|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sat Aug 13, 2022 6:03 pm
Backdated to early July, the day after the Starfest ORP and follow-up. “This way,” Tyr said as he led Eld out of the carriage house. “She lives in the stables.”
He thought it a bit ridiculous that the Gallos had stables but no horses to live in them. Their property was beautiful and expansive, sequestered away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Horses would have only improved upon it.
The day was hot, as most days on Earth seemed to be. Tyr hadn’t experienced pleasant weather since his arrival. Nights were tolerable, but with the sun out, he began to wilt. Even the scant clothing he wore offered little relief.
He almost missed Ymir.
Almost.
“Supposedly these phones allow us to return home,” Tyr explained. “I haven’t tried it yet, so I can’t guarantee it works.”“It does,” Paris said, offering nothing else to announce her presence.
She watched Tyr freeze in place, watched him turn slowly, pale gaze troubled when it settled on her. Paris gave him little notice, her attention fastened on the man who joined him. This one was unfamiliar. Taller than Tyr, broader, older, but clearly someone Tyr knew.
Tyr didn’t make a habit of bringing people back here, after all. In fact, he avoided almost everyone.
“I don’t believe we’ve met,” Paris said, plastering a smile on her face like she did when stuck at a stuffy social function.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 13, 2022 6:04 pm
Eld was intrigued by everything. By the home that Tyr had been given to live in, by the amenities that came with it, by the comforts that he hadn’t even dreamed of. Earth was clearly highly advanced in many ways. Or perhaps their benefactors were members of Earth’s nobility. The property looked more like a manor house than any of the buildings in the city.
Where Tyr froze, Eld’s smile brightened, reaching his serpentine slit eyes. He was looking forward to meeting the people who had been kind to his friend. Despite their history, Eld did consider Tyr his friend. Perhaps the only one left who knew him from their original time.
“No, we have not,” he smiled in return, but his was infinitely more genuine than that of the blond woman greeting him. “My name is Eld Slayn. Tyr generously offered a place for me to stay the night. I am grateful to your hospitality as his benefactor,” he said with a small, polite bow of appreciation.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 13, 2022 6:07 pm
“Eld Slayn,” Paris observed. She let the name roll off her tongue, as if trying to determine where she might have heard it before — if she’d heard it at all.The way she looked at them… it was the way she’d looked at Tyr the first night they’d met. Like she could see through them, beyond them, to times and places long gone. Her smile faltered as she seemed to think, her head tilted just slightly as she studied Eld.
“He is the Senshi from Surtur,” Tyr explained.
That seemed to light something in Paris’s eyes.
Recognition.
“He’s come here the same way I did. As if… something called him.”“Ah,” Paris said, like everything suddenly made sense. “The Conqueror.”
Nothing about any of it made sense, of course. Not about these Senshi that came from offworld, that should have died hundreds of years ago. But this made the third in about half a year — at least that she knew of. How many more were there? Why had they begun to come here now? How did they survive?Tyr shifted awkwardly and cleared his throat. Naturally, Eld’s reputation preceded him.
“This is Ganymede,” Tyr mumbled.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 13, 2022 6:08 pm
Eld was still smiling, even as he let out a little huff of exasperation and placed his hands on his hips. He’d heard that term used before, although the meaning was often intended to be negative.
“I never allied Surtur with worlds that didn’t want an alliance,” he gently defended himself. Yes, he worked swiftly to remove the government that was previously in place, especially if the people didn’t want it there, but he didn’t force those worlds to join him.
“We were stronger together. While it lasted. I still need to find a way to check up on all of those worlds but… From what Tyr has told me, many worlds did not survive the spread of Chaos. I’m surprised to hear that mighty Ganymede fell. Regardless, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Perhaps in this lifetime you would be willing to form an alliance with me? Your world wasn’t very welcoming before.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 13, 2022 6:10 pm
“No, it wouldn’t have been,” Paris agreed. Her smile grew a bit tight — friendly, welcoming, but not without tension. “I’m afraid whether an alliance would be beneficial now remains to be seen. Regardless, you’re welcome to stay with Tyr if he’s willing to vouch for you.”“I am,” Tyr said.
He wouldn’t have been willing hundreds of years ago, back when his understanding of his own situation had been limited to whatever the Council thought it was best for him to believe. The spread of Chaos had a way of opening his eyes to the truth.
Now, Tyr didn’t necessarily need Eld’s company, but it was preferable to being alone. There was so much about their circumstances he didn’t understand. He would rather face it with someone who didn’t require an explanation, someone he knew more than unfamiliar faces that carried familiar names.
“We were going to see Lucasta, so Eld can acquire a phone,” Tyr explained when Paris continued to watch them with thinly veiled suspicion.
He couldn’t blame her for being cautious around Eld no more than he could stop himself from finding her presence discomforting.“Don’t let me stop you,” Paris said with an encouraging motion toward the stables.
She stayed where she was, watchful, turning away only when she could no longer hear them converse.Tyr pulled Eld along by the arm. When they were out of earshot, he whispered, “Does it give you some sort of thrill to antagonize a Prince?”
With a frustrated huff at his own error, Tyr corrected himself, “Princess. She’s not the weak-willed puppet she used to be. To my understanding, there aren’t many royals here on Earth. She’s one of them. It would benefit us both to remain in her good graces.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 13, 2022 6:11 pm
“I’m not antagonizing,” Eld countered with wide eyes as he looked from Tyr and then over his shoulder at the retreating form of Paris. “Was I antagonizing? I was only speaking the truth. Ganymede was a mighty world. That they fell is concerning. It means there must have been little hope for countless other worlds.”
He hadn’t meant to antagonize a Princess, although he was almost certain the legends were that Ganymede was always male. Seemed more coincidental than actual truth, but that was neither here nor there.
Instead, he kept an eye on his surroundings, making sure he knew where he was in relation to the house and carriage house at all times.
“Thank you for vouching for me,” he said after a moment, with a cautious glance at Tyr. “I know you don’t have to. Especially after everything.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 13, 2022 6:13 pm
“You’re the only one I know here,” Tyr explained.
There wasn’t any more to it than that, he told himself. Perhaps he even believed it. They were strangers on a strange world, known only to each other — and an unfamiliar woman who somehow remembered the past. They should help one another, rely on one another, even if their history hadn’t always been amicable (on Tyr’s part, if nothing else).
“I can vouch for you easier than I can vouch for anyone else,” he continued, approaching the stables, and the cat who lived there.
At least he generally knew what Eld was after.Lucasta lay within the entrance of the stables, soaking in the summer sun. Naturally, she heard the approach of two Senshi as their unpowered selves, had even heard snippets of their conversation with Paris, but she made no move to welcome them until they’d arrived.
She stretched and yawned, then rose to sit, amber eyes scrolling over the newcomer.
She knew Tyr already, having provided him with a phone of his own soon after his arrival. He kept to himself for most of the day, never caused any trouble, but would occasionally come out of the carriage house when the temperatures dropped at night. The other man was an unknown. If Lucasta overheard correctly, Paris was suspicious of him, though not enough to send him away, which meant she felt comfortable enough to have him around the children, but not comfortable enough to determine whether he would be a benefit to their cause.
Thus, Lucasta deemed him unthreatening. Someone to keep an eye on, surely, but no reason to break out her claws yet.
“You’re quite a long way from home,” she greeted him. He was tall — and powerful, perhaps, with some rest and several good meals. “Surtur orbits Saturn, if I’m not mistaken. Every other moon I know of has been reborn here, and yet the two of you somehow survived.”
Lucasta could not pretend to be anything other than intrigued.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 13, 2022 6:15 pm
Eld pursed his lips together thoughtfully, but then nodded to accept that he was the only one who Tyr knew from before. He wasn’t there to harass him, or to try and convince him that they needed to get to know each other more -- that would happen in time. He just wanted to keep Tyr’s trust, especially after their rocky start. No thanks to Tyr’s world, apparently.
He smiled when he saw the Mauvian, and he almost immediately relaxed in her presence. He knew that he should be more suspicious of others’ intentions, but no Mauvian he’d known had caused harm to a Senshi. They were a noble race, and took their jobs seriously. Sometimes too seriously. To meet one after so long meant that there really was a chance for Senshi to be awakened, even after so long.
“Maybe there is something special about Saturn’s moons,” he suggested, but voice was light and good-spirited. After all, if two Senshi from Saturn’s moons survived after this long, there was no telling what great things they could accomplish.
“It’s an honor to meet a Mauvian like yourself. My people held great respect for yours. Without Mauvians, our Worlds wouldn’t even have a chance to survive.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 13, 2022 6:17 pm
“Hmmm,” Lucasta said, both as an observation and to show that she remained unimpressed.
She was not the sort to gush, or fawn, or flatter. Lucasta was stern and dutiful. She took her responsibilities seriously. After all, if not for senshi, this world would have much less of a defense against Chaos, and if not for Mauvians, there would be no awakened senshi.
Even so, she did not immediately dislike this Surtur. Eld, if she’d heard correctly. He could even have a point. Perhaps there was something about Saturn’s moons. There was no way for any of them to know unless they went there.
“You’ve come for a phone,” she observed, cutting to the chase.
There was no point in wasting their time with small talk.“Do you have time to help him acquire one?” Tyr asked.
He was more cautious, as always — not unfriendly, per se, though the last time he’d had any experiences with a Mauvian had been on Ymir, when one was summoned to help unlock what remained of his potential. (A lot of good that did, when he no longer had that power at his disposal.) He liked Mauvians, in general, especially in their feline forms. He simply couldn’t read Lucasta well enough to determine if she liked him in return.“Of course,” Lucasta said.
She summoned a phone from subspace — dark green with a metallic sheen. Her paws moved over it, pressing buttons to power up the device so she could calibrate a few settings, far more dexterous than any regular feline on Earth. Her expression grew even more serious as she worked, eyes narrowing with concentration.
“You should be able to return home with this,” she informed them. “I’ve not had the opportunity to help one of you offworld Senshi before, but the phone should still function as it is always intended to function. You can come and go, assuming some outside influence doesn’t prevent your return to Earth.
“Have you tested yours?” she asked Tyr.“Not yet,” Tyr said somewhat guiltily.“Hmmm,” Lucasta said again, though she couldn’t say she was surprised. “Earth-born Senshi are limited to how often they may visit their homeworlds based on how much power they have at their disposal. You may run into the same limitations.
“You’ll note other applications,” she continued. “There’s a messaging feature to help you keep in contact with other senshi, Mauvians, and knights. You can access a database where you can begin to learn of our enemies. I suggest you study it carefully. This one here will allow you to travel to the Moon when it is at its fullest. Some applications must be downloaded. I might as well do that for you. This application will allow you to send out a distress signal. This one serves as a flashlight, or a torch, or a lantern, whatever you might have taken with you into the dark on your world. This last one will allow you to upload information on yourself and browse information on other senshi and knights you might wish to connect with.”
When she was done, she slid the phone over the grass, closer to Eld. “If you have any questions, or require assistance with translating, you need only ask.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 13, 2022 6:19 pm
Eld’s smile remained. He didn’t mind that Lucasta was cautious or that she didn’t like small talk. She was a busy Mauvian, and he wanted to let her get back to her sunbathing. And yes, he thought that was very important for a Mauvian, just like it was important for his dragons.
He paid close attention as Lucasta explained the different applications and things that a single item could be used for. He was very intrigued, because while Surtur had its own technological advances, they weren’t necessarily mechanical in nature. They relied more on their World’s natural magic than machinery.
But a lot of good that did, in the end.
Eld took the phone in his hands and nodded his head respectfully.
“Thank you, I shall cherish this. And thank you as well, Tyr. This is a kindness I will not soon forget.”
He had a way to get back home. And he was one step closer to ridding his world of the chaos on it, and uniting the Worlds that had been left broken and abandoned. It was only a matter of time.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
