Fantasy Enter the Kaelzon ~fantasy~

[Mikotsuhime]

jamil grinned smugly, very happy with Rowan’s obvious anxiety.

Once the packs were dumped, though, the river grew narrower and narrower, before it closed completely. There was only mud and grass where it had once sat, and Talia looked at it in awe. Still wary, she tossed another stick, but this time it sailed over and landed safely on the other side.

“Huh,” she said, scratching her chin. It was as though they were being tested. She glanced back at Jamil, but he was already stretching lazily.

“Nah, I’m totally awful,” he said with a smirk, then waltzed over where the river had been. Talia hesitated before following him, and when she did so, she noticed the jungle was thinning around them. Was that it? Was that everything? She had expected to be in here for a month, but it had only been a few hours at most.

“We’re... through?” She asked, not really believing it. Jamil laughed, though there was no humour in it.

“For some reason the border wanted you to make it,” he said with a shrug. “Who knows why. You skipped some of the obstacles, but the river is the last one. Once you pass the tree line, it’s just a normal jungle. Keep walking for another hour or so and you’ll reach a village.”

Talia gave him an odd look, but she didn’t have much time to think on it when something was crashing through the woods towards them. It didn’t sound too big, but it was making a lot of noise, and she raised her halberd menacingly.

“Jamil!” A voice called out, and Talia almost dropped her weapon. Jamil stiffened, but he didn’t react to her shock as a figure broke through the trees. He was wearing a blue hooded tunic with no sleeves, and he was quite pale compared to the others present. His black hair was short and messy, in a perpetual state of bedhead, and he carried only a small knife on his belt for protection. His red eyes stood out against the pallor of his face, and his ears were slightly pointed.

The most shocking thing, though, was his race. Vampires and humans were both quite common in Earghus, but offspring of the two were not. Dhampire were notoriously difficult to conceive, and didn’t often live past childhood in the few cases they were born safely. This man was in his early to mid twenties at least, and seemed perfectly healthy, if a bit sweaty.

There was a basket in his hand, filled with various dried meats and a bottle of spiced wine.

“You promised to have a drink with me, and I’m not going to let you—“
The voice cut off as the stranger looked up and realized that the jaguar was not alone

“Erik?” Talia asked in shock. Erik stared at her, equally surprised.

Talia took a deep breath, and had to fight the urge to run over and hug him. He was, after all, the king’s nephew, even if he was an illegitimate child.

 

[Reynarda]

"So awful," Azrael agreed with a smirk.

She trotted cheerfully after Talia and Jamil, and Rowan brought up the rear, eyeing the ground like it might suddenly bubble up with water and sweep him away. He glanced around at Talia's confusion. They were through? He had expected far more hardship than that. Dang, if the village was only an hour away, he wouldn't even have time to get hungry.

But then something came crashing through the trees, and Rowan had visions of monsters and river dragons and other beasts dancing before his eyes. He dragged his sword from its sheath and--

The person knew Jamil? And--

Rowan took in the eyes, the pallor, and the slightly pointed ears. At first he thought Erik was a vampire, but a quick glance at Azrael's pointier ears told him this was not the case. This man... was half vampire. Rowan flicked his eyes to Azrael's face, having no idea how she would react, and was shocked to find her merely thoughtful. He had half expected her to start circling the poor dhampire and asking questions about his conception.

As everyone stared at each other, Azrael cocked her head. "So this is the famed Erik. Rowan, you should probably introduce us. And staring is rude, you know."

Rowan shook his head. "Uh, right. Um, hullo, Erik. I'm Rowan Shepherd, and this is Azrael. It's good to meet you. Talia mentioned you had sent us the tips, so thanks for that."

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Erik startled back when Rowan drew his sword. Being almost unarmed up against a swordsman was terrifying, and he took a sudden step back. Jamil growled at Rowan, but Talia turned her halberd on him, and he stopped.

"Wait, wait," Erik began, shaking his head and pressing his hand to his temple. "Hold on a minute. I need a second to process this."

Talia frowned, because her first instinct was to rush over and check him over for injuries, but it had been years since they'd last met. He hadn't changed too much, but she had.

After a second, he finally spun around to face her, his eyes wide.

"Tali, what the hell are you doing here? Who are these people? What?" He asked, more surprised than outraged. But then Rowan introduced them, and he blinked. "Wait, tips? What tips?"

Jamil turned an annoyed eye to him, his lip curled up.

"I was wondering why they were doing so well. You helped them cheat," he grumbled, and Erik quickly shook his head.

"No, I didn't-- OH! I sent you that letter a few years ago. I never epected you to do something as stupid as go into the /jungle/," he hissed. Talia gave him a blank expression.

"Like a certain someone who decided to join a research team without telling his father?" She asked, and Erik winced. "Your brother was distraught, you know. /I/ was distraught. If you were ok, you could have let us know somehow. Or come back, even."

Erik straightened at that, and Jamil sighed.

"You didn't tell her that part," he said dryly, and Erik began looking very nervous.

"Uh. I couldn't get the spell to work past the border," he said, chewing on his lower lip before he quickly turned around. "A-anyways! I can't believe you're here. And you brought friends. I think? Oh! It's nice to meet you, by the way, Rowan and Azrael! We should go back. To the, uh, the village, anyways. Anya and Hektor can explain some things, and we can get you a place to sleep for the night..."

"Erik," Talia said, because she could tell that he was avoiding something. "What did you not tell me?"

"Ah! Anyways, Jamil, next time we have to have a drink! And you should put on clothes! I have you pants and that cloak last time!" He exclaimed, and Talia narrowed her eyes at him.

"Clothes are hot and stuffy and hard to move in," Jamil whined.

"Erik," Talia warned, but he was still very deliberately ignoring her.

"How long did you spend in the jungle?" he asked Rowan. "It was three weeks for me. Everyone in my research party succumbed to it. How many people did you guys lose?"

 

[Reynarda]

Realizing he still had his sword in his hand, Rowan quickly returned it to its sheath. He smiled a little awkwardly at Erik. What was going on?

Azrael watched the exchange between Talia and Erik with mild amusement. In truth, she wanted to get her hands on some of Erik's blood and run some tests, but she had a feeling asking for some would result in Rowan fussing at her for being "rude". So she just watched. She found several things very interesting. It was interesting that Jamil seemed protective of him. It was interesting that both Talia and Erik seemed exasperated that the other had entered the jungle.

"It doesn't count as cheating!" Rowan protested. "Not when the rules are neither fair nor make sense."

It was also very interesting that Erik was hiding something. Azrael had no idea who this father or brother were--she had a feeling he was high-born but she paid about as much attention to politics as Rowan paid to how much money he was giving away. She didn't care too much, and it might come back up later or maybe Rowan had heard of him or something. Though, she was surprised there hadn't been a stir in her own family at the successful birth of a dhampire. Well, she supposed perhaps there had been and she had been too young to notice. He couldn't be that much younger than she was.

Azrael arched an eyebrow as Erik attempted to avoid whatever he was not telling Talia.

Rowan spluttered a little as he got dragged into Erik's evasion tactics. He shot Talia an apologetic look, but it would be rude not to answer. "Uh, well, I'm sorry to hear about your research party," he began.

Azrael smiled like a cat. "I'm not sure I'd call us 'friends' just yet. Acquaintances, perhaps. After all, friendships can hardly be forged over the course of a single day. We just met this morning in the tavern." She glanced up at the sun. "At lease I think it was this morning. Time could move differently here."

Rowan gave Azrael an exasperated look. That was the worst way to say that they had been in the jungle for only a few hours as compared to Erik's three weeks, and Rowan had a feeling Azrael knew that and wasn't just being clueless. "What she's saying is that we only spent a few hours in the jungle," Rowan explained, his tone apologetic. He glanced at Azrael. He couldn't help but wonder if their good fortune didn't have something to do with the magic Azrael had done on that tree. Could the jungle have wanted them to find Erik? And if he had lost all his friends, who were Anya and Hektor? "And we didn't lose anyone. We're the only ones who came. Your letter helped us and we got lucky," Rowan added, so it didn't sound as if he were being uncaring about Erik's lost team.

Azrael still had that smirk on her face. It generally meant she was about to make someone uncomfortable and she knew it. "Is there something inhibiting you from leaving, Master Erik?"

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Jamil rolled his eyes. It was still cheating. He supposed that, at least, they were the only ones who had this edge, so it was fine.

Erik's eyes went wide like dinner plates.

"A few hours?" he squeaked, and Jamil grimaced.

"It's because you helped them cheat, probably," he grumbled. "It let them go early. They didn't even face the bridge or the cliff."

Erik looked shocked, but Jamil just looked annoyed. Were he still a cat, his tail would have been lashing back and forth.

Talia glared at them both, because she was not pleased about being ignored.

"Yes, Erik. There must be some reason you never returned after /two years/," she snapped, and he flinched a bit at her tone. He chewed on his lower lip, fidgeting uncomfortably, and she immediately felt the urge to soothe him. But no, she was still angry, and comforting him would defeat the purpose. So instead she put her hands on her hips, and he slowly shrunk back.

"It- I don't really want to talk about this here," he said, fidgeting again. He looked like he was preparing to be yelled at, or hit. Talia figured that whatever he wasn't saying must be pretty important, and she had half a mind to force him. But he looked like a sad puppy, and she couldn't help but sigh as she reached out and ruffled his hair.

"Ok. You have to tell us once we reach the village, then," she said sternly. He perked up at that, then bowed to Azrael.

"I'll explain everything once we're out of the forest," he said apologetically. "I just... It would be better to talk about it after eating! Or drinking."

He wrinkled his nose, biting his lower lip again.

"Uhm, the people around here aren't really used to vampires. Please don't take offense if they're a bit... weird," he warned, though he was curious himself. He had met very few full blooded vampires, and he knew little about that part of his heritage. He half wanted to pull her aside and talk to her, but he had the feeling she might not appreciate that too much.

 

[Reynarda]

"Bridge?!" Rowan gasped. "Cliff?!"

Azrael arched an eyebrow. Hm, that was odd. Why had the jungle let them through so quickly?

"You've been here two years?" Rowan asked, more out of surprise than a need for clarification. "That... is a long time."

Azrael frowned at this, wondering if they would end up stuck here as well. She might not mind that much, but Rowan would. He had goals and people that cared about him back in Earghus. She resolved to make sure Rowan got back home regardless.

Rowan nodded. Food sounded good. He couldn't help be a bit hungry now that they had sacrificed their supplies to the river.

Azrael was a little surprised when Erik bowed to her. She hadn't had anyone treat her formally in years. She blinked several times and then quickly bowed back--which ended up being more like a dramatic nod than anything else.

"Weird how?" Rowan asked, resting a hand protectively on Azrael's shoulder. "Weird like they'll be prejudiced or just ask a bunch of questions?"

Azrael rolled her eyes. "Oh, please, Rowan, I'm quite used to that. And anyway, I do not find my biology to be an uncomfortable topic like you do."

"I don't think your biology is uncomfortable," Rowan protested.

She smirked. "No, I meant you find your biology to be an uncomfortable topic."

"I don't think my biology is uncomfortable, either! What's uncomfortable is the way you talk about it like it's..." Rowan trailed off as her smirk grew. "It's not a topic for the dinner table, Az, and you phrase things... very brazenly."

Though, to be fair, she was being very polite by not pestering Erik about his biology, and he was very proud of her. Rowan patted Azrael's head to let her know he was proud of her for showing restraint.

Azrael squinted up at him. She knew why he was being all protective, but she didn't really know why he was patting her head like she was a small child. Deciding it didn't matter, she flicked her eyes to the group. "Well, I'm very curious about all those answers we were promised as well as these people that live in the village. Shall we?"

Rowan nodded, though he continued to hover protectively next to Azrael. "It would be nice to sit down for a bit."

 

[Mikotsuhime]

"More or less," Erik said with a shrug. He hadn't really paid that much attention to it, but he supposed he had been here for a while. Talia frowned and nodded.

"Erik set out with a research expedition. He didn't tell anyone until he was at the jungle border and we were too far away to stop him," she said pointedly, and he winced. She knew /why/ he had done it, but it didn't mean that she agreed with it.

Jamil grinned lazily as Rowan and Azrael began to talk about biology.

"Are we talking about genitals again?" he asked brightly, and Erik's face turned a brilliant shade of red.

"No! Wait, what do you mean again?!" he squeaked, and Talia rolled her eyes as she lightly tweaked Jamil's ear. He yelped, then smacked her hand away and glared at her, but she didn't look at all apologetic.

With Jamil grumbling, Erik managed to get his embarrassment under control and sighed.

"It's more like... They don't really know what vampires are, I guess? They kind of know what humans are, since people pass through the jungle sometimes, but vampires don't really come here. I think I'm the first one that the people in the village ever met, and I'm... Well, not really usual."

"You're fine," Talia said sternly, because she had not come all this way to hear him self depricate, and his cheeks pinked again as he waved his head.

"Yeah, I know, but I mean, I'm sure my, uh, biology is not exactly the same, so..." He was honestly curious to really talk to a full blooded vampire for once in his life, though he didn't want to seem too overeager.

As the others got ready to leave, he hovered behind for a minute.

"We were going to have a drink," he said wistfully to Jamil, who shrugged and changed back to his cat form. He rubbed up against Erik's legs by way of apology, then flicked him with his tail.

"It's fine. Wine is disgusting anyways, and you always get drunk," he said, and Erik pouted at him, but didn't push.

"I'll come by another day," he said, and Jamil shrugged, though his ears did perk up a bit as he leapt up into a nearby tree and stretched. Taking that as a dismissal, Erik turned and rejoined the others. Talia gave him an odd look, though she didn't pry as he pushed to the front of their group to lead the way.

 

[Reynarda]

Azrael arched her eyebrow. Now, who was he that he would run off and people would have chased him? Someone important, she wagered. Not that it mattered that much to her, she just found it interesting.

Rowan's complexion matched Erik's. "What?! No! We're not talking about that!"

Azrael raised her eyebrows. The people weren't humans? Well... she supposed she should have expected that, but... well, she hadn't. Azrael shrugged. "I'm not that usual, myself," she said. "They can be as 'weird' as they so desire. It won't bother me."

Rowan glanced over his shoulder. "Is Jamil not coming?"

Azrael gave the jaguar a little wave. "I'm not sure if he can come much further." She glanced up at him. "I thought you didn't like him anyway."

Rowan quickly turned back around. "I don't. Hey, Erik, what sort of people are these people if they're not human?"

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Erik glanced back at Azrael, a bit surprised.

"You caught that, huh?" he asked, sounding a bit impressed. "Yeah, Jamil can't leave the jungle. It's... complicated. The whole jungle is complicated, really. It's not an ecosystem, the way that we thought it was, it's just... one massive magical organism. Every single thing inside of it is connected to everything else."

He sounded absolutely fascinated, and Talia had to fight the urge to sigh. When he got going on a topic like that, it was difficult to stop him, sometimes.

"I'm with Rowan," she said, not having too fond feelings towards Jamil herself. She didn't /dislike/ him or anything, but he put her nerves on edge. Also he was naked all the time, and that was just uncomfortable. Erik grimaced, because he knew what they meant, he really did, but..

"He's not that bad," he defended, but... he kind of was. "He just... he likes to act all tough and jerky, but really he likes people. He wouldn't have followed you guys if he didn't want you to make it."

Talia hummed noncomittally. She thought he had a different reason for following them, but she didn't want to upset her friend.

"I meant that I was curious about the people," she amended, though really she had meant it both ways.

Erik tilted his head back in thought as they walked, placing a finger to his chin.

"Well, I don't really know... We don't really have a word for them," he said. "They're uh... Hm. They're sort of similar to humans? I guess the closest thing would be a mage, but their magic is inborn, and they can't live without it. They have... connections, I guess. Different lineages are connected to different things. Some of them are like shapeshifters, or some of them are related to elemental gods. Uh, not that there are really gods or anything anymore. I've been studying the local history and mythology for a while, but Anya is the one who really knows about this sort of thing. Hector, her husband, is the village leader. This town here is the closest one to the border, so they usually take in whatever stragglers manage to make it across the jungle. They're sort of more used to outsiders than most of the bigger cities further south."

He frowned, glancing back at Azrael. He wasn't sure what these two were really doing here. Talia had hired them, probably, but... would they stay with her, and him, now that their job was technically sort of over? He chewed his lower lip.

"Uh, you can do what you want, of course, but I don't really suggest going further south than the village. The jungle around here is relatively safe, because the villagers patrol it regularly, but the other towns and cities can be... less friendly."

 

[Reynarda]

Azrael turned a big smirk on Rowan, who studiously ignored her. "I'm not going to stroke your ego by being impressed you guessed correctly," he said.

But Azrael's smirk turned into a self-satisfied grin anyway, so Rowan pushed her face away from him so he wouldn't have to see her out of the corner of his eye.

Azrael chuckled. "Yes, Jamil was quite amusing. I can see why you're fond of him."

Rowan rolled his eyes. Jamil was an annoying jerk. And he really needed to wear clothes when he was in human form. But he wasn't about to be rude and tell Erik that he didn't like his friend.

Azrael cocked her head to the side, thinking. Sort of human, but not, and were connected somehow to something that gave them inborn magic. Interesting.

"Elemental gods?" Rowan asked, and Azrael pulled a face. It depended on a person's definition of the word 'god', in her opinion.

Azrael was bubbling with questions, but she didn't know where to start. Most of them had to do with this place, so she figured she should wait. The rest had to do with Erik himself, but she didn't want to get fussed at for being rude. She might corner Erik later when Rowan wasn't looking and ask him a few of the questions she most wanted answered.

"Cities?" Rowan asked, sounding confused. "What is this place, exactly? They aren't... I mean, they can't be responsible for the jungle monsters that have been attacking border villages, can they?" He paused. "I mean, we didn't even see any of those beasts in the jungle."

"For which I was grateful," Azrael said. But Rowan had started asking questions, and she almost couldn't help herself. "Why do the villagers patrol the surrounding jungle? Are they also plagued by the jungle creatures? And what is so dangerous about the cities further south?"

 

[Mikotsuhime]

“Not really gods, in the way you would think of them,” Erik explained, pursing his lips. “More like... magic beings. Originally there was a human population here too, but they interbred with the local magical beings to the point that regular humans are pretty much unheard of nowadays. The original bloodline is diluted, though. People who are pure blooded are fairly rare, but they’re pretty powerful.”

Talia hummed, scrunching up her nose. it sounded very different to Earghus and the cities where she had grown up. Erik gave her a side glance, then laughed.

“It’s a bit weird if you’re not used to it,” he said with a smile. “I find it pretty fascinating, how completely different our cultures are, even though the continent was originally one piece.”

Talia made a noncommittal noise, and Erik turned back to Rowan with surprise.

“They’re leaving the jungle?!” He asked, shocked. “Since when?!”

“About a year and a half ago, give or take,” Talia said with a grim frown, then paused. “You seem to know what they are.”

Erik stiffened, then chewed his lower lip again. He was nervous and didn’t want to tell them something. It made her uncomfortable.

“It... it’s weird you didn’t run into them in the jungle. They’re usually not very aggressive? It depends on how much... I mean....” he trailed off. He didn’t really want to talk about this until after dinner, when everyone was settled in. But he understood a curious nature, and having made it this far, they did deserve to know.

“They used to be people, mostly,” he explained. “Adventurers and explorers and researchers and stuff. If you fail the trials the jungle sets for you, you become a part of it, and you can’t leave. Some people manage to keep their old minds and personalities, but... it’s really strong and dark magic. It can really warp a person, until they don’t even know who they are anymore.”

He had seen it first-hand with his research party, and it still gave him the chills to think about.

“Jamil’s the only one I met who was still himself. I mean, he has issues with his memory sometime, and his behaviour is influenced by the nature the jungle gave him, but he can still think like a person. Most people don’t retain that,” he finished.

Talia’s expression had gotten more and more serious as he spoke, and she felt as though her mouth had gone dry.

“We were very lucky,” she said, and Erik nodded.

“It’s... really weird that the jungle let you through like that. I don’t know why it did that, or why the beasts are leaving and causing havoc. Maybe being outside the jungle is making them behave weird? I had no idea they were attacking people.”

He didn’t like it. Was something happening to the magic that maintained the border? That was very worrying, and he couldn’t help but fidget. Talia watched him before she reached over and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. He startled, then relaxed a bit, some of the tension leaving him.

“They patrol the jungle for food, mostly,” Erik explained. “Hunting and whatnot. After you reach the edge of the border, you can eat anything around here like normal. But also, if anyone makes it through, they like to get tabs on them before they get too far, so they can bring them in and explain things to them.”

His brows drew together and he clicked his tongue.

“They’re not dangerous unless you’re /different/,” he said with a sigh. “For people who live around here, they’re perfectly fine. But people like us are outsiders. Some people are fine with that, but a lot of other people are really wary. Some people would think you’d make a good trophy spouse, or treat you like an object. It’s just.... overwhelming if you’re not used to it.”

He was a little used to it. Not just from his time here, but in his secluded little life back home as well.

 

[Reynarda]

Azrael nodded, considering this. Made sense. She agreed with Erik, it was pretty fascinating.

Rowan watched Erik, frowning. He was very uncomfortable with some of these topics, which was unnerving Rowan. When he finally explained, Rowan gasped, "They used to be people?! But we--we had to kill them to stop them."

Azrael nodded. "Interesting."

"No, horrible," Rowan corrected because honestly. "Wait... Jamil used to be a--" He almost said "person" but thought better of it. "I mean he wasn't always a cat?"

"Jaguar," Azrael supplied. "And I wondered. He felt distinctly different from the other beasts."

Another, more important thought hit Rowan. "Wait, you mean he knows about clothes he just refuses to wear them?!"

Azrael rolled her eyes. "It can't be easy to deal with clothes when you can shift from human to jaguar. Still, I wonder how he managed to retain so much. Strength of will perhaps?"

Rowan considered. "Az, is that something you can break?"

The vampire arched an eyebrow. She wasn't exactly surprised that Rowan wanted to help the people who were turned by the jungle, but she was surprised he was asking her if she could do it. But... perhaps he just hadn't thought through the sort of thing she would have to do. She hummed, twisting her mouth slightly. "Is it possible? Theoretically. Can I do it? Possibly. But you'd have to take into account how far their minds were gone. Also, depending on how the dark magic works, it might just go after someone else. And..." She paused for effect. "Breaking it might kill me."

Rowan squinted at her, trying to decide if it would actually kill her or if she were just being dramatic. "'Might' kill you? How likely is this 'might'?"

Azrael tilted her head. "Depends on the darkness of the dark magic, to be honest. And the strength of the hold. But anyway, trying to break the hold the jungle has on its prize is probably a very bad idea. Might anger it."

"You're using a lot of hedging words," Rowan pointed out.

Azrael shrugged. "I've never tried to break a person from a magic jungle's hold before, and I haven't read any books about doing so. I don't actually know, Rowan." But he still looked thoughtful, and Azrael rolled her eyes. "But the more powerful the magic, the more dangerous it is, and the higher the price for messing with it. You know that."

Rowan nodded. "I know. But we need to figure out how to stop them from attacking villages."

Azrael glanced at Erik at his explanation of how the cities were dangerous. She grinned. "Rowan would make an excellent trophy spouse. I mean, look at him. He's adorable. I could see him on the arm of some highfalutin type."

Rowan went pink and shot Azrael an annoyed look before quickly switched back to the previous topic. "If they don't usually attack people, is there something wrong with the jungle?"

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Erik wanted to laugh at Rowan's outburst about Jamil not wearing clothes, but the topic was so dark that he only managed a sort of half smile.

"He knows about clothes. I keep trying to get him to wear some, ubut he refuses. He says they're hot and stifly and get in the way when he sleeps in trees," he grumbled, but then his face softened. It wasn't quite pity, but he had a sympathetic expression, and Talia wondered how close he had gotten to the people around here.

"Jamil used to be from Earghus, he thinks. He doesn't really remember anything about before the jungle. He's been in there for... a very long time. At least five hundred years, but he says he stopped keeping track after that. He doesn't even know if he used to be a human or a vampire. We think the reason he's managed to retain so much of himself is because the jungle wasn't as strong when he enterred it, but strength of will has something to do with it."

He perked up at the suggestion that Azrael might be able to free the people in the jungle, but Talia could see him immediately squander that, pushing down his hopes so that he didn't get disappointed. It didn't seem like she was very confident in the idea either.

"It's... It would be very difficult," he said slowly. "It's not like you just become enchanted by the jungle. Enchantments you can break, but.. If you fail a trial, you get assimilated. It's like you cease to exist as you were and start existing as something else. Your whole body and mind change. I don't... I don't know if something like that could ever be broken."

He sounded disappointed, but also resigned. He had studied the jungle and the history here long enough to figure out that getting his hopes up was pointless. Talia wanted to comfort him, but she wasn't sure if he would be ok with her doing that in front of other people. She hesitated for a moment, then decided that changing the subject was the right way to go.

"He is very cute," she said nonchallantly, and Erik turned back to look at her in surprise. She raised her eyebrows, the corner of her mouth twitching. "What? Do you disagree?"

Erik opened his mouth and then clamped it shut again, quickly turning around.

"Tali, you're teasing me," he grumbled, but at least his spirits seemed higher.

He frowned and pressed one finger to his chin, thinking over the question.

"Well, I don't know. It's... difficult to really study it from this side. Jamil would know, but he can't say anything about that sort of thing. The magic takes away his voice if he tries to help people out. It could be that something has changed, or that something's wrong. It's... very unnerving that the creatures are leaving the jungle. They shouldn't be able to do that. It's like... a bounded field, existing completely in its own space. If that boundary is breaking down, that's dangerous."

 

[Reynarda]

Both Azrael and Rowan fell silent as Erik recounted what he knew of Jamil's past. Five hundred years was such a long time. Rowan couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

"Vampire," Rowan said at the same time Azrael said, "Human."

Rowan shot her a look, and she shrugged. "He has more of a human-y feel to him."

"The amount of... pomp he has is vampire and you know it," Rowan countered.

Azrael grinned. "That's hardly fair when the only vampire you know well is me."

Rowan grumbled under his breath. She wasn't wrong, and she was the first vampire he had ever actually met. But still. He stood by his point.

Azrael hummed. "Everything can be theoretically reversed. The problem is the amount of magic some reversals take can kill the mage and whoever is helping them. And the way you describe it sounds like the magic 'assimilating' them is extremely powerful. Perhaps too powerful to overcome." She shrugged. "While breaking them from the jungle entirely might not be feasible, there are some other things we could try."

Rowan's pink face deepened into red as Talia said he was cute and then Erik didn't disagree. While it was embarrassing for Azrael to say--though, he had once be treated to an analysis of his "aesthetic appeal" when he had been nervous about meeting with a pretty lady of a manor--it was mortifying to have someone like Talia or Erik to weigh in. When Azrael said it, she was stating it as a fact and was teasing him. He wasn't sure what Talia or Erik meant by it.

"Yes, we'll have to be very watchful to make sure no one tries to steal him from us and make him their trophy husband," Azrael agreed, almost to herself. While she wanted to make sure her friend did not become someone's trophy spouse, she was more interested in the jungle's borders possibly breaking.

Rowan scowled. He didn't like being made into the damsel in distress. "What if I want to be their trophy husband?"

"I won't allow it," Azrael said. Before he could ask what gave her the right to veto such things, she reminded him, "You owe me a life debt."

Rowan spluttered. "Life debts are not real and you saved my life one time. How many times have I saved yours? Ten?"

"I've saved your life at least three times. And anyway, I still won't allow it." Azrael considered the jungle. "Yes, the magic taking away Jamil's voice was very annoying. I wonder if there's something we could do about that." She hummed. "I'd have to research it."

Rowan rolled his eyes. "Az, I doubt they have a library on the creepy place's magic."

"There are other ways to research. They might involve sneaking back here and stealing some sap, though, so we'll see. Or! Even better if I could get my hands on some of Jamil's--"

"No more sap magic," Rowan said, his tone firm. "Remember what happened last time?"

"The jungle allowed us to skip the bridge and the cliff?" Azrael asked, her tone falsely innocent.

"That wasn't because of you," Rowan said, more because the thought made him uncomfortable than because he was sure. "We just got lucky."

"True," she agreed, and she sounded sure. "Erik, does the jungle have a center? An area that seems to be the basis for the magic, perhaps? If the boundary is breaking, that could threaten the stability of the jungle itself as well as Earghus. We should probably look into it."

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Talia glanced at Azrael, a bit amused.

"What counts as a 'humany feel'?" she asked teasingly. After meeting Jamil, she had a feeling that it was not exactly a compliment, though she wasn't actually offended. Erik rolled his eyes, because he didn't think that what species you were mattered much when it came to who you /were/. But still.

"Are most vampires like that?" he asked curiously. "You know, the whole... kind of think they're better than everybody else but wouldn't say it. I mean, not that every vampire is the same or anything, that's not what I mean, but you know the social norms of a person's upbringing can change a lot about them--"

"Erik, it's fine," Talia said, though she wasn't actually the one in a position to be offended, so. Maybe it wasn't fine, but oh well. "Nobody's going to fault you for being curious. I'm sure Azrael would have no problem shutting you down if your questions were too invasive."

That was just the impression she got, anyways. But it didn't seem like the woman was easily ruffled or particularly sensitive.

He couldn't help his back straightening a little when Azrael said that there were things they could try. Erik was a bit of a mage, but he wasn't a /specialized/ mage, and most of what he knew came from his father's library and the books that his half-brother and cousins snuck in to him that his father deemed too 'dangerous'. The people here knew magic, but it was a very specific kind of magic unique to them. It was possible that the magic from Earghus could be used in different ways. Even though he knew not to get his hopes up, he was still a bit excited.

Talia decided to let Rowan go after the initial comment. She didn't know him well enough to tease him beyond that, and the subject had lightened considerably. She did smile a bit at Rowan and Azrael's banter, because it reminded her of the troops back home in the capital, but it wasn't her place to intervene.

Erik, on the other hand, was very interested in what Azrael was saying.

"Sap magic? What's that?" he asked, always curious. "None of the magic I knew was really useful in the jungle, but I'm not exactly an accomplished mage or anything. It /is/ weird that you skipped the obstacles like that. Maybe the border was impressed with you, and wanted you to go through."

There were other options too, but he didn't like those options, and decided not to voice them.

"It might be difficult to get samples. You can go to the edge of the jungle, and there's like, a grey area that we were in before where you can sort of interact with both sides at the same time, but..." He trailed off. He had been trying to avoid speaking about the issue of going back /into/ the jungle. "There is a heart, I think. Or at least, there's something that everything else is centered around. It's like a will of its own, I think. I don't know if it's a physical place or not, though."

 

[Reynarda]

Azrael waved her hands slightly in a nonspecific gesture. "Mm... it's a sort of confidence and swagger humans have. Like you can take anything life throws at you in stride. It's cute."

Rowan rolled his eyes. Azrael called a lot of "human" things cute and it always irked him slightly--which was probably why she did it. "Whereas vampires are self-important and a bunch of snobs."

Azrael chuckled both at Rowan and Erik. "The nobility, of course. But in my experience, nobility in general is like that, vampire or otherwise." She paused, eyebrows shooting up under her hairline. "Wait, do you not know much about vampires? Oh you poor thing," she said, not unkindly. "Please, ask anything you wish. Nothing will embarrass me."

"Except blood," Rowan added with a small grin. "She thinks it's weird to talk about what she eats."

Azrael waved her arms not unlike an awkward duck. "Yes, but I can still answer questions about it. Mind you, I do not speak for vampires as a whole, but I can provide you with specifics to myself and generalizations. Biology, history, sociology, culture, ask away."

"Just not politics. She doesn't pay attention to politics," Rowan said, elbowing his friend.

"Because it's just a bunch of posturing and I hate it," she said.

"Sap magic is the magic Az is no longer allowed to do," Rowan said wisely.

Azrael rolled her eyes. "There's no such thing as sap magic! It's the same kind of magic I have been doing for the entirety of our relationship. Only. I did it. On a tree. Okay? No sap magic." At Erik's explanation of the magic he knew, she made a face that Rowan had once seen her make at a fox kit they had found getting into a farmer's chickens. "Aw, you're a mageling! That's so great! I bet you're mostly self-taught, too? That's great."

Rowan wanted to ask Azrael if she was going to adopt Erik as she apparently thought he was adorable, but he didn't want to embarrass Erik. Azrael was weird, and this was really just her way of expressing that she was impressed with Erik.

"It probably was just tired of Azrael's sap magic," Rowan said when Erik suggested they had interested the jungle.

"It's not sap magic!" But Azrael's irritation evaporated when Erik addressed her desire for samples. He seemed to be dodging around going back into the jungle, which strengthened her suspicion that they would not be returning once they had gotten through. She made a face. Clearly, she should have grabbed some samples while they were still in the jungle. After several seconds of thought, she nodded. "I might see if I can find the heart of the jungle, physical or no. Could tell us why the beasts are attacking villages. There's no way the jungle is expanding, is it? You mentioned thinking the jungle had not always been this powerful. What made it this powerful? Assimilating more unwary adventurers?"

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Talia wasn't sure that she would call determination cute, but she figured it was better than an insult. Erik seemed like he was taking everything down in his head, and she couldn't help but smile at him.

"Hm? Oh, no, well. I uh..." He hesitated. He wasn't really supposed to talk about this, and he gave Talia and nervous look. She frowned, because technically it was a secret. But his whole existence was a secret, and that had already been spilled. There was no telling if they'd ever get back to Earghus anyways, so she wasn't going to hold him to a code of silence when he finally found somebody who could explain parts of his heritage to him.

"I'm not going to tell your father," she said, and Erik immediately relaxed his shoulders.

"No, I don't know a whole lot about vampires. I've met my mother a few times, and she's pretty great! But I'm, uh, not a legitimate child, so I've never met most of her family, or any other vampires, really. Oh, my cousin knows about me, though. He'd come visit me sometimes, and sneak me books from his family's library. And he also taught me how to use a sword, but I'm not very good at it." He winced, because Fenrir was twice the size of him, and had kicked his butt in every sparring match they'd ever had. But that was just how he showed affection, and Erik knew his 'lessons' were out of care for him, so it was fine.

He was pretty much buzzing, but he had so many questions, and couldn't decide which one to ask first. But they were also getting pretty close to the village, and he didn't want to divert the conversation too much.

"I'll think about it," he said slowly. "I have a lot of questions. I might need to make a list."

"Don't overwhelm her," Talia said in her big sister voice, though she didn't sound too serious. She was glad that he had somebody to talk to about these things who was a little more... nuanced than Fenrir.

Erik nodded obediently, then hummed.

"Honestly, I kind of hate politics, so that's fine," he said. His father had tried to hammer the duties of a lordling into him, but he was far more interested in applying himself in practical ways. He wanted to research things, figure out how they worked and /learn/. It wasn't like he needed to take over as lord anyways.

He did turn a bit pink at Azrael's praise, but he looked proud if a little embarrassed.

"Yeah, self taught. My father's library has a lot of basic magic books, but I'm more interested in theory than actual practice," he said.

Talia did not like the idea of the jungle expanding, and Erik didn't immediately refute that, which made her feel worse.

"There's a lot of things about the jungle that we don't know. Anya's been studying history and the way the jungle and its magic works for her whole life, so she could better answer your questions than I could. But... The magic that founded the jungle is really, really old. We think that it gets stronger the older it gets, kind of like how a normal forest overgrows. But it's all just theories, really. It's difficult to prove anything."

 

[Reynarda]

Azrael looked between Talia and Erik in confusion as Erik stuttered. Her eyes narrowed as Talia promised not to tell his father and then Erik explained he had only met his mother a few times. "Just a moment, let me see if I understand this correctly." Azrael took a deep, calming breath. "Your father bed--mph!"

Rowan had clapped a hand over her mouth, recognizing her tone of voice. "Azrael! Have some decorum!"

Azrael slapped his hands away. "Decorum! His father slept with--is that a better term, Rowan?--a woman, got her pregnant, and then keeps his son locked away from half of his family?!"

Rowan made several distressed noises at the back of his throat. "Azrael! They're probably nobles--"

"What? So that gives him the right to be a--"

"Azrael!" Rowan snapped. "Stop it right now! You are being insensitive."

Azrael folded her arms across her chest and glared at him. Rowan glared right back, and the vampire was the first to look away.

"I'm sorry," she muttered in Erik's general direction. "It's not you. It's just--" She let out a long sigh. "I'm sorry you were deprived in such a manner. I'm sure your mother is a wonderful woman and I'm glad you had your cousin. Your nature is nothing to be ashamed of, and I'm angry that you were made to feel that way. Please, anything you want to know, don't hesitate. Even if you feel weird asking it. Just ask." She gave him a wan smile. "Don't worry about overwhelming me. I'm happy to help."

Rowan gave her a firm nod to let her know apologizing was good. Honestly, he wished she had spent less time learning magic and more time interacting with people, sometimes.

Azrael chuckled, trying to imagine Erik as a child reading through magic books. "I know the basics, as well, but mine is a bit more specialized--sort of my family's magic, if you will. But I might be able to help you with some of the theory of the more general magic as well, if you're interested."

Rowan frowned. "And you are not to overwhelm Anya with your questions."

"Yes, sir," Azrael grumbled, rolling her eyes. "If the jungle is growing, that could explain why the creatures are venturing out. And to be honest, I'm not sure if we should try to contain it. It would take a lot of magic--possibly more than it's worth. Still, I would like to find the center and understand the jungle a bit better. If nothing else, we should try to keep people from entering it and becoming those creatures."

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Erik immediately felt the urge to defend his father, but there wasn't really much that he could say. His existence was kind of a mess, and he wouldn't deny it.

"It's not like that," he said, though, because he didn't want Azrael to think that his father had kept him away from his mother. "It's-- My mother was married when I was, uh, conceived."

That didn't really make it sound much better, he realized, his face turning a bit pink.

"She didn't want to shame her family or her husband by admitting that she had an affair. My father offered to raise me in his household, so she hid her pregnancy and then left me with him," he explained. Man, he was just airing out his parents' dirty laundry, and he wasn't making either of them look very good. "It's just-- They're both good people! And they care about me. But they decided it was best that I not meet my mother's family."

Talia pursed her lips, but she pointedly did not comment. She would never say anything bad about Lord Keaye because he was the king's brother and she liked her job, but sometimes she though Erik was too forgiving. His parents had acted carelessly, and as a result he was the one who suffered for it. But he was still somewhat convinced his father hung the moon and the stars, so she wouldn't say anything.

Erik fidgeted a little, still a bit embarrassed. He hoped he didn't sound too defensive.

"I do know a little," he said. "I wasn't really taught to be ashamed of it or anything. They got me books and stuff, and Fenrir explained a lot of the basic stuff to me. But, well, my father didn't really /know/ a lot of the more specialized stuff. And there aren't really a lot of dhampire kids born, so raising me was kind of... trial and error. But I know he did his best, and I think I turned out ok."

He smiled, and he felt a little bit better now that he had said his piece. He didn't really talk about this with a lot of people, considering that it was such a private matter, but he was happy to get it out there. And then Azrael offered to talk magic with him, and he lit up like a light bulb.

"Really? 'Cause I've never talked with an actual mage before. I mean, my tutor knew how to spell things, but she didn't know why the spells worked, or how the components behind the different ingredients and steps interacted with each other, and that's the interesting part! How a bunch of completely separate components can come together to make something happen. It's fascinating."

Talia was glad he was happy, but she was a bit concerned with what Azrael had said next.

"Not contain it?" She asked, a frown on her face. "If we don't figure out a way to stop the creatures from leaving, or appease it somehow, there will be a lot of casualties in the kingdom. I can't let that happen if there's a possibility there could be something done about it, whether it's difficult or not."

She pressed her fingers to the bridge of her nose, squeezing.

"Not that I'm asking you to overextend yourself. I don't want you to think I'm asking you to throw your life away for crown and country."

 

[Reynarda]

Azrael's eyes narrowed as Erik explained until Rowan wondered if she could even see. He quickly rested a firm hand on his friend's shoulder. He knew Azrael found parents pushing off the consequences of their actions despicable and why, but Erik didn't, so vocalizing her disgust would only hurt Erik. He knew it came from a good place, but his friend often forgot that people couldn't automatically see her motivations and intentions.

That made it worse in Azrael's opinion, but Rowan was doing the firm-hand-rest thing, which usually meant she should not speak her mind. And Rowan was usually right. Besides, she couldn't really fault Erik for loving his parents, even if they were both selfish idiots. But then people did get stupid about a child being illegitimate and there was jealousy and all, so she honestly wasn't sure coming clean about what they had done would have been much better. Though, had they even thought he would survive very long? She doubted they had been careful considering how many dhampires were conceived in the first place, much less survived past birth. She would very much like to get a look at his blood, but she doubted now was the time to ask.

"You turned out just fine," Rowan assured Erik.

Azrael smiled slightly. "As long as your 'knowing the basics' is better than Rowan's 'knowing the basics', you should be fine."

Rowan flushed. "I grew up in a small village with precious few travelers, much less vampire travelers! I can't hardly be blamed for believing you when you told me false things!"

"I didn't actually think he would believe me," Azrael sighed. "He made me a very nice little bat house, though."

Rowan hid his face behind his hands. "She told me she turned into a bat once a month on the full moon. I wanted her to be comfortable."

"I liked it a lot. His mother is hanging on to it for me." Azrael patted Rowan affectionately. "And he was very brave and protected me from some holy symbols, as well."

Rowan groaned. "Are we talking about everything I did? You wanna mention then soup with garlic in it, too?"

"Nah, the bat house and protecting me from symbols were my favorite." As Erik grew excited about magic, Azrael's smile widened. "Oh, yes, I could certainly talk theory with you. And, the more you understand the principles behind it, the more you can do with magic. Magi who don't understand the fundamentals get stuck memorizing spells and can't work out magic for themselves."

Rowan shared a look with Talia. "We could probably leave them alone for several hours and they wouldn't even notice we had left."

Chuckling, Azrael shook her head at Talia. "It's not for a lack of desire or shying away from the difficulty, my good knight. It's practicality. A single mage, even one as accomplished as myself"--she added with a grin--"could not hope to contain the jungle on their lonesome. It would take quite a few, and then subsequent generations would have to maintain it. But I'm not saying we abandon trying, I just think dealing with the source of the issue wiser than just dealing with the issue. Hence my desire to find the heart of the jungle."

Rowan snorted at the thought of Azrael throwing her life away for crown and country. The vampire never did anything out of a sense of obligation or duty. She did things because it interested her or she could gain something from it. He had always found her lack of altruism frustrating. Though, that wasn't fair, was it? She had nearly sacrificed herself saving him after he had been mauled. That had been altruistic.

"If anyone can figure out how to stop the jungle creatures from attacking villages, it's Azrael," Rowan said confidently.

Azrael smiled nervously. "I appreciate your confidence in me, but I have my limitations. And anyway, Erik probably knows more about it than I do."

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Erik seemed proud that Rowan said he turned out fine, and with the change in subject he felt a lot more comfortable.

Although he did have to try very hard not to laugh at Azrael's stories.

"That's... very sweet of you," he said, because it was nice of him to try and appease her, though it was obvious he found his misconceptions a little funny. "My dad had to try and figure out how much blood I needed as a teenager, and that was fun. When I was thirteen he thought I needed four pints a week and I had to drink until I threw up. He was so worried."

His father had fussed over him that whole week, and Fenrir had just sort of shrugged and slapped him on the back while saying 'guess he's not a big eater!'. They had taken his advice with a grain of salt after that.

"Fenrir is not a good baseline for appetite," Talia said with a roll of her eyes. She had a feeling that even if he had been human he would have been a glutton.

She did share a wry look with Rowan, because he was totally right. Once Erik got going it was hard to stop him.

Hm. Well, it made sense that it would be impossible for one mage to control the whole jungle. She would like to send a message to the king and the rest of the guard about what they had learned, but she doubted it was possible. If it was, Erik would have let them know he was alive.

"Well, I mean, I understand a little," Erik said, because he wasn't sure he knew himself how to stop the jungle creatures. "But it'll take a lot of time and research to come up with a solution."

As they walked, they finally reached the edge of a large hill, and he peered down at a cluster of houses and buildings below them. It was not a large town by any means, but it was the only settlement visible nearby. The trees thinned out in the distance, giving way to plains, and in the far distance there was what looked like a city, but it was very far away, and the size and scale of it weren't judgeable.

"Here we are," Erik said, gesturing to the houses below them as he began down the hill. It was a little steep, but not outargeously so. He held onto the trunks of trees as he went anyways, just to be safe.

There were a few people milling about the village as they reached the bottom, and Erik waved to them. They seemed friendly enough, waving back, although many of them were giving Talia, Rowan and Azrael curious glances.

The headman's house was in the middle of the village, and there was a large man outside chopping wood as they approached. He looked to be in his mid forties, his hair thick and shaggy with a short by untamed beard on his face. He looked up mid swing as they approached, and grinned.

"Oh, Erik! You're just in time for supper-- and I see you've brought stragglers. More folks made it through the jungle, huh?"

 

[Reynarda]

"Four pints at thirteen?!" Azrael exclaimed in horror.

Rowan chuckled. "How many pints a week were you drinking at fourteen, Az?"

Azrael shrugged. "I wasn't counting. Maybe a half or three-quarters?" She shook her head. No, this Fenrir was not a good baseline.

"How much blood do you need?" she asked, partly out of curiosity and partly because she would need blood in the future and wasn't really sure where to get it now that they were beyond the jungle.

Rowan smiled at the gathering of homes below. "Looks nice," he said.

Once they entered the village, Rowan smiled and nodded at the villagers, being as friendly as possible. Azrael had straightened and was keeping her eyes forward. Rowan sighed and squeezed her shoulder. Meeting new people was fun, he didn't understand why she hated it so much. She could meet strange creatures in a jungle that wanted them dead just fine, but put her in a village of friendly people and she would suddenly act like she forgot how to use her arms.

When the were greeted by the large man chopping wood, Rowan smiled. "Hullo, I'm Rowan and this is Azrael," he said out of habit. "You must be Hector. This is a very nice town you have here."

 

[Mikotsuhime]

"About a quarter pint a week, maybe half if I'm really exerting myself," he said. "Although since I came over this way, I don't even need that much. If you drink too much of the blood of the people over here it has, uh..." He blushed a bit, rubbing the back of his head. "A bit of a kick, you could say."

Really, he had gotten completely drunk when Hector had given him his usual amount, and it had taken him a full day to recover.

"It's the magic in the bloodline, you know? It's different than human blood, but for me, it works just as well. Just in smaller quantities. I would say that whatever you were drinking before, cut it down to half. People are pretty happy to give you blood in exchange for helping them out with stuff, usually. Like chopping wood, or fixing a fence, stuff like that. Money isn't really a thing in little villages like this where we're mostly self sustained. If you have any skills, like hunting or farming, then you just help out as you can and they'll help you out back.

It had been a very big surprise compared to back home, where everything had been about wealth and power. It was refreshing. Talia couldn't help but raise her eyebrows, though, an amused smile on her face.

"You do physical labour now?" she asked, and Erik blushed.

"I can cut wood!" He exclaimed, though really, the first time he had tried he had almost dropped the axe.

Hector smiled at Rowan when he introduced them, wiping his hands on his apron to offer a shake. He looked human enough, though his eyes were a bit brighter than normal. It was similar with most of the people in town; they looked close to human, but not quite. Slightly pointed ears, somewhat oddly shaded skin or hair, other little oddities that were noticable if you looked, but dismissable if you didn't.

"New travellers through the border, huh?" Hector said with a grin. "Must have been a tough journey. You're the first ones who've made it through in about a year. Come in, come in, we'll see about getting you some food."

He ushered them inside like a friendly uncle, and Erik politely removed his shoes at the door. The pitter patter of little feet came from deeper within the house, and Erik grunted as two little girls jumped into his arms at full force. He stumbled backwards, grunting, and Talia had to catch him to keep him standing.

"Girls!" Hector barked in a stern voice, though he was smiling. "You can't bowl him over, you know he's like a twig."

The two children, who had been giggling, turned to their father and sighed.

"Okaaaaay," they said in unison, both of them offering him a salut, and Erik just sighed good-naturedly.

"Oh, hey, Tali, this is Emma and Lily. Emma, Lily, this is Talia, and Azrael, and Rowan," he said, pointing to each person in turn. The two little girls stepped back so that they could examine everybody, their eyes bright and curious. They looked very similar, possibly twins, and only about six years old.

"Nice to meet you," Lily, on the right, said, her eyes locking onto Rowan's sword in fascination. "Are you a knight, mister?"

As if on cue, Emma run up to inspect her equipment, her eyes wide.

"Do you kill monsters? Did you kill monsters in the forest? Have you ever killed a person? Was it scary? Is being a knight scary? How long were you in the forest? How--"

Erik groaned loudly.

"Guys. Don't overwhelm him, let him breathe."

 

[Reynarda]

Azrael nodded thoughtfully as Erik explained how much he tended to drink. Her eyebrows shot up when he said the blood of the locals packed a kick. She decided to take his word for it. She certainly didn’t want to end up in whatever state the “kick” left a vampire in.

Rowan snorted, trying to imagine Azrael doing manual labor in exchange for blood. And she probably wouldn’t be waving around blood magic, so he guessed he would be doing manual labor in exchange for blood for his friend.

Grinning, Rowan shook Hector’s hand. He tried to politely protest as they were ushered inside, but there wasn’t much point. And then two energetic little ones darted out and into Erik. Rowan’s smile widened. He couldn’t help it, he was fond of little kids.

But then Lily and Emma turned their excitement on him. He blinked and stammered incoherently as Lily asked is he were a knight and then Emma asked a thousand questions in a second.

“He’s not a knight, he’s better,” Azrael answered for him. “He’s Rowan Shepherd, Protector of the People.”

Rowan’s face went pink. That was how he had introduced himself to Azrael when he had thought she was an evil monster. She hadn’t let him forget it.

“He does kill monsters, he did not kill them in the forest, he doesn’t kill people unless they are evil, it was a little scary, and he only gets scared sometimes but it’s what you do when when you’re scared that matters.”

Rowan groaned. “Yes, thank you, Azrael. I can answer my own questions.” He crouched to get on their eye level. “What about you? Are you a knight?”

Azrael frowned. “Rowan, they’re children.”

Rowan gave his companion a look. “I know that, Az.”

Azrael nodded. Right. He was teasing them. She knew that.

Rowan turned back to Emma and Lily. “How old are you two? Thirty-six? Fifty-six?”

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Lily and Emma giggled as Rowan teased them.

"No! We're just six!" Emma exclaimed, as though Rowan were being very silly. "Also We're Daddy's helpers!"

Lily seemed absolutely enamored, her mouth opening in a wide 'o'.

"A people protector! He's a people protector!" She squealed, and Erik couldn't help but smirk.

"So he's cooler than I am, huh?" he asked, and both girls turned to him with shocked faces.

"I don't know. You're cool because you're weird, and you drink blood. Does this guy drink blood?" Lily asked, and Emma made a face.

"Can you drink blood and be a people protector? Are you still protecting people while drinking their blood?" She asked, and Hector scowled at her.

"Emma, don't be rude," he chastised, then examined Rowan, Talia and Azrael. "Uh, are any of you... like Erik? Not that I mind, but it would help to know when Anya prepares dinner. Oh, Erik, you told them who Anya is, right?"

Erik nodded, and Hector quickly ushered the girls out of the room.

"Ok, go help your mom! We need to have an adult discussion now," he instructed, and the girls pouted and whined, but did as they were told. Talia, who had been very stiff and quiet the whole time, finally relaxed a bit. Erik gave her a sympathetic look.

"Sorry, I should have warned you about the kids," he said, and she quickly shook her head.

"No, no, it's fine," she said quickly, not wanting to make anyone uncomfortable. But, well, she wasn't very good with children.

Hector eyed her for a moment before he shrugged his shoulders.

"Ok, so. You three just made your way through the jungle, huh? May I ask why you came through?" he asked, and Talia hesitated. She had /kind of/ lied to the others about why they had made their expedition in the first place, after all.

"Tali's a good friend of mine, actually," Erik said when she hesitated to say anything. "I actually managed to send her a message when I went through two years ago."

Hector's eyebrows shot up, but then he grinned.

"Ohhhh, so that's how it is, huh? A girlfriend?" he teased, and Talia went pale while Erik went bright red.

"No!" They exclaimed at the same time, both waving their hands around, and Hector laughed.

"Well, I was just asking because everybody has different things they need after coming through. For now, we'll settle on getting you fed. You can stay in the spare room tonight, though it might be a bit cramped... It's not often we get large groups coming through."