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.973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6tCKk54EC6
  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.” 973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡesHP0oHZsr
  “Eh? What makes you say that?” The eyes in question flickered to her as he turned to face her in his saddle.973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2hBKvKXPmV
  “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.973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPp8hYn5ibc
  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.”973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQzf3K4v5aV
  “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. 973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT9Bp7iwbtn
  “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.”973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9haSjQrqMf
"Everything?!" she gasped. "That’s so… uh…" She seemed stuck on the word to use, then just gave up and grinned.973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoibwSuFHPR
   He nodded. “I know.” Redirecting the conversation, he asked, “What’s your world like?”973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRqC2bHVFiE
      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!”973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA8D0DxfUQj
   ”So does their element depend on where they live, or is it random?”973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGjpIrkNNA5
      “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!” 973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjw8PjS5PaZ
   ”So who’s Fia?” 973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyAopuvWDOt
      “”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!”973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7hj9nHT94M
   ”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.973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO4FMpC1WVH
      “No, we know the destination to go to! Neoma’s sister, Ee, was messing with the portals and sent us through…”973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF3TqRcJOn8
   He grinned a bit. “Bet a certain bitch wasn’t so happy about that.”973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7vP5XWmr2Q
   ”Heard that!” Neoma growled.973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9TXkcWCjzZ
  “Good.”973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdqPP3M3IlA
  She giggled. “She’s going to killlllll her!”973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjrq1HmPqzP
   ”Hah, sounds fun.”973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjLGpTUpkNt
   ”I like Ee, though…”  Luna pouted a bit. “Her lap is reeeally warm…”973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ID6f0a9lq
   He was quiet for a few moments, then abruptly changed the subject. “What about you? You’re a familiar, right?”973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEtK6QSmmns
   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…”973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ94qBngHh9z
   ”What’s your village like?”973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoNYwhvPbkF
   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!”973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSK2eQClTBv
   ”How?”973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7q8o2DfoBC
   ”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.”973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh672Tldx8m
   ”Sounds pretty simple.”973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡodhL8D44kV
   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.”973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTl2NY78E5D
   Huh, that was surprising. “You guys would just let them go?”973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhOyfiJl2W2
   ”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.”973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3432KtiCQR
   Truest statement he’d heard all day. He nodded. “Doesn’t sound like that bad of a way to live.”973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfwJO90ellb
   Neoma shifted uncomfortably, glancing over at the two. Luna only nodded happily. “It was!”973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBAKL01vKkv
   ”Was?” The shifter looked over at her.973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYyjziyOtXk
   She bit her lip and nodded. “Was. What’s your home like?!”973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdOAL2xM1f4
   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.973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvYMwddxxH8
      “There’s a pretty much to that, though,” she prodded, smiling.973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6XUwt8qDKh
   ”Not all shifters do. I do.” He gave her a flat look, much preferring for her to drop it.973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPET3LepcpQ
   ”Oh.” She pouted. “But Earth’s boring!”973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdyY8R0M454
   ”In your opinion.”973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhvAWg8zJaG
   ”In a lot of people’s opinions!”973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnEtrTV9Klw
   ”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.)973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLz26ZF8s5H
   She pouted again, glaring. “Well, your opinion’s stupid.”973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGxEKbbzFV4
   He raised an eyebrow at her. “I can say the same for yours.”973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtPvXw4xzXi
   ”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!”973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡANEhtkuFNh
   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.”973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHmrNVM53VA
   She had a blank face, then stuck her tongue out and crossed her arms in defeat. He grinned, and she started to giggle.973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdQWSCcjycG
973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSEwMWIKchn
*   *   *   *   *973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3wSlt40Cmd
973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxLENefiOvd
  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.973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmxdMrcpUw4
  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.973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7dX3iGGF3X
  He looked over at the elemental. “So. What’re we even doing here?”973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVTe5xmoWkJ
  “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.973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhgL179aqn3
     ”We spending any time in this town?” he sighed.973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc3CnoRKIhi
  “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. 973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNxb1XtnXZX
  “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.973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhzKY3hkdqU
  Neoma rolled her eyes, pointing to a store “Stay here okay?”973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoxha2GgSvq
  “Why?”973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ44xz6OiWIg
  “I’m not talking to you, asshat. I’m talking to Luna.”973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtMQoAmgScV
  “Yeah, I know that,” he grumbled, annoyed. “Why’re you leaving her there though?”973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0x6t3dzSJ2
  “Because we’re going into the store to get food.”973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnGldxwWXFD
  He huffed. “Took her last time. Whatever, let’s just hurry.”973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdnw3HbzjFx
  “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.973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKJqabhak88
  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.” 973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaLNXi4phRC
  He gave her an irritated look. “Can’t you pick yourself?”973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMgNtbvX54Z
  “‘Course, but you have to eat sometime.”973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0UdCZD2wYf
  “I don’t CARE what I eat,” he complained. “Unlike some people, I’m not picky.”973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMajmCXTtgs
  She scoffed as she began to pick up a few fruits. “Riiiight.”973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDPPPZsVJ0p
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.973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3g9sstok28
Outside, Luna was completely immersed in her thoughts until Neoma spoke. “You okay there?”973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLSvvEylvAU
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.973Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ1Ppa9KgE6
1234 copyright protection969ＰＥＮＡＮＡbQjS3MGj0V 尼

216.73.217.22