Hm? What was I? Mm, Teuila’s arm. Her bicep is so smooth and soft, despite the incredibly firm muscles hidden beneath. It’s heavenly against my cheek, as it always is. I think I was having a dream. Maybe a good one, or maybe a useful one.
Wait, my ear is wet. Is she eating my ear again? I turn my head, and my ear folds lightly under Teuila’s teeth as they scratch along it. Once my ear is free, I rearrange to be able to stare into Teuila’s eyes, sure that she must be awake if she’s nibbling on me. She refuses to open her eyes however, either playing at being asleep, or actually having slept through once again going for my ear. I playfully bite her bicep lightly, testing her wakefulness. She stirs only slightly, murmuring. I could swear she mutters Aces’ name. Well, there was an ay sound, and I could have mistaken the whistle of her exhalation for an ess-like sound, or a pair of them.
Really did sound like she was excited about something to do with Aces though.
Huh, I guess Teuila really is asleep. I wonder if it’s some sort of marshmallow dream or something. I think that’s what it’s called for humans, when they dream of food and realize they’ve been gnawing on their pillow in their sleep. Since I’m content to take longer before starting the day, I close my eyes to rest them, and find myself briefly falling asleep once more.
When I awaken again, it’s to Teuila grinning like a lunatic as she stares at my face. She bounces on the bed, disheveling the covers and dragging me upwards excitedly. I embrace her, laughing quietly as we rise from the surprisingly soft mattress.
Teuila asks, “So, we can, right? Spare a few hours to buy some jammies or nighties or something? I love our Valkyrie gear, but I doubt Keeley would appreciate us sleeping on her linens in our muddied clothes.”
I smile brightly at Teuila, not answering yet to focus my mind on something. There’s something that was going on that I’m trying to remember. I’m not sure. What is it? It’s slipping from my grasp. There was something I wanted to think about, or thought about as I was waking, or falling asleep. Grr, I don’t even remember the general idea or topic of what I’m trying to remember. Oh well, I also want to verify something else.
I know our armor could change size to accommodate us, but I could swear that it shifted and shrank some in my packs as we were traveling to Autumn Brook. I give Teuila the one moment gesture, and dig about in her giant backpack. Sure enough, our armor is already half its usual size, if not smaller. I pull out one of the chestplates to try squeezing it down further. It relents surprisingly easily, shrinking down to nearly the size of doll’s clothing. The enchantment on these is even handier than I’d ever thought.
Teuila watches me with mixed interest, then decides to help me compress all of our armor down. I’m not sure we’ll benefit from it much, since we’ll probably wear our armor while adventuring. But there is the slight possibility that having an extra suit of shrunken gear could possibly aid us in some strange or dire situation. I’m not sure which situation, but I’m glad I summoned an extra suit back in Noirdivinhoz. I must have something like forty or more additional full suits of Valkyrie armor and gear floating in my inventory at this point, but I’d like to interact with my inventory as little as possible on Rayileklia. So I’m hoping these ones will be all we need.
Once we’ve completed our short task, I hug Teuila and finally answer her question, “Of course we can. Anything you want to do, My Wings. It’s not like you can’t decide what we do, I’m honestly relying entirely on you for our adventuring needs on Rayileklia.” I take a step back to gaze at her, smiling as I continue, “Like you said, we’ll slow down a bit, try to keep our eyes out, make sure we do our best to survive in Rayileklia. We can’t afford to die or go insane here, so we should strive to stay healthy and happy. If a few hours of fun can help that? All the better.”
Teuila lunges at me, leaping into my arms, peppering my face with kisses. I twirl around, laughing as I hold her. Somehow, even though we don’t have our Can’Z’aasian magic, she still has her weird bond with gravity, and can feel almost weightless. Even though we both want to return to our family, we really do need to stay as positive as possible. If we get pessimistic, sour, angry at our situation, anything like that, we might miss something obvious, something necessary.
To be honest? It’s pretty easy staying in a happy mindset with Teuila at my side, or being at hers. I’m the sidekick on this leg of our journey after all. We’ll have adventures, and probably danger as usual, but the scale of it all seems less grand, less punishing, less overwhelming. At least I hope it is. Being able to slow down a bit really helps me realize just how hectic our life had gotten near the end. The stakes are hopefully less dire as well.
I still don’t know for sure if we’re actually alive in the world I was dreaming about, or if this is one last dream as I’m dying. I wonder if the distinction even matters. Could it be possible to gain power within an accelerated thinkspace dream that allows us to resurrect ourselves back to Can’Z’aas? I was able to gain time skill points in futures that never happened, sort of. The only thing I would worry about with the distinction is, if this is just my dream, then my inner circle could be, or are just figments in my memories. I can’t think about this any further. I, I can’t. I can’t I can’t. Regardless, hopefully our family is safe.
We can leave the majority of our belongings here, since we’ll be returning to drop off nightclothes before too long. We may not even set out for the Colossi plains today, depending on what Harriet has to say. There’s a trunk at the foot of the bed that’s fairly large, but still not as large as Teuila’s new backpack. She honestly bought a monstrously large pack. The thing looks impractical for anyone not gifted with super strength. I suppose there could be humans the size of ogres, or actual ogres, on Rayileklia. I snag the staff because I really don’t want someone even accidentally ending up with it, let alone stealing it. Like I was thinking about before, it could probably level the entire building, bar minimum, if not the entire town. Plus, for some reason, I’m kind of knackered and can definitely use the aid of a walking stick.
Oh, hm, after seeing what our armor was able to do, what if I try to do the same with the staff? Oh wow. Haha. Okay this is kind of cool. Like, it shrunk down to about the size of a, I don’t know, zweihander’s handle? Or a hand-and-a-half sword’s handle. Pretty much perfect size to attach to a belt like a dagger’s or shortsword’s sheathe. It can spring back out to full size instantly, and it’s pretty quick to shrink down again. It even has this hollow area, I could probably get a small leather strap for it. I’ll probably snag a thin strip from leather somewhere in town, and make a thong to tie the thing up somewhere on my belt or back. I’ve seen some of the animals in town just kind of running around with shreds of leather. Hopefully they don’t mind too much if I snag a few inches to cut into a strip.
Teuila looses a single wondrously joyful laugh as she watches me play with my staff, shortening and extending it over and over. After practicing a bit, I can get it to change to either size with just a flick of my wrist. Wait. Ugh. I’m so glad Luni isn’t in my brain right now. Blargh, even without her here I’m flustered. Stupid broken memories from stupid fake world.
After packing away most of our things, we exit our room to a surprising sight. The tavern is bustling with activity, and covered in a hazy layer of smoke that looks to be coming almost entirely from one group with lit pipes in the far corner. This is definitely not breakfast activity either. At least that’s what I assume with the number of card games going on. I could swear one of those tables I thought I saw Harriet’s dark, short, curly hair at. Teuila and I exchange brow-raised glances. We join the crowd below and head towards the bar to speak with Keeley. We’re greeted however by a younger man that could pass as a son or younger brother of Keeley. I’m supposing this is Marshal.
Marshal calls out, “Well if it isn’t the lovebirds that Kay told me to watch out for. Anything I can do for you this pre-dawn hour?”
Teuila frowns, “Pre dawn? Still? But we slept, oh, yeah right away at dinner time. I don’t suppose the shops open pre dawn?”
Marshal laughs while shaking his head, “No such luck there my frowning wahine flower. You’ll be wanting to keep to the inside of the tavern until at least dawn, so you’ve some hours to kill.”
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Teuila pouts and crosses her arms, “Poop and a scoot. Ugh. Rej, do you wanna just go back to our room?”
Marshal winks, “If the lovebirds need a bit more privacy, we can close the kitchen vent for an hour or two. No need to be shy.”
Teuila rolls her eyes and I join her in the action. Humans and their assumptions. I’m willing to brave whatever the streets have for us in order to spend time exploring the town before dawn if that would help raise Teuila’s spirits. We’re not used to having to operate on any truly set schedule, so I didn’t even consider this possibility.
I wrap an arm around Teuila’s waist to pull her in close as I lean to whisper into her ear, “We can just go anyway, if you want. We can get familiar with the layout of the town. Could maybe even scout the outskirts, think of it like a patrol or hunt.”
Teuila smooches my cheek roughly before stepping back, nodding emphatically. She grabs my left wrist and drags me through the crowd. I see Marshal leaning over the bar to try to keep tabs on us as we disappear into the rowdy crowd. We dance between slovenly drunks that are bumping into one another as we try to reach the exit. Finally we burst forth from the inn into the well-lit nighttime streets. The luma tulipa truly are a marvel.
I gasp a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding, and gulp down the fresh air. Ugh, I also try to blow my nose into empty air repeatedly, struggling to get the clinging smoke out from inside my nostrils and nasal cavities. I’m tempted to tilt my head back and let the acid rain do it for me. That doesn’t sound wise though. Teuila actually manages a soot-covered snot rocket from her left nostril, but can’t seem to fire one from her right nostril.
Te starts, “Blugh, can’t believe humans do that stuff. I’m glad they didn’t have any tobacco or anything around the Miracle Oak on Can’Z’aas. Ugh, ew, blech. Hey, um, butterbork. Remember how you said we could do anything I wanted?” Teuila pauses from itching her nostrils and suddenly adopts a meek stance, “What if I wanted to, well, go back to just dork?”
I’m rather startled by the sudden shift, in a humorous way. What’s Teuila being shy about? Trying not to laugh, since she seems sensitive about the topic, I respond, “My Wings, of course you can. Why would you ever think otherwise?”
Teuila scratches the back of her head while avoiding my gaze. She mumbles an answer, “I just, I didn’t want to remind you, you know. Of times, like, around that time. I kinda used up all the regular words that time.”
I tug Teuila’s chin upwards with the tip of my index finger so that our gazes meet. Smiling as I meet her gaze, I explain, “I’m okay remembering that time. The way I remember it, you were pounding gently on my chest with your fists, going through every name in the book, just to buy us more private time. I was being a dummy, not realizing you might want that. You know, since, since, well, since I was back, from being trapped. It made me feel loved, desired.”
Heat warms the air between Teuila’s cheeks and my face as she blushes, “That’s, I mean, duh, because you are, dork. Y’, y’, you know. Those words. I missed you so much.”
I nod as we rest our foreheads together for a minute. I can’t allow myself to think too much about the events and time and reasons leading up to that moment. The moment itself though? It was pure bliss. Even though I was still fighting through trauma and terror. Enough of that topic though, or my mind might start to wander backwards. That would be a heck of a sight, my brain hopping out of my skull and scooting away aimlessly in reverse.
I coo softly, “We made it through. You know how badly I felt for, well, we talked about it, time and time again, in thinkspace. All of those talks still hold true. I love you beyond words Te. I enjoy the tone you use when you substitute a tease for my name. I’m fine with whatever works for you.”
Teuila thinks about it for a moment, “Well, okay, in that case, maybe not dork. That’s too plain. Booger?” We both glance down at the snot streaking away in the rain, and adopt grossed-out expressions. Te laughs before continuing, “Okay, maybe not that one either. Hey, um, dingleberry. Yeah. Right? It even has most of your name in it.”
I raise an eyebrow as I try to spell out my own name and dingleberry in my head, to compare the letters. Huh, I never caught that before. I’ve also never really settled on a spelling for my name, so one gee might be enough. I smile as I nod at Teuila, indicating I’m fine with it. Te frowns again though and scratches her forehead in thought.
Teuila posits, as if in a eureka moment, “I’ve got it, dingleberry is too long, even without the berry. Dink is just about perfect though. How about it?”
I nod once more, “You’re the boss Te, I’m happy to hear just about anything that comes out of your mouth to refer to me.”
Te grins in response, takes me by the hand, and begins skipping through the town along its muddy cobblestone paths. We start off partially doing a methodical grid of squares to explore the town, but eventually abandon it to wander in random, aimless directions. We have to have been exploring for a couple of hours, or only half an hour and I’m far more tired than I thought, but we have no way to know when dawn arrives, other than perhaps catching the sight of people heading to work if that’s a dawn occurrence. Many of the townsfolk might not even work at dawn. We should really find, buy, or invent some kind of timekeeping device for the duration of our stay on Rayileklia.
The only people we see out and about appear to be, well, expressionless, marking them as animated ancestors or such. Their blank stares are similar to Aces’ body after it was reanimated. These undead mill about at all times. Some of the noticeable ones at the moment are wearing boiled leather cuirasses and such that likely mark them as guards. I wonder how they even realize they’re needed if there is a need of guards. I have seen several herding sheep, though I didn’t inspect them long enough to see how responsive they were.
I have to give Berinon credit. These leather and fur clothes are incredibly comforting as we traipse about under the permanently drizzling clouds. They’re warm, and feel soft and smooth against my skin. Also, he was right, our outfits do go fairly well together. Weird little observations, but, well, you know me. Me. Oy vey. Anyway.
We’re nearing the town’s furthest outskirts, before the point where it will become individual farms, and I could swear I feel a presence. There’s some sort of gaze bearing down upon us. It doesn’t seem hostile though. Curious perhaps, possibly even protective.
I pause and tug at Teuila’s sleeve, asking, “Te, do you feel that? Like we’re being watched?”
Teuila nods and comments, “Yeah, it started about one or two rows back, probably when we became visible to someone watching the town from outside. Weird though. I’m not holding my danger spear, and even if I was, that’s only a few dozen feet of warning range.”
I nod along as well, stating, “Aye, yeah, it is weird. I’m wearing my wraps and all, sure, but like you said, their range is way shorter than this feeling. Plus, they’d give me that tactile’ish radar sonar sort of sense of anyone hiding within their range, so I’d know exactly where they are.”
Teuila stretches her mouth sideways to an angle, and her eyes flick towards the top left of her face as she adopts a thoughtful expression with her left brow squinting. She asks, “Do you want to do anything about it? I don’t feel in danger, but maybe this is what Marshal was warning us about?”
I gnaw at my bottom lip, and adopt an expression much like Teuila’s as I try to decide. I puzzle, “Well, if they’re friendly, and shy, doing anything to alert them that we feel their presence might drive them off. If they’re neutral learning towards hostile, and laying in-wait, announcing our knowledge of their presence may cause them to go full hostile. If they’re already hostile, well, we paint a target on our backs. I don’t see a win in taking any action about them. I’m not sure I want to head back into town just yet though. Care to try to find the tree that that one undead ancestor was hanging out under? The one that looked like our idyllic thinkspace hangout spot?”
Teuila nods along, and smiles brightly when I mention our thinkspace, answering, “Yes, yes, absolutely. I doubt that zed’s going to care too much about a couple of lovebirds popping a squat and hanging out quietly against the same tree.”
I chuckle quietly, and fight the urge to inform Teuila she used the word love, even if it was part of another word, and in a mildly crude sentence. She’d have retroactive embarrassment, and I don’t want to diminish her joy. We agree to meander easterly however. Since the presence fell upon us at this southern edge of town, it will be a fair walk to the east to find that tree. If it’s still obviously keeping tabs on us at that point, it might be worth addressing.
As we close in on the hill, and the tree, it’s clear that the same zombie sits against it, lightly swaying and tapping their feet to some unheard rhythm. They really do just choose to mirror some action that might have had significance to them in life, and do it endlessly.
As Teuila approaches the tree, she jokes, “Howdy pardner. Mind if we sit a spell? We’re just a couple o’ critters ‘n’ varmints restin’ before mornin’ vittles.”
I blink repeatedly, somewhat stunned at Teuila pulling off a country-western accent and dialect. Where would she have even learned that? Critterkin other than me never seemed to have media or pop culture knowledge from Earth. We all had the same dictionary in our brains, but only Luni has ever really seemed suspiciously aware of things from fakeworld, Earth. Maybe I’m reading too much into it, maybe one of the Fae that dwelt about the Miracle Oak spoke that way. I mean, Teodora’s accent took me completely by surprise, and I didn’t even meet a fraction of our gracious Fae hosts.
Teuila giggles as she hops into a tiny spot of dry grass, just big enough for the two of us to snuggle up in against the tree. She’s about to pat the ground next to her when she realizes I’m already there with her. While wearing a bright smile, she slugs me playfully in the shoulder, stating simply, “Dink.”
I grin a mile wide, ear to ear, at my beloved Teuila. Seeing her so happy is simply wonderful. I’d been worried that on Rayileklia we would lead a miserable life of scrabbling at every clue, agonizing our way back home, never to take in a moment’s happiness. We can allow ourselves to enjoy our time. We’re not bad people for still being hale and hearty, or perhaps hail and hearty, happy and in love.