It was later in the night that Jessica woke up. No dreams- but the bed wasn't as great as she'd initially hoped. Oh, she'd get used to it, sure, but for now, it'd just mess with her sleep schedule. She sighed as she attempted to get back to bed. She wasn't feeling horribly sleepy, but she could appreciate the value of sleeping regularly. Still...she needed to calm her nerves. She knew good and well why she was up. It still wasn't real to her. It COULDN'T be. It had to be some sort of stupid dream or delusion, right? Something in her own head. She should be at the gym right now, sparring against her friend, talking about where to get some food for the night. Shit...she hadn't even eaten. She didn't feel hungry, either. So yeah, had to be a dream, right? She'd be hungry otherwise.
...didn't feel like a dream, though. Everything...felt. Felt too real, too freaky. But if it was...what about her mom? Her sister? Her cousins, her family...hell, she'd take her ex-boyfriend. At least he was familiar and nice enough- just was too milquetoast and simple to keep seeing romantically. It wasn't like- well, nevermind that now. Nothing to her.
She glanced down- Hokuto was dead to the world, it seemed. Good for him. But her...eh, maybe she needed some air. It'd be weird, alien air, but air nonetheless. Fortunately, it seemed like Hokuto was easily a heavy sleeper; she slipped out of the bed with little sound, and headed outside.
From the walkway above the tavern part of the inn, she could see that most folks had turned in for the night; there were a few stragglers being shuffled out the door, meaning that likely it was pretty late. Perfect.
Being careful to not make too much noise on her way out, and merely nodding at the innkeeper, who barely seemed to notice, she ambled down the stairs, past the tables, and into the dead of night.
Honestly, it was WAY different than what she was used to. Only a few streetlamps lined the street, and it looked like the main provider of vision was the moon itself as she looked around and then up. She half expected it to be some insane color, like purple or something...but, if nothing else, it was a similar style of moon as she was used to...though she could clearly see part of it was chipped away- it wasn't round like hers. It was bright, sure. Surprisingly so. But that aside, it was, well... 'disfigured' would be the best way to put it. Almost like a small scoop had been carved out of it. She couldn't help but frown at the image. “...not the moon I know,” she mumbled.
It was as much a statement of fact as a quiet admission of where she was. What had happened. “...shit. I already miss 'em.” But she shook off the melancholy as soon as it began to creep in- she would get absolutely nowhere by moaning about it- her mom had always taught her that if there was a wall in the way, there were more ways past it than straight through. She just needed to be patient and get her bearings-
The only decent thing right now was that the moon was at least full; that meant that she could barely see regardless- “Huh?” Something...no, someone. They'd come from behind- out the inn, clearly. And judging by their bloodshot eyes, they were...drunk as a skunk. An older man, thick and scraggly beard, not like Charles'. A fuzzy, black head of hair, and he looked at her with what she recognized as drunken anger. “Y-you steer clear, y'here? I don't...we ain't need NO crazy gods-be-damned demons kids here, now!”
Ugh. She'd handled more than one drunkard before in life. Seemed like this would be no different. “Don't worry, I'm not gonna be around too long.”
“Y-you come 'ere with your weird clothes a-and showin' off all your legs, and...tryin' ta seduce a man, a-an honest man!” Geh, she could smell his breath as far away as this, even. “Not even like a human woman, th- no softness on ya, no...ugh...” he tottered over momentarily as the drink took deeper hold of him. The words stung a bit- not that she was insulted by the 'not soft' bit, considering she'd worked very intentionally to remove said softness- but it was the principle of the thing. Annoying and a bit hurtful. She knew what he MEANT by it.
Still...a drunkard was a drunkard. “I think you've had a few too many.” She could at least try to play nice. “Where do you live? Bet it's pretty impressive.” Just asking people where they lived while drunk usually didn't work. At least, not belligerent folks like this.
“O-oh, of course it is! Onna- onna the best houses in town! Built it m'self. I'mma...it's over there, yeah? Street...just down the street.” Hm. Simple enough. Now, if he needed help...
“Care to show me?” She offered.
The man seemed to take more than a few moments to decide, as a couple of other people came out- less drunk, but they all seemed to give her a strange look as they left to their homes. “Ah-I, fine...you'd be jealous any who. Ain't no- no...no demon what got a house like MINE.” He began to totter off, and she followed carefully.
Fortunately, as he'd stated, his house seemed to be only a few minutes walk away...and it wasn't really that good-looking, from outside. It was a simple wood thing, not even as big as Charles'. He stumbled in fairly steadily, but as soon as he'd closed the door, ranting about how much work the place was, she'd heard a thump, and some mumbling before silence.
Part of her wanted to check on him...but only part. He wasn't her problem, and more than likely he'd just collapsed and decided to nap on the floor.
That part of her was vindicated when seconds after, even through the door, she heard the sound of snoring. He'd be fine, barring a wicked hangover come morning. As for her...
...well, she didn't have much else. Might as well get that walk done and try for sleep again.
The morning was good to her, at least. Her skin kinda felt sticky, and her teeth felt grody, but she was alive, she was awake, that's what mattered. “Would kill for a bath...” she muttered. Hokuto had woken up not long before she had, and had already called for a tub with water and clothes. They'd have to use that to wash up, for now. Interestingly, the...serving girl? Waitress? Associate innkeeper? Whatever the girl was, she had hinted that in the 'bigger cities' the inns actually had things like running water, and actual bathrooms with bathtubs and toilets and other amenities. Apparently, this place really WAS brand-spanking new in the grand scheme of things, and had simply yet to gain those amenities. That was something that Jessica was relieved about, and it only galvanized her more to get out of here ASAP.
Hokuto seemed more sedate, and appeared to be rather calm about the day. “Alright!” Well, barring his eagerness to get up. “Ready for the day?”
“Naw, but lets get going anyway,” she muttered. “I need some food.”
Breakfast was simple hard biscuits, jam, and eggs, which they were both more than fine with. But it was when they both had left, and were walking down the path to the farmer's place, that trouble found them.
In particular, in the form of three young men, standing in front of them. Young adults, with little baby fat- most of it likely gone working the fields or other such manual labor. One of them had some sort of leather smock on, while another was in typical tunic-wear. The last seemed like he was something resembling an actual fighter; they could see he had on at least a leather gambeson, and more importantly, a sword at his hip. They all had frowns on their faces. That wasn't what set them on edge, however. What did THAT was the fact that they were all tense, and glaring at them like they'd done something.
For a moment, there was quiet between them. But it was Jessica who interrupted. “Can we help you?”
They reared back slightly in surprise, but recovered quickly. The man with the sword- black haired, and with a bit of chin stubble- was the first to speak. “You're not welcome here. Leave, now!”
That caused them both a bit of surprise. But before Hokuto could ask why, Jessica preempted him yet again. “Says who?” She clearly wasn't happy, and with the man having a sword, not to mention the other two with axes, he wasn't keen on getting into a fight.
The man nearly growled at the sharp response. “Says me! We've had enough difficulty keeping this place safe, we don't need demon-blooded crazies like you putting us at risk!” His words were heated, and Hokuto felt like they were a bit sudden...had he been hurt by a demon-blooded person in the past, maybe?
Not that Jessica seemed to care, adopting a more casual stance, though her glare was as heated as ever. “Look, I'm just trying to get some cash for exactly that. I ain't got a reason to fuck with anyone so long as they don't fuck with me, okay? So how about you go your way, I go mine, and we forget this stupid shit ever happened, alright?” With her height clearing the swordsman's by at least two headspans, and her arm muscles on display, she was an intimidating presence, Hokuto thought. The swordsman's friends seemed to think so, too, judging by how they gripped their weapons harder.
Although he was worried, it was perhaps time to step in. “Please, we're not trying to hurt anyone. I promise!” That seemed to surprise all present into looking at him, and his heart rate jumped for it. “I-I apologize for our sudden appearance-”
“I don't,” Jessica said lowly.
He wanted to scold her a bit, but it would have to way, so he continued to press on. “-but we really are just humble travelers, and we're on our way to Mister Charles' farm.”
“Tch. To take all of his supplies, no doubt. Maybe a bit of extortion?” The nasty grin he had on his face spoke volumes about his thoughts about that and them, and Hokuto worried more than a little how they would get out of this without fighting. “You won't get away with that here!”
“...you all deaf or something?” Jessica muttered, already annoyed by this. “Why don'tcha just ask him yourselves? We were helping him half the day yesterday.”
“Like we're giving you a chance to go to Ol' Charles and take all his crops!” the one in the smock said. “We're not so dumb as to fall for a trick like that.”
“But y'all are sure dumb enough to assume the worst of something just trying to make money,” Jessica sniped back. Hokuto's heart sank at the provocation.
And provocation it was, as that got both the boys snarling. “Just shut up!” And with that, they charged.
For a moment, Hokuto froze- this wasn't what he wanted this morning! Why couldn't they have just talked it out? Could he do something?
Before he could decide, however, Jessica had already leaped back several meters; jumping had proven to be one of their new physical feats. A shame Hokuto was scared of heights. He wasn't willing to test how high he could jump, and he was pretty sure Jessica hadn't, either. Still, she cleared a lot of distance- and almost immediately, a large gout of water spurted from her hand, as a literal wave erupted forth and slammed into all three at speed, knocking them over with the unexpected impact.
In the next instant, she had rushed over before they could get their bearings, and Hokuto could quickly see why- the leader had dropped his sword a bit in front of him, out of his easy reach, and she quickly scooped it up. For a moment, he panicked that she would try to swing it recklessly- part of him worried she'd even try to kill them. However, to his surprise, she backed off, instead...holding the sword at a strange angle. Front knee bent, sword pointed down and to her right, right hand gripping the sword oddly, with her left at the pommel. With how her feet were planted, it looked intentional. Had she...?
“Hold! Hold NOW!” a voice yelled out with authority, and the young men looked past the both of them, and paled. When Hokuto looked back as well, he just about did the same. But it was the name that surprised him. “Sir Adrian!”
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It was that man that they'd followed for a time; the one that had likely killed that weird bird thing. The sword at his side was a clear indicator, as was his countenance. He carried himself strongly, and he had actual armor- proper metal armor, though he didn't have a helmet with him. He was blonde haired, and icy, light blue eyes. His figure made him look rather handsome, in Hokuto's opinion. “What's all this mess?” His tone brooked no nonsense as he looked over the gathered individuals from atop his horse.
“I- sir, we were just making sure this demon-blooded knew her place! And look what's happened!” the middle one complained.
Jessica was quick to respond. “Uh, yeah, you threaten me for literally no reason, then I drop all of you. Sounds like a damn good place to me.” She quickly turned to the man, pointing at them. “I was just going to Charles' farm, seeing as I'm supposed to be, y'know. Working there? And then these three assholes try to run me out for no reason, then try assaulting me when that don't work,” she explained.
He remained silent, looking between them all- before turning to Hokuto. “And you?”
“O-oh! I- she's telling the truth. I'm working at Mister Charles' as well,” Hokuto was quick to explain. I'm sure if we go to him, he can prove everything!”
There was a moment of silence as he considered. Then he sighed. “Very well. We'll go to his farm and see if he can put truth to those words. If not...” and with that he fixed Jessica and Hokuto with glares each. “There will be consequences.”
“Fine with me,” Jessica easily responded. “Lets get going, already. We're burning daylight.”
A snort was all that met her as Adrian led them on, with the accusers trying to glare holes through Jessica, Jessica not caring, and Hokuto just letting out a quiet sigh of relief that no one was too hurt.
Fortunately, the situation was resolved rather quickly, although Charles had a rather big moment of worry when he'd seen them walking down the road escorted by Sir Adrian- whom, it turns out, was more than just a traveling escort. “He's a member of the Frontier Knights!” he had said with surprise. “One o' the elite knights, tasked with keeping the developin' frontier safe! They're some of the best warriors in the kingdom!”
Hokuto and Jessica both looked away towards the retreating knight- after Charles had spoken up in their favor, he'd proven to have little patience with the troublemakers, immediately ordering them to follow him, and silently. It seemed like he really took his position serious, and they both figured that punishment was in the future for the trio. “Soo...what, those guards at the front gate aren't knights?” Jessica asked in curiosity.
“Nope,” came the response. “They're just local guards what are willin' to keep our place safe. You're not gonna get much in the way of a buncha Frontier Knights all in one place at one time. Maybe a crew of five or so, at the best.”
“Huh. They sound pretty tough,” Jessica admitted. Hokuto had to say the same- he could just see them in amazing armor, with powerful blades, cutting down anything that might get in their way with grace and power. “But it's just him around?”
“Yup, an' not for too long,” Charles confirmed as they began to drag out a few tools. “He's mostly just here ta make sure the harvest goes well an' nothin' gets too ornery round here; once that's collected, he'll be on his way back ta Greenwall ta give his reports an' do other Frontier Knight stuff. Winter's rough, but ain't much what comes 'round in winter, beast-wise. Now, if'n you can help me out wit' some o' those crops in question- got some work to do.”
With that, the rest of the day was largely weeding, watering, maintenance on the animals he had, and so on. Neither of them were particularly skilled in animal care, so a lot of Charles' efforts went towards instruction; although Jessica had needed no real instruction once he indeed tasked her with splitting logs for both firewood, and apparently building purposes. “Summa the woodworkers get their stuff from me fer smaller projects, so it's best ta have a lot on hand,” was the response.
“Fine, sure.” Not like it too a lot out of her- she just needed to be sure to aim well enough. It let her think, too. Greenwell- it sounded like a bigger city, judging from what the old man said. It sounded like it was a perfect staging point to get more used to whatever this civilization was, and more importantly, begin making strides on how to get back home. She'd have to get more information about the place, and fast. She wasn't sure how long it'd take for the harvest to come in, but considering how healthy the plants looked in Charles' and the other farmers' fields, it wouldn't be too much longer...
Hokuto was also in thought as he helped with weeding and the other farm work. What kind of Knights were they to venture out virtually alone? 'That Adrian had a fierce gaze,' he noted. 'He seems like the sort who's very capable. I wonder what he knows?' If these Frontier Knights were as well-respected as it seemed, then Adrian would be a very interesting man to meet- if he was available to talk, of course. He'd have to see. No doubt he'd have a lot of information to share with them to help them live in this new world.
As their tasks were more along the lines of general work today, there was little in terms of serious interest. It was tasks that neither of them had ever really though they'd do in their lives, but they found themselves fairly adept at it- though they both understood that such a fact was largely due to their enhanced constitutions. They would've have long since dropped from exhaustion otherwise, MMA training or no. Still, they got through it without too much fanfare, despite the occasional mistake here and there- it was a bit of concern when Jessica had been swinging too hard and had split through the stump, and when she'd accidentally dented a couple of tools in her haste to use them, but aside from that, everything had gone largely well for the day...though now they were tasked with bringing the busted shovel and hoe to a blacksmith to help straighten them out. “...still say they just hit wrong,” she muttered as she walked through town. They'd at least gotten instructions. “You figure metal's supposed to hold up against DIRT better.”
“Y-yes...” Hokuto would've rather said something about not when the cause of it was her wild swinging and bad posture, but that would've been incredibly impolite. Better to just let her think what she might and have the issue pass. In fact, perhaps he could redirect the conversation... “If I might ask...that skill you showed earlier with the water...how'd you manage that so easily?” She'd looked like she was all too used to magic, but he was positive it wasn't a thing in their old world, and he hadn't seen her practicing it, either.
“Pft, oh, that?” She said with a light grin. “Would ya believe me if I said I didn't have a damn clue?”
That caused him to stop in his tracks. “Wu-wha?”
“Yup! Kinda just hoped for the best with the water thing. Figured it'd wouldn't do me any good to actually hurt anyone, so what would've gotten the best reaction? Water, right? And most of this stuff seems to be based off of willpower, so I figured 'eh, splash 'em!”
“But...that's very reckless!” he scolded. Really, just trying that out of the blue like that?! “You could've gotten hurt!”
“Eeeh, I doubt it. Pretty sure I could outrun 'em at the least,” she dismissed. “Me and you both, for that matter.”
“But you don't know that, do you?” he asked. That was just needlessly risky, to him!
“I had a pretty solid idea,” was the retort. “Just makes sense to me. Besides, I wasn't gonna let him talk like that to me. He wants to talk shit, he can catch these hands...kinda.” How ruthless.
“I don't think that provoking someone like that would be the best idea, though...” Hokuto hazarded. However, any other debate about the situation was forestalled when they arrived at the blacksmith's. It smelled of smoke and fire and stone, if you had to ask them. “Ah, this must be it,” Hokuto noted.
“Yeah, let's see how long this is gonna take...” Jessica sighed, and they headed in, a blast of heat meeting them, as well as the glinting of various metal tools and some armors and small weapons, like daggers and shortswords. Already they could hear the talking of someone or other, too. “...And with how you treat the damn thing, you shouldn't be surprised it's gotten so blunted! What's this, the third time in as many weeks?”
“I think I just need a better sword,” came the voice- and they were only somewhat surprised to realize that it was Adrian again. It had sounded like he was the one to largely use a sword. “Is there anything you could craft for me that's superior?”
As they walked up closer, they both startled a bit. The image of Adrian was familiar enough, but the one behind the desk was brand new. He was short, squat...for a moment, they both thought 'Dwarf?' but that was when they noticed something...unexpected. Although the body type made them think of dwarves...their skin was clearly thick and rocky. Not all of it, but their arms, but it wound about their arms and in much around their face, almost like scales. And clearly he was haranguing the man. “I'm not a war-crafter. I make tools for field and the family, not things for fighting so often. That sword you have is better crafted than anything I can make at the moment,” he admits. “I can sharpen it for you, but little else.”
“Hm. Alright, then. When can I expect it back?” he asks as he hands it over.
“In a couple of days. I've much to do. Now then, it'll be the usual price. Move on aside, I've got other customers.” Huh. He seemed awful casual with the guy.
As Adrian turned around, taking in the both of them, his eyes widened briefly. “Ah. You two.”
“Yup,” Jessica said conversationally. “Just getting some tools worked on, is all.”
He nods in understanding. “I see. I should also let you know that the false accusations have been dealt with. They shouldn't bother you again.”
“Appreciate it,” Jessica said, as Hokuto nodded. “Although I gotta admit, after I heard that 'demon-blooded' folk get such bad reception, I thought I was gonna be in for way worse than I've dealt with so far.”
He sighed, shaking his head. “Were I to be honest? I think that that is less out of acceptance of your peaceful nature, and more understanding that you're likely the strongest thing in this village at the moment, with perhaps exception to myself.” Jessica chanced a glance at Hokuto- she was fairly sure he was in the same ballpark as her, at least in terms of sheer physical and magical skill...but she wasn't going to bring that up right now. Hokuto didn't seem too keen on noting it himself, either. “You'll find that if you go to bigger cities, especially ones with larger Guilds, you'll be getting a frostier reception.”
Jessica snorted. “Good to know. I was planning on heading to Greenwall before too much longer, actually.” That earned her a surprised look from Hokuto. “I'm not from around here, so knowing what the cities are like would be good.”
“Greenwell?” Adrian raised an eyebrow. “I'll be headed there myself before the snows set in. It's about a ten day trip by horse, but it's much bigger than here- a proper city, with good defenses, and an abundance of adventuring and exploration types, considering how close it is to the wilderness and the frontier. It's something of a staging ground for further expansion, so it's gotten quite large in the last couple of years.”
“Huh. So there's a lot of stuff there, then?” Jessica asked. Though she wasn't a fan of the likely prejudice, she'd be able to hack it.
“Yes. Many of the Guilds have set up a space in Greenwell now, and adventurers and mercenaries abound thanks to the King's Decree of Free Claimants.” The man seemed...annoyed, at that, practically rolling his eyes.
“Er, Miss Gaines?” Hokuto interrupted. “Shouldn't we get these...?”
“Oh, right, right. With that, she quickly walked up to the blacksmith. “We just need these repaired. How long and how much?”
The smith gave her an eye before answering. “Aye. Simple work, two days. Prolly same as his,” he says, pointing to Adrian. “Five silvers for the lot of it.”
“Cool. Two now, three later?” He nodded, and the two silvers were handed over. “Great.”
“You're a rather put together one, I'll say...” the rock-dwarf muttered. “Suppose it's good news for us.”
“...right. Hey, speaking of?” She turned back to see Adrian hadn't left yet, instead appraising her with a critical eye. “You seem awful calm around someone you figured is demon-blooded. I'd have figured folks like you would be the worst with stuff like that.” Not that she WAS demon-blooded, but it seemed like no one was going to take her claim of simply being human seriously, so might as well lean into it if it got her some intimidation points. “Shouldn't you have dealt with a bunch of demons if you're a knight?”
To her surprise, he nodded. “I have. Which is why I can tell you that the demon-blooded issue, I think, is a touch overblown.” Smiling ruefully at their surprised looks, he continued. “I've fought demons before, and their reputation for power is well deserved. For wanton violence, however?” He shakes his head. “Most demons aren't as crazed and random as some make them out to be. When they fight, they often have a purpose for it. In fact...” He grimaced a bit. “I would say that they're SO meticulous, when they actually engage, they know exactly what they're doing, and do it with full force. Since they're so certain, I guess it can seem 'wild' at first glance.”
“Ahh...so they plan things out before striking,” Hokuto murmured as he absorbed the information. “That way, there's full confidence in their movements, even if something goes wrong.”
“Just so,” he agreed. “As for the whole 'demon-blooded people have bad tempers' thing...well, I don't know for sure. I think it might just be them getting pissed off, same as anyone else would if they were pushed around a lot.”
“Yeah, that'd do it,” Jessica agreed as well. “But, still good to know how people'll think of me.”
“Yes. You'll have some difficulty.” At least he was up front about it, they thought. Even if it was somewhat rude. “However, I wouldn't say you'll be wholly unwelcome. Greenwell has a number of demon-blooded occupants due to its distance from the capital and other major trade hubs. You should at least find some kin in spirit if not in blood.”
'Interesting,' Jessica thought. 'Might be able to get more information on things from there. But before that... “Hey, question. Since we're both going to Greenwell, do you mind if we tag along with you?” She ignored the look Hokuto gave her at that, instead plowing on. “We can handle ourselves in a fight if needs must, but there's a lot I want to ask you.”
“Only if it isn't too much trouble!” Hokuto quickly interjected. “We wouldn't want to burden you...” and then it was HIS turn to ignore the look Jessica gave him.
However, it didn't seem like Adrian noticed either as he considered the prospect. “Hmmm...well, possibly. Perhaps with some practice after you get done with your farmwork some of these days, I'll figure on bringing you along. I take it you don't know much about the Kingdom, then?”
“Got it in one,” Jessica admitted. “And we're kinda trying to find a few things out, so. Getting to a bigger city will help.”
“I see...” Adrian muttered, thinking. “Then alright. Come by tomorrow and we can begin teaching you two in the basics of self-defense.” He gave a small grin. “I hope you're ready.”
Jessica's grin matched his. “That's my line.”
Hokuto just hoped nothing would break.