Realistic or Modern A Hero Lost in Time

[Gr1mmReaper2020]

"Markus is going to learn fear if he keeps going the way he's going. We didn't work this hard or sacrifice so much for idiots like him who should have never been elected to leadership roles to lead us all to our doom." A hint of disdain colored Jason's voice, he'd hardly tolerated idiots but with this fusing of his pre-Marshal self and his Marshal self born of the exile to the past by the spell he really had no tolerance for idiocy. Hearing Elisabeth laugh and watching her lay down on him made his muscles relax fully. "We have three days to meet them right? We can leave a bit later in the morning if the rendezvous is the same one that we used for original evacuations. Just get some rest love, it's all going to be fine. With an axe to grind for what happened to me, the both of us could probably bring this to an end by ourselves." Her comment about not being able to learn everything useful in time went unanswered, she'd be taught in time and if they didn't have the time for him to properly teach her there was always the shortcut.

When Jason woke up, he didn't remember falling asleep, he looked over to Artemis and saw his steed looking expectantly at him. "I just woke up. Hold your magical horses and I'll be with you soon as Elisabeth is awake." he scolded the Nightmare through a yawn. A momentary stretch had his arms up above his head and crossed to loosen the sleep grip of his muscles. Once the muscles seemed to be loose enough he dropped one hand to the ground etching out a quick rune circle and watched the time, 7:45am, popup. That surprised him, they'd reached the cave late so his body waking up so early was surprising. A second of thought amended that the Marshal barely slept on the trail so maybe it wasn't as surprising. "Well, its up to waiting for her to wake up." Slightly adjusting himself he let himself drift off a little into his mind.

 

[Menagerie]

She sighed as she looked up at him, "well it was easy enough for him to get the support once they painted me as a murderous, loathsome lunatic," she sighed as she shook her head, softly moving to grasp his hand and hold it to her chest. Having him home meant the world to her, she was able to relax just slightly and knew she wasn't alone in her uphill battle any longer.A soft smile crossed her lips at the thought, burying her head into his stomach for a moment. "Three days," she nodded, "rendezvous still in the same location," a yawn fell from her, softly squeezing his hand as a yawn fell from her. "I love you Jay," she whispered with a soft blush in her cheeks, snuggling happily against him before finally allowing herself to fall into the deepest sleep she'd had in years.

She moaned slightly as he spoke, shaking her head, "Ten more minutes," she whispered with a shake of her head and a yawn. She turned to hide her head into his stomach, turning to lay on her side, ignoring just how hard the ground beneath her was. She wasn't ready to be awake. After years of running on just a couple hours of sleep, a couple hours there had exhausted her, and the ability to actually sleep wasn't something she was quite willing to pass up. She wanted to stay asleep in his arms, she was comfortable there. "Shhh still sleep time," she whispered to him as he spoke again, "not time to wake up at all," a heavy sigh fell from her as she laid there, half asleep but it was too late, she was already awake unfortunately and no matter how much she wanted to go back to sleep her body wasn't going to allow it but it didn't mean she wasn't going to enjoy just lay there against him.

 

[Gr1mmReaper2020]

Jason looked down, the sound of Elisabeth's sleep stained voice breaking him from his mind. He didn't give her ten minutes but instead fifteen as his hand gently played with her hair much like he did when they were younger. "Unfortunately now is time to wake my love" he said apologetically as he lifted her into a sitting position but still against himself. "Come on, I can heat up the bath and we can get ready for the day. Artemis should be able to get us to the rendezvous spot in two days if we leave before noon." He leaned down kissing her softly for a moment. "Plus its another chance for you to see me naked and I'm sure last night was not enough an eyeful for you." His words were colored with mirth and tease as he laughed a little knowing it would at least give a good incentivized jolt for Elisabeth to wake up if not outright wake her up immediately.

Artemis snorted stamping her hoof and whinnied. Her bonded rider and his mate were acting like a bunch of colts dancing around each other during mating season.

"Oh hush up you. Beautiful and tempting my Lizzie is but she is far from a filly. She is a highly respectable and dangerous young lady. There is a difference" Jason huffed turning a look to Artemis who gave the equine equivalent of an eye roll.

 

[Menagerie]

She had rested peacefully on his lap, her head nuzzled into his stomach, enjoying the absent minded hair playing. A small shiver rolled through her as he finally nudged her awake. Looking up at him as she sighed, her fingers running through her hair as she sat up with his help.

"A bath sounds amazing right now," she smiled as she went slowly to stand, "and seeing you naked again is another great idea," she chuckled at the thought, shaking her head for a moment. She started towards the bath, slipping slowly out of the clothing he had given her the night before. She stretched slowly, her back popping several times as she bit on her lower lip.

Looking up at Artemis she laughed, shaking her head. "I've not been a filly in quite some time," she smiled sadly, "but I do still remain quite dangerous," she chuckled at the thought, moving to step in to the water, ignoring the fact that it was ice cold. She slowly began to bathe herself, her mind running in circles. She was still nervous about the plan but it made the most sense. Taking in a deep breath she looked up at him for a moment.

"Alright, she we rendezvous with the others, then we need to recollect the artifact, and then choose the best place to place it to draw them before we set it. Even if we can just get a dozen or so sharp shooters to join us," she nodded to herself. "The question is do we try to go into their current territory or do we set it up still within our territory?" she asked softly as she looked towards him. "Oh I have missed being in water."

 

[Gr1mmReaper2020]

"Of course seeing me naked is a great idea, it's mine after all" Jason said with a mockingly exaggerated puffing of his chest. Stripping off his own clothes he climbed into the water muttering the words to the spell that brought the water to a comfortable heat. "Where's the highest population of the enemy encampment near our territory? I'd rather that the soon to be deceased not be rotting on our turf. I know you were a fair hand with things that go boom before my.. unexpected and unwanted vacation."

Artemis shook her head neighing.

"Yeah yeah, an unwanted and unexpected but fortuitous vacation. Will you stop with the hay bale commentary? We're trying to talk shop about a genocide" Jason said with a sigh and look at Artemis. "I swear that despite the rumors and beliefs about her kind miss the fact that they are chattier than the former door-to-door preachers trying to convert us before this mess. Anyways, you saw how effective that the dynamite the Marshal made is. There's quite a large supply of it shrunk down in the saddlebag, it should let us cause quite a lot of damage. Ideally, I would love to do it in a deep cave system or a huge building we can bring down on them." Elisabeth's enjoyment by the bath brought a little enjoyment to his heart. She had always been a simple woman to please even when they were young, dumb and deeply in love teenagers. "Well it's not going to be the last time anytime soon. I don't know what we're going to do as far as the aftermath though. I think that re-establishing a government that everyone can get under is going to be near impossible if not a pipe dream." His eyes closed just letting his body slump back across from Elisabeth. "Lizzie, are we honestly fighting a losing war?" One eye opened showing a hint of unease. "Genocide doesn't exactly bother someone like the Marshal before I was summoned back and knocked back into myself. It does bother me. Not that it isn't really genocide but taking back what was ours, defending our homes. Protecting our rights and way of life."

 

[Menagerie]

She gasped as the water warmed, resting her head against the back of the tub. Her eyes closed as she tried to think, "well, we just destroyed the nearest one," she chuckled as she lay there, letting the hot water relax her achy muscles. "The next nearest is probably half a days ride north of the rendezvous location," she sighed at the thought. "The other is south of here, but it's still about a days ride. And we still have to get to the rendezvous location first so," she shrugged at the thought before looking over at Artemis.

"I can only imagine the types of things you are saying," she chuckled at the thought before looking at Jason. "It is quite effective..." she fell silent at the thought, running her hands over her arms slightly before looking at him. "You'll never convince everyone of the same form of government Jay, hell, they can't even agree on plans amongst the two-thousand we still have. It's a constant battle, one way or the other." She shook her head as she sunk a little lower in the tub.

"What else do we do though?" she asked quietly. "I don't like it anymore than you do, but the reality is they are committing the same act upon us," her eyes closed heavily, swallowing hard. "They wipe us out every chance we get. We tried to send people for peace negotiations..." she fell silent as she swallowed hard. She didn't want to think about it, the end was catastrophic and she could only imagine the fates that those who were sent faced. "What else do we do?" she asked quietly, "lay down and die? Another two or three days of running and fleeing we find ourselves at the ocean, and then what? Where do we go? What do we do?" she asked softly, "wait to be massacred?" Her body began to tremble as she sat there in the water. "I don't know what to do Jay...I don't know what to do," she turned her had away from him as her tears began to fall, knowing that if they failed they would be wiped out, if they didn't try they'd be wiped out, but if they succeeded...if they succeeded they'd be killing people younger than them when this war started.

 

[Gr1mmReaper2020]

Jason's heart broke hearing the tone that plagued Elisabeth's words as her crying and trembling rocked her physically. Not even thinking about it he reached over pulling her onto his lap and pushed her head into the hollow of his throat. "We do what we must." His other eye opened as his gaze hardened. The options were not ones he like but Elisabeth was right, they either murdered all their adversaries since that was what had been long done to them or they gave up and waited to be murdered themselves. "We let me be more of the monster. We let most of the blood land on my hands." His tone had a slight undertone that said it was not up for questioning. "I know you can fight and over the last decade you've done quite a lot of tainting your hands with more blood than you probably care to remember" he said running a hand comfortingly through her hair. "I am proud that you fought so fiercely, so very proud, but let your husband do his job now that he's back." The unintentional reference to their promise of marrying each other when they were teens didn't catch on his ear until after it escaped his lips. "I promised my wife I would always protect her and I'll be damned if anything stops me now, not that I'm dumb enough to think you incapable."

Artemis stomped a hoof but made no sound. The smell of salt made her head turn and look at the pair of humans. Something had upset the female since the salt smell was coming from her and her bonded partner was trying soothe her. What had upset her?

"If worst comes to worst Lizzie, and it turns my stomach to think it, we should abandon them and turn tail. Artemis has a handful of natural abilities as a Nightmare that would make it so easy for us to get away unscathed and us only worrying about each others safety is a lot more manageable than trying to convince people who won't listen. Resource management would be so much easier and if things get as dire as things have seemed to be, there's an out. It just requires us...being willing to risk actually dying and probably being sent to Hell" Jason said slowly.

 

[Menagerie]

She held on to him tightly, her small hands holding on to his back, her body shaking as she tried to calm herself. Her mind was in a million different places. Holding on to him she hid against him, shaking her head as he spoke of allowing him to do it alone. Her hands grasped a little tighter on to him. She knew he didn't want her arguing with him but she wasn't going to leave him to deal with it all alone. "Jason," she whispered softly, looking up at him, "I will not allow you to do this on your own. There is no convincing me to do so." Her eyes closed. "I'm just tired and I haven't been able to let it out in so long," she sighed at the thought. "I'm sor..." she looked up with surprise as he called himself her husband and then called her his wife. Her arms wrapped about his neck, hiding her head into his neck again.

"Jason," she whispered, swallowing hard. "I love you, and I'm not going to let you do this by yourself," she whispered softly. "I'm not letting you go into battle alone again. I lost you the last time I did that, I won't lose you again. I need you to understand that. I can't do that again."

A shiver rolled through her as he spoke of turning tail. "We can't just leave them," she whispered softly, "you know that. We'd never forgive ourselves," she sighed, enjoying having his fingers through her hair. "An out?" she asked, biting on her lower lip, looking up at him, "what out are you talking about," she asked softly, her fingers running through his hair, her eyes focusing on his, trying to relax herself.

 

[Gr1mmReaper2020]

"I never said anything about going into the fight alone love" Jason said shaking his head. "I'll always need my badass partner to back me up. What I meant by let me be more of the monster is let me take more of the blood on my hands. You were always a crack shot with my rifle and unless you've become a close quarters expert, I could strongly use you as mid-distance support." Elisabeth's surprise at his words earned her an eyebrow before she hid her face in his neck again. "You aren't going to lose me again, not without us both dying together at least and them losing a hell of a lot of their forces. If you think my stubborn was a nuisance before, the Marshal I became was far more stubborn than a jackass. With this merging going on in my head, that stubborn me from before is an even more stubborn pain." His lips quirked momentarily into a cocky sort of smirk.

"Love, if it comes down to us surviving together or the entire group of nimrods who forgot how to think critically instead of throwing soon to be corpses at the problem I would drop them for just our continued survival in less time that it takes for either of us to blink. I care more about you than what remains of sheep following a shepherd to the slaughter. It might sound heartless and not like me but lets face facts, ten years and a seemingly lifetime of living in the wild west tends to make you far more pragmatic and decisive about what your priorities are." Jason shook his head since he suspected Elisabeth would rebuke him for that. "If it comes down to it I can replicate the spell that tossed me back in time. It should put us back to the moment that you summoned me from. Our knowledge of what the future brings would benefit us greatly, we get to carve a legacy on history and the Marshal's reputation would give us resources to track down what could be the roots of this crap shoot of a hellscape are before it can truly begin to grown and kill it. Prevent this from happening. Plus" his eyebrows wiggled a bit suggestively after making Elisabeth look at him "I remember you had a thing for wearing leather. A lot of the clothes back then utilized a lot of leather. Plus I think you'd appreciate the challenge. Being a Marshal's wife, challenging the open plains most wanted fugitives and raising a herd of kids under open sky without having to worry about constant threat of magic users attacking us."

 

[Menagerie]

"Just know that I won't allow you to do this alone," she whispered quietly, shaking her head as she looked up at him. "I need you, and I need you to stay at my side," she smiled weakly, her fingers touching his cheek. Swallowing hard as her eyes closed, trying to relax. "Anyway, I've so much blood on my hands," she shook her head, "there's no point in trying to keep any more off my hands. And you have never been a nuisance," she gently pressed her lips to his before resting her head against his shoulder happily.

"But can we really just leave them behind?" she asked, swallowing hard at the thought. "Just because they are stubborn and ignorant does that really mean that they deserve a fate of death?" It was a horrible thought, but she also understood exactly what it was he was talking about, though the idea he'd put her before anyone else cause her heart to race slightly.

"Replicate the spell?" she asked. "Live in the wild west?" Could they really change history? "Wouldn't we potentially be changing our own history though? Isn't it possible we'd find ourselves destroying ourselves?" she asked quietly as she thought about the possibility of trying to change the future, to try to stop the history as they knew it, prohibiting it from ever coming to fruition. "Would it be possible?" she asked gently, her hands holding onto him warmly. Her mind was starting to reel with the idea of trying to change the future. There were so many things that could go wrong, but that was the case with any plan and it would mean they wouldn't have to commit genocide. She held onto him tighter, shaking her had, not knowing what to do about any of it at this point.

 

[Gr1mmReaper2020]

"We spent ten years apart, I'm not about to let you go anytime soon." Jason returned the kiss that Elisabeth pressed to his lips and let himself enjoy the sensation. "I think we can and should if it comes down to it. A sham force of the willfully ignorant or unwilling to heed reason should be abandoned for our own preservation. Especially if we have to slip back in time." Elisabeth's questions were met with an eyebrow raise. "I've spent the last ten years in the wild west as a marshal who just appeared out of nowhere with skills that have made the mere mention Federal Marshal Jason Stone enough to make criminals turn themselves in just to stay alive. I know enough about my family tree to avoid interfering with my ancestors and I know you do to so I doubt that we'll change anything too drastically."

When their bath was finished and they were dressed Jason dug through his saddlebag. "Ah, here it is." He pulled out a leather wrapped package and unwrapped it revealing what looked like granola bars. "It's oats, honey, brown sugar and peanuts. Something light for us to hit road with" he said tossing the package to Elisabeth. While she dug into however much she wanted to nibble on he packed their sleep gear away and resealed the stew from last night away into the saddlebag. " Come on beautiful, we got people to kill and scare." He offered a hand to Elisabeth after he undid Artemis' reins from the rock spire he tied them to the night previous. If Markus thought he was going to dominate his Elisabeth's work he had another thing coming because his Marshal self was a hell of a lot more assertive and trigger happy meaning this fusion was going to make him overall more assertive enough to put the little boy, for that was his opinion of the 'man', in his place for killing so many of the forces he and Elisabeth fought so hard to amount.

 

[Menagerie]

She watched him for a moment, worry in her eyes but she nodded slightly. "Well I know my recent past, but you are talking about hundreds of years Jay," She whispered, swallowing hard. "Then again, I guess I really don't know much about time travel. Maybe it's impossible to change the future for all even if we do escape." Closing her eyes she shook her head, worry etched about her along with a sense of relief.

Quickly she went about drying off and changign before he tossed her the bars, tilting her head she looked at them, chuckling softly. "You were always prepared, weren't you?" she asked softly as she went to nibbling at it, knowing he'd scold her if she didn't eat. After all she'd gone too long with it before his return. She watched as he cast his spells to make everything fit, a smile on her lips as she nodded to herself, knowing one way or the other they were going to be fine. Though the idea of destroying them all still weighed heavily on her mind. Was it really the only way? It wasn't like they'd ever thought twice about wiping out her people, or hr. But was this really the only way to end it all?

Looking up at him as he offered her his hand she slipped her hand delicately in to his as she smiled. "Ready as I'll ever be," she smiled as she stepped towards him before swinging herself up gracefully onto Artemis' back. "Some day you'll have to teach me how to talk to her and understand her in return," she smiled at the thought, rubbing Artemis' side. "Remember where you are going?" she asked with a smile.

 

[Gr1mmReaper2020]

"Then it's a good thing I was the one to really pay attention when we did those 23 and me tests for fun when I turned eighteen" Jason said with a slight snort. "Maybe we can't change the future but you know what ticks me off the most? Being idle, not trying. Remember what you told me when I was seventeen and I was beating myself up over that big science fair project? 'Scrap the end result and start again from the beginning'. I don't think we're at the critical failure point but it's something that we have to keep an eye on. More than anything else, I hate to say it but I think Markus is going to be the one to get everyone killed more than the magic users. You said he keeps throwing bodies at the problem without thinking. We went from a force of ten thousand to maybe two thousand and he's only compounding the losses with his reckless behavior."

"Being prepared was one of the things that you fell in love with" he said easily and seamlessly sliding up onto the saddle behind Elisabeth. "If I wasn't we would have been teen parents just after my sixteenth birthday with someone's insanely high sex drive." His tone was laced with teasing laughter as he dug his heels into Artemis' side steering her toward the cave exit, reins in one hand around Elisabeth and the other bringing an oatmeal bar to his mouth. Three bites and swallows later he nodded slightly. "Well that is a lot easier than you think. Crafting the talisman isn't complicated or I can brand the tattoo onto your skin, I'd recommend the talisman so you can take it off since she tends to talk a lot."

Artemis snorted and flicked her tail up.

"Oh do not even go there. You talk as much as Rosemary used to" Jason scoffed. "Yes I know where we're going. Before we used it as a rendezvous it was where you asked me to marry you when you turned sixteen and I just turned eighteen, well before the world went to hell. I also clearly remember saying yes and you running off blushing like a virgin" he said with a lightly smirk and nip on the tip of Elisabeth's ear.

 

[Menagerie]

She sighed with a nod, “I know and I’ve done everything I could to keep from being idle,” she whispered, trying to relax herself in to the saddle once more, still petting Artemis’ neck from time to time as her eyes closed heavily. “But sometimes you just grow tired,” she sighed at the thought, her body shaking slightly. “You think it would be safe for me to nap while we ride?” she asked gently, knowing it was better to have two sets of eyes but shew as exhausted and the reality of having him home made her feel safe enough to actually sleep.

“Don’t be too hard on him, after you left things went to hell,” she sighed. “We were attacked again and again with no reprieve. We lost most of the council. Nothing we did seemed to work and it felt like it was better to die fighting than to die cowering. Anyway, he’s always been good with his fists rather than his brain.”

“Not sure whose sex drive you are referring to there,” she smiled as she let herself lay against him, her hand grasping his arm as she smiled, enjoying feeling his body near hers once more.

“Rosemary?” she asked as she looked up at him before a blush filled her cheeks, thinking back to when she asked him to marry her. A smile crossed her lips before a slight yelp slipped from her as he nipped her ear. “I had almost forgotten about that,” she smiled, playing with the pendant about her neck. “You still planning on marrying me?” she asked as she let her head rest against his shoulder. “Or you going to let Markus try to swoop in,” she teased, knowing the man still lusted after her even if she ignored him at every possible juncture.

 

[Gr1mmReaper2020]

**I am so sorry for the wait. Something important came up IRL I had to deal with. I have a half finished post here I'll finish later on today fod you. I am so sorry to make you wait!**

 

[Menagerie]

No worries!! I hope everything is okay!!

 

[Gr1mmReaper2020]

"You can rest love, we both know it's going to be a while before we even reach the halfway mark to the spot. While you are right he has had far better violent reactions than cognitive, when it comes to leadership roles your head has to prevail over your baser urges" Jason snorted rolling his eyes. "Of course one of the two masterminds of our whole operations disappears because of magical bs and it falls in the hands of muscle bound idiots when... No, I'm going to stop ranting. I'm just going to finish he should have never been elected to council in the first place."

"Not sure whose sex drive I'm referring to? If I recall correctly it was you who initiated ninety five percent of our sexual moments. It started with 'Baby, can we go spend some time alone' and ended up with you screaming yourself hoarse begging for more." An almost satisfied smirk etched itself onto his lips knowing he was right. When Elisabeth began to play with her pendant, an anniversary from him, and asked if he still planned to marry her he growled softly. "Markus can go get himself offed if he thinks he is going to get ANYWHERE near you. You are my woman. My heart. My soul. I will fight him to death if he dares to try staking a claim on you." His grip tightened possessively as Artemis snorted. "Oh stuff it, she's my mate so I'm allowed to be lovingly overbearing and protective you shadow pony."

 

[Menagerie]

Her head nuzzled his shoulder as he told her she could sleep, the blush filling her cheeks again as he called her love. A sigh of content fell from her as she laid her hands softly on his arms, a sigh of content falling from her. A small shiver rolled through her, moving to sit side saddle, allowing herself to snuggle tighter against him. "I know dear, I know," She whispered softly, "but he never was very intelligent, just mostly brawn, not brain," she shook her head at the thought.

Her heart raced as he spoke of her sex drive, a giggle falling from her. "Do you have any idea how hard it's been these past several years?" she asked with a chuckle. A gasp fell from her as he tightened his grip on her, looking up at him with a wink. "Really now?" she asked softly with a smile. "I do enjoy hearing you say suck things," she giggled softly as she watched him, reaching up to touch his cheek, watching him. "I've missed you Jay," she whispered softly, " so very much. For the first time in years, I feel safe again, even facing hell I feel safe again." Her eyes closed at the thought, a smile playing across her lips. "I wish it was safe enough for us to just camp out under the starlight tonight, but," she shook her head, trying to think of where they could stop for the evening, knowing they wouldn't arrive until the following day at best.