Beginning Anew

Something to protect

Exhilaration sang through Walter as he moved swiftly through New York City. He leapt from building to building under the midnight sky.

New York truly was a remarkable place. It was so large and sported enough oddities that even if someone caught a glimpse of him, it wouldn't make any difference. This was the city where stange things happened every single day, and most of them were written off as people being eccentric.

To Walter's great surprise, tonight Nomura asked to accompany him on the delivery run. He'd hesitated to accept her request, but eventually agreed. Dare he say it was turning out to be... fun?

The pair tag-teamed the deliveries across the city, at times racing one another to the next building, or teasing some of the humans around them, causing looks of abject confusion on many faces.

Their games were completely unnecessary, and yet... even though Walter's rational self told him they had no business cavorting around a city so thick with humans, he found himself enjoying it.

Being able to show his true nature without restraint made him feel free, and having someone who could match his speed and strength running beside him fueled that feeling even more.

The plentiful sewers proved to be quite useful for them to move from one part of the town to the other, especially when they got caught out in the daylight after their long night.. Even while they were relegated to the tunnels beneath the city, they moved with such incredible speed that they covered great distances.

They had just finished their last sewer run and were waiting just inside the mouth of an exit tunnel for the sun to go down.

Walter leaned against the cement wall. Next to him, Nomura lay on her back atop a maintanence platform.

She turned on her MP3 player, but instead of using headphones she let the music play through a built-in speaker. The gentle notes of Madame Butterfly echoed softly, filling the sewers with its sweet sound.

The music soothed both former changelings and Walter exhaled deeply, allowing the notes to fill his mind and calm his soul.

"You know..." Nomura sighed. "Truthfully I don't miss my human form that much." She crossed her arms and legs and stared up at the sewer ceiling. "But I wish I could go to the theatre again... just one last time."

"I don't think that is entirely out of the realm of possibility," Walter offered. "I hear the Palais Garnier in Paris has a number of secret tunnels hidden within its walls."

Nomura let out a sharp laugh.

"And I'm sure you'll find your way into some of the local theaters," Walter said. "All the finest opera singers and musicians in the entire world come to New York sooner or later, after all. Just be sure you aren't caught."

"Heh," Nomura snorted. "Your concern is touching." She tapped her nail on the concrete, keeping time with the music. "Just look at me, trying to make small talk with you. Before all this started, I didn't even like you!"

"Well," Walter folded his arms. "You didn't like anyone, so I won't take that too personally." He glanced out at the darkening sky. "You would be hard-pressed to find a changeling who did like me, now wouldn't you?"

Nomura didn't reply, and Walt glanced over at her.

"It's true," she admitted. "There was a lot of talk amongst us lower ranked changelings... about your true motives. There were many of us who doubted you, but... equally as many respected you, or even looked up to you... as the ideal changeling."

"Look how well that turned out," Walter muttered.

Nomura sat up and stared down into the runoff at the bottom of the tunnel."We were all doomed the day Gunmar regained his power regardless, weren't we?" she whispered. "The fact that you, I and NotEnrique are still here is just dumb luck when it comes right down to it."

"No, it was Jim. He saved each of us on three separate occasions," Walter countered. To this, Nomura grew quiet, then nodded.

"What are we supposed to do now?" Nomura asked, turning her gaze toward the ceiling, her eyes far away, voice quiet. "There's no one to fight against anymore... it's... so strange."

"You could always take the time to watch a few operas," Walter suggested.

Nomura blinked. "Oh... I suppose," she waved off his suggestion, then the corner of her mouth rose in a smirk. "Heh."

"What?" Walter asked.

"It's just nice talking with someone who isn't a complete idiot." Nomura snorted. "Those trolls are such dimwits! It certainly wasn't the brightest ones who survived Gunmar's cull."

"I know it isn't easy for you to settle in with the other trolls," Walter said.

"No," Nomura admitted. "I keep seeing how different we are. When we arrived in New Jersey, I realized I'd never actually lived among trolls before. It's rather obvious I'm the outsider here." She pulled her knees up and rested her forehead on them. "I'm not really one of them. They know that, and I know that."

Walter nodded. "I know it's frustrating, but the important thing is that you've survived. Now, you need to live, Nomura."

"Hmpf! I'll decide what I need to do!" Nomura huffed, then let out a tired sigh and lay back down. She turned up the sound on her MP3 player so the clear soprano rang through the tunnel, belting out Un bel di vedremo. A couple of minutes into the aria, Nomura turned her green eyes to Walter and said,"It's easy for you, Stricklander; you have someone to protect."

"So do you," Walter countered. "You have Jim, and the denizens of Trollmarket. All their warriors were taken by Gunmar; you're the only one left to protect them."

At that, Nomura turned the sound down again. She lay quietly, listening to the rest of the aria. When the song ended she said, "Jim told me that too... Said he wanted me to help him protect Trollmarket... But I don't – I'm just not sure." She closed her eyes and sighed.

"Jim has elected to put his trust in you. I'm quite sure you'll do fine," Walter assured her.

As the sun sank lower in the sky, Walter's thoughts turned to his own toubles. Tonight was his last in New York City. When he made it back to Jersey it would be time to move on.... He'd put off talking with Merlin. The meer sight of the old man made him want to snarl. He had no desire at all to approach the wizard, much less ask him for something, but his window of time was quickly closing. He had to ask... He had to know... if there was a chance.