Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn Path: netcom.com!netcomsv!decwrl!uunet!psgrain!agora!penny From: penny@agora.rain.com (Penny Hutchison) Subject: [AU] Questions and some answers Message-ID: Organization: Satellite of Love (la, la, la) Date: Sun, 1 Aug 1993 02:50:31 GMT Lines: 359 [ADMIN] This is a joint post by Chris Meadows and me. PREVIOUSLY: ar'Elya has just managed to confuse Andrea by changing personas and telling her to be on her guard against handsome unicorn stallions. And now... Andrea gave up trying to understand ar'Elya (again) and instead walked over to where Kardia was sitting, talking to Jay. They were leaning against a tree, the two of them, with Sheryl lying on the ground between (in the best position for being petted, of course). Kardia and Jay were discussing Generica. Jay wanted to know what it was like and how far away it was--he apparently wanted to get there. Well, he's going to get the chance to go, whether he likes it or not, Andrea thought wryly. Jay looked up at Andrea's approach. He was still somewhat unsure about her--what WAS she, a human thief or a unicorn?!--and also didn't know what her intentions were regarding himself and Andrea. "Hey, I don't bite," Andrea said. "Do I, Sher?" Sheryl looked up, snorted, tossed her head, and then reached out to grab a mouthful of the nearby grass. Jay patted Sheryl on the neck, then looked up at Andrea, still not entirely convinced. Kardia got slowly to her feet. "I'm going to go see if breakfast is ready. Excuse me." She walked off toward the cook fire, and Andrea sat down in the spot she had vacated. "It looks like Sheryl's made a new friend," Andrea remarked. Sheryl whinnied vehemently, and Andrea didn't need to call up her unicorn side to understand the implicit meaning in THAT remark. "What exactly are you?" Jay asked. "Are you a unicorn, or are you a human?" "Funny thing about that," Andrea said. "The lines tend to blur somewhat. With Sheryl and me, anyway. Let me tell you why..." She looked over at Jake Pitzar; he was asleep. She considered trying to wake him, but sometimes interfering with spells could have unpredictable effects. She'd just have to tell him the story some other time. "When I was young, I had a younger sister..." Andrea began, and told Jay the tale of Sheryl's transformation from a young girl into a young unicorn; their subsequent flight to Selactica and hence to the Thieves' Guild; Andrea's apprenticeship and graduation; their search for a cure for Sheryl's condition; Kardia's curse-breaking; the old booby-trapped house Andrea had bought for a fraction of its value; the attack by Raykor; the flight to the country; and on up to the present. Jay listened raptly, entirely forgetting his fear of Andrea in finding out why she changed and who Sheryl was. "I didn't know you were human," he said, glancing at Sheryl. Not that it mattered one whit to him. Sheryl snorted, having heard the tale a few times too many (and worse, having LIVED it). "The rest you know," Andrea finished. "You see, you don't have to be afraid of me." She patted Sheryl on the neck. "Yes, I know all about what you two have, and I would never think of breaking it up even if I could." Jay looked relieved; Sheryl didn't change her expression since she'd known that all the time anyway. "BUT, Sheryl is my sister, so if you think for one moment that you two are just going to wander off somewhere together, think again." She smiled, lessening the harshness of her words. "No, not until you're older," Andrea said. "In the meantime, I'm just going to have to train YOU--" she pointed at Jay, "in how to be a thief." Jay's jaw dropped. "You mean you'd take me on--as an apprentice thief?" Andrea nodded. "Who else am I going to teach my skills to? Sheryl?" Sheryl snorted. Just then, there was some sort of a commotion around the sleeping Jake Pitzar. Andrea looked up. It seemed an imp had arrived and was attempting to shake him awake, despite Kardia's protestations. Andrea got up and walked over, followed by Jay and Sheryl (who was a bit reluctant to get up), in time to see Jake open his eyes, sit up, blink the sleep out of his eyes, and take the scroll. The imp promptly disappeared, and Jake opened the missive and read it. "I have to go," Jake said. He got up and left, saying, "I will be back." He turned and walked away, not saying goodbye, not looking back. Andrea recalled an old saying she'd read somewhere: "Never say goodbye, for if you see that person again it becomes irrelevant, and if you don't it doesn't matter." It could have been written about Jake, she thought. "Come to my house any time when you're in Generica, and you'll always be welcome!" Andrea yelled after him. She didn't know whether he heard her or not; he walked around a bend and was soon out of sight. After breakfast, Andrea sat in the shade of a sturdy oak tree, sorting through the spare equipment she kept in her backpack. She knew that SOMEWHERE in there, she had to have equipment suitable for a young apprentice. So far, she'd found a couple of daggers, and was looking for a spare set of lockpicks. Taking a momentary break from her search, Andrea gazed around the clearing. 'Raf and ar'Elya were being strange again, as usual. 'Raf was in a form similar to the satyr-like shape he'd been wearing lately, only it had four legs and a vaguely horse-like lower body. He was apparently drilling Clyde in the use of the bow. Andrea watched as they drew and shot, drew and shot, muscles rippling as they pulled back on the heavy bows. Clyde seemed to be a natural, from the looks of the target. Then her eyes wandered over to another part of the clearing, where the same robed cleric who had seen to their protection the previous night was changing the dressing on Kardia's side. She had removed the old bandage, and now took a new one from the hands of a young robed acolyte who stepped out from behind a tree. She applied this, made sure it fit, and then lowered Kardia's shirt over it. Then the cleric stood up straighter, and became that tall, red-headed Valkyrie again. "How on Nexus do they DO that?" Andrea wondered. Then she realized that maybe she could find out. When she'd used her unicorn-sight, she'd been able to see things more clearly. She suspected that if she tried, she might be able to see more than just what they looked like. Andrea concentrated, bringing up her unicorn abilities. Her eyes shaded to electric blue as she turned her gaze toward the others in the clearings. The first thing she saw was the auras. Kardia's aura was relatively bright, dim in some areas, such as on the side where she was wounded, and partially obscured by her shawl. Clyde's was also fairly bright, though not as bright as Kardia's, and it pulsed brighter in places as he aimed and released his arrows. ar'Elya's aura was about as bright as Kardia's, perhaps a little brighter, and it sparkled. 'Raf's was of a similar intensity, but it seemed...fuzzy? Andrea blinked, but it didn't clear up. Probably just one of those little ideosynchrosies which marked some people as individuals. Then Andrea looked deeper, and her jaw slowly dropped. 'Raf looked like a being of stone--no, that wasn't right. He looked like--like stones, or a rockfall, viewed through a window the shape of his two-legged satyrlion form. There were also aspects of the elements of Air, Water, Fire, and the Void around him, but these were minimal. ar'Elya looked like a huge multi-dimensional snowflake of glass, with that red-headed Valkyrie reflected in its many facets. There seemed to be more than the normal three dimensions there, and looking at her gave Andrea a similar feeling to the sensation she'd had looking at two mirrors which were in near-perfect alignment. Feeling dizzy, Andrea closed her eyes and sank back against the tree. When she opened her eyes, her vision had normalized and she saw everyone as their "normal" shapes again. And she noticed that ar'Elya was coming over toward her. "Are you all right?" ar'Elya asked. "You look a little pale." "I'm all right," Andrea said. "But what--what ARE you?" "Hmmm," ar'Elya placed her hand on Andrea's forehead. "You've just been using magic, haven't you? The red-haired warrior-woman disappeared, and the blonde lady was in her place. Dragonets *POP*ed all around and a few of them flew up to Andrea and snuffled at her. "Magesight, I see. Or, at least the unicorn equivalent." The lady took Andrea's hand and looked deeply into her eyes. As had happened once before, Andrea saw images of herself, but this time they were different. One image was a unicorn with a strong aura of goodness and purity, the other was a furtively moving, dark clad figure being followed by something...something horrible. She couldn't help but shudder. Blinking, she shook her head. The blonde lady was gone. Kneeling next to her was ar'Elya as Andrea first knew her, auburn-haired and grey-eyed. "You were looking at 'Raelf and me with unicorn eyes, weren't you? And you were frightened by what you saw?" Andrea shook her head. "Scared? No, I wasn't scared," she said. "But it was...disturbing. And you still haven't answered my question." "I'll answer anything you like, but I think you'd feel better with some company. Oh, Kardia," ar'Elya raised her voice, "would you please come over here?" Kardia waved her hand in answer and sat down next to them. "Oof, still a little sore. So what's up?" she looked at them both inquiringly. "Oh, just some long-due explanations and a little trust-building," ar'Elya smiled and brushed her hair away from her face. "First of all, Andrea, you know that Sheryl is right over there and won't let anything happen to you, OK?" Andrea nodded, but stiffly. "I'm sorry that you haven't had an explanation about us yet, but I'm afraid that 'Raelf has been doing most of that here. Let's see... 'Raelf and I are members of a race called 'kan. Our home plane is very, very far away from here. It is also a very harsh environment. Neither of you would be able to survive there more than a few moments, and," ar'Elya grinned, "neither would I, in this form. That's why we appeared the way we did when you used your magical sight." "So you _aren't_ human. Are you some sort of monster, then?" Andrea's right hand rested on the hilt of her knife as if for comfort, while her left hand grasped the locket around her neck. She took her eyes off of ar'Elya long enough to glance over at Kardia. How could she sit there so calmly as if this was nothing special? ar'Elya's eyes glinted. "You do know that unicorns are considered monsters, don't you? And in our language ''kan' means 'human'." Feeling suddenly ashamed, Andrea muttered an apology and tried to relax. Get a grip, she scolded herself. They've done you nothing but good so far. Why am I so easily rattled? Kardia took out some wool and a spindle and started to make thread. Andrea found the sight to be soothing somehow. "So tell us, ar'Elya how the two of you came to be here," Kardia asked. "Well, most of us are quite happy to stay at home. But there are some of us cursed with wanderlust, or too curious for our own good," ar'Elya glanced fondly over in 'Raelf's direction. "Those of us who want to travel off-plane go to Traveler's College. That's where 'Raelf and I met, by the way. After many years of very thorough training, we're ready to go." "So you just use magic to look like us, so you won't frighten others?" Andrea asked. "Not exactly. 'Kan are divided into different clans, with different skills. 'Raelf's clan deals with basic elements, and my clan is skilled with archetypes. We also have individual talents. 'Raelf can use time as a tool, and he's also an excellent artificer," she gestured at Kardia's golden foot, "while I am able to be in several different places at once, and I use the archetype most appropriate for each situation." "So that's why that nun appears when you're fixing Kardia's bandage?" "That's right, Andrea." "Okay, I think I understand that. But -how- ," Andrea thumped her knee with her fist for emphasis, "do you look like you do now?" ar'Elya reached down and yanked up a piece of grass. Twirling it idly, she looked intently into Andrea's eyes. "To survive anywhere other than our home plane, we have to eat a sentient of the plane we wish to survive on." "Eat?" Andrea asked, wincing. "What do you mean, eat?" Her voice wavered a little more than she would have liked. Sheryl lifted her head and snorted, but after looking briefly at Andrea, butted her head into Jay's stomach for more ear scritches. Kardia sighed and looked at the thief in disapproval. "Really, Andrea, it's obvious that they ARE surviving here, and have for some time. Would you just stay calm and listen? I, for one, find this all fascinating. Please continue, ar'Elya." ar'Elya was picking the small daisies that dotted the grass. She placed them in her lap and looked at Andrea again. "Actually, that's a healthy fear, Andrea. Make no mistake. If you were to attack me and I had no other way to defeat you, yes, I would consider you food. But those are the -only- conditions by which I would ever eat anyone unwillingly." Andrea shook her head, bewildered. "But why would anyone want to be eaten willingly?" ar'Elya grinned wickedly, "You know that the word 'intercourse' can mean both sex and conversation? Well, to 'kan, it also means con- sumption, to absorb, and to eat. And all can be quite pleasurable experiences. I have it on very good authority, in fact. Seriously, Andrea, I don't eat anyone unless they are at the point of death, and then, only with their full and willing permission. And I'm not finishing what death started, but am asking them to become part of me, quite literally. "There are also several choices that those I consume have. Yes, they really do have choices," ar'Elya said in response to the disbelieving look Andrea gave her. "They can become part of me by personifying an archetype, they can assist and be trained by one of my existing archetypes. They can also become," here ar'Elya's face softened, "one of my children. Or, if they wish, they can pass on to their afterlife. I would never hold anyone against their will." "You... you have to eat to have children?" Andrea sputtered. "Why not? You have to do the same." "But it's not the same at all!" "Only in degree, not in type. Look, I don't do it for perverse thrills, to frighten or to have power over anyone. This is just the way 'kan are," ar'Elya explained, her hands busy with the flowers in her lap. Andrea rubbed the back of her neck and sighed. "I guess I'm beginning to understand. I shouldn't let the fact that you're so different bother me so. It _is_ a lot to take in all at once, though." ar'Elya looked up at her, "I think I know something else that would help. Why don't I introduce you to the rest of me? I deal in four main archetypes. Fighter, mage, rogue and cleric. These aren't arbitrary distinctions, but are very basic ways in which people deal with each other. These are further broken down into both male and female variants. So, without further ado..." ar'Elya was replaced by a huge, muscular red-haired barbarian. He flashed her a grin. "Call me H'ro!" Then the red-haired woman who had been on much of the journey was in his place. "I'm A'ree," she stated. She gave way to... A handsome, pale-blond young man in sorceror's robes who placed his hand on his chest and bowed slightly, "Ilya the Archmage, at your service, ladies." The blonde lady with the dragonets took his place, "In this place, I am named Leah," she said quietly. As she finished, she was gone and a small, slight man appeared. "My name is Errol. We have much to speak of, you and I," he looked at Andrea with liquid eyes. He dissolved into... A swirl of scented smoke, and the faint tinkle of bells filled the air, as a black-haired, exotic-featured woman reclined on her side in front of Andrea and Kardia. "I," she declared haughtily, "am Ale. You may call me Lady Ale." She and the smoke evaporated. An old yet wiry man was sitting in front of them as if he had been there for years. He was dressed as a wandering monk. He smiled at them. "I'm called Father Howard," he said in a voice as kind as his smile. Then he was gone. A sombre-clad, stern-faced priestess was there, the same one Andrea had seen fixing Kardia's wounds. "I am Sister El'n." The acolyte that was always with her walked up and spoke for the first time in Andrea's hearing, "I, too, am Sister El'n." The acolyte shifted her hood back and it was obvious that she was El'n at a younger age. "And we," the acolyte and priestess spoke together, "are all..." "ar'Elya," the brown-haired, grey-eyed woman spoke alone. She cocked her head inquiringly. "Did that help a little?" Andrea nodded. "So all of them almost died and you... absorbed them?" ar'Elya's attention was again on the flowers in her lap. "Oh, they all have their own stories. Ask me again tonight, they're especially good just before bedtime." She lifted her hands from her lap and handed Andrea a wreath woven of wildflowers. "Don't you think your sister would like this? Why don't we join the others, now that you're feeling better?" Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn Path: netcom.com!netcomsv!decwrl!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!swrinde!cs.utexas.edu!asuvax!chnews!ornews.intel.com!ibeam!hutch From: hutch@ibeam.intel.com (Steve Hutchison) Subject: [AU] Water Music Message-ID: Organization: Intel Corp., Hillsboro, Oregon References: Date: Wed, 4 Aug 1993 00:53:45 GMT Lines: 504 [ADMIN] This is a joint bit from Chris Meadows, myself, and a bit from Penny. It comes immediately after Andrea tells Jay about her and Sheryl's past, Jake gets rousted by imps and goes off to see an ugly war, and Andrea notices that 'Raf and ar'Elya are not human (though why she ever thought they were, well)... Anyway it was all ground together before Chris left on break, but we had to get some other stuff done before we could post it. It was shaping up to be perfect travelling weather. There was a cool breeze blowing from the north that promised to help them on their way. The sky overhead was an artist's canopy in deep blue, upon which some painter had spattered cumulus clouds and more carefully delineated cirrus clouds with deft strokes. It was perhaps ten in the morning, by the position of the sun, as they broke camp. "We have to get going," 'Raf said, folding the yurt into an impossibly small package. "The folks back in Generica will be worried, and there's still your house to take care of, after all." Andrea didn't really want to go back just yet, but there were people waiting to help her with the house, and she had to stand by her end of the deal. And there were Jay and Sheryl to consider. So they set off on foot for Generica, which Andrea estimated to be at least several days of hard walking away. 'Raf (in his centaurlion shape) and Clyde led the way, followed by Jay and Sheryl, who were too lost in each other to pay more than a passing attention to the scenery. After them walked Kardia and ar'Elya, leaving Andrea to bring up the rear. Actually, both Kardia and ar'Elya had asked Andrea to walk with them, but she had declined, saying that she needed time alone, time to think. Andrea had received a quadruple shock over the last several days. She had been cursed, been nearly killed, watched Sheryl forge a new emotional bond to Jay, and learned that ar'Elya, 'Raf, and 'Raelf were some sort of multi-dimensional beings for whom eating was closely related to intercourse and reproduction. It was almost too much for a normal person to take. Fortunately, Andrea was more than just a normal person. So Andrea walked about twenty feet behind ar'Elya and Kardia, alone with her thoughts. She was trying to sort out her feelings about these new changes she'd been going through. First, there was this curse thing that had turned into some kind of perverted blessing. Raykor had shown up and zapped her with it, but through help from Enn Piecy, Sheryl, ar'Elya, and 'Raf, it had been subverted into something less of a curse and more of a blessing. But how did she feel about it overall? Well, her body had been changed, without her approval. She felt -- violated. And yet, once the initial shock had passed, Andrea began to see that there were advantages. She could hold a true, two-sided conversation with Sheryl for the first time in over ten years. She NEVER wanted to give that up. And there was the amazing feeling of FREEDOM when she was running at a dead gallop -- it was nothing like she'd ever known before! So maybe, all in all, this change was for the good? She wanted to think so, but it was HARD...it felt so STRANGE to her, to have another shape. It was sometimes like she was two different beings, human and unicorn. Was this how natural shapeshifters felt? Come to think of it, how did 'Raelf and ar'Elya deal with the dozens of personalities they had inside of them? Did they have troubles too, in the beginning? They must have found some way to handle it. She hoped she could. And then there was Jay and Sheryl's unexpected bonding to think about. Well, actually, she'd given it a great deal of thought already. Like her own sudden change, she guessed it was something she was going to have to accept. There was nothing she could do about it, and seeing how happy Sheryl was, she wasn't sure she could have brought herself to act even if there had been a way to change it. Kardia had accused her of being jealous. Andrea thought, tried to analyze her own feelings. WAS she jealous? Of Jay, certainly. He was rapidly occupying the position SHE had owned for the last ten years; a little jealousy was only natural. But upon reflection, Andrea also realized that she was at least a little bit jealous of SHERYL, too, which startled her. Why would she, how COULD she be jealous of Sheryl?! Well, perhaps her new unicorn aspect had something to do with it...and perhaps, also, the fact that she'd been alone for the last ten years of her life, never allowing herself to form any sort of emotional attachment to anyone save for Sheryl. Now Sheryl was finding another, stronger(?) emotional bond, and where did that leave Andrea? Enough of that! Andrea admonished herself harshly. That kind of thinking only led to self-pity, and she couldn't afford it. Sheryl did't deserve it, anyway. To take her mind off of this problem, she turned to the third new thing she had to think about. ar'Elya had explained a great deal about the 'kan -- how they lived by absorbing other beings, body and soul, into some kind of a gestalt consciousness. This made Andrea shudder, just a little. What if they suddenly decided she'd make a tasty snack? Nonsense, Andrea told herself. They wouldn't do that; their aura alone revealed that much. Besides, ar'Elya had said that, in normal circumstances, they would only do it if the person was about to die, and only on that person's consent then. The whole idea was somewhat disconcerting. And yet, some morbid, perverse part of Andrea's inner self wondered what it would be like, how it would feel to be a part of such a being...Probably pretty boring, after a while, Andrea told herself. Especially for one who valued her individuality, as she did. Or...did she? If so, how could she be jealous of Sheryl for her new friend? Andrea sighed. No use thinking too much. Just take things as they come, that was what she ought to do. She shook her head and walked up beside Kardia and ar'Elya. They were talking about various things of little consequence, such as the color of the sky, what species of trees were in this forest, things like that. To her surprise, Andrea found herself drawn into the conversation, the sort of conversation she had been unable to share in very often during her quest for Sheryl's cure. She thoroughly enjoyed it. And then Andrea became conscious of movement in the brush, but when she turned to look, she saw nothing. Until her eyes shaded to blue and she looked with the sight of a unicorn. It was other unicorns, two or three of them on either side of the party. They were the younger ones, barely mature -- young mares and stallions, intensely curious about these strangers in their woods. They were eyeing Sheryl intently, yet none of them got any closer, and they generally kept back where they were partially shielded by the undergrowth and trees of the forest. Sheryl didn't seem to notice them, or was ignoring them if she did. Kardia apparently noticed the rustles, too. "I keep seeing something out of the corner of my eye -- but every time I turn to look, there's nothing there." "It's just -- " Andrea looked again and lowered her voice to a whisper. "It's just the unicorns." "What?" Kardia asked. ar'Elya looked slightly amused. "Yes, we have visitors," she said. "They're curious about Sheryl -- they've never seen one of 'the Breed' with a human before." Kardia stopped looking. "'The Breed?'" "The local unicorns' name for themselves," ar'Elya explained. "There ARE local unicorns?" Kardia asked in a hushed whisper. "Oh, yes," Andrea whispered back. "Some of them came to visit us early this morning. That's why Jake was such a slugabed, the sleep spell they used was still on him." Kardia nodded, understanding. "They must have developed some sort of magical camouflage to prevent them from being seen unless they want to be." Andrea nodded. "I wonder if I could do that if I tried? I'll have to experiment with it. Certainly would be a useful skill." "So there ARE local unicorns," Kardia mused. Later that day, the forest ended as the trail they followed came out along the river. The unicorns stopped at the forest's edge; even with their magic, they would probably be seen in the open. "I wonder if this river flows into the Cerupthon?" Andrea tried to remember what little she knew about the geography of this area, which wasn't much. "I believe she said she does," ar'Elya said. "Then maybe we could use it to reach Generica that much faster." "Oh?" Kardia asked. "Yes...back when I was in Selactica, Fujiko and I went canoeing all the time, with Sheryl." She grinned, remembering. "They had some great rapids up there..." "You took Sheryl in a canoe?" Kardia asked, surprised. "Oh, yes," Andrea said. "She's very good about lying in the bottom of the canoe and not moving. She only tipped it over...hmm...twice. We're bound to come to a settlement before long, and maybe we can rent or buy a couple of canoes...I think I have enough gold..." "What about Clyde?" ar'Elya asked. "I think he's a little big for a canoe, don't you?" "Hmm, yeah, I'd say you're right. We'd probably need a raft for him. Maybe they'll have something like that, too." "All we can do is keep walking along the river and see what shows up," ar'Elya said, smiling mysteriously. [Meanwhile, back in the branches... ] "C'mon, Clyde, you gotta meet them sometime. Besides.." "But 'Raf, I ain't no virgin, dey'll skewer me." "That's just a folk tale. They'll only skewer you if you're rude to them or if you attack them, or if you're really really evil. I don't think any of those ... hello. They're here." 'Raf grinned happily, looking at a tree where Clyde knew there wasn't anything. "I don' see nuthin," Clyde replied, shying back and forth from his front hooves to his rear hooves. <> 'Raf was talking in that weird magical speech, and in reply there was a rustle of noises that Clyde could almost understand. After a moment, a gleaming-white shape moved from behind the tree, into the small clearing. Blue eyes blazed a challenge. <> The deadly horn bobbed down and up, once, in affirmation. <> The unicorn shook his head and nickered, and Clyde was surprised to find that he understood most of it ... "Who put phefr on yvggyr one, who put phefr on big?" << Some nasty name of Raykor, used to hang with this Raoh dude. >> The unicorn's blazing blue eyes widened and he reared. He neighed something a bit too fast for Clyde to catch, then disappeared. "What was dat last t'ing he said?" Clyde asked 'Raf, as they went back out to the river's edge. "They know the name of the dude cursed Sheryl -- they're gonna tell the rest of their Herd, and so on. Stallion was so shook up he almost forgot to say goodbye." Clyde grinned to himself as they came out into the open again. About a half-mile upriver, they could see the rest of the group, hiking along the bank. "Race ya," he challenged, and was gone. 'Raf dug in his paws and sped after him. They overshot the group, and continued on, as Clyde discovered that 'Raf was more maneuverable even though Clyde was faster. He also discovered that the ground was full of gopher and muskrat holes but he managed not to break a leg in the fall. "Good goin', dude," 'Raf said, not even breathing hard. Clyde panted resentfully, massaging the sore knee joint on his front left leg. "Ya ... huf ... cheater ... huf ... howcome ya ... huf ... ain't even ... huf ... winded? ... " "Exercise, I eat right, I cheat like nobody's business," 'Raf said in reply as he examined the leg. "Mild strain. I'm gonna fix it up, but not all the way, so it'll be able to heal stronger. You take more care next time, watch for terrain. If you'd broken that leg we'd have to shoot you, dude." He watched carefully and started laughing when Clyde realized what he had said. After a few minutes, and a quick patch-job, they looked around and realized that they were easily three miles ahead of the others. "So what we gonna do now, 'Raf? I wanna keep moving a little, or dis leg's gonna go all stiff." "Maybe ... Hm. Right. Wanna help me find some river transport?" "Sure. What we lookin' for?" "A raft for you and me, and two canoes. There oughta be a place..." Clyde was the first one to spot the small outpost, a four-sided shack about the size of a small barn, abandoned and half-fallen-in. They approached carefully, 'Raf doing some kind of spell beforehand, juggling a bunch of marbles that he pulled out of midair. They glowed and darkened and he seemed satisfied, because he led them forward into the outpost. "Nobody lives here for at least four years," 'Raf said, and pushed the protesting door open, then jumped back as the side of the building decided to collapse. Inside, a disgruntled family of skunks threatened them with malevolent and startled glares, but a few quiet words from 'Raf made them calmer. Clyde carefully pushed aside a tree that had started to grow up inside the outpost and revealed three frames of bent wood, covered with dusty, tattered cloth. "Oh, man," 'Raf chortled, "This'll do for the others. Help me haul them out here into the open." They pulled the three dead canoes out into the grass. The bottoms had rotted where they had been left in contact with the ground, but it didn't seem to bother 'Raf much. The gold centaurlion pulled a needle out of a bandolier and started sewing characters into the torn canvas, singing to himself in a rhythmic language made up of gutterals and clicks; the letters sparked and sputtered in the sunlight like cheap fireworks. With each tiny detonation some section of cloth re-attached itself, a rip mended, until finally there were two complete canoes, covered with thick canvas gleaming with a red lacquer. He added similar markings to the frames, on each rib and spline. "Good thing Kardia didn't bring any of that cloth," 'Raf said to Clyde, and the young centaur stal grinned at the thought of the canoes dissolving into shreds and tatters in the water when Kardia sat in them. "So what are we gonna ride in? I'm too big for one of dese," Clyde said, lifting up a canoe that was slightly smaller around than his own barrel horse-body. "We make a raft," the centaurlion replied, returning to the fallen outpost building. "This place isn't strong enough to last through next winter, and with ... aha." He pointed. There were four fairly large poles, about two hands across, that were planted for supports. "See, we just convince the skunks to move out, then cut down these four poles, lash 'em together into a square, and frame that wood from the side panels into a deck, a little structural integrity field, a few well-chosen wards, and it'll work fine. Trust me," 'Raf grinned. Clyde looked at the mama skunk as she feasted on the worms uncovered by their moving the canoes, and wasn't at all certain this would work. About an hour later, they were joined at the riverbank by the rest of their party. Clyde was grinning inanely, and 'Raf looked disgruntled. "What's going on?" Andrea asked. "Whew, what's that stink?" "'Raf got skunked." Clyde horse-laughed. "Hey, I got the raft built," 'Raf protested. "Just talk to them nice," Clyde snickered. "Mama Skunk got real friendly _after_ she squirted him good." "She apologized," 'Raf said, "And I got rid of the stink on my fur, and besides, we built her a shelter for her and the kittens." "Squirt," Clyde snickered again. "PHeeeeeewwwa!" "Let's just get going," 'Raf said, "Before I decide to try out whether Centaur really tastes like Horse." Two canoes were floating alongside the bank of the river, oars shipped. There was also a big raft, which flickered with a pale green light. ar'Elya raised an eyebrow at 'Raf. "Structural integrity fields?" "We weigh a lot." Sheryl hopped into the first canoe and nickered happily. She lay down in the middle of it and gazed at Jay. "Go on, climb in," Andrea said. "You take the front, and I'll take the back and steer. Ever been in a canoe before?" "Some," Jay answered. "I grew up in a river town, remember?" "Good. Okay, well, just paddle when I tell you and don't rock the boat and we'll be okay." Jay nodded. "I can do that." "Good." Andrea pushed the canoe off into the river, and stepped into it. As they pushed out into the stream, she noticed Kardia and ar'Elya doing the same, and then 'Raf and Clyde on the raft. "Let's try and stay together," 'Raf called out. "We don't want to get separated by the currents." "Right!" Andrea yelled back. She lifted one of the paddles, dipped it into the water, and pushed. <> They glided silently downriver, at times under a canopy of trees, other times under the open sky. The only sound for a long time was the dip of the paddles in the water. Andrea took the lead, alternating right and left strokes, sometimes slowing the canoe down so the raft could catch up, and keeping an eye out for rapids (Sheryl was disappointed that they weren't going to go through any). They stopped for lunch in a clearing by the river. After pulling their boats up out of the water, 'Raf brought out a picnic basket (now where did he get THAT?!), spread a tablecloth out on the ground, and opened the basket. "From ar'Elya, she has the bottomless pouch," he said in reply to Andrea's puzzled stare. "Silverware first," he continued, bringing out forks, knives, and spoons, and passing them out. "Lex sent a note -- he and Little Rat made all the food today." Andrea caught herself eyeing 'Raf and ar'Elya nervously, and scolded herself. Just because they're different doesn't mean you should be afraid of them! she told herself. In fact, didn't you mention something like that to ar'Elya the other day? "And now, our main dish..." 'Raf pulled a covered dish out of the picnic basket with a sweeping flourish. Andrea found herself wondering what it would be, and also how the dish had fit into the picnic basket, which seemed to be too small to contain it. 'Raf muttered something in a foreign language over the dish, and the lid dissolved and steam started rising from it. "For the nonvegetarians in the group, this is a dish from a country called Mexico. It's in another world. Has some great surfing." He brought out some dishes and distributed them, then got out a serving spoon. "In the native language, it's called Arroz con Pollo, which means chicken with rice." He spooned it out onto the plates. It was a yellow rice dish, with pieces of chicken in it. Andrea tasted it. "This is very good!" "I'm glad you like it." 'Raf served everyone else, then brought out a tossed salad, corn, iced tea, and a fruit salad for dessert. Sheryl partook of everything except for the iced tea and the arroz con pollo, and everyone ate their fill. After lunch, when 'Raf had put everything away, Andrea was approached by 'Raf and ar'Elya where she was sitting on the riverbank. "Hey, Andrea," 'Raf said. "We need to talk to you a moment." "Oh? What about?" Andrea asked. "We think it would be a good idea if you were to get more used to using your unicorn shape," ar'Elya said. "What do you have in mind?" Andrea asked. "The bank is clear for...oh, the next ten miles or so," ar'Elya said. "We were thinking that it might be a good idea if you were to walk along the bank beside us for that distance." "By then it will be time to make camp," 'Raf said. "And then we can have a little fun." "Fun?" Andrea asked, a bit uncertain as to what she thought they meant. "Yeah. Ever heard of a frisbee?" Andrea shook her head. 'Raf mimed a sideways tossing motion, like shuriken or knives. "You throw it, like this, and -- never mind. I'll just show you later. Anyway, what do you think?" "But what about Sheryl and Jay? I think someone should ride in the canoe with them -- " "Don't worry about that," ar'Elya said. "Jay knows how to guide the canoe, and I believe 'Raf put some stability spells into the canoe." "Yeah, besides, we'll be right there, nothing bad's gonna have a chance to happen. No more rapids for a ... 'scuse," 'Raf stuck his head into the water, then pulled it out, "Nothing bad before middle of next day, there's a falls just before she gets into the Ceru. Go ahead, ya gotta practice bein' a corn sometime." "All right...I guess I can do that." Andrea stood back, concentrated, closed her eyes...and when she opened them, she stood on four feet, and had a horn. Jay gasped. "Hi, sister!" Sheryl nickered to Andrea. "Hello again, Sheryl!" Andrea replied. Kardia walked up, an apple in hand. "Hey, Andrea, you look nice." Andrea snorted. Of COURSE she looked nice -- she was ONLY a unicorn, the most beautiful creature ever known to man. "Want an apple?" Kardia offered. "I want one!" Sheryl nickered. 'Raf pulled a Rome Beauty from slightly thick air and tossed it to Jay. "For Sheryl," he said. Andrea took the apple from Kardia's hand. It tasted great -- better than she'd known an apple to taste in her human form, for sure. Maybe her sense of taste was different? Certainly her sense of smell was -- she could now smell the individual scents of the people standing next to her, and could even smell the nearby water. Kardia patted Andrea on the neck, then walked over to the canoe. "Time to go!" she called cheerfully. The others got to their canoes, shoved off, and Andrea started running along the shore beside them. Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn Path: netcom.com!netcomsv!decwrl!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!swrinde!cs.utexas.edu!asuvax!chnews!ornews.intel.com!percy!agora!penny From: penny@agora.rain.com (Penny Hutchison) Subject: [AU] Tiger Beat Message-ID: Summary: Cats! Can't live with 'em, can't eat 'em. Organization: Johnny Depp Fan Club Date: Fri, 6 Aug 1993 14:53:29 GMT Lines: 163 [ADMIN written by Penny Hutchison and Liralen Li, a long time ago in a galaxy far far away, with cool additions by Stephen Hutchison. - li] --- Kardia helped ar'Elya setup the yurt. When they finished, they moved over to the fire. Watching the flames she asked softly, "How do you know when you've fallen in love?" ar'Elya laughed, "Hmmm... that sounds like a question better answered by you than I, if you really want to know the answer." Kardia blinked and then laughed as well. "Alistair used to say that you can tell a hermetic mage because every time you ask them a question, they'll answer with a question. He said that's better than the crazy shamanic types, 'cause they'll answer with a story you can't understand..." She watched the flames as they danced, and glanced over towards the boy and the unicorn filly. They were gently and comfortably tangled, asleep. The question tumbled its way around Kardia's head and she could only shake her head, "I don't know..." Kardia glanced at ar'Elya, but the red headed woman only smiled and put another piece of firewood on the fire. So Kardia sat and watched the flames, thinking hard. "Hmmm... I guess I've never really fallen in love... only found myself in it. I mean Alistair knew me from the time when I was six, all my good points, bad points, temper tantrums, everything; and... it felt like I knew him for as long as I'd been alive." Kardia chuckled softly, "I guess I did... I guess the question I should be asking is, how can Kadrys know, so thoroughly, that he's in love with me?" Her grin went slightly crooked, "Or what is there in me that he could love so completely in so short a time? Or how I'd be able to return something so completely and freely given? He's so... beautiful..." She blushed, suddenly aware of the longing in her voice. "Yes, he is, isn't he?" said ar'Elya quite matter-of-factly. "That hair and those eyes..." Kardia sighed, "Yeah... those eyes..." She watched the flames curling, fluttering over the black and red of the coals. She whispered, "Black as coal, red as blood." she shivered, and then laughed. "Some pretty amazing grace there..." "Mmm... and those hands..." "Yeah... so delicate and precise..." "... gentle and strong..." "... and the softness of his skin is like silk. None of that hairy... oops." Kardia giggled at the sound of 'Raf and Clyde galloping through after a pale glow-in-the-dark Frisbee that flew eerily bright before them. ar'Elya grinned, "Have you seen Kadrys' musculature?" Kardia nodded eyes wide, "Yeah... it's amazing... all whipcord under satin..." "Oooo... isn't he *dreamy*?" ar'Elya's wistful tone set them both to giggling. Kardia coo'ed, "Yeah... eyes like pools to fall into..." "All that sheer intensity..." "Couldn't you just *die*..." "Already done that, not quite what it's cracked up to be, but yeah..." When Kardia finally stopped laughing she sighed and then nodded, "O.K. I'm definitely attracted to him; but I'm really uncertain if I can give him what he wants or what he needs or if he even really knows who and what I am." "Hmmm... that last can be fixed pretty quick, if you really want to. Just give him some of your blood." ar'Elya said as she warmed her hands by the fire. "Oh." Kardia blushed, "I already have..." "Then how can he not know you?" "Hmmm...." Kardia thought about that and frowned slightly. "You mean that it's not just a form of surface telepathy, but that he actually can get to everything that I am?" At ar'Elya's nod, Kardia sighed and sat back to think that over. Finally, slowly, she said, "I guess the one thing that bothers me the most is... it's not his age in that he's old or decrepit or whatever... it's his age in that I feel a little bit like the gnat meeting the unicorn in _The Last Unicorn_... where there's something whose entire life is measured in a day trying to establish something of a relationship with something that measures its life in centuries..." "Millenia, actually..." Kardia blinked at ar'Elya's steady gaze and then snorted softly, "Worse yet..." She leaned forward and put her chin in her hands to watch the flickering of the fire. "I mean how much can he care about the things that I care about?" Ar'Elya picked up a stick and pointed at the fire. "You're making the mistake of confusing two different qualities of life. Look. We are not just sparks compared to his fire, burning out as he continues on. He burns with a bright light now, but in time he will bank his fires only to flare brightly again later." Her grin glinted in the light as she turned to Kardia. A flash of blue light from the field lit their faces -- a shout of outrage came from 'Raf and Clyde started laughing. "No fair using the horn!" "But those of us who are alive, our fires may not burn as long but they create as much light over the time they burn. Or, to get away from the fire analogy, look at the quality of people he's surrounded by, the people who are attracted to him. Look at the ones he chooses to acknowledge and care about. Would a man indifferent to people and their cares inspire this?" Kardia slowly nodded and then smiled. ar'Elya pushed embers back into the fire with her stick, then looked at the stick speculatively. "Marshmallows. Chocolate. Graham crackers." She reached into the pouch at her hip and pulled out an improbably colorful plastic bag, a box and a handful of long brown-and-silver wrapped bars. "Conversation this serious cries out for s'mores." She pulled a knife from her boot and sharpened the stick, then impaled a marshmallow over the flames. Kardia laughed softly and looked around for a likely stick as well. "May I borrow that?" She whittled away at the point and then stuck two marshmallows on the end of her stick. She returned the knife and, in true camping tradition turned the first two marshmallows into flaming torches. Kardia waved them in the air a bit and finally blew them out and let the fire have them as her first offering. The next two roasted a bit more slowly. As they turned their marshmallows over the fire, ar'Elya said, "He obviously sees a great deal in you to care about. If I were the kind to give advice, I'd say kick back and see where it goes." She grinned rakishly. "It's not like he has to hurry and make a decision." Kardia pulled her marshmallows out to see how done they were and put them back in. "True." she said, softly. Then she chuckled, "Sounds like good advice..." There was another shout from the field. A winded, sweaty Andrea (in human form) came into the camp, giving up on the Frisbee game to the catcalls of 'Raf and Clyde. She wiped her face on a camp towel, and sat down at the fire. She watched with one eyebrow raised as Kardia took the two toasted marshmellows and gently squashed them into a gooey white and crunchy gold mass between two crackers with a square of brown stuff inbetween. "Hmm. Smells good, what is it?" "They're called s'mores," Kardia said. "What's that?" "The reason they made me stop playing," she grinned, holding up a faintly green disk, with a large hole torn through the middle.