Ch 23 The Arrival at Juiyo

"Lake?"

I heard Inu's voice.

"Inu! I'm behind this tree."

She wandered over and found me.

"So it's true? I thought my sisters were trying to trick me."

I rolled over onto my back and sat up. I looked at my legs.

"You mean the regeneration? I didn't think they would tell others."

"Us sisters don't keep anything from each other."

I looked at her with one brow raised.

"Even wedding nights?"

She quickly looked away.

"Um, speaking of private affairs. Are you going to just wander around like that after you start walking again?"

I looked down once more. I had no pants.

"Ah, sorry. I left my pants on my other legs."

I covered myself. I began to notice some trees roughly twenty feet away, began to fade. As if they were being drained of life. I have seen this before.

Another power of mine? Embarrassment? Shame?

I watched the closer areas and Inu carefully. There seemed to be no changes within this twenty-foot circle. I was relieved. If Inu was killed under such a stupid circumstance... I don't know what I would do. My wife's sister. A loyal friend. It's not a simple task to keep happiness and anger in check. Shame is so... situational. It's hard to control that even more so.

I began to feel my toes. I stood up and looked around my feet as I checked my ability to balance.

"Okay, I think I'm good to go."

I found a few large leaves and managed to fashion a covering for my lower half.

"If you were not my brother through marriage, I might have wanted you for myself."

She glanced at me as she said it and looked away again. I had to let that roll off my back. That could have had an effect on me too.

Damnit Inu! Not helping!

"Let's go...Uh, Which way do we go? Crap, I never got info while I was in there."

"I know the way now. I went through some huts and found a map. From where we are, we only need to walk away from Skara Magna."

"Oh. That's convenient."

I stopped and turned toward the colosseum to begin a salute.

"Thank you champion! Good luck Wab."

"What about me!"

"You will always have my thanks, Inu. You do so much for me. Even when I don't ask."

I winked at her. She had turned away just before I winked. I felt defeated in a stupid way. She moved forward until she began to hear the dead leaves crunch under her paw.

"What? I don't remember this dead patch here. When... how?"

"Ah, I think that was me."

"Should I be concerned?"

Her amused tail wiggle stopped completely.

"No, It's fine. I think this happens when I am embarrassed. I've seen it before but, I had no idea it was me. I only made the connection just now. It seems to happen around me but not closer to me. It's strange."

"If you are sure..."

I nodded. We continued on. By morning I could see where the sun was coming from and knew we were headed north. Most of the day had passed before we came across an abandoned wooden hut.

"Are abandoned buildings common around this continent? Or is it just the luck of your family?"

"Both."

She said casually. The interior had not been used for a few weeks at least.

"Would it be safe to spend the night here? Or would it be safer to keep moving?"

"We should stay, Lake. I need the rest."

She found the bed and had laid down. I walked over to her and put a hand on her neck. I leaned down and gave her a kiss on the top of her head through her soft fur.

"Sleep well, big sis. I'll keep watch."

She made a slight grunt and went to sleep fast.

I found a seat and looked out into the forest. Listening to the insects and small creatures. I have yet to find an insect that I am familiar with in my own world. I have seen spiders here, though.

Speaking of which, I saw something moving near the doorway. It was a tiny jumping spider. I walked up to it and sat down. I love jumping spiders. They tilt their bodies in such a way as to almost imitate curiosity. They always look like they are wondering.

"I wonder what that giant will do. I wonder why the sky is blue. I wonder, I wonder... I wonder where your next prey is, little guy."

Before I could even realize another hunter was nearby, In a flash, the hunt was over. A larger spider had the jumping spider in its fangs. A type of wolf spider? Shame.

She earned her dinner for the night, though. I won't interrupt.

I stood back up and went to my chair. By the time I sat down, the spider and her prey were gone. The rest of the night was mostly quiet, aside from the chirps of the insects.

By the time I could see the sun again, Inu was already awake.

"Did you sleep well?"

She yawned.

"I did. Thank you for keeping watch."

"Oh, was I supposed to stay awake?"

She looked up in alarm.

"You di..."

She saw my conniving grin. She looked down before she stepped off of the bed.

"You got me. Let's go."

She brushed against my leg on the way out.

"Hopefully before the end of the day, we should reach Juiyo."

"Good. I'm praying Sophie is okay."

Around noon we could see a wall made of tree trunks.

"Is this it?"

I asked. An arrow landed about ten feet in front of us.

"Hold your position. What business do you have here?"

I heard a voice call out.

"Is this Juiyo? I came looking for my friend. I was told she was brought here."

Silence. I've had things go either very bad or very good when I arrive at new places. It's hard to tell which is which until it's too late.

"Who told you to come here? What is your name?"

I got close to Inu to whisper.

"I don't know if I should drop my friend's name. I have no idea if it would get her in trouble or if they even know her. What do you think?"

"What do you mean 'drop' her name? If you mean, you are not sure if you should say her name out loud, do it. If she did not want to have her name used, she should have said something to you."

"True."

I stood up and began my response.

"Estheria is the one who told me where to go. My name is Lake."

More silence than last time.

"Approach slowly."

Inu and I began our slow walk toward the wall and voice. As the trees receded out of our vision, we began to see shoulders and heads over the top of the wall.

One person stood out. There were four people. Three were wearing helmets and the fourth had no helmet, allowing the vision of her gorgeously long blonde hair. She had those familiar, almost glowing blue eyes.

"Estheria!"

I called out.

"You took your time, Lake. Much longer and you may have never found us."

"How is she? Is she here? Sophie?"

She made a few motions with her arms out of my view. The others began to leave.

"Come around to the right. You can find out for yourself."

"Let's go, Inu!"

I followed the wall around a corner. I was practically running.

I saw a break in the wall roughly 100 feet further down. I kept my pace until I reached the entrance. The gate was not open yet. There were two guards on either side of the entrance.

The closest guard was nearly asleep. I walked up to the troll guard with the intent of a friendly greeting.

"Hi, Hello. I'm..."

The guard was startled. His eyes sprung open. He reached for his sword handle. I attempted to show him my open palms to show my lack of hostility but, it was too late.

He slashed my throat from a sheathed sword position.

I could see how frightened he was from that instant. That was nothing compared to the look on his face when he realized what he did. He thought he killed someone. Possibly someone innocent.

I understand the sentiment but, he just does not understand my situation. I stood there with an annoyed look on my face. The other guard ran over.

"What have you done? What did he do to deserve this! Ke'on! You could face punishment!"

He tried to turn and run toward the now-opening gate. I grabbed his arm. He looked at me, horrified. I opened my mouth but nothing came out. I put up a finger to tell him to wait a moment.

"Lake! Are you okay?!"

Inu was not as excited as I was to get here. She had walked slowly behind. I gave her a thumbs up.

"... Ah ah AH AH aa. AHEM. That's better. Maybe you should get more sleep before you have guard duty, eh?"

His stare was no less scared than before. The other guard lifted my chin.

"There is blood, but no cut. How is this?"

Just what I need. I haven't even entered yet and my immortal body has already been found out.

"Ah, tell you what. This never happened. You never fell asleep. You never let your partner go to sleep and I never got my throat cut. Deal?"

They both nodded their heads in unison. The gate was fully open now. I lifted the collar of my shirt to wipe as much blood off of my neck as possible.

"Lake?"

I heard Estheria.

"Where... Oh, introducing yourself to the guards. Sorry to make you wait."

She saw the confused state of the two guards.

"Is something the matter?"

I walked forward just enough to be between Estheria and the guards. I turned my back to Estheria and showed them the most evil face I could make. They saw me and whimpered. The guards shook their heads 'no' with newfound enthusiasm.

"Nothing they cant handle. Let's go."

The three of us entered Juiyo. This was the first step to reuniting with Sophie. As I thought that, I also had a horrible thought.

I closed my eyes. I can't be letting my emotions loose. I can't be too happy or things could go haywire again. People could die. I need to clear my mind for a moment and continue like this is just another day.

"Are you okay?"

"You okay?"

Both Inu and Estheria asked at the same time. I opened my eyes once more.

"Yeah, sorry."

We followed Estheria to her house. It was a hut of decent size, not small but, not huge either. The village was roughly half the size of Skara Magna. Maybe 100 or 200 population size if the huts were filled to the brim. Though, I doubt that. With the imminent threat of the mermaids, it would not surprise me if half of these huts were empty.

"Come in. Make yourself at home."

Estheria held open the cloth covering to the entrance of her hut. Inu and I walked in.

It was nicely furnished. Paintings, decorations. Mostly a kind of bamboo-themed furniture floors and walls.

I heard some footsteps from around a corner. Sophie?!

A female troll came out. She was not as muscle-bound as most of the other trolls I have seen before. Even so, she still had an aura of strength and traces of muscle. Her eyes and hair were a pinkish-purple. Her hair was long but it was up in a ponytail at the moment. She wore a dark green long sleeve blouse and a white knee-length skirt with red hand-sewn flowers. She had a light green, almost neon green skin color. She had a beautiful, gentle face. Overall, her beauty was on par with Estheria.

"Oh, Hello there. I was not expecting guests. Who might you two be?"

A slightly deeper feminine voice. Almost hinting at an older age. Still, a voice I could get used to.

"Sorry to barge in like this. This is Inu. I am Lake. I came to visit Sophie. I was not expecting Estheria to be here so, I got to see her again, too."

"How lovely. I'm Ginluvette. Most just call me Luv. I rarely get to meet Esther's friends."

My ears perked up, waiting for a response to Estheria's shortened name. I'm sure I remember her getting mad at an elf guard calling her Esther. Nothing came. I watched Estheria to see If she even looked annoyed. Still nothing. She was comfortable. Maybe she got used to it?

"So, Estheria. Is Sophie around? I'd love to see her now."

Luv tapped my shoulder.

"Unfortunately, Hun. She left with a gathering expedition just this morning. She won't go far so she should be back before nightfall tomorrow."

"I see."

Estheria put a hand on my shoulder.

"You must have come a long way. If you would like to rest, I'm sure Sophie wouldn't mind if you stayed the night in her hut."

"She has her own hut?"

"Well, It belongs to Luv but, It is her designated home away from home while she stays here in Juiyo. It's right outside."

She led me back outside and to a small hut on the side of the property. I was concerned for a moment, remembering the trash living environment Mik had made her sleep in. I found that my worries were pointless, once I entered. Nothing huge but, it was nice. A soft comfy bed. A small table and seating area. A large bathing bucket. I was just relieved that she had something like this, compared to before.

"Luv and I are going to prepare dinner in a few hours. If you like, you can join us in the main house. For now, I have to get back to my position at the wall. Luv would be okay if you wanted to visit with her in the meantime, too."

She waved and left. I sat on the bed. I had not gotten any sleep the night before.

"Maybe I'll just take a nap. What about you?"

Inu was not interested in this little hut. She was staring at the big one.

"I think I will go and chat with Luv. She seems nice."

"Okay. Just so you know. Estheria knows about me and the potion. I don't think she knows about the other effects besides anger. I would prefer if you did not reveal these things to her or Luv."

"I understand. I don't want to make things difficult for you. You can trust me."

She gave me her best Setangyan smile and left for the main hut.

I laid down across the bed with my feet hanging over. It wasn't long before the darkness set in. It was not as suffocating as the times before.

I felt calm. There was no light, no boy and no voice.

I was just there.

Resting.