The breeze is somehow peaceful coming from the barricaded windows of the boat-like ship despite our high elevation above the grounds and I can hear the indistinct chatter of the few people with us in here, even of the silent purring of the pair of soaring pandas piloting from above. We crossed Otima's regional borders hours ago, but we're not yet halfway through the long trip. It might take another day or less.
The skies are indigo, blended with the setting sun's remaining light over the horizon and the arriving evening, let alone the almost full moon's welcoming cold gaze already awake parenting the stars. I feel no exhaustion at all ever since we boarded and still think about everything that's bugging me — the ring, Kyla, Grace, my mother, the dreams, the premonition that the old woman made me see, the Ordinals, me... I don't know which I should worry about first when they're all coming at once.
I shift my gaze down ahead, where the Lion-Boar is still in its peaceful dreaming. She shifted many times along the ride eventually getting her to the proper comfort. Do they really sleep that long? Or is it just that she's really comfortable ahead of my feet? My hand then finds its way to the surface of her bald patches upon her ribs and gently caresses them, where I obtain a louder purr. It's still unbelievable how I managed to tame such a creature when her nature is meant to be free in the wilds.
"It months for them to grow back hair," The man's voice rings in my ears from my side. I find his blue gaze also rested upon the slumbering beast. Was he awake all this time?
"Have you tamed one before?" I ask, constantly petting the creature.
"No," He says. "Just saw many others who did."
Is that why the scratch marks then? "Maybe because you're too stubborn to even try?" I say in sarcasm.
"I'm, rather, not qualified to even do so," He says, not even recognizing the inside joke.
"Doesn't seem like it. She liked your fetches," I counter.
"That's the start," He only says before we fall into silence once more.
From the corner of my sight, I see him pull out a round object from his bag, foil-covered. And the smell of still-fresh baked potato hits my nostrils. It doesn't trigger any sort of demand from my appetite, but it does from the Lion-boar, rousing her instantly with her wet nose twitching in anticipation.
I hum, then say, "Told you so," where I obtain a sly grin as he scoffs. He doesn't have second thoughts about it and simply reaches the entire thing to the beast, who receives it with her appreciative mouth. That grin. I somehow wish I could've seen it sooner, rather than the impression I have of him being stubborn. Don't get me wrong, I still recognize the fact that he saved me many times. I only wish I find him more approachable, now that we're on a trip together, and will still be until I arrive at where I need to be.
I suddenly find his eyes upon my hand which is now resting on my thigh — my hand with Alek's ring. There are no signs of malicious intent, but I sense he has a question.
"It's not mine," I say, my fingers now clutched around it. "It's from my godfather. He was supposed to give it to his lover."
"Why do you have it?" He asks, curiosity now obvious behind his soft but deep tone.
"I promised to be the one to give it after he—" Now my insides are being ground to bits when I'm again seeing the unwanted memories. "He got murdered." It stings saying the words. I lost the one person who was a father figure to me. And it was my fault… I could've done better.
He's silent, but I hear so many more questions behind it, and somehow, I'm able to suppress myself from shedding tears. Or maybe I have nothing left to suppress at all when I've expended all my energy breaking down this morning.
"I was there when it happened," I add. "A hellion killed him, along with his friends." Or for a better word, I did. I'm said to be a hellion-blooded being that Ordinal Three deems to be liked to the Otherrealm. I killed them.
"How did you survive?" He asks, genuinely.
"The same way I survived the Ordinals." I then gaze at my palm. "Ordinal Twenty-One himself brought me there to their citadel after the incident. I thought they'd be able to help me find out why this thing is in me. But, in the end, it was all a setup." Now, he knows why they want me dead, and how I summoned that shield earlier.
"You're really that dangerous to them, huh?"
"Yeah," I clarify with a light chortle. Not to mention, I'm in a prophecy that says that I'll bring another war. A final war. "This… this thing brought so much chaos to my life only in a blink of an eye."
He looks down. I even hear him take a deep breath. He then gives a moment of silence before speaking again. "When will you plan on giving it back?" He refers to the ring. And this time, I'm sensing sympathy.
Now, I'm anxious about the thought. What face am I even to show Alice? The man she loved and her friends are dead because of me. I called that hellion. And I was too weak. I'm certain that she's cursing me to the hells right now. I could've done better. Maybe I don't even deserve to survive that incident at all, not like it would even bring them back. Becoming indifferent over time won't be a choice either. It'll only make me ignorant and selfish, yet I want to escape the nightmare.
"I don't know. Maybe, after all of this," I only say, not even feeling the single tear already trickling down my cheek. Perhaps, I still do have some tears to shed. I don't bother wiping it away. I keep my cold demeanor persistent, where my gaze is only stuck on the tip of my fingers still fiddling with the worn ring. I then stand to my feet, unseemingly having the need to divert my thoughts to something else, and walk to the barricaded windows. The wind is stronger gracing my skin and making waves upon my oversized shirt. The view from up here is breathtaking and I almost forgot the problems tying me down.
I turn my head just a little to see the man with another baked potato in hand, whilst the wild feline remains consistent with wanting to be fed more. Later on, the evening breeze takes effect and refreshes my emotions, having them subside for now. But I remain on my spot to take in the distant view. Suddenly, I feel his presence beside me and the corner of my gaze captures his hand offering the similar meal he's consuming. That, now, triggers my stomach's demand.
"Thanks," I mutter weakly as I take it from his hand, and he stays put next to me as if he's either waiting for me to begin munching the food or is about to say something. The warm savory smell greets my nose again as I unwrap the baked potato from its foil, and I am, indeed, craving. The taste of cow cheese meets my tongue combined with the starchy texture as I take the first bite. I've had no meal the entire day anyway.
The Wolf-Breed doesn't talk, instead. He's just there beside me. But that alone somehow adds more to the relief. Just the presence of this stranger's company alone. As much as I want to spill things further, I still do not know if it's worth the risk. I involved and harmed enough people.
That one baked potato was enough to satisfy my appetite. Perhaps because it is almost the size of my hand, which is big enough. Or is it that I have a small stomach?
"Attention to all our passengers, we are soon to arrive at the local municipality of Merxa," Booms one of the men piloting the ship from the horns. "We deeply apologize for the sudden inconvenience to your time as our pandas are in demand of rest and sustenance. Our trip shall resume tomorrow early in the morning. In the meantime, please make sure you get your own rest as well and acquire the necessities you may need."
"We can take a walk around there," The man suggests. "Maybe get some weapons."
"Sure," I nod, agreeing.
"And also get this cat some more food," He adds and I witness him now petting the lion-boar next to him. I only smirk at the sight.
We arrive peacefully at the said local municipality which is settled in a secluded swamp and flanked by distant mountains. My gaze then gets a hold of that taller landmass in the far, which sends an eerie feeling in the pit of my belly. I don't know why.
The ship embraces the ground in a featherweight greeting, despite the pair of soaring pandas purring in exhaustion and starvation. They deserve the rest. In fact, they deserve more than a day of it.
My booted feet meet the moist soil of the swamp. The blue willow trees emit their self-made light and fight off the supposed eerie atmosphere of the nearby surroundings. It is rather majestic in its natural aura. Other ships are present around us, either to depart soon or are here to have their creature pilots rest as well. The thin mist stretches beyond the surrounding waters, barely having other patches of land and only mostly wooden and steel bridges. Yet it doesn't hide the view of the buildings just ahead of us. We just have to cross that old arc.
"Keep your Terratites close to you," I hear the man suggest.
"Why? You've been here?" I ask the man walking right beside me, and the lion-boar behind.
"Once," The man says, and I sense bitterness in it. "Left barely empty-handed after. Never went back."
It's funny that the pilots know what this place is, yet couldn't even care to warn us.
I only nod in response and do what he suggests. I have nothing else much of valuables other than what I traded for Kyla's sword.
Before we are allowed to enter the municipality, permits proving us as the ship's current passengers are given to us once we are to resume flight the next day.
Slurring chatters are the first to greet my ears, including the strong scent of ale from the taverns we pass by. Not to mention, the sour faces as if we're not supposed to be welcomed here. Or maybe, they're just the faces who have ominous intentions. As far as I know, many local municipalities are too independent to make their own laws.
The paths clank and bam with all the spontaneous steps walking and running upon them. It's only early in the evening after all. Noises as such are common at this time.
"What do we do first?" I ask, clueless about what even to do with the three hours we have.
"She still looks hungry," He gestures his head in a direction, and I look to see our animal companion dabbling her paws in the fresh waters below us, obviously catching something to fill her insatiable appetite. Food for her then. Now that the man says it, I assume that he has accepted her as an extra company. I guess just giving that baked potato was enough to convince him.
Fortunately, there are plenty of stalls that have meats in twines displayed and we're able to purchase more than what a single Terratite could afford. It's all for the Lion-boar's stomach anyway. Upon handing over the single piece of hexagon coin to the merchant, I can sense more eyes in my direction. And I hate that I know where this might go.
I feed the purchased chunks of meat to the feline and she patiently munches on them, as if she wants to savor each bite. Then I notice my other companion just on the other bridge, curiously scanning the weapons on display before him. Of course, we can't go on this journey until we arrive west armless.
"Those are all made of iron alloys," I comment once I'm standing next to him.
"Yeah, I see that," He says and I don't know if I should be offended by that remark.
A wingless Ravenbird woman then comes in with a welcoming smile, her guise patched with mini silver and gold piercings. "Anything that interests you, lovely gentlemen?"
The man only continues parsing the bladed weapons with his gaze, while my attention is suddenly drawn to a direction. That mountain. I haven't realized that I'm still looking at it from time to time until now. What is even happening?
"What do you think?" The man's voice snaps me from my distraction and I see him holding a weapon in hand. A sword that is vastly different from the others displayed in the shop.
"It's forged of rare alloy exclusive from Kalvar," The Ravenbird says. "My retailer didn't disclose what it was, but I assure you, it's one fine of a sword. Proven and tested! Not even those at the Barrier would top that."
I don't even question where they retrieved whatever forging item is fused with the weapon. Perhaps because it's obvious that it was from the black market.
"How much?" I ask, and a grin of utter excitement flashes on her guise.
"Fifty, Sir," She answers, and I rather reach for three Terraties deep in the bag I bought before our departure. It's the only currency we have after all, and the amount the man has after trading his remaining belongings earlier obviously won't suffice.
"Oh," That exclamation makes my brows furrow before I even reach the coins on her shaky palms. "I believe I did not make myself clear, good sir. Fifty."
A delay of silence passes by me before I chuckle upon realizing her ridiculous correction of the price. Even the man was a little surprised.
"Never mind then, madame," I say politely. "My apologies, but I believe we're not going to be purchasing this for now."
"Very well," She only says, yet the sudden shift of her expression into almost a scowl signifies that she's not having any of it. Yet I keep a polite smile as the man gently returns the weapon before we leave. I don't even have to beckon our Lion-Boar companion in our direction as she's already with us.
Our walk doesn't go peacefully as I feel other feet trailing distantly from us. And I know the man senses it too. Yet the now Lion-boar's prominent taunts and growls are making us too obvious. We are currently in an area with fewer to no people until the next thing I know is that there are silhouettes of two men yards ahead of us, weapons in hand. I notice the man beside me looking back, and it tells me there are more on our rear. Trouble, it is.
"What do you want?" The man abrupts, showing dominance with his baritone voice. "Syndicates," He mutters to me.
None of them spits an answer, yet it's already obvious what they want — just by the taunting weapons on display. I keep my bag closer to myself for the lesser risk of losing the Terratites. There are only five of them. So far, at least. I don't even feel any sort of doubt despite that we have nothing in hand to face them with. I remind myself I survived five ordinals so far, including a hellion.
I then hear our wild companion yelp and I see her now all swathed in thick ropes. My hellion instincts then command my body to leap away as a projectile of another net is about to capture me. So does the man. The next thing is that I'm hand-to-hand combating the two armed men while my ally takes on the other three behind us, one being able to pull my robe from me and making attempts to get my baggage. From across the waters are two others with thick-barreled guns, reloading more ammunition of nets similar to what is holding my animal companion down. People have dispersed and it's only us in the area.
It doesn't take long for me to take down the two before me and retrieve one of their cheap-looking swords. With it, I slash the bola ends of the net still constraining the wildling and that sets her free. But as that exact moment finishes, the man smashes me to the wooden ground, saving me from being netted this time. That's another save count. I'm still able to witness his next maneuver — his one foot stomping through the brittle floor, flinging bits and lengths of wood. My eyes widen when he clasps the largest chunk and it meets the one from the other side and I have to admit, that maneuver is fascinatingly impressive. The last one standing aims directly at us, ready to shoot once more yet he's already pounced by the feline beast.
My gaze returns to the man who's now reaching a hand to me, and I oblige taking it before we rush away, managing to regain possession of our belongings before so. People witnessed what had just happened, and many of them surely are to aid those rascals. We're through an area of stalls. The man stops me suddenly as he throws me a robe. I, being a wise man, quickly retrieve a coin in my baggage to pay for it, then abandon the blade I still carry. We have no sense of direction going left and right just to avoid anyone we think is one of the chasers. Then we came to a stop in an alley.
Looking up, the view of the same landmass from the distance is still seen, the same eerie feeling returning in the pit of my lungs. It's like it demands something. It demands me.
"How do we get back?" I manage to snap once we find security deep in this way, still hiding my head under the hood of this robe.
"We've only been out for less than an hour," He mutters as he fixates on the Lion-boar's garment and keeps on pulling it off. "We should find an inn for now."
I hadn't even realized we've been only walking around that short and it is still early in the evening. I can say it's convenient, but it doesn't give much relief either.
It doesn't take long for us to find a place to stay for the night. At first, the receptionists didn't want to allow our lion-boar companion as she is considered an undomesticated creature, not until I negotiated with a Terratite. Now, we're settled here in a fairly wide room with two beds opposing one another next to the walls, and a single restroom. The man's currently busy in there, whereas the feline is snoring through her dreams once again on the carpeted floors. Good thing she fit through the door.
I'm standing barefoot next to the window and looking through its glass pane where I see the lesser number of people coming by below. I know some of them are one of those men who tried to take on us earlier. But they should be able to give up soon, now that we're in a safe space. This inn is convenient enough for us to survive until the morning before we resume our journey.
"You've been looking at that mountain ever since we got here," I hear the man, catching my attention. He's changing his upper garment and my gaze is again given a short duration seeing those scars on his frame. By what he said, he knows that I know what he's talking about. I can't blame a Wolf-Breed for noticing a lot of things with their amplified senses.
"It's nothing," I only mumble then I proceed to the available restroom.
I can barely see my reflection with thick smudges smothering the mirror. It urges me to give it a little rinse with the dipper and bucket available next to me, only to reveal the prominent weariness manifesting upon my guise — the skin beneath my eyes a little uneven while one of them is a little dark, and some small dried cuts on my cheek that I forgot were there. They're those I retrieved from my encounter with Ordinal Twelve. They're painless now, but they make my face look unpleasant to look at.
Sparse hair is starting to regrow beneath my jaw and under my nose. It had been a rough week or two. I didn't even get to track the days that had gone by ever since that day in the desert. I don't even know anymore if I'll ever see things the same way again.
I remove my top and pants from my frame and take the time to clean myself with the water. Fortunately, there are sorts of florals on cups above the wooden counter of the sink to help remove the stink lingering on my skin — if there even is. Then I exit feeling a little fresher than before. I encounter the man already comfortable on his bed next to the wall, eyes contemplating the barked ceiling with incandescent shrooms. There are only two lamps attached opposing each other on the room's corners and I'm the one who obliges to take out their baby fires.
As I sit on my designated bed, I realize that the atmosphere is too warm to rest. I decide against reapplying my garments and instead, remain on my trunks. The blanket is thin enough to balance the temperature for my body to find comfort. However, my brain doesn't as my head meets the pillow. The thoughts about those dreams return and I'm more conflicted as to what they mean.
"I'll keep watch," I hear the man offer which I find stupid. We're in an inn. Why would we need a watch out when we're inside an inn? I don't respond anyway as I constantly try to attract exhaustion to my eyes, hoping for a long, stable, dreamless sleep. At least, just for this night.