Daniel

Hopping nodes on the wing to travel miles in seconds was exciting to think about, but Daniel adjusted to the new ‘normal’ quickly. Though Daniel mentally cataloged all the flora and fauna they spotted, nothing he saw would’ve surprised an environmental biologist. No aliens so far.

He couldn’t help being a little disappointed.

Without Paul’s guidance, they might’ve lost track of which world was which with how often they switched. Giant bat Cassie flew them through the portals in the same configuration as yesterday. Rana rode clinging to fur with Lea in balance scale form (he’d have to ask about that later). Kenta gripped one bat claw while holding Paul the candlestick, and Wendi gripped the other claw with Daniel in the red devil’s left hand.

They took breaks often to stretch their legs, eat lunch, or smell the flowers. Daniel breathed clean air and surveyed the craggy mountain range below as the others made peanut butter sandwiches. This is what he always wanted—to explore the world outside his cell—though he’d left behind the person he most wanted to travel with. His eyes misted. Mary would tell him to enjoy the present and get to know his new friends.

Kenta prepped the table and had Paul toast the bread rather than restart the butane stove. Daniel’s eyes gravitated to the wick growing from Paul’s wax skull and the flame above. He couldn’t wrap his mind around the candle boy’s unique… biology?

Come to think of it, Daniel assumed Tool transformations were exclusive to Inorganics until Lea—flesh and blood—proved him wrong.

The others grabbed their favorite jam and set to making lunch, except Rana, who seemed strangely lost. When Lea saw the frog girl hesitate, she demonstrated proper spreading technique and the best peanut butter to fruit preserve ratio. Rana dedicated herself to copying Lea’s grip, stance, and wrist movements as if learning a new martial art.

Wendi navigated the tiny jars and utensils with flawless dexterity despite her immense limbs.

Rather than let Cassie take the ingredients and make her own sandwich on the ground with her leg-hands, Kenta insisted on doing it for her. She asked for bananas instead of jelly. Noticing Rana’s evident curiosity, Cassie offered Rana a corner to try.

Not realizing Cassie meant her to just take a bite, Rana gobbled the whole sandwich without comment.

Cassie laughed, but Kenta grumbled as he made the bat girl a replacement. Realizing she’d annoyed him, Rana proceeded to snatch the next three sandwiches he made before Lea stopped the situation from escalating and made sure Cassie ceased giggling and ate something.

Another novelty came with the magic of their Rosetta Stones. Private sendings reduced idle chatter but prompted many expressive glances. Daniel received Paul’s message with a chime while the others ate.

:You don’t remember anything about the City, right?: the candle boy asked during the sandwich-thieving chaos.

:No. What is it, and who lives there?: Daniel sent.

:Well…: Paul wiped a stream of cooling wax from his face. :It’s this big place where all the humans who’ve learned how to cast spells—wizards and such—go to live. Their magic isn’t like ours, though. You and I, we’re born this way, but it can take them decades of study to levitate a pebble.:

Intriguing. :Anybody can learn, though?:

:In theory, sure. Although, I’ve never heard of someone like us mastering Elemental magic.: Daniel wondered if there was some hidden drawback to doing both. Paul continued, :I think you’d be crazy to study their magic on top of this,: he pointed to his flaming wick. :It’s enough trouble trying to understand your inheritance.:

:Okay. Then what’s all this about ‘slavery?’:

Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

Paul’s face dimmed with shade as he gave a somber bow. :I guess they don’t like us. They go around capturing the weak and defenseless.: He looked up and brightened, trying to make light of a dark subject, :Obviously, we don’t like them either!:

:Obviously!: They chuckled, eager to banish fear with laugher. Then Daniel voiced a niggling thought, :You weren’t too thrilled about going after the T.O. Don’t you have an uncle?:

:Uh, well…: The question blindsided the candle boy. :Yes, I love him—but…:

Though Daniel hated to push, he offered, :You listened to me…:

Paul sighed. :It never ended. ‘Games’ became frustrating chores—incessant tests I always failed.: The candle boy saw Daniel’s clueless mien and explained with an impersonation, :“Paul, my boy, I’ve misplaced my favorite cup. Be a good lad and fetch it.” He’d hidden the thing.

:I checked every inch of the cottage by hand for hours each day. Under the stairs, the back of the cabinet, behind the woodshed, a box in the attic, the basement corner… all sorts of places. It contained weird concoctions; it might be buried or placed upside-down or on its side.:

:Is that more difficult?: Daniel knew Paul often struggled when the others used him as a dousing rod, but the job didn’t seem too complicated.

:Daniel,: Paul gave a mock-disparaging chortle and exaggerated wagging a finger. :If I tell you to look for something but not what it looks like, is that hard?: Daniel granted him that with a shrug, and Paul continued, :That’s not all by a long shot. I fetched water we didn’t need from strange places. I chased animals that led me in circles. He lost me in the woods once on purpose, so I’d have to find the way back.:

Daniel couldn’t help it. He thought of how often Mary trounced him in chess and chuckled, :Sounds like he wanted to toughen you up; make you stronger.:

:Sure, I figured that out later.: Paul bit his lip. :At the time, I’d have thought him crazy if he weren’t so clever. His stories went nowhere or in circles but somehow made sense. Every day was Saturday, but on actual Saturdays, we had to find a new home. He’d say the old cottage was getting too familiar. We’d pack up and walk through the woods all day in a great big circle. We always ended up back at the cottage, and he always pretended we’d found it for the first time. We’d unpack and repeat the week.

:I resisted that nonsense at first but soon stopped questioning anything he did. Then the weapon drills—:

:—Wait.: Daniel blinked in surprise. :Weapon drills? You trained to fight?:

Paul deflated Daniel’s excitement, :Sure, but how useful is swinging around a candlestaff? Try that against machineguns or demons, let alone beasts, monsters, and revenants. How does a metal stick compare to destroying things with a handwave?: Daniel shrugged, embarrassed. :I trained for years, and he didn’t once say I’d done a good job. Then, one time, when I thought I did everything right, he mistakenly called me… Jack. No idea why. There’s so much I don’t know about his past or mine.

:You know, I did ask, but he refused to tell me about my parents—‘You’re not ready,’ but when would I ever be? I know they’re dead… they have to be, but at least tell me about them! I want to see my uncle. I have so many questions… but I know nothing I’ve done in the past three years would make him proud.:

That troubled Daniel. :Don’t worry about that. I’m positive he’d be glad to see you alive and happy.:

Paul’s shoulders sank. :You’re right, but I can’t shake the feeling I’m doing everything the wrong way.:

What could Daniel do for Paul? Even a friendly grip on the shoulder was beyond his means. Instead, he gave a thumbs-up. :You once told me we don’t have to walk alone, remember?:

:Thanks.: Paul smiled, then straightened, :I won’t let those feelings drag us down. I know what’s at stake, and I do want us to find to the T.O.:

They returned to the sky after the others finished eating. He and Paul continued talking as they traveled to pass the time until Daniel had to put his friend on hold to answer someone else.

:You alright with this?: Rana sent. He knew what she meant. Nobody waited for Daniel in the T.O.

:Yes. A lot came back to me last night, though most things are fuzzy. Lea is right. There really is no other place for us.: He felt touched by her concern. She seemed stoic, but she cared about her friends. Despite the pain and risks, she’d shared her lifeforce to heal him.

Absorbing the vitality of her toadstone nourished his starved body, adding pounds of healthy adipose tissue to his sticklike figure. If she gave him a few more, would he look normal? Wait, would his body stay this way or atrophy due to his inability to eat?

Either way, to get more, they’d have to… Daniel blushed. He recalled their kiss in vivid detail. No, that absolutely counted as CPR! The others said sharing lifeforce required a significant emotional connection, but Rana told him she could have done it with any of them, so he couldn’t read too much into it.

Hold on. Rana also mentioned limitations on her ability to make and store toadstones. Each of her bezoars could heal one lethal wound… She needed them to survive. She didn’t have an automatic magic shield like Daniel or super-toughness like Wendi. Giving him the toadstones, whether a one-time thing or regularly, was a colossal life-threatening risk!

Daniel couldn’t ask that of her, not for a cosmetic vanity.