Apparently it's the 3-year anniversary of Songs of War! Have a chapter to celebrate!
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"You ready?" Galleous asked.
Honestly, no. Ingressus wasn't ready. Doing this went against every survival rule he'd ever been taught. He could almost hear the voices of every Voltaris in existence yelling at him to back out, to stay hidden, that the mountains were the only safe place, the Voltaris were the only safe clan, that what he was about to do was suicide.
But he wasn't in the mountains. That place was lost to him. He was in the middle of nowhere, half a continent away from anywhere the raiders would've thought to look for his people. A Sendaris had known of his existence for over a month and had done nothing to harm him, even after learning that Ingressus couldn't return to the mountains and would be no use to the raiders. Unless he suspected Ingressus had lied...
No. There was only so much second-guessing a person could take, and Ingressus had hit his limit. He'd made his choice. He would at least have some measure of protection in Ataraxia, and if that failed, he would run. He had what he needed to do it; a map, his blade, food and water, string for snares or to make a bow, and any other supplies he could think of. He'd made Galleous sketch out a map of Ataraxia for him, and he knew how to get to the mainland or, if he really had to, to an island low enough to jump into the water from. He wouldn't wait around for someone to find him. He couldn't hide forever, and he was pretty sure he'd go crazy if he stayed confined to the cave. This would happen on his terms.
He was nervous. Maybe he wasn't ready, but he was prepared. So he looked up at Galleous and nodded firmly. No backing out.
Galleous nodded back reassuringly. "I won't let anyone harm you."
He stepped out of the cave and gestured for Ingressus to join him. Ingressus flexed his hand nervously, then stepped into the Ataraxian sunlight for the first time.
The first thing he noticed was how bright everything was. Not just the light, though he did have to squint as his eyes adjusted. No, it was the color. He'd never seen this much color everywhere. Sure, there would be sparks of color when the clan trained with their Songs, the glow of the sunrise or sunset and the aurorae dancing across the sky, and the scattered clumps of spruce trees that clung stubbornly to the mountainside. But here in Ataraxia the color was just everywhere. He'd had a few glimpses of the outside during his time in Galleous's cave, but he hadn't dared venture too near the entrance or onto the balcony in the day. He'd seen only a few slivers of the outside world. Now, it was surrounding him. Green grass covered the ground like snow, stretching across the surface of the island. The trees were covered in colors he hadn't known were possible– yellow, red, orange, green, gradienting from the trunk out to the tips of every branch, from the base of the tree to the crown like an otherworldly flame. Blue and red and golden flowers bobbed merrily in the breeze all over the land, and a bright orange... something sat near the footpath a short distance away– was that supposed to be a face on its side? A flame-red bird lifted off from a fence and darted past them, chirping loudly as it chased after another bird with bluer-than Protisium wings. Red and yellow apples hung heavily from one of the trees, and wow, they were more colorful in the sunlight than they had been in the cave. It was as if the colors of Songs had been painted over everything in sight.
"Welcome to Ataraxia," Galleous said.
"Holy frost," Ingressus whispered, looking around at everything. "I didn't expect... I knew that... it's all so alive."
"It is an amazing place," Galleous agreed.
Ingressus shuffled his feet through the grass as he and Galleous walked, feeling the stalks tickle his skin. He could've spent forever watching the way it bent and sprung back, but a motion to his left made him snap his gaze up, the grass forgotten. A Nestoris woman was kneeling on the ground outside her cave, tending to a flowerbed. She was facing slightly away from them but Ingressus tensed anyway, speeding up automatically to put Galleous between them. Right. Enemy clans. Don't get relaxed.
"You want to back out?" Galleous asked him quietly.
Ingressus took a deep breath, then shook his head. No. He'd already chickened out twice before. He was going to do it this time.
He squared his shoulders, fixing his gaze forward as though the footpath were a challenging mountain trail. He would not cower. Fear was exactly what the raiders wanted from the Voltaris, second only to death. He refused to give them that.
The next person they came across was a Human. He gave a friendly greeting to Galleous and looked at Ingressus curiously, but that was all. The next people, a pair of Sendaris and their child, did a double-take, and the father grabbed his daughter's shoulder. And then they came to the last bridge, and they were in the marketplace.
Ingressus felt his shoulders tensing despite himself, felt his blade itching at his fingers from the very edge of his inventory. People were staring and he'd known they would do at least that, and the fact that it was just that was a good thing. No one had made a move for him, but he saw a Mendoris hiding her child behind her, saw a Kaltaris obliviously drowning a daisy he was watering as he stared at Ingressus. Whispers rose around the marketplace, swirling around him like wind-borne snow.
"Is that–"
"What the–"
"A Voltaris?"
"You're seeing him, right?"
"A Voltaris, here?"
"He's following Galleous–"
"How in the void..."
"–away from his clan?"
"Am I hallucinating again?"
"Did Galleous bring him–"
"Voltaris?"
Someone poked Ingressus's arm. He looked down to see a Human child staring at his markings. She poked at him again, and Ingressus pulled his arm away.
The child looked up at him expectantly. "Are you part Magnorite?"
Ingressus stared. "What?"
The child pointed. "Is that lava in your stripes?"
"No," Ingressus said. "They're just my markings."
"I didn't know Ardoni could be orange."
She reached out to poke at Ingressus again, only to have her hand pushed away. "Stop poking me."
A Nestoris approached Galleous, causing Ingressus to forget the Human as the Nestoris spoke. "Um, Galleous—"
Galleous didn't bat an eye. "Lovely day, isn't it?"
He turned in a circle, his gaze sweeping over the market. "This is Ingressus," he said, his hand hovering over the younger Ardoni. "Yes, I've noticed he's Voltaris. He is here under my care. Try to hurt him, and you answer to me."
The Nestoris stared at Galleous, his mouth working but no sound coming out. Galleous walked past him, gesturing to Ingressus. "Come on. We have groceries to get."
Well, Ingressus thought. I guess that's one way to do it.
He trotted after Galleous, keeping out of arm's reach of the Nestoris. The element of surprise only worked for so long. He couldn't count on it forever. Even so, no one came forward to confront them. Ardoni kept their distance, a fact that suited Ingressus just fine. Other species– Humans, Felina, and one member of a species Ingressus didn't recognize– kept casting confused looks at their neighbors as they went about their day. He saw one Human look at Ingressus, then at his companion. The companion just spread her hands in an I-don't-know gesture.
While Galleous was haggling with a shop owner about the price of eggs, something caught Ingressus's eye on the next stall over. The countertop was covered in bright green things, striped from end to end with darker green. He wandered over and picked a smaller one up, studying it. It was heavier than it looked, its surface firm and hard with a yellowish patch on the bottom. It wasn't a rock. Was it a plant, then?
"Hey, kid!"
Ingressus jumped, catching the thing in his arms before it could fall. A Human was glaring at him over the counter, another one of the green things under his arm.
"Either buy the melon, or put it back and move on," he snapped.
Ingressus bristled. "I was just looking."
The shopkeeper snorted and turned away. "Sure you were. Teenagers are teenagers, whatever the species."
Ingressus glared after him, but dropped the melon back on the counter with a thunk.
"Oh, don't mind him."
A Kaltaris had appeared in the Human's place. Ingressus retreated a step but she didn't seem to notice, shaking her head at the Human's back.
"He's the second-grumpiest man on the islands," she continued. "And I'm sure it grates at him every day that he's not number one."
She turned back to Ingressus, holding out a hand. "Ingressus, was it? I'm Kittrian. My kids and I live a few islands south of Galleous's."
Ingressus looked at Kittrian's hand, then hesitantly reached out to shake it. The Kaltaris's handshake was strong but not painful or hostile, and she let go again after the handshake was over.
"Ever had watermelon before?" she asked him.
Ingressus shook his head, glancing at the green things. "No."
"Well, that won't do. Here, wait a moment." Kittrian rolled one of the smaller melons off the counter and chopped it in half. Ingressus flinched at the sight of the rather large knife she'd used, but she simply carved a wedge out of what Ingressus now assumed was a fruit and handed the piece to him. "No charge. Consider it a welcome present."
"Kittrian, you can't just go giving the goods away!" the Human snapped.
"Then I'll just buy it back from you," Kittrian retorted.
Ingressus studied the melon slice. The green skin, it turned out, hid a bright red center to the fruit, even redder than his own markings, with dark seeds speckled throughout. Ingressus sniffed the wedge, then took a nibble off the side. It was sweeter than he'd expected, and when he took a larger bite the juice flooded his mouth and dribbled down his chin. The flesh of the fruit had practically melted, and he held a hand to his face to catch the drips, staring at the fruit. How could a single slice have that much water in it? A person could probably live off these things if they had to.
"You like it?" Kittrian asked.
Ingressus nodded, swallowing the mouthful. "It's good."
At the neighboring stall, Galleous said an exasperated "thank you" to the shopkeeper and tossed him a few iron coins. He turned as Ingressus took another big bite of the melon.
"Do I need to pay for that?" he asked.
Ingressus shook his head, his mouth full of fruit.
"Not at all," Kittrian confirmed. "It was nice to meet you, Ingressus."
Ingressus mulled over the strange look she had given Galleous. Dislike? Suspicion? Did she have some grudge against him? Whatever it was, Galleous seemed not to have noticed. Weird.
Something smacked Ingressus's shoulder as they reached the bridge back off the island. He spun, poised to run or fight, and saw a Mendoris a few years older than him, watching him with a cocky smirk on his face. The pebble he'd thrown at Ingressus lay on the ground at Ingressus's feet.
"So," the Mendoris said. "A Voltaris in Ataraxia. This sure is a first."
He cocked his head. "So what are you doing here? Theft? Espionage? Advance scout for an invasion? Or maybe—"
He threw another pebble. Ingressus snatched it out of the air, and the Mendoris faltered in his accusation. Ingressus wasn't sure why; it was a very telegraphed throw. Anyone could've seen it coming.
"Don't you have something you need to be doing, Selarin?"
The Mendoris– Selarin– looked up at Galleous and assumed a look of innocence. "Oh, no, Ky'Galleous. I was just curious."
"Don't call me that," Galleous said. "Now get lost."
"Yessir," Selarin said.
He turned and sauntered away. Galleous snorted and started back on his way. Selarin turned back to Ingressus, pointing at him accusingly with a confident smirk
Ingressus felt the pebble in his hand. Hurting Selarin would not end well for him, but...
He threw the pebble. It smacked into the leaves at Selarin's feet. Selarin glanced down at the projectile, then stared affrontedly at Ingressus.
Ingressus glared back at him. Leave me alone.
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(2095 words)
I don't think I made Selarin annoying enough.
And happy thanksgiving to my American readers! And happy November 23rd/24th to all my other readers! (Ah, time zones.)