"I think he has learned his lesson," Bellinda replied with a smile, sitting by the fire.
She ruffled Raykim's blue hair, which made him purr.
"I'm sorry I put us all in danger," he said with a tiny voice.
"I'm sure Ken has already chastised you for it, no need to berate yourself any further," she replied. "Is your mother gone?"
"Yes." Raykim hugged his knees, looking sad. "She said I was better off with you guys, as long as I obeyed and did what you say."
"Eat." Keneith grumpily put a bowl of broth in her hands.
She knew better than to tease him when he was in a foul mood. She hoped he'd soon forget the meeting with his uncle and the strange battle. Hinrik and Raykim were also quiet.
"I think we should all head for Appleyard," she said at last, putting down her empty bowl. Her belly was full and she felt much better. "I'm sure you can all find a place to call home over there..."
***
The following two months of travel were mostly uneventful. The four half-blood stuck to secondary roads and avoided cities as much as they could. They crossed two more rivers and saw the sea again from the vast bay where the village of Hurlevent was quickly expanding into a main port.
Hinrik had gotten used to Keneith's sarcasm, Raykim's strange looks and Bellinda's chiding tones. They were a tightly-knotted, small, wandering community that acted like siblings with no real need for a leader. Each had their chores, usually tied to their element, and they rarely fought.
But the wagon was small and uncomfortable and Hinrik was looking forward to going back to some form of civilization – public baths, inns and taverns, real beds. He had earned enough self-confidence that he thought he could function in a town by now.
Not Salamar, though. He'd been too unhappy in Salamar. Maybe he could visit Bellinda's hometown, Havenstock. The cousins were thinking of exploring the southern kingdoms – that sounded interesting too.
And then they reached the Ondan again. In spite of being much closer to the source than Moriana or Salamar, Hinrik recognized its distinctive smell. The Ondan felt different from any other river and when he knelt on its shores, he thought he was home.
"Is this the Ondan?" Raykim asked, still perched on the roof of the wagon.
"Yes," Hinrik answered. He inhaled the scent he didn't know he had missed. "It's not as wide as it is downriver, but it's definitely the Ondan. I recognize the smell."
"I didn't know water had a specific smell," Raykim commented. "But then, I'm not half-Waiora," he added with a chuckle.
"We will keep an eye on Shytur while you visit your family," Bellinda said. "There is a Genn village nearby, we will wait for you there."
"Will you, really?" he asked, happily surprised. "I wouldn't want to delay your journey..."
"We're not in a hurry to go anywhere," Keneith replied. "And the Genn are more civilized than Humans. I look forward to trying their hospitality again."
Hinrik got back on his feet and reached out for Shytur's reins. The gelding was greedily drinking the clear water.
"So, where do I find you?" Hinrik asked.
"Get back in the saddle, it's not far," Bellinda answered with a smile.
The Genn village had been built on the shore of the Ondan in the middle of the forest. A nice little bridge crossed the river and took them to small houses with conical roofs. They looked like very short towers with a door and a few windows scattered around the perimeter.
Hinrik wondered if there was something under the cone roofs. Some had little windows, which probably meant there was some kind of attic room, but some had barely a chimney. The houses were built with local stone and merged with the forest with their colors. Vines grew on the walls, hiding further the once white-plastered walls.
There were a dozen of those houses, with neat little gardens in the front. On the river shore there were upturned boats, ready to be put to use. And the inhabitants were all blond and ethereal and with pointed ears.
The Genn were androgynous beings with long hair, usually to the waist for both men and women, of all the shades of blond, from ash to gold. Their eyes were usually green or blue and you could tell their sex because females had chest bumps, not as voluptuous as most Human females, and usually wore long gowns, while males wore breeches.
None of them looked shocked at the sight of Raykim. Even the small children looked curious and wanted to climb on him to touch his wings. Hinrik saw Raykim giggle nervously as Bellinda tried to keep the Genn children away from him.
Hinrik patted Shytur's neck and caressed his mane. "I'm sure they'll take care of you."
The horse snorted and seemed to nod. Hinrik smiled, then took off the reins and the saddle. A young Genn boy was already ogling the horse.
"Will you take care of him?" Hinrik asked. "His name is Shytur."
"Sure!" The boy came eagerly forward and offered Shytur an apple.
Hinrik chuckled as the gelding greedily tasted the fruit, and then looked at his saddlebags. He took everything inside the wagon. He wouldn't need any of that stuff. He took off the sword-belt as well. The blade would rust underwater and he didn't need a weapon to defend himself.
He approached Bellinda and Keneith. Bellinda was making the introductions and pointed at him.
"And that's Hinrik, son of Woram and Kaline of Salamar."
"And he's bidding you good-bye for now," Hinrik added. "I am long overdue a visit to my father."
"Do you have to swim for long or will the current take you?" Raykim asked, eyes wide in wonder.
"I don't know," Hinrik answered with a smile. "I'm sure my father will find me."
"You bet he will." Bellinda grinned. She gave him a peck on the cheek. "We'll be here when you're done."
"Thanks." He waved good-bye to Raykim and Keneith and headed for the river. He took off his boots as well, since he didn't really need to walk, and dived into the blue waters of the Ondan.
***
Bellinda was happy to rest in the Genn village, with a room to herself and all the amenities she'd grown up with. The forest around them was turning red and orange and yellow, including the ivy on the walls.
She pondered what to do next. Go back to Havenstock or keep going with Keneith and Raykim and Hinrik to the fabled southern kingdoms. They could go through the underground Genn cities of the Central Massif and visit those too.
But she wasn't sure she'd enjoy the southern climate. She was used to four seasons, so she could maybe reach Amrendra, but she'd rather avoid the other kingdoms that were swept by monsoon rains and had jungles with tigers and other wild beasts. She had enough with packs of hungry wolves in the northern winters.
Besides, she loved winter. She looked forward to seeing the snow cover the ground and muffle all the sounds, turning even a busy town like Havenstock into something eerie and magical. The months spent away from people had been sort of boring, since she didn't have much to do – except healing Shytur or the draft horse a couple of times.
Either she found something to do, or she accepted the strange little family as it was and kept wandering with them. But she missed her friends and the company of other people. She probably was less of a loner than she thought.
She wondered if Hinrik would keep going with Keneith and Raykim or if she could convince him to stop and make himself useful with the Varians. Not in their army, but as a water expert. He could help build aqueducts or better sanitation in Havenstock.
Her hometown was also by a river, so he wouldn't miss water. She could introduce him to Wioleta, her Waiora friend, and he might do a mating swim with her. She could help him to find a home – not necessarily with her.
She toyed with a fallen oak leave as she sat by the river, away from the neat little streets of the village. She was wearing a Genn gown again and had discarded her breeches for the time being, since she didn't need to climb into a saddle again. Unless Keneith and Raykim wanted to go south from there, then she'd have to convince Hinrik to take her on Shytur.
The rustle of leaves startled her. Keneith came to sit next to her.
"Am I disturbing you?" he asked with a smile.
"No, it's actually good timing," she replied. "I think we should talk. Consider our options and what we want to do next. We left together from Havenstock and now we're almost back there. What are your plans? I assume you don't plan to stay?"
"No, your king knows of my power and I wouldn't want him to get strange ideas," Keneith answered.
"Like what?" she chuckled. "Putting you at the front of his army to throw balls of fire at his enemies?"
"Something like that." He grinned. "I don't just throw balls of fire, you know?"
"I know, I was joking." She hugged her knees and kept flipping the leaf in her fingers. "So you're going south?"
Keneith nodded. "Through what's left of the Gallian Kingdom, Amrendra and then whatever there is further south. I'll have to find a map, and maybe it's easier to find one with the Genn than in Havenstock."
"Not in this village," she said. "I could ask Winged Elsa to draw one, and then you could jot down the names of the cities and kingdoms when you get there."
"That would be awesome, where can we meet her?"
"A little further east. She often visits my Waiora friend Wioleta with Winged Monia."
"So next river. The village where your father was born."
She nodded, thoughtful. Her father Joyrise, also known as Joris by Humans, had long ago moved to Human towns. It had been Salamar at first, then Havenstock. Joyrise would probably be very happy to meet Hinrik.
"Speaking of Waiora," Keneith continued. "Are you going to keep Hinrik by your side?"
She raised her eyebrows and stared at him, skeptical.
"Should I? He's younger than me and I don't think he's interested anyway."
"Have you asked him?" Keneith winked. "I think he's very fond of you, and not just because you healed him!"
"I don't know, Ken, the brooding beau is gone, but the new Hinrik might decide he wants to live underwater."
"You're scared."
"I'm not!"
"You're scared of falling in love, Bel. I hope it's not because it didn't work between us."
"No, you weren't my only boyfriend." She glared at him. "I've had both Genn and Humans, and the Genn are nicer, usually."
"Hinrik is half-Waiora, he might be nicer than a half-Fajrulo. You like him, Bel, tell him. Or are you afraid he'll refuse you?"
"I don't want to think about it," she snapped.
"You look great together."
"Stop pimping him! I don't think so!"
"Why not?"
"Because he's not hurt anymore and his sexuality has awakened and I don't think I could handle him! I mean, how many women did he have in Flean?"
"He was high after the shower and the victory and hadn't had sex for months!" Keneith rolled his eyes. "Did you see him frolic around in Kelvia?"
"We didn't stay long enough, and then we were far from civilization, so he didn't have any other occasion!"
"He's probably having his occasions in the Ondan. And you're taking him to Havenstock, where he will have other occasions. And if he loves you, he'll respect you and all that stuff."
"I'm not taking him to Havenstock! I don't know what he wants to do when he comes back! Maybe he'll follow you and Raykim to the south!"
Keneith elbowed her. "Or maybe he'll keep following you, since you're a woman and he's not interested in men," he whispered with an impish smile.
"Keneith!" She scowled at him, but he was probably right. "I only want the best for him," she grumbled. "I hope he finds someone in the Ondan."
"You're the best," Keneith replied. "If you stop being afraid of him."
She wanted to scream, "I'm not afraid of him!" but she knew she was. Hinrik was sweet and shy and everything she could wish for, but he still scared her. Because he was different and he was a man and she still had trouble with that. Because he was younger and she thought he deserved better and should have more experiences before settling with her.
If he wanted to settle with her. She wasn't so sure about that, unlike Keneith.
***
Hinrik mostly let the current take him towards Salamar. Soon the relatively small river grew wider and deeper, and he could see caves and crevasses that might lead to hidden underwater worlds but he stayed in the main current, letting the water carry him.
He was no longer scared to breathe underwater and didn't feel the need to swim, since he knew where he was going. He knew he'd recognize the Ondan near Moriana where he had dived, broken and bleeding, so many months ago, which would mean he had almost reached his father's home.
Woram wouldn't be the only Waiora in such a long river either. There must be other communities around. And in fact at some point a female joined him, swimming like an eel, with her nacreous sleeveless tunic and water-green eyes.
Hinrik stopped to look at her and they circled each other, studying and feeling the other with open curiosity. She was young and pretty, and he could tell she'd been following a mating call. Something that was now stirring inside him with a never felt before intensity.
His Human side wanted to ask her her name and have some form of preliminary, but his Waiora blood welcomed the call without question. Soon they were both naked, limbs entwined, cradled by water in a sexual intercourse much different from the ones he'd had so far.
Probably because he was underwater, because she wasn't Human, because a part of him he didn't know existed was awakened by her touch, he felt everything like in a dream or a magic spell, although the orgasm was very real.
"Was it your first parigha nagho?" she asked, gathering their floating and scattered clothes.
"You could say that," he answered, still amazed by how he felt. "What about you?"
"Same." She giggled and blushed, offering him his tunic and breeches. "I wasn't expecting to meet a half-blood, but you are great! What's your name?"
"Hinrik, and you?"
"Ashling..."
"I thought mating swims were just something physical that meant that afterward the couple just split and went their way, often not even exchanging names."
"Probably. I'm totally new at this. And I thought that since you're half-blood, you might want more."
"You know a lot about Humans."
"I have had Human lovers." She flashed a smile at him. "But it is my first parigha nagho, and I'm very happy I found a half-blood."
"Then you might never appreciate Waiora lovers," he chided.
"I don't know any interesting Waiora in my community," she replied. "How about I come with you to wherever you're headed?"
"My father's community is somewhere between Moriana and Salamar, I think."
"Hinrik son of...?"
"Woram."
"Oh, you're that half-blood! I'm so lucky I found you! I'll take you to Woram, Hinrik, don't worry!"
As they resumed swimming downriver Hinrik pondered how his feat in Maxwetria had made him famous among the Waiora. Maybe they'll happily have him among them and he wouldn't have to deal with petty Human envy or fear ever again.
But then, he wouldn't see his first true friends ever again either. He already missed Bellinda, Keneith, and even Raykim. But he had promised Dynine he'd visit her, so he wanted to keep his word.
By the time he reached the place where his father lived, he knew a lot more about the Waiora. He had made love to Ashling a couple more times, but neither spoke of spending their life together. Woram hugged him and said he was proud of him in such a heartfelt way that Hinrik almost burst out crying.
He had missed having a father. His mother had done her best, but he'd been quietly unhappy until something had forced him away from Salamar. And now he stopped blaming the past and simply reveled in his father's embrace.
There was a lot to catch up on.
***
"Do you think he'll come back?" Raykim asked. "We've been here for a whole week and..."
"Salamar is much farther downri
ver," Bellinda answered. "Didn't you see the map?"
"I flew there," Raykim replied with a shrug. "Took me a couple of hours to go there and back."
"Yes, well, you were flying, he has to swim," Bellinda retorted. "Although I'm sure he can be very fast even against the current."
"He's a water manipulator after all," Keneith said.
All three sat on the river shore, in what had become Bellinda's favorite spot. Where Hinrik had left his boots before diving and where she hoped to see him emerge from the Ondan again.
"Maybe we should have asked him how long he intended to stay there," Raykim insisted.
"Why, are you in a hurry to leave?" Keneith teased. "Aren't the Genn treating you well?"
"Yes, but I miss Hinrik!" Raykim complained. "What if he doesn't come back?"
"He'll send a Waiora to warn us," Bellinda said, hoping, no, praying he wouldn't. He'd come back himself, whether to stay with them or to leave forever. He didn't seem the kind of man who would send a message through a relative.
Raykim sighed and hugged his knees. His big blue wings shaded him from the sun's rays coming through the almost leaf-less trees.
Bellinda smiled and her eyes met Keneith's. She quickly looked away before he mouthed some comment about her missing Hinrik and wanting him back as much as Raykim. He knew her too well by now.
"I'm sure he'll be back before winter, so you can go south and avoid the snow," she said quickly.
"Winter is months away," Keneith replied. "And by the time we cross Amrendra it might be gone altogether."
Bellinda shrugged. She had seen a map of the whole of Varia now and didn't really want to go south. But Raykim seemed excited at the thought of visiting Amrendra, Gajendra, Lakeshi, Arquon, Rajendra and Akkora.
"Will you take me to Havenstock or just circle around the Central Massif?" she asked.
She knew Raykim wasn't too keen on exploring the Genn tunnels and preferred to be outside. For being half-Fajrulo – who dwelt in caves – and half-Sila – whose nests were high up in mountain crevasses – he was quite wary of caverns.
"Unless someone else takes you to Havenstock, I guess we'll have to take you," Keneith said with an impish smile.
Quests Volume One Page 13