User:Arrow Quivershaft/Meeting Nick

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---

After we talked with Dawn, we changed our plans a bit. There was a boat leaving straight from Athens to Lecce the next morning, so we adjusted. I’d go back and touch base with Nick and meet them in Selene’s Grove at the nearest opportunity, since I was by far the slowest. So after yet another boat ride, I arrived in Athens. This one was a lot rougher, since we’d encountered a minor storm on the way. So everyone was more than glad to get off the boat as soon as we landed on the evening of August 5th. It was cloudy, with the sun going down anyways. But it was still nice and hot. Italian summer, and all.

I dragged my pack behind me off the boat when my turn came, looking around, and nearly did a double take when I saw what looked like an anthropomorphic tiger standing there, wearing gloves. I recognized him from the news photos...Nick was HERE? He’d already come down here? How’d he know I was coming back, or had a plan, or...questions to ask. I headed over towards him at the unloading zone, digging in my pocket with my free hand for my identification paperwork. Nick eyed me as I approached.

“Mr. Snider, I wasn’t expecting you,” I said to Nick as I got within conversational range.

“...who’re you?” he asked with a quirk of a brow.

Of course, while I’d seen him in the news, he had never seen me before. "Apologies; I'm Nathan Renfrew." I showed him my documents.

His face lit up in recognition. "Oh, Nathan, been expecting you. Yeah something came up kinda bad so I came to you."

"Ah...ok. Sorry if I took a bit longer than you were expecting." I apologized. I hadn’t expected him to come down here this soon, but he didn’t need to know that.

"Yep, no problem.” He said, not missing a beat. “It alright if we go somewhere safe to talk?"

I shook my head. "That's not an issue, no. So long as you don't mind my gear..."

"No prob...lets just get back to the hotel if that's okay with you..."

"Sure." I hefted my pack and followed him to the hotel in relative silence, since he obviously wanted privacy for this conversation. A bit of an intro about myself, but that was it. No one paid any special attention to us here. Seems Nick’s 15 minutes were mostly over...then again, Lecce isn’t that great of a place to measure your uniqueness. Once we were in the room, I took my pack off and set it down for the moment. I was pretty sure I’d be ok here.

Nick looked over to me. "Anyway, some crazy things have gone down..." He offered a chair and took one himself.

"Ok. What exactly has occurred?" Be diplomatic. I sat down on the offered furniture.

“I got a letter from Tel Aviv..." Nick sighed.

"Bad news, I presume?" I asked, trying to be unflappable.

"They want Alex and Blossom in the city so they can be marked." He sighed. "That seemed suicidal so came here a bit early." This was troubling, if only because of the fact that I’d left them unguarded in Selene’s realm and Bast probably didn’t know they were both marked already. "By now those in England know I'm AWOL, so'll Bast...I just couldn’t...”

"Ok. Well, they’re in Selene’s realm, and they’re both marked...so they’re safe from Bast on the mark level. Just don’t let it slip they’re there and they should be fine till we can make a run out there."

"Anyway...what's up with you? I notice a certain Fox and Stormwing are out still." Nick said, shifting topics without a clutch. I wasn’t really done, though, so I pulled it back.

"Gotta question. I thought Bast let you go; but you said she'll know you're away from England. So she didn't REALLY let you go, did she?" I queried.

"I'm Nkosi...so not really. Plus I worked for the realm, I'm sure she'll know about that."

"Ah, yeah...ok." I could understand that. Let go, but still on a sort of leash.

"Exactly...anyway where are the others?" NIck got back to the point.

"Regarding your friends, they're in Selene's domain at the moment. We decided it would be more time-efficient to split up again." I hoped they’d made it there. DIdn’t wanna be a liar.

"Oh, any news?"

"We went to Athens. And we spoke there. And they said that if the two parts of your 'fractured soul' could be brought there, something MIGHT be arranged." I chose my words carefully, so as not to give any false hope to the guy.

"Awesome. So we have to capture my evil twin." Nick said with a touch of sarcasm.

"That's one way of putting it, yeah."

"Even then if nothing can be done we'll be stuck with a really angry and rather large tiger." he's speaking sarcastically.

"Yeah..."

"Either way it'll have to be tried, to reverse my mistake." Nick said. He paused and sighed. "So what do the gods think of such a predicament?" he seemed sad.

"I didn't speak with them, directly. I don't know, honestly..." I shook my head. "Is something wrong, Nick?"

"I hate to sound like a pessimist but, it's just not looking good and my friends are in trouble because of me. Alex..."

"That's more sounding like a realist, to me." I tried to encourage.

"Yeah, so we hope...I hope." Nick sighed again.

"In any event. We need Nkosi before we can do anything else..."

"Luring him out is going to be a pain, something I haven't figured out quite yet."

"Well, that's our next step. If I may speak freely?"

"Now that, I leave up to you...everyone needs to get together before we go chasing Nkosi." Nick said.

"Getting people together, I can do."

"Depending on how long that takes, I'll figure something out." Nick resolved.

"If I may speak freely?" I repeated.

"Of course, I'm not a oppressor."

“I’m not sure if anyone knows if Blossom and Alex are marked yet. Though I’m loathe to suggest live bait, it may be your only option if you can’t think of something better.”

"Hm Nkosi dragging them in...maybe." he shrugged a bit.

"If they don’t agree, though, we should look for another option."

"That'll be weird, finding another option." Nick said.

"Yeah, well...no choice, really." I noted. Not like we were overflowing with scenarios here.

"Naturally, Nathan do you mind telling me something..." Nick led.

"Ask your question; I can't guarantee an answer, but you'll probably get one." I said as politely as possible. “There’s a lot of stuff I don’t know, so I can’t promise one.”

"What do you think of this whole situation in your experience?" Nick asked me, looking at me curiously.

"Admittedly? It's not like anything I've encountered before." I said.

"Yeah...buncha people pop in from some world getting all mixed up with the gods." Nick sighed.

"Yeah, kinda. Sorry." I apologized.

"It's not your fault, I owe you great thanks for trying to help. Sure you're getting paid but it's still meaningful." Nick said.

"Hey, it's why I signed on. To do exciting things, maybe strike it big in the process." I explained. “This is right up my alley.”

Nick chuckled. "Or might strike something big...anyway should be interesting at the very least." I nodded as he continued. "I'm just hoping everything turns out alright for everyone. Alexei included since he's a Stormwing..."

"Again, my apologies about that." I said, sagging a bit. "If it's any consolation, all future negotiations I perform will occur with all participants well in my line of sight."

"Hey that happens when doing dangerous traveling." Nick shrugged. "Better than what I got myself into."

"To be honest, I would agree with that." I said cautiously.

"No disputing the truth, though I have wondered what was the best course of action based on the situation I've described?"

I shook my head. "I don't know. If I was in that circumstance, I don't know what I would've done. None of the kinda stuff was dealt with in my classes, and so I’d have been in the same boat as you."

"I dunno what I'd do differently either, I've thought about it alot." Nick said. "Well I was marked willingly with my form intact, it was just her wish that I stay with her permanently...had I said no, maybe she would have changed me."

"Yeah...quite a real probability." I sid.

"The little catgirls are creepy, I have to say. Like stuff you'd see out of an anime almost."

"I've never been to the Egyptian Realm, although my training does extend to its environment."

Nick just looked at me."Overall Nathan what're your thoughts if you care to share...given all that's happened."

"Speaking entirely freely, I think you got yourself in a bad situation and you're trying to get out of it now, and doing so may prove to be quite difficult."

"Yep, a buddy of mine asked me why I didn't want to just give up and start a new life." Nick said.

"I would ask that myself, if I didn't empathize with your situation."

"Empathize? Why?" Nick asked curiously.

"I still have nightmares about being forcibly marked and situations sorta like this occurring. Even though I'm vaguely safe, now." I explained.

"You were forcibly marked?" Nick asked incredulously.

"No, no I wasn't." I shook my head.

"Oh, just about what'd happen if you were." Nick realized.

"Yes."

"Yeah being forced into a cat girl form would be awful..." Nick said. I remained silent, not commenting on it. I knew Dawn had had issues. "Kinda like Alexei though...gotta be rough having a god manipulate you like that."

"Yeah...I still feel bad about that." I said.

"Long as he's not a slave he should be fine and it should be reversible."

"Hopefully, yeah." Hope springs eternal. I shook my head a bit. "I don't think I'll be able to help you with that, though."

"I doubt many will, we have a long road ahead of us before that though.”

"Yeah..."

"So, gotta get everyone together capture Nkosi bring him to a goddess...”

"That'd be the Cliff's Notes version, yes." I confirmed.

Nick chuckled. “That's alot to do..."

"Indeed."

"Nice mark by the way." Nick commented

"Oh, you really think so? Thanks." I said. It was nice to have someone actually compliment me on the thing for a change.

"It's artistic, the gods seem to like fancy things...naturally." he said.

"This is Athene's Mark." I explained.

"I like Athene." Nick said, grinning. Not even a hint of sarcasm, either.

"Heh, thanks."

"Seriously everything I've ever heard about her is nice, she's got a good image."

"Well, then that's good." I said.

"Heh understandable, though I really wish I woulda landed in her realm. Bast is awesome but kinda creepy."

"I can say that Athene and Bast are opposed, although there's not really any outright conflict." I explained.

"They just aren't buddy buddy, gotcha."

"Right. Different values." I confirmed. "Although the reason for no conflict is related to the distance, as well as other factors."

"Of course." Nick nodded. "All this traveling is pricy, even the gods don't wanna waste time like that." He paused. "Anywho, based on the traveling we'll be doing what's the best method for staying out of trouble given my race...figured this glove might cover the mark pretty well."

"There's still the ability to sense a Mark. But the glove will work to an extent." I reminded him.

"Yeah."

"In any case, alot of times Marks aren't a huge issue among people, unless it's all-out-war between the two factions."

"Oh, how about when traveling with Nkosi? He's quite...large and semi well known for being in his position."

"That I haven't figured out explicitly." I said with a sigh. "Most likely you'd want restraints and tranquilizers."

"He'll definatly be a pain and attention grabber even restrained."

I nodded. "Well, I don't know."

"Not like we can stuff him in a car trunk. Or ever hope to lure him to Athene’s realm."

"Yeah. I know." I sighed. Did they all like to rehash the obvious a hundred times?

"That'd be convenient though, but no way Bast would send him there."

Keep your patience. "Well, again. Get him out of the Realms..."

"Still gotta get him into a realm eventually just outa Tel Aviv."

"True enough."

"Man we face insane odds, he may just rip us all apart or try..."

"I know." I said meekly. I really didn’t need the reminding.

"That's a good thing though..." he smiled some. What, that I knew? Everyone knew that.

"I'm hoping you are combat-trained?" I said with a mark of hope.

"A little, no what I mean is Nkosi isn't a different man he's me. I can probably think of something to manipulate myself." Nick said with a nod.

I was not encouraged. "'Probably' gets you killed in the Realms." I said.

Nick looked at me, not liking that fact being dropped. "Right...just gotta come up with something definite then."

"That'd be greatly preferred, yes." I said. I changed the subject. "Did you need any equipment to go Realmwalking?"

"Uh. depends what would be needed?" Gods, he was just as bad as the others.

"Non-synthetic clothes, water, rations, general travelling gear, and possibly a weapon or two." I said, masking the tiredness in my voice.

"Yeah I can get some....maybe a dagger or short sword can be bought cheaply."

"We have a place on the campus where you can rent or purchase equipment as needed." I noted.

"Oh awesome, I'll get stuff there." he nods

"Also need a tent and stuff."

"Yeah camping'll be fun." he said.

Sigh. "Well, that's what you do once the sun goes down in the realms."

"Right...no tech after all." he remembered.

"Night movement is dangerous."

"Oh? There's a lot I need to learn." Nick noted.

"It's my job to know this." I smiled slightly, partially to improve my own mood.

"Heh naturally...Though I am curious...why is night movement so dangerous?"

"Because in general, humans are a lot weaker at night, sightwise.” I stated. “Many of the more threatening monsters don't have that disadvantage."

"Monsters as in transformed marked people or...real savage monsters?" Nick asked.

"Both, but more of the latter, generally." I reassured.

"What kinda monsters?" he asked. Naturally.

"Chimerae are some of the more common, but in the greek realm, you can encounter more or less anything from Greek mythology."

"Ah...that's alot. Medusa included?"

"Gorgons exist, yes. And the more powerful ones can petrify you." I paused. "I was on a gorgon hunting expedition once."

Nick shuddered. "Any cure for petrification?"

I nodded. “Yes. Get out of realm before it finishes. Or if you can;t, if there's a survivor and the statue is recoverable, they can usually do something. Of course, I’d advise not testing it out.

"I wouldn't be either." he said.

"Want me to creep you out?" I smirked. Wanted to add some levity to this so we weren’t focusing on the herculean task ahead of us.

"Uh, sure." he shrugged a bit.

"Rumor has it that if you get eaten by all three of a cerebrus's head, you become one."

"All three? So torn to pieces, and...what does it do, give birth to you?" he asked with some shock.

"I think so, yeah. Again, nobody has ever tested it."

"Heh obviously, yeah that's kinda creepy. I'd hate to be a cerebrus." He paused. "Weird how realms pop up and monsters follow...where do the monsters come from?"

"Well, there's obviously those marked, there's the ones that showed up with the deities, and then they reproduce like anything else." I explained.

"Oh geez..."

"There were military incursions into the Realms when they first opened, as well as excursions outside of the Realms at the same time." Nick nodded as I spoke. "And both types failed. The military couldn't do anything inside the Realms without technology, while outside of the Realms, the monsters and servants couldn't stand up against modern weaponry."

"Oh...weird." Nick said.

"Howso?"

"Just understandable how that'd be unexpected." he said. I didn’t really get it, but I nodded anyways. "Yeah...I wonder has anything you've ever expirienced come to par with this?"

"That's an easy question, and the answer is no." I stated.

"Are you up for it?" Nick asked curiously.

"Yeah, I am."

"Good." Nick grinned.

"Thanks. But again, it's my job."

"It'll be a long road." he cautioned.

"Yes, it will..." I affirmed. It wasn’t something I hadn’t thought about.

"Well worth it, if everything turns out well." Nick said, probably more for himself than me.

"Hopefully it will." I couldn’t promise any better. That said, if it went well, I’d have a HELL of a story to tell.

"There's a lot of room for error...you know though... I, to this day, wonder if I could have done something differently."

"That's normal." I tried to assure him.

"Yeah... I guess things might have been worse, trying to run from Bast. Alexei and Sprout would have been captured eventually since Nkosi did save them."

"Well, that's looking on the bright side." Keep him focused.

"That's why I think I'll be able to manipulate Nkosi some, unless he's been brainwashed." Nick said.

Chances: Excellent. "I wouldn't be able to weigh in on that."

Nick nodded, looking like he had nothing else to say. I didn’t either, so after a few moments, I said, "If there's nothing else to discuss, I think I'll head back to my place for the night?"

"Sounds good, see you tomorrow?"

"Sure. If you need me overnight, here’s my number.” I jotted down my number on a piece of hotel stationery. “That's my cell, I have to have it on all the time I'm out of the Realms."

"Alright cool, thanks." Nick said, relaxing a bit.

"I'll stop by tomorrow, then." I wanted to get home and get a shower.

"Tomorrow is cool I might go to the campus and pick up some travelin' gear." Nick said.

"Well, don't do that if you won't be coming with me to Corinth and Selene's." I cautioned.

"I'd like to go if I could, there's nowhere else to go and I'm eager to see those two again." Nick said.

"Ok, then. I'll check the boat schedule tomorrow."

"Ah cool...Hope Sprout's okay, and Alexei...man."

"Again, I'm sorry."

"Hey no problem, my fault more than yours." Nick said.

"If you insist." I said, standing. It’s hard to forgive yourself. "See you tomorrow?"

"Yep have a good night." Nick smiled.

"You as well." I said, then grabbed my stuff and headed out. I went home, got a shower, and collapsed into bed for the night, mentally exhuasted.