“How did I get tricked into this?” I wonder aloud. “No, seriously. How did I ever think this was a good idea?”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNycjm3DMzX
Klef shushes me. “You’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuHKqbsWWnl
The Crusader’s base is in sight, and I’m having more than a few second thoughts about this whole experience. “Have you ever seen me try to speak in public?”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqBzvijq0TZ
“Yes. But this isn’t in public,” Klef reasons.871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPJjr3mmQBi
“I’m with Klef on this one, Reese, have some self confidence!” Geo adds.871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPDbMJgHsEo
As we’re walking toward the Crusader’s base, Flo walks out with a werewolf who I’m assuming is her mate. They have flowers in their short cropped hair but despite the typically “feminine” accessory has a somewhat-masculine build. Both of them walk out to greet us. “Oh, so nice to see you three! Geo, Iri, and...sorry, was it Klept?”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbvc0ke1I2y
“Klef, nice to meet you,” Klef says, shaking Flo’s hand. “I understand you’re the one who helped me when I had food poisoning 5 years ago. Thank you for that.”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPVTOn1ecNZ
Flo smiles, bashful. “I really wasn’t that good at finding anything to help you, but you’re welcome regardless.”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY5qhICDLhS
The other werewolf clears their throat. “Am I invisible, or something?”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZMDrhkH6nm
“Oh! Sorry, Rythe! Everyone, this is Rythe, my mate,” Flo says with a blush.871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVm2PAXuBhM
Rythe shakes Klef and Geo’s hands, and then comes to me, examining my eyes. “And you must be the Oracle I’m hearing so much about!”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNuDBgepUjm
I nod. “I’m Rides. Nice to meet you.”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjsD3HEKeN7
Rythe bows. “It’s an honor, my lady.”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8uy5EcNt3Y
I blush and Flo whacks Rythe upside the head. “Stop, you, you’re embarrassing her!”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO49rgkesMk
Rythe grins. “But that’s what you love about me! And clearly she doesn’t see herself as some sort of royalty!”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNSQ2Fz2CEG
Flo mutters in a low voice, “She’s the Alpha’s daughter.”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWxQtO416c8
Rythe straightens. “You mean the Alpha of a rival pack or The Alpha?”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaRj1hjx6qI
“Try the second one,” Flo mutters, embarrassed on his behalf.871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiop82DhgNS
“Oh.” Rythe salutes me. “Terribly sorry, ma’am.”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhbGZuuL1GU
“That’s not necessary, Rythe,” I laugh. “I’m perfectly fine with being called Rides, or even Iri, if my dad insists on calling me that all the time.”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiKzocTLzKC
Rythe nods stiffly, setting the flower crown close to the brink of desruction, and leads us inside.871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiumIlBCgaP
“Guy or girl?” Klef whispers to Geo.871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLebJf92KAI
“I...don’t know? Guy, I think?”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1oWlxFPMnO
“No, I’d say girl,” Klef muses.871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr8OAM3zXzz
“What are you guys talking about?” I mutter.871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAaK7PulBoq
“Rythe. Guy or girl, do you think?”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ0QgS3b5Gf
“Um…” I have to think about my answer. “Maybe they’re neither…”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1lCMAhRrbA
“Neither? Is that possible?” Klef asks.871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ50BZN4HR1
“It would make sense,” Geo reasons.871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡptCKGYHnVG
“I’m going to stick to using first names around those two,” I say, holding to the werewolf couple holding hands. “Just to stay in the clear.”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ95dAPNTM3U
“Right, because the natural neutral pronouns are it/its, but that can be seen as degrading nowadays,” Geo says.871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCpQ3i534Bn
“It is grammatically correct, though,” Klef points out.871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhm80tWDbIJ
“I guess you have a point, but would you be okay with being called an ‘it’?” I counter.871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwdKi4dNNHr
“What are you guys talking about?” Flo asks.871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhBaRDxOVx8
“Nothing much,” Geo says. “Just things back at our branch, you know?”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkYW0CCOy9F
Rythe coughs and mutters, “They/them,” and I grin at Klef and Geo.871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjCBHcCcDVQ
Flo ushers us into a giant room filled with desks where people are talking on phones, documenting things with pictures and surrounding a map, adjusting plastic pieces and discussing strategy. There are many species I recognize and some I don’t. This speech is not going to be easy.871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ24BgP9zyZp
Rythe clears their throat. “Ladies, gentlemen, and everyone else, allow me to present Rides, the Oracle who will be informing us on her dreams!”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzj10B58lNv
The room goes silent and every eye is on me as I take a deep breath. “Well...first of all, thanks for paying attention, I know a large room full of people who wouldn’t be willing to do that. Second of all,” I look around the room. “Why are you guys paying attention?! I have no clue what I’m doing, and I’m willing to bet every other person in this room has a better idea about how to handle this problem than I do. I am young, inexperienced, and I have recurring nightmares, so I don’t get a lot of sleep to think clearly.” Everyone looks at one another, shifting and murmuring. “My point being,” I yell over the murmuring, and everything goes dead silent again, “That no matter what you think of me, I’m like anyone else. I have my strengths and my weaknesses, just as everyone else in this room has to deal with. I’m not some super-impressive goddess who can do anything I want. I’m weak at almost everything here. I’m just Rides, the girl who dunked her boyfriend in ice cold water to try and help speed up his molting. But you need information, and fortunately, that’s one of my strengths.871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7BrnulmdRG
“All of my dreams are pretty much the same. I’m being led to some machine of mass destruction by someone--I don’t know who. I’m on some island, or place surrounded by water, at least. There’s mermaids, fairies, zombies, ghosts, you name a species, it’s probably there, except there are never any humans. When I’m strapped to it something happens and it takes my Sight. It revs up and Klef is asking whoever the leader is why they’re doing this. To summarize, they say it’s to ‘destroy all humans’.”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbptGBXCYn3
Everyone shifts around, suddenly on edge. “And?!” a wizard with pitch black hair shouts.871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV6gKNx5lFS
“And that’s it. I can say it’s more likely that we’re on an island than a continent, and there aren’t as many islands in this world to check out…” I say.871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoBZrIJz44Z
“That we know of!” a gorgon yells. “We could be on a wild goose chase, lass!”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡngBTx9YrZn
Klef bristles next to me and I hold him back with a hand. “You called me here,” I explain, “You wanted to know what I knew. There you have it.”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT9nwsXEjKb
The wizard who yelled out comes up to me. “Yeah, but we were expecting…”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRXLvnuNyDt
“More?” I supply. “Yeah, a lot of people do. Be glad I have that much, though. This is coming from 5 years of dreams.”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYfrnUxpmzu
“Okay. I’m Ama. A necromancer,” she introduces. “I’m going to be guarding you three for your stay.”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzyQBxymxDf
“Make that the two of them,” Geo corrects. “I’m no one.”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8BGDB633sp
I start to protest but Ama cuts me off. “He has a good point, Oracle. You and your partner are the highest priority here. The less people to protect, the safer you’ll be.”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJA7i25SPYv
The room is still silent, everyone anticipating my reply. “Excuse me,” I gasp, making a beeline for the room’s exit.871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3BPkb2jUxb
I wander the halls, looking for a restroom. I know I’m about to be sick. I heave in the middle of the hallway and shudder as nothing comes up but a little bile. I was too nervous to eat lunch earlier, but now I’m glad I insisted that I wasn’t hungry. After a few more dry heaves, I slide down the colorless wall to the right of me to the ground. Now that I’ve stopped puking, all I really want to do is cry. I’m really not important. They just need my gift, and anyone could get that. To say others’ lives, their family and friends, my family and friends, are nothing next to me...it has to be utterly ridiculous. There’s no way. I no more important than anyone else. No one should die on my behalf.871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFeBcG1tXNU
Footsteps come up to my back. Two pairs. “Ride?” Klef asks. “You okay?”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ24pLTVZiBY
I shake my head and close my eyes, resting my side against the wall. “Sick,” I mutter.871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ93IlqaHTxY
“I’m sorry if I upset you, but you need to get it into your head that you’re special,” Ama states.871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFO9mPbp1ZJ
“You don’t seem to be the type to be a necromancer,” I say. “Since you seem to care about people and their health so much.”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxHMuyJl1OP
Ama laughs. “You haven’t seen me mad.” I turn to get a good look at her. She does have a black air about her, but it’s small and watery at the moment. She has black ringlets that go below her shoulders and clear, milky skin. She also has one green and one blue eye. She notices me looking at her eyes and grins. “Yeah, I have the Sight too. It makes my magic strong enough to animate corpses. Wanna see?”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu9gPARZRu2
“S-sure.” I stumble on the word, because what is the correct response to someone volunteering to reanimate a corpse for you?871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFZzq6DNs5r
Ama mutters something and a tiny skeleton of a rabbit forms out of bones in a pocket Ama has on her clothes. “I like bunnies,” Ama explains. “Once I made an entire fluffle of skeleton bunnies follow me.”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ9XvkO4Upj
“Definitely not someone I’d call a necromancer,” Klef mutters.871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4B38Cnn83a
I still don’t turn enough to see him properly. Ama shifts so she can face me fully. “Pet the bun,” she instructs.871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ90aQCNL3TQ
My hand reaches for the bunny with hesitation and it lifts its head up to meet my fingers, relishing every single stroke. I smile, and Ama smiles at me. The bunny falls into a pile of bones and Ama shakily returns the bones to her pockets. “Always drains me,” she admits.871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDC5hj6TAbe
I put a hand on her shoulder. “But you’re great at it.”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV1alfLVWaF
Ama grins, a blush creeping over her from ear to ear as she stands up. “Come on. Everyone is waiting for you, to make sure you’re all right.”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ47fHbbhz9f
I stand up, my muscles screaming at me every inch. My legs shake and my head is spinning as I finally look at Klef. His face is etched in concern and he takes the few slow steps to me as if he’s walking across a minefield. He wraps an arm around my shoulder and says, “You look like you’re about to keel over. Let me help.”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU0tBfbUAAz
“I’m fine,” I mutter as I lean against his shoulder.871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtRIjFs7BOB
“Of course you are, you’re great,” he snarks as he leads me back the way we came. “That’s why you puked and collapsed.”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSYM2Bcm3DS
I scoff. “Shut up, bird brain.”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlI0FiwhDye
“Make me, pointy ears!” Klef challenged.871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlAbZhXCMiT
Ama looked between us. “You two are so dating.”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC9Y7rhuQWQ
“No we’re not!” we deny at the same time.871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpRkDwUJrZe
Ama laughs. “So dating.”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5S2KLqWjcj
“Well don’t say anything. We want to keep it on the DL, if it’s possible,” Klef requested.871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgz77RW5dHL
“Seriously? I’m willing to bet half the people here have started a pool on your relationship status!”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYv1xUJQEjv
I groan. “Great. Just what I need. First I’m more important than others, and now I’m going to be seen as a desperate lovestruck teenager.”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡth8ozpYhrN
Klef raises an eyebrow at me. “Is that how you see yourself?”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSj8ot2Lc4T
I shrug. “Well, people mix up you and I a lot.”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWfGKUAPeQP
Klef lightly punches me. “There’s the Ride I know and love.”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYsnVb0Ft0r
Ama sighs. “I ship it,” she murmurs.871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4h9e5l976o
“There’s that word again!” I exclaim. “Why would people ‘ship’ us?”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ92jElZloLb
“It’s cute!” Ama defends.871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeqy2zps4Jj
“It’s weird!”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOaodWpHK3D
“It’s true!”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJexNWkYhrj
“It’s really really funny,” Klef interjects.871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhc7AZ0WGut
I elbow him. “It is not,” I sigh.871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFMI4sdDkgM
Klef grins.871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfetGC3ayWX
“It’s not funny!” I exclaim.871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnGhUa6920H
“Whatever you say, Ride. Whatever you say,” Klef laughs.871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8esx2Yng5C
Rythe and Flo come into view outside the conference room. “You okay?” Rythe asks.871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDKdsjUtJTL
I nod. Klef lets go of me and I nearly topple over. “Do you mind?” I growl.871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡejVykrEFjF
He grins. “We’ll get you something to sit on until you feel better,” he assures.871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuCSOnsAe9c
I mimic him. He punches me, nearly sending me careening into a wall. Rythe picks me up. “I can take you to a wheelchair, don’t worry,” they say.871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpjn1T7Y9iQ
I’m carried to a wheelchair next to a table with a globe on it. Little red flags litter the globe. “What are those flags for?” I ask.871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLrAJAXzQzP
“Those are possible places your dreams could have taken place. Now, the list has decreased significantly with your information,” Rythe pulled out land-based flags. “Because you said you were on a peninsula or an island. Now, in addition to the Islands of the Mermaids, there are a bunch of unmapped islands all around the globe. And there’s on in the middle of a lake in the Untamed Lands that’s suspicious.”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJJA2mxFBVC
I nod. “Are we sending people to check out the most probable places?”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHI9h2llLYR
“Yeah, and we’re sending you and Klef to some of the less likely ones, to deal with the messages somewhere safe.”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaqo7xKfP8s
“Okay, I guess…I’d rather be out looking, though.”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoLQphps1m4
“It’s for the best you don’t,” a pale human with freckles says. “Hibiscus A, they/them. Has a mild obsession with dragons.”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLBY73OCQVk
I smile. “Rides. My dad wants me to go by Iri. I’m old fashioned, I don’t like using my full name.”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWCJml4C3NJ
Hibiscus A nodded. “I got you. Completely got you. Nice to make your acquaintance, Rides.”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnXhTJZPv54
“Likewise.”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkkxN6CKaEi
Klef walks in, followed by my dad. “Still hanging around this scum, Iri?”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDYLKCEivp0
I laugh. “Hi, dad.”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpVTSeHwoET
Klef looks offended. “What am I?”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8VcPaKIXMk
“Chopped liver,” I respond.871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd7QIHeZWXs
Dad laughs. “Nice one!”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCgQICv0Nek
Klef holds a hand to his heart. “You wound me, Ride. You wound me.”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZxY14nZljE
“Good. I was trying to.”871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeRZrvs2AQY
Hibiscus A coughed. “Ship it,” they mutter.871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Q29EOkGQb
I throw my hands up. “I’m done with this!” I sigh.871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQN1bN1sXl6
Everyone laughs. “You think I’m joking?” I ask, standing up shakily. “I’ll see you all tomorrow,” I exclaim, waving.871Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFXzdBgLkXR
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