Aspen

Basal 58th, 1042

The only person Aspen truly had to answer to was his father; and he was expected to be respectful to both his older sister and mother, though he saw them so rarely it wasn’t a problem. And he was supposed to be respectful of River, too, while he was a guest and student of hers, but it was a more disconnected way of manners he used with his tutors at the castle. He was capable of being civil, when he wanted to.

Aspen thought a God ranked higher than a prince, though. Perhaps if they decided to actually act the part and be worthy of respect he’d ask them for a proper title. Or perhaps not, if Alouette had meant what they said about being in service towards humans. The way they spoke made it sound like they believed they were beneath him and every other person in the world somehow, which seemed backwards, in Aspen’s opinion. But he wasn’t about to argue with them. He didn’t particularly enjoy the feeling of someone around him being a higher authority, if the way he felt anytime his father was around was any indication.

Which is why this argument Clover picked in the slidebuggy was frustrating.

“If you think I’m making them a consultant, you’re out of your mind!” Aspen snapped at her.

“I wouldn’t mind being a regular guest at the castle,” Alouette was happy to invite themself into the conversation. “Or at least visit without getting chased out!”

“Why wouldn’t you want them to be a KC? Or– PC, in you’re case, since you’re not the king yet,” Clover said. “Anyway, having a literal God as a prince’s consultant would be useful.”

“It might be, if they actually had a brain filled with anything useful.” Alouette had delayed their leaving a full day and a half, because River instructed them to go ask her neighbors if they’d tend her garden while she was away and they had gotten ‘distracted’ on the way. To a house not a mile down the road. Then they had proven to be the world’s least efficient packer, trying to put all sorts of useless things into their suitcase for the trip, so River had to run back and forth between helping them with that and mapping their trip out, since he didn’t trust his guards not to get him lost again.

Clover had thought it was funny and tried to help. Then, Azaleon had realized he ought to go into town and get another weapon just as Aspen and Kuiper had returned from town already to visit the communications center and contact Princess Saros and King Alder.

Aspen had sat with his arms crossed, growing more impatient by the second, and he was still second-guessing his choice to let them accompany him at all. Sloppy, all of them.

Clover was sitting across from him, embroidering a jacket that she had informed him earlier she had been working on for ‘a few weeks’, the flowers she was creating all even and detailed, only a bit of shake in her left hand while she worked. She had told all of them the kit she was using had been her late father’s, who had worked as a tailor and seamster, and Aspen begrudgingly had to admit– not out loud, of course– that she had his talent for it.

Kuiper had shoved his nose in a book the second Azaleon had offered to drive the slidebuggy this time, and hadn’t been adding much to the conversation, seemingly absorbed in whatever dense book he was reading. It had a distinctly Eventidian script on the front, and though Aspen could translate the title ‘Rosemary’s oddities’, he couldn’t imagine the book to be much more interesting than the guard himself– which was to say it would have put Aspen to sleep if he was to borrow it.

Alouette, for some unknown reason, had decided to sit beside him, River across from them and beside Clover. Their wings were a pain, and he thought several times of demanding they sit on the roof, before River caught his eye and looked every bit the cautioning mother bear, and Aspen reconsidered.

Which brought them to where they were now: him suffering through a ridiculous argument with a ridiculous person.

“Don’t take him seriously, Alouette, everything out of His Highness’ mouth is spoken like a true Vioday baby,” Clover said. Aspen stared. It took all of his willpower not to kick her out of the slidebuggy at that very moment.

“First of all, I wasn’t born on a Vi– no, regardless, the days of the week have nothing to do with personality! Anyone who believes horoscopes is– we literally have a God sitting here with us.”

“So maybe they can settle this argument. Alouette, aren’t horoscopes real? I can tell you I’m a Marrow-Helion girl, but I was born on a Solday so inwardly I’m more of–”

“Sorry, what’s a horoscope?” Alouette asked. “Just so I know what we’re talking about.”

“Hah! They don’t even know what a horoscope is!” Aspen gloated.

“A horoscope is a belief that the Sol and Lunar Gods hand-pick every single person's day of birth, and that the month, day, and region you’re born in influences both your personality and fate,” Azaleon explained. Alouette’s eyes widened.

“Surely that’d be too tedious for even Gods to do,” Kuiper mumbled from behind the book he was leafing through.

“So if I gave you my birthday you could figure out stuff about me?” Alouette said slowly, their eyes growing wide. “Oh, but would my birthday be considered Renewal Day, or the day I arrived in this realm?”

“Okay, they don’t count as a reliable source of information, nevermind.” Aspen grumbled. Alouette looked genuinely interested regardless. “When you say ‘arrived in this realm’, I assume you mean when you came from the Upper Realm. I’d rather hear more about that over horoscopes.”

“We can talk about horoscopes later. Both for your holiday and your human birthday,” Clover assured them. “I was a little curious too, but I figured it might be rude to ask. If it’s personal you don’t have to answer.”

Alouette looked thoughtful, shaking their head.

“It’s not ‘personal’, but it was a long time ago. Well! I landed in a swamp, which was very slimy. River found me, then, because I was making a lot of noise with my wings, apparently.”

River smiled fondly, clearly nostalgic at the mention of this little memory.

“Yes, you were practically all wings. In a literal sense.” River turned to explain the story to all of them, “At the time I had no idea what– or rather who I was dealing with. I had been in the area for a funeral and took a walk, and I saw them, small and a mass of wings, and I thought…well, I thought it was two or three large birds caught in a trap or something of that sort. I thought they must be drowning and that I should help. Imagine my surprise when I went to ‘help’ and they turned into bog water to escape my grasp. Then into that mass of feathers again, only now they were even more covered in slime.”

“I didn’t have the best grasp of myself yet. It was my first time in this realm,” Alouette explained. “But River took me home and helped me. Who better to find me than the best Wonderworker in this country?”

“That’s the reason I retired nineteen years ago. Helping them gain more control of themself was a full-time job on its own,” River said. “Though I do consider it an honor.”

“That’s why you resemble her so much,” Azaleon said, “You must’ve based your idea of humans heavily off her.”

Aspen looked between them, and sure enough, he could see the resemblance as well. Though River’s nose was more wide and flat, and Alouette’s large and long, and her skin freckled where theirs had an almost gray undertone–from lack of sunlight, Aspen assumed– they had the same curve to their eyes, and both quirked their lips the same way when they smiled. They also favored a lot of purple in their wardrobes, which didn’t surprise Aspen at all. Purple was indicative of Fillip, of wisdom, and River was known for hers.

Picking up a strange creature from a bog didn’t strike Aspen as wise, but he supposed the smartest fool in a village of idiots would be considered the wisest all the same.

“I didn’t mean to. I don’t actually remember it very well.” Alouette scrunched their nose up. “I remember bits and pieces, but then, even those are fuzzy.”

“Well, isn’t that normal for most people, not remembering their early childhood?” Azaleon asked.

“Yes but they’re a God. Having a human shape shouldn’t affect their memory.” Aspen frowned. “But we’ve seen that you also bleed, eat, and sleep. And I assume age, right? So when you say you ‘arrived in this realm’, you mean you lowered yourself to be like us. Which I guess explains why you suck at everything despite being here for nineteen years?”

“They came here to help us, and they’re the youngest of the Gods.” River’s tone had a sharp edge to it, even if she looked relaxed. “If they’re sheltered, it’s my fault. “

“No, I chose to go to the castle as soon as they got marked and put a target on my back. You couldn’t have stopped me; everything you’ve done is to protect me,” Alouette rubbed their neck. “It’s been fun, though! I don’t think the other Gods could do something like this. I can because I’m the God of Transformation. Though, I do wonder…'' They went quiet, looking out the window of the slidebuggy.

“What?” Clover asked gently.

“We Gods can’t harm each other. Erm, well, we can’t in the Upper Realm. I think that’s why the Sol and Lunar Gods sealed everyone; they couldn’t just kill them. It doesn’t work like that. I wonder if the other Gods would be able to hurt me like this…humans sure can,” they shot a purposeful look towards Azaleon.

“I apologized!” Azaleon said quickly, throwing his hands up.

“Hands on the wheel!” Aspen snapped, then added, “It was absolutely a fluke.” He seriously doubted Azaleon could do it again; Alouette was fast, if nothing else. Guards that had been with the royal family for generations hadn’t been able to catch them. The head of the royal guard hadn’t.

“It wasn’t.” Kuiper said without looking up from his book.

“Please, it was; the two of you got hired because Father was struggling to find anyone else. Because I kept insisting–truthfully–that I don’t need guards. You’re an oaf, and he’s a coward,” He said, gesturing to Kuiper and Azaleon respectively. “I could beat both of you in a fight with or without Thauma.”

“I would never fight you! We would get fired,” Azaleon said quickly.

“‘We’, implying I could get rid of both of you at once? What are you, a package deal?” Aspen snorted. Kuiper’s expression didn’t shift, but Azaleon looked increasingly uncomfortable. Wait– were they? He hadn’t looked over their records himself very thoroughly, he left that tedious business to the head of the guard, and his father’s head of security, but he’d never had guards who were involved. He hadn’t even realized such a thing would be allowed. Wouldn’t it be a problem if they got too personal and had a lover’s spat or something?

“We’re not.” Azlaeon said it quickly and decisively, and Kuiper didn’t offer any further input or change expression at all, just staring down at his book.

“The roof of the slidebuggy was wet,” Alouette said, tone more unsure now. “But if you ever want a sparring buddy, you can practice with me! I’m durable, and although I won’t hit back, I can be a useful target for practicing speed.”

“Oh? Well, I wouldn’t say no to that,” Azaleon was saying that to be polite, Aspen was sure. Kuiper cringed silently beside him, and Aspen realized they must have trained together at some point in the guard; Kuiper probably knew Azaleon was awful and was trying to make him feel better by telling him it wasn’t a fluke.

“You definitely need the practice if you’re going to be my guard. Saving his feelings to be nice won’t keep anybody safe,” Aspen said pointedly in Kuiper’s direction. Kuiper once again chose to remain silence, and Aspen felt satisfied he’d won this fight.

Clover had been quiet, too, her lips pressed into a line. She had no fighting experience at all, Aspen thought, so she was probably feeling left out of the conversation. Then again, her gaze was directed towards the jacket in her lap and the needle in her hand, and so it might have actually been that she was deeply concentrated on her work with that instead.

“We’re almost to Bear Lodge. We won’t be able to take the slidebuggy through the grasslands or Northpass Tundra,” River mentioned, though she didn’t look overly worried about it.

“I know that, I’ve been to Lacus Mare many times,” Aspen snapped. There were no charging stations for the slidebuggies that far, and even if there were, the terrain wasn’t suited for them. Steamtrams were one option, though he hated how…public they usually were. And they needed to lay low regardless. God or not, the world at large knew Alouette as a criminal, and if word Aspen was traveling with them got back to his father? No, Aspen didn’t want to risk that. They would dock the slidebuggy at Bear Lodge’s station for when they returned, and they could exchange it for a more suited vehicle in the meantime. “What about a private cabriolet?”

“Your Highness, I wasn’t asking you to come up with a means of transport for us. I’ve already arranged one to be ready upon our arrival.” River informed him. “Now, have any of you been through the Twilight Strip, save His Highness and Alo?” She looked almost expectantly at Kuiper, probably because his accent indicated he was from somewhere in the Twilight Strip. He shrugged.

“I’ve been down to Peter’s Peninsula, but I realize you’re talking about the tundra, not the more idyllic side on the coast, so no.”

“I’ve never been, either.” Azaleon confirmed. Which Aspen wanted to laugh at– he was supposedly from Cheytell, yet he’d never gone just slightly west into the desert? Sure, there was a bit of water between the two, but Gods, did none of these people explore the world around them at all?

“This is literally the farthest I’ve ever been from Primrose Meadow,” Clover said, leaning forward. “But Juniper used to love telling me stories about it. Is it true there’s a huge maze out in the desert left from the dark age?”

“It is, but we won’t be going far enough east to see it. But regardless, both the desert and tundra are much, much colder than either Fern Helion or Lacus Mare ever get. Normally I’d say you all need to pick up warm, insulated clothes while we’re in Bear Lodge to make the trip. But I think this could be a wonderful chance for a lesson for you, Clover.”

Clover blinked as if she’d forgotten River had promised to teach her Thaumaturgy in the first place. Aspen rolled his eyes.

“Oh, okay,” Clover said, eyeing the gold Thauma River had pulled from her bag, contained in a cylindrical glass vial, “We’re doing this now.”

“It’s so easy, here, you can try it on my clothes, first,” Alouette told her, holding their long sleeves out towards her. “You’ve been embroidering that jacket the whole way here; imagine it’s a lot like that! If you screw it up I can transform it back to the way it was, and you can try again,” they said, gentle and encouraging.

“You’re going to want to envision what you want to do. If you can’t see a full picture, that’s fine, make a mental list if that works better for you. Everyone has different methods.” River started. “The important thing is that you know your intention. Our end goal is that we want to make the fabric thicker, warmer. Perhaps a plush fabric, or one lined with fur or wool. On your own shirt, you’ll have to extend the sleeves as well. But we aren’t going to start with either of those things. I’m going to let you try to change Alo’s robe’s color, just to get a feel for gold. I’d like you to try and turn it white,” River said.

“And then turn it back if you can, I look dreadful in white,” Alouette mumbled. “But it’s fine if you can’t, because I can!”

“Obviously,” Aspen muttered under his breath. They were starting her on training wheels garbage. Quick as she’d been able to pick up purging with amber, he seriously doubted she needed to start with ‘changing colors 101’.

“Do you use a Wonderworking Wand, Clover?” River asked. Clover shook her head.

“No, I prefer just using my fingers. Er, I know it’s not super good for you in the long run, but carrying a wand or staff has always kinda felt like a hassle, and…I can, but…” she trailed off. River shook her head, opening her vial.

“We’re going to start with whatever you’re comfortable with. Though if I teach you scarlet or cobalt, you will have to use a tool; they’re the one’s I’d be most worried to let you handle raw. Here, go ahead. Try and tune out everything besides the fabric and your intention.”

Clover dipped a finger into the gold Thauma vial, and then turned to Alouette, who looked far too eager, still holding their sleeves out to Clover.

Aspen couldn’t help but watch. He actually couldn’t remember his own first time using gold; all of his lessons blurred together, and he’d been learning from such a young age. Clover’s eyes were filled with a sort of wonder as she grabbed Alouette’s sleeves, the gold Thauma shimmering and vanishing into them, that familiar gold shimmer rising up after. White crawled up purple sleeves, and wow, Alouette was right. They did look awful in white.

“It feels a lot different than amber,” Clover said, leaning back. She only had a few beads of sweat on her temple, but she was grinning.

“But…not bad, right?” Alouette asked eagerly.

“No! It’s just going to take some getting used to,” she admitted.

“You should change it back and forth a few more times– we’ll say twenty times, before we get to Bear Lodge. If you can do that, you can try to change the sleeve length and fabric.” River said, “And if you’re too spent by then, Alo can do it. Or,” her eyes flitted over to Aspen, “You could show Clover, since you claim not to need any of my lessons.” So she’d caught his judgemental stare. He couldn’t help but smirk, shrugging lightly.

“I wouldn’t want to embarrass her. But I’m willing to bet she can do better than this. Not better than me, of course, since I’ve been using it for years, but better than hue shifting, surely.”

“Sounds like a challenge. I bet I can do better than you before we get to the station, and if I do, you’re gonna give me your measurements so I can make you something, and you have to wear it.”

Aspen raised his eyebrows. “You’re threatening to give me a gift?”

“Oh, no. It’s gonna be the most tacky thing you’ve ever owned. You’re going to die of embarrassment when you have to wear it in public. Which you will,” Clover was smug, beaming, and everyone was looking at him expectantly. Even Kuiper was watching from over the top of his book.

“I think you’ve forgotten your place and become too bold in the way you speak to me.” Clover actually flinched at that. Good– she was getting comfortable.

“Sorry, Your Highness,” Clover muttered, “Just thought we could have a little fun with it.”

“Fun? I plan to take it very seriously. I’ve never lost at anything in my life. When I win this little wager, you’ll be making me something that’s actually nice. Let’s say, a fully embellished cape, embroidered with pure gold thread and the finest silks.”

“Oh,” She said, that fire back in her eyes. “Okay, you’re on.”