|
Post by demikara on Sept 5, 2020 19:51:17 GMT -6
The breach was sealed, and there had been no small breath of relaxation by the Ratatoskr who had been keeping an eye on it for her. And now she and Xiaolian were alone again, Maria having been dropped off at MCU while they returned to the breach. That had been fun. The newest specialist had not understood why she wasn't being included and it wasn't like Molly could have said hey, it's ratatoskr business, don't worry about it. They were meant to remain as quiet as possible. The Guardians were kept even quieter judging by the fact that the only one that Molly had ever met was Xiaolian, even if the two bodies were meant to work together.
Maybe the other Ratatoskr just didn't know how to get a hold of the guardians now? Their original plane was sealed shut. Molly had been taken there by her mentor when she was still an apprentice once. It was how she knew it was sealed. She had been supposed to meet with actual Guardians as part of her duties, but that hadn't been possible. And now she was working with one, but not on In Between business. And Xiaolian never wanted to discuss any of it and it was never the right time to discuss anything besides.
There never seemed to be a right time to discuss any thing related to the other business they had. Especially given neither could access the In Between properly on their own.
|
|
|
Post by Circe on Sept 5, 2020 20:10:50 GMT -6
There was little avoiding the subject now given the ease and grace with which Xiaolian had met the trickster god Coyote. The Guardians were a thing of myth and urban legend, told to keep Ratatoskr children in line; a tree traveler's equivalent to the bogey man. But here one was, in the flesh, and had been able to perform the required duty of sealing a planar breach without much difficulty.
It seemed in fact that there were a number of things that the other was keeping close to her chest, either out of fear or habit. But never the less things needed to be said and now was as good a time as any.
"Well this is going to make us real popular with the rookie." Xiaolian commented. They had just been deposited back on the small side street they had left from, not far from the Dallas MCU branch's building.
|
|
|
Post by demikara on Sept 5, 2020 20:17:21 GMT -6
"Don't remind me. How the hell do we even put it? 'Sorry we abandoned you, we had to do something with our other job.' In the middle of a work day." Well, more towards the end, but the point remained. How was she going to explain it to Maria? She wasn't sure. "Hopefully she'll be understanding. I'm glad she's with us now, but things like this were a bit simpler before her." They were both in the know after all and Maria and the warden weren't in the know at all. Oh the Warden may have an inkling as to what a ratatoskr was, but only because of who her father was. The council, after all, was nosey. Just like a million other similar government bodies were all across the tree.
"She'll eventually forgive us at least. Probably." Maybe she'd assume it was something she hadn't been read in on yet? That was true enough. She was just never going to be introduced to it at all.
|
|
|
Post by Circe on Sept 5, 2020 20:27:06 GMT -6
Xiaolian shrugged as if to say 'I know'. It wasn't that she disliked the rookie, it was that everything was entirely too complicated lately. Things had been ticking along just fine until Molly's friend, sibling, whatever had caught sight of something that should have stayed hidden. Normally the small white jade pendant, about the size of a mahjong tile stayed hidden, especially after the stern words of warning she had received from her shīfu before taking up her post on this plane.
"She's a good kid, just still seems pretty new to everything." She remarked pulling her phone out of her pocket. Sighing, she scrolled through and dismissed several messages on the screen and replied to one before sliding it back into the pocket she'd pulled it from. "She'll either forgive or forget. Let's hope the later doesn't have to happen."
|
|
|
Post by demikara on Sept 5, 2020 20:36:56 GMT -6
"I really hope we don't have to spell her. I'm terrible at the memory spell." Largely because she thought very poorly of it. Molly didn't actually want to cast that spell on anyone at all. "We can just tell her it was something personal you've been helping me with. That's close enough." It would be a lie, meaning it would burn the entire time she said it. Molly despised lying. But there was little choice in the matter. Maria couldn't learn what they were. Secrecy was important and unlike the unseen on this plane, they could never ever be found out.
They were too different. It was dangerous. Especially given the guardians havign to leave their own plane. There had to be a reason for that and it was probably something like discovery.
|
|
|
Post by Circe on Sept 5, 2020 20:45:53 GMT -6
Xiaolian frowned, a memory spell was a last resort, and hopefully they could do some creative convincing with Maria to draw attention away from the issue. MCU didn't really cover much in the way of space-time magics, unless the veil counted, and even then there was little known about that by most of the Unseen. It was something that the fae kept close and didn't speak much about. It was also the reason the Warden had been able to pass herself off as fae so easily, given the height, coloring, and type of magical affinity; it had been fool proof for a time.
"A memory spell is a last resort, we both know this." She explained. "More than likely her only concern is going to be the weird coyote." If you could even call it that in such simple terms; it had been the trickster God himself. One that Xiaolian had never expected to really meet. But she supposed that old things were waking up again, and were likely becoming drawn to the glades. "At least there weren't any jingling.."
|
|
|
Post by demikara on Sept 5, 2020 20:51:19 GMT -6
"I'm all for keeping attention on Coyote showing up." Molly shuddered. "Dealing with gods. I'm glad its so rare." It wasn't something she was comfortable with at all and she knew it. Luckily, it wasn't something she much had to deal with. Gods were rare, and that was, perhaps, the second time she had ever dealt with a god of any sort, if that. "And I'll say. Jingling in the city would be a disaster in the making. They'd multiply way too quickly. There are way too many hiding places. And worst of all would be all the metal they'd devour." The city was not made for dealing with jingling.
Molly hated dealing with them, but she tended not to be a fan of any of the 'wildlife' that came with the In Between. The tended to be incredibly weird or incredibly dangerous and there was very little in between.
|
|
|
Post by Circe on Sept 5, 2020 21:02:10 GMT -6
Xiaolian didn't say anything and instead found herself wishing to be anywhere else. This whole week had gone far from what she had thought. "This entire week will teach me not to ignore somethings, that's for certain. Jingling or no jingling." She said after a moment. Xiaolian knew she was now reaping the fruits of her desire to leave everything and ignore her other duties. For a time it had seemed that she could potentially step away from and out of her role as a Guardian; after all they weren't needed anymore. Heaven hadn't responded to their cries for help all those years ago, and even now seemed to care little for what happened to those that had served it so faithfully.
"Maybe... Coyote is right." Xiaolian said slowly. She was ignored, and often wondered why no one had come to help them when home had been attacked. "Maybe I am nothing more than a hawk caught and trained to do its master's bidding."
|
|
|
Post by demikara on Sept 5, 2020 21:08:54 GMT -6
"Gods, that...Coyote hit the nail on the head, didn't he? A trapped hawk. That's all I am." Molly looked down at her hands. The binding had to go. "I almost asked him to remove this stupid binding. I don't know if I'd stick around if he had." To be free was something she longed for. "I'm sure there would have been some kind of trick to the entire thing. there always is when dealing with gods. But being free again." It would have almost been worth it.
"It was demoralizing, listening to him." Maybe they were both just trapped and trained. Molly certainly jumped when the council said so now and tried to do what she could to keep them off her back.
|
|
|
Post by Circe on Sept 5, 2020 21:27:23 GMT -6
Xiaolian knew the sad truth and hadn't denied it when Coyote had spoken of it. Instead she had forged on ahead, and done what needed to be done. She was exhausted by now and more than ready to be done with it all, but things still felt unfinished. "Why didn't you? He seemed willing, if only for his own entertainment." She asked.
The way Coyote had looked at Xiaolian though, had made her feel small, ignorant, and insignificant. Which in comparison to such an old god was likely true, although she didn't want to be reminded of such. "It may have been, but it may also have needed saying. The old gods rarely speak unless something needs to be said. They've grown content in their...hm.. mediocrity." At least that was how it appeared to her. When even her own ancestors ignored her pleas and prayers, it left her wondering how she would even continue to weather the storms ahead.
|
|
|
Post by demikara on Sept 6, 2020 9:15:17 GMT -6
"If I accepted it, I would have had to leave MCU. Leave Earth. I know I'm not the most mature person, but I do like my work here, for the most part. I like my team too, most of the time." Molly shrugged, uncertain. She liked her work here. But if she had accepted that, then she'd never work here again. It would mean moving back to the farm full time. "I miss my family. Don't get me wrong. I miss them so much. But I like living apart from them a lot too." She felt more like an adult that way. Less like the child who would never grow up. "Besides. Maybe denying things like that will make the council decide to remove it on their own. I hate being bound, make no mistake of it, but I am trying to learn." She no longer broke into any place with interesting wards, or even tried. She stayed out of places she wasn't meant to be. What more did they want of her? She was trying to show she had matured as a person. It wasn't exactly easy, but she was trying.
"What about you? He seemed like he could fix whatever keeps you from being able to get to the In Between on your own. Why not ask?"
|
|
|
Post by Circe on Sept 6, 2020 10:48:14 GMT -6
"Because," Xiaolian answered. "That would be admitting failure and bringing shame on my family." She knew better than to admit anything to a god, even if it was the truth. They would determine their own truth and had the power to make it so, even if it held no benefit for anyone else.
"I can't do that Bronson... They've already gone through so much."
They had lost their home, and later one of their own to the harsh realities of their new world. While Xiaolian was willing to fiercely protect it at any cost, the cost had been high and had nearly bankrupt her.
"They can't know that I'm weak and can't travel... and they can't know that I might possibly care more for the humans here." The Guardians thought of most residents of the tree and their various planes with neutral indifference. Xiaolian however, despite warnings of becoming too close and too fond, had gradually warmed to her strange new home. Reveling in each new and curious thing she learned about it's inhabitants, hardly becoming at all of one such as herself. "They also cannot know that I've been discovered by a native." It took all she had had to deal with Tyrus's little incident, and then the purification and sealing of the breach.
|
|
|
Post by demikara on Sept 6, 2020 11:04:12 GMT -6
"It's hard not to care for the humans here. We see some of the worst of them, but also some of the best." Molly admitted. "Humans are endearing, in some odd way, with their short lives." The were interesting and different. Some so incredibly solemn, some so full of life. And they did so much with so little time it was admirable. "Have you ever considered seeing a healer? There's some I know of who are discrete, who might be able to help. They won't ask questions." And Molly could pay. Being a ward breaker meant good money, even if she could only do it in her scant free time.
"You might be able to travel after all. And then your family would never know." And there would be no shame, surely, if they never found out. "It's like being sick, isn't it? Not being able to travel. I brought shame on my master. You certainly haven't done that, if you aren't bound." Molly could acknowledge the shame she brought too, even if it was just shame of having her magic bound by natives.
|
|
|
Post by Circe on Sept 6, 2020 12:33:34 GMT -6
Compared to most of the natives of the current plane they were on, the Ratatoskr and Guardians were blessed with incredibly long lives. Many of the Guardians having been privileged enough to see the rise and fall of several dynasties, each secretly going about their duties observing, protecting, and in many ways serving their adopted home. "What would I tell them? Hi, you can call me Xiaolian and I can't travel? They're just going to look at me and laugh, and just tell me to get in a car or on a plane." She snorted.
What good was a healer to the likes of her?
"While... it is like being sick.. it also isn't. I always thought there was some disagreement between me and this plane, but I don't think it is." Xiaolian admitted.
|
|
|
Post by demikara on Sept 6, 2020 12:38:40 GMT -6
"You tell them something is up with your space-time magic." Molly corrected. "Tell them it's like a block, or something. They aren't human healers. They'd be able to understand." And it had to be some kind of block, didn't it? Xiaolian was a Guardian. She should be able to travel in the In Between just fine. "You shouldn't have to tell them more than that to get started. They'd just assume you were Ratatoskr." Molly shrugged, uncertain. "We do have our own healers, you know. Every one has their own job to do." Including being healers. Molly's job was wards and warding. She was good at it too and she knew it. She was fairly confident in her skills and for good reason.
She had both mundane and magical training in wards.
|
|