| Birthday Surprises (Epilogue) | ||
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Magical teleportation is a valid way to get around, although the schools of magic and the magical foci vary. As it turns out, an elder wizard from a local trade community had the best offer they were likely to find: an inexpensive teleport to an island off the Senta mainland in exchange for a small piece of the end of one of Louis' antlers. The island was used for trade, mostly, but the travel fee was also promised to cover a trip from the island. However, the island was too small for an airport. The only option: a three hour trip by boat. The ocean is calm, at least, so there's little bobbing or swaying. The ship is medium-sized, mostly used for hauling cargo, and the minimal crew doesn't seem interested in bothering their passengers as long as they stay out of the way. Engine speed is steady. Land is almost clearly visible in the distance. Louis sits on a crate on the deck, leaning against the railing, peering out at the water. There are so many questions he has in his head for which he may never get answers. Lifting his head from his crossed arms, he glances over toward the pair that seemed content to see him safely home. The tiniest smile curls the corners of his mouth. "I must really be a pitiable sight..." Mogwin was happy to pay for the fee, no need for Louis to break his horns just for this. He still had some coin from... back home and a few valuables, it wasn't that expensive!. He also gets some bread and snacks... he assumes the Deer might prefer the bread and perhaps an apple?... he figures Louis needs... something in his belly after this ordeal. (That and he was also hungry, so he enjoys something to eat too) he even shares with Amaryllis!, while inwardly hoping no one is upset about it. The Moogle seems quite impressed by the ship, perhaps he never been on a boat before?, and seems glad that the poor lost deer is doing so well, moving to sit besides him. "I've seen worse... been in worse situations myself... I am just glad we found you when we did, Kupo." he offers softly. "You are quite the tough person to have survived like that... magic tree or not." Lillia was quite happy that things worked out in the end and they were able to save the 'beast of the forest', especially when it turned out to be a deer she knew and had grown to like over their interactions in Denko. This ended up being her first time ever riding on a boat though, so the fawn was a little distracted for a bit, looking over the side at the water below, and the view all around. It was quite the experience, but being her first time she was also nervous. Holding an apple she's taken a couple of bites out of she looks back to Louis and Mogwin. "I'm glad you're OK too, but, are we sure this boat is going to stay floating? I mean, I can swim, but we're a long way from land now..." The deer accepts an apple. He has to be careful with most breads as any that use eggs can cause unpleasant indigestion issues for him. Holding the fruit in his hands, thumbs rubbing against the naturally glossy surface, the one and a half-legged buck sighs. "Hm? Oh, the boat will be fine. Even if something did happen, they have inflatable rafts. I suppose I understand your trepidation, though. Stepping through magical holes to wind up somewhere else is still pretty new to me. Though...it was very similar to how I wound up where I did. And maybe even 'when' I did and I don't even know if that's normal." Louis takes a bite of the apple and chews slowly. "In all of this, I guess I haven't thanked you two properly. My memory of what happened is full of holes." Mogwin flutters around to look at the boat, "IT seems pretty safe, don't worry Lillia." he says, trying to reassure the Doe, "I mean... I understand how you feel, felt the same way on an airship, and i can fly... kinda..." he says, rubbing the back of his head, "But, we are all safe now, this is a good boat.". The thanks from Louis gets a grin from him, "Kupo, please, don't mention it, that's what I do, help people if they are in trouble.". There is a pause, "I am just glad it turned out the way it did.... I do wonder how you... went back in time?" he muses, letting out a soft Kupo. "That doesn't sound normal." Lillia nods, accepting the reassurance from both Louis and Mogwin, though the thought of being on an airship that could fall out of the sky brings a nervous shiver that flows through her ending with a twitch of her tail. She tries to push these thoughts from her mind as she eats more of her apple and listens to Louis talk about what happened. "Well you've helped me a lot, so I guess this time I got to help you instead, isn't that what friends do?" She asks with a smile. "But you say you've had something like this happen before? I wonder where this magical hole came from, what caused it? Hmm... I'm afraid I don't know much about that kind of magic." Louis' hand droops while his fingers continue to cling to the apple. "It's not the kind of stuff you'll find in my homeland. We have, ah... Well, different types of animals can have different things about them that make them unique and can be very different. Lions are pretty good at predicting their own deaths- Mmh." That's a tender subject, so Louis quickly moves on to another example, "Whereas many spotted cats have shifting spots on their pelt under different conditions. That is to say, we have our share of mysticism that has been a part of our known history since the Great War. But teleporting and, well, whatever the hell it was that happened to me? No. That doesn't happen." An ear flicks at an errant thought and the buck lifts his hand to take another bite of apple while peering out at the sea. There is land in the distance, but it's still a way to go to get there. "I wonder if we're close enough for phones to have a connection. Maybe the captain has one I can borrow." Mogwin now feels bad for scaring Lillia, and sits down, eating more of his own fruit as he considers what else to say. At least Louis offers a good distraction of the topic, "It's not something I know about either... maybe if I was able to talk with a Time mage, they might get a better idea of this... but even then, traveling several days in time... and that far?" he muses. "Sounds so odd.". There is another pause as he considers, "Perhaps a passenger has one of those devices... they seem very handy." Lillia nods again, remembering Louis telling her some about the sorts of 'magic' that are known in his world. "Right, this sort of magic I think would be more commonplace here, but I don't think I've encountered anything quite like it either... But I guess I didn't leave my grove till recently, maybe it's just fairly uncommon, well, hopefully, it is actually considering how much trouble it caused." She voices her consideration on the matter, then smiles at the asking about a phone. "Maybe, I don't have mine on me, think I lost it..." "I lost mine, too. I really need to see if I can call ahead, have Free bring a car, maybe some clothes." And a leg. The deer exhales and shifts in place where he sits to have a look down the deck toward the bridge. He doesn't readily see anybody else. Putting the apple to his mouth, he grips it with his teeth and reaches over to pull his makeshift crutch closer before going about the process of standing up. Once he gets situated and mostly balanced (again thankful the water is calm), Louis pulls the apple from his mouth with his right hand with the limb now, possibly counter-intuitively, supporting his left side and left leg. "One life crisis at a time. So, Lillia, you told Agata and I about your tree. Was it anything like the tree from the forest where you two found me?" A glance is given to Mogwin, too. Louis isn't quite sure what to make of moogles. They remind him of Hybrids from home, like a bat and a mole mix. Mogwin remains close to Louis of course, ready to help, after finishing his own snack. "Wish i knew more about this stuff... I only know about my own... specialty, which is not nearly related to this... crisis." he says, looking aside and glancing to the approaching island, this was the farthest he ever moved since landing here, so it was all new. "Yes, that would be helpful, would save us a lot of walking." Lillia agrees, she didn't mind the walk, but Louis would likely struggle with it without a new artificial leg, unless he rode on her back, which was a rather embarrassing prospect she'd prefer to avoid outside of an emergency. Thankfully Louis' question about the tree distracts her from the thought and she nods. "A little, seemed to be even older, which is saying something since I think Mother Tree has been around for quite a long time, even since she grew from a piece of an even older and bigger tree that was destroyed. I've never seen her take a spirit form like that, or known her to use her strength to save someone else, though she is barely keeping alive as it is these days..." She says with a deep frown, pausing a moment before continuing on. "In the past though I have seen her in my dreams, and it did feel sort of like talking to the tree spirit we met when we found you." She certainly agrees with Mogwin about wising she knew more about other sorts of magic and things. Each step is a careful process involving a steady left foot, a well-tested placement of his crutch, and a quick lean-heavy hop forward. It makes Louis very slow to move anywhere at all, but he's stubborn enough to insist he do it on his own. Dressed in clothing that may as well be rags gifted as a reward from poor villagers while still very much needing a bath to rinse away the dirt and dried blood, it's no wonder why he feels he must look just awful. Still, he's on a mission now to track down somebody that has a phone. "Hmm, I see... Well, I'm sure there's a way to figure out how to save your mother, tree or otherwise. Just, uh...one step at a time. Mmh. So, have you two known one another for a while or did you just meet? Seems the world has plenty more animals to meet other than the many apes of the mainland. It's refreshing." The island ahead may be an island, but it's also large enough for a sizable country, from mountains to ocean shore and everything in-between. Mogwin was certainly an oddity, and something that others might indeed call an hybrid, but he doesn't consider him an animal, it is more of a special case, not that he corrects Louis. The bat winged thing hovers closer to the two deers. "Just recently, I... am also quite new to here... unlike you, I don't think returning back home might be... as easy as calling someone and traveling there." he says, letting out a little sigh. "Not that I hate it here, it is certainly a very interesting place." Lillia smiles as Louis assures there that there must be a way they can figure out to save her tree. "I hope so, makes me very sad to see her in the state she's in now. I hope one day soon you both can see her full of life again, with branches full of beautiful dream blossoms!" She exclaims with hope, and after watching Louis struggle would certainly try to help before he declines the offer. If he didn't want help she would not be the one to force it on him. "I like it here too, was pretty scary at first, and sometimes still is, but there are lots of good people to meet and amazing places to visit that I'd have never seen if I stayed in the forest. Sure seeing people in places through other's dreams is nice, but in person is better." "Not the first I've heard to become lost. I realize I'm out of touch with the world, but I have my hands full with domestic matters." Lillia has at least some understanding of what Louis does for a living, although she's never seen him at university. Step-shuffle-hop. Settling in against the metal frame near a door, Louis lifts a hand full of apple and gives the door a few quick raps with his knuckles. "I wish I could give you advice or pointers on seeing my hometown for the first time, much less the nation and its natural beauty," if you can overlook the lingering destruction from the Great War still present all over. "Just try to understand that most animals of my home are pretty cold at the idea of meeting strangers, even if they tell you different to your face." Mogwin turns to Lillia, "Seeing into people's dreams sounds like an interesting ability, but might also end up in lots of weird dreams." he chuckles, before turning back to poor Louis, "I think I'd like to visit your home, if you think I might be welcome there, I realize I might be a bit odd." he says, fluttering until he is standing by the door. "And I'd love to see your own hometown as well Lillia, both sound very interesting." "When I first went to Louis' hometown, people did look at me strangely, and well, they still do sometimes, but for the most part they seem to be kind even if they probably do think I'm odd and just don't want to say it to my face." Lillia comments with a nod before adding. "I guess you'll can see it some by the fact that we're taking Louis home, and I can also show you my home grove sometime, though it isn't in the best shape currently with Mother Tree being so sick." Also, maybe she can get a new phone... After a short wait, the door opens and an older looking human fellow peeks out. When he sees it's passengers, he looks mildly annoyed yet still asks, "D'you need something? We're about a half hour from making land at, uh, the International Port of Denko, I think it was." Louis may be shorter than this man, but his stare is remarkably intense. "We should be nearing close enough for phone service, but mine was lost. I really need to make a call to have some people be there to meet me when we arrive." The man seems to give the buck a full looking over. "Look, I don't let anybody use my phone. Don't take it personally, but that's how it is." "Is that so?" asks Louis with indignation surfacing on his features. He can read between the lines just fine. "Yes, that 'is so'. I'm sure the people at the docks can help you out, if that's what you want to call them." The man offers a shrug. It likely wasn't meant as an insult. 'People' tends to be a more human-centric term. The people of Louis' home nation call themselves 'animals', as they are. As even humans are. This does not stop the buck from lifting his brow while leaning his head forward an inch. "I'll have you know that I'm Louis the Red Deer, CEO of Horns Conglomerate." His voice is as cold as ice, unwavering, and stern with an underlying edge of barely-contained anger. "My company likely owns the section of port you aim to dock in, much less the one in control of many of the tariffs placed on import goods -- which you specialize in -- so if you're going to say no, say no because you think I'm a dingy yen-less street urchin trying to scam personal info off your phone with the pretense of needing to make a call instead of acting like you have some neutral blanket reasoning. So, fine, keep your phone privilege to yourself. I'll just have to make a call when I arrive, although I suppose I should decide if the first one is to Horns Conglomerate or the Port Operations Dockmaster." So, that escalated quickly. Awkward is the silence from the man that follows. The Moogle moves closer to Lillia, listening to the stories about the town, "So it is a town without... humans? all animals?" he asks, "Never seen one like that, back at home humans are pretty much everywhere." he replies, "Eager to see how it looks." he admits, before letting a soft kupo at the mention of mother tree. "I wish I would help.". The rude interlude of the rude captain, and the retort from his friend. The Moogle just looks at Louis with a bit of awe, that was more than a bit scary. That indeed escalated quickly. Lillia felt Louis' request was a pretty simple one and didn't see why this man was making such a big deal about letting someone use his phone to make a call for having someone pick him up at the docks. The way Louis responds though makes her glad he's her friend as clearly he isn't afraid of confrontation and has power in certain places that she could only begin to imagine about knowing next to nothing about business. "Well, he's certainly a nice fellow. I have half a mind to hang around and give him some nightmares when he sleeps next." She says, with the last part being quiet as she doesn't want that idle threat to be overheard. The Moogle inches just a bit away from the deer, and now rests by Lillia's side, blinking a few times, "Perhaps I should make sure not to make him mad at me." he says softly, the pom on his head twitching and bouncing as he turned to look between the two. He chuckles faintly at the threat, "Oh come on, perhaps he wasn't nice but that feels a bit excessive." he teases his friend. "He seems quite important." "Uh huh," is all the man says at first with a shake of his head. "You call whoever you want when we get there. Even if you are who you say you are, that means little to me. Just tells me the CEO of Horns Conglomerate is simply a spoiled brat." The man begins to shut the door to the ship's bridge as Louis raises his voice. "Mother-" Click. "Fucker!" The deer leans heavily against the metal wall to his side, closing his eyes and exhaling, before giving the wall one good solid punch. This dislodges the apple from his grip; the buck tries to snatch it again before it falls, but the quick movement only succeeds in having him lose grip on the makeshift crutch. The branch falls over, too. In that moment, all of the tiredness he showed before comes back. He's clearly trying to be strong, but... Supporting himself against the wall, he begins kneeling; he might need help, after all. "Seems discrimination is everywhere, huh?" he asks of the fawn and moogle. Louis exhales the word "...douchebag." | ||
