“How did I get tricked into this?” I wonder aloud. “No, seriously. How did I ever think this was a good idea?”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp5JNLLCXMn
Klef shushes me. “You’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqMqsbK0Tzv
The Crusader’s base is in sight, and I’m having more than a few second thoughts about this whole experience. “Have you ever seen me try to speak in public?”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkEAxrPVnfa
“Yes. But this isn’t in public,” Klef reasons.997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz7X9v5nGaI
“I’m with Klef on this one, Reese, have some self confidence!” Geo adds.997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKA0nFcnEFI
As we’re walking toward the Crusader’s base, Flo walks out with a werewolf who I’m assuming is her mate. They have flowers in their short cropped hair but despite the typically “feminine” accessory has a somewhat-masculine build. Both of them walk out to greet us. “Oh, so nice to see you three! Geo, Iri, and...sorry, was it Klept?”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2GSyxa0AoP
“Klef, nice to meet you,” Klef says, shaking Flo’s hand. “I understand you’re the one who helped me when I had food poisoning 5 years ago. Thank you for that.”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡliKlRYKm0t
Flo smiles, bashful. “I really wasn’t that good at finding anything to help you, but you’re welcome regardless.”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEMk9k9OB9k
The other werewolf clears their throat. “Am I invisible, or something?”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmDYoMjjq9i
“Oh! Sorry, Rythe! Everyone, this is Rythe, my mate,” Flo says with a blush.997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF9UailmQ7C
Rythe shakes Klef and Geo’s hands, and then comes to me, examining my eyes. “And you must be the Oracle I’m hearing so much about!”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeHVeqPgB5V
I nod. “I’m Rides. Nice to meet you.”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy0FtxiKijW
Rythe bows. “It’s an honor, my lady.”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlFTqsMXhPk
I blush and Flo whacks Rythe upside the head. “Stop, you, you’re embarrassing her!”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXKD2P4A3bY
Rythe grins. “But that’s what you love about me! And clearly she doesn’t see herself as some sort of royalty!”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXIz6RoAH0Z
Flo mutters in a low voice, “She’s the Alpha’s daughter.”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrhQYJCqf52
Rythe straightens. “You mean the Alpha of a rival pack or The Alpha?”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7tURZaNNnK
“Try the second one,” Flo mutters, embarrassed on his behalf.997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhP0VeQYpyg
“Oh.” Rythe salutes me. “Terribly sorry, ma’am.”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLTbOPiCcax
“That’s not necessary, Rythe,” I laugh. “I’m perfectly fine with being called Rides, or even Iri, if my dad insists on calling me that all the time.”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbkIo3pnlVm
Rythe nods stiffly, setting the flower crown close to the brink of desruction, and leads us inside.997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3YTJFileU7
“Guy or girl?” Klef whispers to Geo.997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCjNVvmlkHD
“I...don’t know? Guy, I think?”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPz0sCuDsBR
“No, I’d say girl,” Klef muses.997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe1zxHReaKa
“What are you guys talking about?” I mutter.997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE3Sj9rSJM4
“Rythe. Guy or girl, do you think?”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuv2TZYtKHA
“Um…” I have to think about my answer. “Maybe they’re neither…”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHFZ2SwNOxE
“Neither? Is that possible?” Klef asks.997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSCjQkgd9It
“It would make sense,” Geo reasons.997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMuJo2dlLXL
“I’m going to stick to using first names around those two,” I say, holding to the werewolf couple holding hands. “Just to stay in the clear.”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSp5bdHPX1T
“Right, because the natural neutral pronouns are it/its, but that can be seen as degrading nowadays,” Geo says.997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQqVWT46oB6
“It is grammatically correct, though,” Klef points out.997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ1E3jQo3se
“I guess you have a point, but would you be okay with being called an ‘it’?” I counter.997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡenPmWyqZ0a
“What are you guys talking about?” Flo asks.997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpgVCUBuT4s
“Nothing much,” Geo says. “Just things back at our branch, you know?”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡopNLAQoYkS
Rythe coughs and mutters, “They/them,” and I grin at Klef and Geo.997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOwZkqBKnOn
Flo ushers us into a giant room filled with desks where people are talking on phones, documenting things with pictures and surrounding a map, adjusting plastic pieces and discussing strategy. There are many species I recognize and some I don’t. This speech is not going to be easy.997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd0Taleqs8K
Rythe clears their throat. “Ladies, gentlemen, and everyone else, allow me to present Rides, the Oracle who will be informing us on her dreams!”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7E08cLV26h
The room goes silent and every eye is on me as I take a deep breath. “Well...first of all, thanks for paying attention, I know a large room full of people who wouldn’t be willing to do that. Second of all,” I look around the room. “Why are you guys paying attention?! I have no clue what I’m doing, and I’m willing to bet every other person in this room has a better idea about how to handle this problem than I do. I am young, inexperienced, and I have recurring nightmares, so I don’t get a lot of sleep to think clearly.” Everyone looks at one another, shifting and murmuring. “My point being,” I yell over the murmuring, and everything goes dead silent again, “That no matter what you think of me, I’m like anyone else. I have my strengths and my weaknesses, just as everyone else in this room has to deal with. I’m not some super-impressive goddess who can do anything I want. I’m weak at almost everything here. I’m just Rides, the girl who dunked her boyfriend in ice cold water to try and help speed up his molting. But you need information, and fortunately, that’s one of my strengths.997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXZLr81JzXv
“All of my dreams are pretty much the same. I’m being led to some machine of mass destruction by someone--I don’t know who. I’m on some island, or place surrounded by water, at least. There’s mermaids, fairies, zombies, ghosts, you name a species, it’s probably there, except there are never any humans. When I’m strapped to it something happens and it takes my Sight. It revs up and Klef is asking whoever the leader is why they’re doing this. To summarize, they say it’s to ‘destroy all humans’.”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjeZd2KtnwR
Everyone shifts around, suddenly on edge. “And?!” a wizard with pitch black hair shouts.997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVnZ7CtQ7dp
“And that’s it. I can say it’s more likely that we’re on an island than a continent, and there aren’t as many islands in this world to check out…” I say.997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz76VTOmF0E
“That we know of!” a gorgon yells. “We could be on a wild goose chase, lass!”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw1I4zgjdFf
Klef bristles next to me and I hold him back with a hand. “You called me here,” I explain, “You wanted to know what I knew. There you have it.”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0reAbnh362
The wizard who yelled out comes up to me. “Yeah, but we were expecting…”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHMDU3ln7Yu
“More?” I supply. “Yeah, a lot of people do. Be glad I have that much, though. This is coming from 5 years of dreams.”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvCSAfuNxai
“Okay. I’m Ama. A necromancer,” she introduces. “I’m going to be guarding you three for your stay.”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOgsU1Z9mvj
“Make that the two of them,” Geo corrects. “I’m no one.”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqaFEpBsziX
I start to protest but Ama cuts me off. “He has a good point, Oracle. You and your partner are the highest priority here. The less people to protect, the safer you’ll be.”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAy7X1xmksw
The room is still silent, everyone anticipating my reply. “Excuse me,” I gasp, making a beeline for the room’s exit.997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmokJNaUGdc
I wander the halls, looking for a restroom. I know I’m about to be sick. I heave in the middle of the hallway and shudder as nothing comes up but a little bile. I was too nervous to eat lunch earlier, but now I’m glad I insisted that I wasn’t hungry. After a few more dry heaves, I slide down the colorless wall to the right of me to the ground. Now that I’ve stopped puking, all I really want to do is cry. I’m really not important. They just need my gift, and anyone could get that. To say others’ lives, their family and friends, my family and friends, are nothing next to me...it has to be utterly ridiculous. There’s no way. I no more important than anyone else. No one should die on my behalf.997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJpjYBAPLam
Footsteps come up to my back. Two pairs. “Ride?” Klef asks. “You okay?”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZoDBrYVm9x
I shake my head and close my eyes, resting my side against the wall. “Sick,” I mutter.997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOD86mWRC7T
“I’m sorry if I upset you, but you need to get it into your head that you’re special,” Ama states.997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzE3NRKInEm
“You don’t seem to be the type to be a necromancer,” I say. “Since you seem to care about people and their health so much.”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrg1lUqA47m
Ama laughs. “You haven’t seen me mad.” I turn to get a good look at her. She does have a black air about her, but it’s small and watery at the moment. She has black ringlets that go below her shoulders and clear, milky skin. She also has one green and one blue eye. She notices me looking at her eyes and grins. “Yeah, I have the Sight too. It makes my magic strong enough to animate corpses. Wanna see?”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyKAgAdUgBC
“S-sure.” I stumble on the word, because what is the correct response to someone volunteering to reanimate a corpse for you?997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAZhXG68HKf
Ama mutters something and a tiny skeleton of a rabbit forms out of bones in a pocket Ama has on her clothes. “I like bunnies,” Ama explains. “Once I made an entire fluffle of skeleton bunnies follow me.”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQJYO4Bcwe5
“Definitely not someone I’d call a necromancer,” Klef mutters.997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ04NHhlCrlp
I still don’t turn enough to see him properly. Ama shifts so she can face me fully. “Pet the bun,” she instructs.997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx8AY9Hmqdb
My hand reaches for the bunny with hesitation and it lifts its head up to meet my fingers, relishing every single stroke. I smile, and Ama smiles at me. The bunny falls into a pile of bones and Ama shakily returns the bones to her pockets. “Always drains me,” she admits.997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ7XwaqaUXQ
I put a hand on her shoulder. “But you’re great at it.”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLgcBKRGzpA
Ama grins, a blush creeping over her from ear to ear as she stands up. “Come on. Everyone is waiting for you, to make sure you’re all right.”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3KYDZ2pFNc
I stand up, my muscles screaming at me every inch. My legs shake and my head is spinning as I finally look at Klef. His face is etched in concern and he takes the few slow steps to me as if he’s walking across a minefield. He wraps an arm around my shoulder and says, “You look like you’re about to keel over. Let me help.”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBsTjuMCw0y
“I’m fine,” I mutter as I lean against his shoulder.997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0SL6vfJ3AG
“Of course you are, you’re great,” he snarks as he leads me back the way we came. “That’s why you puked and collapsed.”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtoIePXt4UC
I scoff. “Shut up, bird brain.”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBieT7eY2UR
“Make me, pointy ears!” Klef challenged.997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5RWpG0o6VP
Ama looked between us. “You two are so dating.”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡli9DYx9Uc2
“No we’re not!” we deny at the same time.997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoYAwbZ59oL
Ama laughs. “So dating.”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAyA5Bu0gnf
“Well don’t say anything. We want to keep it on the DL, if it’s possible,” Klef requested.997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZNaV0cE1ZM
“Seriously? I’m willing to bet half the people here have started a pool on your relationship status!”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF8p5zfQXoV
I groan. “Great. Just what I need. First I’m more important than others, and now I’m going to be seen as a desperate lovestruck teenager.”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpyXTaIhgu7
Klef raises an eyebrow at me. “Is that how you see yourself?”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwaObQOkqp3
I shrug. “Well, people mix up you and I a lot.”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs24Vy72qex
Klef lightly punches me. “There’s the Ride I know and love.”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡObQYuYQT3L
Ama sighs. “I ship it,” she murmurs.997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiCnq7qRZt7
“There’s that word again!” I exclaim. “Why would people ‘ship’ us?”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSvaaGWoBwN
“It’s cute!” Ama defends.997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2bNcxAUelY
“It’s weird!”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ1ophYZy9O
“It’s true!”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHDq4Fr1wE8
“It’s really really funny,” Klef interjects.997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSBfGgJR04k
I elbow him. “It is not,” I sigh.997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzolRqJ9VTQ
Klef grins.997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzYUu2vT4Rh
“It’s not funny!” I exclaim.997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE19bNQIvYY
“Whatever you say, Ride. Whatever you say,” Klef laughs.997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfgV74opVaP
Rythe and Flo come into view outside the conference room. “You okay?” Rythe asks.997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5BPdYI9nr0
I nod. Klef lets go of me and I nearly topple over. “Do you mind?” I growl.997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWQL9gBW7g9
He grins. “We’ll get you something to sit on until you feel better,” he assures.997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPdQrfCmRa3
I mimic him. He punches me, nearly sending me careening into a wall. Rythe picks me up. “I can take you to a wheelchair, don’t worry,” they say.997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ34qbijR78k
I’m carried to a wheelchair next to a table with a globe on it. Little red flags litter the globe. “What are those flags for?” I ask.997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs0xMx0mu9A
“Those are possible places your dreams could have taken place. Now, the list has decreased significantly with your information,” Rythe pulled out land-based flags. “Because you said you were on a peninsula or an island. Now, in addition to the Islands of the Mermaids, there are a bunch of unmapped islands all around the globe. And there’s on in the middle of a lake in the Untamed Lands that’s suspicious.”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOqTw8FrWMP
I nod. “Are we sending people to check out the most probable places?”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPVdornjj6u
“Yeah, and we’re sending you and Klef to some of the less likely ones, to deal with the messages somewhere safe.”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvJpyY6Mc49
“Okay, I guess…I’d rather be out looking, though.”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsVosuKURAv
“It’s for the best you don’t,” a pale human with freckles says. “Hibiscus A, they/them. Has a mild obsession with dragons.”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2AtgCjAUve
I smile. “Rides. My dad wants me to go by Iri. I’m old fashioned, I don’t like using my full name.”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLkCMun4o0n
Hibiscus A nodded. “I got you. Completely got you. Nice to make your acquaintance, Rides.”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXTjQNiNEhp
“Likewise.”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVs4N5o2wRL
Klef walks in, followed by my dad. “Still hanging around this scum, Iri?”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpjQsHR9kwd
I laugh. “Hi, dad.”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5qepnDh1P0
Klef looks offended. “What am I?”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkVIkqiUAp7
“Chopped liver,” I respond.997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBNSh8QJ7bc
Dad laughs. “Nice one!”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvsWKKmxqYy
Klef holds a hand to his heart. “You wound me, Ride. You wound me.”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2aO2vYo7nD
“Good. I was trying to.”997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6aToRMsfRg
Hibiscus A coughed. “Ship it,” they mutter.997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfRWWV0k5YD
I throw my hands up. “I’m done with this!” I sigh.997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvSv5aQlF2C
Everyone laughs. “You think I’m joking?” I ask, standing up shakily. “I’ll see you all tomorrow,” I exclaim, waving.997Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGC0DMyJ508
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