After two long days and nights of travelling, arguing, and running, they had finally hit the next town, a small settlement surrounded by forest. Cináed, partway through the trip, had been completely exhausted, and as a result had let his magic fade from his appearance, reverting back to Aella’s form. The only difference (other than the enormous attitude jump) to tell it was really him was the shiny metallic color replacing Aella’s blue-grey irises.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuJEnmZ5BI8
He’d noticed Luna watching him every so often, and she finally said, “Your eyes are strange. Almost like a human’s, only you know, silver… well, I guess it makes sense.” 676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdX2A3Kw7XO
“Eh? What makes you say that?” The eyes in question flickered to her as he turned to face her in his saddle.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTBOgB0V5yG
“Weeeeeell, you’re a shapeshifter, so you have to take the thing’s form, right? … Do shifters even have their own form? I mean, why humans…?” She trailed off, looking a bit dazed.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Y9VJzWO9q
He was kind of at a loss at her question, but answered anyway. “Uh, yeah. Shifters do have their own forms, in a way… it’s a bitch to explain. They just learn how to look like humans, because most spend the majority of their lives on Earth with humans, y’know?” He shrugged. “And the color, that’s easy. It matches our magic. There’s a lot concentrated there - we rely on sight a lot. Bright light changes whatever eye color we chose to that, ‘cause it’s reflecting off the magic instead. And it usually glows.”676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3mNVxEvzWJ
“Ohhhh…” Luna paused, crossing her arms. “I guess it’s kinda like our world. Everyone is like a human, but Fia says that’s because humans accidentally cross the portals and, you know, breeding happens! So unlike this world, and I guess your world, almost everyone has magic, but they don’t have a choice for human form. Oh! But if you don’t have magic, technically some species can transfer parts of their magic! Like witches… and …and some elementals?” She rambled on about the subject, then finally stopped to breathe. 676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJRoKfWWEl3
“Huh.” Seeing as he had no experience with their world, he was pretty curious. “Don’t get me wrong, though. The shifter’s dimension is completely made of magic. Everything. Even shifters can’t put up with it for long.”676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqD3UdudfXX
"Everything?!" she gasped. "That’s so… uh…" She seemed stuck on the word to use, then just gave up and grinned.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlBd8mGdzA6
He nodded. “I know.” Redirecting the conversation, he asked, “What’s your world like?”676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRl2DxPRD43
She looked up, eyes glazed in thought. “Well, I guess it depends on where you go! My island was more…” She narrowed her eyes, getting stuck on the word again, then shrugged and gave up. Then she smiled again. “But there was a ton of trees and vines and birds and prey! Neoma’s land is pretty neat too, like, it’s in the middle of all the climates, and it’s huge! Not as huge as Fia’s… but it’s in the center of a ton of climates! So their land is full of elements and elementals!”676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4aiSR9AY99
”So does their element depend on where they live, or is it random?”676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx9q8Q6DncL
“Mmhmm!! On the island, anyway!” She paused again. “On Fia’s land its more witches, and fairies, and other things like that… well, fairies are kinda elementals too… Oh!” She continued. “But there’s bigger kinds of creatures, and a few smaller ones!” 676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUuTp0opVyx
”So who’s Fia?” 676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡege4hYe0sc
“”She’s our friend and the keeper of portals on our island! She sets up portals and where and when they go places - she’s a witch!”676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbjxCP3DeL8
”Huh. You guys need to go see her to get back to your world, then?” he asked, wondering if this witch was at the destination Neoma had been so vague about.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ78lOTdqAml
“No, we know the destination to go to! Neoma’s sister, Ee, was messing with the portals and sent us through…”676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡob840kthjM
He grinned a bit. “Bet a certain bitch wasn’t so happy about that.”676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFDo5zwq0tZ
”Heard that!” Neoma growled.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbXxii7AaUi
“Good.”676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMMSxKJbRzm
She giggled. “She’s going to killlllll her!”676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcjtCDnENZr
”Hah, sounds fun.”676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9uiecpZ7jU
”I like Ee, though…” Luna pouted a bit. “Her lap is reeeally warm…”676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiEnjiVV0ca
He was quiet for a few moments, then abruptly changed the subject. “What about you? You’re a familiar, right?”676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz7Ro5E8rhn
She thought for a second, then nodded excitedly. “Yeah! Well, technically, not everyone in my village is a familiar, but almost anything can be a familiar, so…”676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCWU84HJNes
”What’s your village like?”676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡahFoGfZ4Ad
Luna kicked her legs off the horse, accidentally hitting it once, and patted its shoulder with a mumbled apology. “Well… it was different than this! I mean, there was conflict between the other clan and us, and a little conflict inside it, but they weren’t really accepting of outsiders… no, that’s a lie. As long as you could hunt, you were good…” She gave a short hum, conflicted in her thoughts. “We had a different ranking system!”676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAczd2Q8Oig
”How?”676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtzCjCabkyM
”Well, there was the head family, but I guess that’s everywhere… There really wasn’t anything under that, though. The normal population, then the prisoners.”676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5AfUHRP43O
”Sounds pretty simple.”676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB4Qwg1TSpP
She nodded. “And the prisoners could become part of our village if they worked it off, or they could choose to go home after they worked enough.”676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPkWTCY2Xmb
Huh, that was surprising. “You guys would just let them go?”676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxfYoxb6IuI
”Well, the village didn’t like each other, but we weren’t total jackasses - the prisoner could have a family! The amount of work they had to do depended on the crime against the other tribe. If it was something like murder or stealing another tribe’s children, then they probably would be dead when they got back home. Bad leaders were kicked out, too. If they did evil things, then they were evil people, and obviously couldn’t lead correctly. And a corrupted leader makes a corrupted clan.”676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyYvF8GYjV5
Truest statement he’d heard all day. He nodded. “Doesn’t sound like that bad of a way to live.”676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1lEQqH0LHx
Neoma shifted uncomfortably, glancing over at the two. Luna only nodded happily. “It was!”676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy3xg7XiDHh
”Was?” The shifter looked over at her.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLDvert5TEw
She bit her lip and nodded. “Was. What’s your home like?!”676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2dSU3wLjLW
He blinked at the switched topic, then hesitated. “Eh… like I said earlier, shapeshifters pretty much just live here on Earth, so..” He half-shrugged.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp6T7bRC1ui
“There’s a pretty much to that, though,” she prodded, smiling.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYjeXkFFoFm
”Not all shifters do. I do.” He gave her a flat look, much preferring for her to drop it.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCxHcm1b97s
”Oh.” She pouted. “But Earth’s boring!”676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡylAIZpefIV
”In your opinion.”676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaGUJQBJGfu
”In a lot of people’s opinions!”676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9ltoWLGETR
”Not in mine.” Better than quite a few places he’d seen. (Including the ones by accidental force, but some of those were cool, too.)676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZIVSbOHnp4
She pouted again, glaring. “Well, your opinion’s stupid.”676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU1N2vc6lFd
He raised an eyebrow at her. “I can say the same for yours.”676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRZuhvh2ZbT
”Oh really? If you shapeshifted in front of a lot of people in this world, they’d burn you at the stake! In our world, it’s totally normal and accepted!”676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZmxP4yRSzV
He started to smirk. “Shapeshifters don’t usually have that problem, though,” he pointed out. “First, we’re practically impossible to corner, and if we are, we can still escape. Second, you can’t burn one of us to death - most wouldn’t burn, period. Hell, I’ve shifted in front of people just for fun. It’s hilarious, they freak out. Sometimes, they pass out.”676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzORzatiMwa
She had a blank face, then stuck her tongue out and crossed her arms in defeat. He grinned, and she started to giggle.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAFp9ud2hpM
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* * * * *676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwc8dNGkl9n
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Just before they’d entered the town, Cináed had shifted back out of Aella’s appearance. Now he was back to his reddish-haired form, although tired-looking.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIz1E8sTBnL
Neoma had changed her shadow horse to look more normal, which had caused a lot of bucking and protest and had taken a few minutes and calming gestures.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV0WtHegAHs
He looked over at the elemental. “So. What’re we even doing here?”676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAkyOIq6tLh
“Well, we’re heading up to a small town. It’s where one of our portals are located.” She looked down, glaring at the ground.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrwDv5Hzn6o
”We spending any time in this town?” he sighed.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTusmLkhL7T
“Besides getting more food, no.” She looked down at Luna, who was walking around the horse’s feet, nimble enough to not get stepped on. 676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIrHKtwb9NS
“Good.” Luna paused her playing to look behind them, then darted under the horse again. He glanced at her distractedly, then went back to looking around.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡig7j6tGRIr
Neoma rolled her eyes, pointing to a store “Stay here okay?”676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ38tUKFn6EW
“Why?”676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwoHV6IR33j
“I’m not talking to you, asshat. I’m talking to Luna.”676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ87kKlqirxp
“Yeah, I know that,” he grumbled, annoyed. “Why’re you leaving her there though?”676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvXcbyr3wa6
“Because we’re going into the store to get food.”676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIK4XniHCLi
He huffed. “Took her last time. Whatever, let’s just hurry.”676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR7ZRtjcqXj
“Yeah, yeah.” She jumped off the horse and tied it to the pole, leaving Luna to curl up next to it. He did the same, muttering something under his breath.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxbsOGE0aO5
Neoma walked quietly into the store, looking at all the foods they had set out. Cináed followed a few steps behind, looking a lot less interested and mostly just glaring at either the floor or Neoma’s head. She didn’t seem to notice, as she was looking over the food. “Pick whatever the fuck looks good.” 676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAN2XegoQGQ
He gave her an irritated look. “Can’t you pick yourself?”676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjAGqDP6eJV
“‘Course, but you have to eat sometime.”676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfNkW6nnEG2
“I don’t CARE what I eat,” he complained. “Unlike some people, I’m not picky.”676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyxctkNwyvX
She scoffed as she began to pick up a few fruits. “Riiiight.”676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS8g843KhKH
A short while later, the two had managed to get a decent amount of supply and approached the counter. After showing it all to the shopkeeper, Neoma pushed some shadow money toward him - it was something she had been working on for awhile, and it was finally to her standards. The man didn’t see any difference, at least.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo93nt5OJR2
Outside, Luna was completely immersed in her thoughts until Neoma spoke. “You okay there?”676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2QOOBPiBlE
The familiar jolted up, purring in response, as Cináed quickly untied his horse. Neoma followed suit, and they rode out of the town with Luna trotting ahead.676Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN7WxSdPKQx
Penana
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