Carpathia IV: Episode 88 - Blind Eternity
Rotunda, Polaris Deep
Amenaru had plans. Plans to stay close to Kit as he received congratulations from the thousands gathered in the rotunda. Plans that went straight down the toilet in a matter of seconds when Kit inevitably got separated from him, swept away in a tide of tokki and Shadowdancer crew.
At least, with all the focus on Kit, there was hardly anyone around to watch Amenaru feeling foolish. It was Kit's day, his celebration, and somehow Amenaru had it in his head that he could share in that as though they were a wedded couple.
Left alone as the throng shifted away, Amenaru thought that now might be a good time to take advantage of the catering tables without the lineup. They weren't hard to find, one massive spread by the outer wall of the rotunda piled high with various vegetarian selections for the tokki and anyone else interested and a smaller, but also impressive, set for those who would like some meat. Both were very clearly labeled with massive signs in multiple languages, lest some unsuspecting tokki wander into the meat section and ruin his tummy.
Amenaru hardly made two steps to the food tables when he heard a voice behind him, so loud and pointed he could feel that it was directed at him.
Roose: I found you!
Amenaru turned and barely had enough time to register what was happening, letting out a little shriek at the sight of an unfamiliar bat, clad only in a pair of leather shorts, hurtling at him.
Amenaru: Gah!
The bat's tackle was surprisingly gentle and he clung to Amenaru, crawling all around his body, sniffing him like a curious dog.
Roose: You smell nice.
Which was not the declaration he expected to hear.
Amenaru: Um... thanks? I cleaned myself up pretty good for the ceremony.
Roose: You're Amenaru, right?
As if any of this couldn't get any weirder, the mystery bat knew Amenaru's name. To the best of his knowledge, he'd never met a bat before Joust, but he couldn't get a clear look at this one to confirm, as the bat was still clinging to his back.
Amenaru: I am!
The bat shouted and Amenaru winced, as close his mouth was to his ear.
Roose: Reuli! It's him!
In the distance, trotting toward Amenaru at a thankfully non-lethal pace, was a blonde elf and a dark-haired human close behind. It took Amenaru a moment to discern who the blonde elf was, for the only other times he's ever seen him was in pictures and from the chaos of an audience of a rock concert. It was Reuli Vayhama, lead singer of his favorite band, Blind Eternity. Instinctively, Amenaru balled up his fist and stuck it in his mouth.
Amenaru: Eep!
Reuli seemed to take no notice of Amenaru's fist-biting and approached with a smile and outstretched hand.
Reuli: Good to meet you, Amenaru. Adell said you'd be here.
Amenaru reached out with his not-spit covered hand to nervously shake's Reuli's.
Amenaru: Adell... Commodore Amaranth? You know him?
Reuli: Of course. We've been through a lot together.
The visions that Ryuu showed him months ago started to come back. There was so much and a lot of it was still a jumble in his brain. Through it all, some things started to stand out, most notably a pink-haired elf boy amongst the company of Commodore Amaranth and the others. Suddenly, Amenaru also recognized the man standing next to him.
Amenaru: Wait... Reuli... You're the same Reuli that Ryuu showed me?
Reuli nodded.
Reuli: Now you're getting it. Don't worry. Ryuu's shared visions with me too and I know how it takes a long time to sort it all out.
Amenaru sputtered before regaining himself, more in awe of his rock star idol than before.
Amenaru: Wow. You're really something.
Wow, that was stupid, Amenaru thought. Of all the compliments he could have said and "You're really something" was all he could come up with. Internally, he winced, but Reuli thankfully changed the subject.
Reuli: Anyway, this is Kaoru Vayahama, my brother-in-law. He's also my manager. Of course, you've already met my husband, Roose. You can get down off of Amenaru's back now.
The lightness of bats was really something else and besides that, how they were able to make themselves feel lighter than they already were, for Amenaru had nearly forgotten that Roose was perched on his back. Perhaps, he thought, some sort of subtle wing movements made that happen. He didn't feel much different when Roose detached himself and joined Reuli and Kaoru in front of him.
Amenaru: Yes, actually, I feel like I kinda know all three of you already. I'm Amenaru Pendergast, but it seems you know that already. I'm surprised you're here and even more surprised that you seemed to be looking for me.
Kaoru: We were invited by the admiralty for a conference on demigods. Several of us dealt with Wishmaster directly and even Reuli can provide insight about what life was like on a planet ruled by him, even if he didn't know it was at the time.
Reuli: It's strange, really, when you finally realize your town was being spied on all the time.
Kaoru: Anyway, the reason why we wanted to find you is because Adell contacted Reuli a couple of hours ago and asked him to do a set for Kit and the rest of the tokki. Problem is, Reuli is here, but his band isn't. We're going to ask Quenya to do keyboard and Tayet to do bass for us. That leaves drums. Are you interested?
Amenaru's fist went straight into his mouth again and he squeaked, but that was the only sound that came out of him. Was this real? Did Kaoru really just ask what he thought he did? Amenaru was terrified to speak for fear of saying something stupid, but the fist in his mouth rather completed that picture for him anyway.
Reuli: I saw you play once about eight or nine years ago, I think. You're pretty good. Whaddya say?
With Amenaru's voice failing him, he nodded, fist still in his mouth.
Reuli: Good! You guys want to go find Tayet and Quenya? I'll go over the set list with Amenaru.
Roose flapped his wings and hovered a few feet from the ground.
Roose: I'll let you know when I find them!
Roose flew away with Kaoru chasing after, leaving Amenaru alone with Reuli. It was almost too much to bear, being alone with his favorite rock star, and though he did his best to remain composed, his ears and his swirling tail did not cooperate. At least he managed to get his fist out of his mouth.
Reuli tapped at his tablet and then showed Amenaru the screen.
Reuli: This group wouldn't be right for my stuff, so we'll be doing cover songs. They're good crowd-pleasers. Check this list and tell me if there's anything you don't know.
Amenaru studied the list carefully.
Amenaru: The Sweet, yes...
Halfway down the list, Amenaru stopped reading, distracted by something Reuli said earlier.
Amenaru: You said that you saw me play nine years ago. That must have been the time when my dad arranged that band and tour for me. After seeing that, you still want me to play?
Reuli nodded.
Reuli: Oh, yes. You were good. You were all good, but it was clear that none of you liked each other at all. Good players. Bad band.
Amenaru: Can't argue with that.
Amenaru continued to scan the list until something strange caught his eye.
Amenaru: Backstreet Boys?
Reuli: Rock cover. If you haven't heard my version, I'll give you a recording.
Amenaru continued the list until he got to the end.
Amenaru: Oh, Van Halen. That's my favorite on here so far!
Reuli smiled and took his tablet back.
Reuli: In that case, would you like to sing it?
Amenaru froze for a moment and then shook his head vigorously.
Amenaru: Oh, no! I mean, I'm okay, but only as good as a nekohuman can be, which isn't saying much.
Reuli: We've been working on new technology for nekohumans just like you. All you have to do is sing and it will make subtle adjustments to your voice to enhance it from passable to pretty decent without making you sound unnatural.
Amenaru's ears perked excitedly.
Amenaru Oh! Can you make me sound like Sammy Hagar?
Reuli: Ha ha! No, but with that raspy cat voice of yours, you might sound close enough to him anyway. Come on with me. I'll show you.
Perhaps he'd feel bad about this later, but, for now, Amenaru had forgotten all about Kit, excitedly accompanying Reuli away from the gathering.
At another corner of the rotunda, two friends managed to find each other in the chaos with Teren just finishing telling his former mentor about how Rhalma smuggled Kit out of the Shadowdancer.
Azrael: I see, scan-resistant fabric. Security is always a difficult job but even moreso when unknown technology is involved. Perhaps a meeting with these Elai tokki will give us some insight.
"Unknown technology," he said. Teren gaped in awe into the eyes of Azrael, to hear him say something like this so casually. When he trained under Azrael, he had no idea that he came from ancient Ramewet, from a society that hadn't even developed radio yet, and yet he worked his way up to captain of a starship. To say to him that an unknown technology was responsible for his failure felt even more of an inadequate excuse than it already was.
Teren: I'm sorry, Captain. I know it's not an excuse...
Azrael leaned closer and his eyes narrowed, prompting Teren to stop what he was saying immediately.
Azrael: Commander, this was indeed a failure and you will have many more. Evaluate what went wrong and take action to correct. What are you going to do next?
Teren nodded and needed no thought before answering, for he had already given this much thought.
Teren: Stricter guidelines on what areas of the ship that suspicious visitors are permitted in. Better screening of staff. The Elais might be able to help with the tokki staff. Physical searching of objects in addition to scans. There is more, but as you said, I'd like to consult with the Elais to develop more ideas.
Azrael: Good. I will let you see to that.
From beyond, both heard a voice call out.
Jaze: Azrael!
And then something happened that Teren had never seen before and thought from the moment he met Azrael for the first time that he never would see. Azrael smiled and it was the warmest, most authentic smile he had ever seen from anyone in his life.
Azrael: Masters Jaze and Toma!
Teren knew them, the ones from the visions that Ryuu showed him. The ones who, together, were able to destroy the demigod that had plagued his home planet since long before he was born. Azrael welcomed both with his arms wide and hugged each.
Jaze: Talk, talk talk, that's all we do here. Haven't had a minute's peace since we got here until now. I was worried we wouldn't get to see you.
Toma: It's kinda useless. The dragons know more than we do about demigods and we don't know anything about Lazmaedia.
Jaze: I'm glad we came, though. I've never seen a sodality ceremony before.
Toma: The Elai ceremony is a lot more boisterous than mine was. We've never had a line of drummers.
Azrael stepped back and put his hand on Teren, pressing him forward.
Azrael: Allow me to introduce my protege, Commander Teren Unas. He is Chief of Security on the Shadowdancer. Teren, this is Jaze Bond and Toma Lapin. I'm sure you recognize them from what Ryuu showed you?
Teren nodded and put out his paw, shaking each of their hands in turn.
Teren: Of course. It is an honor to meet you.
Azrael: They run an export business, sending apples and other kinds of fruit to Tokkastra.
Jaze: Speaking of, I wonder if the station has any kiwi. With all these tokki here, we can test market that.
Teren was already feeling a bit like a fifth wheel, but this gave him an idea.
Teren: Captain, with your permission, I can check the tables for kiwi or find out if the station has any while you three catch up.
Azrael: That will be fine, Commander, but do hurry back. I think it would do you good to hear some of our stories directly.
Jaze: Ah, we might save the serious stuff for later.
Toma: It's a bit noisy for that right now.
Jaze: Let's just check if there's kiwi on the buffet table. If so, we'll keep an eye on it. If not, we'll worry about that later.
Azrael stood aside and gestured to the buffet.
Azrael: After you, then.
Commissioned art in this episode from:
AvareonArt
Zelbunnii
Thatwildmary
Colourbrand
