Echoes of the Reach

[6.3] | Rude Awakenings

    Trocari's docklands were, in theory, a purely industrial area, yet life spread its roots throughout the length and breadth of the cityscape. The streets splashed with children's dashing feet, their laughter occasionally drowned out by a blaring riverside horn or the barking of street dogs. Through the main streets, fleet-footed couriers and salespeople hauling hefty wagons ducked out of each other's paths, embracing the broader, quieter roads away from the city's bustling centre. Even under rain's pervasive gloom, their mismatched outfits and flapping cloaks meshed together into a momentary kaleidoscope of colour.

    Her gaze locked on the road ahead, Talwyn tightened her hold on the cart's reins. "I'm fine. I've got this. Driving goats is easy. It's just like riding a horse," she repeated to herself in broken, hurried whispers. Suddenly, a loud hiss scraped against her ear, and a pair of soaked, scraggly cats darted into the street. Standing rainwater splashed over her head, and she swerved her startled miregoats just in time to avoid trampling the tabby miscreants into the cobbles.

    As the cart veered, a sharp, pointed pain jutted into Talwyn's side, and Darius barely saved himself from falling flat into her lap. "Gosh, sorry! Are you okay?" Talwyn cried as she removed his elbow from between her ribs. She eased her companion back onto his side of the seat, her awkward laugh failing to paint over her embarrassment. "I've never driven through a busy city like this, so the ride might be a little rough."

    "It'll definitely wake us up," Darius quipped, straightening his slanted hat. Scrapes eked out from the crates that rocked between the cart's walls, yet he betrayed no nerves about losing any of the boxes. All that filled his eyes was trust. "You're doing great, don't worry. The goats trust in your capable hands to guide them, and so do I."

    He pressed his fingers to the back of Talwyn's hand, reminding her that she still clung to the lapel of his jacket long after he had righted himself. His thumb wrapped around to take hold of her palm, absentmindedly drawing small circles over where her scars hid beneath her glove. Soft, sunken pulses emanated from somewhere deep beneath her loitering fingertips – a heartbeat, not deathly slow like Kerensa's, but bright, bounding, and brimming with the urge to connect with others. It was also beating faster by the second, like the stray tickling sensation that grew just outside her mind.

    Talwyn pulled her arm back and regained her grip on the reins, her own heart coursing with new electricity. "Thanks," she muttered as she prayed for the morning gloom to veil the fires that very obviously burned in her cheeks. "I'll try to not nearly throw you out your seat again."

    "Don't speak too soon. I might deserve it before long." Elbows resting on his knees, Darius spun his jagged ring around his finger, his lips pursed in thought. "Not to pry, but...teleporting through walls, your friend's creepy dark-eyed alter ego: is all that normal with you two?"

    "Isolde's been bugging Kerensa since well before we met. It's...a long story," Talwyn said, keeping a watchful eye over her friend as she walked beside the cart. The occasional passing pedestrian or stall worker took a double glance at the necromancer, yet none caused her any trouble. If anything, Kerensa's macabre appearance kept people at bay even more effectively than Arlo's outward hostility behind the wagon. They were untroubled, and the rare moment of safety removed one of the chains that locked Talwyn's worries away. "The teleporting thing is new, though. I don't know how or why it happened, but it was the same way with all my powers. They have a habit of surprising me like that."

    Ripples blanched the colour from Darius' face. "So, weird things just happen around you? And you don't know whether it'll be something helpful, or..." His voice trailed off, though the liquid blue windows of his widened eyes uncovered clandestine tunnels to the heart of his concerns. With a reluctant look into Talwyn's eyes, he dredged up words that pricked him as he spoke. "Talwyn, I don't mean any disrespect by this, but I have to ask: are we safe travelling with you two?"