Caleybrae Ch 2

A few hours later found Aedan putt-putting his way through the country. In one hand was a map, crudely copied from the internet that showed squiggly lines, circles for trees, and only one or two landmarks. Maybe I should invest in new printer ink, finally, Aedan thought.

The sky overhead was clear and blue, the usual trademark of Caleybrae summer weather. Overall he found his trip pleasant and the breeze cool. And by nightfall, it was still warm but not stifling, and he found that quite nice indeed.

What he didn't find quite as nice was the absence of his sleeping bag (which he had forgotten to pick up) and the presence of those beings that he could hear but not see (which he couldn't get away from).

"Let me try, let me try."

A sharp needleprick stung his cheek. "Yow!" He eyed the darkness sullenly, rubbing his cheek. "Try yourself elsewhere, if you please."

Once again, the beings shrieked in startlement, but his time they didn't disappear. He felt them come closer instead.

"So, chappy, you can hear us?" one inquiring voice quavered.

"No, of course not," he replied flatly.

"Ah--" There was a pause. "Ah ha ha..."

"If you don't mind me asking," Aedan began politely, "what in the hell are you?"

"Oh, you can't see us?" It was the other voice (though how he could distinguish them, he did not know).

"Er, no, I don't believe I can."

"Oh. Uh. We're, well..." There was a pause in which he assumed they were conferring with each other. "We're mighty gods," they finished, with a decidedly more royal air. He sighed. Here we go again.

"Mighty gods," the other picked up, "that could crush you if we chose to, mortal!"

"Uh huh. Gods of what?"

"Of...of what? Oh, er, of course. Um. Thunder!"

"And crop harvests!"

"And war!"

"Don't forget fertility."

"And stuff like that."

Aedan chuckled. "Best keep on your good sides then, eh?"

"That's right. And, um. We demand a sacrifice!"

"Yes, that's right," the other agreed.

"A sacrifice. Will a sandwich do?"

"Sure!"

"He means, we suppose so."

"Yeah. We suppose so."

He dug out one of his several sandwiches and, not sure where to put it, set it on the rock beside him. To his mild surprise, it disappeared almost immediately.

"Sufficient," one muttered, with its mouth full.

"Mmmrrhmmnn," the other agreed.

"Well thank goodness my sacrifice has been accepted by the grace of the gods," he sighed, and laid his head back down on the grass. He felt them settle in beside him.

"We're going to stick with you, mortal. You know how to sacrifice!"

"Goodness, yes!"

"Alright then," he mumbled, as tiredness crept over him. "Just let me sleep."

"Oh, um. I suppose we can let you."

"Goodnight, mister mortal!"

"Goodnight, er...gods." With that, he pulled his travelling cap over his eyes and fell into a doze.

--

When he awoke in the morning, he was pleased to find all his working parts in tact. He was however surprised to see a heap of sticks at his feet, though his confusion was cured swiftly as his two "companions" came into hearing.

"Light it on fire! Light it on fire!"

"I'm trying! Just gimme a sec."

There was a spark, but it didn't catch. Aedan watched several attempts before reaching into his jacket and pulling out a lighter.

"Hey, too bad you're not the gods of fire," he remarked amiably, as he lit a few of the sticks and set them down. Thankfully, he'd bedded down in the dirt, so nothing was going to catch but the sticks.

"Don't think we're not," one of them piped. "We're just out of practice."

"Oh, right. Ought to keep those smiting powers up, you two." He reached into his bag and pulled out a turkey sandwich. Taking a yet unsinged stick, he stabbed through the layers of his meal and let it toast over the fire. "Thanks though for the idea."

"No problem. It's shiny."

"Fire!"

He arched his eyebrow towards where he thought his pyromaniac guests were, but continued to roast his breakfast.

"Oh, hey, we forgot! What's your name?"

"I won't give my name unless you give yours."

"Sure, sure. I'm Tac, and that's my brother Tic."

"Fire!" Tic squealed (again).

"Tic and Tac, huh? I'm Aedan. Nice to meet you." He made as if to shake hands, realized he had no idea where they were and let his hand settle in his lap again.

"Ay-than? Ay-than. That's funny." Tac seemed to toy with the name. "Oh, Tic, remember! Birdy told us to tell him if we talked to Ay-than because talking to him would tell Birdy that there were telling things about him."

Aedan, needless to say, was lost.

"Birdy!" Tic grinned. "Goodness, yes, let's see Birdy! He's waiting for us anyways."

You could almost hear Tac puff himself up as he spoke: "Okay, Ay-than, we gods have important and godly business to attend to."

"Yes," continued Tic, "and it is very godly business, indeed."

"So we'll catch you on the flip-side!"

And just as inexplicably as the first time, he knew they had disappeared.