The next morning, it seemed that Nikado had forgotten his words last night, because he acted as if nothing had happened, continuing on as usual. Zayr, on the other hand, was quiet and withdrawn, unable to stop thinking about the night's events.
Gnawing at a bit of leftover bone from his breakfast, Tobias commented to the group optimistically, "I think he's doing better this morning. The worst might be over." He walked over to the unconscious mage, brushing his fingers against the other's forehead.
At the touch, Pablo's eyelids fluttered, lips moving slightly in an incoherent mumble. "Oh!" Tobias said in surprise, smiling. "Pablo, you awake now?"
The others circled around as Tobias helped the other mage sit up. "'m sorry," he mumbled weakly, eyes having trouble focusing around the daylight. "That was dumb of me."
"Yeah, but we forgive you," Eris replied magnanamously. "Feel okay?"
"No," he groaned, motioning for Tobias to let him lay down again. "I hurt all over. And I think I'm going to throw up."
"You took a pretty nasty blow from that tear," Nikado told him, patting his shoulder. "You were out all night."
"Are you feeling well enough to stay and rest, or would you prefer us to take you to your father?" Zayr asked quietly.
He thought about it for a long moment, then shook his head, regretting it as he was overcome with a wave of dizziness from the movement. "Ugh, no. I think I'll be okay, I just need to rest for a while." He let out another groan, shutting his eyes against light that was far too bright.
"Eris, bring him something to drink," Zayr instructed, rummaging around for some cloth he could use as a cold compress for the mage's forehead. "We'll keep camp here for the day. Nikado," he had a moment of pride for not letting himself catch on the name, "Tobias, can you two make a run for some water later? There's a couple of buckets on the mule."
"Sure thing," Tobias told him, giving the other man a smile.
"Sorry," Pablo apologized again as Zayr put the cloth on the mage's forehead. "I'm being pretty useless right now."
"Don't worry about it," Tobias reassured him. "We have things under control. You just focus on getting well. That's what friends do."
"Here we go," Eris said as she returned, holding a flask. "Tobias, help me sit up him." She got behind Pablo, supporting one side as Tobias held him upright on the other. "There we go. Don't drink too fast." She held the flask to his lips, making sure not to tip the flask too much.
"You're pretty good at this," Tobias teased gently. "Maybe you should look into becoming a healer, not a sneak."
She stuck her tongue out at him. "Pablo, you just saved Tobias from getting a sound thwapping. Still think you're useless right now?"
He laughed, choking a bit on the drink. "Whoa, take it easy," Tobias said with sudden alarm, rubbing the mage's back. "Now see what you did."
"Your fault, not mine. Okay, enough of that for the moment." She closed and set down the flask. "Well, Pablo, was it worth it?"
"Was what worth it? The drink?"
She gave him a light tap on the back of the head. "No, dumbbell. Handling that light thingie. Did you figure anything out?"
Nikado and Zayr sat down nearby to listen. "I'm not sure. I think Zayr and Nikado were right that it's not part of our world." He took a deep breath, trying to gather his thoughts around the brief impressions he'd had for that moment of contact. "I can't really be sure of anything; it was all so jumbled."
"Take your time," Nikado encouraged him. "Maybe you should try and focus on it when you're feeling a little better."
He shook his head slightly, not feeling as dizzy as the last time. "I'd rather get this out. Okay." His brow furrowed as his fingers toyed with the wet cloth compress. "It's...a bridge. Or maybe a rope, across a gigantic void. When I touched, it tried to pull me across even though I didn't want to go. But a crack like that, it wasn't big enough, or long enough, and I was falling." He began shivering unconsciously. "I thought I was going to fall forever."
Nikado rubbed his shoulder before putting a blanket around the younger man. "That was pretty brave of you to try, though. You lay down and rest a while, okay?"
Tobias and Eris lowered Pablo back to a horizontal position. "What's on your mind, Zayr?" Tobias asked the older man, noting his expression deep in thought.
"A bridge," Zayr mused to himself. "To where? Another world?"
"Why not?" Nikado replied with a shrug.
"But what kind of world would it be," the landowner continued thoughtfully. "Is it in character, or out of character? And does this have anything to do with Naimi's disappearance?"
"I think it does," Pablo answered from the ground. "Her power does concern reality, after all. This tear of light seems to be a discontinuity with the web of reality."
"A discontinuity with reality...." Zayr frowned, letting out a little sigh. "I hope Naimi is unharmed."
"Hard to say," Nikado replied seriously. "She's a special one. Who knows what injuring or killing her would do?"
"Don't talk like that, Nikado," Tobias scolded uneasily. "I'm sure she's all right."
"It's still a possibility that has to be considered," he replied factually with an indifferent shrug.
Tobias looked away, obviously uncomfortable with Nikado's sudden cool attitude. "Well, this is a good quality long, awkward pause," Eris commented, trying to break the abrupt silence. "Come ON, you guys. You act like we've found the fourth wall or something."
Suddenly all four men were looking at her. "The fourth wall?" Zayr echoed, looking at the others. "Is that possible?"
"You're asking a group of characters that did other improbable things like save the world and talk to the editor," Nikado pointed out. "It doesn't seem like it's out of the realm of possibility. I'm not entirely sure what WOULD constitute 'this can't be real' at this point."
Eris frowned at that. "Somehow, I thought it'd be bigger."
"A shard of the fourth wall?" Tobias theorized.
Zayr sat back down again. "Sure, that'll work. We've been running this entire storyline on guesses and gut feelings to begin with. That's the best answer I've heard."
"So then, assuming that's right, what on earth do we do with it?" Tobias asked slowly.
"Oh, but that's the trick," Nikado chuckled.
Pablo pushed himself up halfway. "If it is part of the fourth wall, it should probably be returned to the rest of the wall. Draw it through its natural link along the upper dimensional space and seal it back with the rest of the structure. Simple."
Nikado just stared. "Pablo, I love you dearly, but I have no idea what you just said."
The mage shrugged. "Well, it works in theoretical physics...."
Nikado looked even more confused. Tobias laughed. "Is there a practical way to do that?" Zayr asked Pablo doubtfully.
"If my practical you mean doable and not necessarily easily? I suppose so?" Pablo shrugged slowly. "I'd have to come up with some analyzing formulas and assume a few axioms."
"Someone please explain to me what he's saying, and what language it's in," Nikado complained.
"Shut up, pops, and let him talk," Eris snorted.
"How long would it take, do you think?" Tobias asked.
The mage made a vague gesture. "Not sure. We don't even know where the rest of the wall is."
Zayr looked at him sharply. "The fourth wall can be found in our world?"
"Sure, while we're assuming things," Pablo replied. "If a fragment is in our world, I don't see why the rest of it couldn't be. I'll see if I can trace it through the fragment."
Nikado rubbed at a temple. "This is a lot more complicated than our last story. I think I preferred fighting the monsters."
"And the cabbages," Eris added helpfully.
"And the cabbages. Is our reader even going to be able to understand this? Or want to read it, more importantly. If they don't, we're out of a job."
Zayr shrugged. "Stick a fancy label on it, like 'metafiction' or something. People just eat up the complicated stuff they can't understand. Look at Dune."
Eris raised an eyebrow. "Why Zayr, how unusually caustic of you."
"Oh please. If our author is writing this tripe, you know utterly lofty and pretentious they get. The difference is that our author sucks and the other one doesn't as much. It's a difference in the level of suckitude."
"Damnit, Zayr, don't use 'suckitude'," Eris managed, holding her hands over her mouth. "Your out of character is going to make me giggle and turn ME out of character. Next thing we'll know, Nikado won't be declaring his love for every piece of grass."
Zayr gave her a look. Nikado began giggling in that way that grown men do when they know they're being immature, or possibly evil. Tobias sighed. "I think this scene is drawing on a little too long, let's quit the dialogue and wrap it up, okay?"
After some more discussion that will not make its way into the novel (even if it is padding), the group had decided to continue their stakeout near the fourth wall fragment, letting Pablo work on his calculations. Nikado had offered to go back to Cantercor to fetch the mage's father for aid, but Pablo declined, stating that the older mage "just doesn't understand left-brain functions." Nikado had promptly responded that neither did he.
Meanwhile, Eris had gotten it into her head that as a man of property, it was just not acceptable that Zayr didn't know how to "properly" live off the land. The fact that he didn't use a ranged weapon was regrettable (as Eris had put it, "you can't swordfight with a moose") but she had decided he could at least learn how to set traps. And, well, once Eris got a hold on an idea, it was difficult to make her let go. Tobias had shown a bit of interest as well, and had proven rather adept at making them, despite the recent loss of part of one finger. Zayr? He had no such talent with them. Managing a household was one thing, but working with one's hands instead of one's brain was a different matter. Still, Zayr allowed Eris to continue to fuss over him; at the least, it gave him something to focus on and keep occupied with while Pablo worked.
And working Pablo was, obsessively so. Nikado and Tobias both made sure to attend to him and make sure he didn't wear himself out as he was likely to. He had kept his papers around him all day, often chewing on a pencil absently or scribbling down notes and diagrams at a frantic pace. Nikado, not understanding a word of what Pablo was doing, decided his part was managing the campsite and making sure Pablo didn't overwork himself, which had led to some teasing on Eris's part that she should start calling him 'mumsy' instead. Nikado. Zayr had been increasingly uncomfortable around the other man, but hadn't been able to bring himself yet to approach the issue.
Zayr was well aware that the story was at a standstill, but he wasn't sure what else to do. The author had still not spoken to anyone, nor had the editor, so there was still nothing to suggest that there was even a storyline at all aside from Zayr's unease and the plot device-like tear in reality. It was frustrating; as a main character, he thought he should be able to move the plot along somehow, but he could think of nothing else to try other than to continue working at Eris's traps.
And then Eris had a dream.
She was in a skirt, that that was unpleasant. And her hair had somehow grown back, falling down her back in the poetic cascades she had despised. It was almost like someone was trying to make her out to be a female stereotype. Eris decided she didn't like this dream much.
"And, so, like, I think we should boycott salmon?" a girl was saying to her as Eris walked down the hall, trying to find a familiar face among all the crazies in weird uniforms. "You know, because it's like, soooo not out there."
"And so then, I was all 'whatever!' and he was all 'whatever!' so I was all 'whatever....'" another girl prattled to her.
"That's nice, except it's not." Where the hell was her boomerang? "Get lost."
"They can't do that," a voice replied from ahead. Tobias was leaning against the wall, wearing a puffy jacket with a large Q emblazoned on the side, twirling a large orange ball on one finger. "You're just too popular for your own good. I know, it's a curse."
"Tobias? What the hell are you doing? And what is that?" She gave the spinning ball a poke.
He didn't seem to mind the poking, rolling it up his arm instead. "C'mon, baby, you know I prefer it when you call me Toby."
She stared at him for a moment. "I'm sorry, I think I mistook you for someone else. Good day." She didn't even bother hiding her disgust as she walked away.
"You know, you really shouldn't be so hard on Toby," one of the nameless girls scolded as she played with her gum. "He is your boyfriend, after all."
Eris choked at that, taking a moment to recover. "Now I know you lot have me mistaken for someone else. Scuse me, I'm going to go find some sanity now." Trying to shake off her personal ass-remoras, she opened the nearest door.
Inside, desks, pencils and books were being thrown around by students, until the man at the head of the room lifted his own desk above his head, slamming it down with a large crash. "ALL OF YOU GODDAMNED BRATS SIT DOWN AND SHUT THE FUCK UP," Nikado bellowed furiously.
Eris's eye twitched, and she quickly shut the door. "I didn't see that. Has the whole world gone crazy?"
"This is how it's always been," replied the girl with the gum. "Are you feeling okay, Erica?"
She whirled on the offending speaker, grabbing her by the shirt. "Goddamnit, I am not your Erica, personal bimbo, girlfriend, or what have you. I'm me, Eris, and I'm getting the hell out of this skirt if I have to go naked!"
"Don't be like that, Erica," the tuna boycotter scolded. "That skirt compliments your figure so well."
"I have no figure, and I like it that way!" She backed away from the tuna boycotter, only to run into the whatever girl. "Stay the hell away from me, you freaks."
"Don't you think that girls that don't act like real girls are the real freaks?" the whatever girl asked sweetly, stroking a lock of Eris's long hair. "Girls should be girls. Especially girls like us. This is how things are supposed to be. You can't escape the gender stereotype, honey. No matter how much you want to be a man, you'll always be a woman."
Eris didn't know how to respond to that. Some deep rooted instinct in the core of her personality prompted her into a reflexive violent action, and she screamed in a tone mixed with rage and fear, striking at the phantoms in her dream which laughed and mockingly evaded her blows. They wound around her limbs, restraining her, and she struggled harder, trying to get free.
"Damn. There goes another joint."
She was back in the forest, someone's arms wrapped around her tightly. She could just make out Tobias's face in the light from the distant fragment, wiggling the fingers of one hand, his pinkie missing a second bone. "That was harder than I thought. I really should have studied psionics more."
"At this rate, better study fast," came Pablo's voice from behind her.
"Where-- What just happened?" she asked in a small voice. The young woman realized finally that it was Nikado that was holding onto her, but even so she struggled against his arms, unable to take the sense of confinement. He reluctantly let her go, but kept a hand on her shoulder.
"You had a nightmare," Zayr told her calmly, watching her from beside Tobias. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah. Yeah. Fine. Just peachy." She rubbed a hand against her fuzzy scalp, trying not to shake. "I'm just fine."
"You were screaming," Pablo told her in concern. "We couldn't get you to wake up."
"I see." Eris tried not to shiver, but her body wasn't listening. "Sorry to wake everyone up."
"Are you sure you're okay?" Nikado asked in concern, squeezing her shoulder.
"I said I'm fine, okay?" She jerked away from his hand. "Go back to sleep."
Nikado sighed. He didn't like leaving her alone after this, but a hug would probably not be taken well and would result in a violent blow against him. Not that he couldn't take the blow, but it probably wouldn't help her feel better. "Okay. Try and get some rest, okay?" He couldn't help but give her shoulder a little rub in lieu of a hug. "Do you want one of us to sit up with you?"
"God damn it, no. Didn't I say I was okay?" she snapped at him, signalling the conversation was most decidedly over.
The group went back to bed at that, but Eris couldn't sleep. After a long while of laying on her back, staring at the tree tops, she finally got up, slipping out with silent grace and wandering into the woods.
It wasn't long before her ears picked up the sounds of being followed. She grabbed slowly for her boomerang, but knew the thick section of woods she had moved into would make throwing impossible. Sometimes she wished she had taken archery instead. "Why are you following me?"
"I was worried about you," Tobias's soft voice came from behind her. "I know you said you wanted to be left alone, but I couldn't help but worry regardless."
The girl sighed, taking a seat on a fallen log and gesturing for him to join her. "I'm just really tired. Was that what it was like for you?"
"No," he replied honestly. "I was too terrified and on edge to feel tired. You can't sleep?"
She shook her head. "You don't want to talk about it, do you? I know I didn't," he told her gently.
"You got lucky," she grumbled. "Why couldn't I have had mine in a more private location? Now everyone knows I was freaking out."
"They're just worried about you," Tobias reassured her. "If you were in private, something awful might have happened. You were really caught in that dream. I don't think we had ordinary dreams, now. I'm really worried for everyone."
She sighed, silent for a long moment as she tried hard to force her next words out. "I bet everyone thinks I'm pretty weak, now." She hated the very words, but she needed the reassurance.
He looked surprised at that. "Why do you think that? I don't think you're weak. I think you're very strong."
"Because...." Again, she had to struggle with the words. "It's because... I'm a girl." Once those came out, the rest of them seemed to follow at a much quicker pace. "It sucks being a female character in a fantasy setting. Guys have it easy, they can do whatever they want and that's okay, but girls are all expected to be pretty and scantily clad and hanging off the hero's arm and I hate that. It's a guy's world in literature, Tobias. If I want to be taken seriously as a character, I have to act like a guy. Sure I act immature and violent, but if people see me as a guy, at least they'll pass it off as character flaws. Otherwise it's PMS and being bitchy and everyone hates you...." She had started to cry, trails running down her cheeks as she swiped at them; a futile effort. "Damn it. Damn it. Damn it all!"
Tobias looked like he didn't know what to do for a moment, then he took her by the shoulders and gave her a little shake. "Stop that. Stop it now. Look, Eris, who cares about the readers? We're not on a story anymore. We'd all much rather have you be you than make yourself unhappy trying to be an anti-cliche. We all will like you no matter who you are, so who cares what anyone else thinks." He rubbed at her head. "Besides, how many heroines shave their heads? You'll always be unique in my eyes, Eris."
She pulled him closer, burying her fingers in his thick short hair. "You know, I think we all try a little too hard," he said softly, leaning his head on her chest and listening to her heart beat. "Me especially. I'm not really the kind of person that's noticeable. I don't really have any quirks and I'm not really noticeable like you or Nikado. When the author picked me for being in our story, I was so happy, I was willing to do or be anything people wanted me to be just to be allowed to be there. It didn't matter what happened to me, as long as I was useful to everyone."
"Silly boy," she mumbled, rubbing at his hair. "You're nice. People would like you no matter what. I was just hoping to make a noticeable impression."
"It is silly," he admitted. "Even so, I still felt that way. I think I still do, a little. I think Nikado might feel that way sometimes too. I don't mean that he's not normally enthusiastic, but something I think he really tries so hard to get us to like him. The plot doesn't matter to him. Zayr, on the other hand, was always so concerned with the plot that sometimes I think he let bad things happen to him when he should say no."
"How authorial of you." Eris managed a laugh. "Is the author telling you to say all this?"
He chuckled back. "Who knows? I don't have a sense of the author like Zayr does. I'm not the main character. I'm just saying what I think."
She sighed, wiping at her face again. "Can I be honest with you for a moment, Tobias?"
"Of course. Always."
She looked away, not quite able to meet his eyes. "No offense, okay? To be honest, I used to think you were kind of weak. Because you were always so quiet and feeling sorry for yourself. But you're really stronger than me. Where do you get it from?"
He rubbed at his neck. "None taken. You're really right on that. I sort of look back on that time with a little disgust at myself. Even while I was trying my best to be useful, I hoped and wanted some authorial divinity to make my life better, easier. I wanted an easy solution to being what I am."
"Does it still bother you? Being a zombie, I mean," she asked timidly.
"Yes and no. The hunger problem can be a real issue, and I still hate not really being able to cast magic at whim like Pablo can. But I'm okay with it. The rest of you accept me for being a flesh-eating undead, and that's really what matters." He looked over at her, and smiled. "If I seem strong, it's because of all of you."
Eris thought that over. "All the same... could you not tell them I was... you know, crying?"
He grinned and rubbed at her head. "You didn't tell on me, I won't tell on you."
She made a halfhearted swipe at the offending hand. "Why's everyone gotta touch my head? What am I, velvet?"
"Oh, so you can molest my scalp, but yours is off limits?" the zombie challenged.
The girl snorted, catching Tobias in a headlock. "That's absolutely right on all counts. Fear me, for I am the token female!"
"Aghflub," the zombie choked. "Okay, token female, how about we get some rest now?"
She let him go, leading the way back. "Yeah, I think I can sleep now. Follow me, otherwise you'll get lost. And try not to get any twigs in your feet or eyes. Those hurt."
"... I'll keep that in mind."
When he had finally gone back to sleep, Zayr was having a rather pleasant dream. It wasn't so much words or a vision as it was a lasting sensation, a feeling of afternoon sun on his skin as he laid in the sun, his son's head resting across his lap. Only when he woke, it was barely dawn, not afternoon, and it was Nikado curled up against his side.
Oh yes. Zayr was awake now.
Jerking in surprise, Zayr fought down a near instantaneous sense of panic, shoving at Nikado's head roughly. "You. What are you doing?"
The scholar stirred at the pushing, blinking sleepily. "G'mornin'," he mumbled, not really realizing where his head was. "'s it time for breakfast?"
"Get OFF me," Zayr hissed, caught between fleeing and striking the older man and thankfully just barely having enough self control to do neither. "What do you think you're doing?"
"Waking up, apparently," he mumbled, rubbing at his loose hair. "What's with all the excitement this morning?" He squinted across at the rest of the group. "Everyone else is still asleep."
"What's up is that you were ON ME," Zayr got out. "Why were you ON ME."
Nikado tilted his head, then stifled a yawn. "What are you talking about?"
"You were SLEEPING ON ME. Using me as a PILLOW." Zayr's voice rose as his agitation increased.
Nikado waved a hand, looking for something to tie his hair back in its usual ponytail. "Was I? Don't know how that happened." He looked over at the other man, then grinned wickedly. "Doesn't seem like a bad thing, though."
Zayr was now thoroughly riled up, too much to even be surprised at his loss of temper. "You do not SLEEP ON ME," he hissed, yanking Nikado close by the shirt. "I am not your pillow. I have already explained thoroughly that I do not want a relationship with you of the kind you are seeking. Do not push my limits."
Nikado raised his eyebrows, not intimidated by Zayr's cool anger. "Say that again?"
Zayr gave him a shake. "Don't fuck with me, Nikado. I said I do not want a relationship with you!"
Nikado put his hands on Zayr's, gently loosening the other man's hold on his shirt. "All right, we've established what you don't want. Now all we have to do is figure out what you do want and we'll be getting somewhere."
Zayr just stared in surprise for a moment, then yanked his hands away, feeling the blood rush to his face all over again. "I don't understand you," he muttered, turning his back to Nikado.
"Of course," the older man replied cheerily. "I am a great enigma, the likes of which few mortals shall ever understand."
"Yes, of course, a wonderous mystery," Zayr replied flatly. "Why were you sleeping on me?"
The other man shrugged. "Maybe you got too close. I've been told I have a tendency to gravitate toward snuggly things in my sleep. Aizaem usually wasn't too pleased about that..."
"Please don't," Zayr replied shortly, walking over to restart the small fire that had died out overnight.
Nikado leaned over behind the crouching landowner, stray locks of hair tickling Zayr's cheek. "Don't walk away from this conversation," he instructed smoothly, one hand resting on Zayr's shoulder, another finding its way to the other's side. "So what is it you want, then?"
"I want you to stop touching me," Zayr replied in a stilled voice.
"No, that's a 'do not want'," Nikado corrected, tone the same as before. "You've had a few days to think about it. Isn't there any sort of dream or desire inside that you've been wanting to express, but couldn't?"
"You may find it hard to believe," the younger man answered with ice in his tone, "but not everyone needs quests and magnificent dreams. Some people are perfectly content to settle down with a small family and live simply."
"I'm not talking about other people." Now the scholar's tone was stern. "I'm talking about you. You're not happy with such things."
"And who are you to make such a judgement?" Zayr snapped. "I think I can make such an observation better than you."
The wood dropped to the ground as Nikado took Zayr's face in both his hands. "It's right here," he spoke seriously, brushing his thumb just below Zayr's eye. "Sometimes, on a rare occasion, I see a little spark here. It's in the way you move and your smile as well. But most of the time, all I see is emptiness. Like a man who has little reason for living." Nikado dipped his head, breaking the eye contact for a moment. "It's not an easy thing to notice about oneself. To be honest, I didn't realize it was in myself until I met you, Zayr. I thought I had found something that was useful, that benefitted others like I wanted, but it wasn't the right place for me. I don't think you've found the place for you, either."
Zayr slowly pulled Nikado's hands away again. "I think perhaps that you are projecting your own emotions onto me, " Zayr replied coldly. "Nikado, not everyone has a personality like you. As I said, some people are content with a simple life."
"And as I said, you are not. Not like this." The expression in Nikado's eyes was a mixture of worry and sorrow. "Not like this at all. You love your son, I know, and he means the world to you. That's wonderful. It's one of the few times I see you smile. But I don't think you're happy with this marriage, Zayr. It's like... You try your best to love her, I know you do, but trying is all it is. It's just not there. And I think it's really hurting you."
"I think you need to stop talking now," Zayr instructed with finality, turning back to the fire.
He was abruptly pulled off balance as Nikado's hand shot out, grabbing him by the shirt and pulling him close. "Damn it all, Zayr," and Nikado's voice was no longer its usual cheerful self or the rarer serious tone, but filled with an undercurrent of emotion. "I'm fucking WORRIED about you! This woman is killing you inside and you don't even realize it!"
Zayr tried to break the taller man's hold on his shirt, but this time Nikado refused to let go. "Do not speak of my wife like that." There was a warning edge to his tone.
Nikado ignored it, giving the younger man a shake. "Stop being stupid! Maybe you don't want to hear this, but she doesn't love you! She's in love with someone else! She won't ever love you!"
His sword was in hand almost by reflex, pressed against Nikado's throat. "Take it back," Zayr growled harshly, pressing a bit to make his point.
Nikado didn't so much as flinch. "I won't, Zayr. I'm not the kind of person that would say that to hurt someone. I wouldn't say it if it wasn't true. But I've seen it myself. Both with the other man, and with the way she treats you, and it makes my blood boil. I love you, Zayr, and I just want you to be happy."
Zayr hissed in anger, pressing hard enough to draw a bit of blood. "Why do you have that at my throat?" Nikado asked in an unusually calm voice. "What is hurting me going to change? You think she'll love you if the other man was out of the way as well? And then you can have your simple perfect little family? The world isn't that simple. Happiness isn't so easy to obtain."
"Shut UP," Zayr snarled, the words ripped from his throat. "Shut up, I say. I never thought you of all people would be so low. To say something like that... You must be very jealous, aren't you? Is it her you want? Are you mad that I married her first?"
Nikado's eyes flashed, and before Zayr could react to the other's movement, he had drawn his hand across Zayr's face in a stunning backhand. "Fine, hear what you want to hear," Nikado growled. "It doesn't really matter how much I care about you, I can't make you think differently. I'm going to go off for a while, don't follow me." Without another word, Nikado turned on his heel and left.
Zayr slowly let his sword drop, taking note of the drops of blood that hung on the edge. His heart was racing all over again and his breath came short, like he had just run a long distance. What was wrong with him? He felt foolish for losing his temper, a rare thing, but somehow, Nikado's voice and hands, and his scent, the slightly spicy and exotic smell of a working man mixed with the dusty, earthy scent of a scholar, all up close, had affected his thinking. It just didn't seem that he could stay his usual calm and rational self when Nikado was like that, whatever the reasons, and that, for a man that prided his cool and logical temperment, concerned Zayr more than anything.
He should probably apologize to Nikado whenever he came back. Zayr was sure the other man wouldn't be gone long; being so upset was hardly like him, after all. That was another thing for Zayr to think over and digest, that Nikado was acting very strangely about the whole thing. As he worked on setting the fire, he pondered various stresses or stimuli that could have evoked such a reaction from Nikado, all the while ignoring that he could have possibly been telling the truth.
The day passed uneventfully, and evening eventually rolled in, but still Nikado had not reappeared. A tiny twinge of worry, mixed with guilt, had formed in Zayr's mind, but somehow he brushed it off, telling himself Nikado would be back by bedtime. Except that he wasn't, and Zayr pushed it off again, thinking that he would be back by morning with his usual smile and an apology for being late.
The next morning came, and Eris decided she wasn't going to be quiet about it anymore. "Zayr. Where the hell did Nikado go, the other end of the world?"
"He didn't say," the landowner replied evenly as she pulled out supplies for breakfast.
"It's awfully strange for Nikado to be gone for so long though," Tobias said with a frown, watching the fire from a safe distance. "Do you think he got lost?"
"This is right off the path, I don't see how he could have unless he went wandering through them in the first place," Eris said with a shrug. "All the same, we should probably go looking for him. Tobias is right, it's weird that he'd be gone for so long. Especially right now with what all's going on. If there's a plot going down, he has to be here. You know how he loves attention." Tobias smiled at that. "I'll scout around after breakfast."
"I'll come with you," Zayr offered, a bit too hastily. "In case there's trouble."
She gave him a poke in the forehead. "Thanks, but I can take care of myself. I'll be back by supper, okay? You lucky boys get to watch our physicist."
"I suppose I'll leave it in your hands," Zayr replied, a tad reluctantly.
"How generous of you, m'lord," Eris teased sarcastically. "Geez, don't worry about it so much, will ya? Like I said, I'll be fine. Now make yourself useful and hand me that pan."
Zayr sighed, but handed it over anyway. Breakfast passed peacefully, and then Pablo got to work as usual, laying out his pages and situating himself by the fourth wall fragment. Tobias joined him, partly to see what Pablo was working on and partly to make sure he didn't overextend himself, leaving Zayr alone to tend the campsite and stay with his thoughts for a bit.
Another day passed and the sun made its way down toward the horizon, turning the sky a dark, foreboding red. Tobias was starting to pace as Zayr worked on preparing the evening meal. "She should have been back by now. Why isn't she back?"
"Calm down, Tobias," Pablo told him as he brought a stack of pages over for the night. "She should be back by sunset. Even if she's not, we won't be able to go looking for her in the dark. Sit down, okay?"
He did so slowly, only to jump up again. "Do you hear something?"
"Just Zayr burning the meat," Pablo replied casually.
"Oh, shut up," the other man grumbled.
"Well, you do. Haven't you ever cooked before?" Pablo pointed out.
"...." Zayr elected not to dignify that question with an answer.
Tobias shook his head. "No, not that. Some sort of dragging. It's getting closer...."
Zayr left the food for a moment, then picked up a lamp, lighting it. "What direction?"
Tobias listened, then pointed. "It's over that way." Zayr nodded, then moved to the edge of their encampment, lantern held high, sword hand ready in case of an attack. As he moved just beyond the edge of the camp, he could indeed hear a dragging, like something heavy moving through the woods, with a snapped twig here and there. Zayr frowned, lowering the lantern a little as he drew his sword. "Stay here, I'll take a look."
He set the lantern down, using the light from the campfire to navigate through the woods toward the sound. Sword held at ready, he finally spotted the human figure bent over near a tree. "Who goes there?" he called out warningly.
"Zayr...?" The voice was soft and raspy, but definitely Eris's. "Oh good... got back... before sunset...." And then the figure fell over.
He sheathed the sword quickly, crossing the rest of the distance to her. Up close, he could see that one arm up to the elbow had been nothing short of mangled, cracked bone sticking out between shreds of muscle. One leg was little better off, only with the bone still intact. The rest of her was in equally poor shape, red drenching most of her body in patchwork red. "Oh god, Eris," Zayr said with a sudden intake of breath, kneeling and turning her over as gently as he could so that she wasn't face-down in the mulch. "Tobias! Pablo! Come quickly!"
The zombie made it through the woods first, eyes wide with horror as he spotted Eris. "Oh my god. Eris, what happened?" he demanded worriedly, rolling up his sleeve as he prepared to cast a spell.
Pablo put a hand on Tobias's shoulder, already opening his book with a flip of one hand. "Let me handle this, Tobias. You need your arm." The older boy bit his lip, but took a step back. The mage sat down next to Eris, quickly starting to fill a page with numbers and formulas.
"Eris," Tobias said worriedly, reaching out to take her hand. "You're going to be okay. What happened to you?"
She could only manage a weak cough in reply, squeezing his hand. "Okay, back away for a moment," Pablo instructed, finishing the page full of notes. Tobias did so, just as the flesh of her limbs and torso began to mend itself, the wounds sealing as if they were being inflicted in reverse. She let out a short scream as the bones in her arm swiftly snapped into place, the blood running along her skin and sucking itself back inside her body. Less than a minute later, it was as if she had not been injured at all, though every nerve in her body was tingling, as if trying to hold on to the memory of the pain.
"Eris, are you okay now?" Pablo asked softly.
"No," she mumbled, squeezing her eyes shut for a moment. "I feel like crap warmed over. And I'm starving. What did you just do, Pablo?"
He waved a hand. "Oh, just a simple time-state reversal to a previously known state. It's really not that complicated once you know the foundations, it starts with...."
"Pablo," she stated shortly. "My whole body is in pain right now. Don't make my brain add to it."
"Can you stand?" Zayr asked her seriously.
"I dunno. Maybe." Tobias supported her on one side as Pablo helped her up from the other, and between the two men she managed to totter forward a few steps. "Oh god, I feel like crap. Maybe you should carry me."
Tobias chuckled, then helped Pablo lift her, carrying her the short distance back to the campsite. "Oh, shit, the food!" Pablo yelped in sudden remembrance, pulling the food away. "Saved it."
She sniffed the air, then wrinked her nose. "What's that awful smell? What on earth did you guys cook while I was gone?"
"Ever the supportive one," Pablo commented dryly as Tobias hovered around the girl, handing her a plate.
"Eris, what happened to you?" Zayr asked slowly.
"Food first, please," she scolded him. "I haven't eaten since this morning, and nearly being ripped to shreds doesn't really help the appetite. I did find Nikado, though."
"Where is he?" Zayr asked urgently. "Why hasn't he come back? What the hell is he doing?"
Tobias scowled. "Let her eat, Zayr. She'll tell you when she's ready." He handed her the plate Pablo gave her. "Here, take your time, Eris."
"Go ahead, pamper her," Pablo grinned, fetching himself a plate. "It's about the only time she'll ever allow it. Your turn, Zayr."
He finally got up after the mage poked him a few times, grabbing for a plate. Tobias sniffed at the mage. "If I had been nearly torn apart, I would want to be a little pampered too."
"No, that's just because you're more girly than me," Eris commented around a mouthful. "Want to switch bodies?"
He gave her an odd look. "Uh, no thanks. I like my ability to pee standing up."
Zayr sighed at the banter, not entertained in the least as he waited for Eris to finish eating so he could pester her with more questions. In his mind, it was almost like the girl was drawing it out on purpose, joking with Tobias and Pablo about various small things and flaws in their respective personalities despite the fact that ten minutes ago she had been close to death. Finally, he could take it no more. "Eris. What happened to you? Where is Nikado?"
Eris didn't respond right away, scooping the last of the food off her plate. "Well, as I said, I found him. That's the good news."
"What's the bad news?" Tobias asked uneasily.
"The bad news is he's in serious trouble." Eris put the plate aside, resting her arms on her knees. "Okay, let me start at the beginning. So I started by tracing him from the campsite. The man's horribly unsubtle to begin with, you know. I've seen bricks to the face that have carried more stealth. And it seems like he was upset or something, cause he was just tearing through the brush. It was weird." Zayr carefully avoided her eyes. "So I get close to the edge of the forest, and there's a little scuffle. Like a fight that stopped very quickly. But no bodies or anything, and I'm thinking that's just not right. So I keep tracing him."
She stopped her story to grab for a flask of water, taking a long drink. "I didn't actually run into him. It was just a glimpse and it looked like he was unconscious, cause he didn't answer me or anything. At any rate, the chick that had him made it a little difficult to really check it out."
"What 'chick' guarding him?" Zayr asked tensely. "Was he begin held prisoner? Why?"
Eris shrugged. "I haven't a clue why. I'd tell you to ask the crazy woman, but she was a little busy damn near killing me for me to get a word in edgewise." One hand rubbed at her arm unconsciously. "Okay, so I broke into her fortress or whatever and was trying to take her prisoner, but seriously, that was a total overreaction. She did not need to go all psycho on my ass. She's wicked powerful, though," she warned the men. "I'm pretty lucky I got away. Call it a plot device or something. The author watching over me. Wanna hear how I got away?"
Tobias put an arm around her shoulders, hugging her. "I'm just glad you're safe now."
After seeing that no one was going to ask her how she got away, she sulked for a moment and took another drink before continuing. "So there I was, just minding my own business, and she appears out of NOWHERE and starts attacking me. And she's screaming at me how I'm a horrible female main character and I'm just a cliche in my anti-clicheness and I'm a lesbian because I shave my head? Didn't get that part. Anyway! She shreds me pretty bad, smashes my arm, and I'm thinking, I gotta get out of here. And as I stumble across the floor I manage to trigger some sort of trap that dumps me outside. So away I run! Well, run as in move as quickly as I can, because I'm pretty messed up and running is out of the question at this point. Did you see my arm? Utterly shattered. It's a good thing Pablo time whatzited it, cause I don't think I would have wanted to wait around for that to heal, and--"
"Let's not talk about that," Tobias said hastily, looking a little paler than usual as he waved a hand at her. "Like I said, the important thing is that you're okay."
Zayr stood up, pacing a bit. "We have to go rescue him."
Pablo watched him walk around agitatedly for a moment. "Sit down, Zayr, for god's sake. It's not like we can go rescue him right now. Just calm down. Why have you been so edgy, anyway?"
Zayr turned a burning look to the mage. "Our friend is in trouble. Don't you care about that?"
"Yes, but getting worked up isn't going to help anything," Pablo pointed out reasonably. "And you seem to be unusually agitated about it. You weren't nearly this bothered about deciding whether to kill me or when Naimi vanished. And you've been acting all twitchy even before he left. Did something happen?"
Zayr opened his mouth to reply, shut it, and managed a generic mumble of "that's none of your business."
Tobias scowled. "I thought something strange had been going on. What's wrong between you and Nikado?"
Zayr could already feel heat rising to his face at the thought of explaining Nikado's advances. "Nothing of concern. We had a disagreement over something."
"Leave it be, guys," Pablo said to the other two. "If he wants to tell us, he will. What's this crazy woman like, Eris?"
"Pretty," Eris said after a moment. "Really pretty. Like, so pretty it wasn't like she was a real person. More like a fantasy. Long dark hair, great figure without being too skinny. And really powerful, like I said. She moved faster than I could see, and hit hard. My blows did nothing against her. And I think she might have been a match for Pablo in magic."
"That's not possible," Pablo said flatly. "Only my line carries that kind of power. Having other lines with that sort of ability at their disposal would seriously disrupt the balance of the world. That's why someone like Naimi only comes along every few millennia."
She shrugged. "Hey, I'm just telling you what I thought. That's how it felt to me."
"Where was this fortress of hers?" Tobias inquired, shifting the subject. "How big was it? I don't recall seeing any around here."
"Well, that's the thing," Eris said with a shrug. "It was a floating fortress."
"A floating fortress," Pablo echoed.
She nodded. "And it was moving, too. So it might not be in the same place, but I know which direction it was heading. It can't be that hard to find, right?"
Tobias nodded, rubbing her shoulder absently. "Zayr is right, though. We have to help him. But maybe Pablo should stay here and continue his work."
The mage shook his head. "No way. I'm coming with you. If she's as powerful as Eris says, you'll need my help."
"We'll need everyone's help, I think," Zayr said seriously. "We should set out in the morning, early, so we may as well get some sleep soon."
