#odyssey

"It did" He says "It was beautiful. See for yourself"

She turns, not loosening her grip on Jonas, to peer out over the forest.

There is damage from the fire, a few trees downed, swatches of grass consumed, but here in the dreaming, the cycle is more obvious...the ash from the damage making the soil rich, and new green already showing promise, the area that was not burned, greener still

"We did it..."

"You did it, I just followed your plan" Jonas nods

"It was pretty boss, Cuz" Zane grins

Zane gets a grin.

"Let's.. keep going" Jonas says, and they move on. though, Piper is getting carried

She could insist that she could walk, but at the moment, her bones do feel a little... wibbly from the transition, and she puts her arms around Jonas's neck, happy to curl in his arms instead.

They make what feels like good time on the trod, time enough where she feels more more herself. Doesn'tt mean she has to get on her own two hooves.

And, she sees the oddest thing, what looks to be a scrawny teenager , and a lumbering large bear cub with him..., consisting of Stars! The boy seems to be wearing a Star Trek esh shirt, and has what be a souped up tape player... or Tricorder if you know the lingo.

"Is that kid supposed to be on the trod?" She wonders aloud.

Zane squints "He's.. not a chimera"

“Is that bear going to eat him? Maybe it's saving him for a snack!” She calls over, “HEY KID! You need help?”

"Oh, new species.. first contact..." A look to the bear cub "Don't be fooled by the horns , Ursamin, true explorers don't let biases color thier perception" He waves "Greetings, I am Arty, Of Earth. This is Ursamin. We come in Peace"

Jonas blinks and looks at the satyrs.

Piper shrugs back at Jonas. “Hi Arty-of-Earth. We’re looking for a pool of wisdom. Have you seen it?”

"No, but I encounntered another alien lifee form who claimed to"

“Oh! What kind? Was she friendly?”

"While one must not presume, he appeared to be gender male, of the planet Eshoo. Said that there was a great water fall in the distance of unusual properties tthat splitt into pools. One granted wisdom, one granted power, and one granted death. Mind you, I'm not sure how you quantify those... but it would be fascinating"

"Did you drink any of them?"

"No. I was only told about them" Arty says "What are YOUR people called?"

"The McCormicks?" She grins.

"Greetings, Mac-Kormicks. It is always good to meet a fellow explorer"

"Be careful if you walk down this path. You might run into a Cyclops in a bad mood because no one remembers him."

"Thank you for the warning, hostile life forms are another matter. We'll be cautious"

"Thanks for the intel! I hope you find what you're looking for, too."

"Oh, it's the greatest adventure I ever dreamed off" He pats the Cub "Come on boy, more wonder awaits"

The cub of stars makes a maaww sound, then bobs its head, as they move on

Zane blinks

"He seems nice." Piper comments to Zane.

"I think.. I think we just met one of the Chosen" Zane says

"He didn't look Jewish" Jonas observes deadpan

"Who of the what now?"

"A mortal human soul evicted by a sidhe" He explains.. "All sorts of stories. Some say they ggo o paradise, others say they're trapped in caskets or something.. and some say they wander the dreaming, and, if they survive, become very poweful"

A worried look back behind her, looking after where Arty-of-Earth left. "That's terrible. I mean.... everyone knows how Sidhe work, but I guess... I tried to never really think about it too much."

"So far, he's doing great. That's a consellaionn with him , a powerful chimera. I wouldn't say he's hurting. Seems to enjoy it. This IS his dream in a way. I'm actually a bit afraid of him. .. he might be able to make US confirm to his dreams"

BLINK. "Really?! Well, I feel a little worried for the Cyclops, then. More power to him."

Jonas says "Okay... so I'm part of Team McCormick now" Amused

"Does that mean you're taking MY last name?" She says, amused.

"I'll let you and Siv fight over if it's King-McCormick or McCormick-King" Jonas' lip twitches

"What IS your last name anyway, Jonas?" Zane asks as they travel on

"that's on a need to know basis" The troll says as they move along

"You know, I looked up the name once, and McCormick comes from 'Son of Cormac' and Cormac means 'Son of Cor' which means Raven, so it's like, Piper, Son of Son of Raven."

"But then again, I'm adopted so who knows?" She laughs!

"You know the Wayburtons are always hiring" Zane laughs

"I looked THAT one up once too. Couldn't find it, but the closest was 'Warburton', and THAT meant a fortress town. So maybe you were always destined to end up at Dark Gate?"

"Grim" he says "But , it's good to me. Fortunately I am NOT afraid of tall women"

A sigh, suddenly looking wistful. "I miss our tall woman."

"Do you think she's mad at me?" She turns to look up at Jonas.