The Realm of Truth (Original)

8

"Those are the docks." They followed a path that wound down around a steep hill. The docks rested at the bottom of the hill, water stretching out beyond. In the far-off distance, Riley thought she could see something on the horizon, but she wasn't sure.

"Who wants to race me?" James looked pointedly at Po, who rolled his eyes. After their talk earlier, Po seemed less hostile towards him and Riley. They had talked during the walk here, and Po had seemed friendly as he finally started to open up to her. It just made the situation more difficult for Riley. She was stuck between two very attractive, very intelligent men, and she wasn't supposed to be getting into relationships at all.

"Go!" Hundan swiped his hand, and James, Lumino, and Po sprinted off, hurtling down winding the path towards the docks. "Do you want to beat them?" Hundan leaned towards Riley, a twinkle in his eye as he held out his hand. Riley grinned, taking his hand, and moments later they reappeared at the bottom of the hill. As Riley had expected, Po was the first to breeze by her, followed by Lumino, and then James.

"I don't get why you challenged two magical beings to a race." Riley hissed at her human friend as he doubled over, grasping his knees as he struggled to even out his breathing.

"A human phrase that James has repeated to me over the years is that he is 'stupid but not dumb'." Riley couldn't help but double over in laughter, clutching her stomach. It had been a while since she had heard that, and it was even funnier than before. Her best friend hadn't changed one bit.

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"This is all of your coin to carry five across to Pyropath Land?" The arctic fox cryopath sneered as Hundan and Lumino pooled their small pile of coins together on the countertop. She shook her head, counting out the coins and filling out one of the forms. "If you run, you'll catch the last ferry of the day." As soon as she passes the forms out to all five, they take off at a sprint, weaving across the flimsy boardwalks towards the large stone ferryboat at the end of the docks.

"Last call for passage to Pyropath Land!" The conductor, a portly seal cryopath, stood on the dock, ready to walk across the gangplank and head off when Po skidded to a halt in front of him, holding out a form. The others lined up behind him as the conductor scratched off his form and let Po cross. Lumino was next, bowing slightly to the conductor as he went.

"Thank you for accommodating us." James dipped his head to the conductor, who gave James a disdainful glare before letting the human cross. Riley was next, but when it came to Hundan, the conductor held out an arm to bar him from crossing.

"What do you think you're doing, abomination?" Hundan flinched, and Riley stepped back across the gangplank as anger roared through her. She set a hand on the cryopath's shoulder and used her anger to focus in on the cryopath's emotions, calming him and easing him into acceptance.

"I'm just here to get passage across, sir." This time the seal-cryopath relaxed, a smile settling across his drooping, leathery features.

"Go on, then." He dropped his arm and Hundan walked after Riley onto the ferry. It was nearly packed, Riley and her friends having to stand to make room for the conductor to step on and walk past them.

"Riley, that was incredible!" Hundan leaned down so that Riley could hear him over the chatter of the cryopaths around them.

"Thank you—" Before she could even finish thanking Hundan, James grabbed her arm and pulled her to stand between him and Lumino. She glared up at him, opening her mouth to snap at him when he beat her to it.