73th Searing 120 Year of the Age of Steel
Calid March¤
Calid March¤
That was how they had found her, a bardic troupe of neoalt Rathari. The leader was a woman with cat ears, a tail, and claws. Her hair was so grey it seemed blue and her eyes were a fierce green. Everything about her was cat-like down to the teeth in her head, the canines thin and sharp could be seen escaping her lips even when her mouth was closed. She must have been about ten years older than Saej and introduced herself as Brandali-Ann.
“But you can just call me Lee.”
She said with a provocative wink to Saej. The rest of her band were three ferrets other than a single parrot who was beastalt who had the most curious, vibrant green feathers she had ever seen in her life. The ferrets kept to themselves mostly, clad in their true forms and bardic clothing but the parrot never stopped watching Saej with his great, orange, pinning eyes. It frightened her until he finally said in accented and croaking common,
“I’m Hector.”
Trying to show he was friendly, though he said it with a slight sneer. She tried to take him as genuine while hiding a gulp.
In truth, this was exactly where Saej didn’t want to be, in a crowd of eccentrics, but got the feeling if she refused the cat-woman would find her extremely rude. So when the offer came after they helped her with the map Saej obliged.
‘Besides,’
She thought to herself now traveling down the road with the group,
‘It’s nice to have some safety in numbers.’
She threw the parrot-man another glance and he turned his head to face her, grinning with a half-open black beak.
Oddly enough they stopped late that afternoon in the same spot she had camped some ten days before on her way here. The one where she was almost found nude downstream. Had she known it was such a popular stop for travelers she certainly wouldn’t have gotten down to the nude all those days ago. The lesson was twice well learned. Lee and her band busied themselves with setting up camp, stringing up paper lanterns and a tapestry with the name “Miracle and the Daydreams” painted on it jauntily. Two moons and a wheel were painted beneath the words, painted red snakes slithered at the bottom of the tapestry too. Saej wasted no time busying herself as well setting up her tent nearby but giving them still a wide enough berth. Without asking, just giving the parrot a wave as she left after her business was done. He looked surprised but said nothing, instead, he tried lighting up a cigar.
She had in her hand the fishing rod and found a good spot far away from the performance troupe. In truth, she was feeling overwhelmed. The ferrets smelled like they hadn’t bathed in a year and the parrot would not stop staring at her. Lee, on the other hand, was kindly enough, giving Saej space it seemed like, although something told Saej there would be a moment they shared together later.
Pulling out her rod she was ready to fish. Turning over a big rock the bugs scattered quickly away, she was able to grab up a salamander this time and speared it on her fishing hook. It was gruesome work and the exact reason she was never fit to do real hunting. Having to take so many lives just to eat one meal was a bit much, but she tried to not let the wiggling thing turn her stomach and cast her line into the water.
It wasn’t long before she had a bite. It was heavy, the heaviest she had ever hooked yet. The struggle that ensued ended in ruin, Saej pulling too hard too fast and the line snapping, sending the fish on its way with a meal. She cussed in Kyriac, not only did she lose supper she also lost a valuable lure. Pulling out her kit she dug around in it looking for a similar lure and was glad to find she had found a second one just like it, it would seem she had a manner of luck today. Taking her time to thread the eye with the line she eventually got it, tying it off at the top. The repair was complete when she pulled out a few feet of line from the reel.
Next to the rock she had overturned was a second rock, this one slightly smaller but she turned it over anyway, hoping for another salamander. She had a hunch that bigger bait would catch her bigger fish and wanted to check it out. Luckily there were indeed THREE salamanders, or more if the little tails were anything to go by, slithering away. Grabbing one up again she stuck it on the hook.
This time she waited a bit longer for the bite to come but when it did she took her time instead of trying to rush the job and yank the fish out of the water. A push, pull ballet ensued where she learned with fish this big it was about trying to tire them out, not bag them immediately. It took some time but she eventually was able to reel the exhausted fish from the water. The fish was, what looked to be to Saej’s untrained eye, a large trout about twice the size of her hand. Taking the hook from its mouth she held it up by the jaw, staring at its eye and feeling sorry for it. Gently she laid it on the ground and used a stone to put it out of its misery. She wasn’t one to allow anything to suffer. Gathering up the things she had just enough room in her hands to carry it all, then set off at a trot down the creek path and back to the campsite. She hoped no one would make her share!
The jog was difficult with things in her hands but she managed to keep everything all balanced until she got back to the campsite. The sun was going down now and one of the ferrets was lighting the paper lanterns. A fire smelled sweet in the center of it all. She took out her knife then and set to gutting the fish, finding a couple of sticks and motioning to the leader, Lee, if she could use the fire.
“Of course, child! My home is your home. Or as the ferrets like to say, grab and growl.”
Saej took the offer seriously and set up a spit above the fire, skewering her fish there and allowing it to slowly cook.
Now faced with interaction Saej felt anxiety creeping up her spine. What could she even say? Her eyes rested on the painted tapestry and she asked Lee awkwardly,
“So… errr you paint too?”
Lee licked her thumb and moved a hair out of her face, then said.
“Aye, I do a bit of painting, a bit of dancing, a bit of singing, but my favorite thing to do is tell stories… Would you like to hear one?”
The ferrets had gathered round the fire all squeaking at one another jostling for the best seat and Hector was smoking his cigar pensively, looking down his beak at her. She blinked taking it all in before say,
“Yes. I would love that.”
There once was a girl. A stupid girl. A lovely girl. She liked things like getting nude and gardening, though not mutually exclusive. You could say this girl was kind and you could say she had her head on her shoulders well but you would be wrong. She couldn’t tell right from wrong at times and it would seem she had gotten… Lost. You see, she had forgotten it isn’t so much about the destination that makes someone thrive but the journey and the stops along the way. She had lost her vision, blinded by a man who may well be her undoing. You see, this girl had never had a lot of things or a lot of friends. She found herself being attracted to things not of this world and while this was a beautiful and dangerous walk itself, in the end, not even her own family and friends would talk her out of her final decision. This one is a story about humble beginnings and destiny. Destiny you see is like forks in the road. It doesn’t matter what avenue you take it will always lead you to the same fate, just different circumstances.
And with that all said, Lee clasped her hands together and looked at Saej with a cat-like grin, one tooth pointing far out of her mouth. Unfortunately, Saej had gotten lost somewhere in the beginning and the while trying to figure out the riddle’s meaning missed the entire end.
“What an odd story.”
She said finally after trying to get the wheels to turn, they would not.
“Yes, odd. But one that is very true. Would you like to hear another? Hector and I do some great voice acting.”
Hector’s chest swelled with pride and he got up to strut and pace.
“Sure, why not.”
The rest of the trip back home to Alfsos was spent with the troupe and Saej had grown very fond of them by the end. They got each other’s names written down on scraps of paper, but Saej would never see Lee, her ferrets, or Hector ever again. Their departure was sealed with a hug and Saej thought she could see a tear run down Lee’s face as she turned and left.
