Thornwatch: Awakening

"And then..... WHAM! She slapped me clean across me chopper! Who woulda guessed tens years later we'd be married and I'd be 'aving drinks wit' me 'war buddies', celebratin' the birth o' me daughter!"
The human bulldog chuckled as he finished his toast, the rustic bar around him cheering. The plastic man sitting beside him smiled.
"Good thinking on adopting, Wedge. Goblins dealing fertility boosters are never a good idea. I'm proud of you, partner!"
"Thanks, Scorch. But enough about this ole dog. I've told you the story of me and me missus a hundred times by now. How 'bout a love story from one of you louts?"
Bravo Company looked between themselves, the rugged law enforcers shrugging. Their lieutenant, a man named Rave, broke the silence. "Geez, Wedge, you know all my stories. Crumbs' too."
Crumbs, the insectoid bruiser sweating bread flakes, also chimed in. "And even the Magister knows nothing's going on with Scorch!" The men laughed. "I know! Let's hear a story from the Captain! The old codger is sure to have a beau we don't know about. How 'bout it, Cap? Were you ever in love?"
The man at the head of the table, a copper statue turned green with age, leaned in towards the group.
"You know, I actually do."
Her name was Din Soman. She was beautiful, an analyst for a Fortune 500 in the lower 400 range. Her dark skin and long nose was accented by chocolate-brown eyes and hair she dyed red. Her family was from Mumbai, and though she was born there, Detroit was her hometown. Still, she loved to travel, something her job had her doing quite often. She never knew about all this, about Thornwatch. In many ways I preferred her that way. In others I just feared how she'd react: if she'd believe me and, if she did, would she be driven mad by the truth?
We met at a bus stop in San Francisco. Looking back it seems like such a normal thing, but few things more alien have ever happened to me. I had just returned a Wyrwood to its nearby conclave and was tracking a lead on a fugitive allegedly spotted on Alcatraz. Mindfinder confirmed. I was checking the trajectory when I absent-mindedly bumped into her. The impact splattered her tea all over her shirt... Apologetic, I offered my jacket. It was my hooded uniform, so I asked if I could get it returned, and that's when conversation started. She was there on business but had a few hours off to sight-see. She was headed for Alcatraz as well! It felt like fate, her warm smile curling my mouth into a grin.  We broke off from our tour group and explored the closed down areas of the island. Din always had a mischevious streak, and the excursion suited my purpose. We were eventually caught by security and escorted back to the ferry. We were separated for questioning, and that's when the guard questioning me let his tail slip out from beneath his jacket. The disguised fugitive had seen my uniform on her and assumed her my partner. I... convinced him otherwise. She left. I stayed behind. The prisoner had to be extracted, of course. I don't know how she got that crumbled-up pink stationary into my pocket with her number handwritten on it. I don't even know when! I wish I could say the rest was history, but it all ended with tragedy and a moral, a fairy tale parable I lived through.
Years later the Case of the White Leviathan happened. I was fatigued, recovering from wounds but disoriented. I thought I had steered Justice towards Post Man's Hollow, but I opened the door to Din's apartment instead.
I collasped.
She moved me to the bed.
She saw my mending wounds and panicked; I had lost enough skin and muscle on my chest to expose my beating heart between my ribs, even on the Mask. I told her I had bandages in my pack.
That's... that's when she found Caliburn. She picked him up, the golden glint of the sheathe bouncing light into her face. He entranced her. She weighed him across her hands and began to unsheathe the blade.
She, she saw my reflection in the blade, my Mien, and when she turned around it was all she could see.
She dropped it with a start, screaming and barreling into the bathroom.
She slammed the door. When I tried to approach she let loose a blood-curdling "GET OUT" and made it very clear I was no longer part of her life, a sentiment she repeated the two subsequent times in the following weeks I tried to make contact.
But there was a moral. I did learn something. I am a changeling. I am fae-touched, and there is nothing I can do about that. I cannot escape it and even the Mask cannot hide it. If I'm going to be with someone, there must be honesty and truth. It's not enough to make up for things with Din, but at least... well at least it's something.
The men looked around at each other as their Captain took a drink. He smiled and changed the subject with a joke about bulldogs and diaper-changing. By the end of the evening the men had largely forgotten the tale of Din and Liberty.
fin.
Category:Fiction