Chapter Five – Shelter through the Storm

Catalis

State: Crystalis

Status: Neutral – not segment, country, state or any other classification

Time: Early Afternoon

These paths were treacherous. That was Kata's main concern. Despite their deceptively wide appearance there were hidden obstacles such as small rocks that could trip people up. However, she saw the other two had no problems negotiating the twists and turns. She noticed the old man peering alternately at them and the ocean. When she glanced over, she gulped. "Oh good grief, that looks worse than earlier." She was horrified.

Clearly, she wasn't the only one with concerns about the strange weather descending upon them.

"Damnation, that is no ordinary storm." Tannin sucked in his breath. "We need to stop and dismantle that thing." He gestured at the stroller. "At this rate, it will be destroyed by all these rocks."

He had a point. Kata frowned. "All right." She pressed a few buttons; the straps released the children who promptly crawled onto the arms and shoulders of Tannin and Cora. Once Kata stowed the pieces into a case, it went into another bundled contraption on wheels that she pulled with her. The last two children hopped into her arms. She noticed they did so in away that wouldn't stop her from moving carefully.

"Good, we can keep on traversing the trail." Cora murmured. "These rolling things are useful for keeping balance. Thank you, Kata."

"No problem." Kata panted. She was out of breath. She needed to bring her stamina back up to par. This was ridiculous.

The sea guardian was losing patience with them. He wasn't amused at how they delayed their descent from the clifftops. "Please hurry, there's not much time." With much gruff scolding, Huey observed them as they hurried down the wide path. "You're cutting it close, young 'uns." He referred to all of them as such.

That made Kata believe he knew more than he let on about their circumstances. When he stared at her from beneath bristling white eyebrows, she understood immediately he wasn't an ordinary human of any kind. He had tufts along his ears and jowls. His eyes were black and bright with vitality.

"I'm Huey." He didn't offer a surname as he went onto tell them his purpose of choosing to live right on the highest cliffs around. "I'm one of the owl guardians. I prefer living by the sea." He specifically addressed Kata with his next statements. She heard low gasps from Cora and Tannin as he continued talking.

Huey gestured at a wide map nearby. There were small dots adorning it, Kata noticed and walked closer to it, examining it closely. "You've wound up in Crystalis Sea State. Therefore, you no longer need to worry about interfamily feuds of any kind. This is part of a neutral swath not controlled by either country or kingdom I believe were your conditions?"

Kata glanced at him. "Yes." She sensed a trap somewhere but decided not to worry about it right then. She did want to explore more, but also concerned about her children's welfare as they grew progressively faster than she could keep up with right now.

Hue nodded with satisfaction. "Don't worry about accommodations for you and your children."

Cora and Tannin cleared their throats. They shuffled their feet. Kata knew they weren't thrilled with the notion of remaining here. She hadn't thought they would stay for long, so it didn't surprise her that they wanted to be on their way.

He eyed the others. "You all had similar wishes, but want to explore more as well, correct?" Stunned, they nodded. "I recommend going to these areas. They're nearby so you can explore with reassurance of returning anytime." He searched through some cupboards and produced badges of some kind. "Keep them with you at all times. Else you won't be able to return. They're free passage and rare to acquire."

Subdued, Cora and Tannin accepted them. They glanced at Kata. "Do you think you'll be all right if we left?" Cora inquired.

"Yes." Kata responded politely. "This is your new opportunity after all." She smiled faintly. "I'm not expecting you to remain here." She turned her attention to Tannin. "You as well. You've remained trapped for so long; I think you need to explore and learn what else you're able to do." She shrugged as she tried to think of what else to say and settled on brutal reality to keep them from worrying about her.

"Staying with me isn't the best way to find your identity or independence." She glanced at the children. "Yes, they'll miss you, but they need a stable environment." That was foremost in her concerns for them. "Once they've attained suitable knowledge, intelligence, mobility, and skills, they'll also part ways with me." Her surprisingly cynical but realistic viewpoint on everything so far evidently offended them. Kata didn't care.

When Cora and Tannin fumed in wordless fury.

Huey raised a hand. "May I interject before you both say something that you'll regret later on?"

They turned to face him. "With pleasure." Tannin growled.

Huey sighed. "You find her fascinating I'm sure. Since she's clearly been reincarnated, yes?"

Cora nodded. Tannin shrugged.

Huey continued. "However, she's clearly possessing some issues that are ultimately dangerous to anyone who comes near her, including her children." He spread his hands. "What she is trying to do, in an awkward and obviously insensitive fashion," Kata flinched, "Is get you somewhere safe so you aren't entangled in a potential inter-external-pantheon epic war."

Kata swore angrily and in exasperation. "That again?" Oh yeah, all her memories now flooded back. "I'd hoped to not become part of that unholy mess once more."

Huey's mouth twitched. "Yes, well, you're actually the most neutral of them all despite your penchant for pulling nasty tactics to become banished. This time that part worked, however, with the children…" He shrugged. "I cannot tell you whether or not the actions to remain neutral will work. They are special and will have their own stories to tell later."

Kata sighed. "Is it possible to raise them in a somewhat quiet place. Other than unnatural storms speeding in to attempt removal of all lifeforms in this immediate area?"

"Oh, that won't happen." Huey shrugged. "Look out the viewing window." He gestured with his left hand. "Through that left branch, please." He eyed the children. "You hungry?"

The children nodded. "Come with me then. We shall give the adults some time to adjust to their new surroundings."

The oldest one, a boy glanced at her. "Mother, join the others and make peace please."

"Brat, fine." Personally, Kata would've preferred to go with the children. They would also need names, unless they had some already. If so, they hadn't told her. Perhaps that was something else she could ask about.

She was starving but realized whatever was out there had to do with the immediate future. Besides, any of her choices that she made from the point onward would affect not only her but the eight children she'd carried. "Stupid deities that they must feud all the time." She folded her arms and shook her head in disgust.

Cora and Tannin turned to face her. Cora pointed. "Look before you say anything more."

Disgruntled, Kata joined them.

Enormously huge clouds clustered. Small spouts slewed around various parts of the oceans causing sever instability. Waves rose and crashed with startling intensity. However, they never came past a certain point. "Ah, barriers of some kind prevent them from coming too close." It would explain why the guardian looked as he did. "He's bound here through magic."

"By his own choice." Tannin reminded her calmly. "He said it himself. This was his choice."

Cora sighed. "Wild and desolate in isolation, but so beautiful. No wonder he didn't want to go anywhere else."

Kata nodded. "He understands all of us. It is part of his skill as a guardian." She stared out and winced upon seeing what else was within the clouds.

Faces. The deities beckoning her with sigils and demands. She'd left them with chaos. They'd set her up for failure and wanted her to clean up their messes. Uh, no, she wouldn't return. Besides, the children she carried…they weren't from any of the male deities' seed. She'd seen to it that they would have even more reason to exile her from there.

Kata turned so that she kept an eye on the storm but faced Cora and Tannin as they watched her from the corners of their eyes. "No way in hell am I returning to that cesspit of debauchery and insanity." She shook her head. "I prefer the foreshortened lifespan of humanity." She shivered uneasily. "Besides the fact that I have no interest whatsoever in finding out what people think of me in general."

When they bristled, Kata sighed wearily. "I know you don't like my roughness of manner, but I'm not always as articulate as I should be in polite speech." That was always a major downfall in her dealings with people and creatures in general. She had no filter between her brain and her mouth and that caused problems.

After realizing she was speaking the strict truth and not lying about her attitude, Cora sighed. "I'm used to it, but there'll be others who won't tolerate it. I guess Huey is used to that temperament." She rolled her eyes.

Cora tapped her jaw when she realized Kata did pay attention to what she was saying. "Else he'd never have allowed any of us to enter his domain." She folded her arms as she regarded Kata and made some suggestions. "You will need to work on some forms of filters, or at least learn to read the atmosphere around the felines and other species around here." She pointed out with practical brutality that made Tannin wince.

"You two are completely evil to one another." Tannin shuddered in dismay.

Wow, he was too sensitive about this matter. Well, she would try to be considerate around him when possible. Either that or chase him out when she might become too graphic.

With the realization in mind, Kata grunted. "That is going to be difficult." She'd never figured out how to recognize the subtle clues that came with body language or expressions. Some people remained eternally angry for no good reasons. Others…were just unreadable in general.

Tannin nodded. "Yes, he is very…picky about whom he wants to sponsor to different states, countries, or neutrality swathes." He eyed Kata. "Is there something else that is troubling you?"

Uh…Kata's shoulders hunched. "Yes." She sighed. "What is the naming custom for the children?" She hadn't yet given them names, nor had they expressed interest in gaining them.

The siblings exchanged glances. Clearly Cora was flustered because she didn't know that part of the growing process. "Uhm, I don't know." She confessed in confusion. "It isn't something I ever worried about having to deal with." She shrugged. "I believe I'm almost past childbearing age soon anyways." She obviously wasn't going to answer the question.

"Ah, I vaguely remember something. It might not be the case any longer, though." The other frowned over it in thought. "We wait a full year." Tannin murmured. "Sometimes there are exceptions. However, they generally chose 'nicknames' or we give them something that refers to their personality." He grinned. "You referred to the oldest as 'brat'."

Ouch! Kata grimaced in disbelief. "That doesn't mean I want to name him that permanently until he reaches an appropriate age." She sighed. "Well, I'll see what happens in the future." She shrugged. "I suppose now that we know the barrier in place, we don't need to worry overmuch, unless some of the severity still gets through which I can see it does."

"Huh?" Cora and Tannin turned to look. "Ah, so it does." They frowned as the saw there were a slipstream of clouds getting through. None of the funnel spouts made it, but the thunderclouds bringing in rain, ice, and snow did. Raindrops spattered around them and the window filmed up.

"I think that's our cue to go back." Kata suggested. "We might as well figure out the next steps." She had a feeling none of them needed to leave right away but shouldn't remain past a few days either. It was up to Huey in the end to decide what to do, she realized. This was going to be interesting. "Shall we return?" She offered an arm to each of them.

"Yes." The three of them walked away without a further glance backward and missed the sight of figures splashing into the waters and struggling to keep afloat.