Wish upon the Stars chapter 1057

“I really appreciate everything you’ve done for us, Mama,” I said sheepishly. “But you really don’t need to pack us lunch. You should keep it for the kids, they definitely need it more than we do. We HAVE food.” I was trying to refuse the large container of gravy soaked beef that she wanted to foist off on us, but the orphanage matron was having none of it.

“You think I can’t feed my kids?” she asked archly. “That I’m so foolish I’d give away food my babies need to eat?”

My eyes widened, and I stepped back, putting my hands up defensively. “No, of course not, I was just a little worried. Of course we would love to take the food with us. The sandwiches were amazing.” Which was true. Thinly sliced roast beef simmered in gravy with red peppers, ladled liberally over fresh baked bread and topped with smooth, creamy cheese. I’d eaten a dozen of them.

She passed over a bag containing some fresh bread and cheese, and I smiled wryly as I put it all away in my ring. Mama Bel turned to Dayna and put a finger in her face. “And you’d better call home to check in once in a while, little girl. Don’t think having a big fancy Vampire patron makes you too good to call your Mama now, you hear?”

“I won’t Mama,” the elf girl said obediently, hugging the other woman fiercely. “Thank you,” she said emphatically. 

The older woman pulled back and waved her off with a smile. “It’s a mother’s job. Be safe, kids.”

Following her instructions, we set off for Marius’s place, leaving behind a bunch of happy, waving children. Dayna tried and failed to act unruffled by all her little brothers and sisters wishing her good luck, but I saw a slight blush on her face, and couldn’t held nudging her side teasingly. “Someone is popular, huh?”

She glared at me. “We will never speak of this again.”

I just laughed. “I got it, no one needs to know you’re a big softy. Your secret is safe with me.” I mimed zipping my lips and throwing away the key. My amusement faded. “But really…thanks. For bringing me here when it clearly means so much to you, for vouching for me, and for introducing me as a friend. It means a lot.”

“I find that you are much like a fungus,” she said blandly. “Despite my best efforts, you’re growing on me. A bit.”

“That was the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me,” I deadpanned.

She ignored me, and I laughed, chattering to her as we walked, Murmur covering us just in case we needed anonymity. I didn’t really have a form I could use for Astaroth right now, and I needed Dayna out here with me to act as an introduction to Marius, so stealth was better than disguise in these circumstances.

We walked down several streets, around a few corners, and finally came to an unusual building. Specifically, it was a treehouse. Or rather, a treeoffice. Not a building built ON a tree, mind, the whole place was a hollowed out tree trunk, complete with door and windows. Above the door, there were words carved right into the woods. “Explorer’s Den”.

I dropped Murmur, as we’d discussed, and Dayna stepped forward to knock softly on the door. Nothing. She knocked again. Still no response. A third knock “STOP KNOCKING AND COME INSIDE ALREADY IT’S A PUBLIC ENTRYWAY!”

We both jumped at the booming voice and pushed the door open, finding a large bearded man with dark skin and long hair sitting at a desk. He was writing in a huge leatherbound book, and he had a pipe between his teeth, multicolored bubbles emanating from the bowl and popping into wisps of colorful smoke as they emerged. He didn’t bother to look up. “What the hell do you want?” growled the large man. “Can’t you see I’m busy?”

“Ah, I’m sorry to bother you,” Dayna said with uncharacteristic meekness. “We were hoping to hire you as a guide.”

“Well obviously,” he spat, finally glancing up. “This is GUIDE post. What kind of nonsense is…” he paused, his eyes narrowing. “You look familiar. Do I know you?” He glanced at me but dismissed me immediately. “Just her, not you.”

She cleared her throat. “My name is Dayna, and I’m-”

“One of Mama’s kids!” He burst out with a wide smile, dropping his pipe. He caught it seamlessly, stuffing it back between his teeth but maintaining the grin. “I remember you! Well why the hell didn’t you just say so? I’ve always got time for family! Come on in, little sister, tell me what you need.”

We approached the desk, and Dayna passed him the note from Mama to him carefully. He opened the paper, then snapped his fingers and the page turned to ash, going up in a burst of flame. “Well,” he said cryptically, leaning back to steeple his fingers. “That’s a different matter. Says you want a guide to take you to the deeper wood?”

“We are,” Dayna told him solemnly. “It’s a matter of life and death.”

“Well even if it hadn’t been before, it would be once you got there,” he snorted. The man was a B-ranker, and a strong one from what I could tell. Maybe close to A. His sheer presence reminded me of Zeke back in the day before his breakthrough, and he wasn’t holding it back. I wasn’t the same guy I’d been back then though. I was much more experienced now, and I didn’t flinch at the onslaught.

He stared for a moment, obviously expecting us to back down, but when we didn’t he just sighed. “I’ll level with you, little sister. If you had come in here and asked me for this, I’d have said no. For your own good, mind. Deeper wood is no place for kids. And you ARE kids,” he interjected, seeing her about to argue. “Mama’s kid. And that means as a big brother I’ve got a duty to look out for you.”

He stared at his fingers, blackened from the soot of the combusting paper. “But…I’ve got a duty as a son, too. Mama thinks this is a good idea, gods only know why, and I don’t question Mama. She’s earned that from me. So I’ll take you. As far as you need me to go. But if I do this, there needs to be some ground rules.”

Dayna nodded. “That sounds reasonable. What kind of ground rules?”

Marius’s face was solemn and sincere. “The usual stuff. Stick close to me, do as I say, wear this shirt.” He held up a large yellow circus tent-like shirt that proclaimed in bright red letters “I have the bestest big brother ever!” 

My companion, who had been agreeing seriously and without reservation, froze, staring at the hideous garment. She turned her glare on Marius, who blinked back innocently. “No.”

“Come ooooon,” he whined. “It’s just a shirt! I won’t even make you take that many pictures in it. I just need one for my wall!” He pointed behind us, and we turned to find that on either side of the door, a huge wall of photographs in frames showed Marius grinning and giving a thumbs up, his arm around various people of different ages, all wearing different colored versions of that same garish shirt.

I winced. “I get what you meant by loud now,” I told Dayna sympathetically. “I misunderstood. My bad.”

“I’m not LOUD!” bellowed Marius in a voice of such volume the picture frames rattled. “I’m enthusiastic! Family is everything to me! Is it so wrong I want to show off my cute little brothers and sisters to all my clients? I’m just so PROUD of all of them!”

His joyful excitement was practically palpable, and I found myself liking him despite how unequivocally strange he was. He reminded me of my Uncle Sam, albeit much weirder.

“I mean…” I said slowly. “It’s not THAT embarrassing.” Dayna turned to glare at me, and I held up both hands. “I think it’s sweet! It’s a family photo! Sure the color is a bit…unorhtodox. But it could be so much worse. I think yellow and red is striking.”

“I’m gonna be striking in a minute,” she growled, pulling back a fist threateningly. “Why don’t YOU wear this yellow tarp?”

I shrugged. “Well I don’t think that would mean much. I’m not one of his precious siblings. If anything it would be an insult to the garment itself. Such finery isn’t meant for the likes of me. I think only you can bring out the shirt’s true magnificence.”

She looked about reading to hurl herself at me like a jungle cat, but Marius laughed delightedly. “I like your friend, little sister! He’s wise beyond his years! It’s just a quick snapshot! Then we can go! And I’ll get you to the entrance to your path on pain of death. Nothing will stop me from seeing you safely to your goal!”

I glanced surreptitiously at my elf friend, waiting, and finally, she sighed, then pulled on the shirt over her armor. Marius squealed with joy, practically vanishing an appearing beside her, throwing an arm around her shoulder. “Everyone say FAMILY!” No one did, but he took the picture anyway, then zipped off through a side door as Dayna removed the large shirt, looking for all the world like a cat someone had dunked in a bathtub.

She turned her glare on me. “I expect to be compensated,” she seethed. 

“I’m sure,” I laughed. “But come on, it’s not like you aren’t used to it, hanging around with Bethy all the time. She’s the most awkwardly enthusiastic person that I know.”

“Yes,” she said patiently. “But that’s aimed at all of YOU. When it happens to you it’s funny. When it happens to me it's deeply unfortunate. Regardless, I demand compensation. I don’t know what KIND, but I’ll think of something.”

I just laughed, because I could tell from the Scent of Truth that while she was annoyed she wasn’t actually mad. She was just messing with me, and if that wasn’t what friends did I had no idea what was. It didn’t take long for Marius to come jogging back, triumphantly holding up…a photo in a frame? “Do you develop those on the premises?” I asked in disbelief.

“Of course,” he scoffed. “Like I would trust some random person with my precious family memories. All of my photos are developed with love and care.” He held out the frame like he was presenting a divine talisman. “Behold! My littlest sister!”

I blinked. “Wait…littlest?” I turned to glance back at the wall. “But there’s a bunch of younger kids at Mama’s house.”

“Well sure,” he shrugged. “But none of them have visited yet. Dayna is the baby of the family as far as my wall goes. So she gets a place of honor RIGHT above the door.” He reached up and plucked another picture from that spot. “Used to be Tommy, but he’s got this weird thing about limericks and it’s annoying. Glad to see him go, honestly. He can go to the corner with Amber and Bobby.”

Dayna grimaced. “I’m surprised you even put Bobby up there.”

Marius shrugged. “You can pick your nose, but you can’t pick your family. That’s what Mama always says, remember?”

She nodded grudgingly, and I got the impression there was a shared sense of annoyance at Bobby, whoever he was. “Now that you got your picture, can we GO?” Dayna asked after he finished hanging it. “We’re kind of on a deadline.”

We weren’t EXACTLY, but we were in a hurry, which was close enough. Marius seemed to pick up on the impatience, because he chuckled, walking over to a coatrack and lifting a huge coat with a wraparound mantle. He slipped it on, then fastened several straps as he buttoned it up. “Alright then kiddies, come along. Time for a field trip.” I did not consider it a good sign that my Danger Sense started going off when he said that. Not a good sign at all.