This choice: Kieran suggests a repeat scenario to swap them back.... • Go Back...Chapter #8Second Time's the Charm. Right? by: swapped4u   "We need to repeat everything we did this morning," Kieran said, jabbing a finger onto the table like a general would a battle field map. "Track the beast, corner it, and it'll do its thing."
"How're you so sure?" Dyana asked.
"It's a beast," Orokos shrugged. He caught the barmaid's eye for another ale. "They're creatures of habit. You think any of the great eagles of the North learned to avoid our archers? Nope. They just kept flying at our walls over and over and over."
"What if this one is smart. What if it has other tricks up its sleeve?" Dyana took a sip of wine. "We didn't know it could do this to us."
"It wasn't so smart when we cornered it, now then was it?" Kieran said. "If it had other tricks up its sleeve then no way it would have waited last second to use them."
"How do we even know it's still around here?" Dyana asked the question no one else wanted to answer.
"We already know it likes the corn the farmers grow. And there's still plenty of late season corn in the fields," Orokos added. "Way more food than is in the forest."
Kieran nodded.
"Alright," Dyana finally said. She couldn't shake the bad feeling she had. "We'll follow its tracks and corner it."
Their plan in motion they finished the rest of the meal with starts and stops of awkward small talk. The present was too painful, the past too full of memories of being in the correct bodies, and the future was still an uncertain blur. They settled on speculating on the affairs of the other patrons and pretending not to notice Orokos' fourth ale.
___________
Crammed into the bunkroom later that night Dyana stared at the ceiling, sleepless.
Kieran, in her body, was asleep on the floor on a pile of blankets and clothes. He'd barely lasted through the end of the meal and had passed out almost immediately fully dressed. Which was fine by Dyana. The less Kieran leered over her body the better!
Orokos had tried to stay awake and help Dyana with her hair - which had unraveled and tangled into a rat's nest of epic proportions - but between the exhaustion of the day and the drink he was soon too out like a candle in a storm. The man's contented snores were no doubt loud enough to wake the whole inn. They certainly shook the bunk. Dyana decided to file that information away to tease Kieran with after they'd swapped back.
But still Dyana couldn't sleep.
How the hells was this plan going to work? Dyana's heart sank. She hadn't exactly told the other two about her lack of magic. And hadn't she tossed up barriers and summoned spells to mask their scent as they hunted the beast?
Dyana stretched her fingers. She calmed her mind and thought of her training. The long mediations in the courtyard. Rainy afternoons spent reading in the library of the Mage's Tower. Spirited discussions on the nature of all things that stretched into the wee hours and left her and her mage Sisters giddy and giggling.
She pulled and pulled for a source of magic, a flicker, a spark, anything. But none came. Because they weren't her fingers, they were Orokos'.
And Orokos was no mage.
The only thing Dyana had managed to do since the body swap was light a healing incense. A particularly dull child of any race or people anywhere in the whole of Mallow Kingdom could manage that!
She was useless.
Tears threatened. Desperate to avoid being rendered both useless and a whimpering fool, Dyana turned her mind to the breathing in the room and faded into a fitful sleep.
_____________
Dyana awoke to an empty room. For an obscenely hopeful moment she hoped it had all been a dream. Or, barring that, whatever the monster had done to them had worn off in the night and they were back in their rightful bodies.
Even squinting through sleepy eyes the world was still in sharp, elven, detail. She sat up in bed and -
BAM!
Now her eleven eyes saw stars and she clamped a hand over what was sure to be a lump.
"Clumsy girl!" Her father had always chided. She would much rather have kept her magic rather than her lack of coordination....
Carefully Dyana eased off the bunk and pulled on a fresh shirt. She could feel the chill of the day seeping from the narrow glass block window. Dyana had spent a long time combing out her hair. Somehow Orokos' hair worn down made her look even more like a boy than before. Must've been something to do with her sharp jaw. She sighed, tied it up into a simple bun, and went in search of the others.
And a toilet. This was going to be....different.
_____________
Orokos and Kieran were back in the pub, chuckling in a conspiratorial fashion. They stopped so suddenly when she walked in that Dyana guessed it had to be about her. Or, more likely, her body. Well to hells with both of them, Dyana fumed. She'd had her own intimate issues. Why had no one ever told her male elves had two down there?!
"Ah our party is finally complete," Kieran grinned through a mouthful of jam and toast. "Nice of you to join us."
"Morning." Orokos said, eyeing her strangely. Maybe even a little guiltily. Surely he'd guessed what Dyana's morning had entailed. She decided she wasn't going to give either of them the pleasure of seeing her flounder. No, she had to be strong. Above it all. Orokos blinked and turned his attention back to his breakfast.
Most of the other travellers in the room had ordered sensible bowls of hot grain or apple sauce. Orokos however was digging into a thick hamsteak larger than his face, a mound of eggs, and biscuits drowning in meat gravy. Well, Dyana thought, at least he was no worse for wear after all that ale.
"Your glorious elven meal, my dear mage." Kieran followed her eyes to their carnivorous companion and slid her a bowl of watery pumpkin broth and a dry crispbread coated in seeds.
"Thank you." She said, stiff. She poured herself some tea and dissolved a sugar in it.
This was going to be their first and last breakfast in each other's bodies, Dyana reminded herself. They wouldn't need her powers in the battle. They'd catch the beast just fine. They'd catch the beast and slay it. She clung to that thought.
"What're they doing out there, anyway?" Orokos pointed with a his fork out the window into the square. A flurry of activity saw the townspeople setting up stalls and stringing colourful bushels of dried corn from the street lamps.
"Harvest festival," Kieran shrugged. No doubt his mind was already occupied with drawing up attacks and counterattacks. "I bet when we bring the head of the beast they'll give us a cheer. Or let us sit at the mayor's table."
"Or give us a medal," Orokos added, almost dreamily. "The Royal Society of Demifauna will probably let us name the beast, too."
"I'll just settle for getting our bodies back and getting out of here thank you very much." Dyana savagely crunched into the crispbread. It was about as flavourful as bird seed and half as pleasant. For all the elves' posturing and pride they sure made awful food....
"Damn. You're cheery." Kieran grumbled.
"So were you before I walked in." Dyana spat with a little more venom than she had meant to.
"I think that says more about you then it does about me!" Kieran smirked.
"We're on a quest," Orokos held up his hands. He sounded like a weary school teacher. "We are all on a quest. Together. Let's just focus on that, huh?"
"Who died and put you in charge?" Kieran snapped. Seemed Dyana wasn't the only one on edge that morning.
"No one is in charge! That's not how any of this works!" Dyana shot right back.
"Well maybe I should be since neither of you have taken this seriously!" Kieran pounded the table. A few curious eyes glanced their way. "I was the one who wanted to go after the monster. I was the one who - "
"Ugh this again?" Dyana mumbled just loud enough for him to hear.
"Well excuse me then. I was under the impression we were a party," Orokos was losing his patience. His expression darkened. "You know Kieran maybe your attitude is the reason the Guard didn't take you on."
Kieran's face flushed red.
"Curse on you, Orokos!" Kieran gritted his teeth and slammed his tea down so hard Dyana was afraid he'd shatter both cup and saucer. "Like you'd be a better Guard!'
"You know what, Kieran? I bet I would. I'll see you guys by the forest later." With that Orokos stood from the table and grabbed his plate. He weaved between the busy tables to the other side of the pub where the town Guards were enjoying a meal before their patrols. Orokos said something lost in the din of the pub and then just like that was heartily invited to sit down.
Kieran's mouth dropped. How had he - ? What had he said to - ? The Guard didn't just take - ! Then he scowled.
"I'm going for a walk!" He tossed his napkin to his empty plate and stormed out. More prying eyes than Dyana was comfortable with followed his exit.
"Wait! Don't....go." Dyana trailed off, left alone at the table. Great. Jussssst great. Dyana sunk into her chair, determined not to move until she absolutely had to meet the others. She thought nothing but dark thoughts as she took another savage bite of the crispbread.   indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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