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.712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr9ykJoZ27f
  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.” 712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmiNrmHDTsl
  “Eh? What makes you say that?” The eyes in question flickered to her as he turned to face her in his saddle.712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgBp4h0SgKS
  “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.712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ58daCAZLM7
  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.”712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuVDW2fOANp
  “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. 712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbmDt79exUM
  “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.”712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfDpYvaCuxj
"Everything?!" she gasped. "That’s so… uh…" She seemed stuck on the word to use, then just gave up and grinned.712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNTnbzkIhzq
   He nodded. “I know.” Redirecting the conversation, he asked, “What’s your world like?”712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7PhhY6CY9m
      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!”712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ30pPCv6ufY
   ”So does their element depend on where they live, or is it random?”712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaSxvl9RZQF
      “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!” 712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvlokYsIW0h
   ”So who’s Fia?” 712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ30osnvVtg2
      “”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!”712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3maq3Ta39i
   ”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.712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdAHptdoWop
      “No, we know the destination to go to! Neoma’s sister, Ee, was messing with the portals and sent us through…”712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7E4TfwwuNH
   He grinned a bit. “Bet a certain bitch wasn’t so happy about that.”712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtbbi6m95Pe
   ”Heard that!” Neoma growled.712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdTmoH94tTa
  “Good.”712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoLPWXcczhJ
  She giggled. “She’s going to killlllll her!”712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPqGjrjHHlI
   ”Hah, sounds fun.”712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN5Z68fzxJQ
   ”I like Ee, though…”  Luna pouted a bit. “Her lap is reeeally warm…”712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj2Io2SGsFf
   He was quiet for a few moments, then abruptly changed the subject. “What about you? You’re a familiar, right?”712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDCpJojKGsf
   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…”712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh1Vx9b4vhC
   ”What’s your village like?”712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlXxsVMXGjz
   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!”712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvjQOCPY584
   ”How?”712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCHIzX8pCcL
   ”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.”712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0LaCyMb7D0
   ”Sounds pretty simple.”712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhkz9zpsul6
   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.”712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbdsk7ocQyl
   Huh, that was surprising. “You guys would just let them go?”712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2gaJ0Y0ey0
   ”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.”712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpcfETFSLxO
   Truest statement he’d heard all day. He nodded. “Doesn’t sound like that bad of a way to live.”712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdDKJ13yOv2
   Neoma shifted uncomfortably, glancing over at the two. Luna only nodded happily. “It was!”712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7lg0zXgRAb
   ”Was?” The shifter looked over at her.712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi1v7UEVCm4
   She bit her lip and nodded. “Was. What’s your home like?!”712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGKLiOqHwKk
   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.712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3h42SEwQol
      “There’s a pretty much to that, though,” she prodded, smiling.712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFM2mWCqYZy
   ”Not all shifters do. I do.” He gave her a flat look, much preferring for her to drop it.712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7epVHcu7qH
   ”Oh.” She pouted. “But Earth’s boring!”712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9xtWluvOjx
   ”In your opinion.”712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7DLR1AoFCF
   ”In a lot of people’s opinions!”712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqMx8V6OOpg
   ”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.)712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGhyf3LZfif
   She pouted again, glaring. “Well, your opinion’s stupid.”712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEITDxY8PWn
   He raised an eyebrow at her. “I can say the same for yours.”712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZuq1T7YZXK
   ”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!”712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUZLRutgnMG
   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.”712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhAsbRH0Fpd
   She had a blank face, then stuck her tongue out and crossed her arms in defeat. He grinned, and she started to giggle.712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwufNPicW7b
712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnKQ5kpFFI9
*   *   *   *   *712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP1bvisnDD5
712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1zVEAPaAqN
  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.712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡurbURxeJ2b
  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.712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYT6PWRezGg
  He looked over at the elemental. “So. What’re we even doing here?”712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEa6ab6ujio
  “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.712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsM7DtSipjI
     ”We spending any time in this town?” he sighed.712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsgTWzVCqch
  “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. 712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxbq6Y2wTUR
  “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.712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhPNcph4rZz
  Neoma rolled her eyes, pointing to a store “Stay here okay?”712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYekMhq1CxO
  “Why?”712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO9PxzvnZnI
  “I’m not talking to you, asshat. I’m talking to Luna.”712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTu23NC4F0W
  “Yeah, I know that,” he grumbled, annoyed. “Why’re you leaving her there though?”712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡodrlMRczeU
  “Because we’re going into the store to get food.”712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLqOhmOBY6l
  He huffed. “Took her last time. Whatever, let’s just hurry.”712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmKEWD68Hs2
  “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.712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx1m5gVQLlQ
  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.” 712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡABJmzsYXMI
  He gave her an irritated look. “Can’t you pick yourself?”712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6tQeRev9F5
  “‘Course, but you have to eat sometime.”712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoIzbQp8410
  “I don’t CARE what I eat,” he complained. “Unlike some people, I’m not picky.”712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgbVlA1yrcK
  She scoffed as she began to pick up a few fruits. “Riiiight.”712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2gdoknJ9iY
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.712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7p7zTXnHoL
Outside, Luna was completely immersed in her thoughts until Neoma spoke. “You okay there?”712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJGcmISl80I
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.712Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwZC4cU1uCE
8964 copyright protection708ＰＥＮＡＮＡFJ12UqNOCm 維尼

18.188.212.154