After two long days and nights of travelling, arguing, and running, they had finally hit the next town, a small settlement surrounded by forest. Cináed, partway through the trip, had been completely exhausted, and as a result had let his magic fade from his appearance, reverting back to Aella’s form. The only difference (other than the enormous attitude jump) to tell it was really him was the shiny metallic color replacing Aella’s blue-grey irises.787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFDbzWJDtzD
He’d noticed Luna watching him every so often, and she finally said, “Your eyes are strange. Almost like a human’s, only you know, silver… well, I guess it makes sense.” 787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtJHXn1ilpO
“Eh? What makes you say that?” The eyes in question flickered to her as he turned to face her in his saddle.787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1CjzhURg3t
“Weeeeeell, you’re a shapeshifter, so you have to take the thing’s form, right? … Do shifters even have their own form? I mean, why humans…?” She trailed off, looking a bit dazed.787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpKAvl0Caz5
He was kind of at a loss at her question, but answered anyway. “Uh, yeah. Shifters do have their own forms, in a way… it’s a bitch to explain. They just learn how to look like humans, because most spend the majority of their lives on Earth with humans, y’know?” He shrugged. “And the color, that’s easy. It matches our magic. There’s a lot concentrated there - we rely on sight a lot. Bright light changes whatever eye color we chose to that, ‘cause it’s reflecting off the magic instead. And it usually glows.”787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGsiNhyHpmL
“Ohhhh…” Luna paused, crossing her arms. “I guess it’s kinda like our world. Everyone is like a human, but Fia says that’s because humans accidentally cross the portals and, you know, breeding happens! So unlike this world, and I guess your world, almost everyone has magic, but they don’t have a choice for human form. Oh! But if you don’t have magic, technically some species can transfer parts of their magic! Like witches… and …and some elementals?” She rambled on about the subject, then finally stopped to breathe. 787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPA5O28aNub
“Huh.” Seeing as he had no experience with their world, he was pretty curious. “Don’t get me wrong, though. The shifter’s dimension is completely made of magic. Everything. Even shifters can’t put up with it for long.”787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjL5EISTRI7
"Everything?!" she gasped. "That’s so… uh…" She seemed stuck on the word to use, then just gave up and grinned.787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDTtAclqQjO
He nodded. “I know.” Redirecting the conversation, he asked, “What’s your world like?”787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLtBJDNhAeB
She looked up, eyes glazed in thought. “Well, I guess it depends on where you go! My island was more…” She narrowed her eyes, getting stuck on the word again, then shrugged and gave up. Then she smiled again. “But there was a ton of trees and vines and birds and prey! Neoma’s land is pretty neat too, like, it’s in the middle of all the climates, and it’s huge! Not as huge as Fia’s… but it’s in the center of a ton of climates! So their land is full of elements and elementals!”787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5HhUFhehno
”So does their element depend on where they live, or is it random?”787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPPqrPi8gAE
“Mmhmm!! On the island, anyway!” She paused again. “On Fia’s land its more witches, and fairies, and other things like that… well, fairies are kinda elementals too… Oh!” She continued. “But there’s bigger kinds of creatures, and a few smaller ones!” 787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOuuEVTAHq2
”So who’s Fia?” 787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvJ2QonIIdk
“”She’s our friend and the keeper of portals on our island! She sets up portals and where and when they go places - she’s a witch!”787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiJzRsKxsN4
”Huh. You guys need to go see her to get back to your world, then?” he asked, wondering if this witch was at the destination Neoma had been so vague about.787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfmCLak2sG7
“No, we know the destination to go to! Neoma’s sister, Ee, was messing with the portals and sent us through…”787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9yQKCOw8UW
He grinned a bit. “Bet a certain bitch wasn’t so happy about that.”787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXPt0Pl4Ooh
”Heard that!” Neoma growled.787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUYvm0FbKnz
“Good.”787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeoSvZC2M2s
She giggled. “She’s going to killlllll her!”787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJIXkpAvPb6
”Hah, sounds fun.”787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKFbixVIvEY
”I like Ee, though…” Luna pouted a bit. “Her lap is reeeally warm…”787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQxym9TfYCo
He was quiet for a few moments, then abruptly changed the subject. “What about you? You’re a familiar, right?”787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd719I4nL4C
She thought for a second, then nodded excitedly. “Yeah! Well, technically, not everyone in my village is a familiar, but almost anything can be a familiar, so…”787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5HQnxIF3T4
”What’s your village like?”787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfnFf30geDZ
Luna kicked her legs off the horse, accidentally hitting it once, and patted its shoulder with a mumbled apology. “Well… it was different than this! I mean, there was conflict between the other clan and us, and a little conflict inside it, but they weren’t really accepting of outsiders… no, that’s a lie. As long as you could hunt, you were good…” She gave a short hum, conflicted in her thoughts. “We had a different ranking system!”787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh9vs3uQTWk
”How?”787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxncT7CfRyN
”Well, there was the head family, but I guess that’s everywhere… There really wasn’t anything under that, though. The normal population, then the prisoners.”787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRzySx8JTJK
”Sounds pretty simple.”787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHaOcyn6sbM
She nodded. “And the prisoners could become part of our village if they worked it off, or they could choose to go home after they worked enough.”787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKNYfyvZVhk
Huh, that was surprising. “You guys would just let them go?”787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRzeHZxcKKr
”Well, the village didn’t like each other, but we weren’t total jackasses - the prisoner could have a family! The amount of work they had to do depended on the crime against the other tribe. If it was something like murder or stealing another tribe’s children, then they probably would be dead when they got back home. Bad leaders were kicked out, too. If they did evil things, then they were evil people, and obviously couldn’t lead correctly. And a corrupted leader makes a corrupted clan.”787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVyiylddF7r
Truest statement he’d heard all day. He nodded. “Doesn’t sound like that bad of a way to live.”787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPwN9D4k4QC
Neoma shifted uncomfortably, glancing over at the two. Luna only nodded happily. “It was!”787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAIEjRCifDI
”Was?” The shifter looked over at her.787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqGErlqvoYF
She bit her lip and nodded. “Was. What’s your home like?!”787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnY1dWw0hsj
He blinked at the switched topic, then hesitated. “Eh… like I said earlier, shapeshifters pretty much just live here on Earth, so..” He half-shrugged.787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0RaCz7nneD
“There’s a pretty much to that, though,” she prodded, smiling.787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpKsVsWOyUR
”Not all shifters do. I do.” He gave her a flat look, much preferring for her to drop it.787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1bCG14StON
”Oh.” She pouted. “But Earth’s boring!”787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFiHJkRLYFe
”In your opinion.”787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfvD6cbBuQ0
”In a lot of people’s opinions!”787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp1BqSR6Bh3
”Not in mine.” Better than quite a few places he’d seen. (Including the ones by accidental force, but some of those were cool, too.)787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa39qVvTK3n
She pouted again, glaring. “Well, your opinion’s stupid.”787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Qyw5BUkA4
He raised an eyebrow at her. “I can say the same for yours.”787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeu1XGbTusC
”Oh really? If you shapeshifted in front of a lot of people in this world, they’d burn you at the stake! In our world, it’s totally normal and accepted!”787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc3AvVnG5Ew
He started to smirk. “Shapeshifters don’t usually have that problem, though,” he pointed out. “First, we’re practically impossible to corner, and if we are, we can still escape. Second, you can’t burn one of us to death - most wouldn’t burn, period. Hell, I’ve shifted in front of people just for fun. It’s hilarious, they freak out. Sometimes, they pass out.”787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3CR6mhWp4W
She had a blank face, then stuck her tongue out and crossed her arms in defeat. He grinned, and she started to giggle.787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxMz1KVsySE
787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlmkbAbpndY
* * * * *787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4BRu53mmkJ
787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrbkvimOKT0
Just before they’d entered the town, Cináed had shifted back out of Aella’s appearance. Now he was back to his reddish-haired form, although tired-looking.787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ21G0HHCxOP
Neoma had changed her shadow horse to look more normal, which had caused a lot of bucking and protest and had taken a few minutes and calming gestures.787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd64AgnWyV4
He looked over at the elemental. “So. What’re we even doing here?”787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjyjhZkixcU
“Well, we’re heading up to a small town. It’s where one of our portals are located.” She looked down, glaring at the ground.787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOptEL3Wn8d
”We spending any time in this town?” he sighed.787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKvGkBEBeMb
“Besides getting more food, no.” She looked down at Luna, who was walking around the horse’s feet, nimble enough to not get stepped on. 787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtk8cmdafL6
“Good.” Luna paused her playing to look behind them, then darted under the horse again. He glanced at her distractedly, then went back to looking around.787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYg1U4aC6m0
Neoma rolled her eyes, pointing to a store “Stay here okay?”787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL7LTE7uTI3
“Why?”787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3xRXgnHxlx
“I’m not talking to you, asshat. I’m talking to Luna.”787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAYwKHUm4Gq
“Yeah, I know that,” he grumbled, annoyed. “Why’re you leaving her there though?”787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVzkVkuWYAz
“Because we’re going into the store to get food.”787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡenhklOClWO
He huffed. “Took her last time. Whatever, let’s just hurry.”787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1rAQLLF4Dq
“Yeah, yeah.” She jumped off the horse and tied it to the pole, leaving Luna to curl up next to it. He did the same, muttering something under his breath.787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2tWSsqgueB
Neoma walked quietly into the store, looking at all the foods they had set out. Cináed followed a few steps behind, looking a lot less interested and mostly just glaring at either the floor or Neoma’s head. She didn’t seem to notice, as she was looking over the food. “Pick whatever the fuck looks good.” 787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXlliUNsYbq
He gave her an irritated look. “Can’t you pick yourself?”787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsVYbV8kX1m
“‘Course, but you have to eat sometime.”787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyh8b0l0yLv
“I don’t CARE what I eat,” he complained. “Unlike some people, I’m not picky.”787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDSVw17SEBj
She scoffed as she began to pick up a few fruits. “Riiiight.”787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVpprXKLYPS
A short while later, the two had managed to get a decent amount of supply and approached the counter. After showing it all to the shopkeeper, Neoma pushed some shadow money toward him - it was something she had been working on for awhile, and it was finally to her standards. The man didn’t see any difference, at least.787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoUIQJgPHy7
Outside, Luna was completely immersed in her thoughts until Neoma spoke. “You okay there?”787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXwUwCTrAZT
The familiar jolted up, purring in response, as Cináed quickly untied his horse. Neoma followed suit, and they rode out of the town with Luna trotting ahead.787Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9frlEOh7Oo
Penana
search
登入arrow_drop_down
註冊arrow_drop_down
