The Family

Chapter 2-2

Although, Sarah listens close.

They seem to giggle to each other and talk about the handsome Inferno.

Sarah stares at the horse's mane, braiding different strands of it. She keeps her eyes down until their horse stops.

Rayden clears his throat, stopping his horse, and looks back at her and Peter. "We're here." He nods to a patch of woods.

Trotting through the woods, down no particular path, they reach the edge. At the edge is a clearing. In the clearing are stalls and merchants. The four of them, stop at the edge of the clearing and tie their horses to the posts provided. The horses stand in place and graze. Walking into the market, it's less than impressive. There are about six stalls selling fruits, vegetables, breads, and a few different homemade wooden, metal, and clay goods.

Peter walks past the clay goods stall. Stopping in front, he attempts to grab the handles of a brown vase. His hands pass right through the handles as if made of air.

Sarah walks up beside him. Reaching for the vase, she picks it up no problem.

The stall manager looks up at Sarah. "Two acyts." He puts his hands on the stall, leaning over.

Peter looks at him. "We don't have any money with us at the moment. Perhaps next time when we’re more prepared?" The man keeps his eyes on Sarah, repeating himself, and Peter glances over his shoulder at Rayden. "Why won't he look at or talk to me?" He crosses his arms.

Rayden grins. "This is the decoy market for hominis only.” Chuckling, he nods towards the other side of the row. “Here, we need to go through the door." He points to a small, plain white tent at the end of the row.

Rayburn, in her heels, is just short enough to clear the top of the flap as she enters and leaves them behind without a word.

Peter looks at Sarah. She looks at Rayden holding his hand out towards the tent.

Rayden bobs his hand. "Go on, step inside." He grins, bobbing his hand even more, and stands tall.

Peter pulls the flap back, and they step through at the same time.

Sarah stops midstep when a figure almost runs her over. Is that a woman? Dressed in, blue feathers from head to toe? It is!

The woman’s white wings fluff and jump at Sarah's touch. She looks back at Sarah. A bright orange beak fixed where her nose and mouth should be. A crown of black tipped blue feathers replaces what hair she may have had. The feathers slope and dip, spiking behind her head. She squawks. Meeting Peter’s eyes, she stops short, turning up her beak, and flaps her wings, flying away.

Dust clouds around Peter and Sarah. They stop, shielding their faces. Once the dust settles, they stare at the strange world they’ve entered.

Peter looks to his left and stops on a man buying material from a blonde namuh woman dressed in a plain grey cotton dress. Dark brown swirling horns grow from the man’s head. Wild white locks sit between them. Moss and twigs intertwine with the frenzy of hair. Brown eyes sit deep below bushy white eyebrows that slide into the top of his nose. Black nostrils elongate into his upper lip. Thick white fur covers his legs that curve down into black hooves. What in Heremm? What is he? Part sheep? Goat? He turns. His short tail twitches. He puts the material in a green leather satchel hanging over his shoulder, pack sitting on his hip. The man’s tail twitches again, and he turns all the way around.

Peter looks away, eyes widening. No pants? Oh, have some decency! Don’t bare yourself to the world like that. Thank Adonia Sarah can’t see him.

Sarah looks to her right. A man and woman stand beside each other looking at a teal glass bowl. Black and white stripes cover their bodies. Their ears come to standing points a lot like a horse’s. Thick, coarse black hair stands on end and runs all the way down their backs to the top of their butts meeting a thin swishing tail. Before leaving the stall empty handed, they bend over to all fours. Their hands and feet become black hooves, and their faces extend into full black snouts. Once the transformation is complete, they resemble strange horses. She recalls them from her terrainian books. What is their name? It starts with a Z and it’s found in the plains region of Acirfa, but she can’t recall the name given.

Peter turns ahead to a three-tier stone fountain in the center of The Market. A collection of enormous cats walks towards them from the other side. How peculiar, they’re not forest cats, although, the one with less neck hair is similar a species native to their region. He squeezes his eyes shut, thinking, and opens them again. They’re in Sarah’s book, but what are they called? And what are they doing in this region so far from home?

The tan cat on the left shakes his head and the accumulation of darker, longer, and thicker fur around its neck shifts in a frenzy. The tan cat in the middle is similar to the one on the left without the collar of fur. It looks around The Market, giving off an air of imperiousness. The third, a bright orange cat, has black stripes down its body and a white underbelly. All three cats stop at the fountain. As he watches, their bodies shimmer and jolt, as if behind fire. This continues until they turn into three honey-skinned figures. Two men and a woman.

Peter shakes his head, blinking several times, and refocuses on the now namuhs standing across the way from them, mumbling just under this breath. “That was amazing.” He lets out the last word on a sigh, putting his fingertips to his lips, and continues to watch them.

Long wavy black hair, similar to Sarah's, falls all around the woman’s shoulders below a netting of gold and dangling diamonds. A bright pink dot sits between thick eyebrows above a long, rounded nose. A hand rests over the swooping collar of her short-sleeved pink top. The glinting gold trim ends at the bottom of her breast. A matching skirt billows and curves to the ground. She grasps the edge of her skirts, and her gold wrist bangles shine.

The sun’s reflection in the bangles puts purple dots in Peter’s eyes. He blinks away the dots, continuing to watch.

The two men on either side of her have shining short black hair. Their form-fitting long-sleeved tunics end at their knees. White fabric blinding. The hip-tall slits reveal loose red pants for one man. Loose orange for the other.

Peter scrunches his nose at how all three pairs of their gold shoes point and curl at the ends. How do they walk in those? Do the curls mean the same as the shoe points in his region?

Sarah follows Peter’s gaze, stopping on the three at the fountain. If she didn’t know better, two of them could be Meloni and Coren. She misses them. Where are they? Did they make it home alright? What are they doing? Is Meloni dancing for some prince? She should have told them about their mother at the castle in Prora instead of waiting? This time, they may not return to share the secret.

A gust of wind hits them, interrupting Sarah’s thoughts. The force causes her to stumble. Rayden catches her, putting her back on her feet.

Peter puts up his hands, shielding his eyes from the loose dirt hitting his face.

The angry wind dies down, swirling into a woman dressed in all white. A sleeveless, thin, floral lace dress covers her. White fabric over white skin with no beginning or end. The loose fabric drapes, flowing and fluttering from her hips, and lands at her bare feet.

Sarah watches the train drag the ground behind her, following it back to the woman’s short white-blonde hair coming to a thick stiff point at the base of her head.

The woman glances back in Sarah and Peter’s direction.

Sarah jumps a bit.

Thick black lines each eye, coming to points at each corner, and she eyes Peter. Black lips grin, she runs the tip of her tongue along them, and blows him a kiss.

Peter clears his throat, flitting a grin her way, and looks off to the treetops.

Sarah shivers, looking at the ground.

Rayden puts a hand on both of their shoulders, chuckling, and cuts his eyes at them. "I thought you two would like it here.” He glances at Sarah’s side glare. “Suppose it will take time.” He chuckles again, patting their shoulders. “Well, we need to give you two a new look. Something not too ostentatious. Also, we need to get you something to wear to the ball.” He walks ahead of them, speaking over his shoulder. “This way is the finest seamstress in the world, for us anyway." He grins, walking just ahead of them, and leads the way past more Elephimas.

Sarah looks around as she speaks. “You have one seamstress for all of your kind here? Do you not have a spell for clothes?” She watches a pair of butterflies land on the ground, turning into a man and woman.

Wow.

Rayden chuckles. “Yes, we do have enchatos, but she is for when you want something special. Something, eye catching.” He pauses. “Something, unique.” He stops walking, fanning his hand through the air, and smirks, resuming the walk.

Sarah nods, looking to her left.

A woman passes them on a small wave of water. A light pink glows over her skin under shining scales covering her shoulders, neck, and jaw line. She spreads her fingers at her sides. A thin stretch of skin between each. On the side of her head, the same stretched, pink skin between barbs pokes through long tangled masses of dark brown hair and seaweed.

Sarah falls in love with the deep violet silk dress clinging to her wet delicate body. It hangs off her shoulders, threatening to fall.

How beautiful.

To her right, on the other side of Peter, Sarah spies a gargantuan, black three-headed dog. She can’t help but stare.

The head on the left sniffs at her and Peter, whistling.

Sarah jumps, still staring, and stumbles on a large rock.

Peter grabs her hand and waist, propping her up.

Regaining her balance, Sarah offers him a soft grin, resuming her improper viewing.

Peter follows her gaze, eyes widening at the monstrosity before him.

The head in the middle looks Sarah in the eyes, and a deep rumbling voice escapes his chops. "Hey there, care to get dirty?" He howls at her, and the other two heads laugh and howl with him.

Rayden cuts his eyes at them and snarls. "Hugo, Alden, Noal! Keep it to yourselves. She's not interested in what you’re selling." He glares at them for a few more seconds.

Sarah jerks her eyes to Rayden. Selling? What does a three headed gargantuan dog sell?

Peter turns to Rayden as well. What the Heremm? Sell? How can this thing talk, let alone sell anything?

The dog whimpers, lowering its heads, and pulls back its ears. Tucking the single tail between its hind legs, it lets out one more small whimper, watching them pass.

Sarah looks at the heads over her shoulder as she takes a few more steps past them.

The dog heads perk up, looking off in different directions. The necks and body stretch, pulling apart into separate dogs, and then they shrink into three young men.

Sarah squeezes her eyes shut, shaking her head, and opens them again.

The tallest in the middle, gives Sarah a crooked grin. Dimples on either side of his mouth and freckles across his cheeks. His brown, grey, and green eyes brighten his oval and cheeky face. Short, black hair spikes upward down the middle to the front of his forehead. Plain white tunic hem flaps untucked just below the pockets of black leather pants. Long sleeves billow in the light breeze. Knee high black boots flaps flop as he moves around.