At the small airport just south and east of the city of Richmond, in the Greater State of the Virginias, the aero-craft finally landed with a minor series of bumps and a then one last little jolt. Tj’Chin’Ker hated the deceleration almost as much as the act of flying itself.

Next to him slumped the dwarf. He hadn’t ever stirred even a little as the hard braking forces of the plane’s deceleration jostled every other person aboard. Once the plane had taxied, a term Ellen explained to him, to what seemed a random spot on the tarmac near the main building of the airport, finally coming to a complete stop,

Ellen had to vigorously shake the dwarf until he woke with a start.

Mister Trout, who had not emerged from sleep for the duration of the flight, now looked like a sweaty, disheveled mess as he struggled back to consciousness. Tj’Chin’Ker would have thought the man would be well rested, from the calm and listless way he had slept as their craft had flown from Philadelphia south to Richmond.

With a bleary eyed look around the brightly lit and expansive cabin, his eyes finally settling upon ‘Ker and Ellen, the little man grunted and let out a brief snort, like a curious boar, and shook himself, before clearing his throat and removing his seatbelt and shoulder straps. The H’Aghram looked frightful, his eyes narrowed to crow-foot edged slits, and his curly hair askew. Sweaty browed, his nearly pinched shut eyes which had never opened throughout the flight, now looked angry, and bloodshot.

A mournful “Atthlana…” escaped his lips, causing as sour a look on the man’s face as either had ever seen on him. More so than when he had been held at gunpoint.

He gave a brief gasp as he bounced back into consciousness. Looking about him with a sudden startling clarity, Trout’s face wavered through several emotional states before settling upon a forced apathy, and blanked itself of all concern and emotion. They had made it in one piece. Goody…his face blandly said. The shaking from Ellen had not quite come to the same complete stop as had the plane.

“I’m no bottle of hairspray, stop jigglin’ me, woman!” His irritation quickly escaped as he saw all of the other passengers who had already clogged the aisles to pull down their carry-on luggage from the overhead bins now that they were at their destination. Most of them must have stood up while the plane was still taxiing, despite warnings not to do so.

Humans. What would we do without them…? He thought grumpily.

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“Ah, let me see, I believe Missus Ahoo Stark will be meeting us at the gate.” Smoothing out his rumpled coat with his large knuckled and calloused hands, a tired, cynical grin crawled out from the recesses of Trout’s face as he eyed the tall nurse, Miss Ellen Lindsey.

“Maybe you want to shake someone else, but are too embarrassed to ask him if he wants …a shake… from you.” It was an unreasonably cruel dig at the big woman, but Trutt didn’t care to be roughly handled by the impatient woman. And after the memories that had posed as dreams, he was feeling angry at the world. The world not being here to kick, he aimed some of his irritation at closer, easier targets. He had realized his mistake too late, however.

From where Ellen was standing in the aisle, her head slightly bent, and shoulders hunched to keep her from making contact with the cabin’s ceiling, ‘Ker had been shocked at the speed with which her hand shot forward to grab Trout’s mustache. With a wrench, she pulled him upright. More than upright even, as he could see the little man’s shoes were all together no longer on the cabin floor, his knotted hands now grabbing the armrest of the seat beside him to help hold him aloft, lest he lose his upper lip to the now angry nurse.

“Right, you little bastard!” Her whisper was harsh, low, and growled from her throat with warning to spare, as an oblivious could waddled past her with their luggage. “If. You. Ever. Leer at me like that again, if you ever talk to me like that again; I’ll toss you out into the street without bothering to open a window first!”

“Such threats! Oh, I’ve heard them all, long before your da’ was born…” A chuckle tinkled from his grinning lips. His smile turned dark, then. “I’ve been threatened by a GOD, and cursed by another god; you aren’t in their league when it comes to scary threats, little girlie.”

“Then from the airplane! Arse!” Her slitted eyes gave iron black truth to the words. “I have had a BAD week! I have had my life turned upside down. I have no idea if I can go back to my life. And It’s all because of WHATEVER” she hissed low here, to keep from yelling in a public space at the little cretin. “You and he have done to absolutely ruin what was a VERY serviceable life. I am going completely MENTAL here, and you are NOT HELPING!” These last few words barely hissed through her lips now stretched thin, and gone white with her anger.

“No scenes, please. We now here to help my people, and not get on troubles. Troubles will cost me chime. I have much to do, and need you broth.” His deep hazel eyes looked imploringly at the two, until they settled down, the tension leaving Ellen’s body in a visible wave. It also left her with a wide grin.

“You meant ‘Both,’ I think, lad.” Trout spoke with a grin bigger than the lascivious one he had attempted to give Ellen mere moments before. “Also, the word is pronounced “time.” We’ll work on the rest as we go, eh?”

They filed quietly out of the small plane, across the blacktop in the wet, drizzling dark of night, finally into the small airport to await their baggage, and their ride into the city. Ellen was not speaking, but not scowling anymore, either. Mister Trout was as happy as he could possibly be; in recent years nothing bothered him for long. It was a mindset he had adopted a long time ago after being torn from his family and home by a mad god to look for a relic that had never, as far as he knew, existed.