Joan

Chapter XVI

At the end of the day, Nimu lets me sleep in her hut with her while Lan and Chasan share their small space. Nimu's pad is pretty much the same layout as Lan's, minus the messiness of it- it's just about as dry as she is.

"You got any cushions or something?" I cringe, studying the hard floor. "My back's kind of sensitive to these things, plus, it's not good for my bones."

"No."

"Does anyone else around here?"

"Not that I'm aware of."

"Well, could you ask 'em?"

From the blasè face she's giving me, I can already detect the answer to this question.

"I'mma be honest," I start, gearing up for this admission. "You're a little...boring for my taste."

"Well thankfully my life doesn't depend on satisfying your views of me," She replies, brushing me off.

"You're right, I'll give you that, but I guess what I'm trying to say is I don't know if we're going to mesh too well. Me being me, after all, and you being...you."

"This isn't about meshing. I'm helping you because Lan can't do this alone."

Sarcasm powers activated!

"Aw, such a friend."

"What's your brother's name?" She asks, skipping topics.

"Brent."

"I never heard that name before, it's not bad though."

If she thought that was foreign, she hasn't heard anything yet.

"It's actually a pretty basic name where I come from."

Putting some firewood into a small potbelly stove, she joins me at the small, crudely fashioned dining room table that only has two wimpy chairs.

"What is your land like? Edalirwen as you called it."

"Well, actually funny story," I chuckle. "I'm not from there- I'm not from this universe at all. My dad is though."

She tilts her head. "Huh?"

"My same thought. So, apparently, he was born and lived here, or the other side, his whole life until my mom met him."

"And your mother is from...?"

"Same place as me and my brother. See, there's this giant chunk of water and dirt called Earth rotating around a ball of bright light in a galaxy with billions of stunning stars called the Milky Way."

"Sounds dreamy?"

A chuckle escapes my lips. "Yeah, but it's nothing like that."

"It sounds like you didn't know your dad lived in Edalirwen."

"Yeah, you'd be surprised what kind of information flies over my head."

Not that it was previously known information.

As we bunker down, she peers over at me with a narrowed-eyed look, accompanied by a cynical voice.

"You don't know Tymos, do you?"

"Um, of course not," I scoff, tying my hair up. "I'm not really looking to know him either."

"You shouldn't underestimate him."

It's a warning with all the signs of being legit, but I'm not focused on Tymos as a ruler, just as a target for an ass whopping.

"Well, I haven't been told anything about him really, apart from what I've seen of him."