Garin began to notice that something was up with Melchior right away. It seemed like he was drifting side to side like he was intoxicated. Tehran mentioned the word which seemed to fit what he was doing. So Garin approached him and placed a tendril on his shoulder to steady him.
“You alright Melchior?”
Melchior turned, a dazed look clouding his eyes. “No, not at all, in fact I just remembered something I should have told you both about Ella.”
“Which is what exactly?” Garin saw Melchior’s eyes glow, as if they were answering the command.
“Ella’s race of harpy has a particular poison in their talons… when she grabbed me she injected me with said poison. It’s a hallucinogen that makes you more susceptible to suggestions and commands for a few hours. I guess harpies like to play with their prey.” He laughed at his own joke, swaying to the side as he started to lose his balance. Garin looked back at Ella, who just smiled as she noticed him. Turning to Melchior again, Garin tried to keep Melchior from falling over. He spoke to the group, “Priscilla, Ella, were going to rest for a moment, I don’t think Melchior is doing well.”
Priscilla was the most upset, “Why does that blasted bird need a rest every five minutes? It is ridiculous.”
Ella was more confused, “Is owling sick?
Tehran was the most sadistic, “Open to a suggestion?”
Garin could already hear an evil laugh coming from the back of his mind as he tried to figure out what to do about Melchior. They needed him sober if they were going to make it through this checkpoint. Or maybe not…
“Tehran, Melchior mentioned something about a Captain that was fond of him, right?”
“Why yes, yes he did. I can already see were this is going. Bravo, Garin.”
“No, I’m not going to force him to, but… well, maybe we can make it convincing to her.”
“Why Garin, you, a manipulator? Why I never.” Tehran smiled devilishly, which Garin could feel in the back of his mind like some evil villain.
“Melchior,” Garin held his head to look at him directly, “this Captain, what’s her name? The one that was overly fond of you?”
Melchior smiled, like something beautiful entered his mind, “Rosaline, like a stalker she was when we were in school together. She is the one guarding the gate we need to get through, but she is still a little bitter about our last get together. I was in the lab and blew her off when she asked me to help her with a project. ‘The next time I see you it would be with a dagger thrusted into your eyes you ass’…. ahh, no one could do rage quite like her.”
Garin shook his head at what he was about to do, “Melchior, you are going to go up and apologize to her, and ask her out on a date, when you do, you will devote the entire night to her regardless of what you truly felt before.”
Melchior seemed to vibrate with happiness at another command, “Yes, I think I will, she does so enjoy the explosive testing ground at night. I think that would be perfect.”
“After that, you will get us past that checkpoint as safely as possible.”
“Sounds good to me.”
Sighing Garin turned to the others to explain what he just did, which put an evil smile on Priscilla’s face.
“Garin, I did not know you were so bad. You may have actually done that feather brain a favor there.”
Ella was distraught about the entire thing, her face covered in worry. “I did not mean to, Sister always told me I do more than I think. I hope I did not hurt him!” Ella was about to go over to him when Garin stopped her.
“He is our only way into the city Ella, as much as I hate it we need him to do this for us.”
She held her head low, “Sorry metal man.”
Realizing he never actually told her his name, Garin relayed that to her as well, which made Ella a little nervous.
“Your name… is Garin?”
“Yeah, is something wrong?”
“It sounds familiar, that’s all.”
Garin just smiled as he pushed Melchior up to carry out his command. Melchior in his dazed state, made his way to the gate. His stride was wonky, but Garin could only hope that it would be enough.
…
Melchior strode up to the checkpoint counter, unable to control his faculties as he motioned for the security guard to call his captain so that he could speak to her about papers. Melchior knew he was coerced into this predicament, but the foolish poison would not allow him to disobey. Fool Garin, the woman would skin him alive and in his state he would let her! He hoped that Rosaline was in a good mood. She came down, her gruff uniform hugging her curves and refined pose. It was what drew her to him when they met in school together at the Academy. Melchior realized though that her passion for him was deeper and much more profound than his was to her. It led to many rage filled afternoons followed by woeful and succulent nights where each would find themselves back in each other arms. She was a strange woman to be sure, which fascinated him to no end. Still, she could be irrational at times, and that part of her is what terrified him. Like Science, she was everything he loved and feared in a woman’s form, but he could not help but press on. His fear evaporated as she smiled at him.
“Well, well, it seems we find ourselves at an impasse my love.”
“Impasse?”
“Here I am, hearing you need papers, and there you are, trying to get back inside the city before the night comes. Tell me Mel, how bad do you want to come back inside?” She was being seductive, oh gods what bad timing!
“Very badly my love, I need papers for me and my fellows over there,” he pointed to the group, “And it is very important we get back.” His commands ticked in as he relayed the information, forcing the request out. “Rose, my dear. I have hurt you and for that I am deeply sorrowful. Please allow me to make it up with a date, your choice of place of course. Whatever you want, I’ll be happy to provide.”
She was skeptical at first, she was intelligent and this was out of his behavior for him and she knew it. But that grin, that evil grin she got when things were looking her way took hold, and Melchior knew this was going to hurt.
“It would only be right to let your friends in Mel, after all, the Citadel is a haven for all. However, a date would not be enough I’m afraid.”
Melchior wished he could stop his lips, but they said, “Anything you wish Rose, and I’ll be happy to provide.”
Rosaline grinned in malice, “Five dates, and you have to help me with the collider rail gun I have been testing for the military. Oh, and I get to pick the restaurants.”
He cursed in futility, he raged in his body trying desperately to stop himself from making the decision, but like clockwork he said, “It will be done, I look forward to it my dearest Rose.”
She smiled not with malice, but genuine affection.
“I don’t know what’s gotten into you tonight Mel, but I love it. I’ll pick you up tomorrow, we’re heading to the Escargot first and then I think…”
“The explosives grounds perhaps? I know you love them at night.”
She turned and gave him a kiss, quickly putting herself back in posture, “It’s a date then, I’ll have the papers for your friends shortly.” She walked off, her curves flowing in rhythm as she made her way into the back of the office.
He did not know if it was the hallucinogens in his blood or his actual mind, but he sighed in relief as she left him gawking at her.
…
Garin felt guilty as he saw Melchior returning with their papers for entry into the city. Try as he might though he couldn’t think of any other way to get inside, especially with Melchior in his state. He shrugged it off as Melchior handed each of them their papers.
“Garin your papers are specifically tied to my citizenship here in the city. This means you need me to go with you if you ever travel outside the living quarters. Apologies, it was the only way I could convince her to let both you and Ella inside.”
“So you need to chaperone me, great.”
“If it displeases I could have her put you in as an Alien, but then you would be detained until deemed fit to leave. That would take about three weeks.”
“Never mind, so were free to go inside then? Let’s get going.”
“Not so quickly, there is still the matter of Naomi.”
Priscilla moved up with her teeth bared, “What did you do Melchior?”
“I simply need to have you registered dear, it will only take a few minutes. Please follow the captain here.”
The Captain that Melchior had mentioned came forward, and Garin got a good look at the woman. She was Touak, but her features were very different from Melchior. Melchior had a broad face with big eyes and spectacles, his shoulders were broader as well, with his wings shortened in the back. The Captain Rosaline was more defined in her figure, her wings were much larger and her eyes were smaller. They have an opal shape to them, and the irises were colored green, quite exotic from what Garin had seen so far.
Her shoulders were skinny as well, but her legs were larger, as if they had seen a lot of training. She had a uniform on with a hat that tilted off to the side in a casual fashion, and she held a smirk on her face as she passed Melchior and went over to Priscilla. They stared at each other for a while, and Garin thought he could see them sizing each other up, as if a fight would break off between then any minute. Garin thought it best to break the silence.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
“Could we stay with Priscilla while she gets registered?”
The Captain turned to him, her eyes starting to pick up what she was seeing, and she looked worried. It started to worry Garin as well, but she sighed shortly afterwards.
“That would be alright, but no funny business. She is considered a royal and we need to be ready to inform the public should it be necessary… though I’m starting to wonder if we need to register you as well.”
Melchior became flustered, “Not yet please Rose, if the public is aware they may panic and I have research I need to prepare with him.”
Putting Melchior in a bind seemed to put a smile to the Captain’s face, which Priscilla picked up on. Garin could almost make out a smile on her face as well. Tehran could not help but chime in.
“Seems these women love to put that poor bird into a fix. He better hope they don’t pick up on his condition and make it worse.”
“We better get them both back on track.”
“Right, steer them away from temptation oh savior.” Tehran laughed as he went back inside Garin’s mind. Garin moved to the two women motioning to the both of them.
“Could we get moving? I’d like to get some rest and I’m pretty sure you do too.” Priscilla sighed and moved with the Captain into the security building, with the rest of the group in tow.
…
Ella was not sure which was stranger, the giant land of light that she seemed to find herself in or its people who all seemed to be completely different from each other. Her curiosity was peaked as she studied the crowds of wandering birdmen and women, all of whom seem to be gawking at her in a similar fashion. Was there something on her feathers? She was sure she had them cleaned before hand, if the river hadn’t taken care of that for her already.
She tried to talk to them, but they only looked at her with awe, which was strangely relaxing. They admired her, well as they should for she was a great huntress. Yet something told her that wasn’t the reason for the stares, and after a while she became bored with the many inhabitants and their strange heads. She decided then to follow the metal man, Garin, who she still could not understand, at least not fully. She had seen many people, but he was unique and never had she seen a metal man. He also spoke Screchspek, which only a harpy would know.
He was full of mystery the metal man, and those sad eyes of his made her feel like she should say something to comfort him. It comforted her as well, for she was also a stranger here and it felt nice to share that with the metal man. She hopped to him, nuzzling her head on his shoulder as her sister did for her whenever she was sad. It startled the metal man Garin, at least at first, but after the first jump he seemed to relay to her nuzzles.
“How did you know?”
His question puzzled her, know about his sadness?
“Your eyes Garin, they are always sad. And so I nuzzled.”
“Nuzzled? Funny thing was I actually needed that, thanks Ella.”
“You’re welcome.”
Her heart felt a leap when he thanked her, it was so strange. She had never felt this before and it all seemed to be coming from Garin. It was like a wild Muskala was flipping around in her stomach. She turned from him to collect herself as the rampaging Muskala did not cease in its flipping. She strangely did not want the flipping to stop though, for it came from Garin and his kindness. What were all these strange feelings for? She felt like hitting her head against the wall of the strangely padded room. She decided she would focus on the mistress Priscilla, who was having herself placed against a wall with a myriad of strange symbols.
Two of the owlings were moving in a large creature from what Ella could gather. It was massive and black with an eye that mirrored whatever looked into it. It made Ella nervous, for it sounded like the creature her sister would mock her with when they were nestlings. She called it the Gorgon, and if you looked to long it would freeze you in place forever. Part of her was screaming to help Priscilla and save her from the massive machine monster. The other half seemed to notice that Garin was not jumping in. So she asked,“Garin, won’t that thing hurt her? It is a Gorgon! She’ll be frozen if we don’t help her!”
Garin looked up at her, “She’ll be fine Ella, that thing is a machine that takes pictures, it’s meant to capture her face so that she can admire it. It won’t kill her or hurt her at all.”
“How are you so certain?”
“Well, I’ve seen one before. A long time ago in fact, and I know what they look like.”
“Really?”
He turned to her and nodded, but the sad look was back in his eyes again.
“Why do you carry such sadness Garin?”
“Because I lost something I hope to get back. It’s difficult to find and I wonder if I’ll ever see it again.”
Ella knew the feeling he spoke of, the loss of something precious like her Loka. She always felt bad leaving her Loka to the desert even though she knew it was the right thing to do. She always wanted to visit her, but all she could do was watch her from afar. She knew she would never be able to help her Loka, but maybe she could help Garin.
“So what have you lost?”
He laughed at the question, the sadness carrying through, “My memory.”
She did not understand what memory was the word itself seemed important though so she inquired further.
“Memory?”
“It means… well you know how you have your thoughts about Loka right?”
“Yes of course Ella know about her thoughts.”
“Yes, now picture this, you forgot about everything about your Loka, except what she looked like. You know deep down that you should know about her but you can’t seem to find the thought. That is how I feel Ella, except I can’t seem to recall anything about myself at all. All my thoughts, they’re gone.”
She almost cried, “That’s awful!”
“It’s why I am sad Ella, and also why I am here in this city. Melchior is helping me find out about what I am, and I’m hoping that will help me remember.” He smiled at her, “Don’t worry about me though Ella, I’ll carry on its just… that machine, the one that takes pictures. It reminded me of my parents.”
Ella could not take the sadness any longer. The hurt she felt towards Garin was more than even her Loka made her feel. So she nuzzled, as her sister would do for her, and let her warmth comfort Garin’s cold body. She may not know much about this metal man, but her heart told her that he was lonely and she knew the feeling. She heard him cry softly, as the machine took pictures of their friend.
…
Priscilla had just about enough of the infernal machine, which endlessly snapped photos of her like it was for amusement. The two Touak taking them she was sure they were laughing at her as they took them, because she jumped when the first photo came out looking like she had not a courageous bone in her body. She was not familiar with this technology, but she could already tell it was useless for anything but vanity.
She tried to keep herself still, but the flashes sparked a need to run, as if she was being fired upon. After they had finally ceased their endless flashes, she moved to a desk where they had her file papers noting herself as a citizen second class, as the first class were Touak. She was told of the classes of Touak Hierarchy when she was young, as she was a candidate for becoming a prime in her own clan. It was necessary for diplomatic uses, but the skills became null since she had no drive to be a prime, thus her sister became the Prime over her. Yet, now they came back in droves as she remembered them. Second class citizens were considered high nobility of another race, meaning they were to be treated with respect unless the citizen in question was at war with the Citadel.
First class were Touak of the High Council, members of premier science and technology were the only ones who could hold the office.
Third class, were normal citizens, Touak and some transient species that were recognized like her own Sheok.
Fourth were the sub species, those of some intelligence but not enough to earn full citizenship status, thus these citizens were more servants and slaves then citizens. They could however earn it once per year by passing the TOMs or Technologic Organization Mathematics. It was a test held to prove they were capable to provide more to society than just menial labor.
They were rigorous, for no one is exempt from them. She had passed hers years ago when she was only ten passing’s of the sun in age, but some were unable to do it well into their prime years. The fourth class were mostly drudges of society but some were simply too poor to provide the education needed to pass. She considered the whole mess to be a faulty way to promote society. In her clan, everyone had purpose and meaning and not one was second to any other except the Prime.
The Prime was delegated by those who were meant to rule and had shown promise, so anyone of the clan could rule, they just needed to show they had the stones to do it. This place, it serviced the strong and fed off the weak, and made sure they stayed weak. She sighed, she may have her opinion, but as a representative of her nobility, she must show respect in turn to the Touak here. Their alliance was already tenuous due to their differences, and if not for the Skiritix threat they may have been enemies. War changes many things though, and old grievances turn to pettiness when true evil shows. She finished her forms, stamping her paw on to the paper to show her nobility and blood. After all, the paperwork was finally finished, she got up to meet her friends. She noticed the strange Harpy Ella, comforting the youngling Garin. She puzzled over him and his lineage, wondering if he truly was the God Melchior claimed he was.
The boy showed such sadness, if a God he was then why would he be so miserable when anything could be his? It reminded her of a conversation she had with her sister long ago. They were twelve passings of the sun in age, sitting near a pond on the red rivers that connected to the great Jade Forest. Her sister Melia was spearing fish while she left her feet to sway with the current on the edges of the rapids. She knew it to be dangerous, but she felt invincible staying near so much danger and having it do nothing to her. She felt brave, and with gusto decided to try to dive through the rapids and paddle to the other side of the massive river.
She pushed through with ease, her training and mental prowess letting her shoot through the water like a fish. That is, until a tree branch caught her in the leg, making it too painful for her to kick. The river began to drag her into the current and she could feel panic setting in as she tried desperately to push through the pain. She couldn’t though, and the river grabbed her and tossed her right back onto the banks. Her sister was there laughing at her with the same sarcastic tone she knew her to have. Anger flushed through her as she screamed at her numbskull sibling, “I could have died and you’re laughing at me. You miserable little cub!” Her sister continued to laugh as she said, “Sister, my dear loving sister, you can be a fish or you can be a Sheok, but the river knows which is which.” She remembered wrestling with her sister until the end of the day, but the words she said wrung true in her head.
She was a Sheok, and nothing would change that, but with Garin, he had no identity, and no sense of where to belong. He had no kin to learn from, or people to call home. He was alone in a world full of things he could not have. A god with everything, but nothing.
She turned to Ella, who did have a kind, but rejected them to help strangers in an even stranger land. She too was lonely. Priscilla felt protective of them, for they were young and each was alone. She never knew what it meant to be a mother, for she was a warrior at heart and not destined for such stock. Yet staring at the two of them, she knew she must protect them until they could stand up to this world’s ferocity. She smiled, thinking her mother must be smiling up in the stars as she thought of her. She could hear her saying, “My dear Naomi, I told you that a mother’s instinct is always present. We can’t escape who we are underneath it all.”
She smiled, and fumed, because she hated admitting her mother was right about something. Both Ella and Garin seemed to notice her standing there after a while and began questioning her relentlessly about what she was doing. She sighed and told them, gathering them all up so that they could leave the administrative building. Melchior was still stumbling in his stupor but the effects were beginning to show dissipation.
Garin and Ella were much happier as they talked along the street and the strange floating lights that seemed to be following them. She envied their innocence, but a warrior had to put everything before herself to defend the pack. She settled herself and let her emotions be claimed by the calm that came when she fought, bringing herself into her battle trance. It was a trained form, letting her be more alert to her surroundings and able to see in the darkest environments. The cities lights seemed to dim as she entered the stance, revealing smaller creatures that floated along taking photos and keeping surveillance.
Faint electricity hummed in their tiny frames as they floated by. In this form she could have taken them all down with ease and speed. None of them posed any sort of threat as she saw, so their group continued into the living quarters, where hundreds of Touak were heading into their own quarters to turn in for the night.
She was awarded her own quarters across the hall from both Garin and Ella, who were sharing a room per the dependency that Melchior had put for them. The Owling himself started to head back out saying something about a midnight rendezvous with the Captain they spoke to earlier. She did admire the captain being a fellow warrior herself. It was easy to pick out a person from the crowd who actually saw combat, especially in this city full of researchers. It was akin to an understanding that they both shared, and making fun of Melchior in the process helped make it easier to like her. She deserved someone better than that oaf.
She stretched herself, feeling each muscle in her body snap and crack with each movement. Releasing the stance, she fell to her bed not even bothering with the bedding itself. She was used to sleeping amongst the stars at night with nothing but a pillow, but even she admitted to herself that she enjoyed the softness of the mattress underneath her. She sighed in relief as the sleep gnawing at her body took hold of her.