When one of your kind is in flight, you are said to be expressing
cowardice.  To you, it is fleeing, running, trying to escape from that
which you cannot hope to face or overcome.

To me, it is something entirely different.  At the most basic level, it is 
a method of transport, of getting from one place to another.  At a more 
sublime, it is a transcendental experience.

I do not often give myself over to sensory excess.  There are two times
when I do.  The first is when I am in battle, with the blood singing
proudly in my veins and my nerves are tingling with raw excitement.  The
second is when I am in flight.

Be it a short hop of five paces to a journey of several days, it is the
same.  The fluidity of air coursing over your entire self.  The wind 
rippling across your outstretched wings. The minute flutter of feathers in 
the oncoming gale. It is hard to describe to one who is incapable of 
imagining the sensations. I think it a shame you will never know that 
feeling.

It is the feeling of freedom.

- = - 

Wings of Fate
Chapter 17: Birds of a Feather
by Raviprasad Duvvuri
created by John Evans and Ardweden 

- = -

Judou and I were flying.  I was regretting my decision to give him the 
shape, as it was proving a greater hindrance than the tradeoff was worth.  
His movements were awkward and clumsy, which looking back, was only to be 
expected.  The form was unfamiliar to him, and he had never experienced
true flight.  I was reminder of why I was filled with such scorn for my
cousins.

Perhaps it is not fair to say it is wholly scorn.  I will, at times, admit
a certain measure of pity for them.  It is not their fault that their
breeding makes them lesser creatures, incapable of assuming something as
simple as a pure form.  But you do not pat the boar on its head and smile
when it attempts to gore you, simply because it does not know better.  

Unfortunately, I could not just slaughter Judou right then and there.
Though I now knew him, he was useful to me.  Furthermore, I had given my
word to both him and the woman, and I am not the kind to go back upon a
promise.  To his credit, Judou was a quick study and managed the trip with
only three minor crashes.  I will say this, because I do not think he
understood me, as while I was trying instruct him he merely stared at me in
confusion.

After a short while, we came to the place where I had seen the other three,
at a spot along the thoroughfare.  I knew I was not mistaken, for I
remembered it well. It was next to the blue glass box, under the large
flickering light.  They were nowhere to be seen.

"They were here not long ago," I told Judou, as we circled over the scene.
He squawked at me unintelligibly in response, which I should have expected.
We set down upon the ground and after looking about to make sure no one was
watching, I returned us both to human form.  I realized that I had
forgotten to bring his clothing along, and so handed him my cloak.

Almost immediately, he dropped down into a ball, sitting on the ground with
his legs clutched tightly to his chest.  He was shivering, not unlike a 
young boy who has just survived his first battle.  Wearing the skin of a real
crow had shaken him, I could tell.  This made me smile.

"Stand up, little one," I said to him.  "You make a spectacle of yourself."
After a moment, he did so and began surveying the area.  "They were here
not long ago," I repeated.

"Well, apparently, they must have left."  Judou was rubbing his shoulders.
No doubt they were aching, from both his previous injuries and from the
strains of air travel which I took for granted.  "Why do I get the feeling
this was a waste of a trip?"  He looked at me accusingly.

I gestured to the glass box.  "They were here.  They stopped right here,
and I overheard them discussing where to spend the night."  I looked at the
ground, where the wheels of their vehicle had left marks in the wet earth.
"It is no matter.  We will just track them down.  They cannot be far from
here."

Judou shook his head and gave me such a look that I was tempted to knock
his head cleanly from his shoulders.  I am an understanding person, but I
cannot tolerate condescension, especially from those clearly inferior to
myself.  "'Tracking them down' isn't as easy as you think.  Do you think
they are only few kilometers from here?  You saw them, what, only a few
hours ago?"

"Yes, something like that."

"Do you know how far they will have traveled in that amount of time?"
He went on, and I gritted my teeth harder and harder as he continued.  
"I don't know where you came from exactly, or who you are... but I don't
think you understand much of anything that goes on around you.  Did you 
honestly think they were going to just stay here and wait for your imminent 
return?  That's just plain stupid.  Irresponsible."

"Do not speak to me that way, little one."  I spoke in a low tone, but my
blood was boiling.  I stared him in the eyes, letting him know he had gone
too far.  His eyes acknowledged this, and he backed down.  I stayed silent
as I considered it.  It had admittedly been a few hours since I had seen
Soshi and the others.  But I did not think they could have gotten too far,
until I considered their horseless chariot.  

Again, my unfamiliarity with the times was causing me trouble.  I had not
paid much attention to the vehicles, though I had marveled at them.  I had
been far too busy trying to reacquaint myself with the state of things on a
far less mundane level.  When I had tried to follow them from Kama's forest,
I had managed to keep up with them, but it occurred to me now that perhaps
their conveyance had not been going as fast as it could have been.  Which
would mean that--

I was interrupted when Judou snapped his fingers loudly.  "What is it?"

"Well, I know where we are, sort of.  This is the phone booth that they
called us from when we were stuck in that construction zone."

"Which means what, pray tell?"

"Nothing, I'm just trying to piece all this together... trying to figure
out the chain of events and a time frame for everything.  I'm guessing they
stopped here to call us and you saw them then.  You were following them
because you were following my car."  He paused and rubbed his nose.  It's an
annoying habit that I've noticed is common among his kind.  "Which means you
were probably trying to find me, right?  So when I wasn't there, you went
off in search of Kenchi's car, hoping that I'd be there.  You left to find
Shuukou and me, these guys took off up to the waterpark, and after bumbling
around a bit, you finally found us.  That's it, isn't it?"

I stiffened slightly, but did not respond.  He was correct, but I would not
give him that satisfaction.  I turned my head to the side and made a point
of studying the marks in the drying mud.  "Well, shall we go in pursuit of
them?"

He looked at me again, and again I almost struck him.  "You didn't hear a
thing I said, did you?  They're nowhere *near* here."

"I understand that," I told him, carefully sounding out my words.  "Let us
go and find them."

"And just leave Shuukou back in the woods?  I don't think so."

I shrugged my shoulders.  Judou's waffling was annoying me -- many things
about him annoy me, as you can tell -- and I did not feel like arguing the
point.  He took my silence as argument anyway.

"It comes down to chasing after Akari and Kenchi and Soshi, who are
probably at least a half-day away *by car*, or going back to Shuukou.  We
don't know where those three are, though I can guess where they're heading,
but they are all three together and capable of looking out for themselves.
On the other hand, we do know where Shuukou is, and right now she is alone
in the woods and we *know* that there is something that knew we were
there."

"The wolf-beast is dead, little one.  You at least managed that."

"Yes, but that doesn't change the fact that someone knows we were there. 
They could come after her again, and with her injuries, I don't think she
would be able to defend herself."

"So be it," I told Judou.  "Shall we head back?"

"No, hold on... Lemme think a second."  He began pacing quickly,
considering something.  I folded my arms and waited.  "We should try to get
ahold of them, you know?"

I grunted and shrugged.   I suppose keeping lines of communication open was
important, but overreliance was a hazard, in my experience.

"Well, we should.  I know that Akari will be worried sick if we don't get a
message to her, and both cell phones are busted..."  He rubbed his nose
again.  "Message!  That's it!"  He looked at me expectingly, but I did not
understand the significance.  After a moment, he realized the same thing.

He gestured for me to come closer, and I did, curiously..  He walked around
me.  Reaching into my back pocket, Judou pulled out a small pouch and 
withdrew a thin card from it.  He walked over to the 'phone booth' and 
opened the door.  Stepping inside, he put the card into the device on the 
wall of the box.  I stepped forward and studied him.

The device was a hideous shade of pink.  Aside from the slot where he had
inserted the card, there were a number of small buttons.  He pressed a
number of them, seemingly at random.  He turned and grinned at me.  I
stepped back, away from the box.  

After a moment, he began to speak into the machine.  "Hello, Kenchi," he
said, which made me instantly wary.  Judou had told me he had not known
where to find his friend, nor how to get ahold of him.  Had he been lying?

"It's me," he continued.  He went on to detail what had happened to he and
Shuukou.  My attention was re-captured when he mentioned me, but that was
only briefly.  He then mentioned meeting up with them in three days' time.
Judou replaced the handset and retrieved the card from the machine.  He
opened the door and stepped back outside.

I felled him with a fist to the stomach.

He slowly got back up to his feet.  He was shaking, unsteady.  He feared me
then, again.  This made me pleased.  "What the hell was that for?!" he
demanded.

"That," I told him, "was for lying to me."  He looked down at me with
confusion and anger in his eyes.  "You told me you couldn't get ahold of
your friends."

"I *can't*, not directly."  He was holding his stomach, rubbing it gingerly.
"I called his house.  He has voice mail, which means I can leave a message
there for him, so that he can listen to it later."

"I see," I said.  "Well, then you lied to them, when you told them that I
said I knew Soshi."

"You mean you don't?"

"I did not say that.  But you did, in fact, speak falsely."

He shrugged in response.  "Maaaaybe I did," he added after a while, a
mischievous smile on his face.  "But they don't have to know that, do
they?"

"I mislike liars.  And you, little one, are a liar through and through.  I
do wonder how many you have managed to take in with your lies by playing
upon uncertainties and fears.  Perhaps you have even mislead yourself?"

"If I am," he spoke, "then what is there to be done of it?  If I choose to
deceive even myself, is it not myself who will ultimately pay the price?"

It was my turn to shrug, and so I did.  "Perhaps."  I paused, and decided
not to continue that line.  "Shall we return to your friend?  The one whom 
you are so worried for?"

"Yeah, let's get going," he answered.  After an awkward pause he looked to
me expectingly. 

I chuckled and touched his shoulder.  "You do not deserve this, you know.
It is an insult to real crows to see you wearing their skin."  And with
that I changed him.  This time, I did not need to go for drama, as I had
back in the woods, so I was able to save some energy.  I was still very
tired, at that point, by my long slumber, and I had not had an opportunity
to recover much of my stores.

Do not look at me like that, grub.  I assure you, I am more than capable of
squashing you now.  And all the injections and tranquilizers in the world 
will not stop me if you truly earn my ire.

As I was saying, forcing Judou to go from human form to crow for was fairly
draining.  I think it was probably harder than changing a normal human,
because Judou's true form interfered.  It kept pulling back at him, trying
to draw him back, to revert shape.  I could afford to go slowly now, and
took my time.  I eased him into his other self, the tengu form, and from
there I built up the wall of energy and applied constant pressure, placing
him into crow form.

He cawed at me, as though taking offense at my words.  I chuckled and jumped
into the air, shifting to crow.  He hobbled a bit before following suit.  The
trip back to the forest was uneventful.  Judou managed not to crash, so I
managed not to get too perturbed by him. 

We found Shuukou traveling by the edge of the forest, following the road.
It took us longer than it should have, because for some reason she was
traveling to the south.  A combination of the dark and her fatigue, I
would assume.  Whatever it was, neither Judou nor I mentioned it.  

She seemed startled when we swooped down upon her, but after the initial
shock, she regained her composure quickly.  I shifted Judou and I to human 
form again.  Shuukou wordlessly handed back his clothing, and he slipped
into the trees to dress himself.  On returning, he handed me my cloak,
which I folded upon itself and banished.  

"Let's call it a night," Judou told Shuukou, and she nodded in agreement.
She was exhausted, it obvious.  But she was not about to reveal this to 
either of us.  We made our way deeper into the forest, away from the road.
It would not do to be seen by some stray passerby, Judou assured me.  

We came to the edge of a small clearing, where the light of the moon shone
down, illuminating the three of us.  It was a magical night, clear and
still.  It was tranquil, which normally would unnerve me.  Tonight,
however, it set me at ease.

Behind me, Shuukou was gathering together pine needles that had fallen to 
the forest floor.  I watched her with curiosity.  After she had piled 
them all together, she placed one hand over the other and slowly wove
them back and forth over the pile.  The bunch of stiff and dried needles 
grew in size as the needles filled out, growing verdant and soft again.
Very clever, this girl.

She shoved half the pile over to Judou, who graciously accepted.  Shuukou
then looked over to me.  I shook my head; years of life on the field of
honor have made the hard earth my bed, and I sleep uneasily in the comfort
of soft bedding.  She narrowed her eyes at me questioningly, and so I
answered with a repeat of her gesture.  Satisfied, or perhaps unnerved, she
turned her back and curled up on her bed of needles.  She slipped into
slumber almost instantly.

"I'm still trying to figure out who you are," Judou said then, from behind
me.  I turned around to find him propped against one elbow, laying upon his
own pile with one knee crooked up.  He was turning Soshi's charm in his
hands, rolling the beads between his fingers.

I stepped forward and snatched it from him.  I held it up before me,
watching the clear light of the moon glimmer and refract through the cut
glass.  I felt the necklace for power and found none; whatever spell Soshi
had cast into it had faded in strength or had been rendered invalid by
circumstance.  I imagine it was the second, that Soshi had cast the spell
to protect the car, and when the car was destroyed, the spell was released.
There was another possibility, that the spell was lost when the caster had
perished, but this I doubted.

I told Judou none of this, naturally.  He and the woman were panicked as
it was, though they hid it.  I did not want to think how they would react
with their crutch kicked out from under them.  There are few things more
pathetic than a crying crow.

I realized then that he had continued talking, and that I had heard none of
what he had been speaking to.  I turned to face him and told him so.  He
appeared crestfallen for an instant, but recovered in nearly as much time.  

I threw the rosary to Judou.  He sat up and caught it with a clumsy motion.
He reached up to hang on a branch over his head.  By the time he was
looking back at me, I was seated directly in front of him.  He managed not
to flinch, and instead asked me a question.

"Who are you?"

I smiled, my teeth hopefully glinting under the moon.  "Does it bother you 
not to know?  Yes, it does."  My smile faded and I looked him in the eyes.
"You should know me, Judou.  I have not forgotten you."

He did not break visual contact, but his eyes narrowed in speculation.  I
could see he was trying desperately to cast his memory back.  I knew what
he did not, though, that his mind would be unable to return that which he
sought.  His kind cannot normally remember between lives.

I rolled up the edge of the shirt I was wearing and showed him the thin
scar underneath.  His gaze dropped to it, and as his eyes widened they
returned to look into mine.  "You gave that to me, Judou.  Many, many years
back -- in another life -- we fought, and in fighting, you did me great
injury.  I remember you, Judou, and I will never forgive you for what you
did to me."

"I see," Judou said, for lack of anything else to say.

I frowned then, because I too had nothing to say.  

"So why help us, if we are such enemies?"

"A good question."  I bent my neck back and inhaled deeply of the twilight
air.  It was cool and crisp, and so I was smiling when I turned back to
him.

"And I'm trust you have a good answer?"

"But of course," I answered.  "A few days the forest where I slumbered was
razed to the ground.  I believe you are familiar with the event?  Yes."  I
hopped up to my feet, then rose to stand.  "If it weren't for the
circumstances, I could believe it to be mere coincidence.  I wish it could
be mere coincidence... but that does not mean I am obligated to rule out
other possibilities."

He rubbed his nose.  "And how do we come into it?"

"By helping me rule out those other possibilities.  I've been studying you
and your circle of would-be heroes.  I've watched you.  I wanted to keep my
distance, to leave you be and pursue my own interests, but certain factors
prevented that."  He looked as though he were waiting for me to elaborate.
I was not going to do so.  "My extended sleep has made it difficult for me
to find that which I seek, and you are as good a source as any for some of
my answers."

"I... see."  He stood up then and led me away from where Shuukou was
sleeping.  We walked out into the clearing.  "Then you do know something
about the person pursuing us."

"Yes," I answered simply.  I wondered why he drew me away from his
companion.  I did not know if it were because he did not wish to rouse her
or because he did not want her to hear why we were speaking about.  Likely
it was a combination of the two.  "Though it would be folly to pin your
recent difficulties upon one person."

"More than one person is after us?" he asked.

"There is more than one party involved, yes.  Whether they are all 'after
you', is questionable."

"I thought you hated liars," he said carelessly, and so I struck him.  He
stood back up and we exchanged glares.  I was pleased with his courage, and
that kept me from hitting him again.

"Do not accuse me of lying, little one.  It would be dangerous for you to
essay it again," I warned him, my voice low.

"I made no accusation," he replied.  "But you did, in fact, speak falsely."
Before I could answer, he continued.  "When we spoke not four hours ago,
you insinuated you had some hint as to who was pursuing us.  'The same one
I seek,' I believe were your exact words.  And now you say differently."

"I did not lie, and I do not lie."  I didn't need to justify myself to one
such as him, but for some reason I felt like answering his challenge.  "I
was merely testing you.  Probing what you knew."

"Of course."

I glowered at him and kept silent.  I turned away.  He did the same, and we
stayed that way for a few minutes, neither of us willing to break down and
concede to the other.  After a while, though, he broke.

"Anyway," spoke he.  "What do you know?"

I walked to the other side of the clearing before looking back at Judou.  
"I believe," I said, "that I was the first to ask that."

"Yeah, you did."  Judou proceeded to give me a basic recounting of some of
the previous events.  You've heard the story already, so I shall not bore
you with the details.  The description of the people who had sent the
creature to burn my forest intrigued me particularly.  When he finished
with his tale, I was already pondering it.

"What do you make of it?"

"I am thinking," I said to him, and for his benefit I thought out loud,
much as he had done me the favor of earlier.  "With your ancestry, you know
that there is much more to the mortal world than they would expect.  I will
speak plainly now, because I do not know how much you know, and it is only
natural for me to assume that you know nothing."

I crossed the distance between us and resumed speaking.  "Humans exist in
this world, but they no longer see what is around them.  Once they lived
with us, but now they choose to claim we are the figments of superstition.
But not all of them do.  There are those who believe enough to try to
question what they are told is unshakeable, and discover the truth to the
nature of things."

"Yes, yes.  I know this already."  He waved his hands too try to convince
me to speed up my delivery.  I found myself gritting my teeth against the
impatience of youth.

"There are those humans who achieve power over what they are told does not
exist.  They learn to manipulate the lines of energy around them."  I
tugged absently at my hair before going on.  "Magic."

He nodded slowly, then bid me to continue.  I get the distinct impression
that he was humoring me, but at that moment, I was not devoting my
attention to him.

"There is always a sacrifice involved.  These magicians may involve a
greater portion of their lives to study before finally finding magic's
secrets, or they may end up pledging their lives to some greater being of
power, be it god or demon, or they may give up... something else.  But 
they always make a sacrifice."

"And so?"

"And so you can imagine these people would tend to guard their gifts 
carefully, do you not?  One tends to guard that which you hold dear,
especially that which has come to you at great cost."

Judou nodded.  "Well, that makes some sense.  But I don't quite see why-"

I went on.  "Historically, magicians have squelched the attempts of new
magi to come to power, both to maintain their own power and to maintain
their secrecy.  Outsiders would jeopardize their positions.  New magicians 
are prone to many mistakes.

"But there is more to your small party than just the risk involved.  You
represent something different, if I am to believe what you have told me
What exactly have you given up to attain that which you have gained?
Nothing.  You have sacrificed nothing, and yet you have power." He looked 
at me impassively. 

"I don't quite buy that line of reasoning, if you're suggesting what I
think you are."

"Ah," I said, "but that is my opinion, and I trust it far better than I
trust yours.  I think you have attracted the attention of some of these
interests."

"Interesting."  He smiled at me, though you could call it a smirk.

"Yes, I almost think so."  I looked up into the swollen moon, again in
silence.  I turned and spoke again.  "But I do know there is more than one
of these groups at work.  That wolf-beast was not sent by those who burned
the forest.  The magic in the air felt differently, which would imply two
differing parties.  And obviously, you know that your own people have taken 
notice."

Judou was silent after that, staring at the ground.  When he looked back up,
he spoke.  "You're wrong, by the way," he said.  "At least about part of 
this.  We've given up plenty.  Hell, I've given up my family.  They don't 
know if they want to have anything to do with me, just because I shared some 
tengu secrets with my friends, so that we could experiment with magic."

He had not mentioned that before.  Fascinating, that.  "You would fashion
yourself a modern Prometheus, then?" I asked him.  "Bringing the light of
knowledge to those without?"

"I do not think that I need to explain myself to you, old woman."

"Then perhaps my words strike too closely to the truth for your comfort?"

He protested my claim into his motivations, and I refuted it.  We argued it
at length, the actual meat of said discussion being none of your concern.
Much of what we spoke of is best kept between crows, and you would be
hard-pressed to extract the details of it from me, regardless of how much
of that drug you pump into my veins.  As you have seen, it is quite
ineffective against us.

Our argument ended up going in circles, and we decided to abandon it, as
Judou had injuries of his own to attend to.  He asked my plans, as I had
received my answers.

"What will you do now?" he asked, pausing in mid-turn.  "You have what you
were looking for, don't you?"

"I told you that I would take you to your friends.  I intend to hold to my
word." Judou seemed satisfied by that, and we returned to where Shuukou
slept.  "In the morning, we will head northwest.  There is a small town not
to far from here, off the road."

"Good, so we can be there by breakfast.  I'm starved," he said, smiling
widely.  All the animosity was gone from his tone, which made me very wary
of this man.  He was either a masterful actor or ruled by caprice.  I think
I know the answer now, but I am still not certain.

I shook my head.  I summoned my cloak and settled down on the forest floor.
"I know that you were hiding your injury from your friend here.  I do not
think it wise to aggravate it.  If we encounter difficulty -- and I expect
we will -- it would be best if you were returned to optimal fighting
condition as soon as is possible."

He shrugged his agreement and rolled over.  I stared at his back until his
snores told me he was asleep.  I pulled my cloak over me and slept lightly.

I woke before they did and returned with breakfast before either of those
two had risen.  While I trusted Shuukou to be able to care for herself, I
knew that Judou's instincts had been dulled by domestication.  They finally
awoke, both slowly.  I do not begrudge them their lethargy -- every soldier
needs time to recover, and these two were soft amateurs, running on empty.

We ate wordlessly.  After cleaning the scene of our encampment to remove
signs of our occupation, we started the march toward the small town I had
caught sight of earlier.  

The village I had seen turned out to be an abandoned factory and company
town.  According to Shuukou, the factory had probably closed down when the
last economic bubble burst.  The workers would have been forced to move
on to some new place of work.

Judou complained that his leg was bothering him still.  As I had told him,
masking the pain would do him no good, and he was suffering for it now.  We
settled in one of the small cabins.  While he rested his leg, Shuukou and I 
explored the small hamlet.

Searching the town for anything worth scavenging proved largely fruitless.
The workers had been thorough in taking their meager belongings with them,
and what they did not, other scavengers had beaten us to claiming.  Somehow,
I was not surprised. 

We did have some luck in one of the cabins.  The residents of this cabin
had left a few articles of assorted clothing in one of the dressers.  I
thought nothing of it, but Shuukou bade me help bring it back to the cabin
where Judou was sleeping.  

I had not paid much attention to their clothing before, but upon further
inspection, they were quite shabbily dressed.  Their accident the day
before had left their clothes tattered and in Judou's case, bloodied.  
Shuukou looked surprised at that last revelation.  I do not think she had
given any thought to Judou's condition, and the fact that he was marching
hurt shook her.  She murmured something to that effect, I believe, but
then, I only half-heard it.

"He is stupid and proud," I told Shuukou.  "And that will be his downfall."

She turned at me, anger flashing in her eyes.  "I don't think you know him
well enough to say that."

I snorted.  "And I say I know him far better than you think.  At the very
least, I know his kind."  I held up a shirt and handed it to her.  "This
should fit you."

She accepted it and frowned.  "That's a men's shirt.  Which wouldn't be a
problem, except that we're trying to remain inconspicuous, remember?"  She
looked back at me and jumped, as though coming to a sudden realization.

"What is it?" I asked.  

She gestured at me, sweeping her hands downward.  "You look... different
from how I remember last night.  I thought you were, you know... taller."

I smiled that it had taken her this long to comment on it.  I had augmented
my appearance somewhat in my initial encounter with Judou and Shuukou, when
I had projected my beloved homeland upon them.  No doubt it had the
intended effect upon them, as it was only now that she had come to full
realization.  

I have always wished to be taller.  Being short can be quite the advantage
upon the field of honor, but unfortunately, all of our dealings cannot be
there conducted.  Height is a wonderful tool for intimidation, but in my
natural human state, I cannot claim it.  Your servant who spoke yesterday
confused me for Akari in the woods as they burned.  He was not the first to
make that mistake, as you will hear before too long.

I tossed my hair over my shoulder.  "Then perhaps it is that your eyes
played tricks on you in the fading light."

"I don't believe you," Shuukou answered.

"It's standard procedure for us crow-types," Judou said then.  He had
awakened. "We're all tricksters, don't you know?"  I favored with him a
glare, mostly for his presumptuousness with equating the two of us.  He saw
what we were doing, and grinned.  "Oh great, you found some new threads...
Hey, Shuukou, toss me that, eh?"

She did so, and then began picking through the pile to find a set of
garments for herself.  She threw one of the articles at me, and I unfolded
it.  It was a pair of pants, of a thinner material than the denim pants I
was currently wearing.  I frowned.

"I do not require a change of clothes."

"Actually, you do," Judou said.  "I'd tell you to look in a mirror, but
there aren't any around.  You really look out of place, even for a
foreigner."

"I am suitably dressed for the times," I told him, pulling at my own shirt.  
"That is one of the things I saw to already."  

And I had, shortly after reawakening.  I had received some odd stares while
in Tokyo, and shortly after nightfall, some young men had made an issue of
my appearance.  They tried to rob me, though I informed them that I had
nothing and that trying to assail me would only end in their loss.  They did
not listen, of course, and I left their bodies in a pile of refuse.  I
availed myself of the opportunity to strip one of them of his clothing so
that I would not be so closely scrutinized.

"Uh-huh."  Judou chuckled.  "Just trust me on this one.  Oh, but toss me
that wallet first."  I frowned again, then dug around in my pockets for the
pouch that he had asked for the previous night.  He went through the
contents.  He did not find what he was expecting, from his expression.
"Well, aside from the phone card, there's some cash.  The credit card is
probably useless, though."

"You think they'd trace it?" Shuukou asked.

"No," he said.  "These are magicians, not the government.  They're going to
try to find us magically.  But, whomever this 'Iwanami' guy is, I'm
guessing he didn't just hand his wallet over to our friend here.  The card
is probably canceled by now, and if it *isn't*, using it would most likely
get the police on our tails, as well."

Shuukou swore under her breath.  For my part, I looked away, knowing that
Judou was trying to make some claim as to my intelligence.  I did not
appreciate that, but again, I understood it.  He was trying to reassert his
position.

After dressed in our new raiments, we decided Judou was sufficiently rested
to resume our travels.  We made a good pace, all things considered, and
came upon a real town just as sundown was approaching.  Judou made us wait 
while he snuck into town to scout out the area.  He came back and informed
us that there was a bus heading north, but that it would not leave until
morning.

We used some of our money to secure a room for the night.  Shuukou managed
not to react too strongly when Judou asked to get a room for his wife and
her American cousin.  I do not think it was so much his claim, as the
playful swat he gave her bottom when explaining it to the innkeeper.  The
innkeeper looked at me questioningly, but Judou assured him that it was all
right for me to share their room.  I am not sure I wish to know what was
signified by the wink he gave the man behind the desk, considering the
man's demeanor changed and he winked back.

Judou tried to call his home and check his messages.  There was one message
from the others, left in response to Judou's earlier call, but his machine
was otherwise filled with messages from salespeople.  He left a message with
Kenchi apprising him of our situation.

The night passed without event, and in the morning we went to the bus
station.  The trip itself was long and uncomfortable.  I will not go into 
too much detail, more to spare myself from reliving the experience than to
spare you the boredom of hearing it.  We stopped almost every ten minutes,
spending nearly half the trip sitting in stations much like the one we had
boarded at.  Shuukou and I were constantly leered at, and I overheard a
number of rude comments.  We bore them in silence, however, as we really
could not afford to draw attention to us.  Judou assured me that if 
anything had happened, we would have been found guilty, simply because we 
were strangers.  From the looks I was getting, I had no reason to doubt
him.

It was early evening when the bus finally arrived at our destination.  The
last hour and a half of the journey was spent with Judou staring at his
newly-gained watch as though he would will time to slow down.  I contented
myself to look out the dirty window and keep an eye out for danger.  I had
not felt anything since the previous days' events, but that was no reason
to relax.

When we descended from the bus, Judou ran for the motel that Kenchi had
said the three of them were staying at.  He was still limping heavily, so
Shuukou and I caught up with him easily.  

Judou went into the building while Shuukou and I waited outside.  Shuukou
didn't want to show it, but I could see the anxiety in her face.  I do not
think it is an emotion she is used to suppressing.  She is fiercely 
independent, but there is a very important distinction to be made between 
strength and stoicism.  In a warrior, both are important, but one cannot
make up for a lack of the other.

Judou was gone for perhaps five minutes before returning.  He wore a wide
smile, at which Shuukou's carriage immediately improved.  Curious, these
creatures. "They're not here, but they're okay," he called out.  I swore
silently, as I did not wish to end up caught up with this group any longer
than I had to.

In his hand he held a small package.  It was a piece of paper, we saw as he
drew closer.  He unfolded it and slipped out a bundle of cards.  "They left
a note," he told Shuukou, more or less ignoring my presence.  I did not
comment on this, as they were both visibly relieved to have confirmation
that their companions were unharmed.  

"They waited for three days, but nothing happened."  He laughed and handed
the cards to Shuukou. I caught a glimpse of them, revealing them to be
colored photographs of Soshi, Akari, and Kenchi.  "Kenchi even got Akari to
go swimming!"  He held one of the photographs at arm's length whistling at
it appreciatively, to which Shuukou rolled her eyes. They were over-reacting, 
but again, it was understandable.

I let them smile and giggle for a few minutes, but after what I deemed an
appropriate amount of time I coughed, reminding them that I was still 
present.  "What is our plan of action now?" I asked.  

Judou pursed his lips before smiling at my impending discomfort.  "Well, we 
know they're safe, at least.  So now, we head on to Aomori."

Aomori.  I had not wanted to go to that city, for a number of reasons.  But
I had offered my help to Judou, and I was obligated to carry through on my
promise, lest I break the geas placed upon me so long ago.  But that day, 
under the unseasonably warm sunlight, I felt very, very cold.

FIN (chapter 17)

- = - 

AUTHOR'S NOTE
[or, In Which Ravi Ruminates]

And here goes another chapter of Wings of Fate.  I'm writing entirely too
often, I think.  We need more writers!  Sign up, you shmucks!  ^_^

I think the story does need to slow down a bit.  Not in terms of the story
flow, but in terms of events.  Things are happening a bit too quickly, in
my opinion.   WoF had potential to play a lot with paranoia and fear, but
that works best if the characters are afraid of something happening, not if
there is an attack or explosion in every chapter.

Anyway, that's up to the next few authors... assuming people sign up.  Hint
hint hint. 

I'd like to thank Phoebe, Ardweden, and Lirazel for prereading and for
listening to be spout ideas about the story.  

Until next time!

-Ravi
ifurita@sandwich.net


Tracks in Heavy Rotation on Ravi's Winamp Playlist: 

Dir en Grey: "S", "Zan"
Information Society:  "Strength", "Pray Your Gods"
Nokko:  "Silver", "Natural", "Ningyo"
Toad the Wet Sprocket:  "Crazy Life"
Suikoden 2:  various tracks