While the drive to Ellen’s home had been extremely …enervating? and the new carriage they called for to take them all from her home to the "Air-Port" after cleaning up, had set his now newly close cropped hair on edge. The things vibrated beneath you as the entire mass slid through the streets of the city like stones sliding across lake ice. It was uncannily creepy to experience. Even in a large horse drawn carriage, one knew they could take the reins if needs be, and confidently make it to one's destination. But, this was not at all the feeling 'Ker had as he was slung about the city streets in the madly vibrating buggy, wedged between NurzEllen, and Trutt.

They had stopped at an amazing, brightly lit, market of some sort to buy him new hose and brogan, and while he had objected somewhat, a new, and oddly fussy tunic and and some matching pants. The pants were a bane to 'Tj'Chin'Ker. They lacked the sturdy feel of good breeches, and were almost a tight as a set of formal woolen hose, they bagged in places, and were loose about the lower legs. …How would any women be able to get a good look at the shape of his calves with these "pants" on? he thought. 'Ker knew his bottom would be especially emphasized, but the tail of the coat he wore his that. It was a complexity of fashion that he was having trouble embracing.

On the different, admittedly short, legs of this morning's trip, he and Trutt had discussed the best way to get through the security at this "Port." He had not known what a "Sky Marshal" was, but it was the intent that worked with most light charms, and once Trutt outlined the protective and military nature of the position, 'Ker knew he had this one covered.

As they slid along, 'Tj'Chin'Ker had thought about any number of the coastal ports he had remembered from his youth in these isles. This was nothing like those various salt scented, gull crowded, boat berths he had remembered. and nothing like he had imagined when he considered how much had changed since the 'Tj'Shea had fled. This noisy building was a hideous monstrosity, all on its own. And then he had seen the "ships."

As the trio exited the carriage, the very air was split with cacophony and thunder like he had rarely ever heard and felt. Then, above him, coming from the far side of the large structure, a giant white … thing... emerged, and literally flew away from him faster than a horse, unsaddled and in a panic could ever run.

He was horrified, and when he noticed no one else was staring in terror at the flight of the enormous white vessel, 'Ker was also embarrassed. The idea of "Flight" they had been speaking of, had been to 'Ker either poetic description, or just yet another facet of this language he wasn't certain he was translating correctly. But, now 'Ker knew it was a nightmare he had not yet been prepared to confront in this world. He had no idea these people flew. How would he ever have been expected to expect humans to use flight with the casual aplomb they took to taking to sea when he had last lived here?

And now, this idea of flight was the most terrifying thing ‘Ker had ever experienced. He now sat, strapped down in a large, padded chair, once again between his fellow travelers, and he could feel the rumble and vibration of this conveyance the same way the horseless wagon did, but with so much more force than those wagons on the ground had used. His fingers dug into the armrest of chair in which he not sat on this “aero plane,” readying for "take off;" and the view from the window made him painfully tighten his grip until ‘Ker could hear the sounds of things in the bulky armrest breaking, as his knuckles strained.

Over eight hundred people, including crew, saw nothing to set their minds unduly awry with scuttling into a giant metal bird, to then be heaved across an entire ocean like a stone shot from a sling across a river bank. Trutt had told him in the terminal while he stared open mouthed at the gleaming behemoth that “You should have seen them a hundred years ago…these giants give you the illusion of security. I’ve flown in some that were just larger than the cab we came to the ‘port in.”

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His smile never slipped as he looked up earnestly into ‘Ker’s horrified face.

With a great, heavy hand the vessel's acceleration crushed him back into his seat, the view out the little oval window near his shoulder made him shudder down to his very soul. Not only did this huge conveyance begin to angle up to the heavens, it actually began to reach for them as well. ‘Ker thought “cars” were bad, but he was just getting used to them, beginning to accept their inherent absurdity, and now this thing that at first he took for a giant of a car was screaming towards the very clouds.

Goddess keep me safe in this world of humans and their love of combustion thingies, and explosive thingies, and…and…all other mad thingies they do…Gods of air lift me, and keep my poor carcass from becoming just another stain on the First, most Holy Mother…

He had never prayed with his eyes open before. He had never kept his eyes open so long before, either. …And Gods and Goddesses please don’t let me die during a blink…crap…keep this monstrous thingy up…if I don’t shut my eyes it can’t sneak up on Me…crapcrapcrap…

He didn’t know what they where talking about when they blathered on about a flight. ‘Ker imagined it was an expression dealing with the nature of them leaving "Angle-Land" in a rush. The oddities of linguistics that give rise to such sayings as flying from pursuers, and…well…”give rise” for that matter... If he had any idea he would be strapped into a giant iron sausage and thrown into the atmosphere like a child’s ball, or worse, a spear, he might have just given up his mission and killed himself like a sensible person should when faced with these situations. Kissed a dragon, or fought Mother Time...

On the one hand, it was an ingenious way to travel, a more rational portion of 'Ker's mind would admit.

Miles and miles, gone in the wink of an eye. Astounding. But on the other hand, what sick person would consider this a reasonable way to move about? Who needs to be thousands of feet above the ocean to get anywhere? What about taking a ship? Awe…I should be feeling awe…but the view out the window makes me want to weep…a lot...some poor man at the front of the cabin is being discreetly ill into a small bag…the woman across the aisle from me is drinking herself into a stupor…a third of the passengers look green around the gills…nobody likes this, but they’re all here anyway…this is sick! Most of them act like nothing out of the ordinary is going on…but they lie with every gesture! I thought they meant we would take ship…sail to the Dancer’s new home…the Father owes me more than he can ever repay…why does this “plane” shudder? Should it shudder? It is shuddering…I feel shuddering going on, but only the little bald man in the front row is reacting to it…more vomit from him into the little bags…okay, just act like everyone else…crapcrapcrap… ohcrapcrap… donwannadie …ohcrapcrapcrap…

Ellen and the H’Aghram, Trutt, sat in peaceful repose in the two seats to either side of ‘Ker, Trutt going so far as to be sleeping. That’s just ugly…she’s reading a book while this great beast plows the sky…and he sleeps…HOW CAN HE BE SLEEPING? …crap…big crapping shuddering THINGY crapcrapcrap…

‘Tj’Chin’Ker sat gripping the armrests for dear life, and wondered how this thing landed. …crap…I gotta distract myself from this…I need better curse words... more of them certainly... Closing his eyes for what felt like the first time in hours, he tried to remember the better things in life; and to not concentrate on all the ways this roaring thing in whose belly he sat could kill him.