Strange Places - Two

Half an hour had passed since Sherri had woken up. It seemed like longer due to the time differential from being in the Mindscape, where time moved at a different pace, which allowed them a greater amount of time for Jayce to tell them what he could before the Medical crew came in about 10 minutes later.

It turns out, they would have been in sooner, but for some reason, the door had been jammed shut, and it took them quite a while to force it open and get in. The Med team had first been alerted when Jayce had come to half an hour before Sherri. When they got to the room, they found that they could not see inside, nor could they enter. For the next forty minutes, they had been doing everything they could to get into the room, teleportation magic, body-swapping, possession magic, forcing the door open, using tools to open the doors, using the vents to try to enter the room, all to no avail, and they only ended up getting in because after 40 minutes, the doors mysteriously let them in. What none of them knew was them, while all this was going on, Reshta and Kyran were watching from above (after Kyran was done talking with Jayce, of course!), and laughing hysterically. Reshta wanted to make certain that there was enough time for them to get to know each other a bit, and Kyran was always up for a bit of mischief.

Once they did get in, they checked on both Sherri and Jayce since both were awake, letting them know someone would bring them food shortly after the tests were done. Sherri's energy levels were back where they should be for the most part, metabolically speaking, though her magic levels had increased quite a bit. Nobody was sure why, though it was hypothesized as a response to her Gift vanishing. Someone even hypothesized that the Gift had become that excess magic. Due to the discussion between the 3, Sherri was aware that the truth was the former, not the latter, but also knew she needed to wait until the High Magi and High Summoner were around to discuss this more in depth.

As for Jayce, as they have never dealt with a human before, having him conscious helped them get a baseline of what his energy should be like. They were still shocked by his lack of magical energy, but being told his world had no magic helped them understand that to a point. What surprised them was the fact that his system showed signs of having adapted to their ecosystem, including having developed immunity to various viruses and illnesses common of the region, signs that weren't in his initial bloodwork. When comparing the bloodwork they had initially taken to the new bloodwork they could see variouses differences, and as they watched, they saw the original sample, which had been vacuum sealed away, now exposed to the elements, undergoing a change as well, and the biochemist watching made sure to record the whole process from start to finish. The whole process took about 3 hours to complete, but for the biochemist, it was the most amazing 3 hours ever! To watch the composition of a blood sample change from a molecular level up, a miracle in and of itself, was like a dream come true, and to be able to record the process to replay it in slow motion! What leaps could this mean for genetic healing?! Imagine being able to take a genetic defect, and fix it, not just with magic, but in the cases where magic is ineffective, through psyience! Yes, there had been a lot of breakthroughs, but this could potentially lead to some of the greatest ever!

Now they were sitting eating breakfast together. They were in a courtyard for the Hospice, There were several tables set around the area, this one just happened to be underneath a nice large tree. Jayce and Sherri sat in chairs at a the table, while Chiseraei sat on a padded bench designed for arachnaurs. The juice reminded Jayce of a cross between orange and grapefruit juice, and was called granfara-fruit juice, and on the plate in from of him were wild-grot-boar sausage, 2 fried ostralian eggs, sunny-side up, and wheat toast with granfara-fruit spread on top. The eggs were a bit larger than what he was use to, but tasted similar, the sausage had a nice wild taste to it, and he found a dipping sauce for them that reminded him of bbq sauce, with just a hint of jalapeno. He was actually working on his second plate, which amused the others very much. Sherri was just finishing her first plate and considering another plate, as two days without eating had left her quite famished, much like Jayce. Chiseraei was taking their time eating, more amused by seeing Jayce as he experienced something they would come to call 'New Food Face', and also keeping tabs on Sherri to make certain she was stable. She may seem to be fine, but she HAD spent the last two and a half days in a state of suspended animation, thus it was better safe than sorry, the same for their new companion.

'So, in your world,' Chiseraei was talking to him 'people start wars over the fossilized remains of ancient creatures that once lived on your world, even though there are clean alternatives, and it is clearly damaging the world around you, something the scientific community at large agrees on? We do not get it.'

"Mhmm," Jayce said, taking a sip of juice to wash down the eggs he was eating "believe me, I don't get it either, outside of the fact that humans can be very greedy. There are people who make a lot of money off of oil, and will do anything to maintain their riches, so they lobby Congress and those in charge, spending tons of money just to stay at the top of the food chain. It's the same with the idea of people turning to more holistic forms of health care, because the pharmaceutical companies make a ton of money off of selling their drugs that only help with symptoms, and have side affects that you need to take something else for. One can't patent nature, and if you cure a person, you lose a customer, which means they stop making money, and boy do they like making money...."

"That sounds insane!" Sherri shouted out "How can your Lords allow such a thing?!"

"Well, for one thing, we don't have 'Lords', we have 'politicians'," Jayce explained "and the fact is, they give them bribes in the form of 'campaign contributions', which is not exactly something new. Even in our ancient times, it was not unknown for the Rich to take bribes and turn their heads from shady business practices, surely something like that happens even on a world like this?"

'He has a point Sherri,' Chiseraei pointed out 'it is not uncommon for Lords in some of the less scrupulous regions to look the other way if given the right "incentive", even if it happens less in this country, it is not like it is unheard of.'

"True Chise," Sherri said, looking down "I don't think about it because we are blessed to live in a country which not only frowns upon such actions, but takes immediate action when such treachery is uncovered. My apologies Jayce, I did not mean to yell at you."

"No apologies necessary," Jayce replied "honestly, a lot of us feel the same way. Kinda glad I don't live there anymore. I am curious about something though....."

"What's that? Sherri asked

"Why Chise?" Jayce asked, and when Sherri looked slightly confused "I have heard you refer to Chiseraei several times as Chise, and while I can guess that some of it might be because it is shorter, I'm guessing there might be something more to it as there is a deeper feeling of connection to the way you use those words, and how They respond, and that's not an empathic feeling, that is just my own observation."

'Quite the intuitive one,' Chiseraei replied warmly 'This one and Sherri have known each other many cycles. As a cub, She had a hard saying Our whole name, so she would call Us Chise, and over time, it has just become something very natural and endearing.'

"That's cute!" Jayce exclaimed, causing Sherri to blush a bit "Wish I could have seen that...but I digress..."

"Don't even Chise!" Sherri yelled at Them when Chiseraei lifted one of their arms with a mischievous twinkle in their eyes

"Don't even what?" Jayce asked, confused

'Such an innocent...' Chiseraei chuckled 'Sherri simply implied that she did not want Us to offer you the opportunity to view the memory. Not coming from this world, nor ever dealing telepaths before, you are obviously unaware of this, but telepaths are able to do more than just speak mind-to-mind, but also share memories.'

"It's not that I was unaware," Jayce said, causing both to be shocked "I've read enough comics and novels, seen enough movies and shows to have a good idea, it just, well, actually meeting a REAL telepath....and finding out that, yeah, all of that is actually possible for one....just a bit much to fully process....wait....do you read minds while speaking to people?"

'Never!' Chiseraei retorts, looking slightly offended at the suggestion 'While it is not uncommon to pick up stray surface thoughts while speaking to others, it is rude to read another's mind without permission, unless one is engaged in clandestine operations, or certain circumstances: Other person is comatose and one is working to bring them back to the surface; person has given permission to read their mind; intimate connections. Our kind evolved beyond the need for vocal speech, finding the connection of the mind to be the greatest way to communicate, though some learn how to use vocal speech patterns, it is not Our strong point.'

"I'm sorry if it sounded like I was trying to accuse you of anything," Jayce said, looking troubled "it was not my intention, I was just curious. Like I said, my information is based off of information based in my world's fiction, which for us, has no basis in Fact, so there are going to be a lot of times I am going to ask questions, and I am going to try my hardest NOT to offend anyone, but I may unintentionally do so, so I hope you can accept my apology Chi." He said while bowing politely to Them

Jayce could feel a slight pressure in his mind, one he didn't attempt to fight, just relaxed and let it do as it will, then it moved out.

'Accepted.' Chiseraei said 'You are an honest and interesting one Jayce, and realizing this now means that we can prepare to deal in the future. We are just curious, when you called Us by that name, were you expecting to see Us to look like this?'

"Look like....wha......." Jayce said, and just stared. Where Chiseraei had been stood a character straight out of one of his favorite Manga series, 5 foot tall, pale white skin, pink and white triangular ears, golden brown eyes, long, white hair flowing down to her bare feet, a white gothic lolita dress with purple lace throughout. The one in front of him tilted her head to the side, and in his head, in the same voice he remembered hearing in the anime, so many times, he heard her say 'Chi?' which caused him to fall on his ass, blushing furiously, and in the next moment, he watched as it shifted back into the form of Chiseraei, who was laughing wildly.

'What fun!' Chiseraei said as Jayce realized what happened 'Sorry! We couldn't resist! Consider this payback for your earlier comment.'

"Well.....damn..." Jayce said, still trying to calm down "can shift clothes as well. That's....useful."

'Did you expect We would be nude?' Chiseraei asked sidling up to him 'Or just hoping? We Kyranae are able to take on any form, and create garments and armors if need be. Mind you, those things are still parts of Us.'

"Chise, are you actually....flirting with him?!" Sherri asked in slight shock

'Maybe....' Chiseraei said lightly with a grin on their face 'We prefer to consider it lightly teasing. He is highly amusing, and there is so much to learn from him, so why not? If more comes from it, We don't mind either.'

"Really Chise...." Sherri said with a look of surprise "I never thought...I mean, I thought that...I mean...umm..well....nevermind...."

'Ah....' Chiseraei exclaimed 'You do recall that it was mentioned that He has seen Our True Form, correct?' Sherri nodded, and then her eyes went wide 'Exactly Sherri, not that it is a necessity, but he has also spoken to Kyran through This One....and there is one more thing, something We noticed during our trip into the Mindscape.....' and Chiseraei put out one of their Right Hands. On the Ring finger was a Silver Band looking like a cross between an Ouroboros and the infinity symbol, which had not been before they had fallen under.

"What is that?" Sherri asked

'A Gift from Kyran, apparently.' Chiseraei said, and flicked the band

"What the...!" Jayce exclaimed as he felt something hit his hand, then looked at his right hand "What the....Where did this come from, and when?! This wasn't here when they were looking me over earlier...."

On his ring finger was a similar Silver Band, which looked to be moving under the light, constantly shifting and changing while maintaining the same form. He looked up at Sherri and Chiseraei, confusion evident in his eyes. Sherri was confused as well, for the same band had also appeared on her hand. Chiseraei was the only one who was not surprised, and as the two turned to them, they explained.

'Kyran explained to this one,' Chiseraei said as they motioned for Sherri and Jayce to sit 'this Band is Their Sigil, and that after meeting You Jayce, felt like using it for the first time in a while, We are not sure how long that while is though. As Sherri has been a part, in ways, of Our Okapo, Kyran decided to Unite us as a Triumvirate Okapo under Their Name using this Sigil as an Identifier.'

Sherri's jaw dropped as she realized the depth of the meaning behind the bands, but Jayce continued to look lost, hearing one new phrase after another, after being dropped into another world, it was understandable. Looking at Jayce caused Sherri to at first look shocked, then, realizing that he would have no understanding, she rapidly calmed down, and worked on how to explain it to him.

"I'm sorry," Jayce said, looking a bit sheepish "but I barely understood HALF of that. The only thing I could understand is that Kyran has given all 3 of us this Sigil for some kind of ockaput?! I'm guessing there is something special about all this?!"

"The word is O-ka-po Jayce," Sherri said, sounding the word out for him patiently "and it is a word that, for the Kyranae means Family/Tribe/Home/Source, and not many non-Kyranae end up becoming a part of one, never mind something like this....."

"Wait, wait, wait...." Jayce said, as the pieces started to fall together in his mind "If an Okapo is a Family Unit, and from what Chiseraei said, Kyran United us as a Triumvirate Okapo with this Ring binding us under the same name....does that make us married?!"

"Do you have to ask that out loud???" Sherri asked as the Roses on their arms glowed for a moment, then the Bands glowed on all 3, and one could hear the faintest sounds of laughter in the air, though from whom, one could not tell the gender of. When they looked at the bands once more, they seemed a bit more solid then they had before. Chiseraei laughed, Sherri sighed, and Jayce just looked slightly amused, telling himself to be careful of his thoughts and words in a world where the Gods themselves seemed to always be listening in. "Since you didn't know any better.....Yes, that is one way to look at it. We are now a Family, or you could say, something even tighter, so yes, Kyran Bound the 3 of us together." Sherri let out a heavy sigh while looking somewhat despondent "First you are forcibly taken from your own world, then you are Bonded to two others you barely know, it must be a lot to take in, and I wouldn't be surprised if you got angry over this. I'm having a hard time dealing with the loss of my Gift, but at least I am still on my own world...."

"Well damn," Jayce said, having just looked at his name in his status which now read: Jayce Reshta'Son-Kyran "it shows up in my status now." Hearing that, Sherri and Chiseraei both look at their own and see the addition of Kyran to their own names, which causes Sherri to sigh again, and Chiseraei to laugh even harder "But there is something you don't seem to understand yet about me Sherri," which causes her to look at him quizzically "I was not kidding when I said it was no problem with coming here, I'm actually quite looking forward to learning more about my new home world, and if we are all together, then I have two people that I can learn from about the common sense of this world without having to rely to much on others, and I can get to know you both better! This is a win-win for me! Also, before someone makes a comment on whether or not I will have a problem because of the difference in species....ummmm...well....that's not really a problem for me...." He said after taking a long look at her, then looking down at the ground while blushing lightly

'Well well well!' Chiseraei laughed 'Seems he told you Sherri!' slapping Sherri on the shoulders while she stood there, speechless at his confession 'As for you Jayce, Welcome to the Okapo, and Welcome to Your New Home! Well, We will take you both Home after they clear you from your stay.'

"Any clue when that will be Chise?" Sherri asks, pulling herself back together

'One of the Healers here is also Kyranae,' Chiseraei said 'and they say it will be another 2 days. They want to make sure you are fine Sherri, and there are things to finalize and set up for Jayce with his summoning. They also congratulate us on our Triumvirate and wish Us all steady change.'

"I guess word gets around with your kind, eh Chi?" Jayce commented

'But of course!' Chiseraei responded gleefully 'Our Species is aware of each other, and know when a new member comes forth, when an Opako grows, splits off, but it is even bigger news when a new one is formed, ESPECIALLY with non-Kyranae members, Bonded by Kyran Themselves! Do not be surprised if you inadvertently meet other Kyranae now that we are a Triumvirate,' Sherri's eyes widened in response 'yes Sherri, as rare as it is to meet Our kind for non members, you both are honorary members now, so expect that to change. So as We said before, if something more came of things, We would not be against it, after all, We are Bonded.'

Jayce sat there taking everything in, watching Sherri who seemed to be having a hard time accepting, or at least seemed to be trying to digest, everything. Leaning back in his chair, he closed his eyes, and felt the warmth of the sun on his face, and a cool breeze caress his skin. After a few moments, he could feel himself moving above himself, as he unconsciously reached out with his senses, and he could feel the wind passing through his feathers, the warmth of the sun on his back as he flew high above all those below him, the freedom of being so high was euphoric, and he opened his beak and called out with a screech, a birds cry, one he'd never heard before, and suddenly his eyes flew open and he was back in his body, looking up at a large bird circling above that was slowly coming down. After a few moments it landed in front of him, inspecting him, and he could see it much more clearly, realizing that this was no mere bird.

"Don't make any sudden moves Jayce...!" Sherri said in concern "That's a Dracoenix....one wrong move.....an....d...?" Sherri was surprised by what happened next, as was Chiseraei, as both were ready to jump to his defense, but as they watched, the Draceonix, which looked to be a mix of Dragon and Phoenix, at 4 feet long, considered untamable and highly volatile, known to tear grown men limb from limb, climbed into his lap and allowed him to scratch beneath its chin, and behind its ear flaps, closing its eyes in obvious delight as he did so. Sherri's jaw dropped, and Chiseraei lost all tension, sinking back into Their cushion. "What just happened? Chise, what am I seeing?!"

'Why are you asking Us?' Chiseraei asked 'We saw the same thing, and We are just as confused. Not even a Summoner has managed to Tame a Dracoenix. What did you do Jayce? Nobody mentioned a Taming Gift.'

"I didn't tame this one," Jayce said while scratching its belly "More like, we kinda....bonded...."

"'Bonded?!'" Both asked

"well...." Jayce said, continuing to scratch "one moment I was just enjoying the feeling of the sun and the breeze on my skin, then I kinda started to fade out, like I was going to fall asleep, then next I knew, I was part of this one, feeling the wind, and sun, and everything else He was feeling, and it was so intense we Called out, and the sound kinda sent me back to my body, and He came down to see who it was that had done such a thing, and, well....Drash thinks I'm interesting, and likes the scratching..."

"Drash?" 'You Bonded with a Dracoenix?' Sherri and Chiseraei both said

"RAAAAHH!!!" Drash cried out, eyes partially closed as Jayce continued scratching beneath it's chin.