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.779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyfOGs6Y9Uv
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.” 779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUcaKxfDIaq
“Eh? What makes you say that?” The eyes in question flickered to her as he turned to face her in his saddle.779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGOqG5crm4c
“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.779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqWpdBZLJg3
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.”779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2pNovAXYHt
“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. 779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8eP265hMpH
“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.”779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrsj4n7k7G6
"Everything?!" she gasped. "That’s so… uh…" She seemed stuck on the word to use, then just gave up and grinned.779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZaIiqu3uh8
He nodded. “I know.” Redirecting the conversation, he asked, “What’s your world like?”779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1evOSCmgOf
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!”779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMzwKiMda0w
”So does their element depend on where they live, or is it random?”779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaO382uPmy7
“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!” 779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIbNEXQl8uX
”So who’s Fia?” 779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa5vv8YiHxe
“”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!”779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSyixDakzXC
”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.779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡISylMwIN1Z
“No, we know the destination to go to! Neoma’s sister, Ee, was messing with the portals and sent us through…”779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8SN9sEaL39
He grinned a bit. “Bet a certain bitch wasn’t so happy about that.”779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsJL1vkrl7h
”Heard that!” Neoma growled.779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeaJl8H2E8n
“Good.”779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0SXOH67uLi
She giggled. “She’s going to killlllll her!”779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR2mU2YfqtA
”Hah, sounds fun.”779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDGlDlpGh1J
”I like Ee, though…” Luna pouted a bit. “Her lap is reeeally warm…”779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHtQIouCqqJ
He was quiet for a few moments, then abruptly changed the subject. “What about you? You’re a familiar, right?”779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbiKciYYyzB
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…”779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA9MEVlP9JA
”What’s your village like?”779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG9Ts5DetLC
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!”779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNwtnJh0Ryh
”How?”779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡffCH0a7LPJ
”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.”779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8il7YTIDNI
”Sounds pretty simple.”779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQiVXYkzZuJ
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.”779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvj6qwyfinX
Huh, that was surprising. “You guys would just let them go?”779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1pSNv1m5SP
”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.”779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj8TTsWEgzx
Truest statement he’d heard all day. He nodded. “Doesn’t sound like that bad of a way to live.”779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVCOj8Cu3a8
Neoma shifted uncomfortably, glancing over at the two. Luna only nodded happily. “It was!”779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCh8hB45FBU
”Was?” The shifter looked over at her.779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1ibWzarljW
She bit her lip and nodded. “Was. What’s your home like?!”779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7wRN9IG6sp
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.779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyLRqeGVG2n
“There’s a pretty much to that, though,” she prodded, smiling.779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQieuwHKbIh
”Not all shifters do. I do.” He gave her a flat look, much preferring for her to drop it.779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzRjKwrsRAY
”Oh.” She pouted. “But Earth’s boring!”779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbjy7QeHODo
”In your opinion.”779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwGFJkteTQQ
”In a lot of people’s opinions!”779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6TUfVgboxs
”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.)779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLHAeWTyYao
She pouted again, glaring. “Well, your opinion’s stupid.”779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7qYdjERuER
He raised an eyebrow at her. “I can say the same for yours.”779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRCucBsTcm7
”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!”779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡflFmSoGsHX
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.”779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbrJkPVVo7G
She had a blank face, then stuck her tongue out and crossed her arms in defeat. He grinned, and she started to giggle.779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpwwqNJf8kV
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* * * * *779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5LWxTLB1cw
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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.779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ13EEbzaUuL
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.779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmafUN0qPHb
He looked over at the elemental. “So. What’re we even doing here?”779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyx3JE8reJL
“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.779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ012yODNt9u
”We spending any time in this town?” he sighed.779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyI1L0SmxPK
“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. 779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9PAKDj1mR5
“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.779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6nwZwOs5Ye
Neoma rolled her eyes, pointing to a store “Stay here okay?”779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmtqfott5YL
“Why?”779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlZwM00rR6V
“I’m not talking to you, asshat. I’m talking to Luna.”779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvW7tihwy1k
“Yeah, I know that,” he grumbled, annoyed. “Why’re you leaving her there though?”779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK8G5xb13ut
“Because we’re going into the store to get food.”779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCxd0RBPVuk
He huffed. “Took her last time. Whatever, let’s just hurry.”779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8JxpkM3wvC
“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.779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFi8rkKcUny
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.” 779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKHVpKCrLjL
He gave her an irritated look. “Can’t you pick yourself?”779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgD9p0fFqXQ
“‘Course, but you have to eat sometime.”779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHVEei2Br7T
“I don’t CARE what I eat,” he complained. “Unlike some people, I’m not picky.”779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7nbP4jLQW7
She scoffed as she began to pick up a few fruits. “Riiiight.”779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPqrrITCA5E
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.779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6RKf8V57HV
Outside, Luna was completely immersed in her thoughts until Neoma spoke. “You okay there?”779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Wh5KbsTHk
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.779Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0myUEUTJy2
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