FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Mystic Heart Odyssey

_Part

3: Highland Bunnies_

_Chapter

12_

_And

finally, Lykou and Kuna's adventure in Clovaria draws to a close.

Time for farewells and... still more potential new friendships?_

-Llox

___________________________________________________________________________________

Kuna woke up before

Lykou the next morning. It was already late into the morning, and he

could hear that the adjacent common area of the lodge was abuzz with

activity. He somewhat reluctantly sat up and rubbed his eyes. He

would have loved to close his eyes again and doze a bit more, but he

knew that he and Lykou would have to readjust to their normal sleep

pattern soon enough, and they had at least a half day of travel ahead

of them.

When he glanced over

at his side, he couldn't help but blush and grin slightly at

another temptation to lay back down- a nearly naked konuul. Since

Lykou's new outfit was padded with armor bits, it wasn't well

suited to sleeping in, so he'd decided to strip down for the night.

Kuna had also taken off his robe. While not as strictly necessary as

it was for Lykou's outfit, he offered up a handful of excuses-

combining it with the blanket was too warm, it was awkward to sleep

in, and, of course, it was 'only fair' to the konuul. Still, they

each came to the conclusion that they'd still each wear their old

pants instead, at least for the time being. Unless they were in a hot

climate. Where it would be strictly pragmatic to strip all the way

down. And for no other reason, obviously.

Of course, they'd

gotten in so late, they hadn't had the energy to tease each other

about it much before they both conked out for the night. But he had a

feeling that was coming, so at least for the time being, he opted to

quickly get his robe on and shake some potentially intrusive thoughts

away before he gently started nudging the canid awake. He definitely

didn't think he'd find the time or place to deal with any...

fallout of such thoughts until they left Whitlan, at the very

least. Not without some awkward conversation he wasn't interested

in having with anyone about why he might need a secluded space to

himself for a short time.

After some gentle

prodding, Lykou's eyes fluttered open and he stretched, groaning a

bit. "Mmno fair. Tell the sun to go back t'bed for a bit," he

grumbled playfully.

"I don't think

even Lana's or Inkari's magic is that powerful," Kuna replied

groggily, with a smirk. "C'mon, we can't get too used to this

late morning stuff. We've got traveling to do."

"Mmm, need to find

a sun spirit or somethin' t' teach you," the canid joked as he

reluctantly sat up and rubbed his eyes.

"Sleep okay?"

"Mmm, yeah, just

not enough."

"Me either, but I

figure it'll help if we get moving. And we can always camp early if

we really need to. Let's just get some progress today."

"Fair enough,"

the konuul replied, then looked around, blinking the sleepiness away.

After a moment, he smirked at the sereva. "Already dressed huh?

Eager to hide that cute butt?"

Kuna blushed and

rolled his eyes. "Oh hush, it's too early for that. C'mon, get

dressed so we can go grab some breakfast."

Lykou got dressed as

Kuna began gathering their things up, making sure everything was

packed away for traveling. Afterwards, they both walked out into the

common area, where they saw the Dunnyhill gang milling around,

packing things up.

"Mornin' lads!"

Ealar greeted them.

"Ye were oot late

again," Effie noted with some concern. "Everythin' a'right?"

"Yer lettin' th'

big toun gie ye bad habits," Gavin teased, then chuckled. "Ah'm

glad yer enjoyin' yerselves, though."

"Er, yeah,"

Lykou said sheepishly. "After we met up with the council again, we,

um..."

"Went for another

long walk," Kuna quickly interjected. "Spent a long while

exploring the garden."

Ealar looked at him

with a perplexed expression. "They usually claise efter sundoon. Ah

ken ye met wi' the council, bit..."

"He's a druna,

aye? Special privileges, ah'm sure," Finlay chimed in.

"Y-yeah! Druna

stuff," Kuna quickly agreed. Eventually one of the lodge porters

came to check in on the group and noticed the boys were up, so he

brought them some food and drinks. It wasn't hot, but they didn't

care at that point.

Eventually, Bhaltair

walked in from the cart stalls and saw that they were finally awake

as well. "Aboot time ye two got up!" he said playfully. "Ah wis

startin' tae think ye wis thinkin' aboot turnin' intae night

guards fer Whitlan."

Lykou chuckled.

"Nah, sorry for sleeping in again. Guess everything that's

happened over the past week has messed with out sleep patterns, heh."

"Weel, efter

helpin' us lik' ye did, ye kin sleep whene'er ye want, as far

as ah'm concerned," the caravan leader said, walking over to

embrace them both lightly. "Unfortunately, we've got oor own

travelin' tae do, sae we're heidin' oot efter lunch. Ah did put

in a word wi' th' lodge master 'n' he dinnae mind if ye

wantae spend th' night here again, but come tomorrae, ah'm afraid

ye'll 'av ta find ether arrangements."

"We appreciate it,

but we were going to head out soon ourselves," Lykou replied.

"We've dragged our stay out long enough, and as much as we both

have enjoyed Clovaria, we really do need to get on with our trip

home."

"Ah sure hawp ye

come visit again someday, then," Effie said, setting down a bag she

was carrying in order to give each of the two a hug in turn, which

they happily returned.

"Aye, wid be great

tae see ye again," Bhaltair agreed, then patted them both on the

back. "Ah need tae git back oot there, bit in case ah dinnae see ye

afore ye leave, safe travels to baith o' ye."

"Likewise!"

Lykou said as he and Kuna both gave him another quick hug. "Who

knows, maybe one day we'll find out a way for you to come visit

Lakefire, too!"

"Soonds crackin'!"

Bhaltair agreed, then headed out the door.

"If at all

possible, I definitely want to come visit here again, too," the

canid said with a smile. "Love the open hills out there and

everything. And of course all the great people like yourselves."

"Yeah, other than

those bandits, this has been really nice," Kuna agreed. "Thank

you all for letting us travel with you."

"Ach, we're th'

ones thankin' you!" Gavin said. "Ye saved all oor skins, havin'

yer company wis oor pleasure!"

"'n' ye better

believe ah'm workin' on a song fer ye two," Finlay added with a

wink. "Two strangers fra far away come 'n' save th' day- tis

a perfect story tae tell by a campfire."

"A song about us?

Gosh," Kuna replied with a bashful smile.

Lykou grinned and

hugged the sereva. "Well, rest assured we're looking forward to

telling the other Ashers about all of you and Clovaria when we get

back, too."

"Mak' sure ye

get 'im guid 'n' tipsy first," Ealar teased, poking the

sereva playfully as he walked past to pick up a box of goods.

"Oh definitely,"

the canid responded with a grin before the sereva could interject.

Kuna just smirked

and rolled his eyes. "Right..."

Suddenly Bhaltair

came back in, followed by an unexpected guest- a familiar

'groundskeeper' from the garden. Only she was dressed up a little

more formally- more like an official of some sort than a gardener.

"Er, lads? This here's Aelana, she says she works fer th'

council 'n' wants ta speak wi' ye two?" he said, uncertainly.

"Oh... yeah,"

Lykou said, perking up a little. "We uh, met."

"Hi Lana," Kuna

added with a small wave and a smile.

"Ach, guid then.

If ye need anythin', let me know," Bhaltair said to Aelana with a

nod, then turned to head back out. "Ah'll be oot here if ye need

meh."

Aelana nodded back,

then turned to the boys. "Mornin' lads," she replied with a

small, guarded smile of her own. She was clearly in disguise mode,

including the way she carried herself. "Th' council wid lik'

tae see ye one last time at yer earliest convenience. Nae rush tho,

ye kin tak' yer time."

"Goodness, th'

council must really be fascinated wi' th' two o' ye," Gavin

said.

"Seems that way,"

Lykou said, smirking knowingly at the 'council servant'. "Tell

you what, why don't you join us while we eat breakfast?"

"Oh, tha's

a'right, ah should really-"

"Nonsense, I

insist! I happen to remember most of your work is in the evening,

right?"

Kuna smirked and

shifted over a bit, patting a stool next to him. "Trust me, he

won't stop until you join us."

Aelana shot them a

subtle look, then glanced around nervously for a moment. "Weel...

ah suppose ah... dae 'av some time..." she said as she hesitantly

walked around, then sat down on the offered stool.

"Nice tae meet

ye," Ealar said as he walked back past. "Aelana, wis it? Ah'm

Ealar."

"And ah'm

Gavin," Gavin said, then proceeded to introduce the others.

"Whit dae ye do

fer the council exactly?" Ealar asked.

"Ah, ye ken, jest...

errands 'n' such," Aelana replied. "Nothin' tae

interestin'."

Finlay chuckled.

"Errands fer the high council soonds plenny interestin' in

isself."

"Ah suppose,"

she said with a slightly forced smile. She then leaned over and

whispered out of the corner of her mouth to Lykou when nobody was

looking at her. "Did ye want somethin' lad? Or ye jest tryin'

ta mix meh up?"

"You should get to

know these folks some. See for yourself they're trustworthy," he

replied with a wink, then spoke back up more normally. "You want

anything to eat? You can have some of my stuff if you want. I should

probably have some of my salted meat, to be honest."

"Nae thanks, lad,

ah'm nae hungry," she replied, then twitched slightly as an odd

sensation briefly flashed through her. She flagged down the lodge

porter. "...ah might could use a drink tho..."

"A drink, er a

'drink'?" Gavin teased, then chuckled. "Ah'm sure they kin

bring ye some water er somethin', bit ye may 'av ta wait a bit on

th' guid stuff. Tis still mornin', efter all."

"Water will be

fine," she replied flatly.

The porter left and

came back in short order with a copper cup full of water, setting it

down in front of her. "Forordinar onleh trade folk wid get anythin'

'ere, bit if yer wi' th' council 'n' thaes lads vouch fer

ye, ah'd be happy tae bring ye some food as weel."

She shook her head.

"Thank ye, bit this is all ah need fer noo."

"Aye, jest let me

ken if ye change yer mind," the porter said, then turned and walked

away to help Gavin carry a larger box out to the stalls.

The three sat and

made small talk for a while, with each other and the Dunnyhill gang

as they worked. While it wasn't especially obvious, there was a

faint bit of awkwardness that Lykou picked up on. He could tell she'd

not engaged in such extended casual conversations about mundane

subjects in a long time.

Eventually, as Effie

was passing by, she paused and shook her head as she caught a glance

at the cup in front of their guest. Luckily, Aelana picked it up to

take a sip before she could get a better look at it. Kuna caught the

look though. A thought occurred to him and he warily spoke up.

"Everything alright, Effie?"

"...aye," she

said after a moment with a small grin. "Sorreh, mah eyes must be

playin' tricks oan meh. Mibbie ah'm nae as awake as a thought."

"Tak' a break,

then," Ealar suggested. Aelana looked at Kuna questioningly. The

sereva tried to subtly point to her cup with a quick glance. She

looked down and stiffened up slightly, then made sure to keep both

hands wrapped around it, as her eyes scanned the room for any other

reflective surfaces. "Nae much left tae pack away ennyway, we've

got th' rest. Ye bin workin' at it sin' afore some o' us wis

awake."

Effie started to

protest, but Finlay spoke up, "Aye, 'es right. Rest up fer a

spell, ye need some energy fer travelin', ye ken."

Before Kuna could

come up with anything to draw attention away, Lykou nudged a stool

out with his foot and smiled. "C'mon, listen to the others and

join us."

Finally, the smaller

lepne conceded and sat down with a smile. "A'right, soonds guid.

S'pose ah 'av bin keepin' busy this mornin'," she said,

then turned to Aelana. "Sae ye run errands fer th' council, aye?

Does tha' mean ye met 'em?"

Aelana looked around

uncertainly for a moment, then slowly nodded. "...aye, tho usually

ah jest talk t'the guards. The council bein' sae busy 'n'

such."

"Ye ever get tae

see 'em use thir magic?"

And so the

conversation continued for a while. After around an hour or so, once

the boys had finished eating and waking up, they stood up along with

their guest and decided it was time to bid everyone farewell. They

walked around distributing hugs and swapping well-wishes, then

finally picked up their things and headed for the door.

Aelana was still

holding the cup carefully when she began following them out. The

porter cleared his throat and arched a brow at her as he was cleaning

up one of the other tables, giving her hand a meaningful glance. She

smiled sheepishly and set the cup down before hastily making her way

out. The porter went back to his work without another thought, along

with most of the rest of the lepne. Effie, however, having been

resting up, caught another glimpse of something odd right before the

stranger walked out after the boys.

She glanced around a

bit, then excused herself as she walked to the door herself. Once

could be dismissed as a trick of the light or her eyes, but twice

seemed odd. And she couldn't shake the feeling that something

seemed a little off about the council 'errand-runner'.

"Where ye goin'?"

Gavin asked.

"Jest hoppin'

doon tae th' market real quick. Willnae tak' lang."

"A'right, jest

remember ta be back afore lunch!"

"Aye."

*****

Aelana led Lykou and

Kuna back towards the garden, ducking down the quietest,

least-traveled alleys along the way. Finally, when they came to a

particularly isolated spot with no other lepne within sight, she

stopped them and waved her hand in a large arc, sending a curtain of

sparkling light around their section of the alley, which shimmered

for a moment, then faded.

"I take it we're

invisible to others again now?" Lykou asked.

"Aye, naebody wull

detect us fer th' moment," she said, relieved. But then she

turned and glared at the wall for a moment as she waved her other

hand, temporarily turning part of the wall reflective. The boys could

see their own reflection, but hers was... missing. She crossed her

arms and tapped her foot. "Oi. Daisy. Ah ken yer there. Quit

hidin'."

The tinger finally

appeared at the bottom of the reflection, grinning sheepishly. "Aye,

whatcha need?"

"I think that's

what we should be asking," Kuna helpfully suggested before Aelana

could snap.

"Whit were ye

thinkin' tryin' tae peek in back a' th' lodge?"

"Ah jest wanted

tae get a peek a' these 'Dunnyhill' folk, a'right?"

Aelana groaned and

rolled her eyes. "We experience th' same things, ye numpty! Ye

almost gave us awa'!"

Daisy frowned and

looked away, her ears drooping a bit. "...fine. Sorreh. Ye were

chattin' wi' 'em 'n' ah wanted feel lik' ah wis really

part o' it."

Lykou shot her a

sympathetic look. Aelana's expression softened and she sighed.

"...aye, bit ye 'av tae be careful. Ah'll kip mah promise, bit

ah need time, a'right? Warm folk up tae th-"

"Who are ye

talkin' tae?" a curious voice spoke up behind them, causing the

three non-reflection-dwellers to whirl around in surprise.

"Effie??" Kuna

said in surprise.

"What are you

doing here?" Lykou asked with a nervous grin, trying to help Aelana

block her view of the reflective portion of the wall without being

too obvious about it.

Effie raised a brow,

glancing between the three suspiciously. "Thas whit ah wis gonnae

ask you three," she said, a faint smirk starting to form on her

face. "Jest an 'errand-runner' eh? Didnae ken th' council 'ad

other drunas workin' under 'em in secret. Whit kinda magic ye

even' got goin' on here?"

"Hah! Other way

ar-" Daisy blurted out behind them.

"SHUT IT, DAMMIT!"

Aelana snapped, turning back to the wall briefly.

Lykou sighed as he

and Kuna shared a look. "Weren't we supposed to be invisible?"

Kuna asked.

"She must've

been hidin' 'round th' corner 'n' gotten caught in th'

spell," Aelana grumbled, clutching her head as she began to panic a

bit. "Ah should've made it smaller, dammit. Ah'm losin' mah

edge, lettin' mah guard doon..."

Lykou glanced

between her and Effie for a moment, then gently laid a hand on

Aelana's shoulder. "Hey, she's good people. I know it wasn't

planned, at least not so soon, but is there really any harm to her

knowing?"

"Whit ye talkin'

aboot?" Effie asked, then grinned sheepishly. "Ah'm sorreh fer

snoopin', bit ye really caught mah eye back a' th' lodge.

Couldnae help mahself. Er... ah'm nae in trouble am ah? I didnae

mean tae interfere in council bus'niss!"

Aelana wilted a bit,

glancing around uncertainly. "Weel, no, s'not exactly a council

matter... considerin' only one o' 'em even ken aboot me..."

"Ah'm sorreh..."

Daisy weakly chimed in behind her.

"Who's back

there ennyway?" Effie asked, trying to peer around Lykou.

"...weel, guess

thir's no hidin' it noo." Aelana finally conceded, then shot

the other lepne a very nervous smile. "...ah'm... nae exactly

normal, ye see..."

"She's ha-

mnmnfff!" Lykou started trying to help explain, but suddenly felt

his mouth seizing up in the middle of his sentence out of nowhere, as

if some unseen force was forcing it shut. He shot Kuna a bewildered

look, then turned to Aelana.

Kuna raised a brow.

"Er... he's trying to say she-mmmnpf!"

Aelana couldn't

help but smirk in amusement. "Geas, remember? Ah tellt ye the words

wouldnae leave ye," she said, then rolled her eyes a bit. "Ah

hereby grant ye permission tae talk tae this one aboot meh."

The boys' mouths

returned to normal and Lykou couldn't help but smirk in spite of

himself. "So that's how that works..."

"No more 'gesh'

promises for me, thanks," Kuna added with considerably less

amusement, his eye twitching a bit.

"...whit jest

happened?" Effie asked, growing visibly more confused by the

moment.

"Weird magic, not

the kind drunas usually do," Kuna answered, rubbing his jaw a bit.

"Right, so... want

me to explain?" Lykou asked Aelana.

"Aye, fine," she

said, then adopted an almost manic expression as she dramatically

stepped to the side, revealing the reflective portion of the wall.

"Explain away!" she said with a theatrical gesture towards the

now visible wolpertinger, before burying her face in her hand. "Oi..."

Daisy looked a

little startled at the sudden reveal, then gave Effie a slightly

nervous grin and a small wave with one forepaw. "Er, hi there..."

Effie's eyes

widened as she took a step back, unsure how to react to the

revelation.

"Errr... right,

so... this is Daisy. It's kind of a complicated story, but suffice

to say Aelana is more than just a druna. She's only half-lepne. The

other half is a being called a wolpertinger, which is represented by

Daisy here."

Effie glanced back

and forth between the two for a moment. "Er, come agin? Ah dinnae

follow."

"Ah'm a powerful

sorceress fra anether world- nae th' spirit world, bit one most

folk hae forgotten called Sylthea. Ah went magically a bit dotty tae

th' point tha' mah 'tinger half became her oon sep'rate

person, 'n' tha's Daisy 'ere," Aelana chimed in, then shot

a sidelong look to the wolpertinger.

"...did ah git

blootered 'n' ferget it?" Effie asked incredulously, rubbing

her head a bit. "Ah dinnae usualleh drink, bit ah suppose it'd

jest hit meh harder when ah dae..."

"Nope, this is all

real and you're sober," Lykou said with an awkward smile. "I

know it's... kind of a lot, but it's all true. The council runs

things for the most part, but she's the secret leader of Clovaria

as a whole, in a way."

"Ach, realleh?"

Effie said, perking up a bit. "Sae th' high drunas hae a high

druna o' thir oon?"

"Yes, and um..."

Kuna chimed in, then glanced around between Aelana and Daisy for a

moment, then walked over and gently laid a hand on Effie's

shoulder. "...she needs friends. I know this is sudden, but please

don't tell anyone about her, and consider getting to know her. This

is just scratching the surface of things she's kept secret for

longer than you can possibly imagine, and it's taken a toll on

her."

"Och, ah'm

fine," Aelana bristled, straightening herself up. "Nae need tae

overstate things lad, ah-"

"Ye lit'rally

created me oot o' half yer damn heid frae loneliness 'n'

stress," Daisy interrupted, shooting her a look. "Yer nae fine.

We're nae fine."

Aelana deflated

again. "...weel..."

Effie looked up at

Kuna, then back to the other lepne- or half-lepne, rather, and her

mirror-half. She slowly nodded. "...weel, ye certainly seem off,

'n' tis hard tae believe ye really rule Clovaria somehow, bit if

these lads think yer guid folk, ah'm inclined tae believe 'em,"

she said with a small smile. "Er. Aboot tha' whole...

'half-lepne' thing tho, ah'm still a smidge confused. Ye look

full lepne tae me, is tae ether half jest in yer heid then?"

"Nae ennymore, na

fully anyway," Daisy said with a smirk.

"Nae helpin',

you," Aelana said, shooting her a look, then turned back to Effie.

"Lik' ah said, tis... complicated. We're both th' same person

but also not. S'all... magic-related stoof. Specifically Sylthean

magic, which tends tae get weird sometimes."

"Why don't you

show her that hybrid form? That was basically your 'true' form,

right?"

"Aye...

technically," she replied, then waved her hand around, surrounding

herself in the glittery cloud of dust for a moment, before emerging

in her full halfie form. The sight earned renewed shock from Effie.

"Crivvens, ye

really are streenge," the small lepne remarked, then smirked a bit.

"Nae offense. Yer... actually quite beautiful."

Aelana smiled a bit

at that. "Thank ye. Bit aye, tis oor original 'true' form, if

ye wantae call it tha'. Sin' we split, tho, ah tend tae stick tae

lepne form, 'n' she tends tae stick tae 'tinger form when ah

let her oot."

"Which doesnae

happen near enoof these days," Daisy commented pointedly.

"Let her... oot?"

Effie asked curiously.

"Aye," Aelana

said, then looked sidelong at her other half for a moment. "...ach,

guess we might as weel show her, sin' ye wis gonnae come oot later

ennyway. Jest promise tae behave 'n' stay hidden lik' we

agreed, okay?"

Daisy perked up and

nodded. "O'coorse! No funny bus'ness, jest flyin' t' th'

gateway 'n' mibbie aroond Clovaria fer a bit, nae lettin'

mahself be seen," she replied, then tilted her head a bit. "Ah

ken ah'm a radge shite sometimes, bit ye kin trust me oan tha'.

Ye need a break fer a bit, 'n' ah got plenny o' shenanigans

last night ennyway. Ah'll jest be happy tae be oot fer a bit 'n'

enjoy th' air under mah wings."

"What's this

about the gateway?" Lykou asked.

"Aye, th' reason

we originally came tae git ye wis tha' she wanted tae giv' ye a

lift as thanks fer spendin' time wi' us fer so lang last night,"

she explained. "And honestly, she's right. Ah need a break. More

than ah ever realized."

"So tha's where

ye two bin these past two nights," Effie said with a bemused look.

"Long walks, eh?"

Kuna smiled

sheepishly. "Well, to be fair we did spend a lot of it in

the garden..."

"Riiiight," she

replied, then turned back to Aelana. "Still tho, flyin'? Lettin'

her oot? Ah'm still waitin' tae-"

"Jest watch,"

the halfie said, rolling her eyes up with a sigh. She conjured up

another cloud of glittery lights and dust, which gradually grew

larger and larger, forcing Lykou to take a few steps back out of the

way, joining Kuna by Effie's side. When the dust disappeared, Daisy

was out in the material world, and Aelana had taken her place in the

reflective surface.

Effie gawked at her

for a minute. "...ah see."

Daisy grinned and

bent down to sniffle at her a bit. "Hi."

"H-hi there miss...

Daisy, wis it?" Effie replied, hesitantly reaching out to stroke

her snout slightly. "...this feels a smidge weird, nae offense. Ah

feel lik' ah'm dreamin'."

"That's whit

makes it fun!" Daisy replied cheerfully.

"She gets...

rambunctious, but she's nice, don't worry," Kuna assured Effie.

"Ach, ah tellt ye,

ah'll tone tha' shite doon fer noo," Daisy whined slightly,

rolling her eyes. Then she grinned back at Effie. "Ah wis gonnae

give these two a ride, yer welcome tae come alang if ye want. Pretty

sure thir's room fer three o' ye," she offered, unfurling her

wings a bit.

"...wait... ye

mean lik'..." the lepne responded with growing incredulity as she

looked over her wings. "...in' the sky? Lik' a damn bird??"

"Yup!" Lykou

chimed in. "It's amazing, like nothing you've ever experienced

before! She took us up last night, it was awesome!"

"That's

certainly one way to describe it," Kuna said with a slight shiver.

"Ah'll... pass

fer noo. Th' gang's preparin' tae leave 'n' ah need tae be

back afore lunch," Effie replied, causing the wolpertinger to wilt

in disappointment. After a moment, Effie grinned and stroked the

wolpertinger's snout some more. "...bit hey, ye got me all kind

o' fascinated 'n' wantin' tae ken more aboot ye two. Mibbie

ye kin pop by tonight when we mak' camp? Ah'm sure th' others

wid be jest as fascinated."

"Weel... tha'

soonds nice, bit..." the tinger replied, glancing back towards

Aelana. "We made a deal tae tak' things slow 'n' nae reveal

oorselves tae too many folk at once... originally we wis gonnae try

'n' ease intae revealin' oorselves t'Moyra 'n' her lad

o'er in Kerney fer noo."

"Oh, aye, they'd

be guid fer secrets," Effie agreed with a small nod. "Still, if

ye ever wantae visit, lik' ah said, ah'd love tae ask ye more 'n'

get tae ken ye both better."

"Definitely!"

Daisy agreed.

"And hey, like we

told you, the Dunnyhill gang are all good folks. Seriously consider

opening up to the others, too," Lykou suggested, glancing back at

Aelana.

Aelana shrugged. "Ye

know whit? Ah'm pure scunnered. Ye kin make yer oon decision while

yer oot there," she told Daisy, then arched a brow. "Jest be

careful, tha's all ah ask."

Daisy lit up with

excitement. "Aye, o' coorse! Thank ye Lana!"

"Nae need ta thank

me. We're supposed tae be equals efter all, ah'm sorreh ah fergot

that for a while," Aelana said with a sigh.

Daisy grinned and

turned back to Effie. "Right, guess ah'll pop by tonight efter

all," she said, then paused and thought for a moment. "Tell ye

whit tho, fer Lana's peace o' mind, how aboot jest th' two o'

us meet at first. That a'right wi' you?"

"Ah cannae exactly

say no tae th' high druna's boss, can ah?" Effie said in

amusement.

Daisy snickered.

"Nae need ta think o' it tha' way. Tha' whole secret leader

thing is a wee bit overblown thaes days," she explained. "We-

mostly Lana- jest go aroond secretly keepin' an eye oan things 'n'

occasionally nudgin' folk in wee ways noo 'n' then. Powerful

borin', tae be honest."

"But safe and

effective," Aelana spoke up somewhat defensively.

"Aye, sure, sure,"

the wolpertinger said with a small eye-roll.

"Weel, ah best git

back tae th' lodge afore the others start worryin'," Effie

said. "Bit ah'll look forward ta seein' ye again. Still 'av

plenny o' questions."

"Wait a minnit!"

Daisy said. "Dinnae leave jest yet, yer invisible tae everyone

else."

Effie blinked a few

times and glanced down at herself. "Right. Tha' magic thing yer

ether half started off wi'."

"Maybe a geas as

weel?" Aelana suggested. Kuna winced and subtly tried to gesture

for Effie not to go for it if she could help it. "...or nae.

Sorreh, yer call, Daisy."

"Nae, ah think we

kin trust her," Daisy assured her, then smiled down at Effie.

"Aye, nae worries,

ah'm guid wi' secrets," the short lepne assured her. "Ah

willnae tell a soul ye dinnae want tae ken aboot ye."

"Right, lemme

jest-"

"Wait, so ah'm invisible tae everyone bit th'

four o' you, aye?"

"...aye?"

Effie rubbed her

chin thoughtfully for a minute, then slowly grinned. "...ah almost

wish Dougal were still aroond. Ah kin think o' some fun ah could

'av wi' this," she said, surprising both Lykou and Kuna.

Daisy beamed. "Oh

we're gonnae git alang famously, lass."

Aelana groaned

slightly and brought her palm to her face. "...jest be careful o'

causin' real trouble, a'right?"

"Right, right,"

Daisy said, then waved her head around a bit, conjuring sparkles up

from the tips of her antlers, which surrounded Effie for a few

moments before vanishing. "A'right, goan 'n' git tae lunch.

Ah'll see ye tonight tho, aye?"

Effie grinned and

nodded. "Ah look forward tae it," she said, then turned to the

reflection on the wall. "Wis crackin' meetin' ye both- fer real

meetin', ah mean," she said, then turned back to the boys. "Seems

lik' streenge 'n' amazin' things follow ye two. Guid luck oot

there, lads. Ah look forward ta hearin' more stories fra ye

someday, ye unnerstan?"

Lykou grinned and

nodded. "Absolutely."

"Take care,

Effie," Kuna said, then hugged her briefly and leaned in to whisper

to her, "And thanks for giving them a chance."

The lepne just

grinned back at him and winked, then smiled back at the others.

"Weel, best be goin'. Safe travels ye two," she said, then

turned and sprinted off.

"Weel. Ye two

ready fer another flight?" Daisy asked with a grin.

"Not really,"

Kuna said with a slight shudder. "But I guess it beats walking all

that way."

"Hey come on, you

have to admit it's exciting," Lykou encouraged him, then narrowed

his eyes with a playful look as he stepped behind him and wrapped his

arms around him. "And don't forget we figured out how to make it

more-"

"Don't even say

it," the sereva playfully snapped back, blushing and looking away

with a coy smirk.

Daisy and Aelana

shared an amused look. "Lik' ah said, jest as lang as ye d-"

"You either. I've

not had enough sleep for the 'fluster Kuna' game, dammit."

All three of the

others snickered.

*****

A short time later,

Daisy was soaring through the air with the boys on her back. Much as

Kuna denied it, he did find it comforting having Lykou behind him and

his arms around him. And once the fear began subsiding a bit, he did

find the view all the more spectacular in the daytime. They flew for

a few hours, giving them a breathtaking view at the rolling landscape

of Clovaria, and he was glad to be huddled up between the

wolpertinger and the canid- both for his nerves, and as a bulwork

against the cold air. Lykou was slightly chilly, but Kuna had

pre-emptively loaned him his poncho to put on over his new outfit in

preparation for the extended flight, so it was at a tolerable level.

It also helped that

the wolpertinger was flying a bit lower than she had at night, which

also allowed them a closer view of some of the landmarks. While much

of it was rolling, grassy hills, they did eventually come into

rockier territory with a few scattered mountains in the distance. And

some streams fed into a small river that eventually cascaded over

some impressive falls. They also spotted another town in the

distance, though they didn't get close enough to see much of it.

Early on they'd followed the road out of Whitlan, but eventually it

veered off from their course and towards the distant town.

Finally, she started

descending down as they spotted the old arch on top of a hill,

sitting out in the middle of nowhere and overlooking the smaller

hills nearby. She set down in front of it and allowed the boys to

climb off, then sat up again. "Weel, here ye are. Dinnae ken where

it leads, tae be honest, so be careful."

"Well, ultimately

it leads home, and that's the important thing," Lykou said as he

helped Kuna down.

"So you never used

it in the past?" Kuna asked curiously.

"Nae. We used one

'er two o' th' others when we wis a wee bairn, bit tha' wis

so lang ago we dinnae remember much. Bit only a few o' oor cousins

used this'n. We jest stick tae thaes hills. Oor domain 'n' all,

ye ken?"

"You don't ever

want to explore elsewhere?" Lykou asked.

"Ah widnae mind

seein' some ether sights some day, bit Lana has a point aboot us

needin' tae keep watch o'er Clovaria. 'sides, tis a pretty big

domain," she replied with a shrug, then smirked. "'n', as

ye've seen, we dae get oor own excitement tae deal with here noo

'n' then. Thanks again fer dealin' wi' Kerr."

"So... did you

already know about him before we got here?" Kuna suddenly asked,

arching a brow.

"Aye, 'n' we

wis plannin' tae intervene, bit then we sensed ye two show up, 'n'

ah had a feelin' aboot ye. So we waited ta see how things went in

Kerney."

"Were you

following us all along or something?" Lykou asked. "No offense,

but that sounds a bit like-"

"Nae up claise,

lad," Daisy assured him. "Aelana uses scryin' windas all th'

time 'n' only goes oot o' Whitlan when she feels tis urgent."

"Scrying...

windows...?"

"Aye, watch!"

she said, then manifested a sparkling light on the tip of one antler

and used it to draw a circle in the air. When the magic dissipated,

what looked like a hole opened up within the circle, showing part of

the garden back in Whitlan.

"Oh wow," Kuna

said with wide eyes.

"That definitely

seems useful," Lykou commented. "So uh... were you watching us

the whole time?"

"Nae, jest

checkin' in noo 'n' then. 'n' nae jest oan ye two,

obviously."

"Shame I can't

learn that one," Kuna said.

"Who says ye

can't?" Daisy replied with a wry grin.

"Oh? Isn't it

Sylthean magic?"

"Aye, Syltheans

came up wi' it, bit tis one o' th' ones mortal folk kin learn.

Tisnae easy tho, 'n' ye 'av tae 'av claise ties to th'

person or place ye want tae scry oan. Luckily fer us tha' means

pretty much ennywhere in Clovaria tis fair game fer us."

"Oh, right, that

makes sense. Still... think you could teach me?"

"Mibbie sometime,

in yer dreams- lit'rally. Bit tis a more advanced spell, sae fer

noo ye got plenny else tae learn first."

"Ah, right...

guess now's not the best time anyway."

"Well she saved us

a lot of time flying us here. We can always camp here so you can

practice magic stuff for the afternoon, then go through the arch

tomorrow morning."

"Nah, I'm

curious to see what's on the other side. And the more we travel,

the sooner we'll get back to Lakefire," Kuna said, smiling at the

konuul. "We've stayed well distracted lately, but I know how

homesick you are, Kou."

Lykou smiled and

looked away a bit wistfully. "...yeah, fair point."

"Weel goan then,"

Daisy said, playfully nudging them both. "Off ye go. Yer journey

awaits!"

"Thanks again for

the ride, Daisy," Lykou said, rubbing her head lightly. "It was

great meeting you both."

"Yeah, it really

was," Kuna agreed, then smirked. "Also nice in general to meet a

powerful individual that's not all creepy and scary, let alone two

of you."

The wolpertinger

snickered. "Aye, guid luck wi' her, too. Bit ye got us oan yer

side noo, sae dinnae let her skeer ye tae much if she shows up again

soon," she said, then winked. "Tis nae bye, after all. Ye got yer

astral charms."

"Right, thanks

again for those, too!" Lykou said, patting his pocket. "I can't

wait to give that a try."

"Jest mak' sure

ye get at least one guid night's sleep afore ye use it, lad. Ah ken

ye need it."

"Right, hehe,"

Lykou said, then turned to Kuna. "Well, guess it's time then.

Unlock the uh... gateway, almighty druna!"

Kuna chuckled and

rolled his eyes, then walked over to the arch, manifested his soul

magic, and lit up the runes around the gateway. After a few moments,

the swirling portal opened up underneath it, disturbing the grass and

any debris around them with the winds it stirred up.

"Ach, bin a lang

time sin' we saw one open," Daisy said, watching it with some

fascination. "Ah fergot how wild they look when thir active."

"Yep... it was

intimidating the first time we saw it," Lykou said as he walked up

next to Kuna.

"Still is the

second time, too," Kuna said, then took a breath to steady himself.

"Well, off to our

next little adventure?" Lykou said after a moment, taking the

sereva's hand in his own and smiling over at him.

Kuna smiled back.

"Right..."

They stepped through

he portal and a bright flash lit up the area as they vanished through

the arch, leaving the wolpertinger to watch the swirling images

within until they eventually faded. "There go some damn decent

lads," she said to herself, then turned and jumped back into the

air to fly off.