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.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJymWpHGJni
  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.” 1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ30jmmK7OmH
  “Eh? What makes you say that?” The eyes in question flickered to her as he turned to face her in his saddle.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU0FlXEZ6c9
  “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.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeSL1LYxjLV
  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.”1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhwfPahiICH
  “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. 1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuX3I2nvpGr
  “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.”1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ80CdieFykx
"Everything?!" she gasped. "That’s so… uh…" She seemed stuck on the word to use, then just gave up and grinned.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyQTLMFS512
   He nodded. “I know.” Redirecting the conversation, he asked, “What’s your world like?”1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ80QVojVpL7
      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!”1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRgloS3lP0O
   ”So does their element depend on where they live, or is it random?”1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0xkgCGbrcW
      “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!” 1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPA9Eet2h8R
   ”So who’s Fia?” 1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhOzoTRgvfk
      “”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!”1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLk8J6tvzcr
   ”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.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLTGeTtRTIi
      “No, we know the destination to go to! Neoma’s sister, Ee, was messing with the portals and sent us through…”1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtj0KQDNFL8
   He grinned a bit. “Bet a certain bitch wasn’t so happy about that.”1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ9zVATZ38a
   ”Heard that!” Neoma growled.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs1bbnsE5zh
  “Good.”1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUOhLf64xpg
  She giggled. “She’s going to killlllll her!”1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTsHDUX2dtP
   ”Hah, sounds fun.”1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ6hY079YLm
   ”I like Ee, though…”  Luna pouted a bit. “Her lap is reeeally warm…”1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUWKcXHUQza
   He was quiet for a few moments, then abruptly changed the subject. “What about you? You’re a familiar, right?”1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJSCi4HZYr2
   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…”1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSK1ASMbV9y
   ”What’s your village like?”1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡswFLbrEDBd
   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!”1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM167rRz4NU
   ”How?”1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO46wiuWVPD
   ”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.”1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS9UCK0HtfU
   ”Sounds pretty simple.”1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9IKSSVOg4E
   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.”1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMAdw4MmTL7
   Huh, that was surprising. “You guys would just let them go?”1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkxx95f05QP
   ”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.”1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrC4rOaQU2q
   Truest statement he’d heard all day. He nodded. “Doesn’t sound like that bad of a way to live.”1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwduvuRG0Mh
   Neoma shifted uncomfortably, glancing over at the two. Luna only nodded happily. “It was!”1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJWKqMnk7PZ
   ”Was?” The shifter looked over at her.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBxYiRspSTM
   She bit her lip and nodded. “Was. What’s your home like?!”1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh4UMf5AsMZ
   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.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWaXf1hlw6a
      “There’s a pretty much to that, though,” she prodded, smiling.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMUUsl5CzBR
   ”Not all shifters do. I do.” He gave her a flat look, much preferring for her to drop it.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaqe4ZyijBC
   ”Oh.” She pouted. “But Earth’s boring!”1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZZXlAWAbhD
   ”In your opinion.”1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVYlOv6RMyh
   ”In a lot of people’s opinions!”1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMtflPE0Cfb
   ”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.)1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdHqWsIWYkB
   She pouted again, glaring. “Well, your opinion’s stupid.”1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKvf4jJegry
   He raised an eyebrow at her. “I can say the same for yours.”1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCMsbgVlC45
   ”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!”1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx4v0cvaJWV
   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.”1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlhdQZ4Bv9K
   She had a blank face, then stuck her tongue out and crossed her arms in defeat. He grinned, and she started to giggle.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDVlwUIVY9x
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*   *   *   *   *1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNFsBVCZQb0
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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.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmlKRxW6pxh
  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.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn6qiRqKcVs
  He looked over at the elemental. “So. What’re we even doing here?”1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoF4YABMKYZ
  “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.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo2xit6Z1L7
     ”We spending any time in this town?” he sighed.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa1HnHQ5BfY
  “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. 1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgQkU0HVH8j
  “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.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDjj4YblrRh
  Neoma rolled her eyes, pointing to a store “Stay here okay?”1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ70o6yGKmOC
  “Why?”1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDMJcUPGhXm
  “I’m not talking to you, asshat. I’m talking to Luna.”1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ5PJFRUobl
  “Yeah, I know that,” he grumbled, annoyed. “Why’re you leaving her there though?”1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnu3I9Ykqcn
  “Because we’re going into the store to get food.”1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl6rrw7BxBH
  He huffed. “Took her last time. Whatever, let’s just hurry.”1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpXZ4sOKz7l
  “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.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaiLbXmAQLN
  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.” 1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaR08uY99WD
  He gave her an irritated look. “Can’t you pick yourself?”1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7rffa6Kvgy
  “‘Course, but you have to eat sometime.”1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVpRskqCfSi
  “I don’t CARE what I eat,” he complained. “Unlike some people, I’m not picky.”1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGJphWfKv71
  She scoffed as she began to pick up a few fruits. “Riiiight.”1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwXMdyi80hY
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.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV31lKi6N4K
Outside, Luna was completely immersed in her thoughts until Neoma spoke. “You okay there?”1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLNmJ3nfNiq
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.1053Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJrDefHvgHh
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