To Fight Against Fate

The tension that had been stretched tight in Comur's Hamlet dissipated as the townsfolk learned of the lion's demise and they quickly decided Priscilla and her friends needed a great send-off.

The job didn't earn much compared to their total funds, but watching the pure relief on a mother's face as her child played near the cows without fear was payment enough for Priscilla.

Illnyea and Kavil were the focus on the townsfolk's thanks, as Kavil was in the midst of checking up on the various illnesses and aches of the villagers and Ilnyea obligingly played with the children who came up to her to learn how the mighty beast was defeated using Perry to help visualize it. Perry wasn't enthusiastic about pretending to be a lion, but he allowed himself to be manipulated as Illnyea wished.

Priscilla smiled at those who spoke to her and accepted their well-wishes, but her gaze kept drifting back to Sulaiman, who was checking over the horses and packs with a single-minded determination, even though Arnold and Mr. Ordan had already dealt with that earlier.

Sulaiman was the main reason they were able to deal with the beast so efficiently with his tactics and strength, but he seemed uncomfortable every time the children glanced at him with admiration during Ilnyea's story. Whenever someone stepped forward to address him, Sulaiman just gave them a curt nod of acknowledgement before turning back to his task.

She knew that Sulaiman didn't know what to do with gratitude when it was shown to him with his history, as he was unused to people viewing him in a positive light. Just yesterday, the mayor had held Sulaiman at arms length, and now Rudolf attempted to shake Sulaiman's hand (which Sulaiman had done very reluctantly and Priscilla had been near enough to feel how the temperature briefly spiked as Sulaiman unknowingly let forth a burst of magic).

Priscilla walked to the carriage as Sulaiman leaned his hands against the wooden frame, a severe expression on his face as he looked over their belongings.

"Ready to get back on the road?" Priscilla asked softly, not wanting to poke too hard at a sore spot when Sulaiman had spent the whole morning feeling uncomfortable. She placed down the bushel of wheat she had been given on the carriage's seating.

"I was ready an hour ago," Sulaiman said, not looking at her as he took the bushel and placed it upon the top of the pile before he adjusted the reins to be out of the way when the older men climbed aboard.

Priscilla hummed, glancing at the sky. "An hour ago, the sun wasn't even up, do you want us trekking about in the freezing cold? For shame, Sulaiman, for shame, you want us to all turn into icicles."

Sulaiman raised an eyebrow at Priscilla like he was unimpressed with her reasoning. She shivered performatively, blinking up at Sulaiman with a piteous gaze.

"I'm about to freeze straight through," Priscilla said, chattering her teeth. It was only a little colder than it had been yesterday, but Priscilla wasn't wearing her outer coat yet so she could sell the performance as she rubbed her arms.

Sulaiman sighed deeply, mumbling something under his breath as he stared upwards.

Then, he reached over and placed his hands over Priscilla's, pausing her movement. His hands were larger than hers, wrapping easily around her bicep. Her skin prickled with both pain and warmth as heat started to spread around her body, like her arms had suddenly been wrapped in a warm blanket of air.

Sulaiman pulled back, eyeing her critically before nodding in satisfaction.

"That should last until you can find where you misplaced your coat, idiot," Sulaiman said, turning away from her, "and if you don't find it before the effect fades, I don't want to hear a word of complaint."

He didn't return to obsessively checking over the carriage, instead marching to where Kavil was finishing up with an rickety looking grandmother. Sulaiman placed his hands on Kavil's biceps and based on the way Kavil melted and sent him a grateful look, he had wrapped Kavil in heat as well.

The constant prickle of magic against Priscilla's skin stung, but combined with the heat, it was almost like a slightly too hot mug was being pressed against her arms. It was more pleasurable than painful, and Priscilla couldn't help her smile as she watched Sulaiman go to Illnyea to offer warmth as well.

"What a mother hen," Priscilla murmured, watching with amusement as Sulaiman went to Mr. Ordan and Arnold next. The enchanter waved Sulaiman off, but Mr. Ordan gladly accepted, dipping his head.

"Master," Asha whispered, just barely audible, "if you're cold, you could just ask the mother hen to hug you next time. I'm sure he'd love to help warm you."

The artifact wasn't quite able to hide the mischief poking through its earnesty, the emotion soft and slippery but not hidden stealthily enough to hide from Priscilla.

Priscilla's cheeks went pink as she glared at her artifact, but Asha was saved from retaliation as everyone started to reconvene by the carriage, taking the warmth offered by Sulaiman as their cue it was time to leave. Still, as well as Priscilla could, she pushed her thoughts into the bond, Girl, when did you get so sassy?

Amusement colored their bond, and Priscilla swore she heard a tinkle of laughter and the impression of something like, I learned it all from you.

The next day of travel went well, with a brief pause around lunch time where Kavil nearly fell off his horse in excitement as he whipped his torso to the side, his eyes on something just off the main road.

Priscilla lunged forward, catching him by the shoulder to steady him. She nearly fell off herself, but righted them both at the last instant.

Kavil shot her a brief grateful smile before clambering off his horse. Priscilla blinked, glancing at Illnyea and Sulaiman, who both seemed equally confused as they pulled to a stop, before she dismounted and followed after Kavil, who was walking with purpose.

"Why are we stopping?" Arnold's cantankerous voice drifted from the back of the carriage but Priscilla ignored the enchanter as she reached where Kavil had stopped.

He was kneeling in the dirt about five feet from the road, face low to the ground as he stared at what looked like small, pink blossoms scattered amongst a clover patch that hadn't yet died to the cold.

"Whatcha looking at?" Priscilla asked as she squatted next to him.

"I believe this is a bouncing blossom," Kavil said seriously, leaning back as he frowned at the small flower. Priscilla glanced at Kavil, unable to help her smile when she saw how serious he was staring at the small plant.

"What makes a bouncing blossom special?" Priscilla asked.

"Well, when eaten," Kavil said, glancing up with excitement in his eyes, "people say you can jump higher than normal, and when it's used in a salve, it helps make sure your muscles and joints retain flexibility while healing."

"Learn that in your cookbook, did you?" Priscilla asked, her smile growing wider at the reminder of Kavil's newest fixation.

Kavil blinked a few times before ducking his head. "I, uh… yeah."

Priscilla laughed, bumping her shoulder with his to show she wasn't trying to make fun of him.

"Alrighty then," Priscilla said, rolling up her sleeves, "let's pick these bouncing blossoms and get back on the road."

"But I don't even know if they're actually that," Kavil protested.

Priscilla shrugged, grinning at Kavil. "Guess we'll find out at dinnertime."

Kavil opened his mouth, closed it, and then shook his head with a laugh.

"Sounds like you're my willing test subject," Kavil said, shifting closer so their knees touched as he began to dig the ground around the nearest blossom. "First you let me poison you, now you let me test unknown magical flowers' effects on you."

"What can I say," Priscilla said, winking at him, "I'm willing to let my savior do just about anything to me."

Kavil's fingers paused, his entire body stilling as he glanced up with a suddenly intense look in his copper eyes. Priscilla had another quip readied, but the words fled her brain as his expression took her aback. The way he looked at her… her mind must still be on the plains lion from last night, because the only words that came to her mind was that it reminded her of a predator's assessing gaze as it laid in wait for its prey to stumble just a few feet closer for the killing blow.

"Stop wasting our time!" Arnold's voice made them jump.

"Oi, shut the fuck up, old man!" Priscilla called over her shoulder. "We're doing important things over here!"

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"Flirting is not important!"

Priscilla laughed, shaking her head as she rolled her eyes at the old man's grumbling. She could hear the faint sounds of Mr. Ordan scolding Arnold, and she hoped the butler was politely tearing him a new one.

"Guess we gotta hurry up," Priscilla said, attacking ground with a renewed intensity.

"Guess so," Kavil said, his voice faint and vaguely strained.

When Priscilla glanced at him in concern, Kavil's eyes were fixed on the flowers, so she shrugged and focused on her own work.

They showed off their prizes when they returned and Illnyea's eyes lit up when Kavil explained what they could do.

Illnyea's smile grew like a Cheshire cat's.

"We should all compete to see who can jump the highest," Illnyea declared, "and the loser has to wash the dishes by themselves!"

"You're just lazy and looking for any excuse to get out of chores," Sulaiman accused, frowning as they began down the road. Illnyea gasped in mock offense, glaring at Sulaiman for the unfair accusation.

"Sounds like you're scared of losing. Sulaiman," Priscilla said, sharing a smirk with Kavil, who chuckled at Sulaiman, who was now scowling at both of them.

"I can at least beat Kavil," Sulaiman said, his glare becoming smug, "so I suppose I'll be safe."

"Hey!" Kavil protested. "I'm great at jumping!"

They dissolved into bickering, arguing about who would end up being the ultimate loser that evening. They made camp near a small copse of trees, and Priscilla set up her sleeping roll nearest the largest tree trunk while the fire was being set up. There were a few red flowers scattered on the ground and Priscilla idly swept them away.

As soon as the bouncing blossoms were cooked briefly in butter like you do with asparagus, Priscilla and her friends wasted no time eating them. It had an odd, floral flavor, but it didn't taste bad and was palatable enough that Priscilla would eat it if it was served to her. (Though that might just be because anything cooked in butter tasted good.)

It didn't take long to feel the effects. A strange strength pooled within Priscilla's calves and thighs, making them feel like she had just gone through a full stretching routine. When she did an exploratory hop, she went six inches off the ground. Priscilla couldn't stop giggling each time she jumped. The experience was what she imagined being in zero gravity would be like, the slightest bit of force in her feet sending her into the air.

As everyone made sure the blossoms had taken effect, it was like they all had been possessed by the spirits of rabbit on redbull as they jumped around the clearing. Arnold stared at their antics for a long moment before deciding to retreat into the carriage.

Mr. Ordan was deemed the impartial judge and watched them compete with amusement, dutifully recording how far each person jumped, with Perry acting as his unimpressed assistant judge.

The loser of the jumping contest did end up being Kavil, much to his chagrin, but when he turned his puppy dog eyes in Priscilla's direction, she didn't have the heart to leave him to do all the dishes himself.

That night Priscilla had whack ass dreams.

She couldn't remember exactly what was going on in them, but she awoke feeling strongly unsettled. Her nerves were exposed and raw, like she had been pinned to a corkboard like a butterfly in a collector's case and someone had been staring at her for hours on end, watching her suffer endlessly for their entertainment, and they only released her so they could watch her struggle to escape.

Priscilla shook her head to shake off the feeling, and glanced about the rest of their camp. No one else seemed to be awake, so Priscilla quietly got ready for the day. She thought about talking with Asha, but with everyone sleeping so close together, Priscilla thought they'd be discovered quickly.

She was in the middle of combing her hair when a fuzzy little platypus nosed his way out of Illnyea's sleeping roll.

Perry froze when he saw Priscilla and his eyes narrowed.

"Why do you hate me so much?" Priscilla asked softly. The platypus was obviously smart enough to understand human speech based on how he reacted when Illnyea spoke to him, and maybe speaking to Perry frankly would help get to the bottom of this.

Perry's eyes narrowed further and Priscilla could feel his judgement radiating from him.

"Like dude, I don't think I've done anything to offend you," Priscilla said, wracking her brain as she tied up her hair. "If I have, I'm sorry, I can try to make it up to you?"

Perry stared at Priscilla like she was the stupidest creature on earth for a long moment and she sighed.

"Fine, keep your secrets you ungrateful bastard," Priscilla muttered and jolted when she heard a chuckle.

She whirled around, cheeks flushing as she saw that Mr. Ordan had woken up without her noticing.

"How much did you hear?" Priscilla asked, dreading the answer.

Mr. Ordan sent her an amused look as he smoothed out his shirt. "All of it, but worry not, your secret is safe with me."

"You're the fucking man, Mr. Ordan," Priscilla said, relieved it was him who caught her and not Sulaiman or Arnold, and he chuckled again.

Despite Perry refusing to communicate with Priscilla and glaring at her whenever Illnyea's back was turned, when everyone was awake and about to get onto their horses, Perry waddled his happy ass over and sat on Priscilla's foot.

"Bro," Priscilla said, annoyed as she tried to bring her boot away and the platypus clung to it with the tenacity one usually only sees in wasps that want to fuck you up, "your travel carrier is with Illnyea, go bother her."

Illnyea, the unhelpful traitor, laughed, saying, "Perry wants to travel with you today, Priscilla!"

Priscilla eyed Perry, who was staring balefully at her but remained stubbornly attached.

"Master," Asha whispered when Priscilla tucked her hair behind her ear while Illnyea attached the carrier to Starlight's saddle, "do you need me to deal with…"

The artifact let the words trail off meaningfully and Priscilla sighed heavily, shaking her head.

No matter how much he annoyed her, Priscilla knew that Perry was not a normal platypus. He was probably one of the most powerful beings she had encountered in this world thus far with how he seemingly had been in charge of the three-headed gorgon newt when it appeared and had some sort of reality warping powers that allowed him scare off the firebog wolves without anyone except her noticing. Priscilla wouldn't be able to lay a finger on the little beast even if she wanted to fight him, and they both knew it.

"You're stuck with me now," Priscilla told the platypus unhappily as she settled into the saddle. Perry clacked his beak at her in annoyance.

But rather than curling up to sleep like he usually did when he rode with Illnyea, he remained perked on the edge of the carrier to stare out at their surroundings before looking meaningfully back at Priscilla.

That unsettled feeling from the morning came back with a low-level buzz of anxiety under Priscilla's skin. Asha tried to help soothe her in their bond, but Priscilla's finger couldn't stop tapping on the reins as she kept her head on a swivel.

They were moving away from the open plains where you could see miles in every direction, to a section that was slightly more woody, with gentle hills that obscured direct line of sight. The road they were traveling was free of debris, but the brush had edged in steadily closer in a way that now unnerved Priscilla because anything could be hiding there.

Priscilla tried to keep up the facade that nothing was wrong, contributing to the conversation when someone directed a question her way, but it seemed it wasn't enough.

"Priscilla, are you alright?" Illnyea asked, her brows creased in concern as she pulled her horse alongside Priscilla's.

"I'm fantastic," Priscilla said, pasting on a smile that just made Illnyea frown.

"If having Perry travel with you bothered you that much," Illnyea said, chewing her lip, "you could have just said so."

"It's not that," Priscilla said, feeling bad that she had made her uneasiness so obvious, "it's—"

Asha tightened on her hand the same moment that the hair on Perry's back stood on end while he began to growl and Priscilla whipped her head forward.

"What—" Illnyea's words were cut off by the rumbling of many feet stampeding against the ground, rushing straight in their direction.

"Fuck!" Priscilla said, grabbing the reins with one hand as she reached for her bat. "We've got company!"

Illnyea let out a sharp, short, "Shit," and pulled her horse to a halt.

"Do you know what—" Sulaiman didn't get to finish his question as the first enemy crested the hill in front of them.

It was a large ungulate creature with a thick pair of horns jutting from its head. The horns had a metallic sheen to them, like it was made of material sturdier than normal antlers. Its body was mostly light brown with spots of white across the chin and belly, and a dark brown stripe along its nose and back. Its eyes were so wide that Priscilla could see the whites in them even from thirty feet away.

She had to figure out what the fuck this creature was and fast.

Twenty-five feet now, and two more crested the hill.

It was some sort of prey creature, and Priscilla ran through every four-legged ungulate that was native to this area.

Twenty feet, with three more following the herd.

It looked most like an antelope, and there were three options — think, brain, think.

Fifteen feet and Illnyea's sword was drawn as she stood in front of her horse, gleaming in the sunlight while Sulaiman dismounted, holding his sword and shield.

The antelope's hooves — she had to see the hooves.

Ten feet, and Sulaiman's mouth was moving as he began to chant, magic building in the air.

There were small raised patches along the hooves, a small, nearly invisible puff of dark brown radiating out each time they stepped.

"Don't use fire!" Priscilla yelled, finally putting it together. "These fuckers release a musk that explodes when a spark hits!"

Sulaiman swore vividly but cut off his magic.

"Cover your ears!" Arnold yelled and a small coin sailed overhead, landing right before the first of the antelopes. Priscilla didn't have enough time to listen with her hands full.

As the coin hit the ground, a clap of thunder rang out, so loud it left Priscilla's ears ringing while pain laced through her head.

The front most antelope tripped over its feet, eyes rolling into the back of its head as it hit the ground. Sulaiman darted back as another antelope tripped over it, but the others reared back from the loud noise and dodged their fellow antelope turned obstacle. Every antelope had its mouth open and was surely bleating in terror, but Priscilla couldn't hear, so she could only guess what the cacophony sounded like.

The antelope herd parted around them, sprinting past their party like they hadn't just been on a direct collision course. Sulaiman and Illnyea stepped backwards, swords still at the ready as they stared at the ones that had fallen. One looked like it had broken its leg in the fall and was thrashing around frantically, and the first hadn't stopped shaking.

Priscilla kept an eye on their surroundings, still breathing fast and not trusting the peace until she confirmed there were no more of the antelopes around. They weren't normally a violent beast and had a fancy ass name (the metallum comedentes antelope which was a mouthful), but they could cause some serious damage with their horns, which were kind of cool and made of metal because they were reinforced by the ore they ate, and their musk gland that was as volatile as gunpowder but her mind was focusing on things that really didn't matter right now.

The antelope were running from something, and Priscilla wasn't about to let her guard down so soon.