Niaomi: The Journey

14 | Striding

A/N: Guess who's back! And with an extra-long chapter to help make up for the extra-long wait. It's so fun to be back to writing; guess that absence really does make the heart grow stronger. I wanted to have this done by the old update day (i.e. Tuesday), but Niaomi and Eragon just ran away from me as I was trying to tie up plot holes and include everything that needed to be included in this, which is why I'm awake and posting this chapter past 3:00 a.m. Only six more to go, can you believe it?

Two heartfelt moments almost back-to-back, so brace yourselves and your feels! :3

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Nate still hadn't woken up when they docked, and they struggled for a moment with figuring out how to move him before deciding the simplest method was to act as though he was injured. It meant a long walk into town since they couldn't pull into port. Their faces were surely plastered over wanted posters by now - or at least, their previous faces were.

Taking a chance, the five had forgone their disguises in favor of merely shifting the triplets' features to be more human. It was easy enough for them to do on their own, and Angela shockingly did not have a large expanse of magic power to pull from. Niaomi had not even changed the color of her eyes, but they split up into three groups since the guards would be searching for a party of six.

Nick strained to catch a glimpse of Ren's golden head as he and his sister bore their brother aloft. She and Angela were further ahead, as the triplets had chosen to enter the city amidst a group of Wandering Tribesmen in an attempt to blend in further. Rosaminda, her hair wrapped with Nasuada's scarf, had already entered the city. The delay was due to an admittance line at the gate, which provoked the curiosity of their fellow travelers.

He supposed that this was a strange enough occurrence to merit their interest, but growing up on a magical island left him unfamiliar with what this country's concept of normal was. They'd learned that it was normal for the land to be silent, and normal that horses did not have wings, and normal to not know the ancient language (at least in this realm - Angela had explained things were different in Du Weldenvarden, the place of his mother's birth). His definition of normal had changed vastly since coming to Alagaësia.

Or, more appropriately, since Niom and Leafë's deaths.

"You ready?" Nia's question shook him out of his thoughts, and he nodded as they approached the gate.

His grip on the stretcher tightened as the guards barred their way. The grizzled one on their left looked suspiciously at Nathan and asked, "What happened to this one?"

"Fever struck him," Nicholas answered. It had been decided he would be the one to speak, as it was also normal for males to do so, not that it made any sense whatsoever. "We're heading into town now to see the healer."

"Narda doesn't want any disease ridden wanderers."

"Please, sir!" his sister interjected in a pleading tone. "It's a simple fever that won't spread. We know cause he fell ill after eating some food he shouldn't have been eating. We just plan to spend the night until sailing out to Teirm, promise."

The man seemed ready to continue protesting, but his youthful companion muttered to him, "'s bad luck turning away a sick man."

Growling, the guard stepped to the side and waved them along hurriedly. The two siblings thanked him before carrying the third through the gates. As Niaomi led the way, Nick whispered, "Thought I was supposed to do the talking?"

"Got us in, didn't I?"

The cheeky smile she threw back over her shoulder made it clear she was teasing him. But her comment struck a nerve that made him fall silent. His inability to handle the situation quickly enough seemed to serve as further evidence that he was useless without magic.