“WHOA!” Marc yelped as he fell flat on his face. He had felt his feet fly out from under him the moment Ariella pulled him through but fortunately didn't get the wind knocked out of him. He groaned a little as he picked himself up. “Alright! I’ve had enough! What the hell was that all about? And where… Where are we? How did you do that?” he asked, his tone slowing down as he looked around at the strange surroundings, brushing some of the sand off his face.
Ariella grimaced as she looked back at him. She had not been prepared to explain this. It was part of the reason she didn't spend much time on Earth. That, and it was hard to get back to it. There were only so many portals that she knew that would get them to Earth and it could be difficult depending on where she was.
She put on a big smile, obviously over doing it as she prayed ge didn't freak out. "Welcome to Estrolla, a barren wasteland with very little civilization. I'm a Traveler. I can travel between realms. Think of it like star wars expect there's magic portals instead of space ships." It was the best way she could explain this. She still wasn't convinced that the author of star wars wasn't a Traveler. There were just too many similarities.
Marcus blinked, stupified, by her performance and gave a slow nod. “Well, if I wasn't standing here, I’d take you back to the hospital for psychiatric care.” he admitted, still not convinced by the explanation. Though the feeling of the sand in his uniform was all too real to be imagined. And the two suns were definitely not normal so he had to go along with it for now. “A traveler? What, like Saint Christopher?” he managed a weak smirk as he tried to dust himself off.
Ariella reached a hand up and scratched her head. She didn't really know how to explain this. She had never been in this situation before. She had been on the receiving end only once, when she was a child and her foster father had introduced her to this world. But that had been a long time ago. "I can explain it better later. For now, we need to find shelter. If we follow the path of the sun it should lead us to a town." Hopefully. She hadn't been this far out before.
Marc sighed, not too surprised by her evasive answer but found it no less frustrating. “Can't you try to explain as we walk?” he suggested, already tempted to take off his jacket because of the heat. “I’ll follow you into whatever town you say is ahead of us. But I'm going to need some real answers.”
Ariella sighed to herself before nodding. "Alright, but we really do need to start walking. We don't want to be stranded when night falls." She glanced up at the suns, eyes squinting. She wished she had a headscarf to keep her head out of the suns. It was harsh and hot. With another sigh, she set off in the right direction. "As I've said, we're called Travelers. We can travel between the different realms or wrodlss of this universe. And others I suppose. Earth isn't the only place with life and if you thought so, you're sorely wrong." She began to explain.
Marc nodded at the suggestion and followed her as they started walking. He didn't know much about deserts but he knew he was going to be dumping sand out of his shoes once they reached the nearest city. Regulations be damned. Though he couldn't help but raise a brow at Ariella’s explanation. “Honestly, I was never a… fanatic when it came to aliens but I never discounted them either.” he admitted. “But would that make those two who attacked at the hospital “Travelers” as well?”
Ariella pursed her lips. She shoved her hands in her borrowed scrubs. She kept her eyes trained forward. "Yes." She tried not to cringe. She really wasn't very good at explaining this. "Anyone can travel really, but only Traveler's can sense the portals. We're sensitive to the vibrations. Blood is the price that must be paid to travel. It's why my arm rarely heals. I have to travel a lot of my work." Or because she was on the run.
"Earth is…sensitive. most people freak out at the possibility of mermaids being discovered. The entire planet would probably combust if they found out about traveling. The same powers that allow for portals, also shield the minds of humans. There's a few other realms as that have been shielded but not many. Most places are accustomed to this."
“So, they can follow us here.” Marc hummed, glancing over his shoulder at that bit of information. “What were they anyway? I couldn't get a good look at either of them.” he admitted. Though knowing that there was a reason for the strange blood-drawn symbols made it less horror themed than it originally appeared at the time.
“Ah. So that's why I couldn't see them clearly. They're not human.” he surmised, not surprised that news of this kind was hidden from a majority of people on Earth. As a species, they likely wouldn't take this well. “Will I be able to see them now? Now that I’m here and traveling with you?” he asked.
"It will take time before the portal has enough energy to open again. I'd say we gave a couple hours." Which meant they needed to hurry. If they got to the city, she could find their out of this wasteland quickly. After a little supply run that was. She didn't like stealing but she woukd do what she needed to do to survive. "They're Grethegian. They're hired mercenaries. I know my way around a lot of portals but those guys know a lot more. It's likely how they found me so quick."
She nodded her head. "Yes, most of then anyways. There might be a few places we'd have to travel to for you to be able to see them but, well, we need to get you back to earth at some point." After she made a few detours. She didn't have time to take him back to earth and then go find her companions.
Marc hummed again as he kept up with Ariella, though the name she used for them didn't help him any beyond his suspicion that they weren't human. “Were they the ones involved in your car chase?” he inquired. Unfortunately, part of being an officer meant a natural degree of curiosity and asking a lot of questions.
“No, I mean… Since I’ve been through your portal, can I see these things the way you do?” he pressed, not arguing about getting back to Earth at some point.
She shook her head. "No, that was someone else. It's uh..hard to explain all the places and species without showing you. You'll pick it up eventually." She didn't mention it had taken her a couple years to finally be able to remember just a handful of realms and names.
"Yes, to a point. You'll be able to see everyone for who they are. I don't know why, but the moment you step through a portal, the shield that clouds your mind wears off." She dared to glance at him, to try and see how he was handling this. He seemed quite calm for someone who's life had been turned upside down. "You're awfully calm."
Marcus sighed, rubbing his forehead at her question. “Honestly, I’m just trying to wrap my head around everything. This is… This is mad.” he admitted. “But I can focus on that once I get home and take a long vacation. Maybe see a psychiatrist. Believe me, I’m not as calm as I look. This is a result of all my training as an officer.” he explained.
Ariella huffed a small laugh. "I was too young to really comprehend like you are now. As a child, it was a lot easier to accept everything. I couldn't even imagine learning about all of this now." She probably would have been freaking out if their positions had been reversed. "I'm doing a really shifty job explaining this aren't I?"
Marc chuckled softly and shrugged. “I wouldn't know. You've given me vague answers since we first met so… Have you always been like that or were you just trying to keep all this secret?” he half teased.
Ariella looked up at him with a smile, her first true one since they walked through the portal. She bumped her side against his, though it didn't have any force behind it. "I'm sorry I'm not explaining very well. I've never been on the explaining side of things." She turned her gaze forward. As long as they followed the sun they should be alright.
"I should probably start from the beginning. The history of Travelers." Except she didn't necessarily believe it was true. "Thousands of years ago, the realms remained separated and apart from one another. There was no travel between then, at least not through portals. A few of then were close enough to travel through space but not many. A king on Vollamia had discovered the existence of other realms and worlds and wanted to find a way to travel between them. He searched hundreds of libraries, thousands of books but yet he could not find anything. Then one night, a god, or so he says, visited him in his dreams. He blessed him with the gift to sense energy rifts, portals. He told him that blood was the price to be paid to open it. It is said that all Traveler's are from his line, however watered down it may be."
Marc smiled back and playfully bumped against her in return. “Don't worry about it. I’m usually pretty good at picking things up.” he assured, hoping he would be able to in this situation as well.
He nodded as he listened to her story, which definitely had more detail than he was expecting, but didn't interrupt. Though he obviously had no idea what Vollamia was or anything about. “So… You would count as a distant relative then?”
Ariealla shrugged her shoulders and nodded. "I suppose so, though the blood is so watered down I doubt it counts. It's been a thousand years. I doubt anyone had the pure blood of his line." Also the fact that she didn't quite believe the story but she didn't have anything else to dispute it. "Whatever the truth is, there are more Traverls than you would think. Out here it's common. There's even trade set up through most realms via portals.and a lot of smuggling." Her eyes gleamed, giving way to which route she took. She never smuggled people, not unless they were escaping from somewhere. It was mostly goods and a few rare animals.
Marc chuckled, holding up his hands. “I know. I know. I just meant that since you are a Traveler, you have even a drop of that lineage in you. I know I’m stating the obvious but…” he shrugged.
“I had a feeling you were trouble.” he teased at Ariella’s mention of the apparently illegal activities but since he was clearly out of his depth, he wasn't judging. Besides who knew how things worked in this place.
Ariealla just smiled at him. "I suppose you should start calling me Your Majesty then, if I have royal blood." She laughed at herself. She was no where near royalty, not with the way she behaved. She was more suited for the slums than anywhere near a throne.
"Oh, I've always been trouble. But I don't think I've dragged someone this much into it." Possibly a lie. But then again, she'd never shown a human this side of her world before. Her smile began to fade as the guilt set into her stomach. She had just uprooted someone's entire life. What would happen when he went home? If he made it home.
“I’m not going to go that far.” he grinned, easily picking up on her teasing attitude. Ariella seemed like a nice enough girl, despite being a scut, but he would hesitate to call her actual royalty of any kind.
Marc raised a brow at her suddenly sullen mood and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Oi. If you're worried about this staying secret, then you can trust me.” he promised. “I won't tell anyone because I’ll sound mad anyway but I won't even put any of this in my report. I'm pretty sure that being off of Earth would count as being off duty.” he smiled a little.
As much as it would be, Ariella was not royalty nor did she want to be. The few royals she had met were stuck up and spoiled brats. They needed to be humbled. And while she was a bit full of herself, she did understand there was a time and a place. "Hmm, we'll revisit that conversation later," she wiggled her eyebrows at him.
She looked up at him, startled as he placed a hand on her shoulder. She stopped walking for a moment. "That's not what I'm worried about. If you want to take a trip to the looney town, that for you to decide." She mustered a half smile. "I'm sorry for dragging you into this. In my defense, I did try to warn you off."
Marc chuckled at her expression but easily let the topic drop. But when Ariella stopped walking, he felt he may have been a bit forward in touching her. Even if he was trying to be assuring. Though he nearly laughed at her choice of words. “You did. I realize that now but I’m afraid I was too stubborn.” he smiled back softly. “I wasn't going to let you put me off because it was my job to watch out for you. Though I do apologize for being a nuisance here.” he added, looking around at the desert setting.
Ariella shuffled on her feet, not quite believing the words. She could have very well have left him back in that hospital but she didn't know what his fate would have been. If the others would have killed him or tortured him. Or may they would have left him alone. She knew it would do her no good to fret about what might have happened but she was a worrier, despite her aloofness attitude. "It's alright," she shrugged her shoulders, "It'll be nice to have company. I'm usually out here alone."
Marc nodded and gave her a gentle smile. “I can easily imagine that. And to be honest, I always did want to travel a bit. Only other place I've ever been is Ireland.” he admitted.
"Well, this is a little more than regular traveling." Ariella started walking again. A little more was an understatement. They were going to places that people on earth wouldn't even dream of. "And I can't say it'll be an easy vacation either. I do have people coming after me remember?"
“I’ll say.” he laughed. “Far as I’ve heard, regular traveling just costs an arm and a leg. Not anything drawn in blood.” Marc joked, taking his hand back and following Ariella again. “But don't worry. I didn't forget about them. Just trying to focus on getting us to the nearest city or town… Or wherever you're leading us.”
Ariella cracked a smile. "We'll, I'd say a little bit of blood is a lot cheaper than hundreds of dollars. At least I don't need you to worry about me being suicidal anymore now that you know why the cut is there." Said cut had finally clotted bit there was still dried blood on her arm. She would need to clean it properly. There was no point in bandaging it when she would likely be making another jump. "So what questions do you have?"
“That's true.” Marc nodded. “When the nurses and doctors saw that… Well, that's one main reason why you were handcuffed.” he explained. “But I do have some questions. For instance, what can I expect from our destination? Like the two who were chasing you in the hospital.” he prompted, hoping that she would understand his question.
Ariella had figured. It wasn't exactly well accepted on earth unless she was around people who were the same her. She placed her hands back in her pockets, trying not to grimace as she felt her skin heating. She was going to get so burned. Thankfully there was a salve that should clear it right up. "I have a…friend, in town who can house us. If we end up where I think we're going. We'll regroup, stay the night, stock supplies and then be on our way." She turned her head towards him. "Try not to stare when we get there. You'll see then for who they really are. The natives here have dark skin, generally shorter than us. Some have leather type skin and others softer. Just depends on what sub species. You'll see a few non natives here but not a lot."