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k_a_webbThe journey back to the bed and breakfast was quiet. It appeared that they were all focused on their thoughts rather than talking, which wasn’t exactly a surprise. Finding Kaito, in his new form, on Quiar had been a total surprise for Lucille, and she knew that Sini had been just as surprised to find out that the fox she’d taken under her wing was a Walker. Lucille shook her head. They’d been friends before he disappeared, even though she hadn’t aways agreed with the choices he made, thanks to Carver. If it hadn’t been for Carver she probably wouldn’t have ever had any friends within the Walkers because her studies had always come first. Passing those exams had been the most important thing, because she’d believed in the Walkers, believed in the Council, until she had become both a Walker and a member of the Council. Without Carver the disappointment of finding out that everything she’d worked towards was worthless would have destroyed her.
On the day Lucille’s final letter had come through she’d been ecstatic. She’d followed in the footsteps of two women she’d always looked up to, but as time passed she was beginning to wonder if she should have. Passing all the exams didn’t make someone a better Walker. Connecting with worlds made someone a better Walker. There were questions she wanted to ask both of them and yet they were questions she knew she shouldn’t ask, especially as her grandmother was still travelling the worlds as one of the Council Walkers. If she said the wrong thing there was every possibility that she might end up being taken in for questioning. Sighing, she ran a hand through her hair. Finding Kaito had made being a Council Walker even more difficult than it already was.
It wasn’t as though Lucille wasn’t already keeping secrets though. She’d known where Carver was from the day he left, even though she didn’t go to visit him straight away. Two Walkers she’d studied with had also left Athare to avoid being arrested and she knew where they were both hiding. Keeping them all safe meant she needed to be careful, because if a warrant ever went out for her arrest she’d have no choice but to run, and she wouldn’t just be keeping them safe. Glancing at Peric she knew she needed to keep her friends on Quiar safe too, as the Council had never really been comfortable with the existence of such a strange world, so they’d find any excuse to try getting rid of the races there in order to replace them. Being a Walker had seemed so simple before she’d become one.
Lucille almost walked past the door of the bed and breakfast. Peric smiled at her when she stopped, looking less distracted than he had done, but she could tell he still wasn’t comfortable by the way he held himself. He was a very different mouse to the one she’d met in Sheepshank. Bertram landing next to them, smiling, and Sini did the same. When Lucille’s eyes met those of the chimera she knew that finding out what Kaito was had changed things for Sini. It wasn’t unexpected and Lucille felt guilty for opening her mouth before thinking. Of course Kaito would have made friends during his time on Quiar.
“I’ll be here nice and early tomorrow,” Sini said, sounding professional and tired. “We can make a start on travelling around Seahorse Port and seeing what we can find out about the counterfeiters.”
“Thank you, Sini,” Peric said, yawning. “I look forward to it.”
Peric’s words didn’t match the tremor in his voice and Lucille found herself looking at Bertram. “I was thinking actually,” the raven replied, smiling at Lucille and then at Peric, “that maybe you should work here instead of travelling around Seahorse Port with us. Tomorrow there probably won’t be all that much to do…”
“But I could begin going through the copy of the file I have from Sheepshank and see if I can find any more clues, and there might be something from Durai by tomorrow. It sounds like a good plan.” Peric looked at Sini. “As long as that’s fine with you.”
“I’m just your tour guide. You do what seems best and I’ll work with that.”
“You’re more than just our tour guide, Sini,” Lucille said. “You’ve been a great help today and I’m sure you’ll be just as helpful tomorrow.”
“It’s nice to be appreciated.” Sini tilted her head to one side as she looked at Lucille. “Tomorrow’s going to be a very different day for you, Lucille, because people will stop staring and start asking for your help.”
Nodding, Lucille tried not to let her trepidation show. “I don’t know how much use I’m going to be.”
“Before we head out tomorrow we’ll have a chat about the different groups in Seahorse Port, who’s likely to be the first to ask for you, and exactly what your options will be.” Sini reached out with a wing and patted Lucille on the shoulder. “If you plan on visiting Quiar more often it will be something you’ll need to get used to, because you’re neutral and that’s something people will make the most of.”
“Thank you.”
“Lucille…” Sini shook her head. “You’re special and I don’t think you realise quite how special you are. When Council Moonjumpers visit Quiar they are interested in us or our world. They view us like we’re nothing, because of what we look like, but you stepped onto this world with a different point of view. To you we’re just people. It’s something I never expected to see, so thank you for coming to Quiar, thank you for trying to help us with our problems, and thank you for being true to what it is to be a Moonjumper.”
Biting hard on her lip, Lucille tried to hide her embarrassment. “I just do what needs to be done, Sini. If you’d met me before I realised what I was you wouldn’t have liked me much, because back then I truly believed what I was taught, and it wasn’t until I connected with a world that I understood why there have been Moonjumpers who chose their worlds over the Council. Kaito was one of them, but then with Kaito I was a little more vocal about my beliefs because he was a friend. Thankfully I think he understands why I thought the way I did back then and why I’ve changed.”
“I’m sure he does. Kaito’s a good person and I’m glad I met him.”
“Even though he was lying to you.”
“The one thing I’ve learnt today is that being a Moonjumper isn’t easy or safe. He was lying to me to keep himself safe and I understand why he did what he did. I’m not going to hold that against him.”
“I’m glad.” Lucille smiled. “Kai is a good person. You’re lucky to have him as a friend.”
***
Peric did his best to stop himself from yawning again, but it had been a very long day and he was tired. All he really wanted to do was go to bed, even though learning about Moonjumpers was fascinating, because he’d never really understood them before. He was sure the majority of people were the same. The Moonjumpers he’d met before had been naturals, so they led very different lives to those of Council Moonjumpers. At least they were free to do whatever they wanted to do, while Lucille had to try to keep the Council from finding out what she was doing, in case they tried to arrest her. Like they’d done with Kaito.
When Peric looked over at Lucille he found that she was already looking at him. “Sorry, Peric,” she said. “I know you’re tired.”
Smiling, Peric shook his head. “It’s fine, Lucille.” He reached out and petted her hand gently with his paw. “Today’s been full of interesting conversation and surprises. I was just wondering why the Council wanted to arrest Kaito.”
“I’m not entirely sure. Kai, Carver, and Azure were always careful about who they talked to, because they were all true Moonjumpers.” Lucille shook her head. “Actually I’m almost certain that Azure was a demon, but that’s something I have no proof of.”
“A natural becoming a Council Moonjumper?”
“It happens. I think it happens more than we realise, because becoming a Council Moonjumper keeps them relatively safe.”
“Do you know any naturals?”
“That’s a story for another day, I think.” Lucille smiled at Peric. “If you want to hear more about what it’s like to be a Moonjumper I’m happy to talk about it after we’ve all had some sleep.”
“That would be wonderful,” Sini replied, sounding excited. “I never realised how hard it was for a true Moonjumper, but then I’ve only ever spoken to naturals before.”
“I think that’s the same for all of us,” Peric said. “None of us have ever been lucky enough to meet a Council Moonjumper who would talk to us instead of just watch us.” He shook his head. “That was really creepy.”
“He was staying detached.” Lucille shrugged. “Following the Council’s rules. It was easier for him, because he never connected with Quiar. I don’t think he ever connected with any of the worlds, but that’s something I can never know for certain, because talking to the wrong person about the wrong thing can cause major problems for me.”
“Do you ever wish you hadn’t become a Moonjumper?” Bertram asked.
“No, because if I hadn’t become one I would never have known what a true Moonjumper was or had a chance to make friends with a mouse, a raven, and a chimera. I just wish it was possible to really talk to the Council about what it’s like for us.”
“Is there anyone you can talk to?” Peric looked at Lucille, trying not to ask all the questions he was thinking of, because everything she said made him want to learn more. “Surely someone on the Council would listen.”
“They might, but the problem is working out who is safe to talk to, and there are always rumours going around that the leader of the Council is the descendant of the first leader of the Council.” Lucille shrugged. “It is possible that the leader of the Council is one of Riordan’s descendants, because that’s often the way things work for the fae. Positions are handed down from parent to child, which is why we still have the same number of fae on the Council as there was when it was first created.”
“Who was Riordan?” Sini asked.
“Another story for another day.” Lucille smiled. “I’ll tell you about Riordan and the demons I know at breakfast tomorrow, after you three have got some sleep.”
“Are you not tired?” Peric had always wondered about Lucille’s sleeping patterns, because she didn’t have an urn. “It is late.”
Lucille shrugged. “For you, maybe, but I’ve never really slept that much. There’s always too much for me to do and ever since I started my attempt to pass every exam for the worlds of the Web I’ve found myself sleeping less and less.”
“Is that good for you?”
“Probably not. I think part of the problem is travelling from world to world because some have such different day lengths that it can be really hard to work out any kind of sleeping pattern. Here it’s not so difficult, but if I go somewhere like Beshaki…” Lucille shook her head. “There are disadvantages to my choice of job.”
Sini yawned again, followed by Bertram, and then Peric. “We’ll see you tomorrow, Sini,” Peric said, unable to keep the sleepiness out of his voice.
“Night everyone.”
Peric stood, watching her fly away for a few moments, before turning to the door of the bed and breakfast. “Our first day here is over.” He sighed. “Seahorse Port is just as busy as I thought it was going to be.” Gently he squeezed the charm he’d put in his pocket. “I’m really glad Kaito had a charm I can use until he makes me one, because empathy is not an easy thing to deal with when there are so many people around.”
Lucille put her hand on his shoulder. “That’s good to hear.”
Together they walked into the bed and breakfast, where a fox was at the desk. It looked at them, obviously saw how tired both Peric and Bertram were, and just nodded in greeting. As they went to split at the bedrooms Lucille passed Peric her communication crystal, which he put in the opposite pocket to the one he had the empathy charm in. If he hadn’t been so tired he would have wanted to look at it, maybe work out what magic made it work, but instead he just slipped into a pair of pyjamas and got into the bed.
Mirrored from K. A. Jones Writing.
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Date: 2013-03-26 12:25 am (UTC)