TDR: Life as a Traveller

The Cost of Curiosity Part 2, Chapter 3

'Right...'

'However, I suppose there is much to talk about now that we are here.'

'Such as...?'

'I'll start off with that you must be careful in this place. From the moment we got here, there has been something off about this place. As for the rest, it is best to listen while you figure out our surroundings.'

She was right, I needed to use what time I had to figure out how to get out of here. I began exploring and taking in my surroundings.
'What about my—our mom?' I asked as I paced forward.

'What of her?'

'Wouldn't she follow us? Wouldn't it be better to wait for her here?'

'She can't. The transportation circle does not activate for non-humanoids.'

'Then how did we get here?'

'The answer to that question rests in how it determines what you are. The circle has no eyes, no ears and no mind to think. All it can use is the Æther within you.'

Our mom talked about Æther only briefly, all she had to say was it was a magical substance that was invisible and all around us, but she never said anything about it being within us.
I guess we were only a couple of months old, but it is a little frustrating...

'However, it likely didn't see you as human either child. You would have been identified as a 'monster' if not for my presence.'

'Then you're the reason... why?' I asked cautiously.
I felt a little sour, but this situation came about because I broke the rules, she wasn't ultimately the one responsible.

'I understand your desire to cast blame, but understand neither of us are at fault here.'
I was a little taken aback that she realized my feelings, but I quickly calmed and held myself steadfast. It was then that I felt something that was not my own, it was like the perk of a slight smile, soft and welcoming

'While I'm oversimplifying our situation tremendously,' she spoke, and with it, that soft and welcoming feeling disappeared, '...what matters is that having two minds, and two 'souls' mixed and blended into one, has overpowered and muddled any biological identifier for our Æther. We are wholly unique, 'unidentifiable'. It was a flaw in transportation circles, and, in general, to correct for it is impractical.'

There was a question that fluttered in my mind while we spoke: ...how does she know all this?
It wasn't a question that lacked an answer, for all I know, she only knew stuff in passing, and couldn't talk about specifics, or she could have very well been the one who designed it. If she lived in the era, it would perhaps be like asking me about why we could start a car.
The more I thought about it, the more I realized the question hardly mattered. Instead, I wanted something more than an answer...

'Luna, I...' struggling to think about how to best ask her this, considering I had no idea where I stood with her.

'Yes, child, what is troubling you?'

'I—I want your help saving my brother and getting out of here.'

'...' She was silent for moment, all the while I was wondering if she was going to help at all. However, when she broke her silence, I felt something...
'To ask something so obvious... I was going to help you regardless considering the danger of this place, child. However, there isn't any immediate danger, so let's start with a hint—look for a map. This place will surely have one.'
...something foreign, something that didn't come from me, the emotion of a slight smile.

'What, a map?'
I answered unsurely, even with it as dark as it was, I could tell that this place was massive, where would I begin? Not to mention any physical map would have likely rotted away.