh.
"When I went to that science thing, I had a crush on PB."
"So?..."
"In an attempt to impress her I wore glasses that made me very smart, and made a black hole that nearly killed everyone."
"Ohhhhh that makes more sense, still, was it worth that reaction?"
"I've worked with PB for years, I know the look she makes when she is planning something. He had that look. He was trying to do something, and with him continuing after I said no tells me that the plan was at the fair, and was determined for it to happen. This is young PB, we need to be prepared for spying and manipulation." He sighs as is semi painful to admit that of PB and PG, but it was necessary.
They soon stand before their home and enter it, with Finn immediately going to his corner of gold to buy some furniture and to pay for a wizard's help, while Huntress prepares some food for the small journey. When they were finished with their tasks Finn leaves his bow against the wall and brings his trusty night sword while Huntress checks to see if she's got all of her arrows before equipping her quiver. Once final checks are done, food and gold packed they set of to the city of nerds.
The wizard city is always covered in a magic cover that prevents people from seeing it from outside, and the only way inside is to say the password to get inside. While they both know the password, Finn certainly did not look like a wizard of any sorts. "Any idea on how to make me look all wizardly? Got a robe lying around?"
"Nope." They stop just short of the city.
"We most probably should've thought of that before coming here." In search for a solution Huntress scans the area. And spots a dead tree. Smiling she walks towards it to Finn's confusion.
"Diana, what are you doing?"
"Watch." She places her hand on a tree branch, and a second later it revives at her touch, gaining life... before she brutally snaps it of. Branch in hand she focuses, her face going tense as the branch shifts and twists in her hands, the sharp spikes where it was broken off smoothen, become round as the twigs all pop off at once. The other end of the branch twists in on itself, creating a snail's spiral of wood, while the rest of the branch did the opposite, becoming straight and smooth. Huntress's face relaxes, letting out a sigh while slouching, "One staff." Finn's mouth was agape as he grabs it from her hands. "We can say you're my new apprentice, should also pardon you of not understanding anything." He holds it in his left hand as he puts his right hand on her shoulder, giving her a look of concern.
"That was awesome, but are you alright?"
"Yeah I'm alright, that staff was just a high stress and concentration, not difficult or draining. Reviving dead plants is easy, whenever greedy wood cutters or a deadly plant disease wipes out part of a forest, I've always had to fix the damage. Which is usually achieved by reviving the dead foliage, or speeding up the growth of new plants." She stretches her back before walking down the ravine that lead towards the hidden entrance, Finn following close behind her. She soon stands in front of the rocky texture in front of her, before dropping her gaze to the floor and closes her eyes, "Didn't think I would be back here, at least so soon." She remains silent for a second before looking back up, "Wizards rule." Instantly the rocky illusion disappears, and a city full of crazy, depressed people is revealed to them.
"So... where do we go?"
"Lets ask the grand master sorcerer- err sorceress? Whatever, for wizards who specialises in portal magic."
"Don't know anybody?"
"No... I mainly stuck to myself... Didn't want anyone to know who I was."
"... Back at the gate you seem lost in thought, and it sounds like you were hiding from something... You want to talk about it?"
"No, at least not now. I'll let you know if I ever do." Finn nods and backs off, respecting her wishes. "Lets just say that no one is born mad and sad to be a wizard Finn... stuff got to happen for them to curse people. I'm no exception." Finn nods, while Huntress looks lost in her memories, a frown on her face. Noticing this Finn rushes to change the topic,
"Ah er Huntress..." She snaps out of her thoughts and looks towards Finn, "er... You think we can get me any hunting clothes here?"
"Unfortunately no, but I do know where to get them, it's the same place I got mine from." 'Should have some leaves lying around, I mean, we live in a forest.'
"Sounds like a plan." Soon the duo stands before the building which contains the master of those inflicted with madness and sadness. They enter the building, the walls were surprisingly black, the opposite of her male counterparts. And then they stand before her, eyes slightly wide,
"I'm the Grandmaster Sorceress, why do you seek an audience with me?" She matches her walls, her appearance being mostly made of black, even her hair was black. Huntress Wizard forgets her surprise and takes a step forward, standing before the giant woman,
"I seek the wisdom and knowledge of one who is diverse and wise in the ways of portals or chaotic magic."
"Chaotic magic is not allowed, it causes too much trouble and has too much risk. However, there is someone who will help you with portals. His name is Paul, he lives down near the Western side of the city. Where precisely? No idea. I don't keep track of everyone." She stops to pet a cat that was by her feet, "However, no one comes to me to ask about the location of a single person, especially when I'm here mainly to enforce rules and punishments, why else are you here?"
"Because if this works, you might feel a massive energy spike of magic south-west of the Candy Kingdom, I'm telling you so you don't send out a massive brigade of enforcers to stop us."
"I see... I have one final question: What is a non-wizard doing here?" At announcing this several wizard police come out from hiding behind objects located in the room and quickly surround them, sticks at the ready. Finn looks around at them, drops his staff, and pulls out his night sword but does not attack. "Did you think I would not notice?"
"We are from another dimension." The sorceress does not react, still standing in front of Huntress. "We are here to seek aid to go home, hence needing one with the knowledge of portals. I ask for an excuse of the rules just this once."
"No." The police officers move in on Finn, while Huntress still does not look back at them, staring at the black woman down.
"Alright then Finn, let's go see Paul."
"What?!" Finn replies in shock. Huntress grins smugly at him,
"The law doesn't state non-wizards are not allowed, just that they can't buy or-... well, do anything really. Which means you can accompany me as I do the stuff we need."
"That's not true." The giant women counters.
"It is, check the law book. It was originally implemented to prevent those who did not have the knowledge of magic to buy dangerous items and artefacts, yet still allow helpers to attend injured wizards." The two women stare each other down, squinting as they have an intense staring contest to decide Huntress's and Finn's fate.
"Hold on." The police halt their advance when the Grand Master raises her hand. She then turns around muttering while searching through some container. She suddenly 'Ahas!' as she pulls out a dusty book, the grey substance falling off, causing the sorceress to have a coughing fit. Recovering, she flips through the pages a second later using magic and landing on a seemingly random page, and uses her finger to underline the words as she reads it. She then stops.
"Alright she's right." The officers back away from Finn, causing Huntress smile in victory. "However! If you break the law, I will know, and I will turn you into a cat." She finalises this by stroking a nearby cat that purrs at the attention. Finn nods nervously and sheaths his sword, and the duo turn around and leave, leaving the mob of officers and the giant sorceress behind them.
"Glob that was close, thanks for the save Huntress. Didn't even know I was allowed in, just that I wasn't allowed to buy anything."
"Some wizards know the law better than most, I'm one such person." She leads him down the roads that she knew so well in their search for a man named Paul.
"You know... I don't think any woman should have that much facial hair." Huntress smiles, suppressing a laugh.
In a store in the same city, a hundreds year old woman was holding a basket while browsing wares, mainly ropes that were designed to hold back beasts and criminals. Humming she grabs a rope that was on sale, before going two aisles over, looking at food available. Humming again she extends her arm and sweeps a load in, before going to the store's counter, a boy with red skin with a bored face full of acne. Lazily he starts magically scanning her items, while Ice Queen taps her foot impatiently. Scanning the last item and putting it into a bag, he looks up her, "Is that all?"
"Yes." She says with a bit of a hiss of annoyance.
"That will be... 23 gold." Ice Queen just grabs her bag and starts hovering in the air, the room temperature dropping as she rises up, "Err, hey! You haven't paid!" What just causes her to laugh maniacally and fly through the shop doors, smashing them open as she flew out of the city.
"Soon my knight will be my King! Hahahahaha! Now... how do I cook this stuff for our date?" The cashier was left in the shop watching the doors sway from left over force before sighing,
"Why do I always get the weird ones?" He mumbled before wiping his counter with a cloth.
Back with our favourite duo, they had entered the west side of Wizard City and were now fruitlessly asking anyone if they knew a portal man called Paul. After another wizard's head shake, Finn releases a sigh and finds Huntress, who has also just failed at getting the answer they seek. "Hey Huntress, want to take a break?" She turns at her name being called and nods at his answer, both of them sitting on a wall as they pulled out some meat prepared by Huntress.
"We totally need to get something other than meat." Finn tells her,
"Use your gold to buy us a place to store things and we will have something other than meat." She replies taking a bite out of her food. Finn was about to reply when a figure staring at him from down the road catches his attention. Stopping everything he gazes back, confirming that the figure was indeed staring at him. And Finn can't say why, but the figure was... familiar. When Finn was trying to recognise the person a stranger walks in front of him, breaking their line of sight, and when the stranger walks by, the mysterious figure was gone. Finn blinks in confusion and worry, what Huntress quickly notices. "What's up?"
"Nothing. A random stranger that I sort recognise was staring at me then." What causes Huntress to search where Finn was looking, but notices no figure at all.
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"Well this is wizard city, no one here is normal, some are insane. I mean who would stare at you? No one knows you here."
"Right? Let's get going, because I did not like that guy." They stand and evacuate the area, hopefully leaving the creep behind them.
Wandering the area, they continue the chore of asking random strangers for a man named Paul who specialises in portals, but still did not come any closer to their goal. Unil, "Excuse me mam." Finn asks approaching a female wizard that stood as tall as Huntress, antlers and all, covered in brown robes, who actually shrinks in fear at being talked to, her white neon eyes staring right at him.
"W-what is it that you need?" She asks, somehow shrinking even further back, almost crouching.
"Do you know a guy called Paul?" He asks after a moment of hesitation, judging if she was about to run in fear from him.
'I-I-I know one, yes." What gives Finn a bit of hope.
"Does he specialises in portals?"
"Yes." She replies gaining some nerve, then shrinking again as Finn emotions explode 'YES! FINALLY!' In his excitement he grabs her shoulders,
"Where is he?! We've been looking for him!" She doesn't reply, too busy stuttering in fear, making Finn realise his actions and quickly lets go of her. "Sorry, got excited. But please, can you tell us where he is?" After a second of recovering, the startled wizard responds.
"I can show you."
"Great. Just need to grab my... companion first." He looks around for Huntress, but does not spot her in the tiny crowd of people. "Where did she go?" Then suddenly he starts floating in the air, looking down he sees that the woman's arm rising beneath her robes. Once high above the crowd he looks around for the wood nymph, spotting her staring at his floating body, before he is slowly lowered once more and is gently placed back onto the ground.
"Did you see your friend?" She asks a bit timidly.
"Yeah, she's coming now." And sure enough Huntress arrives, jumping over several people and lands defensively, before spotting a calm Finn,
"Oh I thought you were getting attacked."
"No, it's cool, but she says she knows who Paul is and is willing to show us."
"Then lead the way." The robed girl nods and starts walking down the stone road, the duo following. After a second Huntress looks to go ask a question until Finn whispers in her ear.
"Hey Huntress, just a heads up she is very nervous or shy." Nodding she backs off. Silently the duo follow the wizard as she leads them through the city streets, taking corners and alleyways, weaving through crowds. Finn then pulls his bag of, catching Huntress's attention
"I think you'll need this, if I can't buy anything due to not being a wizard then you'll have to do it." Nodding she shoulders the surprisingly heavy bag.
"We're here." The woman says, standing aside to reveal a shop for 'dimensional and time anomalies' as revealed by a hanging store sign.
"Thank you for showing us here, we owe you one."
"Oh, no you don't..." She quietly says, backing away from the duo before briskly walking away. Huntress and Finn just look at each other before shrugging, then turn to the store's door before entering insid-
"WELCOME!" The sudden loud voice making them both jump backwards, its origin a blue skinned man behind the counter, "How can I help you?" Finn releases a sigh to calm himself after the surprise while Huntress strolls up to the counter.
"I've heard that you are specialised in portals. Is that true?"
"Specialised? Ha! I'm the master of them! So what is it you need me to get all portal-ly at?" He replies, leaning on one arm.
"We're from another dimension, we were wondering if you can help us return home. We've got where the portal was marked up and using magic I can detect that there is something there, but I don't know what."
"That's all? This will be easy, especially since you can detect the original portal, makes it way easier. It's always easier to repair than replace anything in life." He says leaving the counter, "So where is it? Oh, and I expect pay, big pay." Huntress simply opens Finn's stuffed bag, the gold reflecting any light hitting it, creating a golden shine. "...Yeah, that'll do." He says staring at it for a few seconds before looking back up to them.
"The portal is- or was, south-west of the candy kingdom, in the apple forest." What causes him to release a hum.
"That's not far. Lets get this over and done with." He walks to the door and cast a spell, adding the words 'UNAVAILABLE' to the door before motioning them to exit what the duo quickly do. Joining them he turns around and focus on his shop, when suddenly electricity surround all parts of the building, making Finn flinch backwards. "Right, I'm good to go, lead the way."
"Is that... necessary?" Finn asks with scepticism.
"Yes! You don't who is after your stuff." He snaps at him, before gesturing them to lead him forward to their goal, which they happily comply with.
The walk to the forest was silent, the duo not wanting to speak of anything personal in the presence of a stranger, and Paul did not start any conversation either. He decided to instead repeatedly hum the same sequence of notes over and over again, much to the duo's chagrin. They speed walk in hopes of getting this over and done with as quickly as possible, and they are rewarded with arriving much sooner than they expected, the red carpet being Huntress announcing,
"We here. This is where the portal was." Finn sighs in happiness as Paul stops his annoying repetitive jingle and starts probing the area magically similar to how Huntress herself looked at it, only this time, he understands what he is looking at.
"Hmm..." His face twists and scrunches in confusion. He should understand what he is looking. "What in the night-o-sphere?... What's this? Huh?" 'He has no idea what he looking at' Finn thinks. "Ok to be honest... I have no idea what is before me." The duo release a groan of annoyance at the announcement, "Hey! I don't know what's up with this portal, it's unlike anything I've seen before!... Well not really. It has everything a portal should have, but they are in the wrong spots, and some parts are duplicated… it doesn't make any sense at all, it's... chaotic."
"Well don't expect pay." Huntress says crossing her arms while looking down at the ground, causing shock to covers Paul face.
"What!?" He exclaims, throwing up his arms.
"You didn't help us with this portal, you don't get paid. If I'm at a restaurant and ask for food and don't get food, I won't pay. Simple." What causes Paul to release a groan of annoyance and glares at her, reaching for a small wand hidden in his clothes, when Huntress floats an arrow above her. He removes his hand, before making a portal appear to his right,
"If you don't hire a mercenary, they won't protect you. Free loaders after my work..." He grumbles the last bit as he enters the portal before it closes behind him. Huntress releases a sigh as Finn comes up and puts a hand on her shoulder,
"I feel kind of bad for him."
"I know, you help everyone. You're very sympathetic to people, and I like that about you... I think I'm just in a bad mood because of the only ways that I can think of for finding a way home just completely failed... That we might be stuck here."
"At least we are stuck together." To symbolise this, they stand in silence together, listening to the rustling of leaves as tree branches sway and distant birds sing, and actually enjoyed their situation despite being alone with no real friends and bare minimum home wise… all just because of each others presence.
"That we are Finn."
"Now what?"
"I'll head back to Wizard City. Get some magical supplies. You can hunt for some furniture."
"Right... I guess I can try a random market, someone might be selling something. Not like I'll have to search for a town, I've saved them all so many times that I think I know them all off by heart by now, so this shouldn't take too long." Nodding, Huntress puts Finn's bag down and opens it, revealing its golden contents to the world. She then places both hands on the ground and grunts with effort as before her a tree rapidly grows, making Finn backup and mouth gape. Once done, she runs up the tree and stands upside down on a branch to collect a giant leaf that had grown on it, easily half her size. Giving a quick inspection she nods and jumps of the branch and flips, landing silently on the ground. "How did you do that?"
"Which bit?" She replies, kneeling on the ground and starts tying the ends together, trying to create a makeshift bag.
"All of it!"
"Well, you already know of me reviving and growing trees, creating new ones is not too much of a leap. The defying gravity? I essentially attached to the tree, I was basically a branch, a very agile one admittedly. I was one with the tree, I could hear its song as it sung in harmony with the rest of the forest, despite it not belonging in it."
"... That is extremely cool." She nods as she finishes her makeshift bag, before grabbing several handfuls of gold and placing it inside. Finished, she stands up,
"Farewell Finn." She turns into a giant hawk, her talons grabbing the bag.
"See you later Diana." She squawks as she flapped her wings, causing her and her bag to rise and Finn to cover his eyes from flung up dust, before she heads off towards Wizard City once more.
Releasing a sigh Finn spins in a circle before walking in a random direction. Chances are he will encounter a village or kingdom who sells furniture. Good furniture, hopefully. His path left him in the grassy hills, however not the plains near Fionna's tree house. Even after wandering for a while, no villages appear on the horizon, to the point of making Finn wonder if they even exist, and him saving them were dreams he has had. However eventually one does appear, putting his mad little theory to rest.
While approaching the village, he does not remember ever seeing it before. Although all he sees right now is log-spear wall, obviously designed to hold of assaults from bandits but not a military siege. Circling the wall he eventually spots a road that lead to its open gates, entering them lead Finn beside two guards that did nothing to halt his advancement further inside. "Huh, never seen this place before." What triggers the guards to speak up to him,
"Then we welcome you."
"Thanks." Turning his gaze away from the guards he stares at the town's inhabitants, and notices that they weren't a single species or kingdom, but a mixture of multiple, evidence being the rock people, the candy people, and even a flame nymph, and they were roaming the streets without a care about each other. Now that he thinks about it, why are so many species either people or nymphs/elementals? Shrugging that thought off he strolls through the town, watching the calm villagers do their things as he searches for a furniture shop, and seeing how he has never helped this place, it must be peaceful here most of the time. A strange thought, given OOO's reputation of monsters and dangers seemingly being everywhere, but he's not going to complain.
Then wood catches his eyes. Polished shiny wood of a well made and kept furniture. All on display behind a shop's window, a shop that Finn quickly enters. He finds the owner of the shop a person made of rock, sitting asleep on the counter, sludge dribbling from his mouth while occasionally mumbling and twitching. Unsure on how to wake him up, Finn nervously walks up to him and begins to gently shake the grey person,
"Hey What!?" The goliath of a person yelled, jumping from his sleep, and his eyes quickly lock onto Finn, who now realises that the rock person could barely stand in his shop at seven feet tall. "What's going on? Who are you?" He inquires with no anger in his voice, just confusion at waking up to a stranger.
"A err... customer" Finn says slowly, rather wanting to not agitate the man.
"A customer?" Causing him to look around, triggering him to remember where he is, "A customer! Right." The gentle giant pulls out small wooden chairs out for them and sits down, prompting Finn to follow suit. The the rock person's chair to groan in protest as several tons of rock suddenly started sitting on it. "I'm Vock. Now, what are you looking for?"
"Everything in general really, it's a new home and I'm a new home owner, so I've got nothing at all." Causing Vock to nod enthusiastically.
"I've got just the deal for-" He leans forward, what proves to be too much for the chair as his centre of gravity shifts, and collapses under him, releasing a loud crack as wood snapped then a thump, causing the room to shake as the rock person lands on the floor. "Oof. Sorry about that, it happens from time to time." He groans as he stands and picks the poor chair's remains up, before underarm throwing the victim of his weight behind the counter.
Turning back to Finn he crouches to be eye level, "As I was saying, got a deal for you, created it just for new homeowners." He stands up quickly, causing him to bang his head against the ceiling and causes a small hole, not that he notices as he signals Finn with zest. "Right, to keep it short, it will be everything you need: tables, beds, wardrobes etc. It'll even contain this small coffee tables." What he pats, only for it to be smashed, broken wood splinters flying everywhere. "It'll won't contain this coffee table, but good news! The deal is now a few coins cheaper." He says before picking it up and throwing it to join the chair. Finn releases a sigh, the guy was nice but clumsy, "Right now lets see your money, that'll help us in choosing..."
Huntress meanwhile was searching the Wizard city stores, searching for magical supplies. The flight over was very quick, the privilege of wings allowing her to fly over obstacles, instead of weaving around trees and mountains that usually stand in one's way on the ground. She clutched the giant leaf that contained her gold, several wizards eyeing it several times, and her territorial behaviour enhanced by magic's madness making her clutch all that she owns close to herself aggressively.
Entering a random store that had the insignia for potions she looks around the area for anyone, however there wasn't even anyone on the counter. Silently, she searches the shelves for anything in which she or Finn could use, what was when she spots a row of cyclops tears '10 gold? Cheap'. She grabs three bottles of the magical healing liquid before realising she has nowhere to put them, and settles with putting them in with the gold in her leaf bag. That was how she went around the shop, buying little amount of ingredients to make curatives and poisons, healing being already sorted by cyclops tears.
She finishes collecting the resources before standing at the counter awaiting service, staring at a door that led to the back of the store for someone to come through. After waiting a few seconds she becomes impatient and was about to shout for service until she notices knocked over box peeking around the corner of the door. And it was damaged. She puts the two points together, and realises that the lack of service might be because something is or has gone down out back.
She silently sneaks to the doorframe and peeks inside, and spots three men surrounding the shop owner who was currently on the floor. She backs around the frame again as two choices enter her mind. She can either A: Attack the men, however, these were very tight quarters combat. There is no way she can use her arrows or even stretch both arms out. Or B: Just take the stuff and leave, no cost and she was not put in a dangerous situation.
The old her might of gone for option B, it was the owners fault for not being able to defend himself, survival of the fittest, as nature has always done. Now that she knows Finn however? And she would have to explain why everything was free to him, and see his reaction, knowing full well what it will be? And what it would do to her to see him like that...
She flew around the corner, instantly alerting the three men to her presence, but acknowledging her would not save them. Instantly she drop kicks one of the guys, smashing his head into the floor, knocking him out cold. The other two jump backwards in surprise and forces them against the walls. Before they too sprung into action. Two fists flew at her, her agility however allows her to evade, leaping back to the doorframe. Both charge forward, one behind the other.
Thinking fast she punches the first guy in the balls, causing him keel over, before kneeing him the face, sending him tumbling into his friend, halting both their charges. The second man jumps over his crippled friend and throws another punch. Huntress simply ducks bellow it, before rising up with her hands connected as if to serve a volleyball, only to serve pain as it connects with the man's chin, lifting him up a bit before landing on his back.
However he moves to get up, still conscious, causing Huntress to jump on top of him, releasing three strong punches to his head, finally knocking him out. Suddenly she is grabbed from behind, his friend recovered from her attack and slams her against the wall face first. Flipping her over he uses his hand to hold her arm, he goes to punch her straight in the face, pulling his arm back. However, as it flies towards her she changes form, shifting into a snake in his other hand. By the time he realises his fist has already flown past where her face used to be, and instead slams into the hard wall.
Not finished yet, Huntress bites his arm and injects weak venom, using magic to speed through his body, paralysing him in seconds. The man now stands like a statue as Huntress slithers out of his grip and onto the floor, before shifting back to her normal self. Standing up, she puts a finger to the man's forehead and simply pushes him backwards, watching him land harshly on the floor.
Her work here was done, eo she turns to the owner who was staring at her with wide eyes and gaping mouth. "So you gonna just stand there and catch flies or will you sell me your stuff?" She asks with a small smile. The owner shakes his head and gets up shakily, before slowly walking to the counter. Huntress picks up her makeshift bag and hands it to the cashier. He however just pushes it back to her,
"As thanks." Huntress mealy nods and grabs her bag, turns, and exit the shop. A quick glance back reveals to her that shop owner was also leaving the shop, and was heading towards magic police officers who were spinning their sticks. Huntress looks away. So that's what being a hero feels like?... She smiles. She can't wait to tell Finn.
Finn was just leaving the store, a good deal made, the furniture is going to be delivered tomorrow noon at the candy kingdom. He casually strolls through the forest that marks his home, playing a little tune on his flute. Arriving home, he parts the vines to see no sign of life. 'Guess I'm the first home' He settles down and places his now much, much lighter bag next to the rest of the gold. He may of made a deal, but adding furniture to a whole house is not cheap.
With some dry twigs he starts rubbing them together, and soon has a warm fire started, relieving him of any chill as the air cools with the setting sun, and basking the room in a light orange hue. Finn puts some left over bird meat above the flames then just simply sat there, enjoying the warm, calm and freeness in his life right now, and expresses his contempt via music. A soft, calm melody from his flute fills the air, and it greets Huntress when she returns.
Finn stops as she looks at him with a smile. She drops her stuff and reaches under her cape, pulling the thunder boar flute out from a back pocket. Bringing it up to her mouth she gently plays her own tune, surprising Finn before he grins, and brings his flute back to his mouth. Two flutes fill the air, each their own tune, their own rhythm, but they play in harmony, linked perfectly as their music dances with each other. They spent minutes like that, playing together in the warm with the smell of cooking food in the air, all under the starry cold night that gently blow wind, as if it was jealous of the couple and wants to join in on them.
As their duet comes to an end, they lower their instrument of their feelings. They blush as they look at each other's eyes, "That was an interesting welcome back." Causing Finn to laugh nervously in embarrassment, "Were you able to get us some furniture?"
"Yeah, it'll be delivered tomorrow outside the candy kingdom, hopefully Gumball won't mind." He shrugs to show his uncertainty, "What about you? Got us some potions? Supplies?" She nods and hands Finn the leaf basket, filled with gold, cyclops's tears, ingredients and one or two food items. "Nice... Wait, why is none of the gold spent?" Huntress just smiles and starts recalling the fight at the shop, sneakily adding parts to make herself sound 'cooler' in an attempt to amaze Finn. And sure enough, Finn was amazed by her skills, but more importantly, was happy she helped at all. The smile he gave her made her heart flutter a little.
"I'm not going to lie Finn, I did seriously think of just running with this stuff and leaving the shop owner to fend for himself."
"But you didn't. I actually wonder, were they even wizards? I mean, they just ran and threw punches at you?"
"Maybe they weren't... Oh well, it's not like its our problem." Huntress says, realising that they didn't use magic at all. Was Finn correct? Were they even mages? What were they doing in the city, and what could it mean?
"But it could soon be, and if there is danger, I feel obligated to help." He says checking the meat as Huntress empties the leaf bag, putting everything in their own place and was about to put the leaf on the fire before remembering the meat above it and the smoke it would create. She holds it, unsure what to do with it before looking at Finn, and instantly remember his clothing problem. With a tad of magic she transforms the giant leaf into a high quality hunters top similar to her own, however just for Finn, gave it a hood to cover his bear hat instead of her cape, and she gave it a zig-zag tie system instead of her several knot one.
"Hey Finn." She calls, who turns to look at her, causing her to lift the top up to show it to him,
"Whoa." He walks up to it as she hands it to, and moves to put it on. While he does that Huntress sneaks to the door and grabs some more leaves, using more magic to create a matching shorts, basically the one Finn already wears, but now in a light brown similar to her own attire. She turns around to see Finn looking his new appearance over, "Not done yet hero." She says catching his attention, and throws the shorts to him what he catches. After a nervous second of wondering if Huntress will look away, what she doesn't, he slides his famous blue shorts off and slid on the new brown ones.
"Wow, these are actually surprisingly comfy, and they look pretty good as well." He says looking over his set of new clothes, causing Huntress to smile as he unknowingly compliments her work. Standing he puts the hood up, then grabs his bow from where it was resting, before presenting himself to his partner, "How do I look?" After a moment of silence, she gives a slight tug to fasten his top a little, before she gives him her answer,
"Like a Hunter." She meant it as well. He now does look like he is ready to join her on a hunt, just needs to work on his posture, and get some gloves as well. She'll give those to him tomorrow. Now though? "Is our meat burning?" Finn snaps his head to the fire and starts to move towards it but Huntress's agility is greater, and she swipes the meat away from the unrelenting fire in a blink of an eye, before examining them. "Very slight burn. Guess that is what we get for not paying attention." Nodding Finn joins her in as she starts munching on the bird meat, grabbing his stick when she extends it to him. As he was chewing he looks over his bow, still no idea on how to use it, "Say for tomorrow, would you mind actually training me in archery?"
"Not at all, we can do that after getting our furniture."
"Thanks Diana. Shouldn't take me too long to get the hang of it, after all, I'm learning from the best." Huntress blushes at the complement of her skills, and only nods in reply. She then looks over their firewood pile and notices a small, short log, and an idea and memories come to her mind.
"Mind if I take that log?"
"... Sure?" Finn replies in confusion at the question, what Huntress quickly notices.
"You wouldn't have seen it when you went in my house last time, but in my room I had a wood carving. It was an old hobby and dream of mine. I just would like to do it once more." Finn nods in understanding, his confusion being cleared up. While Huntress gets lost in her thoughts 'When I made that statue it was before magic, before madness, before sadness. Back when I had dreams of finding love. I made it to impress my parents, who smiled in joy at seeing the statue. One of my last links to my family, like Finn's hat was. And I also did not want to let it go, just like Finn. My link however is in OOO, not with me. I want a link here, but my old one had emotional value, irreplaceable. But new emotions and memories can be made, my new statue will symbolise the emotions and memories of my love with Finn.'
"I'm going to sleep now... Diana?" Finn says however notices her faraway look, and the lack of a response from the women. Suddenly she blinks out of her plans and focuses back onto reality, back onto Finn.
"Sorry, what did you say?"
"I said I'm going to sleep now, long day tomorrow if we are going to be moving a lot of furniture." She nods and moves to prepare herself for sleep as well. A few minutes later, all the torches were put out, and silence ruled supreme, with Finn and Huntress both on their end of the building, eyes closed as they slowly lose themselves to sleep. All was calm.
All was ruined as the vine door was banged on loudly as the vines, despite their enhancements, groaned in protest. The duo snap awake and up, and after a look at each other Finn grabs his sword while Huntress grabs her arrows, then they slowly approach the person who silhouette came through the vines, the glowing moon behind the stranger.
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And for those who did not know or realise, I choose Diana as that was the name of the Roman Goddess of the hunt.