Mr Sandman, where did you drink? [Quest w/Karimah]

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Hundreds of passive, relaxed, varying faces thronged the roads, by the wanted posters plastered nearly on every wall, and yet none shared features quite so different as the one with long, crimson ringlets spoke so softly yet so clearly to the small crowd, that she needn’t lean in to listen or hear.

Plenty of time she had to admire and gasp quietly to herself. She was enamored. Ears she was fated to love, fated to adore, fated to want to touch all day long. She could write a million mushy-gushy poems concerning the majestic nature of the elven race, a Herculean love letter dedicated to their blessed existence, and it still wouldn’t be enough to delineate the absurdity of this childish fascination that thrived deeply within the diminutive bookworm, this remarkable fantasy that caused everything light and fluffy to swell within the confines of her smoke-textured soul. She might have been innocently marveling at the smooth side of his face, mostly the hints of his elven heritage, but she was very much present for the conversation and chuckled with amusement at the merest notion of a cat that visited every accessible pub for a glorious helping of milk.

But she must have laughed harder, while still maintaining a good-natured air, at the poor drawing of the seemingly wobbly-looking feline they were meant to find. Her version of loud was very tame and hardly so; it was surprisingly delicate. But then she composed herself right as the focus of her friendly adoration addressed her. The gentleman appeared as though mystified by something, as though caught in a dreamy daze that he would surely never wake from. After he relayed to her invaluable information, it sounded quite final and made the crestfallen genie assume they would part ways very soon. But, having moved past her just a smidge, he seemed to recall something important.

She watched him with wide, brown irises that gradually consumed the whites of her eyes, causing her to resemble more and more like an awe-struck, fuzzy-wuzzy demon from happy hell than a sheltered doe-eyed lamp dweller. How could she have been so blind? Such intricate patterns graced the other side of his face, quite like that of a mask, and she likened the patterns to a masquerade piece from a fairytale. Was she really in such a garish and nightmarish world? It didn’t feel like it anymore. Or was she truly lost in a land of whimsy and wonder? She didn’t know and would answer that for herself with time.

“I would rather call you by your given name.  I wouldn’t want to address you differently if — Oh—You— you do not need to apologize to the likes of me. You really shouldn’t. I — I should be sorry. I was staring,” said the somewhat ashamed and surprised Karimah, wondering if it was customary for elves to bow in greeting, as she took a slow step back and dipped the upper half of her body with a nervous smile, placing a hand over her heart as well. “so rudely. I’m sorry, but you’re terribly enchanting! Pleased to meet you, Lucas.”

“I am Uncouth,” came the introduction, which she realized a little too late that she had malfunctioned again. “No! What I mean is . . . my name is Karimah. My name is not Uncouth. I don’t normally say that. I don’t know why I said that. Forgive me, please?”

“Mr. Sandman, why! We miss you, buddy!” came the sudden wail of the kind, sobbing man Lucas conversed with prior. Her embarrassment was as clear as day for herself, but her gratefulness for his sadness skyrocketed (but it also caused her soft heart to burst). That was the diversion she needed to calm herself and so she took it with great rapidity and stood up straighter than ever, tossing her silvery hair like the awkward queen she was.

“Shall we look for our beloved Mr. Sandman? I must admit, I’ve never visited a pub before,” said Karimah with a start, matching his pace. “I’m sure there is a fair amount of drinking involved, jaw-dropping tomfoolery, and a swarm of peculiar smells. We will find him in all that madness, won’t we? This will be fun!” And then she noticed his spear.

“Have you,” she peered around him curiously, her focus never leaving the weapon in his possession, “ever killed anyone with that before?” She unconsciously moved her hand to her stomach, imagining the horrible pain of it twisting up her insides, guts pouring out of her mortal body. It was enough to make her want to shed her human skin and fly high into the sky. But it also tickled the imagination.

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“I am?” she blinked, pressing her hands to her rosy cheeks. She closed her eyes, shook her head, and tried not to laugh in her shyness. The spell of such an innocent compliment came crashing down just as soon as he gave the tiny genie a new name.

A very different name.

Uncouth.

There was a hollow smile on her face. The sort that was open mouthed and stiff with embarrassment. Pieces of her broken pride could not be recollected, and if cameras were accessible in these parts, her face would have been a picture perfect meme for the ages. Stranded in Wonderland and the very first sobriquet she was bestowed with  was ‘Uncouth’ of all things.

She was not worthy.

“Uncouth? Luchta,” began the youth in a tone that was defeated but not unkind, “why?” The wretched thing looked like she was melting, and she hung her head with a laughable sigh.

The two wanderers were approaching the festive pub. Karimah had accompanied Luchta and was twiddling her thumbs by the entrance, the door ajar with the smell of alcohol. She gave the air a small sniff and couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. How very subtly she wrinkled her nose but if he squinted enough, he could very well see the polite confusion brewing in her soft features. “Mm, this is the gift of humanity you mentioned. I suppose I am just uncultured and should probably involve myself more in their drinking affairs. What should I order for us? You must have excellent taste.” Inquired Karimah,smiling warmly.

The man she conversed with was standing to the side, in the free space beside her, and whom no one had yet caught sight of, since the guests were completely wrapped up with their own merry shenanigans. It seemed he allowed her to enter first. Luchta kept his voice low as he whispered to her. The self-appointed confidant leaned in, carefully, to better hear his plea. She pulled back to reveal a small pink pout.  “Did I hear you correctly? A hundred and seventy years. That really is a long time to hold a grudge for something as noble as teaching a child to grow ferns. Ok, Luchta. For you,” she ran her fingers doubtfully through her short silvery locks, “I will.”

Poor Luchta, cursed, scorned, barred from visitation by the owner, entrusted the otherworlder with this task, and she quietly vowed loyalty to this oath. She would not let him down. Then she nodded and raised her chin and cooed: “Stay here,” she suddenly took his hand into hers and patted the back of it gently,“where it is safe.” She did not know what to expect. In truth, if they were as cruel as she thought they were, she was plenty scared. But she was putting on a brave face for all to see as she passed through the masses, that diminutive martyr preparing herself for the absolute worst.

The laughter around her was deafening, and Karimah had already stepped inside, while the atmosphere still trembled with conversations which she held little to no understanding for. The girl in the pink blouse and green skirt, despite her uncertainty, walked up to a rather skilled bartender dishing out drinks left and right with a very small smile.

“M—May I speak to the owner?” Karimah asked, hands clasped together as she moved closer. “I have questions regarding the missing kitty,” she materialized a picture of the wanted feline, a plume of blue smoke grazing the air as she spoke, “and I trust you gentlemen have answers for me.”


“Will do, Little Miss,” replied the fellow clad in black.

“He should be here any moment now,” went the other.


In the meanwhile, the half-elf who had requested her to ask in his place,  had a spot in her mind, and would, no doubt, occupy her thoughts heavily in that period of waiting. What could have angered a person so badly, that they would go so far as to blacklist such a gentle entity from their good graces? Much like dear Saeven, Luchta was kind, well-mannered and beautiful. All he did was impart his good wisdom to a child and in return he was despised for his knowledge. Or was there more to it, she dared to wonder.

“You ask for my assistance,” came a voice that could strip skin from bone, “and yet you bring that misshapen creature here?”

Karimah jumped.

She nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, the motion rapid and jittery.

Her voice, however, remained light as a feather.

“Should I apologize for the way I look?” Asked Karimah, really meaning this. She composed herself quickly, figuring he was talking bad about her to his employee.

“I was not talking about you!” Spat the owner.

Flashing across her countenance were a series of question marks, mathematical equations and variables. Even as she turned to face Luchta (if he was close by) she would have never guessed the loud-mouthed man was referring to him.

Then it hit her like a ton of bricks.

“If you are talking about Luchta, then consider me relieved,” she sighed a moment.

And then she tilted her head to the side, as if to say more on the matter.

“Consider me relieved he isn’t up to par with your standards.” Karimah said, bordering on the defensive while maintaining that humility. “Clearly, he is way out of your league. Praise Allah.”

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A fearful cry arose among the crowd at that moment: “A heathen! An otherworlder!”

Karimah stood still, and held the poster of the missing cat to her chest whence the clamor proceeded.

The mass gazed upon the hybrid with rare concern, and gave warning to the misguided forest entity that she would take his soul if he did not step away from the girl.

It was the outsider they spoke of, fearing even for his safety.

She wasn’t appalled by their assumptions, but she hardly felt at ease with their anger.

“I could never take anyone’s soul.” Said the djinn, her voice soft and thoughtful despite being in the midst of a panic, by the gruesome manner in which they were met with unwanted animosity that practically tripled in the span of two minutes. “It is not up to me whether you should live or die. That is laughably absurd. Instead, I do other things, I suppose, like—“

She found she could not get another word in, to exercise her sway of civility was to create a fine mixture of fire and gasoline in this situation. The citizens, of different roots, watched her, and their brutal faces jeered beneath her timid glance.

She recalled how quickly they changed their tune with Luchta. There had been true concern for his well-being when they so cleverly unveiled the truth about her. So she stepped away from him with a light step. Her short silvery hair followed the sudden movement as the small genie decided it was best to remove herself from his side.

She did not want to pull him down with her.

This was all her doing.

He was more hated than loved by this beastly owner already. She did not want that brief moment of acceptance to escape him just because she might have been too scared to stand on her own.

Karimah was the thing of disgust now and yet their prejudices made no sense to her still. No one could help what they were.

Everything confused her as she struggled to comprehend the irrationality of mortals. And so she tried her best not to tremble like a wind-tossed leaf as she dared to contemplate her fate if she lingered any longer than she actually needed to.

Much to her surprise, it wasn’t the screaming owner from earlier that caused the great clatter; rather, it was a frightened fellow wielding a broken bottle and a modicum of foolish bravery. He would save these people by eliminating the foreign creature.

“What are you going to do?” she asked apprehensively, to the bartender.

Her question was quickly ignored.

And it seemed her magic was doing the same as she could not disappear like she wanted to. She was too tense to make a move.

“Did you not hear the warning?” asked the same bartender from before, to the tall gentleman, “It is a trick of the eyes! She may look like a human,” continued the frazzled man, “but she could very well be a danger to us all!”

“I — I am about as dangerous as a dandelion.” She corrected, raising a finger awkwardly. “Please stop this. Is this truly necessary?”

He held his weapon higher.

Her eyes bulged greatly. Was he going to kill her?

When told to shut up, she could have sworn spit landed in great heaps onto her face. It was like being slapped by a river, minus the beautiful view or the nice cooling sensation. She blinked, stared into the figurative abyss with a sort of deadness, and questioned her life choices for what seemed to be the second time today.

She wished for soap, but it would not come. Her magic had a tendency to stop working whenever she got nervous or scared beyond all reason.

“I believe we should run,” she said, not quite so smartly to the only kind soul here.

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The hatred, fear and discrimination of man was never a corrupting influence that should be underestimated. Such was a lesson he learned long ago, and such was a lesson he feared Karimah would be learning whether she wished to or not in that moment. Despite his attempt at distraction and despite the harsh reaction they had given him st moment’s prior, there was simply the opening of floodgates that surrounded the pair, raised voices and threats of potential violence consuming their ability to process or salvage the situation.

Luchta knew well that the men and women who surrounded them were of no great threat, at least not to him and he doubted they would be to his companion if need be. They were drunkards, civilians, violent fools but fools nonetheless. However he could not allow himself to sink to their levels, violence was not the tool through which he would win this battle. “I — I am about as dangerous as a dandelion.” He heard the sweet girl say, a statement he truly believed.

Luchta’s eyes glanced around him, seeing where various bar brutes stood, the distance to the door, Kari herself and estimating how much time he had to act. He had a plan, one that would need to happen with perfect timing but one that he felt was their only hope of being unscathed without coming to lows with any of the humans.

“I believe we should run,” He took her statement, one that he agreed with, as his marker to begin. From his left hand, the one grasping his spear, he let go. The weapon being both revealed but abandoned as it began to fall, but it’s fall was almost in slow motion to the Half breed who was already beginning his other manoeuvres. His legs, both converting from flesh to wood, his cloak, thrown back to allow him freer access to his arms.

“I am sorry friend, but i do not have time to ask your permission.” He said quickly, his soft tones carrying a hurried edge as the door behind them swung open. Slithering tendrils of wood and vine had snuck out from the sides of his legs, just above his boots, and had opened the door much to the horror of those closest. Likely shocked with the surreal magic they were seeing at work. Luchta reached out with both arms, reverted to elven flesh as to make sure his hold around her was as comfortable, pulling her into a tight hug just in time for the drunken man to swing down his bootle. It’s arc barely missing her head.

“Trust me.” He muttered under his breath, as new branch like tendrils shot out from his back and clasped at the now open doorway, and like a rock from a slingshot the two were briskly pulled off their feet. The earthen appendages of Luchta shrinking at a sudden rate that carried them away from their ambush, not finding their footing again till outside in the street. But as much as he doubted they would be followed he needs her to feel safe, to steady herself and be as far away from the awful people as possible.

So with his right hand still around her tight he reached away with his left, the flesh turning once more to wood as it shot out like a climbing rope, the end of the tendril wrapping around a nearby chimney stack and with a jump he once more began to pull himself towards his anchor point. When their swing had come to an end they were stood atop a nearby roof garden, the floor beneath them flat and steady as they were now only surrounded by the night sky and the city lights.

The Gaiyan let go of her gently, taking a step back as he looked at her with gentle and concerned eyes. His left arm back to it’s usual length but still wooden, he could feel the cold stone underneath revealing he had left his shoes behind but he seemed not to care. Waiting for a moment as the cries and calls of fear and hatred echoed from below he shook his head, wishing that perhaps one day there may be no fear between strangers. “I cannot apologise more for the way you were treated, the humans they… they do not understand that which is different.”

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The genie was quiet for one minute, during which Luchta had time to diligently read the room and plan his next course of action.

She was stupefied.

He would have found Karimah staring at the sharp edges of the broken bottle; ashen skin, with eyes round and expectant. She could not bring herself to harm a frightened person.

So the genie broke the silence, by saying, in a small but pressing tone,  “Run!” she laid her hand on Luchta’s arm. It was her attempt to pull him along, but she felt not the wind on her face from all running she might have done, instead she was enveloped in a firm but gentle embrace.

She raised a dark eyebrow, her blinking rivaling that of a certain Twilight protagonist, finding much of her face crashing clumsily into the chest of the half-elf. It was certainly a cinematic moment if life had a way of slowing all motion and deepening feminine and masculine voices alike, perhaps akin to a funny scene from a movie.

But this was not comical to her.

She gasped like a fish out of water and dropped the piss poor poster from shock, not caring for it but still keen on finding the cat and getting out of this mess. His sincere apology was not missed despite of the madness as she barely managed to utter:

“I find it hard to believe,” her voice was outrageously muffled as she spoke involuntarily into his chest, making awkward hand gestures, “that you feel as though you must apologize to a genie like me. It is often that someone will carry me everywhere. And so, I am quite used to this, you see?”

It didn’t quite hit Karimah, not yet anyway, as to how terrible she could have sounded as a lamp-dependent foreigner to an elven-like being from different universe.

“In other words, you do not need my permission, Luchta. You may do as you please and I will oblige you, for I am a servant to all. What did catch me off my guard was your—,” she was able to turn her head, losing wording to fascination.

The open-mouthed nerd laughed, a mixture of nerves and pleasant admiration, for the thin, copious branch like tendrils coursing out of him as he no doubt performed an array of impressive feats to get them to the neighboring rooftop.

An odd cheeky thing she did was peer around him to witness the debacle. She waved a little in the crowd’s general direction with a strange, creeping smile, “Ma’a salaam (goodbye).”

A breath she didn’t know she was holding after bidding the crowd adieu, she finally released.

She then nearly breathlessly continued her interrupted statement from before with a most cherry-topping truth, “—heroism. I expected you to leave me. You, however, did the contrary, and for that I am indebted to you.” She said this based on experience, having met another good person who left her to fend for herself the instant a great, rock-like beast charged their way. She didn’t hold that against the human. They were severely outmatched.

They would have been made a crushed grape.

“Whatever you wish for in the near,” she said, once released, stepping back daintily, “or far future, let me be the one to grant it.” It was a promise she made to him, one she would keep, and she was true to her word as she lowered her eyes to the floor to reflect on his wisdom, not failing to notice his lack of shoes.

Her soft brown eyes were wide with something awful and exciting as, without warning, she stepped even further away from him. She did this slowly, that mysterious smile failing her not once in this effortless endeavor, with nimble fingers did she seem to orchestrate a song only she could hear, her fingers dancing to a beat that was their own with an outstretched arm.

“You and I,” she spoke, as though not doing anything out of the norm, her features glowing only slightly from the use of magic, as her hair seemed to defy gravity just a bit, “different? Are they not aware that underneath it all we are the same? At least, I would like to imagine we are.”

She paused.

“Is it your turn to trust me now? Yes! Yes, it is.” She said jovially, employing certain words he used on her.

Timing was everything.

A puff of blue smoke pushed out from under the towering man and consumed him in what would, erm, be her sparkly essence. If his clothes had tears, they were fixed and whatever he lost that day, like his shoes, were restored which would leave him looking better than ever.

“I am almost done,” she reassured and with a violent wave of the hand, the same gust of blue vanished into the nothing and revealed a polished restoration of the same apparel and shoes he possessed earlier.

“Much better. We cannot stay here for very long. Oh—” Karimah stopped and looked to the night sky, gazing at the brilliant stars as though entranced. The young woman then gasped very loudly, rushing to his side like a chicken with her head cut off. “A-Are you injured? Show me where it hurts, Luchta. I did not think to ask!”

She would unleash the kitty patterned band aids if he didn’t say anything. Pink ones, to be exact.

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Luchta had no idea and had not wished to speculate as to the potential and abilities of the women he was working with. She was kind, slightly naive but absolutely lovely and that was more helpful to a cause like this than it was if he she was all powerful in any regard. But the magic she displayed on that rooftop left his eyes wide and his senses confused as to what was happening. He watched the blue smoke rise around him, consuming him in a sense though he felt no discomfort from it. Every tear, every stain, ever stretch in his clothing he could see or feel mending, his feet once bear were now freshly shoed and altogether he felt fresh and ready to continue their adventure. When she waved her hand and dispelled whatever had surrounded him he raised his eyebrows and looked himself up and down.

He was seconds away from answering when she rants his side, like a child or a puppy who had sensed they were needed. Though despite her care and enthusiasm he began to grin and laugh, placing his wooden arm on her shoulder delicately but his eyes meeting hers for reassurance. “Oh Uncouth, you dear sweet thing, i promise i am healthy. Unscraped, uncut, unbruised, i am perfectly alive and i can only thank you for making sure i am dressed as strong as i feel.”

His eyes then wondered the same way she had, up to the skies though he kept his hand on her, almost as if he did not trust those below to not steal her away should he let go. He took in what stars he could see as if he did not know when he would see them again, the pause that accompanied it making him realise he had left her without any further words. “Oh and as for your answer earlier friend, i do not know of the land and culture you come from.” He lowered his eyes to hers once again, almost a sadness in the way he observed her. “And i do not know by which name you call your kind, but a servant is one name i shall never call you. Heroism in return for service is not heroism, and while i do not think of myself as a hero i would not have you think of me as the man you are indebted to.”

Luchta removed the wooden arm from her shoulder and held out his elven hand, open as if for a handshake though the awkwardness in his expression made it clear he was trying to figure out what gesture she would prefer or be most familiar with. “So it is my wish that whenever one of us is in need of help that the other will aid them not out of debt but out of friendship, and that this venture is not the last we meet. Us different folk got to look out for each other after all.”

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The magical woman stood there, gazing at him with her big eyes, and permitting the gentle hand to remain upon her shoulder while she listened. She would have turned around to check on the small mob below them. They were no longer her concern; there were other pressing matters to attend to but she did not want to disturb his silent reverie. She opened her mouth and yet no words could escape, then she tried again, but the feeling that she was intruding on something important was upon her. She was quite fine, to permit the silence to pervade the night air, and experienced a strange sense of peace in just letting such a calming zen flow naturally. She did not have an inkling as to what his eyes searched for, but she dared to follow where his gaze went and realized he might have been admiring the stars as well.

“It is very pretty,” her voice was as light as her smile, and only said this after he was ready to address her again. She wondered if she said too little and thought deeply on what more to add to her statement. He resolved that problem for her, it seemed, for he spoke kindly of her predicament and in his words there were tones of sympathy.

He had caused her pain by reminding her, embarrassing memories from the night before flashing into her mind without reason or rhyme, that he knew not what she was or where she was from. He said all of this this with a very good heart; she saw this with a heavy one.

She needed to talk to Saeven about it, not hide from him due to whatever shame she felt from that terrible party fiasco. That was the reason she walked unaccompanied today, before she met a rather brave, very unique acquaintance.

Karimah was grateful, nevertheless, but Luchta didn’t quite stop there. She arched an eyebrow, not mean-spiritedly, and never peeled her eyes away from his mixed countenance, a bit shaken up by his gentle consideration. He would never refer to her in that manner? There was absolutely nothing wrong with kneeling to a superior people, this was her place as a servant, to be at the feet of the world and it was ingrained, deeply drilled into her brain that it was the way. Her confusion was not to be misunderstood for anger, as she showed no signs of wanting to challenge a good soul. He was selflessly releasing her from any sort of debt, much like he did in releasing her physically and extended a hand for her to shake.

It was clear that such a common gesture was done awkwardly, not in the way he offered himself but by the look of his overall expression to which she could not help but feel a little mischievous. “That is very bold of you. Of course you realize this means war.”

She couldn’t keep a straight face as she stared down at his hand. The smile she wore made it evident she was joking, especially the laughter she tried desperately to restrain. Quickly, however, she took his hand into hers and returned the greeting with apologetic enthusiasm.

“I am teasing. This must be a universal language, shaking hands. You did not offend me. I—-” She reassured him further, only to pause at two distinct, very dangerous words to ever utter in the presence of a djinn. “Mm,” she sounded her delight, though it was mingled with uncertainty. “Luchta, is that really your wish? This is a first. I am moved. Yes, we should look after each other.” she admitted, too honestly, pondering doubtfully on it. She wanted to make sure she heard him correctly, not wanting to assume, which was why she felt the need to ask. If he confirmed that it was so, then Karimah would grant it with stupid delight. If not, she would accept it as is and still be honored.

So the small crowd of citizens dispersed, having lost their interest in the two. The pair thronged to different pubs in the late hours of the night and asked the same questions over and over again. Karimah, normally a patient entity, was showing signs of fatigue that often plagued a mortal form. Bodies were such fragile, wonderful things — so demanding and needy. “Mr. Sandman~!” she called out the feline’s name, peering into dark alleyways and dreading the next pub. She was so hungry, she pressed a hand to the half-elf’s arm and presented him with a double-cheese burger. She magically summoned another one for herself and bit into it quietly, her bites small and depressing, not realizing the smell of such amazing food brought to them a most welcomed, furry guest.

“How difficult it is to find you, kitty.” Karimah murmured pathetically into her edible. She did not want to call it quits, but she was close to doing so.

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Luchta, though his face remained calm but pleasant, began to shake her arm with a childlike enthusiasm that playfully shook her upper body as he nodded with a gentle sigh. “I am sure.” He let go and patted her on the side of the arm, looking into her eyes as he brushed his hair clear of them. “It is my only wish, now let us find our little friend to be.” From there he looks down to see the crowd dispersing back to their nights and their quest continued.

The pair travelling through a variety of bars some unknown and some familiar. They went to the winking Wyvern, an establishment run by a pair of Anthro brothers he had met a few years back, they were helpful though had no answers beyond a direction. They went to the broken wheel, a bar ran by a family of humans who were easy enough to gain an answer from once their palms had been graced by some coins. Several other establishments also dotted their path but they were so far unblessed by the presence of any true sign they were close to their target.

They were walking along yet another street, both calling out the creature’s name when the half elf felt Karimah’s hand on his arm. When he turned to face her he found himself greeted by a beautiful looking roll of bread, it was akin to a sandwich but with far more cheese and multiple layers of meet, a human trend he had seen on advertisements the last time he was forced to set foot in Rivengate but not one found too commonly outside of human urban centres. “Thank you, far more south of you.” He teased back with a chuckle that hid his diminishing hope.

Luchta walked over towards the nearest wall and rested his back against it, slowly sliding down it over the course of a minute before his rear finally seated itself on the cold stone of the cobbled street. Burger in hand, friend to his front and a gentle breeze on his face, he let his feet rest as he raised the food in both hands. “I have a feeling our feline friend will be keeping to the shadows for the time being.” As he bit into the burger and began to chew, he felt something press against his cloak, nuzzling against his arm though he did not look. He could tell it was an animal of some kind, though likely a stray creature looking for food or attention. “I’d love to wee one, but i don’t think this much cheese will do you much good.” He spoke to the as of yet unknown companion they had gained, Luchta continuing to chew his food as he felt the body of the animal lean against him for support or warmth.

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In a few minutes the decision was made. She followed his lead and descended to the ground, throwing her head back with a sigh. He might have jested with her just now, but that brought to mind a strange question:

“Would you rather,” she tried to approach this delicately, her voice a small whisper, “I feed you sunflower seeds? Is that less,” there was no sass as she spoke, “south for you?”

She blushed, as she might have prompted him to become a sort of cannibal. With painful embarrassment she beheld her stupidity in merely offering a quick menu switch when she further analyzed the faulty logic she was working with.

“Disregard that,” she uttered, burning a fiery red, “it is like asking me if I eat fire. I am not human,” she further explained, “in fact, what you are seeing is a skin suit.”

She should have stopped there, but she didn’t. That was awful imagery she was producing there.

“I am but a spirit, the love child of smoke,” there came a diminutive pause, sprinkling her words with corny humor, “and cheap school glitter.”

Karimah said this all too casually, moving to a lighter topic, “You may be right.” The djinn lamented, and then blinked as Luchta remarked on there being too much cheese for her.

“I am not lactose intolerant,” she replied innocently, “if that is what you are implying. You’ve already saved me once; I do not need saving a second time.” She withheld a laugh, or tried to, and before she could say anything more to the half-elf; she turned her head and realized he wasn’t talking to her at all.

He was talking to a cat! Oh, but not just any cat! Too excited to contain herself, all hesitation slipped from her mind as slender hands grabbed his face and seemed to point him like a gun in the general direction of the infamous kitty.

“That wee thing,” she almost cheered, not wishing to blow his ears off by squealing into them, “is the wanted feline!”

Karimah was far too quiet after that and gingerly released him from her hold. Her eyes flashed with odd determination.

“I must assert dominance.” The djinn stated, as she reached over to pet the kitten.

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Luchta had learned fast t not be surprised with Karimah, her actions and words were never regular or predictable but in the best possible ways usually. Her magic, her reactions, her personality, it was all perfectly unexpected throughout their venture across the city streets. But when her gentle slender hands touched the sides of his face and aimed his gaze down, he went along with it out of truly being completely caught off guard at how to act. He had no reason to resist after all so his eyes followed where she steered and he found himself looking at the small friend who had arrived by his side. A small friend who perfectly matched the sketch and description of their lost pet.

Of all the words he could have heard declaring their red to act upon this discovery he had a few assumptions or expectations, but “I must assert dominance.” was not included in either. His eyebrows raised slightly, his eyes blinking twice as he looked up at the fiercely determined and unbeatably adorable stare of the Djinn as she reached down to pet the cat. His fur was mostly a slightly off white, his face filled with an intelligence but cheeky glint that made it seem as if he knew exactly what trouble he had caused but meant no harm by it, only amused at it’s result. The right hand side of his face and body was coated in a large patch of brown which in itself was broken up by occasional smaller spots of dark black fur, his ears busy being scrunched and played with by the affectionate magical girl.

“Well well, i see dominance has been asserted.” Luchta said simply under his breath, one hand reaching down to gently scratch the underside of the cat’s belly while his other hand continued to eat the burger, his bark sections pulled back to a minimum so that it was his elven flesh performing all the tasks and not leaving splinters or bark against the cat or the food. “I suppose that means our task has been done, quite an adventure i would say.” Luchta smirked warmly with a childlike joy as he looked down at the latest member of their group, the feline nuzzling it’s side against him as he tried to finish his burger.

Once he had done so, finishing the last of the burger as his left hand side returned to it’s prior composition, he let out another sigh and picked up the cat with an unnatural ease, as if it had no reservations or complaints at being in his grasp. He lifted Mr Sandman up to his chest, holding him just under his right breast aiming forward as if clutching a purse but they did not seem to mind. Once he had returned to his feet, sandman in hand, he looked over at Karma and bowed his head with that smile still on his lips. “Mr Sandman, meet Uncouth, Uncouth meet Sandy. Im afraid we should probably head off now though, get this wee lad home after all. Plus im sure whatever the reward was it can’t hurt."

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The male calico had a knowing twinkle in his eyes as Luchta uttered a statement under his breath, that look struck Karimah considerably, and seemed to her in flawlessly keeping with the almost unexpected approach so lackadaisical of the feline’s lax gestures.

Her full, doll-like lips smiled warmly; the wondrous light in her eyes shared the brilliance of a thousand burning stars the more she saw of his magic, the more she marveled over the enthralling anomaly. Porcelain skin replaced intricate threads of wood; to the Djinn this was like watching the graceful rise of a stage curtain prior to a grandiose performance, and she marveled endlessly over the display.

“Wonderful,” she said breathlessly, acknowledging both his statement of an adventure coming to an end and his small show of mysticism. She drew back the free hand that caressed the kitten and resumed eating away at the burger without a need for haste. When ready her companion rose with the cat in hand, and so had she sans Mr. Sandman and the cheeseburger from before.

It was bizzare how quickly the little kitten took to him and, yet, she guessed it should not have been so strange to her at all for the small darling to appreciate the kindred spirit. There was enough time spent with Luchta to gather that he was fiercely quick thinking; impressively composed in the face of danger and delightfully playful when it was most proper to be. Her evaluation of him could have been wrong, but she fancied such traits to be somewhat accurate.

“Must we return him?” she asked playfully, knowing the answer to that question.

With a smaller crowd than before, a greater silence overflowed into all the neighboring streets, encumbering the pair.

The lucky genie was happy follow them into the late hours of the night. She was somewhat reassured by the fact that the fortunate Sandy never moved from his arm. Their furry friend would return home, Luchta would be rewarded handsomely for his triumph, and she would have learned yet another curious thing about this world.

In this last stage of farewells and goodbyes, she was still cheerful; her brown eyes appeared still great and round, because of the excitement she felt for their small victory. “Sandy, I know what it is like to be so far from home. I want to be with my kind again. It is a work in progress, I’m afraid. But it doesn’t have to be for you, yes? Be good and do not run off this time.” Karimah cooed, moving closer to the precious chonk that purred and kneaded the sweet night air. She could not help but stroke his toe beans with a giggle.

At the moment when finer architectural pieces made their grand appearance in the full moonlight beneath the lofty cobalt sky, she was thankful to share that view with eyes that were not just her own. “Luchta, about before; I wanted to impart a little trivia with you.” She sighed a dreamy sigh that hinted at fatigue, “Painite is the rarest gemstone, but it is also the rarest mineral in my world. It is different, it is breathtaking. You should see yourself in this manner when you are faced with adversity in your travels — for being one. And so that you may never forget my words, I will give you such a treasure after we are done for the night.”


The outcast was nearly falling asleep at the instant when she heard music blaring loudly from the inside of a colossal, luxurious house. It shook her core, and caused her to think it might have been the Great War of the Strings. She was more than certain there was an entire orchestra striking violently at their instruments behind closed doors. It was beautiful and heart-stopping, though it worried her that if she knocked no one would hear the sound of her tiny fist. Oh, that wouldn’t stop her! She could at the very least try! But when she did, she tripped over practically nothing and slammed the right  side of her entire body against the entrance and which an audible clatter. “Ah!” hissed the lamp weenie through her teeth, sliding down the door like some crumpled old jacket. Yet another mistake was made as she did not move in time for the door to open, and then she fell back with an embarrassing cry.

She looked up and saw a face that only the rich and greedy could love. If pompous had a scent, then that would be their signature perfume, for she could gaze into the flaring nostrils of a nose that crinkled with disgust. “O-Oh,” she stuttered, still lying on the floor, smoothing down her pink blouse as she hoped to look a little more presentable. “Hello! My friend, Luchta, was able to find your fur child. You must be so pleased!”

The excitable genie sat up quickly, delighted to have been the one to deliver the good news. She brushed down her green skirt eagerly as she rose to the fullest height, which wasn’t much, and moved sheepishly to her companion’s side. “Mhm,” she nervously laughed, as the distinguished individual looked them over— severely unimpressed. “We should celebrate vigorously?”

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The elf chuckled under his breath as he looked down at the animal in his arms, willing a small delicate branch to reach out from under his sleeve to pet the cat behind his ear as he purred. “Yes im afraid we must, though parting with him so soon is a shame.”

As the trio of lost souls made their way through the many winding streets of the capital, the buildings seemed only to grow nicer and cleaner as the night sky above grew deeper and all the more magical. Luchta liked and appreciated having a roof over his head at night but it would be a lie to say he found sleeping under the canopy of stars at all uncomfortable. Even the rain did not bother him and was just another sensation to remind those who walked the earth that they were alive and within nature’s reach. A comforting thought to someone such as himself.

When the musical young women began to speak and sigh from fatigue ad higher hopes for better days, the half elf looked over at her with a gentle smile as he lifted Mr Sandman up, placing the feline on his shoulder as if the crow’s nest of a pirate ship. “We are rare gems indeed. My mother, she was an elf like any other, a wonderful woman but not an irregularity in the world. My other parent, they are from a time before even man walked these lands and built their first tents. I find no shame in this heritage nor in my appearance, but… it does upset me in some regards.” To there right quickly reached a break to an open street that allows d them a clearer sight over the city walls and across the expanse of the countryside beyond. “I know i am unique, and i know that is unlikely to change. It only brings me feelings of shame cause well, when my travels end it means who knows whether another like me will make those journeys in the future. Both my family have long since taken absence from the life of this world, therefore it falls to me to see whatever there is still to see in life. If nothing else to remind people that as much as the world changes, there is still life and it’s beauty will always change but never fade.” Deciding to ignore the looks of disgust and shock that it would cause, later branch like formations began to grow from his shoulder, reaching above him half a metre as if becoming a tree himself, and as it did Mr Sandman climbed up to perch comfortably where it could look down upon anyone they passed.

This continued all the way until they reached the door address advertised by the wanted posters. It was a fine and regal home, filled with music and the smell of expense. Luchta had no doubts that each tree inside cost more than he had ever afforded but that was okay, coin was a means to an end and he saw no pleasure in the massing of it especially if it were to distance him from the streets that made every day it’s own adventure. He pulled back the branch like growths and stood there an elf if not for the arm he kept hidden beneath his cloak. Now Mr Sandman sat once more n his regular shoulder though when the redhead held out his regular arm the cat did hop down into its embrace.

When Karma fell to the floor it was clear she came to no harm and so only a light hearted smile and slight laugh came over the expression of Luchta but it was then he saw the door was open and kept his mouth shut. “Hello! My friend, Luchta, was able to find your fur child. You must be so pleased!” He did not know why it was she decided to give him all the credit for she was just as involved in their accidental success but either way, he gave a respectful nod as to not provoke this noble with any cause to stir drama like the drinking civilians had earlier.

When she suggested a celebration the well dressed and unimpressed man raised a single hand sharply, signalling for her to be silent. He looked Luchta up and down as he then cast his sight down to Mr Sandman. “Ah, well there you are. That foolish maid should have known better than to leave the windows open, you get out too much.” He looked first to Karimah, forcing the most awkward and uncomfortable smile that the Gaiyan had ever seen. “I think we shall but, we not including yourselves im afraid. Now then…” With a sudden repeated clap of his hands as he looked behind himself, a perfectly dressed butler appeared and walked out to the front of the door between the man and the two cat rescuers. “Your reward, since that is what you people need to eat i suppose.”

He reached out with two bags of coin, their containers being finely made leather pouches branded with what was likely their family crest. However it was at that moment a breeze proved most unfortunate. As Mr Sandman eat from Luchta’s arm to the ground, a gust of wind swept past and ruffled he red head’s cloak, enough to reveal the wooden appendage underneath. “My word, what in the outer realms are you?” An exaggerated shiver ran through the nobleman’s body. “I take it back, one bag shall suffice. I will not be funding golems and other distorted creations thank you.”

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She stared at the hand like it was the most outlandish gesture, but the sheer authority of this man silenced her and she bowed her head obediently, blinking profusely from behind soft curtains of silvery white. Her thoughts were complacent until rude words came into play that she raised her round eyes to this perfect example of pompous pride, her dark, angular eyebrows beginning to slump downward with displeasure. He talked down to the maid of his mention; Karimah liked to suppose the servant pitied the feline for wanting to bask in the glow of the morning sun and prowl for unsuspecting rodents beneath the brilliant light of the moon—- but that also brought to mind a sadder picture.

Was the cat cared for but emotionally neglected somehow? The man was not jumping joyously over their successful find, and that mind-numbing response inspired familiar thoughts of hesitation and doubt. She couldn’t elaborate on what they were all about because the next thing to fall from his lips were comments sown from ignorance, and the urge to express her disdain for them only intensified.

Of face she returned to solid neutrality, but of heart she was appalled. Karimah, in the effort to keep things civil, reached for the cat and kissed it goodbye. Sandy leaped confidently from her doting embrace and was back on the ground on all fours. When the second bag was redacted she allowed the surprise to dance in her eyes,  an expression she wore more than once today, and she nibbled down on her lower lip to remind herself. She didn’t want to cause a disturbance; it would only bring more trouble their way and perhaps force Luchta to quell any future chaos she might cause with an impolite comeback, yet she was lost in a private struggle to let it be or to defend his honor.

He did not deserve such cruel words, if only people could see things with a broader mind and appreciate them for their differences. It was the road less taken here. “Please, do not disrespect him in my presence,” her words were so soft, that she would not have been surprised if not one ear picked up on the relatively quiet demand. It was so -- he hadn’t heard her and she wished to say this louder. But she didn’t repeat herself. There was much the normally patient woman was holding back, like the uncharacteristic thought of trickery she entertained; this urge was so foreign to her and one that inspired worry. Her eyes moved from the man with hair like fire, and then back to the second bag they were denied, as she was consumed by false reasonability and a very human need to get even. Would it be so wrong to steal from this man if he was the one to break his end of the bargain?

But she had no need for currency.

Karimah quickly shook her head and looked away. She was above that brand of temptation. She did not, however, trust herself to say another word to the buffoon and curtly bowed her head with astonishing resignation. She caught a glimpse of a servant carrying a cake that towered over them with layers upon layers of frosting before the butler closed the door on them.

As usual the music played, the guests talked, and the cat was cared for.  It was anti-climatic and left her feeling a little bitter. “I wish to throw a cake in his face,” the bird-like voice dared to utter once she approached a fountain that was loud enough to drown her every harmless complaint.

“I do not fund golems and other distorted creatures. Oh, Luchta, I am so very sorry.” Her small voice carried with it a rant that sounded more like a secret only he could hear. Her accent only seemed to intensify as she continued.

She climbed the bronze rim and balanced herself upon it with every step, crossing her arms with a sigh on her lips. She could still hear that vibrant orchestra striking away at their instruments, and just as she hopped off the rounded edge of the fountain she was impressed by the passionate swelling of music playing in her ears even now. “Silly me,” she chuckled suddenly, “I can replicate the reward and offer it to you myself! I do not require it to survive. That is the perk of being me, no? I am so clever!”

Perhaps not clever enough. The musicians she admired only minutes ago began to clash violently in rhythm, for the violins wailed and sputtered and every other instrument grieved as their descent into silence ended in chaos. The very thing to pierce the silence were the cries of the bewildered and the loudest one of them all belonged to the horrible man from before. His falsetto, while on point, was not for musical purposes. It was caused by a less creative source:

“How could you be so clumsy? You’ve ruined everything! I am — we are all covered in cake! My floors! My beautiful clothes!”

Karimah looked smaller somehow, her eyes impossibly wide and bug-like, her tiny lips pursed with awful realization. Guilt was like a weight on her shoulders as she looked to the ground, then back at the poor fellow. “Walk faster, Luchta, and do not look back.. My wish came true, much to my surprise. In fact, one could say he got his just desserts. Have — Have I become a sociopath?” She nervously explained, snapping back into action. She followed her own advice and only stopped when she was confident they were a good distance away from the residence. Once she was more than certain they were alone, she tried to summon the promised reward and even the gemstone, but nothing came about—- no amount of snapping, mystical posing or excessive hand waving could materialize them.

“I command the universe and the powers that be, to grant this wish for me!” she bellowed and threw her hands in the air, her chest heaving, as she further embarrassed herself in front of the regal-looking traveler. She tossed her silvery hair and kept still, unmoving, her eyes glued to the heavens with arms outstretched.

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Despite the ignorant noble’s unawareness of Karimah’s words, Luchta’s elven ears heard her clear as day. he appreciated her protective kindness without a shadow of doubt, she was a sweet soul and one who the world could benefit from if there were more like her. But it was also a scenario he had experienced time and time again, week after week, for several hundreds of years now, if the man’s words had any effect on Luchta he did not show it. Instead he bowed his head in acceptance, refusing to let the misguided opinions of one as bare in character as he to place any measure of value on a life that in reality had experienced, laughed and loved far more than he ever would. Such was the plague of humanity but also that of bigotry, a tragedy that restricted their own future as much as it weighed down Luchta’s.

When the door had eventually been closed on them, neither being receiving payment for their efforts, it was the Djinn who broke their silence. “I wish to throw a cake in his face,” the sound of the fountain made their discussion unlikely to be overheard by others on the far end of the street but regardless it was unlikely either would find shame in their agreement. The half elf sat upon the lip of the wall lining the fountain, reaching his left hand down till it spread out like roots, every offshoot of branches feeling the cool sensation of the water against it’s surface and helping him shift his mind from the disappointing conclusion of their quest. “I do not fund golems and other distorted creatures. Oh, Luchta, I am so very sorry.” To meet her words the redhead looked up and there was a sadness in his eyes but not for the lack o coin, simply the sorrow that it was her who felt need to apologise on behalf of the actions of others when it was their own fault and shame to bear. “I can replicate the reward and offer it to you myself! I do not require it to survive. That is the perk of being me, no? I am so clever!”

The brow of the half breed ruffled slightly as he tried three times to word a reply, more confused than anything else. Eventually however he found one that seemed neither disrespectful but also answered his internal curiosity. “When you say perks of being you, i take it you’re no simply a human then lass? Humans can be magical sure but they are far from immortal or even ageless. Also your powers do have me wondering, was the location of the cat beyond your ability sooner or are they simply not of that nature?”

“Walk faster, Luchta, and do not look back.. My wish came true, much to my surprise. In fact, one could say he got his just desserts. Have — Have I become a sociopath?” The childlike grin on Luchta’s lip was probably the most mischievous look he had displayed all night, playfully power walking alongside her as he cared little to hide the near skip in every step. He did not say much further until they were further away, looking over his shoulder to play along but knowing full well no one had any reason to follow or harass them in that moment, as far as they were concerned it would be the last thought on their mind to blame the two who had left some minutes prior.

“I command the universe and the powers that be, to grant this wish for me!” As far from unwelcome as her attempts were, and as far from unpleasant as her company was, Luchta was only stopped from intervening in her failing attempts by the wondrous observation of her. Commanding the universe, granting wishes, her earlier mentions of service, she may have been from a realm far from his own and be of a race far different from his own but it somehow made her more tangible than most others he came across. They were like leaves scattered upon a field, one many metres away as he trod his own path through life. They existed but barely, they could be recently fallen or long since began to rot and he would not notice, their own life was parallel to his own but unlikely to ever impact one another. Yet here she was, a refreshing and powerful stream, one that could be passed by or walked beside and one who was as useful as she was calming and comforting.

His thoughts only broke from the curious individual that was his newest friend, when he was approached by his other accomplice that night. At first he felt their brush against his leg, a gentle lean that lowered his gaze till he recognised the adventurous feline from before. How they escaped so quickly he did not know, but he made no complaints or even verbal acknowledgement. Instead he simply reached down and lifted them back to his shoulder where they seemed content to stay. “Consider my wish granted Kari, instead i think we should carry on. Oh and you are a blessing, far from a Sociopath.”

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