Wait. Wait a minute. Wait! Did, did Harriet say Shellcracker? The other day. When did. I mean who. I don’t think Teuila or I told her our family name. Have we even used it at all on Rayileklia? Could she have learned it from someone else? Daffodil maybe? What in the hells is going on on this planet? I start to hyperventilate and my vision’s focus tunnels to a pinprick. May, maybe, maybe Te told her when they talked yesterday. Or, or maybe one of the times when I was unconscious, Te or my sleeptalking told someone in the town. That has to be it, right? There just, just has to be a reasonable explanation.
Staring at the boat we’ll be boarding in a few hours, I’m caught up wondering how Harriet knew our last names. Did I tell her? Did Teuila? Did Daffodil? Did we even tell Daffodil? No, no I’m almost certain we’ve never uttered our family name aloud on Rayileklia at all. It’s almost like, like admitting we have a family that’s not on this planet would doom us to never see them again. Plus! Plus! Harriet said my two matrons! How in the hell would she know Lao and Ag are both matrons? Even Agwai barely acknowledges their attributes, and I’ve certainly never, ever spoken of them in such a manner. Teuila wouldn’t either. We’d never disrespect Ag’s identity, or decision to have a lack thereof.
I suppose Harriet maybe could be referring to Fawns At Sunsets, since she’s a matron of the cat tribe, and the cats joined the Shellcracker family, so she’s technially a Shellcracker matron as well. That doesn’t parse any better though honestly. I’m fairly positive I’ve never identified her aloud on this planet either. Tiago and George are quite right, Harriet is acting incredibly odd. It may have a lot more to do with us than even the two of them realize. Who was threatening Harriet? Or at least, demanding that she admonish us? Crap! It feels so bad to be leaving The Brook like this. I doubt Harriet would even speak with me in our last few hours in The Brook.
Teuila, noticing me lost in thought for quite some time, traipsing near the edge of panic asks me, “Dink, are you okay? Is it the boat? We could maybe walk around the lake. It’s no big deal.”
I exhale the barest hint of a chuckle, “Heh, no, no Te, that’s not it. Do you remember the other day when you were in the vestibule? Do you remember the exact words Harriet used to refer to me, and Lao, and Ag, near the end of her admonishment?”
Teuila furrows her brow, “I remember being pissed off as she, wait. When did we. Who. But. But. We’ve never even mentioned Lao and Ag, we wouldn’t call out Ag’s, y’know, thingy. They don’t identify. And, and, and, but. I, I haven’t really, I wouldn’t. Our clan name. It, it.” Teuila’s eye brim with tears as she sniffles, unable to continue.
I nod, my own eyes wet with tears. Dawn looks utterly lost. We haven’t used our clan name. Using it hurts, like admitting we’re all that’s left of a family that may have died in an apocalypse at some point since we were resurrected. Even with Luni, Lil, and Lucky out there. Five Shellcrackers, out of such a large and loving family, it, it hurts. I can barely stand the thought of conjuring their memories for someone else to, to, to have. Wait, memories? Something about memories seems important. I can’t remember what, or why. Hah! Ugh, this swiss-cheese brain of mine. Got a mind like a steel bear-trap, but memories are like water. A steel trap’s about as useful as a sieve for holding water.
Dawn actually interposes their face between us, trying to catch both of our gazes as they ask, “Boss? Rej? You two okay? That was hard to follow, but between The Saint, and this just now, it sounds like the mairess was acting squirrelly. She knew something she wasn’t supposed to? Couldn’t have known? Think it could be about that weird-eyed creep skulking about town?”
I begin to pass out from terror as I try to stammer a question, “W-w-weird-eyed? H-h-how?”
Teuila’s gaze meets mine with nearly as much terror as I feel. Dawn’s answer doesn’t quite hit the mark for triggering full-on panic, but keeps me teetering on the edge of terror, “They glowed or something. Eyes visible from all the way outside town when they were in dark alleys and stuff.”
I whump into the mud, falling on my arse and sobbing as I draw my knees to my face. They might have followed us here. They could still be hunting me, across worlds, time and space, possibly even universes if my guess as to Rayileklia’s reality is correct. They, it, it could be them. The. No. I can’t think about it. I could be lost in my own mind, in panic, for who knows how long. I can’t leave Teuila like that. I, I can’t. Anything, any other train of thought right now, anything that presents itself, I’ll latch onto for dear life. Teuila’s mortified facial expressions and frozen body-language offer me no hope as to a disparate thought train.
Dawn somehow infers far too much, “Boss, is, is Rej okay? That’s, that’s like full on panic, it’s, it’s about to hit. They’re right on the edge. It, it’s bad. Something about what I just said did that. I, I’m so sorry. You’ve been bothered by creepy eyes before I take it? I’m, I’m sorry that, that, whatever happened. Rej is, is, they’re, I can sense something wrong, bad. Boss, do something, snap out of it, please. Teuila? Boss!”
Dawn slaps Teuila, shocking all three of us. That slap rung loud through the quiet air. Dawn clasps their mouth with one hand, and they gaze about in terror as they’ve drawn attention to the three of us from the dock-workers and other assorted civilians. Or, well, the terror might be because they just slapped someone they know is more powerful than colossi or dragons. Or it could just be because they just hurt a friend. It feels like the last one somehow wins out over their other emotions. The first two would cause Dawn to flee the city.
Teuila mutters, “Thanks Dawny. Needed that.” Her eyes are reddened and blood-shot, and it seems like she’s on the edge of being panic-stricken herself. If there’s even a chance that the conclusions we’ve jumped to are remotely correct, the implications are horrific.
Teuila hauls me bodily off the ground and drags me to a nearby alleyway. Dawn nervously follows. Te absolves Dawn, “Dawny, really, thank you. It’s fine. I needed that, really. My dink, I, they, they. You’re right. We have to do something. Reggie? Dink? Love? The cavalry’s here. I’m here to back you up. Even Dawn has your back. We could be wrong, okay? It might not be that. We’re on a whole other world, with a whole different system of magic and science. Glowing eyes could mean anything. Maybe it’s just a burglar with an x-ray vision spell? Or, or laser-vision, or, um, soul-sight, or, or, ah, uh, er, nightvision goggle spells.”
Teuila’s voice falls hush for a moment, then continues slightly more excitedly, “Or, or like the eagle-eye precision goggle thingies Lil’s got, the invisible goggles. Oh, hey, I wonder what that belt did that you gave Lil. It definitely fit their Lilagnewt form. I suppose they could shapeshift a bit if it didn’t fit properly. Lildragbutt was way better at that, when, um, yeah, a few days ago, better than back at Point B on, on, the, um, Lavaborn Alliance marching trail. B-but, but, but none of that, don’t worry about that. J-just think about them and like, their magic items or something.”
Teuila brushes back a lock of hair beneath my hood as she rambles, “Lu’s got her harp, and bag, and those gloves that let her climb, almost sticking sideways on surfaces. She’s got that other bag with the furry balls in it. We never really tested what those were. I gave Lil that iron flask. They have their psychology one oh one cloak. Get it? Anger displacement. ‘Cause it displaces an image of them to hostile or angry peeps. I’ve got my little ring of reflection thingy that you gave me after we beat, um, the dragon-skeleton by Maka-Akari, the one with the mirror on it that seemed like your magical senses bounced off of it. I guess I didn’t need to be so rude to Daffy about directions, since I still have the little orb that tells me where north is. Lu’s got the tendril tattoo and soap stone, and, um. Just think about magic, please Dink?”
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I begin to rouse from my near-panic as Teuila reminds me of assets even I had forgotten the SAP has access to. The Shellcracker Adventuring Party has been through a lot over our short lives together. Wait, did Teuila use the word love again? As a nickname, in an accent. Then she said the cavalry’s here? That, that fritzes my brain something fierce, ow my head. A massive BSOD. I wonder why. Rattling my head, trying to shake loose the thoughts, I stare up at Teuila and Dawn. I flash them a weak smile as I slowly stand.
I mumble, “I think, for once in my life, I could use something stiff.” Teuila starts to interrupt me with a baudy joke but I continue, “A drink, alcohol, whiskey, bourbon, mead, just some kind of booze. My brain has been giving me hell on Rayileklia. Though maybe alcohol might not help the situation, it can’t hurt too much to try just once. If I seem like I like it too much without it helping me, keep me away from it later. Dawn, I know food and drink are, well, not really your thing now, but, well, we have a few hours. Care to join us for a pint or something?”
Dawn nods along with me listening, and waits a while before they answer, “I, well, I guess I could try. It doesn’t exactly do anything bad. So, uh, sure, Rej, if it’s what the Boss wants.”
Teuila grins and says, “Cheers to that Dawny. Sure Dink, let’s get you some booze, maybe the extra calories will help out or something. It’s worth a shot.”
It takes us no time at all to find a tavern along the docks to make merry in. Or whatever the phrase would be. I hope I used that right, ugh, I’d be pretty mortified if that was a euphemism. I guess it doesn’t matter, since no one here can read my thoughts.
It seems as if it’s only moments before we’re elbow deep in pints of beverages. It’s honestly impressive how quickly Teuila knocks back alcohol. She’s tried shots of pretty much everything the bar offers, and came to the decision that she likes honeyed mead the best. I’m of like mind about that, I prefer not to taste alcohol, it’s kind of gross honestly. A largely overpowering sweet flavor that masks the alcohol is perfect for me. I’d be happy going so far as to drown the alcohol further in fruit juices. I think I’m on my sixth pint of mead, and finally starting to feel some sort of effect. Teuila is on her, well, there’s two tables filled with mugs that Teuila has abandoned, empty.
Dawn actually seems to be enjoying themselves. They’re sipping on some sort of warming stout that has a smoky flavor with the faintest hints of chocolate. The smokiness grossed me out, or I’d probably have tried more of it. Though I don’t have a sense of smell, the alcohol in the tavern assails my nostrils, stinging my nasal cavities ever-so-slightly. The tavern-keep is running low on mugs, and seems short-staffed, so he’s finally come to collect all the empties that Teuila has left strewn about as she kept ordering more.
A burly couple of dockworkers approach us challengingly, “Oy, seems the li’l wahine here can knock ‘em back, care to make sport of it, a little wager who lasts longer?”
That doesn’t seem fair, they’ve only downed a pint or two since they arrived, watching us the entire time, while Teuila is dozens deep into her drinking. Or maybe the mead around here just isn’t that high in alcohol content, so they don’t feel like they’re cheating? We might have an advantage with our Can’Z’aasian biology, or lack thereof though. I’m not even sure alcohol goes to our bloodstreams, or livers kidneys, or anything like that.
I don’t think Teuila even has a bloodstream, a liver, or kidneys. She’s digital in nature. She bled one time, but that was more of a weird magical lifeblood purge. Beneath her beautiful flesh is a blue wireframe, and a beating crystalline core, just like Lil. Though somehow her body emulates some of what’s supposed to be below, like muscles and bone. Like when she pulverized her femurs, tibiae, tarsals and phalanges. That was back when we were racing to save Lil. She poured on every ounce of speed she could muster, despite her Valkyrie form being on the fritz. She went beyond, what did she call it one time? ‘One hundred plus a hundred plus a hundred, plus she-doesn’t-know, ultra percent’? Her legs looked like lumpy noodles after that, it was sickening what atomizing her bones into powder did to her. She’d do it again in a heartbeat for Lil, Lu, Lin, any Shellcracker honestly.
Dawn actually steps up, defending Teuila in a way, stating, “Even if that were fair sport, after how much Boss has had to drink, you fellas really don’t want to challenge this one to anything. She’ll beat anyone in this entire town, at anything physical. I’ve seen it. You have to have heard what she dropped off at the apothecary by now, right?”
The pair balk slightly as they hoarse-whisper to each other, “That was her? There’s no way. Wait, this feeling, is, is one of them the dawn spook? Shid, now I’m curious. We’d be legends.”
Well. That backfired. Dawn emulates blushing as they hide their face in their mug of stout, avoiding eye contact. Teuila has been pretending to be oblivious the entire time. Or, well, maybe the alcohol is actually affecting her, and she hasn’t heard the two lugs at all. I somehow doubt that that option is all that likely though. Oh, yep, Te definitely heard. Te pats Dawn on the shoulder as she walks around our table to the two fellows that tower over us.
Te sticks out a friendly hand, and now I’m terrified. For the poor man about to grab it as she says, “I’m Teuila, the Valkyrie, pleased to meetcha. Care to cross wrists? A little arm throwdown? Some table-smashing? Some bicep busting?”
Her expression betrays nothing, she appears to simply be a friendly young woman having a good time as she introduces herself. Dawn is quaking in their boots, and I’m honestly not sure if I should intervene. I guess if Teuila breaks a table, we can just pay for it. It’s not like she’ll start a full-on brawl, right? I gulp, gazing about to make sure no one heard my thought. Never tempt fate with thoughts like that out loud. They each shake her hand in turn, and I’m relieved that she hasn’t shattered their hands.
Before they can answer, Teuila adds, “Both of you, at once. One on each arm. Feel free to use both of yours.”
Oof, that hit their pride, the one that hadn’t spoken til now curses, “Shid, you’re on wahine, don’t whine to us when you can’t use your arms for a few weeks. Cheeky little pip.”
Okay, they’ve been at it for probably a minute now, maybe two, and Teuila is yawning. She pretended to give up an inch a couple of times. I think she’s honestly calculating just how much force she can use to really show them up without injuring them. Uh oh. I can almost sense it. Teuila’s going to throw them both into pins. They’d been trash talking for a bit, and now are just muttering curses under their breaths.
And there they go. I freakin’ knew it. Somehow she avoided smashing their chairs, and managed to only knock the table aside without smashing it as she stood. Her motion was indescribable, fluid, graceful, yet radiating raw power. I doubt she even used her gravity manipulation at all.
From atop them, with their arms twisted behind their backs, Teuila says, “Maybe don’t judge a book by its cover, and let a gal enjoy her drinks in peace if you come across one? You’re not as pushy as some of the chaps I’ve run into around here, but maybe you could help teach them some manners. Hup, here you go fellas, upsy daisy.”
The dockhands look sheepish as they stand, accepting Teuila’s help with a modicum of grace. One nudges the other, and that one speaks, “You uh, yeah. I know when I’m beat but good. Hope you have a pleasant rest of your eve and enjoy your drinks wahine, um, young miss. No disrespect intended. Also, on behalf of The Brook, thanks. Wasn’t sure the other one was telling the truth, but you must have been the one to fell the dragon.”
Teuila bursts into laughter and wipes a tear from her eye as she says, “Nope! I carried the head, sure, but my Dink,—“ I’m making the cutthroat gesture, but Teuila is facing away from me, and not holding her danger-spear. Teuila thumbs my direction and she finishes, “Is actually the one that slew the dragon. Can’t tell you how proud I was when I came over from my battle, and saw them standing on the head like it was no big deal. Also, about the town, no big deal. We do that sorta stuff all the time. I hope The Brook only has peaceful days from here on out. Ya know?”
The two gaze over at me warily. I’d probably seemed unimpressive and nondescript until now, which I was glad of. I’m happy to hear Teuila is proud of me, but she knows I don’t like attention, and there it is, she just realized she was bragging about me. Now she feels bad for sticking the spotlight on me. Poor Te. The horror and sadness in her eyes as she gazes my way are heartbreaking. She knows I forgive her, intrinsically, but I can virtually see the thought trains percolating into existence that will eventually take her out of mortification. Things really are so much harder on her without our psychic link. We never really had to socialize with anyone outside our own family before, even when we were commanding a group of thousands, and moving into a sanctuary populated by Fairies. Regardless, I entirely empathize with my beloved Wings.
Still, even if this came about because of her desire to showboat, I want to do something to alleviate her guilt. Plus, her heart was in the right place, she didn’t want to hurt anyone, or ridicule them, or anything. She just wanted to pass along a very simple Aesop. Wait, a what? An Aesop’s fable? A moral of the story? Ow my freaking head. So much for booze helping with these migraines. I won’t bother trying that again. Ugh, ow. Oh, is that the floor quickly approaching my face?