On the Horizon

Chapter One: Breakfast with Halvor

Six young people looked up at the Mahavan Palace, each lost in their own thoughts.

"It's been a year since you were here last," Asaka pointed out to Ezuni.

Ezuni grimaced, eyes dark with how well that had turned out.

Silently berating herself, Asaka squeezed Ezuni's hand reassuringly.

"Ani Halvor said we're all welcome as his guests," Coralie reminded them, no doubt for Jing and Ezuni's benefit.

"That's right, he did," Colo backed up his baby sister.

"Let's go," Asaka said.

A collective deep breath was taken before they entered the palace. They fell into a protective circle with Ezuni and Jing at their center. Asaka took the lead, Colo and Dahlia on either side with Coralie bringing up the rear. As expected, they caused a stir, people coming to a halt as they noticed there were scavs in the palace. With the princess leading the way, the looks were limited to disgust, confusion and fear though a distinctly unhappy hum spread through Mahavan Hall.

Thankfully, they didn't have to go far to reach the Ani Tower near the palace entrance. They breathed a collective sigh of relief as they began to trek up to the second floor. They soon arrived at Ani Halvor's room. Ani Halvor and Alasdair were waiting for them. That wasn't all: spread out on the floor was a variety of food.

"Glad to see that you all could make it," Ani Halvor said, beaming. He waved a hand at the food. "Please, eat."

The eight people in the room fell to the buffet before them, comfortably crowding the room. Coralie and Jing sat on Halvor's bed, Colo and Dahlia shared his papasan while Asaka and Ezuni sat on the floor, using the driftwood table. Ani Halvor and Alasdair took to leaning against the walls. They ate quickly, clearing through the food with ease. Now finished, the young people-including Alasdair-looked towards the Pahazene ani.

"We will be leaving for Pahazi now. The journey will take five days. My home is located on the beach. It is a comfortable place, but it only has two bedrooms. With so many of us, we'll have to share the rooms. In another season, I may have encouraged you to sleep on the beach but not during Flood. Storms are frequent and being outdoors is not recommended. However, if this is not agreeable to you, I will gladly find you rooms someplace else," Ani Halvor explained.

"We," Jing squeaked, suddenly uneasy with everyone looking at him. He shook a little, but Coralie placed a hand on his knee in encouragement. He found his voice to continue. "We could just stay home."

"No way!" Asaka protested. "I want to go to Pahazi and I want all my friends to come with me."

"I don't mind sharing a room," Dahlia sad with an easy shrug.

"Me neither," Colo added.

"It's not like scavs need a lot of space to themselves," Ezuni said.

"Then its settled." Ani Halvor beamed. "Come along."

The eight of them filed out of the room, Ani Halvor leading the way and Alasdair bringing up the rear. They walked back through Mahavan Hall. People once more stopped and stared at their group, but they were now silent. After all, this was Ani Halvor; the oldest ani had earned the respect of all that knew him. No one dared to speak against him, eccentric though they believed him to be.

The gawkers continued while they walked through the Crown. After that, things returned relatively back to normal. After a year, Mahazenes had grown accustomed to the Mahavan Princess associating with scavs. The presence of the Pahazene ani was no more unusual. They left the city by midday.

Wessi surged past on their right. Ezuni, Asaka and Jing all kept their distance. Halvor, however, approached the bank and entered the water, shifting into his taka of a hawksbill sea turtle.

Coralie and Jing stood side by side and gaped at this. "I hope Ani Halvor doesn't expect us to swim!" Coralie exclaimed.

Alasdair placed a reassuring hand on their shoulders. "Don't worry. He doesn't expect that. Ani Halvor is very old. He travels best in his taka. He will meet back up with us for meals and during the night."

Coralie breathed a sigh of relief. "Good!"

"I usually travel in my taka, too."

"Let's do it!" Asaka exclaimed.

No one else objected and they all shifted into their takas. Amongst them were three cats, two dogs, one hyena and one rat.

Alasdair's taka was a large, lean dog with wiry gray fur. He laid down. "Climb aboard, Jing."

Jing, as the smallest of their group, hesitated. Coralie ran her long fluffy tail along her friend in encouragement. He scampered up and nestled between Alasdair's shoulders.

"Hang on," Alasdair said as he rose to his paws.

With everyone ready to travel, they got moving. As Alasdair was the only one familiar with the route he took the lead.

"You know, it's been a year since we were out here last," Asaka said with a look towards Ezuni striding beside her. "Of course, it was a dark and stormy night so we couldn't see anything."

"That's right. The night we met," Ezuni said softly.

"It's been a year since this whole scav equality thing started," Colo said, sounding thoughtful.

"A whole year since our friend shed her Perfect Princess persona for good," Dahlia said.

"A whole year since we met, Jing!" Coralie added, glancing up at her friend.

"Quite a year it's been!" Alasdair exclaimed with a wag of his tail.

They continued on their way.

This journey was different from all the others Asaka had undertaken. Wessi rushed along but there were no bans this way. The land was open and well-traveled as usual by vanir and zunir. The rain had been steady since they left the central city, but it didn't impede their travel. Alasdair kept their pace relatively slow, mindful of those in their group that hadn't traveled long distance before.

"I'm so fluffed!" Coralie exclaimed, long pelt bushing even in the rain. "I've wanted to go to Pahazi for ages!"

The girl had always been drawn to the arts. It had at first been a distraction from her poor home life. After Colo and Coralie were left by their older siblings, the girl was drawn to Ani Halvor. The Pahazene man would gladly teach her everything he knew while he was in Mahazi. Now, her longtime dream was finally coming true.

"Me too!" Asaka exclaimed, giving a playful bounce.

Of course, Asaka was excited for a different reason. Over the past years, after a childhood of being cooped up in the Mahazene Palace, she had finally begun to explore the rest of Maha. She had seen and learned so much from each region she had visited. Pahazi was the last of them. She couldn't wait!

Pahazi was the southern port city of Maha. It was the largest and therefore busiest city in Maha. As a port city, it had a steady influx of foreigners. This meant it was the cultural center for Maha. It was a big, colourful and diverse place.

Their travel was slow but steady with frequent breaks for the less-traveled in their group. They chatted pleasantly amongst themselves and the days passed as swiftly as Wessi. They soon began to catch salty breezes and traffic picked up. They often had company during breaks from people coming or going to Pahazi. At last, they saw buildings ahead.

They had arrived in Pahazi.