An entire lap around the village without even getting winded. Punches that could crack rock. She stopped doing push-ups after she hit around 250...in maybe a minute, and with not a drop of exhaustion. Really, since coming to this world (and she really hated the idea of that ACTUALLY being the situation), this was the first time she'd really tried to exert herself and...it was hard coming. Beyond anything else, this was the kicker that forced her to really consider that she might not just be dreaming or on the world's worst drug trip. She didn't even DO drugs!
Charles had just looked and nodded at her, like he expected absolutely everything. Maybe he did. He wasn't pushing them to work just yet, at least- he'd insisted on starting them tomorrow properly. She was fine with that- it gave her time to think. Or at least come to terms with what was going on here. This...magic...it really had ended up like one of those fantasy books she used to read. But the hell was she supposed to do now? Just wander until something happened?
“...fuck that,” she muttered under her breath as she looked over at Hokuto. She'd wanted to put him through the same battery of tests, but to her surprise, he'd refused. “Oh, don't worry about me,” he'd insisted. “While we should probably test to see if I'm similar, we don't need to get everyone's attention.” Not that they hadn't ALREADY gotten everyone's attention, to her. But she'd let the kid beg off. Probably finding his own way of coping, or at least figuring out if he had the same stuff going on with him as she did. They'd have to compare notes sooner than later, she figured. For now, though...well, she'd mentioned their lack of money for the time being, and so for the meantime, he'd simply had her move a few bales of hay, as well as getting a bit of a start on clearing that rocky field he'd mentioned. It was the latter bit that she was on now, and she chucked another body-sized rock away, cringing a bit at the impact. At least no one was bothering her about it. At this rate, she figured she'd probably finish by nightfall, though...and still no Hokuto in sight.
Almost as though he'd heard her, however, a voice came from a bit of a ways behind her. “Hello! Miss Gaines?” Turning around, she saw that he was walking towards her- and he wasn't looking too great. More shocked than anything else. “A-are you free for a moment? I have something...well, something important I feel that I should show you.”
Great. Whatever it was, she wasn't looking forwards to it.
When they'd gotten a bit of a distance away, near a few trees, he'd merely raised his hand- for a second, she was baffled as to what he had in mind. Then he spoke a single word. “Ignite!”
A small gout of flame came off of his hand, and suddenly burst forwards from his palm to impact a nearby rock. “Um...I think I can use magic, as well.” His voice was shy, uncertain- and maybe a bit fearful. “I thought about some stories I used to read, and I think it is similar. It involves believing in the power to shape it, I think. It's something I think I'll have to be careful about-”
“Ignite.” Jessica immediately chanted, holding up a single hand as well. She nearly jumped when her hand got warm in the space of a second, and a brilliant orange flame erupted from her hand, coalescing as a sphere just on top of it. She noticed, however, it was a good deal smaller than Hokuto's. His was about the size of a basketball. Hers barely was tennis ball sized. Still...she wasn't sure how to feel about it. On the one hand, she was terrified because FUCK, it was fire! On her hand! She couldn't help but shake a bit at the image, and she couldn't stop herself from waving her hand around slightly, as if to try and shake it off. But it never got anything other than warm. And as much as she didn't want to admit out loud...being able to summon a fireball, even a small one...well, it was just plain cool.
Unfortunately, there was at least one aspect that was frustrating her about the whole thing, and her attention waned, the flames dispersing as she folded her arms. “Can't BELIEVE that everyone's gonna point to this, talking about that demon-blooded bullshit-”
It was there that she stomped the ground in annoyance- and to her surprise, a small hill of earth popped up in front of her. No higher than her waist, no wider than a foot. And yet, like she'd pushed it up herself, there it was.
The two of them could only stare briefly. Hokuto was the first to speak. “I haven't tried that.”
“...Well, we better get to tryin' everything,” Jessica mumbled. What ELSE was this place going to throw at the both of them? “Just as long as we don't blow up half the countryside doin' it...” Thinking about it, she called it up again. “Ignite.” The flame returned, and she gave the flames a sharp look. “So maybe if...” She held up a single finger, and a flame remained on it. “Hmmmm...”
Hokuto wasn't sure what she was intending to do- it was a candle-flame, at best. But as her eyes squinted, he swore he saw something else...the flame didn't get any bigger, but slowly, slowly it seemed to become sharper. More intense. He wasn't sure how to describe it, only that it slowly started to resemble less of a candle-flame, and more of a blowtorch...
But then she put a hand to her head, and the flame went out in a puff. “Hoo, damn.” She wasn't sweating, but she seemed like she had a massive headache. “That takes it out of you,” she confirmed. “But, fair 'nough. Alright, then, so we got that, what about...” she pointed at the lump that she'd accidentally formed. “Whatever that is? Think you could do that?”
“Hmm...” After thinking about it, he stomped, and a small hill of Earth shot up from his feet. It was lesser than hers, maybe up to his calves. But it was there. “Amazing...”
“Yeah, no kiddin',” she agreed. “So this is all what magic is? Force an' will and spit and grit? Huh.” Lemme...” She paused, considering. “Actually, mebbe we shouldn't try an' work alla this out by ourselves so quick.”
“What do you mean?” Hokuto asked, his face clearly confused.
“I mean, we should probably look up someone what can teach us all about this shit- or at least point us in the right direction,” she explained. “I mean, I doubt it's all just 'feel it out'. Probably some actual teachers for this shit SOMEWHERE.”
“But do you really think someone would be willing to do such here for us?” She had to admit, the question seemed pretty valid. What with the rumors already no doubt floating around town about the two, they'd likely be hard pressed for anyone to deal with them for more than a minute- if they didn't get aggressive or run scared first. “I think it might be best to keep ourselves from causing a scene. I think we can find things out on our own easily enough. Especially if this is anything like the stories I've read before...”
She had to stop herself from snarking at him- she hadn't missed the similarities to more than a few stories SHE had read, too, but that didn't mean that everything would be exactly the same. “Look, how about we finish up the stuff Charles wanted us to do, and we can talk about this more later, huh?”
Nodding his agreement, the two left the area, heading back to their tasks; the light was starting to dim, and he'd be expecting this stuff done. Well, okay, no he wouldn't, but that didn't mean that she couldn't finish it, and she'd be damned if she wouldn't now that she'd set the goal for herself. She'd started it, she was going to finish it, like always. Wouldn't do to fall out of habits, no matter where she was.
It had taken some quick work, and some discreet chucking of rock pieces clear out of the town limits, but she'd done it. She'd also gotten in a bit more practice with her quite literal earth-shattering strength. Heading around the farm, she managed to find Charles after some blind searching, busy with some small beasts that looked enough like dairy cows without the spots and maybe half their size that she was comfortable with calling them mini-cows. Part of her was sure they had a name back in her world, but she couldn't think of it at the time. Telling him that she was done had practically caused his eyes to bulge, and drop the rope he'd been using to herd the cow in. “Well, I'll be...” he said softly. “For real?”
She just shrugged. “Well, up to you. All those big rocks aren't there, but if there's anything you don't like, I mean...you're gonna have to check that yourself, y'know?” She wasn't a mind-reader.
“R-right, right. S'pose it makes sense,” he muttered. “Look, I'll- I gotta get these calves in, so howsabout you head back 'round to the household and wait there? Yer handler should be done soon, too. Nice boy, real polite. You're a lucky one!”
She still chaffed at that. 'Minder.' 'Handler', blah. Made it sound like she was a beast. She'd have LOVED to argue the point, but it wasn't the time or place- and he at least wasn't freaking out about it all the time or treating her like something less. She would've had to nail the point in SINCERELY if THAT had been the case, “Fine, sure.” She turned and left without any other fanfare.
His place was relatively small, in comparison to all the land he had for his crops and animals. A simple, one story house, probably made with mostly wood and what not, with a chimney, as far as she could see. Beyond that, a massive field for crops, much of it in bloom or sprouting tall- meaning that they were likely in the summer, nearing fall. Jessica sighed, as she flopped down onto the stone steps to his house. Although similar to her childhood in some ways- it reminded her of her uncle's farm, though his was a tiny, personal one- it was still a lot of space. That innkeep DID mention that he'd had help before...it'd probably been rough going for him for a while to have to do all that by himself.
Not much longer than she'd said that, however, than she heard the crack of a door open- and she turned her head around in surprise- fast enough that she heard a squeal of surprise and the patter-patter of little feet running away.
Huh. She hadn't even SEEN any kids around here earlier...had she been stuck in the house all day? Well, whatever it was, she hadn't even closed the door all the way. “Hello? You know I ain't gonna hurt you, right?” Not that she figured the kid heard her, though. She'd been scared quick, though those footsteps had ended pretty fast, too. She waited a moment- the house wasn't too big, and she figured her voice would carry enough to make her audible. “I'm just taking a sit down until your dad gets back. He IS your dad, right?”
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
There was a moment of silence, and Jessica wondered if she'd really spooked the kid badly. But then: “Uh-huh.” Ah, there she was.
“Yeah, well, I'm probably gonna be working for him for a while,” Jessica carried on conversationally. “So, might as well introduce myself. Name's Jessica.” When it came to kids, Jessica figured that you kinda really had to just work at their pace. At least, judging by her cousin's kid. Jacob wouldn't stop moving for the life of him, so she put that experience to use as best she could. “What about you? You got a name, or do I just call you Squeaky Girl?”
“...M'not squeaky!” Of course, there were always tricks to get THEM to up their pace sometimes. “I'm Annie.” She still couldn't see the kid from her angle- she didn't want to open the door any more and risk being called an intruder, so she just imagined the girl with red hair.
“Well, nice to meet you, Annie. Like I said, I'm not gonna hurt you, but having someone to talk to might be nice.” It was gentle coaxing, and tying herself to her dad like that had been entirely intentional.
It seemed to work, too, given how a small foot, and a young, brown-haired (darn) girl in pigtails and a simple tunic dress. She had rich green eyes, and looked cautiously from around a corner. “Are yuh really with m'daddy?” Heh. Kid was still learning how to speak normally. Real young, it looked. The fact reminded her of Jacob, yet again. She wondered how he was doing- he had just turned 8 the other month. She'd gotten him a kid's air hockey set. She was PRETTY sure he wouldn't try to eat the puck. Maybe lick it if he was feeling gross.
“Yup. You can ask him once he gets back,” she confirmed. “But for now, I'm just hanging out out here.”
She hazarded a few more steps closer when Jessica didn't move. “You look weird.”
That stung a bit, but from the mouths of babes. Jessica didn't take much of any offense. “Aw, that hurts. I could say you look weird, too.”
“Nuh-uh. You look like you got burned-” and then she let out a gasp. “Ah you hurt? Does daddy know?!”
“...pft!” She couldn't help it. THAT had just sounded hilarious- and kinda touching, if she had to admit it. “Pfthaha, no no no. I'm...just different, is all. Well, I'm probably darker-skinned than most anyone you've met before, but I'm not anything weird, really. I'm just a real strong lady who comes from far away.”
“How far away?” Oh, that had gotten her interest.
“REALLY far away,” Jessica said with a visible grin as the kid started to tentatively step up to her. “With so much strange stuff you wouldn't believe it.”
“Like what?” Okay, she was firmly into 'adorable' territory now.
“Like...carriages that can move on their own.” That was a safe one, right? “Ever been in a carriage before?” Annie shook her head. Drat. “Right...well, point is, I'm from far off, but I'm just like you in all the ways that really matter.”
“Ho there!” Before she could continue on, however, she heard the man himself. “Cozyin' up to my daughter? Don't expect that'll getcha any extra cash.” It was clear that by his tone and expression that he wasn't angry, or serious with the warning. He and Hokuto had found each other, apparently, as they were walking together. Hokuto seemed to regard Jessica with a bit of surprise at first, before he glanced at Annie, then Charles, who continued talking. “But, I recall sayin' something about payin' you both for some early work. I mean, I hadn't expected what ya both did, but...well, heck, I'd call this pretty well earned, huh?” And with that he dropped a quartet of coins in Hokuto's hands. “That's four Queen's Silvers- enough right there for a good room an' food at the Hutch for 'bout a week, if they ain't change prices again.”
“You have our gratitude,” Hokuto said, bowing deep. Jessica just nodded. “We very much appreciate this.”
“Ya both earned it, considerin',” he waved off. “Demon-blooded or not, you're a good egg, miss. An' kid?” Here, he turned to Hokuto, sparkles in his eyes. “You lemme know if you need a full time job- I mean it. You're a marvel with that wind magic, y'know that?” Wind magic? That was a thing to- gah, of course it was. Fire, Earth, Wind...probably Water was one, too. She'd have to test that out later. “Make sure ta tell the fella at the counter that Charles says you're both good. Although knowin' him...” He chuckled a bit. “That guy already knows. Pretty much anything around the town managed to get to him somehow, y'know?”
“R-right!” Why that of all things made Hokuto a bit nervous, you have no clue. But at least now you have some personal time...
“Umm...” Jessica almost jumped, looking down and behind her. She'd nearly forgot about the kid. She was just standing there looking confused. “Are you gunna go now?”
“Ah, sorry, kiddo.” She wasn't gonna touch someone else's kid without permission, but she could at least give her an honest smile. “We need to get to bed, and we're new here, so we need to stay at the inn. We'll probably be back later, though!”
“Mm...okay.” She wasn't too sad at Jessica's leaving, but she WAS a stranger. “Buh-bye?”
“Bye for now,” she agreed, as Hokuto and herself waved, and began the trek back to the city as the sun dipped below the horizon.
-------------------
“Mmm. You're back.” The innkeeper was practically expecting them; a packed house and many early drinkers had come in since they'd been gone, and the duo had a bit of deja-vu regarding numerous stares. “Heard that something big had been rampaging around Charles' farm. That you two?”
“E-eh?” Hokuto seemed out of sorts. “R-rampaging? No, we were just working.”
The innkeeper just shrugs. “Kinda figured. At any rate, seems like you two been holdin' up your end of the deal, so I'll hold up mine.” He dropped a wooden marker on the desk. “Room four, upstairs. You want food, gotta pay for it. Tubs fer washin' are on request. Outhouses around back.” Ugh. That was going to be a problem long term, for sure. “Th' bed's good, too. Don't worry.”
There was a pause from the both of them. Surprisingly, it was Hokuto who spoke up first.“W-Wait, we can't get- there's only one bed?”
He nodded. “Yup. No sense in two beds 'round here.”
“B-but don't you think that's a bit improper?!” Hokuto squeaked out.
The innkeeper only raised an eyebrow. “Improper about what?”
Jessica just sighed. “Don't worry about him. Come on,” she said, practically dragging him up, and doing her best to ignore the stares and whispers. “Let's see what it looks like up there first.” The place was hardly run down, so hopefully the amenities were half decent.
They were, in fact. At least, for a place like this. There was a single writing table with a chair, a small dresser with an unlit lamp, what looked to be a stand up dresser, and a simple wooden bed- a rather wide one, to be honest. Side by side, they'd fit. “Well...it's not trash. I mean, kinda trash, but not trash.”
“After all, we're in another world...” Hokuto said softly. There wasn't a whole lot else to make of the room, to be honest, but he was happy with it.
Jessica wasn't happy, but for a different reason. “Well, might as well take a seat. We need to figure out something important.”
“Hm?” Hokuto had went to check the dresser's make, but turned back to her in curiosity. “What's that?”
“How the hell we're getting back home.” Her tone was no-nonsense, direct, and final. “I dunno about you, but I said this earlier- I AIN'T a woodsey kinda girl. I want my urban jungle back, please and thank you. And if we really DID get here by some magic force, then there's probably a way to get back. We just need to figure it out.”
“Ah, right...” Hokuto was...less eager to broach the topic. He knew a few things from manga, sure, but how was he supposed to explain that to her? She might've had some idea of what happened, but how useful would that knowledge really be? “Then, perhaps...we should ask the question of 'why are we here?'”
Jessica had been staring down at the floor in thought, but now she looked up. “Yeah?”
He nodded, as his thoughts began to come together. “Mm. I...this is...well...like many manga that I've read before. Where people get transported to another world. Something fantastical and strange...”
“Yeah, we got those across the sea, too,” Jessica pointed out. “Where d'ya think Alice in Wonderland came from? I've read a couple of those kinda stories, too.”
“Oh, r-right.” Of course she would have- that only made sense. “Sorry...but in any case, I believe that there are multiple possibilities, if this is similar to what I read. Most commonly is that a hero is summoned to defeat a great evil.”
“Pass,” Jessica immediately retorted. Her face was profoundly displeased. “I ain't no hero. Hell, I wouldn't even call myself a good person,” she said. This, oddly to Hokuto, was said with a grin and a lopsided look. “A decent one, sure, but not a GOOD one.”
He wasn't sure how to take that. It sounded like she was calling herself wicked, or rude, but she hadn't shown anything like that in the time he'd known her. Granted, that wasn't very long, but still, she hadn't shown much in the way of belligerent attitude. Perhaps it was best to ignore that for now. “W-well, even if not, generally what needs to be done is to find something or accomplish some task. A journey worthy of a hero, in one shape or another. Perhaps we need to find something like an ancient artifact like a sword, or release a trapped entity that could change the world...”
Another scowl came from Jessica after hearing those. “Ugh. I am NOT planning on being a jackass genie's entertainment if that IS it. What if it's just some random shit and we got unlucky?” Although he doubted it, she brought up a good point. “I mean, in that case, we STILL need someone who's damn good at the whole magic thing to figure out our bullshit.”
Hokuto had to agree. She made a salient point. “Yes...but I doubt if that's the case, we'll find such here. This place is small, and still growing.”
“Which means we need to get the hell OUT of here and get somewhere that knows what's up,” Jessica said with confidence, sighing as she flopped back on the bed. “We REALLY need a damn map.”
For some reason, one that he couldn't explain, even to himself, Hokuto found that attitude...well, he wasn't sure, but he noticed his heart stung just a bit. “Well, do we need to leave so soon?” When she looked up at him like he was crazy, he was quick to elaborate. “W-wait, wait! I mean, money! What would we do about money?”
For a moment, Jessica stared at him. And stared. Before Hokuto could sweat it out anymore, however, she flopped back. “Ugh. Guess it's good we already have paying jobs.” A deep sigh came from her. “But yeaaaah, probably would be better if we had some cash on hand before we bailed. It sounded like there's at least one big city to the east. Shit's probably way more expensive there, and if we need to hire a dude or something, it'd be nice to have some extra...” It was clear she wasn't looking forwards to it, but she wasn't going to argue the point.
“Don't worry, Miss Gaines! Do your best!” He was at least glad to hear that she was on board with the plan. “We'll be sure to work hard!”
“Right up until I figure we've got enough to pay our own way to at LEAST the next decent town over,” Jessica added on. “THEN we need to revisit this shit, because I am NOT staying a farmhand forever. Hell, you AND him are lucky my uncle used to have a lil' farm himself. I wouldn't have a damn clue what to do otherwise. What about you?”
Hokuto seemed surprised she'd asked. “A-ah?! Oh, um, my mother's parents lived out in the countryside. They had a small farm. I helped them every summer with taking in some crops.”
“Ah, gotcha.” She rose up on the bed, a bit of a smile tugging at her face. “I was always more of an animal fan. Y'ever messed with chickens? I used to love chasing chickens on my uncle's little farm.”
A similar, small smile began to grow on his. “No, but my grandmother, she often liked to mention that when she was younger, there were small beasts that liked to nip at her soybeans...”
They spent at least another hour talking about their past experiences with farmwork before they both finally agreed to head to bed. They had initially argued back and forth on who would actually take the bed, as Hokuto had strongly resisted the idea of both of them sharing. Eventually, however, it'd come down to a coin flip, and she'd gotten the bed, with Hokuto making due on the ground for now, insisting he was fine. Sighing, Jessica had at least tossed the sheet at him, stating that it was warm enough she didn't want or need covers, and rolling over to forestall any complaint.
Still, lying there in the privacy of their room, with laughter downstairs? For the first time in a while, Hokuto felt like he was truly content.