Kevin couldn't sleep.
There were juts so many thoughts in his head, all trying to resolve themselves in his storm of emotional turmoil. Half of the things he felt he wasn't even sure -why- he felt them. Perhaps that was quite normal for anyone his age when something weird happened. Feelings just exploded inside him like the hot furnace of the sun, or the cold wave of the oceans. Passions that came from what he wanted.. conclusions cemented into what was right and all the perceived injustices he was suffering were given cause.
Everything was just fine until that that THAT cat-girl
Kevin buried himself in the covers of his bed, his breath warming the sheets. He kicked a bit at the air, with a grimaced face on the soft pillow. How could it all go so wrong in just a short stretch of time? Peter was so.. so easy to 'work with' before before -she- turned up. Now everything was all about -her-. He lost his friend to some animal girl- heck Peter was probably turning into an animal girl! Kevin.. didn't like it and perhaps even afraid of that when he first saw it. He wasn't really sure how to feel and maybe he just sort of hoped Peter would never change but.. he was. So then he thought he would still be the same inside but he's he's clearly wants to be friends more with other animal girls then with him. What was he supposed to do now! There were so few humans his own age, most being animals but- he didn't even -want- to be friends with them.. he.. he just wanted to be Peter's friend.
Kevin didn't even have the ship-fortress any more. The one treasure that was theirs it made him.. it made Kevin and Peter special, in a way few other things did. Now it was gone by magic, and instantly returning him to the mundane world as everyone else. "Maybe she did it on purpose..." the cat girl seemed to know stuff about where they were. She didn't act like the place was haunted when that ghost showed up like- like she knew it wouldn't hurt them. It was like- like- she just 'knew' things. So could it be she did something without them noticing? Something that made the ship disappear and to only look like it was his fault?
It was not impossible and it was one more theory to add to his growing vendetta against her. She took the ship, she took his friend- heck she was even taking the room that should be his right now! Kevin fumed a little, hot and steamed. They were probably laughing at him now but he would show them. The cat-girl would get into a heap of trouble... He poked his head out the covers and seeing only darkness, he silently leaned to the wall on the side of his bed. Sometimes one could hear things- though he was surprised by the tactile sensation of the cold surface on his new ears, having forgotten them for the moment. "A-a-" he gasped then.. forced himself to lean again on the wall again ignoring those weird feelings as best he could.
not a sound. Where were the raised voices? There was the sound of some pacing, some muffled childish pleading that he recognised as coming from Diana but.. there was not even an argument or a raised voice back. Why wasn't that cat-girl getting a spanking! She scratched Peter! She was a dangerous animal why wasn't 'her mother' disciplining her over it? Great, the bad cat-girl had a bad mother too
"Cockle shells" he muttered. What would it take to get her into trouble is this town? Nothing would stick to her, all she had to do was 'look cute' and suddenly everyone would take her side. It was so unfair! He had to think of something else something she couldn't act innocent with.
He suddenly heard the door open and had to hide again in the covers. His father was here
" son? You awake?" he asked with a concerned tone in his voice.
Kevin wondered how to respond...maybe he should just mumble something. "mm..." Kevin mouthed underneath the covers.
"Ah, sorry goodnight. We'll talk later..."
Kevin didn't dare open the covers until he saw the room was bathed in darkness once more. Though in the darkness he could feel himself welling up with despair at his own changes. He tried to remember though that he wasn't supposed to change.. and that maybe it would just go away.
Diana curled up in the corner of the bed, stretching her legs. It had been a long day and she was feeling a bit unsure after the events and the talk with Sarah. She didn't like uncertainty it was so.. un-cat-like. A horrible question was being asked inside; was Sarah just like her own parents?
'No.. she isn't' She quickly answered herself. So... how were they different? Both were trying to tell her she had to control herself but.. Sarah was different. She didn't make her feel bad about being a cat while her parents were acting like it was something she had to stop being. Sarah was asking her to work with her instincts, not change who she was.
"You're not a kid though.. you're not a cat-girl you're a fake.. a and you're hurting people you hurt Peter..." She gritted her teeth at that, her ears flattening. It wasn't as if she had a choice in what body she had right now! It was something as a grown up she knew she should be punished for. She never wanted to hurt anyone certainly not another child and certainly not a new friend! Though she felt like she was punishing herself enough right? She felt guilty wondering if 'the real' Diana was out there.. somewhere still. Even if in the moments she could play and be this cat-girl she found herself lost in the moment and just enjoying ever minute again. It was just these quiet moments when she.. she..
There was a soft knock at her window
Diana's ears raised slightly and she quickly got out of bed, her slinky tail behind her raised pushing her night clothes. "Peter?" she called out opening the window.
The rabbit boy was outside, leaning up to the window sil. "Hi.. sorry to wake you up. Um- you're not upset are you?"
Diana noted his face looked a bit.. different. Softer? "What? No- Of course not. Sarah's not upset either." She glanced at Sarah's sleeping form standing up as it did, winding.. ticking the sound of it very pleasant. Tom of course was sleeping soundly on the other bed.
Peter looked a bit apprehensive. "I- well- I didn't tell anyone. Aunty Brook even cleaned up the scratches- look- if you ever get into any trouble I'll say it was my idea okay? I just sorta did something that made you do that-"
"Nuh uh-" Diana quickly admonished her friend. "We don't have to lie about it. I did hurt you an' I'm really sorry." Diana looked annoyed at herself as she admitted it though she seemed to take some strength from the admission.. Sarah said she could learn and control herself next time.
The rabbit boy looked glum his own ears flopping down to the sides of his face. "You can still play though right? Until the ship you're waitin' for comes?"
Diana's eyes momentarily looked lost as she saw the motion of the rabbit's ears- but she remembered and- held herself in check. "I want to..." she said quickly. "Yes!"
"Great! I'll see you tomorrow..."
Jon wasn't sure what to do for today. She did want to learn more about this strange city though and all its inhabitants. Perhaps today will be a good day to try that. Though it might be that she just wanted to get out of this inn today.. away from those whispers and any potential suitors interested in her.
"Mornin' Jen," said Maggie hopefully. She could tell something had upset her and for once it wasn't her. Though she certainly didn't want it to become her this time. "You.. want to practice that song again? I was thinking we could sing together..."
Jen rubbed the young harpy on her head with a soft smile. "Actually, I want to look around this place some more."
"Yay!" The harpy suddenly exploded with happiness "Sorry um- I guess things were gettin' a bit too circl-y. Where do we wing to?"
Jen smiled at that. "Let's see where the wind takes us shall we?"
Maggie giggled at that. "You sound just like a real harpy now."
"I've certainly learned a lot from you. Come on, let's get you dressed. There were a few buildings I want a closer look at."
Jon dressed Maggie in her white toga-like top. It was relatively easy to loop around her torso and wings, even with her talons. It was also easy to slip off, which Maggie certainly preferred. Jon had something a bit more.. modern- at least by the standards of this world. A robe that tended to catch more on her wings. This did have the effect of making her look a bit.. strange. The contrast of her human top half and bird legs was greatly heightened. Maggie disapproved of it, but Jon liked that it hid more of her breasts despite the issues with her wings.
Jon eventually found the building she was most interested in. Again there were marble steps, somehow newer then the others. Yet the building it lead to was older, with several columns around it much like the various temples, the most prominent here being the temple of the Sun where those stones came from. From what she heard, there was also a moon-temple but people were.. reluctant to point out exactly where that was, conveying a hint or two alone for some strange reason.
However this building was different. There was a mix of it being both maintained and yet it had a lore of wear through the ages. As large as the others, yet not very busy Two simple words on each door, for one to enter and another to Leave. "Questions.. and answers..." she thought. Stepping inside she was astonished by the scene.
Above them was a vast painting showing the world in all its glory, covered in a starry sky. However what caught her was the edges of each corner. The painting was made to look like it was on a giant book, on which they were under. The tented roof looking like a half opened book, with the spine at the top. "Clever.." Jon thought as he wondered through to the desk.
"Hello!" Smiled a.. small fox? She was sitting on a stool, clearly female with the pink dress she was wearing and silver spectacles that somehow didn't fall off her nose despite only consisting of a front part for her nose. She was also only at Maggie's height. She didn't wear any shoes on her black paws with a tail swishing behind her. "Welcome to the Temple of Knowledge. What do you wish to know?" She asked with a soft smile.
"Uh..." Jon blinked. "I'm not really sure."
The fox girl giggled. "Well, my name is Jillian, head Librarian. Nice to meet ya!" She gave a rather fox-like smirk. "Aw, what a cute daughter you have."
Maggie huffed. "I'm her sister!" She waved her wings out.
"Oh! Sorry. So, are you interested in reading?"
"Dunno how to read." Maggie said with a shake of her head.
Jillian looked taken aback. "Oh that wont do at all. You can find a few books over there to help you, free of charge. We also run a small reading group for wilderness folk as yourself that wish to learn." The fox nodded.
Jon glanced behind the fox to the various books and.. something else. Something that looked like it really shouldn't be in a library. It looked like an altar but something told her this temple was devoted to knowledge itself, rather then to a 'god of knowledge'- unless it started out as one? The altar itself was barren, just a raised polished black stone. "What's that?" she asked.
Jillian glanced back. "That? It's one of those Ancient blocks." she said.
"Ancient.. block?" Jon repeated. "Can we see it?"
"Sure.. but don't expect much. They don't really do anything."
Jon looked at the strange raised pedestal of black. It was deceptively shiny, a platform that stood about five feet in diameter. It was 'almost' circular, but clearly defined sawn edges could be seen like it was grown from a crystal. There was a section on the surface that was slightly raised For some reason Jon felt an urge to press his hand on it, thinking it was a button but.. it didn't do anything. It only felt a bit cold to the touch. It felt like metal, or.. something else? She wasn't sure. "What does it do?"
Jillian started to take out a few books on ancient artefacts. "The ancient pedestals are called many names, some of the beings here worship them for.. whatever reason. Kings would sometimes put treasure on top of them, or barbarians would make sacrifices on them..." She cleared her throat obviously not thinking highly of that. "Most of them have been destroyed but a few survive. The best theory is that they are some kind of magical transportation system. If you stood on it, and could make it work, they would instantly transport you from one pedestal to another.."
"A.. teleporter?" Jon whistled suddenly getting off the raised platform.
"Yep- well- that's the best theory. Not many have been found... Just three that I know of publicly and none of them are in better condition then the one here.. but.. nobody can activate them. Nobody knows how. They might need a power source that we don't know of or maybe the ancients destroyed their ability to be used- lots of theories on it, but at the moment they are just oddities to be observed and sometimes tested."
Jon stared at it. If the ancients had such a technology or.. magic.. would they have need for roads at all? "How far.. do these gates go?"
"Who knows when dealing with ancient technology." The fox snickered. "They could go to other worlds, if the ancients were there."
Jon raised her eyes at that. "O-Other worlds?" Could this be a way home?
"Yes I know it might be a bit out of fashion, but I do believe other worlds could exist...not just other worlds, other dimensions, maybe there are time gates- eh who knows. People have imagined so many things, but I don't even think it is a gate. My theory suggests it's actually an information store of some kind. A way the ancients stored magical information like we store sunlight in the stones."
Jon looked at her then back at the platform. "Well.. if it was a teleporter.. I'd like to get it working..."
"Please miss, don't waste your time on it. Scholars have been puzzling over it for hundreds of years. If you like I can provide you books on all they have tried so far " the human-like fox tried to assure her.
Kevin had that dream he could see his mother. He liked this dream just him staring up at the white features of a blue sky, while he laid back on green grass. The sound of the water was distant now yet for some reason, the dream this time was taking place at night, surrounded by stars.
'Just like your father said, I'm just on a cloud watching over you...' she whispered, her features obscured by the strange haze. Oh but he could remember that voice 'I believe in you Kevin make me proud...'
Kevin felt himself blush. "I want to see you though.. "
'One day...'
Then Kevin woke. Yet- the sound he could hear something It was almost like a strange melody. He glanced around shyly, trying to discern it from the normal sounds. It was somehow familiar. It sounded like a strange chime and for a moment he was completely lost thinking he was still dreaming. It was musical, and it.. compelled him to find the source. He glanced around.. noting his father was still sleeping. Whatever this music was, it was so.. enchanting. The young boy took his clothes and ran to the bathroom, where he could dress without making too much noise.
Kevin slowly made his way out the back door of the inn, putting on his shoes. The sound was coming from the beach? Did the magic ship come back? It sounded like it was coming from that direction. An excitement built in the boy it was still another two hours until sunrise. He glanced around the sleeping town and headed towards the beach. It was very dark, but a strong light from the full moon was out. He glanced up at it. "Is.. the moon making that noise?" he wondered.
Yes.. it was. There was another strange thing though, a responding sound from.. somewhere. He headed to the beach, listening for that odd echo. It was starting to get louder. An odd hum, that was somewhere now.. under his feet. Under this sand wondering what it could be, he started to dig at it. So much sand he had to shift, but the more he dug the louder it became. The hold was almost three feet now and his hands were starting to suffer from it but- they hit something hard. Excited and thinking it was part of the ship, he began to push away at the dirt, exposing the odd black stone.
A lot of it was still buried in the sand. However there appeared to be a raised pedestal. Kevin placed his hand on it
A ghost appeared! The same strange clockwork ghost like on the ship. Kevin gasped but- this was important. It could probably bring the ship back! "G-Ghost? uh-"
"Hak eri En tu sa?" The Ghost queried.
"I don't understand," said Kevin. "Please you were on the ship right? Could you bring it back?"
"Permission Dejai. Hak erri en Tul Parents?" the ghost replied.
Kevin blinked. Was the ghost trying to learn his language. "My parents? Uh- are you asking where my parents are? Look I just want the ship back!" He was not going to give up this chance! The ghost was back- maybe if he convinced it-
"Permission Denied. You must ask your parents first before using this transport circle, unregistered girl." The ghost said more forcefully yet still so very robotically.
"Hey- I'm not some little girl!" Kevin said angrily giving the ghost a kick- which of course went right into the sand bank. "Urgh! Fight fair would you!"
"Permission denied unregistered girl. If you wish to make use of this transporter, you must declare this an emergency. Is this an emergency?"
"yes this is an emergency!" Kevin shouted at it not even knowing what the thing meant.
"Unregistered girl has declared an emergency. Transport hub activated to default station." The clockwork ghostly being waved her hand..
With that, an odd soft pull of energy began. A glow of blue light, pulsed. Kevin glanced about the sand bank, fearing what was about to happen. Suddenly the boy vanished. As he did so, the spike of energy left behind a vacuum. This was filled by the sand all around the transporter.. burying it again.
