Cassandra Pendragon
Tea. Shassa was serving me tea and a pretty good one at that. For the record, the first thing I had checked had been her web and whether or not she had yet caught some hapless moron, but the entire thing was empty, except for a few birds and insects who had simply ventured down the wrong alley. Not that the spider payed them any attention. As far as I remembered she had to consume sentient pray and as long so she was still tethered to the crystal even that was more of an option than a necessity. Which reminded me:
"Where's Sera? Shouldn't she be keeping an eye on you? Better yet, where's your cage? Or have you duped her into setting you free?" I took another sip from my cup and savoured the spicy, somewhat exotic taste. Pomegranates I could identify, but the other ingredients were beyond me.
"Your grandmother is on her way to your brother's colony, maybe she's already there. She's taken Sylvia with her. They intend to bring them back here. There's more than enough space to go around after all. As for my cage, as you so eloquently called it, she has fiddled with the magic and taken the thing with her. She can watch me and should I stray out of bounds she'll simply incinerate my anchor and reduce me to ashes. Satisfied?"
When she raised a glass the size of a bucket to her deformed maw and gulped down a few mouthfuls of her brew with a sound like an opening drainage I felt goosebumps erupted all over my arms. If it wouldn't have made me feel like an ignorant ass I would have asked her to transform. Her human face was at least pleasing to look at. On a side note, for those who've payed attention, I wasn't naked anymore. True, I had been much too preoccupied when I had waltzed out of there to think about clothes, but a gargantuan spider was pretty handy with her threads. The gown even felt as comfortable as anything I had ever worn. Unfortunately it was entirely white and made me look like a spectre. Otherwise I might have even wanted to keep it.
"Do I look satisfied to you," I grumbled and leaned back in my hammock. Another one of the improvised amenities Shassa had come up with on the spot. "Truth be told I was just looking for a reason to yell at someone and since you're the only one around…"
"That bad of a day? Wanna tell me what's gotten into you?"
"Not particularly. No offence, but you aren't very high on my people to turn to when I'm feeling down list. You might even be rock bottom. No one has hurt me like you have and lived to tell the tale. With one exception," I added under my breath. Luckily a spider's hearing wasn't her most prominent sense.
"A tale I'll be telling my grandchildren over and over again, should I ever have them," she replied dryly. "Then again, considering I'm the last of my kind for all I know, I probably won't. Another thing we have in common, isn't it?"
"Do you want me to throw you down the tree? It's a pretty long way down and even though I don't think you can die while your crystal's still intact I'm pretty sure the landing will hurt. Majorly."
"Touchy. Is it really that much of a problem for you? Being unable to have children, I mean." Normally I'd have assumed that she was trying to get under my skin, but she sounded curious. Just curious. I took another sip and held the steaming hot liquid in my mouth until I felt my cheeks blister. Then I swallowed with a self deprecating grin. Was I turning into a masochist? It wouldn't surprise me one bit, considering how familiar I had become with pain in all its iridescent aspects.
"Maybe? The older you get, the more you long for something constant. A parent's love… that's something immutable, eternal. At least it should be. In that sense, I do. On the other hand… maybe it is for the best. I wouldn't wish an immortal's life on anyone."
"But yet you turned your sister?"
"I'm not even going to ask how you already know, but that wasn't my choice. It was hers and Gabriel's. I just tried to make the best of a shitty situation. The story of my life."
"That sounds awfully close to self pity. I thought you detested pointless lamenting."
"I do, but the last few hours I've been awake weren't exactly filled with sunshine and rainbows. Come to think of it, you haven't even asked why I was comatose for two days. Don't you care? We could be knee deep in manure for all you know."
"Aren't we already? Besides, it's not a rare occurrence, is it? Also, would you even answer me to begin with?"
"I would. I think. It's not really a secret. It's just… a problem. A real one."
"In that case, unless there's something I can do, I think I'd rather not know. Is there? Something for me to do, I mean." I shrugged and drained my cup, my gaze roaming over the small, ant hive of a city that sprawled away far below us. From up here it looked peaceful… beautiful.
"Beats me. I'm not even sure if there's much for me to do. I'll just try to muddle through. Like always. Shit, I can hardly believe it, but I'm actually feeling better. Calmer. What did you put in that tea?"
"Nothing. Sometimes it's just easier to talk to a stranger."
"We aren't exactly strangers, though, are we? Come to think of it, we've been through more together than most people I call friends. Hells, aside from Ahri, Reia and my mom I doubt there's anyone I have a closer… let's call it an emotional bond with than you. Your despicable disciple, maybe." She chuckled, which sounded like the death throes of something big and hairy.
"We aim to please. Speaking of which. Amon. Somehow it seems like history has overtaken me. You kept me alive to help you against a sorcerer who hardly poses a threat to you anymore. Then you wanted me to figure out the meaning of a seal that's entirely obsolete by now. Where does that leave me? Am I waiting for the hangman or did I manage to earn a milder sentence?"
"You haven't done much, have you? Are you asking me whether or not I have forgiven you or if I'm thinking about putting an end to your life?"
"The latter, but despite myself I'm rather curious about the former as well."
"In that case I don't plan on killing you. Unless you give me another reason. As for my forgiveness… you don't have it, but, believe it or not, you might yet earn it. Maybe that just goes to show that I haven't learned a damned thing, but I think I've begun to understand where you're coming from. Understanding is a dangerous thing. It engenders pity, but it can also lead to anger and I've always had a pretty short temper. You're clever enough to anticipate the consequences of your actions. So tell me, Shassa, are you a danger to what I hold dear?" She rubbed her pincers against each other in a monstrous imitation of a chuckle.
"Who knows? It's in my nature, but like you said, I'm not stupid. The moment where I could have posed a threat to you is long gone and I'm not shortsighted enough to believe I could act against what's yours without your knowledge."
"That's not an answer."
"And you didn't ask a question. Not really. You know that there will always be a part of me who wants to devour everything I can lay my claws on. I don't have to, not anymore, to sustain myself, but that doesn't mean the urge isn't there. I am just as much of a predator as your siblings, Cassandra. I'm just smaller. I haven't eaten in months, though, and I truly intend to keep it that way. That's no promise, mind you, but I'll try."
"Fair enough. That's all we can ever do. Try." I wasn't really paying attention, her picturesque refuge of white silk, pink cherry blossoms, iridescent light and invigorating warmth was slowly pulling me in with whispered promises of peace and solitude. A place to hide for a while, a place to clear my head and figure out what I actually wanted. Somehow I had never really thought about it. I knew I longed for a simpler life, a life with the people I loved, far away from war and strife, but that wasn't going to happen. I also knew that I would fight for what I believed in, but that, as well, was more of a fact than an actual desire.
What did I actually want? I didn't want to hide, yet I didn't want to fight. I couldn't quite suppress a derisive snort as I watched a shower of light red petals dance in the warm winds. On impulse I ask without looking at the spider: "can I ask you a personal question?"
"Shoot. Not like I have many secrets left.'
"What do you want, Shassa? No ifs and buts. As you are now. What do you desire?" Her pincers clicked thoughtfully as she manoeuvred her bloated body up one of the thicker boughs.
"Hmm…," a sound like ripping silk made me flinch. When I looked around she had transformed and her sensual, naked body was falling directly into my arms. I caught her reflexively and she wrapped her arms around my neck, her eyes sparkling dangerously close to my face. "Not that. Don't be disgusting. I'm a spider and you're a fox," she commented my frown with a beautiful, throaty laugh. Her full lips moved when she chewed the insides of her cheeks pensively.
"Something different I suppose," she finally said and rolled to her own feet. "I've been alone and powerful and feared for a very long time. I've also been subjected to more pain and humiliation than most creatures can even imagine. Present company excluded. Now? Truth be told I'm quite content to watch from up here. Maybe invite an immortal over once in a while for tea. I've also had the chance to talk to Greta. Hardly surprising, really, considering I'm nesting on her head, more or less. We're pretty similar in some regards and awfully different in others. I think she wants to recruit me and I'm not entirely opposed to the idea. Even without compensation. Who knows, to become a tyrannical house god or a nightmarish brownie around here sounds like fun. And I'd also be somewhat useful. Most spiders aren't wandering animals and I'm no exception. In contrast to you and your family. You want a home to return to, I want one I don't have to leave. I guess that's what I'm looking for. A place to stay without judgement for… well, as long as I can."
With a graceful motion she conjured another steaming pot form thin air and asked: "one more cup?" I shook my head, set down my cup and walked the length of the car-wide bough.
"Thanks, but no thanks. Places to be, stuff to do. You'll stay here?"
"Sure. It might not look like it, but weaving an entire web is a lot of work. Besides, I don't quite feel the need to venture down into the thick of society. Neither do I need the temptation it might bring, nor do I want to be stared at. Some day, perhaps, but not today."
"Suit yourself." I unfurled my wings and balanced on the very tip of the branch. "You know, in my experience things don't make for a home. People do. They're more work and often times much more infuriating, but usually worth the effort. Just a thought." I flexed my legs and jumped. The wind screamed in my ears as I angled my body and escaped the treacherous maze of wood and leaves close to the tree. The world became a blur and I revelled in the weightless sensation that made me tingle from head to toe. Specks of pink and green rushed past, the steady pressure against my tails allowed me to me feel where I was going and with a barely restrained laugh I dove towards the verdant, still almost empty city I had hardly explored yet.
A pulse of energy reached my eyes and I quickly focused on the few, glowing motes that indicated sentient life. Ahri, Mephisto and Reia stood out like, well, like immortals among humans, the infinite, roiling thunderstorm of power within them a welcome and a warning to anyone skilled enough to see. The former two were still in the tree cave where I had left them, with Ahri fending off Mephisto's questions. The demon knew that she was privy to most of my thoughts, but she wasn't willing to divulge much without me present. A sentiment I appreciated, but I wouldn't have minded, if she had spared me the interrogation that was sure to come. Soon.
Reia was inside one of the thicker branches, accompanied by an astounding amount of people. Layla, Lamia, Archy and Estrella I had seen often enough to recognise their auras immediately and Kana's, as well as Brianna's, were unique, so I didn't have to guess either. The other five were something of a mystery. Not that I was worried, they were mortal through and through and even though I saw some talent, combined they couldn't hold a candle to a single one of the others.
Before you ask, I wasn't spying without a reason. I was looking for Alassara and I figured that her daughter would most likely know where the vampire was spending the day. That had been my original idea anyways, but once I studied Lamia's energies I realised there was something fundamentally different between the living and the undead. Should be self explanatory, really, but it's hard to put into words. Aside from the definitive lack of mana, vampires burned their stores during their ascension, there was also something else, almost like an aftertaste. It wasn't a colour, not really, more like there was a part of the spectrum missing from their presence. Whatever the reason, vampires were pretty hard to overlook and I decided to try it the old fashioned way.
I pushed a bit more energy towards my eyes and started circling the tree. Up in the canopy there weren't many living beings, aside from birds, insects and apparently a herd of small, agile monkeys that had already found their way from the jungle. The trunk and the majestic roots, which had long since overgrown the entire garden where Greta had sprouted, were another matter entirely. Everything below ground, like the cavern and the ramified network that connected her to her seedlings, were cordoned off by living walls, enhanced with enough magic to make an orc learn ballet, but the dryad had formed houses, storages, gardens and baths all along her lower trunk and among her roots.
Small creeks spiralled their way from her canopy downwards and provided enough fresh water to satisfy hundreds, if not thousands of starving mortals. The little botanical wonders she had created along the way were filled with a variety of plants I had never seen before. Some had grown from the dense amalgamation of arcane powers that constantly surged around the towering tree, breathing life into crystal roses, metal lilies and glowing orchids. Others looked suspiciously efficient, as if they had been handcrafted by Zuma the bat keeper. Wheats that grew fast enough for me to watch, barley, carrying fruits as large as nuts, apple trees that already hung as full as I had ever seen… everywhere I looked people were picking nature's treasures left, right and centre, but still the cornucopia didn't empty out. Not in the slightest.
Laughter, curses, the creaking of badly oiled wheels and the heated negotiations between southerners wafted up from a handful of marketplaces and a few courageous souls had even moved into the ready made lodgings. Over the span of a few days a small village had emerged, clearly separated from the rest of Free Land by a line of gnarly roots. Here and there kitsune made their way through the maze like alleys, humans in all sizes, colours and shapes strolled curiously up the trunk, exploring that brave new world directly behind their back yard, and beast kin, some wore the signs of slavery, some didn't, hesitantly watched as the community that had taken them from their homes slowly changed. Gone was the hectic, brutal competition that had driven them on and in its stead something new, something rare and fragile was slowly taking root.