Outside Influences

The crocodile woman, whose actual name was a noise like ‘ubglubblug’ – Bel was going to keep thinking of her as the crocodile woman – was an excellent cook. She’d done something incredible to the giant locusts, some roots, and a few shoots of something that she scavenged. She’d tossed them together with some powders and the giant bugs were transformed from unpalateable to slightly better than okay.

Bel nibbled on her food and watched James as he leaned close to the ant-girl again.

“Daran, can you pass on my praise to the cook? This is the best giant insect I’ve eaten.” He smiled and talked quietly, so that the two of them brought their heads closer and closer together so that she could hear his words. Her antenna were practically brushing his face.

Daran nodded happily and turned to the crocodile woman to pass on James’ message. Bel watched with narrowed eyes.

This is all very suspicious. I’m pretty sure that James is flirting, but it’s actually working. Maybe everything really is different outside of the Barrier.

“Jealous?”

Bel barely restrained her reflexive yelp of surprise. “Beth, you’re awake?”

Her older sister gestured at the food. “Smell woke me up.” Beth had speared another insect at the end of her dagger and was enthusiastically chomping down upon it.

Beth frowned. “What did you mean I’m jealous?”

Beth tilted her head at James. “Because he’s getting along so well with everyone and you aren’t. There’s no shame in solitude Bel – you’ve got great deeds in your future.”

Bel’s snakes flicked their tongues at her sister’s overly dramatic view of the world. “I’m not jealous, Beth. I’m just confused. And I’m getting along with everyone just fine.”

Beth gestured to the empty spots around them. “Then why are we all alone? And not talking with anyone?”

Bel snorted. “I can talk to anyone I want to. Watch this.”

She tilted her chin and up examined Daran, waiting for a moment of quiet in her near-constant chatting with James. “Hey Daran,” she smoothly interjected, “do you have two stomachs?”

Daran’s tanned face turned as red as her carapace as she turned to Bel. Her antenna froze in midair.

“Geez, Bel,” James hissed, “that’s so rude.”

“That’s not – wait, is it?”

Daran looked away. “It is a little rude.”

Bel cringed. How was I supposed to know that?

She looked at her brother. Was it obvious to him?

Is Beth right? Am I bad with people? She looked at Beth for help, but the one-armed woman just shrugged in response.

Bel was thankful when Daran’s smile came back a few moments later. “It is no problem. James is telling me that there are no myrmex – no ant-people – where you have been from. That is amazing to me, since my family here is being anywhere the ground does not flood.”

Bel was impressed with how quickly Daran was improving with the language. The ant-woman mentioned that she had only learned it from writing, but her strange accent was quickly morphing into the same accent as James.

That didn’t help her strange word choice, though. She’d mentioned being put through rigorous training by her mother in preparation for her mating flight, but the ant obviously didn’t have any wings. Bel thought about inquiring more on that topic, but she decided that she’d already embarrased herself enough for the evening. Instead, she sat back and enjoyed her roasted locust, as much as that was possible, in companionable silence with her sister.

The mood relaxed as their bellies filled, and Bel concentrated on the view. The sun was sinking low in the western sky. With the Barrier missing, the sky was free to take on a range of fascinating hues. James had described sunset before, but Bel thought that he hadn’t done it justice. She sighed with contentment and leaned closer to the cooking fire, yearning for its heat as the sun’s rays dimmed.

Daran’s antennae beat the air steadily as the meal wound down. “I will ask a question,” she finally announced, looking between James, Bel, and Beth. “James is saying that you come from Satrap because you are chased by someone, and you think that someone is from here. This person is called the Ravager of Darkness?”

Bel nodded. “Something like that.”

Daran shifted in place. She didn’t actually sit, her ant-half fidgeting around while they ate. Bel had done her best to avoid watching her too-many legs.

“We are knowing of this person,” Daran continued. “He is being very powerful, and he rules the river from his pyramid in the middle of the Golden Plains. Are you knowing why you are chased?”

“Not really,” Bel began, but James jumped in.

“They were rounding people up back in their camp,” he answered. “I think that they were looking to collect more people for something.” Bel almost rolled her eyes at her brother’s eagerness to show off any half-knowledge he had in an attempt to impress her.

Daran frowned and exchanged signals with her companions; a round of hoots, thumps, and taps followed before Daran turned back to them. “It is very bad to hear this. We have big war with them.” She knocked her fists together to indicate fighting.

“Eventually we must stop before both sides run out of people. Our alliance all agree to seek compatibility, but the Ravager’s group is too small, so we think they will be disappearing if we wait.”

She pointed towards the Barrier. “If they get more compatibles from inside Barrier then they will outnumber us. It is bad news to hear.”

“Compatibles?” Bel looked at her brother to see if he understood, but he just shrugged.

“Ah, I am being sorry, I do not have the Mycenaean word.” Daran itched at her flank, clearly annoyed. The ant-headed people – or attend-ants as James called them – rushed in to groom her. Bel tried to ignore the weird behavior like the rest of the group, but she found it hard to not stare as the ant people rubbed any speck of sand off of Daran’s ant body.

James smiled at Daran. “You have a great vocabulary – maybe the right word just doesn’t exist in Mycenaean? What do you mean by compatible? Maybe you could describe it?”

Daran tiled her head into her hand for a moment before speaking. “It is what we go to the Great Swap to find. It is when there are people who are good together for the making of more people.”

James’ eyebrows went up. “Compatible as in making babies?”

“Yes, you need the compatible for the babies.” Daran frowned. “I still think I am not having the right words.”

James cleared his throat, and Bel looked over to see that her brother was blushing furiously. His skin was nearly as red as his hair. She thought his reaction was a bit too much, although he’d always had trouble talking about basic biology.

“Um, Daran,” he hesitated, “the Great Swap is where people go to find, what, people to make babies? Is it, like, and gigantic orgy?”

Daran tilted her head in confusion.

“I don’t mean to – I mean, do compatibles stay together? Or is it just a quick thing?” James hurried to add.

Daran laughed. “It is not a quick thing! To make and rear the child will take many years.” She laughed again, a light, happy sound like like the flutter of wings.

Clearly James’ stupid questions aren’t rude, Bel thought sourly.

Daran continued, “my own parents are spending thirty years to prepare me to leave to the Great Swap and make my own colony.”

James jaw dropped open. “You’re thirty years old?” he sputtered.

Daran’s antennae wobbled through the air. “Hm, it is not the same for all of the people. I am only thirty when I count the time when I was in the egg, and a larva, and then a pupa. My family has a very slow growth compared to some others.”

She pointed to the man with the thick tail. “Jack was active in the pouch of his mother from the day he was born.”

James gawked. “Wait, he’s really a kangaroo? Can he jump really high?”

Bel stared at her brother, wondering what he was going on about, and how he’d been so easily distracted from the discussion of Daran’s development.

Daran herself seemed happy to change the topic and was nodding enthusiastically. “Yes, he has the highest hop! Jack–” She said something to the man in a strange language and he hopped to his feet with a laugh. Soon he was bounding around the sand, and the group was cheering him on as he leaped higher and higher, adding kicks and flips to his routine.

“What in stars in going on,” Bel wondered.

“Yeah, these people are nuts,” Beth muttered.

Bel examined the assassin’s face, seeing that much of her earlier sickly pallor had faded with the large amount of food she’d been eating. “So is this what you expected outside of the Barrier?”

Beth shook her head and absently pulled on her remaining braid. “No. I expected much more stabbing, and much less flirting. Way too pink and mushy for me.”

Bel’s eyebrows rose. “Pink and mushy?”

“Let’s just say that if your brother asked how a half-ant and a human would be compatible, then I doubt your new friend wouldn’t mind demonstrating.”

“Eww, Beth. No.” Bel looked at James and Daran, laughing together as they cheered on the snake person, who was now joining in on what had quickly become some kind of strange talent show. The snake pulled out a piece of wood with multiple metal tabs sticking out of it and created a melody by rapidly striking them with his tiny, clawed hands. James and Daran leaned their heads closer together as they listened intently.

Bel cringed internally.

“Well, I’ll be turning in early,” Beth chortled. “Try to stay out of trouble.”

Bel woke up slowly. The rapid disappearance of the day’s heat had taken her by surprise, and she’d wrapped herself tightly in some borrowed blankets for warmth. She hadn’t actually gone to sleep until the fire had died down to embers, and the morning sun’s rays were an unwelcome visitor to her small tent. She’d stayed up so late because she’d been worried that her brother would do something stupid with Daran – not that she didn’t like the ant-woman, but she knew that James was the kind of person to rush into things without thinking them through. He’d managed to avoid upsetting their newfound friends’ sensibilities so far, but Bel knew that people got weird about physical contact.

Bel rolled away from the sun, certain that someone else would sleep in later than her. To her surprise though, James opened his eyes, stretched, and popped straight up. “C’mon Bel, time to get out there and face the new day.”

He practically radiated excitement. Bel buried her snakes back under her covers. “Don’t wanna,” she sulked.

To her shock, James grabbed her blanket and forcefully removed it. Her snakes hissed at the betrayal.

“Come on Bel. We’ve got to make a good impression. Let’s brush our teeth and pack up our stuff.”

Bel stared at her brother, momentarily too shocked for words. “Where’s Beth?” she finally demanded.

“Up and out an hour ago probably. You know she takes her training seriously. She’s probably looking for something to stab.”

James made good on his words and strode out of the tent, merrily scrubbing his teeth. Bel stared after him – what had happened to her brother?

Bel groaned at the thought of exposing herself to the cold air. But… maybe she should be out stabbing things too. Nobody was trying to kill her at the moment, but who could say what disaster she’d end up in next? As James would say, I’ve gotta ‘get good’.

Bel rolled up her borrowed blankets before tugging on her deteriorated pants and shirt.

Maybe I should see if anyone has any spare clothes too? she wondered. Wait, how many of these people even wear pants? Or underwear? Maybe I can just get some cloth and call it a skirt.

Bel emerged from under the tent and blinked at the light. She had to repress a snort when she saw that James was already busy joking around with Daran. He excused himself to “take care of some business” as Bel walked over. Daran watched him walk off, and Bel was surprised to see the hungry look on the ant-woman’s face. It made Bel feel weirdly uncomfortable, but the ant-girl had already noticed her approach.

“Good morning Daran,” she greeted.

“Oh, hello Bel!” Daran’s antenna were as energetic as ever, beating the air rhythmically. She skittered a little closer to the gorgon. “So, I have a wondering, what it is that your brother is descended from?”

“Sorry?” Bel blinked sleep from her eyes. “What he’s descended from? Do you mean you want to know about his parents?”

Daran nodded. “Yes. He looks like fox with the very nice red fur on his head, but his other features are very human. I am wondering if he is…”

Daran trailed off and blushed as red as her insect body. “Yes, I am wondering about his parents.”

“Uh, they were just normal people as far as I know. Not foxes.” Bel didn’t understand what Daran was getting at.

Daran put on the frustrated face that had become familiar to Bel. She recognized it from whenever the ant-girl struggled with her words. “I am meaning to ask if you think he and I are, I mean if we could be compatible.”

Daran’s voice went up in pitch and down in volume as she became increasingly flustered. Her face turned a darker shade of crimson until she hid it behind her hands.

It was kind of cute actually, but was Daran really asking if Bel’s brother was capable of mating with an ant?

“I uh, I don’t know anything about compatibility. Sorry. Actually, how did ants and humans first, uh…” Bel started to make a rude gesture before coming to her senses and letting her hands drop awkwardly to her sides.

Daran laughed, clearly put at ease by Bel’s own awkwardness. “We are the very old family, from the Old World, even before the time of the Great Bargainer. But the Great Bargainer allows us to become more human.”

“Oh,” Bel exclaimed, “I’ve heard of him!”

Mostly from Beth cursing loudly, but she’d heard the name.

“Bargainer is great woman,” Daran corrected with a thrash of her antenna. “A woman who makes all of life in Golden Plains possible because of her deal with the gods.”

“So she bargained with the gods for something? Power? Is that why we have Paths?”

“Hm, others have paths, not just human-kin.” Daran spread her hands wide in an all-encompassing gesture. “When people first come to Olympos the world is belonging to many other creatures, but all fight because all different. The Bargainer asked for the ability to bring all creatures together into one family. That way, we all work together and prosper instead of all fight and fail.”

Bel stared at the ant-girl, slowly digesting her words. “So the Bargainer, she got the gods to make the first humans compatible? With everything?”

“Not everything,” Daran insisted with a halting hand gesture, “just many creatures.”

Bel tried to imagine that. Then she did her best to wipe the thought from her head and never imagine it again.

Daran was unbothered by the thought – obviously, since otherwise she wouldn’t exist. “Now the legacy of the Great Bargainer is in the matchmakers of the Great Swap. They guide us to good compatibility so that many generations are healthy.”

Daran itched at her flank nervously and one of her ever-present attend-ants rushed over to make sure that her ant body remained spotless. “You have said that you will follow us to the Great Swap, yes?”

Bel nodded. They didn’t have any other destination, unless Beth decided to go back and start stabbing the Barrier all by herself. Going to the Great Swap would probably be a good way to learn more about the Golden Plains, and they would have guides along the way. Bel thought that it sounded like a good plan.

Daran lowered her head and looked at Bel with big, bashful eyes. “When we arrive, can I have permission to take James to matchmaker before any other? He is very human, and my mother has a great fondness for grandchildren with great hands and dexterity.”

Daran held up her own hands and wiggled her fingers around.

Bel’s snakes curled uncomfortably around her neck. “Uh… why are you asking me?”

Daran balled her little fists and nodded with determination. “With no parent the older sister must take care of a boy. Um, to prevent incompatible doings.”

Bel understood what Daran was asking, but her mind was balking. “What makes you think that you two are, uh, compatible?”

Daran’s antennae waved around excitedly. “He is smell very good! And seems very human. I have much human in my ancestors, so he is good candidate!”

Daran held up a fist and thumped herself on her leather chestpiece. “Myrmex very good candidate as well! Excellent builders! Large homes! Large family with many warriors! None are more safe from the Ravager of Darkness! I will be good sister to Bel!”

Bel stared at the ant-girl. She’s totally serious. She wants permission to take him away to live in some kind of ant city.

Bel saw that James was coming back, and she realized that she need to give some kind of answer.

“Hey James,” she shouted in English, “do you like Daran?”

“What?” he shouted back.

“Like, as in you think she’s cute.”

He laughed nervously, but flashed her a pair of thumbs-up. “Sure,” he responded.

Bel turned back to Daran and made her face as serious as possible. “If you promise to look after my foolish brother and keep him healthy then it’s okay with me. But James has to agree as well.”

Daran clapped her hands in triumph.

Ah, why is everything so weird, Bel thought. At least some weird person isn’t trying to get compatible with me.

Maybe it was for the best. Bel had already dragged James into plenty of dangerous situations, and Lempo’s plans were only going to lead to more disaster. If she could leave her brother with Daran, then he would be safe. And, if Bel was really subtle about it, maybe she could even trick her brother into thinking that it was his idea.

All the danger he’d been exposed to, from his time as her whipping boy to the moment that he’d been lead him away to some pen in the woods in the Dark Ravager’s camp: all of it had been because of Bel. She was determined to stop dragging her brother into danger. If Daran could be the solution, and she made James happy in some weird, half-human, half-ant way, then maybe this was for the best.