Escaping the War (Sequel to Pardoned on the Peak)

Four

Future Idaho Territory

After working together to Transfer themselves and their belongings, the group that seemed to be equal parts Elvin, half-Elvin, and fully human took a few momentsta regain their bearings. Those younger Elves and half-Elves recovered from the Transference fairly quickly, but their grumbling took a lil longer to subside completely. On the same token, the humans took a lil longer to recover from the nausea that always seemed to affect non-magickal beings when this particular means of Travel was used on them.

        Just as everyone was fully gathering their wits, they all heard rustling and twigs snapping in the Trees that surrounded the area they’d appeared in. That Tree line pretty much started at the Shore of the Loch next to them and ran up the side of every Mountain in sight, and it was too thick to see the source of those Sounds through it. But none of the Elves–particularly, those who were well-practiced at reading Energy–actually needed to see what their ears’d already detected. They could all tell that the source of those Sounds was another group of humans that hadn’t Transferred with them, and considering the number of children and other non-magickal beings, it put them all on edge.

        Calling on the Element he Controlled with all too much ease, Lachlan easily stirred the Loch into motion behind him, yet held it at bay at the same Time. Waves formed and rippled across its Surface, but they didn’t grow and start heading toward the Shore just yet–however, they damn well would, if he used his Power to give the order. At the same Time, Ahearn made the ground seemingly shiver beneath all their feet–peg leg, in Big Ian’s case–as the pair of gingers Conjured up spell Fire balls. Even Geneva was quick to call on her own Power, the Air around them stirring as a Wind strong enough to blow a person off their feet Began to kick up.

        “They’re the Natives of this place,” he said as the group–clearly Warriors–finally broke through the Tree line, and therefore, into view. “They havena a lick of English, or any other language we ken.”

        “Then how’re we supposed to Communicate wi’ them?” Jamie queried, those flaming balls still essentially tethered to his palms.

        “Energy,” the Elvin patriarch answered. “’Tis a sorta Universal language, after all, ken.”

        “Aye, I suppose that’s fair enough,” he agreed somewhat reluctantly, bristling as one of the Warriors took a step forward.

        Lachlan’s gaze was trained on that man, whose expression quickly shifted from threatening to surprised.

        “What on Earth’re you–well, saying to him, for lack of a better way to put it?” his brunette wife asked.

        “Basically, that we’re of nay threat to him and his,” he answered. “But that we will do unspeakable thingsta them, and they force our hands in defending ourselves.”

        It took a few moments, but the Warrior finally made a gesture at the same Time he actually spoke, each of them more or less feeling the translation of his words in his Energy.

        “Oh, thank God,” Geneva sighed, the Breeze around them slowly dying away as she felt that.

        “Aye, better to come to this agreement now,” the Elvin patriarch chuckled, the slight ripples on the Loch flattening till the Water didn’t appear to be moving at all. “We’ll leave them be as long as they leave us be, and we can all get on just fine.”

        “So, they’re receptive to us being here?” Jenny queried, sounding uncertain from where she’d somewhat taken a defensive stance in front of her crippled husband.

        “He understands that we just Wish to be left to ourselves, and that we’ve the same Respect and Reverence for Nature that they do–we just believe in a different set of collective Deities,” Gunhild answered, nodding. “He just doesn’t truly understand how Lachlan was able to impart that information to him.”

        Laughing, Big Ian admitted that without knowing somewhere between half and three-quarters of their group were at least half-Elvin, the Warrior’d certainly have a hard Time figuring out such a thing. And even being able to speak the same language wouldn’t be of much help there, had they not had such a barrier between them in the first place. What mattered was that they’d come to an agreement that’d no doubt be shared with the rest of his people–the ones that’d accompanied him, as well as who kent how many others elsewhere–long before any blood could be shed over it.