The scenery fairly flies by as Teuila’s muscles guide us north along the river. Tim occasionally gives her a bit of warning about some obstacles that’ll be coming up to avoid, and she obliges. She doesn’t want to damage his vessel, or strand any of us, obviously. The luma tulipa all seem to have their heads aimed in different directions. Until I realize that it’s time passing between seeing different luma tulipa. Friggin’ heck. They rotate like a gorram clock. I’m an idiot. Hah, hahah. Wow. I huff, heaving a sigh as I roll my eyes in humorous exasperation with myself.
Out loud I laugh, “I just realized why no one has clocks or watches. The luma tulipa are natural clocks. They rotate based on the time of day, north is probably witching hour, south would be midday or noon.”
Tim and Dawn look at me like I’m an idiot, which, yes, fair, I am. But also not fair, because I’m not from this planet. I don’t bother explaining though. I just keep laughing and shaking my head. Teuila looks proud of me at least, heh, thanks Te. I slump against her, leaning my face into the furry poncho covering her bosom as it makes an excellent pillow. I enjoy the feeling of the firmness of execution in Teuila’s precise movements. Every single row or pedal is like its own excellently crafted masterpiece of motion. I never really thought about exercise as art, but if anyone could pull it off, it’s My-Wings. While I’m caught up being enamored of her, I hardly even notice the hours that have passed by and that we’re already standing on a small pier, saying our goodbyes.
That seems a bit rather sudden, but then again I am prone to getting lost in thought, even when I want to maintain awareness. Tenny did the same thing supposedly. Tenith Grayl, the Sky Unending. Goddess, living storm, and a lovable dork. Her existence long before we met was supposedly as some sort of mediator between mortals and the other gods, and she bestowed a blessing onto the Nagas. That was literally ancient history though. In recent years she literally just flew an observational route, almost completely unknown, bored out of her own mind.
Hm, that does remind me though. TQ and Luni basically confirmed that our world was somehow new. So, history was made up. But what did that mean for beings who had lived since ancient history? How could their history be made up? Something about a beginning, and then a beginning that stretches out into the past before that. Does that mean that reality existed outside linear order, granting them the history that they had? Or was it just reality planting memories of existence to somehow reconcile itself? I guess my time travel skill is powerful enough that I could try to find out some day. I sort of did that already, by sending myself into the past before my own past. Or rather, a memory fragment of myself while I happened to be having a panic attack. Horrible timing that, really, truly.
Still, did I learn anything from the experiment? It felt like my power worked, and sent the knowledge fragment back into the past further than my own existence. I could try doing physical displacement time-travel along the fourth dimensional axis at some point too, to send my whole body back into the past. That would let me get an actual look at history, if it existed. But those are curiosities that I can’t sate until we’re back on Can’Z’aas at the earliest. I might not even be able to attempt it even then, since my powers were killing me near the end of my life. Heh. What an odd series of thoughts, as usual for Reggie Shellcracker. Just another day in the brain of. Get it? Instead of the life of? Yes me, I know the wordplay I intended to use. You don’t have to explain it to yourself. It just wasn’t that funny. Hm, true. Oh wow, I’m cracking up again, and apparently Tim is saying goodbye.
His parting words are, “Can’t say I’m feeling the ‘aster having to cross the lake again after meeting Lochsie and Mid-Point that turned out to be a beastie. Also, you wahine are little titans, I tell you. I saw that one nearly lift my boat out of the waves. Harriet wouldn’t fib, but I wasn’t sure how much she knew firsthand, and how much was rumor. Trio of teeny tiny little titans. Stay safe, First’s guidance to you.”
Dawn returns the Aasimovian farewell, “May the Firsts see you after the end of your days. Thank you for the lift.”
Tim nods as he waves, walking back towards the dinghy for what’s likely a much longer trip without Teuila rowing and pedaling. Even with Teuila being our source of locomotion, it was something like twelve hours or so from The Drake’s landing point, and this point that’s north of Lake Ciao to our west-by-southwest. If we head northwest through here, keeping Lake Ciao on our left, we should come to some sort of gap in the mountain range, a valley I guess. Or maybe a gorge, or canyon. I’d like a full sleep before heading to do such a thing. Also, canyons are notorious places to spring traps. Yeah, I’d like us to all be rested, prepared, and in the right mindset. Plus, even Teuila looks a tad beat. Though Dawn doesn’t seem any different from one moment to the next, barring the time they were totally unresponsive.
I ask, “Dawn, what are sleeping arrangements going to look like in your eyes? Do you want to hang out near us? Should we take our own turns keeping watch? As we get closer to the Imperium, I’m more worried for our safety.”
Dawn tosses me half a shrug while smiling, “You two lovebirds can snuggle snog and sleep all you want. I literally have nothing better to do than sit around waiting for you to wake back up. I can keep watch. Uh, well, as long as, y’know, I don’t mysteriously die for real all of a sudden, or something.”
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I flash Dawn a sad half-smile. We both know they meant going unresponsive again, and maybe never coming back from it the next time. Any one of us taking watch could spontaneously have a heart attack or pass out from some unknown malady we were carrying around or something. So it’s not like I mistrust Dawn’s ability to watch over us. I’m satisfied as long as they are, and as long as Teuila is. I find myself accidentally turning towards where Teuila’s laying into a playful right cross that was meant as a slug against my shoulder, catching me rather hard just beneath my collarbone. Te gasps and her face is painted mortified. I flash Teuila a sleepy smile and shake my head to indicate that she doesn’t have to worry. Though I do rub my pectoral region for a moment, where the edge of her knuckles really got caught against my top rib.
Teuila fishes out our nightclothes from her enormous backpack. I’m about to ask if we should give Dawn a moment when Teuila is out of her outerwear, and into her pajamas in an instant. Even Dawn marvels at the fluidity and speed of Teuila’s motions. And perhaps a bit of marveling at her body, despite being unable to see her bare form from the blinding speed, I’m not sure. I have no idea if Dawn experiences attraction at all, and if so, what their preferences are. I’m far more cautious, careful, and slow to don my pajamas, dragging them on underneath my clothing, so that I can shed my clothing to climb into the somewhat buoyant, hard-bottomed sleeping bag meant for mudcamping.
I think there are wooden slats in each section of the sleeping bag, so that when it’s rolled or folded, they fold along with it, sort of like coiling up a rope ladder. But when laid out, with pressure evenly across the slats, they act as a bit of a floating floor against the mud. There’s enough light-enough padding that the slats aren’t much more noticeable than a firm box-spring for a matress. Te’s already in it, and jokingly taking up the whole thing, forcing me to lay on her limbs. Limbs that she of course wraps around me instantly, snuggling me tightly close. I love this woman beyond words, to bits and pieces. I truly hope I make her feel appreciated.
I whisper, “I love you Teuila Shellcracker. You’re so amazing, and I hope you always remember how deeply I feel for you, My-Wings.”
Suddenly the temperature raises at least five degrees within our sleeping bag, I feel waves of heat pulsing off of Teuila’s face as she’s flush with embarrassment. Dawn coughs politely nearby, apparently having heard me. Ah, that’s right, they have hearing at least as acute as mine, if not better. Regardless, Teuila is too embarrassed to let her lips respond in a verbal fashion, but they do respond in another fashion as I’m drifting to sleep in her arms. That is of course to take my ear and claim me as her own. Mm, it’s divine in this sleeping-bag. At least compared to trudging around in the stupid ceaseless drizzle. But also divine just in general laying in Teuila’s arms. Even if her mouth is wrapped around my upper ear. At least she can’t deny that she does it any longer, now that she’s done it while we’re both awake.
Dawn breaks, sort of. That is, Dawn wakes us up in the pre-dawn hours based on the luma tulipa. They seem fairly upbeat today. I’m not sure how much they’ve processed Aces’ death yet though. Despite us having to travel at my pace, me being the slowest of the three, Dawn and Teuila both seem to be enjoying our travels, taking in the scenery.
Dawn answers a question I hadn’t heard Te ask, “Hm, I suppose so. I honestly never thought I’d travel. Other than jokingly hinting at tagging along with Aces, I, yeah. I never expected to leave The Brook, let alone Aasimovia, never even really contemplated it for some reason. Autumn Brook was kind of all there was for me. You know? It just felt like nothing else outside it existed, and that I was sort of doomed to endure that, possibly forever.”
Teuila looks surprised as she responds, “That’s kinda weird to me Dawny, but I guess I’m used to at least traveling a long way each day for exercise. Even before Dink. I’d swim a few dozen miles upriver, or west or east along the coast, minimum, every day. Heck, my buddy from the Rockcrushers would join me in. Oh. Ow.”
Teuila saddened herself, reminding herself of the neighboring otter clan that was wiped out by Leviathan’s first tidal wave. I hadn’t made it to the shore yet by then, but I was there during the second wave, with the Shellcrackers who had already lost so much. The Night of High Water. It was a horrid experience, costing us several family members, and Teuila additionally had suffered it once before I had even met her.
Dawn, reading the air, changes topic, though perhaps not for the better, “Hey, Boss, um, sorry to hear and all that. Also sorry, but, like. Despite what I just said about not traveling or stuff. There’s something I gotta do, alone, nearby. I’ll catch up in a couple of days. I swear. I can always track down Rej, y’know? For some reason. Anyway. Easy as cake, or pie, take your pick.”
I gaze at Dawn confusedly and ask, “Dawn, is something wrong? Do you need space? Is there anything we could do to comfort you if it was us?”
Dawn’s reply doesn’t answer my question, “So, uh, Boss. I’ll see you two crazy kids on the other side of The Gap at the latest. Shouldn’t take more than a couple days for either of us. Keep out of trouble you two. That doesn’t seem likely though.”
Teuila is about to object, but both of us lose track of Dawn immediately after they leave our danger sense ranges. Dawn vanished into the countryside like it was nothing.
Te and I both shout about for them as we search our surroundings for a quarter to half an hour. Finally we have to relent and give up the chase. Teuila and I hug each other for comfort, both confused at this turn of events. I didn’t expect Dawn to be an inner circle member, or like, a constant companion, but I also didn’t expect them to just nip off and say maybe see you in a few days if you’re lucky. Basically.
Teuila can only vent her frustration by exercising, so she asks, “Dink, can we, just, like, I don’t know, sprint hard? Maybe, maybe Dawny is taking a shortcut or something. Maybe they’ll be waiting when we get there, so, like, the sooner we get there, the better.”
I shrug while nodding, “Sure thing Te, anything you want. You’re the boss.”
She grins at me and takes off at a sprint that there is no possible way for me to match, though I do my best to keep up. Eventually she starts sprinting backwards and forwards, scouting ahead and returning to my side to keep track of me. I have to throw all caution to the wind to keep up this pace, so my footfalls are sloppy, but thankfully the mud is forgiving, not a concrete surface.