“So wait- you mean to tell me there’s an antithesis to weight based on magnetic fields?” Vortex cocks her head, unable to believe her ears. Antigravity in a place like this? The two monsters were traveling side by side to Garriz’s workshop, taking the rural path. Vortex didn’t feel like dealing with the night market and the vendors sneering at her. Doubly so if Nebula is gonna be involved. That’s not accounting for the killer butter knife she has in one of her hands- its reputation precedes her, after all. But learning about Nebula’s species- the knowledge was making her tail wag eagerly. Any more and she’s sure she’ll be levitating!
“Yes! It’s present in most planets, but your atmosphere is a little bit lighter than Chelonia’s gravitational pull. There’s weight, and then something we call ‘suvao’. Weight makes sure you stay on the ground- suvao determines how far up you can float.” “But what kind of magnetism do you have in your body to make that possible?” “Trace metals- most organic forms have it. I believe your people call it ‘cobalt’? It has anti-gravity properties that make us repel from the ground floor to float.” “Is it like trying to put two magnets with the same polarization together?” “Exactly! It’s how we had developed into a civilization where we did not need to sacrifice our oceanic swimming. We have a goddess up there dedicated to this gift- her name is Sumnia. Some call her Somnia, but that depends on who you ask. Language evolution, you know? Just like you and your… many, MANY iterations of speaking…” “... so, if you don’t ever touch the floor… Do you have roads to begin with?” “Of course we do. We may not be able to touch it physically, but we have tools to do the job. I’m certain your world has figured out how to climb the skies despite not being able to float yourself.” “Er- yeah. Ladders, planes, skyscrapers…” Vortex drifted off as she saw her goal up ahead. Garriz’s blacksmithing workshop wasn’t hard to find; the distinct smell of burning coal and molten fire clung onto her nose like cigarette smoke. She could hear the faint clanging of metal to metal, rhythmic in its blows. Nebula scrunches her nose a little bit, as if the scent of burning bothers her. Vortex steps ahead of her, whispering, “stay behind me. He’s not the nicest man.” The two continue to approach the blacksmith, stopping at the steps of the outdoor workshop. Vortex clears her throat to catch his attention. Garriz’s ears perk up, before lowering down. “Not you again. Didn’t I tell you last time to leave me be?” He turns to where Vortex is, lowering his hammer. The moment Garriz glanced in their direction, Nebula ducked behind Vortex. The minotaur himself was shorter than the werewolf, but still had years of experience and seniority under his belt. His horns were clear ivory, multiple nicks and scratches decorating the bones. His hair was tied into rows of locs, tight knit and tied back to avoid any accidents. What surprised most newcomers was his face- there was a mix of wildebeest and bison in him. However, his eyes were covered with a dark blue cloth. Garriz was a blind bull, through and through. Vortex has asked him before how he lost his vision, but was met with a wave of the hand and a huff of air. “I don’t hear your armor. Did you break it again? I’ve told you, the last visit was all I would do for you, and nothing else. You’re not worth the trouble- you can barely bring the scraps I need as it is.” Vortex stays quiet through his complaining. She reminds herself that this visit wouldn’t be about butting heads- this blade and Nebula are more important right now. “I’m not here to start a fight. I’m here because I’ve got something you need to look at,” Vortex says calmly, walking up the steps and hunching down to prevent her head from hitting the ceiling. Nebula hurriedly follows behind her, still staying behind Vortex, so that she had something between her and Garriz. She looks around the workshop curiously, though- not straying too far from Vortex, but admiring all the different weapons. The only thing stopping her from asking “what does that do?” for everything was the fact that Garriz scared the living greez'b out of her. “You smell different. Have you finally learned what a shower is?” Garriz remarks, moving to collect the piece of iron he was forging to the cooling bucket. Vortex growls- of course she bathes herself. Every opportunity he gets, he brings her down. “We’re in polite company,” Vortex barks back, moving aside so Garriz can metaphorically see Nebula. “Garriz, meet Nebula. Nebula, meet Garriz. He’s blind, so he can’t see you. Go ahead and say something,” Vortex informs. “...Um...hi.” Nebula’s voice is nervous and quiet, just loud enough for Garriz to hear. “I-I’m...yeah, I’m Nebula. I’m a cosmic siren. Nice to meet you…” She’s completely frozen in place, unsure of what to do, and anxiously fidgets with her hands. Garriz approaches her, and Nebula wants to duck back behind Vortex, but instead tenses up, holding her place. Garriz is much shorter than Vortex but DEFINITELY taller than Nebby- how come everything here made her feel so small? She was of average height for a cosmic siren, certainly, but everything on Earth was so big. Nebula glanced around anxiously, trying to find something to break the ice and make some kind of polite conversation, but her throat felt completely dry. Vortex, without much thought, offers Nebula her tail. It was large, fluffy, and long enough to be a good comfort point. Nebula takes it, albeit with hesitation, and buries her webbed fingers into the fur. Garriz kneels down and tries to gauge out where he should be looking to make “eye contact”. “Hey, hey,” he coos out, the deep booming voice of his softening up to a whisper. “You don’t need to be scared. You’re safe here. You’re not from around here- not from Earth, yeah? You don’t smell like anything I’ve ever encountered.” Nebby blinks in surprise at his sudden softness, and looks up at Vortex, as if asking for confirmation about what was happening. Hadn’t Vortex just said that Garriz ‘wasn’t nice?’ In fact, just a few moments ago, Garriz had been complaining and rude, so what was this all of a sudden?? Vortex appeared just as confused. Through the helmet, her eyes widened at this development. “I used to study astronomy back in the days when I was still human. I heard about a moving, living planet that was set to graze our home in a matter of decades. My ex-coworkers thought that it was rubbish- but I knew there was more to it.” Garriz was tender the entire time he was talking to Nebula, and it baffled Vortex. “Wait, you have? Did they say the planet would be like a giant slowsh- er, a tur...tle?” Nebula echoed what Vortex had called it earlier. “If it’s a turtle, it might be mine!!” Nebula excitedly says. Garriz nods, continuing on. “Lots of people chalked it up to religious nuts wishing for salvation off of Earth.” He scoffs to himself, shaking his head and laughing to himself. “Nebula, was it?” the minotaur asks. “Can I call you Nebby?” “Nebby...yes, I like that. You can call me Nebby.” ‘What the hell!?’ Vortex thinks to herself, scowling inside her helmet. Years of knowing this mino man and he never gave her a nickname- not even talking to her like a soft child! ‘The nerve of this bull, I swear-’ she growls, throwing an inner temper tantrum, letting out various expletives between English and Spanish. Nebby picks up on her growling and looks at Vortex. “You can call me Nebby too, Vortex- in fact, I think I’m just gonna call myself Nebby while I’m down here, for simplicity sake. Either way, we came here because of the sword you picked up from the, uh...dunnahal we fought earlier...is that what it was called?” “Dullahan,” Vortex corrects, her tail swishing on Nebula’s shoulder. Garriz freezes at the name, not even taking a breath. “… dullahan?” he asks, a shudder finally coming out. “You- you took down the Headless Horseman himself? Is that what I felt with you coming here?” “I...think so? I tried to help, but I got knocked out, and when I woke up, the Priestess said Vortex had handled it. Do you know Priestess? I mean, if she can just be called Priestess, there’s not a whole lot of other priestesses in the area, right?” Nebby put a hand on her head where she’d been hit. “I’m still a little sore…it’s a long story. Either way, she got his weapon out of the fight. They wanted to show you it, I think.” Garriz smiles at the mention of Priestess. “Yeah, I know her. Beautiful woman, an aura like no other?” Nebula pauses, looking at the minotaur again. He speaks of her with such fondness. They do know one another- she’ll have to ask Priestess later about what he means to her. “You said something about the Horseman’s weapon? I can give it a look. Might as well if you both are here!” “She wanted me to tell you hello, by the way-” Vortex interjects, remembering what the elk lady had said. “-just figured you’d want to know.” He stands back up, stretching his back and arms. “Really? Well tell her that she should come by next time. Being cooped up in that cabin can’t be good for her.” Vortex opts rolling her eyes. This back and forth owl messaging between the two has been going on for a while. Frankly, she’s tired of playing unwilling matchmaker. Love between monsters- really, who has time for that? She believed in love once upon a time, but this isn’t part of her life -nor was it what life plans for her. “You should really be pen pals,” Vortex offers, stepping fully inside the workshop. “It’d be easier than having me be the messenger.” Garriz laughs heartily, finally in a good mood. “You’re lucky we have company, or else I’d kick you out for even thinking that!” Nebula follows suit, no longer clinging to Vortex. She looks around the workshop, more relaxed, almost enraptured by everything she sees. Various weapons decorated the halls of the workshop, along with photos for each one. Hammers, maces, swords of all kinds. It’s a bit dizzying if the siren follows all of the tools. “So, you finally took that evil man down for good. I never thought I’d see the day- so many of my ancestors tried.” He kept talking as he moved around his forge, trying to find something specific. He finally picks up a large tuner, moving back to Vortex. “Let me see the sword,” he asks, Garriz opening his palm out. Vortex places it down, the tuner in his other hand and tapping it on the side of the blade. It rattles out, echoes burning the werewolf’s ears. She covers them instinctively- she hates when he does this. It’s how he managed to get her out so many times before. “Sorry- should have given you a warning. But I see what’s going on. This sentient sword is expelled from all the Headless Horseman’s bloodlust. His anger, his vengeance, his glory. All gone. It’s almost like the dullahan never existed to begin with.” “So in other words, it’s not even his sword anymore, right? Like, it’s a new weapon entirely…” Nebula said. “Correct. A blank slate- a turned leaf. Depending on what you do with it. I can’t hear it. It doesn’t want to speak to me.” He turns the blade around in his hand, inspecting the serrated edge. “But it- it spoke to me,” Vortex says, catching both of them off guard. “Gu-... the sword. I asked it questions, and it told me that it… wanted a new name.” Now that caught Garriz’s full attention. “The sword… chose you?” Garriz’s eyebrows were on a roller coaster ride- from touching the hairline, to ducking underneath his cloth. Vortex was unsure of how to respond. Garriz just muttered and stuttered under his breath, trying to make heads and tails of the situation. “That just- it doesn’t make sense? Why you of all people??” “Because she needs to get Nebula back home,” the voice echoed. Startled, Vortex jumps a bit into the air, scrambling back up and pointing to the sword with her index. “There! Did you hear that?” But Garriz stares at her incredulously. “The world are you talkin’ about? I didn’t hear it.” Vortex looks back at Nebby, trying to tell her indirectly to corroborate. Sadly, the siren is just as confused; she offers a bewildered shrug. “Give me the sword now,” Vortex demands, reaching her hand out to the handle. She swipes it out of Garriz’s hands, studying the metal carefully. “Why can’t they hear you!?” she yells, rattling the sword back and forth. “Because you are my new master! And only my master is worthy of hearing me!” She gasps, staring back at it. New master? She wants nothing to do with this thing! “It… it says that I’m its new ‘master’.” Vortex shudders at the phrasing. She’s never been a master of anything- much less of a sword. “And that I need to help Nebula back home.” Nebula gasped at the declaration, swimming closer to inspect the blade. “So you’re basically the new wielder because… it wants to help me?” “To atone for what I’ve done to the both of you. I’m sorry. Truly. I never wanted to do what he was willing to do. But I must listen, till the very end.” Vortex nods, still not trusting the weapon. “The blade regrets what they did. I don’t know how a weapon has regrets, but I don’t have much of a choice. Between the weapon and the moonstone, everything has been complicated.” She digs up the moonstone from her waist satchel to her free hand. It pulsed, but the power wasn’t as strong as earlier. Like it was resting. “I see. There is not much I can do to help you with your moonstone,” Garriz offers. “But I can help you with Gutri-” “Don’t call it that!” She interrupts, surprising herself. “Don’t… it doesn’t want to be known as that name. I will give it a new name.” Vortex looks back at the sword. She knows that she can't choose who wields it. If it’s capable of such power, then it’s for the best that she is the one to learn. She’s never wielded anything other than her claws. “I need you to train me. Garriz, I need to learn how to wield… it.” “You’ll need to let it fully bond with you,” Garriz says, stepping forward and gripping her arm. “Its full power cannot be realized unless you let it become your partner.” Vortex stops, thinking deeply to herself. Letting it bond…? Like a person? How would she use this weapon? Gah, this was all so messy. She’ll need to work with Garriz to figure all this out, despite their differences. “Okay. How do I let it bond with me?” Vortex agrees, turning to look out the window. She’d only have one more hour until the sun would start coming up. She needs to make this quick. “We need to get outside. We’ll need a lot of space for the bonding ceremony.” Garriz scoots both of them out of the workshop- roughly with Vortex, and more gently with Nebula. “C’mon, little pup- you too, Nebby.” All of them head out to the yard, various tables set up for customers to leave their weapons behind. Some of them are rusted, some of them broken off- others just there for upgrades. The large battle axe catches Vortex’s eye. Maybe she should wield something like that… “Hey, are you listening? Focus!” Garriz barks out, snapping his fingers in front of Vortex. She stands upright, annoyed at his continued rudeness. Seriously, what was his problem with her? It wasn’t her fault she couldn’t get this form under control. He’s the most capable of stopping her in her tracks. “I swear, that curse is eating away at your attention span-” he starts, the werewolf growling and stopping him before he can go on another rant. “And I keep telling you, the curse is because of that stupid mist-!” “Enough with the mist already, Vortex!” Garriz shouts, baring his teeth. “Everything you do, every night, it always has to lead back to that mist! Mist this, mist that- I’m sick of it!” He takes a stomp forward, getting up in her face (at least trying to). “That mist protects our barrier, our way of life, and who we are! That mist is what keeps us from mass slaughter, but you’re the only one who has the audacity to THINK it would be the reason for your lycanthropy!!” There it is again, the shouting matches. Half of the time, this would end with Garriz kicking Vortex out back to Priestess’s shack. The other half? Vortex would just run off the night market and eat her feelings away. She’s tired of having to justify this song and dance. She was tired of talking about this curse. There were no excuses- she still has to live with it. “You don’t understand! The mist inflicted that curse because it wants me dead!” Vortex fights back. “Then maybe you should have never tried to run away HERE in the first place!” “I had no other choice! My family-” “Both of you, please, stop it!” Nebula screams out, pushing herself between the two of them. “You can’t keep doing this! For my sake, please, just stop fighting!” Vortex and Garriz look back down at Nebula. “Please,” She whimpers, tears forming in her eyes, her voice trembling. “Just...please, stop shouting…” As much as she doesn’t want to admit it, Nebula’s right. Garriz can think whatever he pleases- right now, Vortex will have to accept that Garriz won’t believe her. “Fine. Don’t think this is over, bullhead,” Vortex says, not hiding her displeasure. “Wouldn’t dream of it, dogbrain.” Garriz bites back, backing off and walking off a good distance. “Very well! Vortex. You need to point your sword to the sky, and declare it as yours. Give it the new name, and it will bond with you if it accepts your choice.” That’s it? It was that simple? She could have done it back when she had the sword in her hands. “Nebby, dear, you’ll need to step away from Vortex. This is a solo sort of ceremony.” Nebula looks up at the werewolf, taking a moment before swimming away. She flutters over to where Garriz stood, wringing her hands, still whimpering quietly. Vortex readies herself, looking at the sword in her left hand. Might as well get this over with. Doing as she was instructed, she raises the sword above herself, pointing the tip of the blade up to the sky. “Now, repeat after me!” Garriz shouts from where he stood. “I, Vortex, wield you as mine!” “I, Vortex, wield you as mine!” she imitates, shouting to the best of her abilities from inside her helmet. The echoing was a bit annoying, but the werewolf figures that it’s better her ears are not trapped fully inside. “You will dedicate your power and your strength to me as I will to you!” “You will dedicate your power and your strength to me as I will to you!” The sword hums strongly, the crackling energy permeating the air around her. She can feel it connecting to her- not physically, but like there’s strands infusing with her veins. It froze the werewolf in place; even if she wanted to move, her whole body was immobilized. This must be part of the ceremony. “Now, become one, and serve by my side! This is where you give it the new name!” Garriz screams once more. “Now, become one, and serve by my side!” Vortex declares, the sword becoming enveloped in a strong light. “Come to me- Axle!” With that, Vortex’s whole body became enveloped with that same light, washing over her in a strong shower force. She wasn’t sure what was happening, but it was clear whatever it was, her body was starting to become heavier. The winds and gust picked up, raising her up from the ground. The ceremony felt like it was lasting forever, but finally, the path cleared, leaving her to see Garriz and Nebula in front of her. She slowly drops down from the air, landing softly with both her feet. She still has her helmet, that much she can tell. As for the rest of her- Gasping in shock, Vortex takes in all of her new form. The teal furred boots and gloves- they’re back, and they feel like a permanent change this time around. Down around her hips, a new armored belt protects her. Four flaps of solid titanium protect all sides, similar to that of a pleated skirt. The center of the belt has a semi-circle, appearing as a moon. The front flap contained an engraving- she wasn’t sure what it was supposed to be. The armor was slate gray-blue, with teal accents surrounding the edges of it. As for the weapon- Axle- itself… Vortex turns, only to be sent gawking in awe. The sword was no longer the butter knife in her paw- instead, it stood tall, at least two-thirds of her height. The bottom of Axle had a spear-ish ending, widening near the top. Another layer of iron encased it, thicker than the hilt. At the very top, there stood Axle’s new metal form- it… looks like a shovel? But incredibly sharp. The edges of it were, that’s for sure. But the shovel itself had holes in it- eight to be exact. “... What the hell is this?” Vortex blankly says, staring at Axle. ‘You wished for a battle axe, I gave you a battle axe,’ Axle simply answers, staring right back at her. Wait, it was staring at her! Through the blackened hole at the bottom center, she could see a slit that strongly resembles an eye. “This looks like a shovel! Are you making fun of me!?” She barks at, waving it around in frustration. Is it because she’s a werewolf? How rude! She never even buried a bone in her time as one! ‘No no no!!’ Axle shouts out, blubbering from being shaken like a baby rattle. ‘I just transformed into a weapon that would be most fit for you and your fightihhihihiihiiiiing!’ “This… is who I need to train?” Garriz says deadpan. “Oh good grief, Priestess, please grant me power with this child.” He rubs the big bridge of his nose with his right hand, pinching it between his index and thumb. Nebula glances back and forth between the two behemoths. Is everything on this planet so expressive and loud? It’s giving her a bit of fear of what quiet might mean. At that moment, Vortex’s hackles rose up, freezing her right in her tracks. Darting her eyes side to side, she attempts to search for any indication of danger. Then, she sees it. The amalgamation they call a mist. It’s coming closer. Worse, dawn is about to break. She needs to leave, now. “Well this has been fun and everything, but I really ought to get back home! Er- thank you for tonight, Garriz, and, uh… uh… goodnight!” She bids him goodbye at the speed of light, tacking Axle onto the ground and making a beeline back home. “That naive little child! What does she expect me to do with her weapon? Babysit?” Garriz complains loudly, huffing and puffing his way to his house off to the side of the workshop. “Hey, Nebby. If you need a place to rest, you’re more than welcome to stay here.” Nebula kept staring off in the direction that the werewolf zipped to. Something in the back of her mind warns her that there might be more to all of this than she thought. What it was, she had no Chelonian clue to what it may be. All she knows is that taking up Garriz’s offer was a wise move. “Ye-yeah. Thank you, Garriz,” she responds back absentmindedly. Swimming towards where his house is, she takes a moment to stare at the oncoming dawn. The gentle cracking of dark blue to light mixed with the warmth of yellow was a sight to behold. Is this what a sunrise was like? Her time at the tablet lake was in a mostly comatose state, so she never got to experience it consciously. It felt… nice. Sighing to herself and sparing one last look up above, Nebula follows Garriz inside the home. So much happened tonight. The soreness, Vortex returning, Garriz, the sword wanting to help her. It all made her head spin. A good day’s rest should do the trick. As she lays down on the bed she’s presented as hers, one thing was for sure: this journey back home was not going to be done alone.