A Long Journey Home, Hope Among the Ruins
#3 of A long journey home
Alrighty, chapter three of AbleArcher's request. Once again, I hope you enjoy it. And, it is worth it to note that this isn't all of it. I will submit the second half later in the week to keep things from getting congested.
As always, comments are appreciated and requested.
Continued from 'A spark is lit'...
Lucas pushed the shovel into the pile of soft earth, lifting a shovel's worth and then tossing it on the growing mound behind him. The young rifleman had stripped off his uniform jacket, hanging it on his rifle's barrel, the sunlight making the dark green coat a little too hot to be doing work in. Smiling to himself despite the heat, Lucas paused a moment to look at the result of his labor. He had had enough of marching day after day, stopping only to rest his weary legs and to hunt when he ran out of food. A few hours of good, hard labor felt good after such a march. Lucas was standing in the village's graveyard, beside the freshly covered mound of earth that now held his mother's remains.
It had been a few days since he had arrived back home to find the village disserted, and its people transformed, blended with animals. The storm that had been raging since he arrived had finally blown itself out the night before and Lucas had decided that he had to do something with his time besides sitting around, watching Lucien study. He had never been a great one for studying, and, though he had found a day or two of idleness pleasant, he couldn't stand sitting around anymore. When he had emerged from the alchemist's tower at dawn that morning, he had found that Olivia had abandoned her vigil, the ferret girl apparently resigning herself to the fact that he wasn't coming out until the storm was over. Lucas had then wandered away from the tower, looking for anything that would be worthwhile to do. The owl man who occupied the stone building had cautioned him that until he found the solution, he needed Lucas to stay nearby, and the rifleman had ultimately found himself in the ruins of his old home once more.
He had initially intended to find something else to wear besides his uniform, but he had been surprised to find that his old clothes didn't fit him anymore. Years spent in the army had filled out his frame, and he had grown a few inches since he had left as well. But he had searched through the house and found a few things that he had desired to keep. His pack now held a few mementos from his childhood that he still had a use for, the battered oxhide bag leaning up against the outer wall of the graveyard. And, as he wandered the ruins of his once beautiful home, he had seen the body of his mother once again as it lay on its bed, as if she had died in her sleep. It had taken him only a moment to decide that she needed to be laid to rest, and he had carried her to the graveyard and set to work in the family plot. Though he had no means to construct a tombstone, he had buried her bones beside those of his father, and the half sister he had never really known, who had died before he was three.
At last satisfied with the grave, Lucas rested the shovel on his shoulder and carried it back to the gravedigger's hut, laying it back where he had found it before going to retrieve his belongings by the graveside, looking up at the sky once more. Even more clouds, dark and heavy with rain, were already encroaching upon the shrinking patch of blue sky far above. The storms weren't done yet, it seemed. Shrugging, Lucas looked back at the mound of freshly dug earth and sighed. It seemed incomplete, and he knew full well why that was. Normally, when someone died in the village, it was customary for the entire village to be there, and for funeral songs to be sung, and blessings to be said by the head of the village while the last gifts were given. But Lucas did not know the songs, or even a single blessing to be said. So, he stood beside the finished grave for a moment, wishing he knew what to say, wishing he had something to give as a last gift to the dead. But he had nothing more than what he carried with him, a soldier's meager possessions, nothing more. At last, Lucas bowed his head and spoke aloud, not caring if his voice carried.
"When Lucien has succeeded, I promise I will return mother." He said, looking down at the grave. "I will sing the songs, and say the blessings. I will see that you have found peace." With that, he put his jacket back on and slung his pack on his back. Then, with his rifle in hand, Lucas started to leave the graveyard, intending to head back to Lucien's tower, having nowhere else to go. But, as he started to leave, he saw a pair of familiar green eyes watching him from the bushes at the edge of the forest.
The rifleman smiled and paused, slinging his rifle, then walked that way instead. In response, Olivia walked from the bushes and waited for him to approach. But, instead of standing still, as Lucas approached the ferret girl walked a few paces back into the lush, thick growing forest, and then stopped, turning back towards him, watching for him to follow her. When Lucas drew near enough once more, the girl would take a few more steps, then pause and look back once more. She repeated this process a few more times before she seemed satisfied that he wasn't going to wander off. Then, the girl picked up her pace a little, leading him on and on, deeper into the forest, towards the slopes of the nearest mountain. But, long before they reached the first incline leading to the high peak, the girl turned, leading him along the edge of a valley. And then, Olivia disappeared into a natural defile and Lucas hurried to catch up with her, fearing that he would lose sight of her. But it turned out she hadn't gone far.
The moment Lucas reached the edge of the defile, he stopped short, suddenly realizing where the girl had led him. This had been a place where the young pair had often visited in the years before he left. It was Olivia's favorite place in all the valleys they had explored, and for one very good reason. The defile was absolutely full of lilies, the special, very rare breed that was her favorite. In these mountains, in the deep valleys, one could happen upon small clusters of the sweet smelling blossoms if they were lucky, but this was the one place where they perennially grew in such numbers. Lucas smiled once more, looking around the familiar clearing and then he knew at last why she had led him here of all places, and why the scent of the flowers seemed to cling to her. Just as the young soldier reached the top of one side of the defile, he spied Olivia's tail disappearing into a cave near the narrowest edge of the cut, a cave that hadn't been there the last time he had seen this valley. Taking care not to harm the rare flowers that grew here, Lucas climbed down the slope and then peered inside the cave. Inside, he found Olivia curled up on a bed of what looked like well-frayed blankets, the ferret girl peering at him expectantly.
If he didn't know better, Lucas would have sworn that she wanted him to come inside the burrow, but he hesitated. If this had been before he had left, if she had been her usual human self, he wouldn't have hesitated to crawl into the cozy space in the earthen bank with her. But now... She wasn't herself, not even close. Though pieces of the girl he had known showed through the animal she had become, he knew that there was no telling how she would react. And besides, though he couldn't put his finger on it, there was something just fundamentally wrong with the idea of being so close to her when she was nude like this. But then, moments later, Lucas looked up at the sky, an echoing peal of thunder making his decision for him. Honestly, he should have started back to the tower from the graveyard if he had wanted to escape the storm. Judging from the towering, jet black thunderheads that led the approaching clouds, this was going to be a bad one for sure. Lucas turned back, spying the tower in the distance, outlined now and then by flashes of distant lightning, and he paused, recognizing the thick sheets of what looked like rain for what they really were in an instant. It was hail, and with the storm coming ever closer by the moment, he would have to get under cover well before he made it to the tower. With a final sigh of resignation, Lucas ducked under the bank and into the burrow.
The moment Lucas pulled his feet in, the first drops of rain fell from on high, and the rifleman knew that it would only be matter of time until the hail came with it. Sighing once more, Lucas settled back against the side of the cave near the entrance, returning his attention to his companion. When he had climbed quickly inside, she had scooted back against the wall, seeming to be apprehensive about him being there, but when he finally shrugged off his pack and rifle, setting them beside where he sat, she returned to her original position, her green eyes fixed upon him, her nose twitching as she breathed his scent. Heaving another sigh, Lucas turned his attention to the falling rain, watching the hail stones dance among the mountain flowers as they fell, bouncing along the hard ground. It was actually sort of peaceful to watch and to listen to the sounds of the storm. It was something he had always enjoyed as a child, and on the rare occasions when he wasn't on sentry duty during the war, he had found it relaxing to sit and watch storms while sitting dry under a tent or, more commonly, a makeshift shelter.
And, as Lucas sat, he found his thoughts drifting to the moments he had hesitated before entering Olivia's new home. He would have liked to chalk his hesitation up to her animal nature making him uncertain, but he had to acknowledge that that wasn't it. In fact, as unnatural as it seemed to his own mind, he found that his girlfriend's new form very pleasing. It was as if the more exotic shape she had assumed stimulated something deep down within him, something primal, instinctual; something he couldn't quite understand. He sat pondering this for a few minutes more before he finally realized what he was feeling. Far from being repulsed by this half animal, half human creature, he felt himself attracted to her. In fact, though it still stunned him to admit it, even in the silence of his own mind, he found this new side to her even more attractive than he had before, and that was saying something. Though there had been plenty of other available girls in the village, Olivia had been the only one he had ever wanted. And though her human beauty was gone, submerged beneath the animal, her body was still shapely, and the animalistic features seemed to have their own beauty that he hadn't noticed before. Plus, her fur was very soft, so soft in fact, that he had to wonder what it might feel like to cuddle with her without his clothes on...
"Snap out of it Lucas." He reprimanded himself quietly, jarring that particular train of thought right out of its tracks. No matter what else happened here, he would not take advantage of her, not while she acted solely on instinct. He was better than that. Returning his gaze to the falling rain, he wondered if Lucien was making any progress on the cure he had spoken of. A deafening thunderclap sounded outside and he smiled a little. At least he knew he had made the right decision. Being out in a storm like this one was a mistake a man made only once in his life. Then, something fuzzy and warm touched his arm and he jumped, looking down.
Olivia had crawled closer while he had been lost in his thoughts and had nuzzled his hand. Wondering what she wanted, Lucas watched her as she did it again, rubbing her head into his fingers and he grinned, beginning to pet her head, scratching with his fingernails. The ferret girl rubbed more insistently at his hand, moving her head around to bring different spots under his fingers. More thunder sounded outside and she became even more insistent. And finally, as she moved closer so he was scratching her neck, he noticed that she was trembling, and he knew that what she wanted most right then was comfort, though she had no way of asking for it. At once, an instinct rose within him, an instinct that came from both sides of his mind, the side that was attracted to her and the side that said it was wrong both agreeing for the moment. And before Lucas realized he had done it, he gave in...
***
Lucas' eyes opened with a jerk and he looked around, suddenly feeling guilty. He hadn't meant to doze off. Something was different, something that he couldn't quite place at first. The storm had passed, it seemed, and there was a steady dripping of water drops as they fell from the plants above the burrow's opening. The ground outside was still white and slick with melting hailstones, the supple flowers that covered the defile outside where he was sitting unharmed by the falling ice. But none of those things, not even the rain washed air was enough to explain the difference. Yawning and stretching, Lucas realized he must have slept through the rest of the day and the night as well while the storm raged outside his shelter. But, as he shifted, he felt a fuzzy sort of warmth against his left side, a warmth that belonged to an object with some weight.
And then, the rifleman's gaze found the source of the fuzzy warmth, and the guilt intensified. He had a nude ferret girl lying against his side. Well, she wasn't exactly naked anymore. Events from before he had nodded off came back to him at last, and the guilt faded slightly. He knew he hadn't taken advantage of her at least. When he had noticed that she trembled from fear of the storm, Lucas had gently coaxed her closer until he could put an arm around her. She had jumped when he first did it, but when he didn't make any threatening moves, she had relaxed, gradually snuggling closer, settling against his side. She seemed to draw a great deal of comfort from his closeness and they had sat together for an hour or more, both looking out on the storm. After a little while, he had looked down and found that Olivia had fallen asleep, nestled close against him, her head tucked against his shoulder. He remembered smiling to himself, thinking her very cute curled up like that, then removed his jacket and draped it over her, intending to stay awake until morning. That obviously hadn't worked out too well. He had to admit, as strange as his feelings were for her, the position was surprisingly comfortable.
"Lucas!!" Lucien's voice called, drifting into the burrow from outside the dripping curtain of water that separated the odd pair from the outside world.
Lucas' teacher called for him again, the owl-man's voice growing louder. Lucas started to sit up, not wanting his teacher to find him in such a compromising position, but Olivia made a strange sound in her sleep when he did so, a sound that was almost a word. Freezing in place in surprise, Lucas looked down at her, half hoping that somehow his presence had brought the human in her to the surface once more. But she was quite clearly fast asleep, her pretty green eyes still closed. Sighing, Lucas prepared to shift aside so at least she wouldn't be sleeping on him when Lucien found them, but he stopped, a sudden thought occurring to him. Why should he care what Lucien saw? He and Olivia had been in love for years, and it had only been her memory that had allowed him to keep going while he had been off fighting in the war. So why shouldn't he cuddle with her when he got the chance? Oddly satisfied with the idea, Lucas settled back against the earthen wall of the burrow and waited until he could hear footsteps.
"Lucas?" The owl man called again, and Lucas could see the bright hem of his robe further down the defile. Moving slowly so that he didn't disturb his sleeping companion, he stuck an arm out of the burrow and waved. Lucien quickly walked up to the opening and spoke again, his aging voice filled with rising anger. "Lucas, what the devil are you doing in there? I was worried that you had been hurt or something."
"Shhhh!!!" Lucas commanded sharply, whispering. "Not so loud." Lucas saw the old man's legs bend and suddenly the surprised face of his teacher appeared in the opening, the owl-man's eyes going wide as he saw why Lucas had shushed him.
"Lucas," The old alchemist began sternly, shaking a feathery finger at him. "What on earth do you think you are doing? Don't you understand that she doesn't know what she is doing? If you take advantage of her when she is like this, I promise you I will make you regret it."
"Just what do you take me for Lucien?" Lucas replied, defiant, making the owl man draw back in surprise. "I would never do anything to hurt her, you know that. All I did was let her cuddle up to me during the storm."
"I am sorry Lucas." Lucien replied, lowering his gaze and sitting down at the entrance to the burrow, his old knees popping as he did so. "I am very tired. Forgive an old man for his mood. What happened to you?"
"I went and buried my mother and I was on my way back when I met Olivia. She led me here and invited me inside." Lucas explained, looking down as the ferret girl he held shifted position in her sleep, laying one paw over her eyes. "When I saw the storm that was brewing out there, and the dark thunderheads that led it, I decided to stay with her. She was cold and afraid, so I let her cuddle with me and we just kind of drifted off. I didn't mean to sleep, it just sort of happened."
"Hmmm." Lucien replied, the hint of a smile in his eyes. "This is good. It is good that she trusts you so. I think I am close to making a breakthrough. I have come to the conclusion that I can't reverse what was done altogether, for that can only be done if it was a spell, not a wild explosion of magic. But I think I have found a way to bring back what made everyone who they are, to give them control of themselves once more. And if I am right, we will need someone to test it on."
"You want to test an untried alchemical mixture on Olivia!?" Lucas asked, incredulous, drawing back from his teacher in surprise.
"I didn't mean it like that." Lucien said quickly, holding up his hands. "I simply meant that she is the logical choice to be first. She trusts you, and of all of our people that I have observed, she is the one that has kept the most aspects of herself. I don't know if that will make a difference, but I will take all the advantages I can get. And to put it bluntly, there is no other way to test it. Believe me, if there was I would do it in a heartbeat."
"What could happen to her if you are wrong?" Lucas asked, sensing that something was going unsaid.
"If I am wrong, it could leave her just like she is." His teacher began, but Lucas' eyes narrowed. "Or...It could submerge her human self altogether, and we will never get it back.
"Then the answer is no." Lucas stated, looking at his girl, who slept quietly on against him. "I won't risk that."
"Lucas, I understand your reservations," Lucien said, patting his shoulder in a fatherly sort of way. "But think of this, if your places were reversed, would she pass up a chance to cure you? Would she want to risk it to be with you once more?" Lucas was silent for a moment, hating his teacher for being so logical, and hating himself for knowing that he was right. Finally, he nodded. His teacher gave him a tired smile and stood up. "When you can, come to my tower, I will need your help to get everything ready. Oh, and bring a few of these flowers with you when you come..."
***
In the end, it had taken Olivia an hour longer to wake up, an hour Lucas had spent wondering what he would do with himself in the worst case. He honestly didn't know if he would even want to live without her. When Olivia had woken up, she had rubbed against him and given him an affectionate lick, seeming to be thanking him. Then, she had gotten up and left the burrow, finally allowing the young rifleman to get up. He had collected his gear and finally walked from the burrow, taking time to pick a few of the flowers as he passed. And then, he had made his way up to Lucien's tower. About halfway back up the ridge, he had noticed that Olivia was following him once again. When he had grabbed the door handle to open the ancient stone building, she had chirped, making him turn back towards her to see her looking at him with a look of utmost sorrow that almost broke his heart to see.
"I will come right back out this time." He had promised and she had sat down in the shadows beneath the tree she had watched for him from when he had first arrived, resigned to waiting for him. That had been about an hour ago, and Lucas was trying to keep everything that Lucien was saying straight. It had been one thing that had not changed when Lucien had been blended.
"...lastly, we have to add in a mix of alchemical liquids to the herbs and flowers, and that should be enough to allow the spell to work." Lucien finished and Lucas shook his head, causing his teacher to look at him with confusion.
"I knew there was a reason I never got into alchemy." Lucas commented, stripping the petals from the sweet smelling flowers that he had brought. "Too complicated."
"I know it can seem that way, but really, it isn't too hard." Lucien replied, his old hands deftly stripping leaves from sprigs of herb. "It is just a matter of knowing the magical properties of seemingly mundane elements."
"If you say so." Lucas said, starting on a second flower.
It took the pair about a half hour of work to prepare the herbs and flowers that Lucien had divined would do what he intended, and then the old teacher began adding potions from the containers that lined his tower. The liquids varied from a single drop of some crimson fluid that looked almost like blood, dispensed with great care from a tiny vial, to a ladle-full of another compound, looking like pale, liquid gold from a great crock on the floor. But finally, the ancient alchemist decanted the mixture into a bottle, and poured a small pinch of powder into it, then rammed a cork into it, before shaking it vigorously, speaking odd words as he did so. The potion started to glow, running through the spectrum of colors from violet to scarlet and then back again, and then finally to perfectly clear, like water. Lucien smiled, looking winded and then handed the bottle to Lucas.
"As far as I can tell without testing it, the potion is ready. Now all that needs to be done is to get Olivia to drink it." He said. Lucas took the bottle and sighed.
"Alright, let's get this over with..."