***Tirnanog, The Old Camp***
***Astra***
“I am so proud of my little Astra,” Thalia praised. “You actually went and talked to him. And from what you told me, I even dare to assume the first meeting wasn’t too creepy or awkward.”
It was the next day and my friend and I sat together on the bunker's roof. Like always, we had a little chat, something we often did when there was nothing else to do.
“Aside from him being covered in shit,” I pointed out. “I really could have chosen a better time to engage them, but I couldn’t have hidden from Mark for much longer. That one has keen senses.”
“It still gives me hope!” She clapped her hands together. “So, when will you be seeing each other again?”
“I- I don’t know,” I admitted. “I left when the situation got awkward, though I intend to catch them when they return from their hunt.”
My friend dropped her excited smile and rubbed her temples. “Back to square one. You should have seen to get a real follow-up date right then and there. If this goes on, others might notice that Tulkas is prime material. Then you will have to compete for his attention.”
She clapped her hands together and giggled madly. “That’s it! Your task for today is to get a real date with Tulkas. And, this time you have to make sure he knows it’s a date!”
I wasn’t too sure of Thalia’s plans. “But… wouldn’t that make things awkward between us? Besides, I am sure he already figured out why I showed interest in him. And what if he is one of those manly men who need to sponsor the date’s expenses just to feel like a man? I wouldn’t want to place that responsibility on him since it would just make him feel indebted to me.”
“All the better!” my friend replied. “We aren’t living in the olden days anymore. When you are the one who is in a better financial situation, then it’s only natural for you to pay. It will show him you can pull your own weight and aren’t some feeble princess who needs rescue.”
“I have a feeling we have gotten way off track here,” I pointed out and edged away from Thalia. Sometimes that woman simply got too worked up with her little fantasies. “I believe they should be returning soon, so I will be going now, bye!”
“Just follow my advice!” Thalia called after me.
I launched myself off the bunker’s roof and fled my babbling friend. Thalia was a nice person, but some topics triggered the history nerd and relationship engineer in her.
My filaments carried me over the roofs of the neighbouring buildings and towards the elevator at the wall. I knew Tulkas and Mark would have to take it once they returned to the Old Camp. The two of them worked like clockwork when it came to their hunting trips, aided by the fact that time was easy to track with the sun.
They would always return once the blue star touched the mountaintop in the north.
I landed on the roof of the elevator’s watchtower and wasn’t surprised when I saw two figures appear from the forest just a few minutes later.
They made their way through the area of waist-high greenery which had been cleared between the camp’s walls and the forest. People were regularly sent out to cut down the overgrown bushes which would allow predators to hide. The plants of this world always managed to grow back within a few weeks, so several people had built their livelihoods around keeping the flora away from the walls.
For evolutionary reasons which I didn’t understand, this world’s flora experienced a perpetual growth season as long as the temperatures permitted it. Once the temperatures dropped and announced the coming winter, most plants rapidly withered and dropped their leaves as they drew all nutrients back into their stems and roots.
Tulkas and Mark finally reached the base of the wall and boarded the elevator.
I slid down the side of the watchtower’s roof and landed on the walkway behind the wall’s parapet.
When the two men stepped out of the elevator, their rucksacks loaded with the spoils of their trip, I was already waiting for them.
“Astra!” Mark greeted me with a lot more enthusiasm than Tulkas managed to summon. It was a little off-putting, but not surprising, given the circumstances of our last meeting. I figured nobody liked being reminded of a literally 'shitty' experience.
“Astra.” Tulkas also nodded his head in greeting.
I couldn't help but notice his roaming eyes and looked down at myself.
Well, crap, I hadn't exactly dressed for the occasion, but I could correct the mistake fairly quickly by shifting and tightening my filaments in all the right places.
“Hello!” I smiled and imitated his nod, showing him the same amount of respect. “I was wondering whether we could have the talk I mentioned yesterday?”
He frowned but nodded. “I figure it’s about Gurney’s little enterprise?”
“Exactly,” I replied and shifted my gaze towards Mark who was watching us with a shit-eating grin. There was no way I was going to give people a show.
It took a few seconds, but the third wheel finally got the message to make himself scarce. “I think I will be going ahead, then. Tulkas, don’t forget the quarterstaff training in the evening.”
“I will not,” Tulkas replied and returned his attention to me while Mark descended the ladder on the inner side of the wall.
“Do you want to talk right here?” he asked.
I regarded the elevator’s guards who ignored my presence.
This spot had too many listening ears.
Given how many people had enhanced hearing, there wasn't a place where privacy was assured, but we didn't have to do this right in front of them.
“Why don’t we go directly to the restaurant so you can hand over your catch?” I suggested. “You can have a bite to eat while we talk.”
He nodded, immediately on board with the idea of doing something he had planned anyway.
Tulkas was about to approach the ladder when I stopped him. “Do you want me to give you a lift? It will be just a few seconds if we fly.”
“Can you even fly with additional weight?” he asked with a curious expression. “Ahem, I am not exactly light.”
I took that as a ‘yes’ and wrapped five filaments around him and his gear, then spread out the rest of them. “Flying is a stretch while carrying another person, but I can glide.”
Before he could protest, I caught the next breeze and we were carried off with him hanging beneath me.
True to my word, we had no problem gliding above the roofs of several buildings until we reached the restaurant at the Old Camp’s marketplace. Tulkas looked a little pale when we landed, but his knees didn’t buckle upon touching the ground.
“I definitely won’t get used to that!” he commented when I touched down next to him.
I grinned and gestured for him to take the lead into the large, longhouse-style log cabin. It contained what all the residents of the Old Camp simply regarded as the ‘restaurant’.
Tulkas was a registered supplier by now, so it didn’t take the experienced clerks very long to tally up all the meat and plants he had brought in and to account for his points on a ledger. The restaurant always took all the consumables it could get. In turn, the suppliers had the option of putting some credit on the business’ slate.
I also ordered something for myself and told the restaurant staff to bill clan Aerie.
We settled down in one of the restaurant’s private booths, which was a little room with separators for privacy. It wasn't great at stopping anyone from listening in on us, but at least it blocked sight.
Tulkas started the conversation with a question. “So, this is indeed some kind of dating, agency, interview, kind of thing? I must admit it's the one thing I expected the least upon coming here. Feels awkward. In my old life, I was never the relationship type.”
I tilted my head as I tried to consider his point of view. “Yes, please think of it as a date. Gurney gave me your information and it got me interested.”
Tulkas raised an eyebrow. “Which reminds me that he failed to provide me with the same info in return.”
“Oh,” I winced. “I am sorry, but this is the first time I am doing this for real. My name is Astra Frost and I am twenty-seven. I came to this world when I was fourteen, so you can think of me as a veteran native. I was adopted into clan Aerie and lived my life with my adoptive parents until I decided to find a partner. Which isn’t easy with my mutations, so I have been coming to the Old Camp for a few seasons in the hope of getting lucky.”
I smiled and was proud I hadn’t made it sound too creepy, hopefully.
Something about what I had said caught his attention. “That raises so many questions, Astra. I don't know where to begin.”
“I have time to answer questions,” I replied. Being open and honest could only leave a good impression.
He considered me, then asked, “I thought I would have to fight in Gurney's arena to be chosen by one of the clans, but you approached me directly?”
I nodded, then explained the process. “That's the normal process you would have to go through when none of the clans is interested in you. The public performance gives everyone a chance to get the clans’ attention. There is nothing forbidding a clansmember from approaching a petitioner directly. Like I am doing now.”
Tulkas nodded. “And you want me, why exactly? I am some middle-aged guy and you are a woman in the prime of her years. Not to mention, you seem to be powerful and influential when you can simply credit your clan to foot the bill.”
His concerns confused me for a moment until I realized his misconception. I rummaged through the satchel I was always carrying at my hip and brought out a small handmirror. “Tulkas, have you looked at yourself in the mirror lately?”
He looked but clearly didn't understand what I wanted to show him. “I already know my new eyes are creepy.”
Tulkas wasn't the prettiest of men, but he had his charm. His face was of the wide and strong variety. The brownish-black hair was fairly normal. He wasn't the largest, but I had to look up at him. His body type also belonged to the wider category, giving him a strong-looking build.
Though, the defined muscles beneath his skin admittedly had me salivate.
No! Astra, don't make this awkward!
Though, the mutation which made his eyes look inhuman wasn't too bad, nor were the flecks of discoloured skin beneath. The exoticness of it attracted me.
What happened to my body was certainly more extreme.
“Don't you think you look younger?” I asked to guide him onto the right track. “No wrinkles around the eyes? Some white hairs are gone which should have been there?”
He touched the hair above his ear and narrowed his eyes at the reflection. “I am younger?”
“Starfish regeneration,” I pointed out. “Restores you to the prime of your life. Like a flatworm.”
“We are immortal?” he asked. Then quickly added, “If nothing eats us?”
I pursed my lips. “I wouldn't say immortal, but I don't know of anyone with this evolution who died of old age. Here on Tirnanog, people always die due to violence or illness. Very few get older than sixty. The point I want to make is that any concerns about age differences are misplaced.”
He leaned back and frowned as he thought about his misgivings.
I continued, “Regarding me being powerful and influential. Yes. That might be the case, but it applies only to the Old Camp. Back at the clan, my parents are influential, but I am a nobody.”
I sat up straighter. “Some history might bring things into perspective. A few years before my arrival in this world, the clans had a huge conflict which led to weakening all of us. In the aftermath, the leaders decided on a treaty between the large clans. This includes not sending any powerful paired warrior types to the Old Camp, or personally influencing the exiles. Though, the latter rule gets skirted a lot. The people you met here, none of us have reached even half of our potential.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
“Which brings me to the point of why I want to join forces with you. My adoptive parents back at clan Aerie belong to the leading council. They govern their own strata, which is like a political faction. But with me being only at half of my potential, I can't take over as their true heir – which is my goal ever since I came to terms with the fact that this world is my home now. It is a sad reality of life that those of us who can't find a fitting partner will only ever be at the bottom of the food chain.”
I pulled out the sheet of paper which detailed Tulkas's evolutions and added my own. “If we join forces, then we will get far in this world. I cannot guarantee we will become the most powerful, but our evolutions don't overlap much. Gurney surely explained having two very similar evolutions that affect the same body part is a high risk. Aside from both of us having a starfish evolution, that's not the case. All taken together, we are a sure fit without wasting any of our potential.”
Tulkas
AGE:
Offensive
Medium Strength
Short burst of Greater Strength
Muscle-based, zipper
Offensive
Major Speed
Muscle-based, zipper
Offensive
Electric Charge
Muscle-based, zipper
Defensive
Muscles Steel
Muscle-based, zipper
Survival
Carrion Eater
Digestive, zipper
Self-Healing
Lesser Regeneration
starfish
Sensory
Second Sight
Vision-Based, nightstalker
Defensive
Enhanced Skeleton
Internal/Bone, saherna
Defensive
Improved Reflexes
Nervous System, hornhop
Defensive
Improved Processing
Nervous System, hornhop