The Adventures of Pupu The Bubble Witch

Chapter 41: Distant Closure

Taking Punkin by the hand, Cer leads her to the portside of town after Miyas and Quinn depart. "Oh witch bane! Pupu, I forgot to ask Miyas for a port to the Mecca."

"See, we shoulda go'ed with her. What we gonna do now?" asks Punkin as she passes people, checking her surroundings for other kids to play with.

Sensing her curiosity and eagerness to play, Cer tries to redirect Punkin. "There are no kids here, Pupu. I shrived all the demons in town and didn't notice any kids. However, there are ships like Madame Eve's. You want to ride on a ship again?"

Remaining intent on meeting other kids while following Cer towards the port dock, Punkin ignores Cer's question and responds with a question instead. "Where is my friend?"

Unable to comprehend what Punkin is referring to, Cer stops walking to ask Punkin about the unknown friend. "What friend did you meet?"

Growing frustrated with Cer's poor memory, Punkin furrows her brows. "You saw her and her mom. I shared my bread with her when we walked to Eowyn. Everyone left me again."

Realizing whom Punkin was referring to, Cer becomes equally curious and ponders aloud while continuing towards the dock. "Yeah, that is strange. Ai and Adeline were headed here to Efatas when we met them. I wonder where they went...I didn't sense them at all. I don't think they left you on purpose. But where are they now?"

"I miss her." Responds Punkin as they near the dock in silence.

Just as they arrive at the dock a familiar voice breaks their silence. "You two walk too slow. Miyas said I should expect you at the dock because you'd want to sail past the desolate destitute. You are headed to the Mecca, right?"

Looking up, Punkin gleefully lets go of Cer's hand and runs towards the dock where two horses stand next to a distantly familiar figure. "I can smell you, Eowyn. You are playing pretend again!"

Gasping with surprise, Eowyn retorts. "That's your upper lip. I don't smell! You seem to have senses like your father, I see."

Chuckling, Cer chimes in. "You do smell, like horses, flowers, serpents, and refreshing grass and trees. What are you doing here anyway? You don't even like people."

Scoffing, Eowyn walks towards Cer and Punkin, guiding the two horses with her. "I like people. I just don't trust them. That's why I am in disguise. They will never remember me this way."

Curious about the horses, Cer changes the subject. "What are the horses for? I hope that isn't for us! I was going to try to catch a ship, but since you are here, can't you just turn into a dragon again, and fly us over the desolate destitute?

Amused, Ewoyn snorts. "The acid reigns from above, not below. We would fly directly under the caustic reign of death and through the noxious air of poison. If there was shelter, the ground would be safer. Not even the sea is safe to travel- unless Eve was here, but you already know the deal. Step on her ship and it's a one way ticket, unless you can port off of it. You want to fly and be bones by the time you land? I can resist acid and poison, can you? Also I can't fly for long. You forgot your tenets, have you?"

Impatient, Cer interrupts Eowyn's musings. "So where do we go with the horses?"

Petting the horses while listening to the conversation, Punkin offers a convicted suggestion without looking up. "We stay here and make a horse farm. We live with horses. Good plan! They will be friends with my bees."

Sighing, Cer reminds Punkin of their plan. "We are not staying here. We have to make it to the Mecca where our friends are waiting for us. We need to get some answers to what is going on with all these demons, lost souls, spirits, essences, and dark auras."

Turning to Eowyn, Cer raises an eyebrow. "So where are we going? The sea is supposed to be the fastest and most direct way from here aside from flying. If Nethmaya were still around, she'd know what to do."

Looking at the body of water in their path to the Mecca, Eowyn responds "That old hag was not as smart as you remember... and you forget the lessons she taught us were not of the natural ways. Not all of us were home back at the Grand Isle like the rest of you. You were also her favorite abomination until she died."

Looking Cer from head to toe, Eowyn offers an alternative plan, less than ideal for Cer. "This is what we do know, you can only safely port to what you can see, when you can control it; you can't control it and you aren't strong enough to port long distances, so you'll have to make do with the horses. Now, I heard of someone smarter than Nethmaya. We just have to find them and they can get us to the Mecca and solve all our problems with the black masses and the scourge of demons and lost souls."

Offering a skeptical smile of relief and cynical curiosity, Cer asks with a cocked eyebrow, "So who is it we have to find and where do we have to journey?"

Rubbing a horse on its shoulder, Eowyn admires the horse while responding without looking at Cer. "We will have to ride to the Akashic Athenaeum. I was told Arwyn would be the only person old enough to know who this person is, and well Arwyn is already in the Mecca by now. But Arwyn kept all copies of knowledge, magic, history in the Akashic Athenaeum. So we should be able to find everything we need there."

Taking a deep breath before exhaling even deeper, Cer's posture drops in defeat preceding self composure with angst. "We seriously went the wrong way for nothing? We should have been going North, but we went South and now we have to head back North?!?"

Eowyn smirks while nudging her head forward for them to continue their journey as she proceeds to pick Punkin up and place Punkin on a horse. "Up up you go."

Excited to sit on the horse, Punkin quickly embraces the horse's neck while sitting on its back, "Oooooh you are so soft and warm. I love you! We can stay friends forever! Do you wanna play?"

Humming warmly as Punkin snuggles on its back, the horse offers a low warm neigh.

Examining the other horse's aura, Cer strokes the horse and climbs on and asks Eowyon with annoyance, "Why did we come all this way to go back the other way?"

Scoffing with smugness, Eowyn looks back as she rides forward, "Don't blame me for your choice to follow your fears and suspicions. I didn't make you follow Miyas. You should have trusted her and followed your heart's gut string instead of your fear gut cord."

Sighing with an appreciative relief of being wrong, Cer smiles back at Eowyn, "You are right. Sometimes our fears become greater than our hopes, and it leads us to poor decisions. May I learn not to despair."

Looking back with a grin, Eowyn offers consolation. "Sometimes we seemingly go back to move forward. Remember the tenets of our covenant, we always move in the direction we define we need."

Looking forward with her chin held high in smugness, Eowyn smiles and speaks without turning back to Cer, "May your mystic manifest. Now, we ride towards hope. Let's go!"

Raising her small arm in the air with a fist full of fervor, Punkin yells abruptly with excitement. "CHARGE!!!"

Chuckling at Punkin's fervor, Eoywn offers a slight grin, "That's a good idea Pupu! Mother land, grant me your mana."

Feeling a surge of mana flow up from the ground and through her horse, Eowyn strokes her horse's neck and whispers inaudible incantations before giving the horse a gentle nudge with her calf. "CHARGE!!!"

Without warning, all three horses begin their dash through the town , dodging people as they run, invisible to the crowd who are unable to process the unexplainable cause of the wind they leave behind.

Shouting to Cer and Punkin just behind her, "To the Athenaeum, may our journey lose little time though we lose greater distance between us."