Chapter Four: Show Me
"Is it weird? It seems like it would be weird."
It seemed like only yesterday that Luther had been sitting in a cantina with Clio yammering at him, but it had, in fact, been several days. He knew that because it had been several days since he'd had time to breathe, let alone sit around and drink with his friend. Or at least that was how it felt.
When Queen Varen wanted something done, she wanted it done thoroughly and right. The warriors were spending their time questioning people and looking for evidence to support her theory that the crash of the cargo carrier on their planet had been an act of aggression.
So far, they hadn't found anything.
The queen was upset that Alanna couldn't remember more, and Luther wouldn't be surprised if she assumed that Alanna was holding out on them. Luther told her the story that Alanna had told him four or five times before she finally let up and admitted that perhaps she was telling the truth.
Luther didn't see why Alanna would have a reason to lie, honestly. It wasn't like this was a good thing for her, after all. She'd been grabbed and brought to another planet against her will. She was a victim in all of this.
Varen seemed to think that Luther's 'soft heart' led him to believe these things, but she hadn't been there. She hadn't seen the fear in Alanna's eyes when he'd pulled her out of the carrier. So yes, Luther believed her story.
"It's...strange," Luther admitted. He stared down into the darkness of his drink. "She isn't what I expected her to be like."
"What were you expecting?" Clio asked.
"I don't know. More weeping? She's so far from home. If someone took me from my home and brought me to a strange planet, I would be horrified."
"Well, she's not in a safe place," Clio said with a shrug. "Maybe she doesn't feel comfortable sharing that emotion."
"Perhaps," Luther said. He sipped his drink slowly. "I don't know what to do with her, honestly. She's not one of us, but she's here, and she'll be here until her Majesty decides what to do with her."
"Do you talk at all?"
Luther sighed. They did talk at times, but it wasn't much. Alanna would ask him if he was holding her prisoner, and he would say that he wasn't, but it wasn't safe for her to wander around on her own and he didn't have time to escort her around. Plus, he wasn't sure if the queen had intended for her to stay inside or not. So inside she stayed.
It seemed to chafe at her, being made to stay put, and she lashed out at him when they were in the same room, usually when he was coaxing her into eating or showing her how something in his house worked.
Luther didn't blame her, though. After all, she was in a strange land, and had no idea when or if she was going to be able to go home. Even though the people of Lin-Vayel thought their home was a paradise, for someone who didn’t know its wonders, it probably didn’t seem like one. And it wasn’t like Alanna had the opportunity to see it for what it was, anyway. All she knew were the walls and rooms of his house, and that probably contributed to her moodiness when he tried to talk to her.
If he couldn’t get her home right away, perhaps there was something else he could do to help her.
Alanna was just where he had left her when he got back to the house that next afternoon. It was nearing evening, and it had taken longer than he’d been expecting to secure the permission that he’d needed for what he wanted to do, and he’d already been expecting it to take quite a while.
"Out drinking again?" Alanna asked, narrowing her eyes at him. "Must be nice to be able to go out to the bar whenever you want."
There was no mistaking her tone, but Luther frowned. "What's a bar?"
"The place where you drink," she said, slowing her words down like he was particularly slow.
"Oh. We call them cantinas here," he told her, and then winced when she gave him a look that told him that what the place was called was hardly the point she had been trying to make. "I wasn't there, anyway," Luther hurried to say.
"Oh," she replied.
He waited to see if she was going to say anything else, but she just turned her head to look out the window. "Do you want to know where I was?" he asked her, eagerness dripping from his words.
She made a face at him that was all disdain. "Yes, please do tell me of your adventures in the outside while I'm trapped here in your house," she said dryly. "That sounds like great evening entertainment."
"I went to talk to the queen," Luther said, not letting her dampen his excitement. He was proud of this accomplishment, after all.
That seemed to catch Alanna's attention. At the very least, she knew that the queen was the one who decided what freedoms she was allowed to have while she was here. Something bright lit in her eyes, and Luther watched as she dimmed it with some force. Clearly, she didn't want to get her hopes up. "About what?"
"Well," Luther said. "I was thinking about how you're trapped here, and how it might not be so bad if you could see all this planet has to offer. If you weren't supposed to stay inside."
"If I wasn't being held captive in your house, you mean," Alanna muttered, loud enough for him to hear.
He dipped his head, acknowledging that. "Fine. I'm sure that's how it feels. At any rate, I went to ask Queen Varen if there was something we can do about that."
"And what did she say?"
He smiled. "She said you can go out."
Alanna blinked, seemingly taken aback by that. "Just like that? I thought it was dangerous or whatever."
"Well, it still is," Luther admitted. "And you can only go out with an escort, but all the same, it's more freedom than you had before." He waited, trying to see how she was going to react to that.
Luther didn't know Alanna well at all. She was staying in his home, but he was busy and she was upset, so they rarely talked. He didn't know what her life had been like before she came here or how she was accustomed to living, but he was pretty sure that being escorted around and told where she could and couldn't go was not how she was used to living.
Still, Luther willed her to see how much better it was than nothing.
There was a long moment where she didn't say anything, and then she let out a soft sigh, shoulders slumping. "Thank you," she said softly. "For doing that for me. It's not what I want, but it's better than nothing."
Luther smiled, surprised. He'd expected more of a fight from her, but he was pleased. "It's the best I could do right now," he told her. "There's more to consider than just you, which I know doesn't seem fair since you're the one stuck here, but we are working on it."
"I know," she said. "I just. Want to go home."
"I know," he echoed. "But until you can, I hope you'll allow me to show you the wonders of my home."
They started the next morning after a quick breakfast. Mornings were busy, usually, with people getting ready to start their day. Of course word had spread around the metropolitan areas that there was a human among them, and Luther would have been much surprised if word hadn't spread to the more rural areas by then, too.
Of course, they probably all thought she was still confined to his house, and he was hoping that there wouldn't be too much commotion when they were seen out.
Alanna looked nervous, which struck Luther as odd until he thought about how different this must be for her and how he'd feel if he was somewhere other than home.
"It's alright," he said to her, offering her his arm. "No one's going to hurt you."
She looked embarrassed to be caught with her nerves showing, and she ignored his arm, but stuck close to him. Independent to a fault, then. Luther could respect that.
"Where are we going?" she wanted to know, looking around at everything as they started walking.
"Is there anything you want to see in particular?" Luther asked.
Alanna looked surprised to be consulted, but she quickly frowned. "I don't know what there is to see here. What are the popular tourist spots for aliens?"
He was going to point out that she was the alien here, but instead he bit his tongue and turned his attention to trying to think of where he could take her.
The marketplace would be just coming to life at this time of the morning, people setting out their wares and the smell of freshly cooked foods beginning to waft through the air. It would be packed within minutes, though, teeming with people grabbing breakfast on their way to their jobs. Perhaps not there at the moment, though Luther was sure she would enjoy it.
There were places that were important to him, of course. Places that he went to when he needed to be alone or to have a good think or to just remind himself of how much he loved to be on this planet that he called home. But he didn't think those would hold the same importance to her, and he didn't want to show them to her and then have to risk her laughing in his face or something. So instead he started small.
"Come," he said, motioning her to follow him.
It was a short walk to the shore, the place where the water met the land. There were many shores on Lin-Vayel, of course, considering each of the seven sections was practically an island, give or take a landmass or two, but this was the main shore. The one where you could see the nearly endless swathe of water stretched out before you like a glittering jewel in the sunlight.
It was a good day to show it to her, too. Aside from the watercrafts that bobbed and floated some ways away, gathering water creatures for food and trade, it was otherwise deserted.
"Wow," Alanna breathed as she took it in.
Luther had seen this sight enough times that he was more interested in watching her expression as she stared off into the distance. You couldn't even really see the horizon very well with the swells of water, and the smell of salt and sea was heavy in the air.
He watched as she dragged in deep breaths of it, eyes wide with wonder.
"Is it safe?" she asked, turning to look at him.
"The water?"
She nodded.
"It's as safe as anything that deep and powerful can be, I suppose," Luther replied. "Safer for me than for you."
Her features twisted into a strange look at that, but she was already toeing off her shoes. "Can I wade?"
Ah, that was what she meant. Luther nodded. "Of course. Just be careful. The undertow is strong." Although this was perhaps the safest place for her to explore, considering he was right there and could save her in a heartbeat.
He watched as she rolled up her borrowed pants and then stepped into the water, flinching for a moment and then grinning all of a sudden. "It's so nice. I thought it would be cold."
"No," he said. "It's never cold. Not even in the cold months. There's so much of it, and it has a life of its own." That was the going theory, anyway. Some thought that it was because the great sea was the source of their powers and since they called on it so much for that purpose, it kept the sea awake and warm.
Luther didn't like to think of it that way, though. It made it sound like the sea was some kind of tool for them to use, when that was the opposite of how things were. If anything, they were the tools and the sea granted them its awesome power to go out and spread its influence.
Either way, he knew that the water was a living, ever changing creature, but he didn't go into all of that with Alanna.
Instead he watched as she waded a couple of feet out, face turned up into the sunshine.
"It's so beautiful," she murmured, and he wondered if she knew that he could still hear her. A breeze kicked up, blowing her hair around everywhere, and she reached up to push it back and out of her face.
The sunlight sparkled on her skin, and when a particularly strong blast of air sent water spraying everywhere, it glistened on her. Luther knew she wasn't from this place and never could be, but in that moment she looked like she belonged. She looked like she had climbed out of the sea and come to stand on land for a moment, and Luther's heart beat a bit faster at the sight.
"What's she doing out?"
And then the moment was over. Luther turned to see Jalal standing behind him, also watching Alanna. "She's standing there," he said.
Jalal's impulsive nature had yet to wane, and he still had a tendency to get other people hurt with his antics, which was something that Luther didn't approve of.
"Well, I can see that," Jalal said, rolling his eyes. "I thought she was confined to your house, though. For our protection."
"That was for her protection."
"Was it? My mistake, then. I thought we needed to be saved from her."
"Why would we need to be saved from her?" Luther asked.
Jalal shrugged. "Because she's a human? Don't they carry disease and all that?"
"She isn't vermin, Jalal. And she didn't ask to be here."
He held up his hands in a gesture of peace. "Calm down, big guy. I didn't say she did. Just it's kind of weird, is all. One day there are no humans here, and the next there's a human, and she's all...out and all."
"She has the right to be treated well here. She isn't a prisoner."
"Whatever you say," Jalal said, even though it was clear he thought that he was right.
Just another thing to dislike about Jalal, then. Luther turned back to keep watching Alanna, who had waded out a bit further while he'd been wasting time with Jalal. Hopefully, Jalal would just get bored and go away. Luther was sure there was something he was supposed to be doing elsewhere, anyway.
"She's pretty to look at, at least," Jalal said from behind him. "She's got that going for her. I didn't know humans could look that good."
And that was a line too far. Luther's fingers curled into fists on either side of his body, and he drew in a deep breath to keep his anger in check. "Was there something you needed?" he asked through gritted teeth, though he didn't turn around.
"No, no," Jalal said. "Just enjoying the view for right now."
Luther was just considering calling to Alanna that they should move on, when she turned back and seemed surprised to see how far out she'd gone. She started wading back towards land, the smile still stretching her face.
"Okay," she said, once she was close enough. "I can see why you like it here so much."
His own smile was practically involuntary at the sight of how pleased she looked. It was a welcome change from how upset she'd been in the days previous.
"Can you?" went Jalal from behind him, and Alanna seemed to startle when she noticed him there. She looked from him back to Luther, confusion on her face.
"This is Jalal," Luther said. "He is one of my fellow warriors. And I'm sure he has things to do."
"Nonsense," Jalal said. "I have time to greet our visitor. First human ever, I'm pretty sure. Isn't that exciting for you?"
Alanna snorted. "Sure," she said, voice dry. "Being kidnapped and brought to a different planet is such a high honor."
Luther smiled at her tone, but it seemed to go completely by Jalal who just grinned at her. "Well, of all the places you could have been brought, you were brought here," he said. "And that's special."
"Is it?"
"Of course it is. Hasn't Luther told you what we are?"
She looked between the two of them, clearly confused, and it dawned on Luther that no, actually, he hadn't gotten around to telling her what it was they did and who they were.
Jalal made a chiding noise. "Luther's the modest type," he said. "Doesn't like to brag or show off. Luckily for you, I'm leagues different from him. Watch this."
He already knew what Jalal was going to do before he even did it, and he stepped back to avoid the inevitable puddle.
Right before their eyes, Jalal's form went wavy, blurred around the edges, and then nearly clear. He gave them a little salute and then melted himself down into water.
Alanna gasped, and when Luther glanced at her, she had a hand clapped over her mouth. "How did he do that?" she asked. "Can you do that?"
"Yes," Luther replied. "But it's dangerous. Especially this close to the tide." It would take time for Jalal to reform himself, and Luther really should have stood there to make sure that a strong wave didn't come sweeping over the sand to drag parts of Jalal out to sea, but honestly, Jalal brought this on himself. Every single time. "Come," Luther said. "There is more to see."
"Should we just leave him like that?"
He shrugged one shoulder. "He does this often."
"Okay, then," she said, and fell into step with him as they walked away. "How did he do that, though?"
"It's a gift given to us," Luther explained.
"The ability to turn into a puddle?"
"Not only that. That is just the showiest of our talents. And the most dangerous. If the tide were to come in now, Jalal would be sucked out to sea before he can reform himself. Going to a liquid when you're meant to be solid requires much focus."
Alanna nodded. "That makes sense, I guess. So what else can you do?"
Luther hesitated. He wasn't supposed to be showing off that sort of stuff, he was showing her the world outside.
"Oh, come on," she continued. "You didn't even tell me you had powers or whatever, and if it's some kind of secret, then it looks like Jalal didn't get the memo. So you may as well tell me."
He sighed. Alanna hadn't balked from the sight of Jalal melting, so perhaps she wouldn't be frightened of the rest of the powers that went along with it.
"Very well," he said.
He found them a remote and quiet corner of the beach and he closed his eyes. It was so easy to do this here, with the smell of the sea in the air and the sound of the waves beating against the shore to call his focus to the water.
Luther's power had always been less about showing off and more about honoring the sea. It was functional and ritualistic, and when he opened his eyes, he could feel the energy coursing through him. His palms were itchy, prickling with the need to melt away and let the water come forth, almost as if the water wanted to be seen and to explain the magnitude of the bond they shared with the sea.
So he let it.
He lifted his hand and turned his palm so the back of his hand was parallel to the ground. With a small smile playing around his mouth, he let the water come forth, surging and growing until he held a perfectly shaped watery sphere in one hand.
Alanna looked stunned. She came closer to him and reached out one hand tentatively. When she poked the bubble of water, Luther focused on holding it steady, and her fingers went through it instead of making it pop.
"Oh," she said softly.
Luther smiled. He let the bubble drop its shape and the water crawled over his body from one hand across his chest to the other hand, ready and waiting to catch it. In that hand, he shaped it into a diamond, letting it turn slowly and catch the light from the sun.
From there, he gathered it into both hands and then lifted it up, sending it arcing over Alanna's head back into the sea.
"There is more," he said, smiling at her. "But those skills are more for battle than for show. I can also breathe underwater and do the melt that Jalal did with any part of my body." He melted his hand just to show her.
"That's...amazing," Alanna breathed. "I didn't even know things like that were possible."
"Here they are. I'm sure humans don't have similar skills." It wasn't an insult, just the truth of the matter.
"Can only the warriors do it?" Alanna wanted to know.
He shook his head. "No, most of the people here have the talents, though the warriors are the best at it. Usually."
“Sounds like there’s a story there.”
Luther snorted. “Not so much a story as a person.”
And that was how they forgot about Jalal and went to go see Clio.
Clio, as Luther had expected, was delighted to meet Alanna. She was curious to a fault, and would have shown up at his home looking to meet the human woman sooner or later anyway. Luther got to take pleasure in the surprise on her face when they walked into the tech sphere and over to her station.
When she wasn't plundering their ruins for treasure, she worked in the tech industry, developing and perfecting new technological advances to help keep their society functioning at its best.
She had a wickedly smart mind in addition to her powers and sense of cunning, and it was honestly no wonder that Luther had been in love with her for so long. She was a wonder. And while his feelings had ebbed, he could still see all of that in her and knew what she was worth.
"I'm sure he's been telling you all sorts of stuff about me," she said to Alanna, leaning back in her chair and eying the human woman. "Most of it is probably not true."
"Actually he just told me you were very powerful and very smart," Alanna said, which was true, but not necessarily what he wanted Clio to know.
She smiled and rolled her eyes, but there was fondness in her face. "Of course he did. He was in love with me for a while, did you know?"
Luther was mortified, but Alanna was smiling. "Really?"
"Oh, yes. He was all over me. Let me tell you something, we might not have worked out, but that's just because we're very different people, not because there's anything wrong with Lu here. He's wonderful. Kind, generous, strong. Good in bed." She made a face that was all wiggled eyebrows and lascivious smile.
Alanna laughed, and Luther wondered why he had ever thought this was a good idea.
"I don't know if that's the kind of thing human women look for in their men, but here, it's pretty extraordinary."
"It is," Alanna said. "All of that. And hard to find, too."
"Tell me about it. I've been dredging the deep ever since it didn't work out with this one."
"You could stop talking about me like I'm not here," Luther said, trying to sound stern, but probably just succeeding in sounding petulant.
"Aw, no one forgot about you," Alanna said, turning a bright grin in his direction. "How could we, big as you are?"
"I like her," Clio said, and Luther could tell from the shine in her eyes that she was serious. "She has a good eye."
Luther sighed. "Well, that's just wonderful, Clio. I'll be sure to pass that along to the queen."
"You do that," she said, giving him a haughty look before she dissolved into giggles. "Anyway. You need to leave now. I actually do have to do some work today if I'm going diving later tonight."
"Be careful," Luther cautioned. Diving at night was perfectly safe in theory, considering the water itself would never hurt someone suited for it, but that didn't mean that there weren't other dangers. Luther remembered all too well how dangerous it could be down there.
"I'm always careful," she said. "And nothing out of the ordinary has been seen down there since the time it happened to you. It will be fine."
"Still," he said.
Clio held his gaze, and he knew what she was going to see there. Finally she nodded. "Very well. I'll be as careful as possible."
"Thank you," he said. He got up from his chair and motioned for Alanna to follow, and the two of them took their leave.
"You really were in love with her," she said as they walked out of the sphere.
He didn't see the point in trying to deny it, not when Clio had so handily told her how it had all gone down. So instead he inclined his head slightly. "I was."
"Wow. I mean, I don't blame you, she really did seem great. It's just not something humans usually admit that freely to near complete strangers."
"You aren't a stranger," Luther said. "You're sharing my home and I'm seeing to your safety. We should know each other."
Alanna looked off into the distance. Even from here, the more mechanized and industrial part of the city, you could see the sea and hear the waves. The smell of salt on the air was lessened, but still present. Luther knew what she'd see in the direction she was looking, he just wasn't sure what she was looking for.
"I guess you have a point," she said finally, looking back at him. "It's not like I'm going home any time soon, right? And being stuck here and not knowing anyone could easily get really lonely."
Luther gave her a slow smile. "Very practical."
"Hush, you."
They walked around a bit more, and once the afternoon rush had ended, he took her to the marketplace for a mid afternoon meal. They dined of crisp, well seasoned meat on skewers, served with warm flatbread and spiced vegetables. He introduced her to the strong tea made by the oldest woman in the city, and laughed as she nearly choked on it but then went back for more.
He wasn't sure how much time they would have to do this later, so he showed her everything he thought she should see that didn't have personal significance to him and watched as she took it all in, pleased when it seemed like she was really beginning to understand the wonder of this place and all it had to offer.
At the end of the day, they headed back to his home, foot sore and worn out. Luther didn't think he'd spent that much time going around the city in years, and it had been nice to feel like he was seeing it through new eyes, so to speak.
Alanna looked a bit overwhelmed, but happier than he'd seen her since she'd come here.
"Thank you," she said, after a long stretch of silence. "For doing that for me. I was going a little stir crazy being cooped up in your house."
He smiled lightly. "I noticed."
"It's nothing against your hospitality," she hurried to assure him. "I'm just used to being much more independent."
"That's what I assumed. Don't worry, Alanna. I wasn't offended by you not wanting to be locked up in my house all day."
"Okay, good."
It had been a long day for the both of them, and even though Luther had a warrior's stamina, he was worn out, too, so the silence was welcomed as the day ended and sank into night.
"Do you think..." Alanna began as she was getting ready for bed.
"Hm?"
"Do you think we could do that again sometime?" she asked. "I'd like to see more, if that's alright."
Luther smiled warmly at her. "I think we can manage that."