At some point, Victoria sneaked her father’s camera out of the pack and took a few pictures of the fallen city. It was something she had never seen before, a moment she wanted to capture. Even if though there was the possibility of danger, she felt the urge for something to remember it by. Then she took a picture of Joel drooling, looking up at her.
The silence unnerved her, though. Occasionally she would hear the scuttling of rodents or the rubbing of a locust’s wings, but even that was rare.
The shout shocked them; instinctively Charlie put her hand around Victoria’s shoulders, bringing her down with her. Victoria gasped, then quickly put a hand over her mouth. They waited.
The sound of a skirmish could be heard from where the shout came from, in a moment one of the people involved breaking away to make a run for it. It was a young girl, running as fast as she could to try to find somewhere to hide. A boy was chasing after her, fireball in hand. He threw it, and it soared back the girl and over the two women before hitting a wall. The boy ignored the two women, though, focused on the girl. He tackled her, and they tumbled some.
"Got ya!" He said triumphantly, laughed as she tried to push him off.
"Jonnieeee, this is no fair!!"
Victoria felt something hot pass over her head. She looked just in time to see the fireball crashing into the wall, then turned back to see the boy tackling the girl. Feeling Charlie loosen her grip and standing, Victoria also got to her feet.
“How did I not hear them until now?” She muttered.
Charlie shrugged. “Maybe they’re not human.”
“I hope not,” she sighed.
“C’mon, let’s find out.” Charlie dragged her over, squeaking with surprise.
Charlie would wait for a break in the kids’ fun before she asked, “What are you two doing in a place like this?”
The two children looked up when they realized Charlie and Victoria were there, moving to get off each other and stand up.
"Big sis sent us here to play," the boy, Jonnie, said. "She said we're too destructive around the orchard, so we have to come here to play!" The girl nodded along, humming in agreement.
"Mhm! Jonnie's big sis is really nice, she's just waiting over there for us when we finish!"
"Ah, I see," Charlie said, offering a smile. "That's good. Just remember to be careful, yeah? I'm Charlie. This is my friend, Victoria."
Victoria gave them a wave, then gestured to her baby. "And this is Joel." He was staring at Victoria's hand, trying to mimic her wave.
Charlie chuckled at him before turning back to the kids. "What are your names?"
"I'm Jonnie, and this is Sara," the boy said, pointing to himself. Sara was looking at Joel, hands coming up to her cheeks.
"He's so cute! He reminds me of Miss Dare's kid back at the village, doesn't he remind you Jonnie?" Jonnie thought a moment, then nodded.
"He's really cute!" The boy concluded.
"Nice to meet you," Charlie said.
Victoria smiled. "He is, isn't he?"
They silently exchanged a glance as they spoke. Village? What village? Something in Charlie's gaze told Victoria not to ask about it.
Charlie turned to Jonnie and Sara. "So, how well do you think you know this place? We could use your help with something if you don't mind."
"Ah, we don't come here a lot," Sara said, sighing. "Jonnie's big sis doesn't like us exploring too much in case I end up getting hurt. I'm sure she does, though! Come on, we can take you to her!" Sara moved to grab Charlie by the hand, Jonnie moving to lead them through the city to the side they had come from.
“Oh, okay,” Charlie said, a little surprised when Sara grabbed her hand. “Thanks.”
Victoria momentarily stayed still to take a picture of the three of them before following behind Charlie.
The two children giggled some as they led the women away, Jonnie leading the way still. Sara and Jonnie led them around one of the buildings, a girl, perhaps fourteen years old, on the other side. Unlike most, it was very, very clear she was a minor god. She had large wolf ears, which perked some as the people approached. She looked at Jonnie in particular, starting to sign something to him.
"These are Charlie and Victoria! They're trying to find something around here, and we figured you could help big sis!"
When the older girl came into view, Charlie let go of Sara's hand, cursing under her breath. She'd been an idiot. They did not need another minor god right now. Even if she could prove helpful, it would be best if they went on their own. She felt Victoria cautiously coming up behind her.
"Um, actually, it's alright, we don't need to bother you, it's not that big of a deal…" she waved them off, taking Victoria's hand. The other woman's eyes widened when she caught sight of the girl's wolf ears.
Sara looked back when Charlie let go of her hand, confused. The girl looked up as Charlie spoke, reaching into her own pocket to pull out a whiteboard and marker before writing something down.
Are you sure? I'd be happy to help, the goddess offered, looking between the two women. Jonnie was by her side, looking at the two women himself.
Charlie was about to say something when Victoria tapped her shoulder. She gestured for Charlie to accept the girl's help.
"Are you sure?" Charlie muttered incredulously.
"Goddesses are better than gods, it would seem," Victoria said. "You asked them, we should let them help."
She sighed. "Not always true, but I suppose you have a point." She looked at the goddess. "Alright. We just need an easier and more efficient way of carrying our things." She gestured to the pack and skins over her shoulder.
The girl nodded some, looking over what the two had. She put her board away, motioning for them to follow her. She kept slower than the pace she usually kept, but it would still be relatively faster than a human's walking speed. Jonnie seemed to have no problem keeping up with her, Sara having to jog some.
Charlie pulled Victoria along, jogging alongside Sara. Joel gurgled; he was drooling again. Victoria kept one hand on the carrier so he wouldn't bounce around too much.
The young minor goddess led the two women through the city, coming to one of the buildings. It didn't look as reclaimed as the rest, pushing the door open. She paused there, pulling her board out again.
We need to be quiet, she wrote, looking around once before stepping in. This building isn't totally stable, but if no one shouts we should be perfectly fine.
They stared at the building, fascinated by the fact that they could actually see a few straight edges. Looking back at the goddess, Charlie nodded, while Victoria cleaned Joel and pressed a finger to her lips so he knew to be quiet. The child clumsily mimicked the gesture.
Charlie looked them over, an unreadable expression on her face, and led them inside.
Jonnie and Sara were quiet as well, each going up to take one of the goddess's hands. The girl offered a smile to both of them before looking back to Victoria and Charlie. Sure they would keep safe, the minor goddess made her way through the building with a much more leisurely pace. The building itself seemed to be less reclaimed by nature than the rest of the once soaring city, doors still able to open and the structure itself not being near as worn away. The goddess kept them to the first floor, though, walking to the end of the high ceilinged area.
The two women followed quietly after them, Charlie keeping her gaze ahead of her while Victoria looked around, taking in their surroundings. The floor seemed to shift between soft moss and crumbling concrete, and vines curled shyly on the walls. Yet the deeper they went, the less green and more brown and gray there was. It was almost like the cave that was once their home, and yet nothing like it.
Joel murmured inquisitively, but that was the only sound anyone made. Victoria kissed his head to quiet him as they approached the end of the room.
The goddess opened the door she had walked to, motioning for the two women to join her inside. She signed something to the children, and in a moment they were off with soft giggles to play together in this building. The girl watched for a moment before pulling her board up again.
There are supplies from the old world here, so there might be some kind of bag for you to use. The goddess stepped to the side, letting the two women look for themselves. There were shelves and shelves of things, dust covering most of the area. Everything was in boxes, though, and any markings that showed what was in them were lost to time.
Most gods can just make what they want appear, the goddess explained, Or through… She hesitated a moment before continuing to write, Other means, so no one really comes in here anymore. Means like using souls, trapping them in new, inanimate objects. A cautionary tale to tell to children that seemed to be more than fiction.
(Gonna have finals soon, just a heads up)
They went inside, Victoria’s gaze trailing to Jonnie and Sara as they passed by before turning to the room before them. They looked around in fascination.
“Thank you,” Charlie murmured quietly. Her voice was breathy from genuine surprise at the girl’s helpfulness. She set their stuff against the wall.
Cautious at first, they slowly began looking through the boxes. Victoria twisted the carrier around so that Joel was on her back, as it was more convenient, and pulled a box from one of the shelves. Charlie pulled one from another, blowing the dust off and peering inside. Both boxes were full of folded clothing and garments, now dusty, dull, and most likely unwearable. Another box held small plastic objects and toys. Another held cases that neither of them could open. A few more contained dilapidated clothing, and then they found something that could work.
The box was full of old backpacks, bags, purses, and the like. After a bit of rummaging through them, they settled on what we would know to be a messenger bag since it’s many pockets and size was most convenient for them. Victoria dusted it off and attempted to clean it as Charlie took their things over and put them inside once she was done. Once everything was inside, Charlie slung the messenger bag over her shoulder and gave the goddess an appreciative nod.
“Thanks again,” she said. “It will be easier to carry our things as we travel now.”
Twili kept to the side as the two women looked through the boxes, checking through some of them herself to keep herself entertained. She looked up again when she was thanked, giving a small smile.
Of course, She wrote out, still smiling. I'm glad to be of help. Shall we leave, then? Twili sat her board on one arm as she stood, turning back to the door. The children could be heard playing when she opened it, but she didn't seem concerned. They were being quiet, after all, which meant none of them were in danger.
I would suggest leaving this area, though. There are sure to be others here who won't be so welcome to Unclaimed mortals…
"We weren't planning on staying," Charlie said. She pulled a lock of platinum blonde hair out of her face, making her way out of the door with Victoria following behind. Victoria quickly nodded her thanks to the goddess as she passed her.
"Perhaps you know of a safe place to go from here?" Charlie asked quietly, looking over her shoulder as they walked.
The safest way to go would be east, Twili wrote, after a moment of thought. The north is too cold, and the west and south have several villages in them. There are a few in the east as well, but they should be easy to avoid. I doubt you want to run into any of them on accident. Twili lifted her fingers to her mouth, letting out a whistle. The two children came running up, Jonnie easily outpacing Sara.
"First!" The boy proclaimed loudly, hugging Twili's leg and earning a light smack to the back of the head. He let out a noise of complaint before he looked up to see the serious look on Twili's face, her finger to her lips. The building around them groaned some, but nothing happened thankfully.
