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Part Two: Quest for Life Again, Kali was the second to awake. But this time, it was Gary who was up first. Brigitte still slept soundly on her blanket. "Good morning, Gary," Kali said cheerfully. Gary must have just woken up to, because he was still sitting on his 'bed'. "Morning, Kali." "So, when do we leave?" Kali yawned out. " ' Soon as Brigitte wakes up." Kali eyed Brigitte sleepily, and it was at that moment when she woke up. When Brigitte rolled over, her face was peach with pink lips and mysterious green eyes. Kali jumped back in surprise, and landed on a branch that had been lying in their camp. She tripped and fell over backwards, landing on her butt with a loud thud. Brigitte snickered and stood up, her blanket cascading down to the ground. "You're a Shapeshifter?" Gary asked. Brigitte shook her head. "No, I only have the power to transform into this form." She looked at Kali (who was mumbling about something) and at Gary. "Fine. I know you're all dying to know this . . . at least you are, Gary." Gary blinked, but didn't say anything. "I'm the daughter of a demon and a human. I never knew my father - I assume he moved back to the city, leaving my mother and me behind in the woods. But I had a human voice, as you know, and the other demon children would laugh and make fun of me. So I ran away. Poor mother. I hear she didn't live long after that. But anyway, I moved out here when I was real young, I can't remember when. I found that because my father was human, I could transform into a human child that would look like his daughter, had she been human. So, here I am, human." Kali nodded, tossing the branch she had slipped on over the cliff, Gary whispering about how that would alert Nwon-Knu that they were here, or how it could. When Brigitte's voice stopped, they quieted and looked at her apologetically. She sighed, and started rolled her blanket. After camp was all packed up, the group set out down the cliff towards the city. Brigitte strolled ahead, while Kali and Gary stayed back, bickering. "Did you hear what it was that Brigitte was explaining? It was probably important." "You would have heard her if you hadn't been so busy rubbing your "injured" bottom and destroying the branch you slipped on." "Yeah, well, I wouldn't have slipped if someone had cleared out camp like they were supposed to last night!" "Don't blame this on me!" "Why not?" "Because it's your fault you tripped on the branch!" "It is not!" "Yes it is!" "Is not." "Is too." "Is not." "Is too." "Is not!" "Is too!" "Is NOT!" "Is NOT!" Gary said, trying to trick Kali. "See! I told you so!" Kali exclaimed, not falling for the trick. "SHH!" Brigitte had dropped back to them. "Stop arguing. We're almost there, and we don't want to blow our cover now." The two quieted, though glaring daggers at each other. They turned a corner in the path, and were greeted by the looming golden gates of the city. "Well that sure came out of nowhere," Kali stated. They stared at the gates in front of them. Brigitte moved forward and opened them, and they walked through. It took a few minutes of walking, but eventually they reached a market place. All different kinds of things were being sold. On the corner of this street, a man stood at a busy stand. Next to this stand was a pen of white birds Kali had never seen before. The man inside the stand handed a package to a customer, and a familiar aroma sifted over to Kali. "Chickens!" she exclaimed and raced over to the pen. Gary and Brigitte hurried after her. She stared at the animals in the pen. "They're not that detailed. In fact, they look rather boring, despite the fact that they're rushing all over the pen. Not much . . . brains, if you ask me. Are they stupid creatures?" "Well . . . " Gary started. "No creatures are stupid. They just lack the intelligence of normal creatures." "They're not beautiful." "Not ugly, either," Brigitte countered. "Now let's go, before we get into trouble." Kali glanced up and noticed that the owner of the soon-to-be-dead chickens glaring at them. She rushed around the corner with her newly found friends. They passed through the market place quickly enough, and soon reached rows of houses. They were all the same, Kali noticed. Exactly alike . . . These houses did not last long, and they finally reached the city. Here, there were actual shops instead of just rows of stands. A shoe shop, a blacksmith's shop and a chandler's shop. Kali read the signs; she had learned to read from her mother, or Nwon-Knu. She sighed, wondering how her not-so-normal life had gotten even less normal. They arrived at a hotel. "We'll stay here tonight," Gary explained, and they went through the door. Inside, a cheerful-looking girl with bright red hair and cheerful orange-colored eyes greeted them. "Konnichi wa, and welcome to our hotel. My name's Sophia and I'll be leading you to your rooms. Gary arched an eyebrow at Brigitte. "Is this a hotel, or a restaurant?" "It was the best place I could find!" As they walked through the halls of the hotel, Kali observed they area around her. Never before had she seen clean white walls, or a gray-tiled floor. She had never seen the electric powered light that hung over her head. They passed chocolate brown doors with gold numbers. Finally, they reached the end of a hall way upstairs. "This is your room!" the girl, Sophia, stated cheerfully. "How much do we owe you?" Gary asked. The girl looked at him, confused. "You already paid . . . " Their eyes locked, and they stared into each other's for a minute. Kali waved her hand in front of Gary's face. "You who? Anybody in there?" Gary looked back her, dazed, and blinked. "Oh. Okay, then." The girl opened the door of the room. "Two people here, and the other in the room next door - 507. Okay?" "I call this one!" Kali rushed into the room in front of them, and sat down on one of the beds. Brigitte rushed in after her. "I'll take the other bed." "Guess I'm stuck alone . . . " Gary went to the room next door, Sophia following him. "Um . . . I'll open that for you." Sophia took out the key and opened the door for him, then handed him the key. "So . . . " "So." "What just happened there?" Gary didn't answer, just looked around the room at the single bed. "Um?" He looked back at her. "What do you mean?" "I had the strangest feeling. Almost like we were . . . like, there was something important between us. Do you believe in love at first sight?" Gary stared back at her, surprised. "No." "Oh. Well, I have to go. Here's the key to the other room. Dinner is served at 7:00." Sophia rushed down the hall after handing Gary the key. He looked over at the door, and saw Brigitte and Kali watching him. "What?!" he asked angrily, glaring at them. The two giggled and went into their room, shutting the door behind him. Puzzled, Gary entered his room and shut the door behind him setting the keys down on the bedside table. ***** At seven, the group headed down to the bar for dinner. They entered a room dimly lit, with a piano in the corner. They padded across a pink-rugged floor and sat down at a round table set for four. Kali blinked at the plates and forks and spoons and forks that were set out before her. "What are these things?!" "How did you get enough to rent this place? And when did you make reservations?" Brigitte smiled, as Kali picked up one of the forks and examined it. Gary glanced around, expecting to be kicked out any minute. "Relax Gary! Didn't I tell you that my father was rich? He died, and me, claiming to be his daughter, which I really am anyway, inherited his money. Isn't it ironic?" Kali tapped the end of the fork with her index finger. "What's ironic?" Brigitte sighed and shook her head. "Don't expect much from a half-demon . . . " "Hey! I'm not a half-demon. Don't make me shock you! Hey, this is metal, right? Metal conducts electricity . . . no wonder Nwon-Knu taught me so much about electricity!" Gary and Brigitte looked at her, sweat-drops appearing on the side of their faces. "May I take your order?" They looked up at a waiter with a gelled hair and a thinly cut mustache. He had a French accent. "Uh . . . not yet." The waiter walked away, mumbling something about 'manners' and 'street-rats'. Kali asked, "Do they have chicken soup?" "Yeah, why not? Do you want that?" "Uh . . . yeah." Gary picked up the menu and started reading it, along with Brigitte. They looked over the menu, and Kali peered at hers, deciding that she definitely liked the wilderness better than civilization. "Oh! Konnichi wa, minna!" Everyone looked up at Sophia, who was standing behind Gary. "Sophia?" "Call me Sofi. Do you mind if I eat with you?" "No, go ahead!" Brigitte exclaimed cheerfully. Sophia pulled up a chair and sat down in between Kali and Gary. "So, what brings you to the city?" Sophia asked, ten minutes later, before biting a piece of chicken. No one answered. Kali and Gary looked at their food, while Brigitte thought about the answer to that. She didn't even know why they were in the city, she had just agreed to go along with them. "Er . . . well, we, um, we were just passing through," Gary replied, braking the silence. "We're . . . going to visit . . . relatives in . . . " "Right, and I'm the Queen of England! Really, where do you plan to go?" "I have no idea," Gary stated honestly. "We just . . . " "We're on the run," Kali jumped in, "We're fugitives, we did something real bad, and we're in hiding." She scooped up a spoonful of chicken soup, and concluded matter-o-factly, before putting it in her mouth, "We're wanted criminals." "Really?!" Sophia asked. "How . . . " Kali arched an eyebrow at her, hurrying to finish her sentence, knowing that she would suddenly want nothing to do with them. "How exciting! Oh, could I . . . could I join you?" Kali spit out her chicken soup in surprise, and it landed all over Gary's face. Gary narrowed his eyes at Kali, but picked up a napkin to wipe it off. "You . . . want to join us?!" Kali choked out. Sophia nodded. "It sounds so . . . adventurous. Besides, I ran away from home two days ago, and have no where else to stay." "What about here?" "Oh, I'm supposed to leave tomorrow morning." Electricity sparked in Kali's eyes, like when she had first been struck by lightning. She did not want this over-cheerful girl traveling with them. But Gary and Brigitte immediately agreed, so Kali didn't say anything. She spent the rest of the evening listening to Sophia gab about pointless stuff, half of which she didn't hear because she was trying to tune Sophia out. ***** And the next morning, they set off on their journey, a group of three girls and one guy - much to Gary's dismay. They left the city behind, buying few supplies in the market place like extra food, sleeping bags that would be better to sleep in than just blankets, matches, and a tent that Sophia had suggested. Kali decided to keep to herself, so she walked ahead of everyone, alone. Or so she thought. You're jealous, a voice in her head declared. I am not! She argued. Of course you are. She's prettier, smarter, and she already has Gary's attention. You're jealous. Why should I be jealous? So what if she's prettier, it's the inside that counts. And I bet she wouldn't know how to fend off a wolf, light a fire. Heck, I bet she isn't even fit for hiking, she'll be tired before we reach the forest. The voice did not answer her back, and she was truly left alone, with not even her thoughts to keep her company. |