Chapter 142: 138 Riding the wave
The restaurant is filling of other student groups that each has a head mentor contorl. The most respected of power and fame was this one Leana joined. She became block for nobility to not bother them, as there wasn't any certain call that she knew of mage society as they do and those to sensitive to act calm, as her clothus presence makes the untrained ones panic. This works as a benefit to the group in having her. As this was discussed over the meal, talking of tactics of who to avoid and reasons to avoid some situations. Some reasons are truly childish but they are mentally returned to child. Really the others of the group never grow up with becoming undertakers.
"What are you ordering?" Jessica leans asking as Leana stares at the writing of the menu.
"I can't read. So you tell me what type of dishes they have." The menu is slipped from her hand and it clearly glitched upon being in Jessica hands. She put it down and takes a deep breath. She plucked a different menu and reads for Leana some options.
"Need me to cover this or you OK?" Leana asked Jess in concern.
"Like you can."
"I am a full time oath walker, of course could afford buying the mage tower from the Gladers. But that aside, I am being concerned because I seen misfortune." Jess thinks about this with staring, "The god of Omens is a busy bird. Try as he may to protect the ones I watch from me. He fails to remember I know his rainbow feathers." She smiles with him hissing. Mouth full of a money fortune creature.
"Godly. Not nightmare. We had been through this." He lands at the table and stomps pacing her front, "If your worried about Mattu. The soul is unchanged from the last two seconds I tried to check. Nor is that tome page at any danger." She leaned of him hissing again, "I forgot how much a bird brain this vessel is." She scoops him to move aside.
"Currencies..." She plucked several wallets with arms spare with checking them all. She manages plenty spare. Tip included, "Vault 33-8 is now empty." She folds away spare limbs.
"What are you? A spider?"
"A living nightmare eater. But really I have other strange habits." She flicked left hand like this was a vague enough answer for them. Expecting herself to not be understood. As there was always a level of misunderstanding that blocked this knowledge normally. With resting Omens over on a vessel of another. She lifted a sweet tea pitcher and poured herself a drink. They stare in how fast she works dark magic like that.
"Leana, would you teach me how you contorl the energy around us?"
"No." She quick reply shuts him up, "If your a tome keeper, maybe." She stares into him, "As it's a tome thing. I can't teach something that is a mutual trust in contract between tome and user. This is what death gods use. Fallowns are uniquely the only humans that do this. Just as Seers are unique tome holders. Seers tomes are forbidden to gods and normality. Those tomes have nothing for a human to make use of." The stare of pale shock.
"You actually did teach me with reasoning why you can't." He cross arms in thinking hard.
"Ender titles are messy business. Let's not ask about that." She warns and he jolts. Given she spoke Ender, the others scratched heads and frown at her.
"I agree with her. That's not a topic." Matthew takes the tea jug from her, "Leana. What did you do with the souls?" She lifted a glass jar of sharpie marks. He takes it with staring confused, "How do you do that?" Looking at it deeply of all the inside layers.
"Tome too." She about to open hand to remove it but felt second thoughts. She instead takes back the jar. She turned now ignoring him entirely. He blinked a few times at confusion of the Jar slipping his grasp. She takes back the tea pitcher jug and faced Jess.
"Now that I get what you mean Omens. You're right." She managed the bird back on her table. A waitress is around putting dishes down and Jessica phone rings. Jessica checked it and swiftly exchanges with Josh.
"You have your own nickname yet or you just enjoying free reign of his identity." Leana kicked chair under this Mattu. Making him fall into the seat and be pulled to join them, "You have perfect enough manners to get past me in a glance. But Omens is right to see the flaws. And give it made aware to me, I can't unseen that." She keeps a foot stopping the chair, "But I am not mad. I am just concerned. Is it really safe for you or him? You're a fragile thing. Less kept together then I was." Leana tilted mirror with the Ender title. This is the one with reign of this tome space.
"I have you to watch my back. You always do." It smirks and she sighed.
"It's impressive balance of both mimic sanity and not human. It's fitting nightmare material. Morpheus would try to eat you." She pets Omens, "Worry not Taz. It's just half his soul parading about with nonsense."
"Pet me again and I will" hissed the god and she closed his beak.
"Chill Taz. I will bite back." She retorts and with looking up to Josh, "Hey. Free man. No contract Chains. You pay for that or the master die?" Josh is a deer in headlights.
"Leana." Omens snaps one of her fingers off. She takes it back and stuck it back on.
"News to you. Well wonderful. Congratulations." She drinks her tea. Everyone tucks into the meals with no further discussion. As having confused staring was the best it reaches. Josh couldn't touch anything.
"I want a gate." The plates stacked and breaking the silence, "You know how not to break things. Bring him from the beach back here." The ender title wiggles brows.
"He just needs to walk into the sea. It's not hard." She shurgs.
'Not when there is those blocking the way. Several Trickster that take use of the land that were ex-clothus have been giving a tough act.' Speaking in clothus hand gestures. His foot taps nerves at the same time, 'injuries. Brought back tomes.' His gazed scans her for trust. Scanning what her instant reaction is.
"Mmmm... I could use that for new leather bindings for the compendium expansion. Blood ink. Bones for carving." She spoke as an undertaker, "Although the soul are going to need advice from one the four soul checkers of gods. Death and his misses aren't available. Life's always cooky." He play punch her arm at stopping her sound so dull of a topic so sensitive.
"Damn it Leana! Why are you the next one?" Joseph hissed above at her.
"Have souls needing inspection and your three bosses are busy." She gave over three jars of souls. In doing the regert chains alter and she is without burden. The tome attached transfer to Joseph. He grumbles and takes them with a gate back to deaths domain. He will be helped by deaths learning children.
"Clever." The ender notes.
"How do you do that?" Kyle asked.
"Bring a death god over to inspect a potential living or dead being. It's the jobs of the lower rankers. The higher ones are soul sensitive and handle very nesh soul types. This is the only universe I am aware of with soul types cohabitation in harmony. Otherwise it's often the break down of a tome." She made sure the pay of the whole restaurant is sorted.
She checked every green wallpaper picture wall for something very exact. Stood staring at every inch, even the ceiling. She stops if seeing the table, sunk her hands through the wood surface. Withdrawals with a five separate chameleons, each a different species and scale colouring. She hums in matching them, softly they sway mimic leaves in the breeze. They soon took stripes along the sides and run faster then expected of these reptiles. Rushing to food source she provided them. Nearby table a meat crawls of blood wings and is tongue zap by the drawing in the wall. A parasitic butterfly gone.
"They should eat fast enough." She sighed grateful in having brought the reptile from their erasing world. She soon noticed other reptiles that attracted by the feast, leopard geko drawing snapping at table surfaces. There was a fat bearded dragon part taking in biting infected humans, to ghost law to be seen or felt.
"What are they?" Both Kyle and Mattu echo each other.
"Parasitic meat eaters. They are a colony of blood wing butterflies that use any available meat bodies to reproduction. They are from the same worlds that clothus break. Not exactly living or dead beings. Insects but humans arent able to be bothered by them. They will however eat the damned. That will affect humans of that sensation." She turned back, "My reptiles are keeping these snacks populations down. Nature takes its law. Survival of the able." She sits at the table with the group that are confused of her sudden language adaptation for them all to understand her.
"So we had the parasites of clothus. Blood butterfly. The membrane tree in your aunts backyard. What more are you able to reveal about what comes from the abyss?"
"You're an idiot." She punched his joint for that, "You had to ask?" Frowns deeply since she now has to concern herself with potential things that can attack her and not them. She is uniquely vulnerable to things of ghost laws. Asking things is just open invite.
"What happened to the spare souls of gods from the unfinished tomes?" Kyle asked as a ender speaker. She wishes not to speak this topic at all. Not with the potential of being pulled from this moment by an outsider.
"My territory is collapsing to yours. Thus I must pass over the tomes or make some settlement." Both enders here tilt to how it's Josh to speak up this way.
"Neat. Well Mattu here it this spaces ender." She posed to this fact, "But technically speaking we are a pair of undertakers in this duty." She leans staring Josh through, "You want to fight for title or you happy to relax? This place is screwed up in so many laws. You will been to adjust quickly or be altered."
"Peace." He lowered and she look to the title of Ender. It takes the tomes away. It checked through and pose that she takes them. She takes them and they altered. In her touch missing pages snapped back and repairs were instantaneous. She released it and it's shelved in her storage. Souls soon run scattering the sigil for clinging chances. As souls always have done. A new mark over Josh as matched to Kyle. It seems all enders of collected tomes have abyss curse marks. This worlds Josh soon scynonizes with the seated one; becomes one soul of new memories and fancy soul letters. She over seen that Kyle goes through this too. She felt herself in changes but it erased nothing and felt overly indifferent.
"Back to the mage." My purpose of returning to my origin with force is completed. I am staying here not because I feel belonging but I just sense others unfinished with me. I wouldn't be cursed of shadow damned. To hunger others sorrow.
She leaned back in depth thought as the teams across any tables are discussing next things or futures. Kyle knew his future intentions as a human well enough. The three other kids have purpose in family ties. Matthew in human form lays slumped at the table exhausted, his finally crossed back into the ocean depths from black sand beach. Omens knowing instantly of his followers soul return is all over with worry.
She looked up really with contacting her senses to the energy of living presence and at seeking some attached tasks the monarchy of dragonfly set her to do. Seeking the sleeping undertakers. She also was nosy of what happened to the parasitic invasion. She felt her touch over everyone of her proxy, the dwellers in dream ecslipe to living realms.
"You called?" She soften a lowered tilt to side eye the nightmare.
"Just checking in with everyone. I wanted to make sure everyone was safe." It bows and removed skin that alters to a tome. It's plenty an answer, "How's the back stock of everything in my inventory?" The creature takes a while in thinking through, "Don't worry about things that can't be obtained from inappropriate worlds or erased places." It nods at this and runs off to find out. She back forward crossing on leg and hands at face. Eyes scan each of her mark on thier skins and that her senses soft pats other reaching marks. Be it shoulder pats or fingers strum breif. Lost again in her minds words.
Chasing the sleeping undertaker souls isn't hard, they are object locked on the beach. I feel them in grasp if I went there myself. But it means making Joseph pissed that soul walk leave again. There is some sort of game at play here, a strange bending the gods are casting. I see it forming but I don't know what their game is. It doesn't matter or not if I am cast in this game or not. Thrown a shore or swept deeper into their layers. Does it removed us as ender or is it something else?
"You're worried. Threating over something trivial." Mattu has not his normal cold gaze over her, rather this was a very human reflection of concern. There sits something, his not the soul I knew. Although don't people change all the time? I once thought it was because I was the one always changing. I guess we both were and now I don't even recognize who his become. This man is the mage kings advisor and the monarchy left hand of undertakers. He a proud man that is always at the edge. But his no longer then one I fell in love with. His not the undertaker from all those lifetimes backwards. He is, and that is indeed his true soul. But his adapted and no longer him. Maybe it's why I feel his more him when I face the Ender title then the host. It's another thing I can let be, and let change. Let there change be.
"It don't matter what I worry about." I will keep my promise until he breaks them.
"Don't lie like that." Omens hissed between them.
"Well if you must know, it's just one my ranks is altering. This altered law has side affects. My concern is how long will it take for everyone to stop seeing me." She sees they are all confused and it only made her smile to herself, "The law of internal veiw of the outside. I will likely make someone scream in terror."
The group turns to mundane talks between. It is topic of what undertakers made public aware among mages. There is this little shuffle of what family affairs are at stake. The lingering questions of what exactly are tricksters now. As there is now a whole tome dedicated and a secert keeper. The enders speak of the realms causal take of boundaries breaking events. That there is always some creature made aware to normal humans and is causing deadly chaos. The administration merge of hidden societies and organizations.
There was a heated topic about the clothus by the darkwood and Seer. As both had very different views, both long distant from turth. Leana was definitely cut off and left in pace of speaking. As she stays so very still and back in her sulking.
"It's impressive that you can tell." Matthew speaking at her, "I am having to make due while repairs are made." She narrows with him darkly. There is another study of him and she huffed.
"Clearly this is a physical materials issue. I understand that much. Been there." She back to slouching with still a scowl of concern.
"What do you mean by that?" Matthew frowned at that being her reply. She eye rolls this and focused with tracing his soul name for a little. Only to make sure he knew she was cocern of his well being. The ender narrows of her as it feels that she does that.
"Conflict of material is an issue for those that pass through the abyss. Once you are labeled an outsider, you will always be traced as such. This matters not for what tome you enter or exit from." She shurgs in rolling left hand. The enders understood but Omens is left out. He hissed. She wafted to pat Omens temper down.
"You knew beforehand." The ender sinking into this realization now.
"You're rather slow. This creep keeps broke tome pages and you only now figured that she would know about us enders?" Josh clicked his tongue, "Eliza or Leana. Whatever you call by now. What exactly makes you a willing tool for enders?"
She shurgs at that. She stays very composed and with occasional checks over everyone present at this table. She sees time glitch in a wave as if a tidal wall of water was crashing and changing as it splashing over the restaurant. When she feels them passing through this time stop, she sees undertakers and demons at work. Souls removed from bodies or those added into the scene. When the time flow is being left, those behind it's wake are changed. As if the circumstances of life took a new filter.
They are still a table of five humans and a vessel of Omens. Lady summons has taken habit of changing Leana's outfit. Changed body pose and habits. A smoke posed a fingers. A dress only the confidence of a beautiful woman could pull, revealing back and net then cloth. There is the remains of a shattered ring over her hand, and the paint marks of reminders about what this version of her needed to play. One well traced look at each of these cloaked figures of the table. She knew. She is the one to take these on some crossing as mock god follower. Her lie is that there isn't a god backing her.
"This is the payment we laid out." Josh slams the table. She rolls the cigarette between fingers in not lighting it. She was about to put it away in her silver case. She sees the tributes provided and knew this was for some realm of death they wanted passage to.
"She can't do it because there is no god gate at work now." One the Seer kids has finally grown to an adult. They all have. But they all been agents of mages and lead dull lives until now. So there was this unease. This fleeting echo of instinctive notions.
Even Kyle was a young man with royal regal wear, painted marks of sealing. Likely sealing powers of Ender from preventing insanity. Several enders use sealing on. Themselves to be sane or be acceptable among others.
"This seems a boring job." She used the cigarette to point at them, making Josh sit down, "But." She flicked fingers and lights the smoke. She drafted a breath and let's all her feeling check through. With a blow through of thick smoke, she grins.
"Reaching the land of Noturm isn't a walk in the park." Kyle speaks swift as if he was enraged that she isn't cooperating. Someone was about to stand but is stopped with how Matthew makes a gesture. They all are leery of him, and calm down.
"Leana, there is some lost souls and several objects of significance lost along sands. It was part of the latest tome fall. It's significantly useful to make use for pockets connected to Joshua's lands. Its his lands that are spilling unwelcome guests." She nods at that as she understood everything and they all stare at Matthew for speaking crazy at her. Someone so normal that showed no values of insane things.
"I would assume these objects are causing issues even if left in the sands." She reclines with relaxing and uses her senses of shadow to make the distance, "Clothus... Indeed unwelcomed but they taste familiar. Folks that we had deals with before. That adhered to our laws. I will keep them occupied as you fetch things." She tilts to a soft smile, "You will all be leaving humanity behind. You can't walk there as humans. You will be altered to ender or broken undertakers. Are you OK with these conditions? It's not my doing, it's the conditions you all are already in. The shape that can make the touch of those sands." Flicked the last ash aside. They all grit but agree, "It's a good thing I am not a true clothus. You best not make yourself that easy to enslave. Be careful. They are cunning and fast spoke. They spoke both body and mouth." Putting the cigarettes remains out. They stare with fear now. She smirks impressed to instill this in enders, "a damned door is never a nice experience. The older and wiser, the deeper the door echo hurts." She stands with them. She takes the tributes for then realms they thought of crossing.
"We have to get there too." The vessel of Omens. His elder elf form with the bird. She studies him.
"You can go as you please. You take the elf form off. Taking the black with the neon highlights." She flat hands his way and clearly looked shocked she knew. But there a sort of muddle, that sort of he second thought himself. Studies her with a clasping that she isn't normal by soul.
"So many new memories." She takes a moment of feeling the time glitching impact, stood to fast. She slams the table in catching balance and then punch it. Denting it significantly deeply. She held her mouth closed in the sickness of notion.
"Are you OK?" Matthew pats her shoulder since his at reach.
"It's fine." She does what she can for taking away nauseous feelings. Downing the water on the table. It was a glass of holy water and it burns a little. But it's a better feeling then the other.
"That was holy water." Another voices.
"It's fine." She stomps. She took lead of this group. Directing them to a natural crossing to sigil. She was unchanged on crossing but the others were instantly spirit types.
"You didn't change." Josh hissed.
"You don't want me to." She hissed back, "I am part nightmare. I am the one that haunts dreams when they break rules. A lady owning the lands the edges beyond insanity. I have pride to carry my image with care."
She turned on the spot to find the empty ghost counter. She knocked and a damned appears. She makes progress of trades and the god court approval and awareness of clothus from the boundaries. A warning for them all. She snaps fingers and her many hidden come and gear her. Putting her into kit for crossing. Her scythe staff without blade last held over to her. She left hand takes it and back with this group. They did repairs to be better functional as puppet bodies types. She approached with all gear and takes them to the darkest spot near here. She grapples them each through her shadows and dropped out the ocean waters to the sand washed fallen trunk of dead not tree. She was the last one to step through, taking herself out from time and space.
She did linger of lacking attachments but all fates bonds were severed. She sits the sand hole where used to be a fire pit. Left them to scout the sands without her. All but Matthew, he sat down at her side. Staring at the horizon and lacking sky features that once graced strange objects.