Strange Things Afoot

                            By:

                         Fox Cutter

01/18/96:

As the sun slowly set in the distance, I sighed over my cup
of Rithen tea.

"Something wrong?" Oria asked from downstairs.

I shrugged in the fading light, but not providing any
comment. Then moving to the end of the dining room, I slid
open the outside door and stepped onto the deck.

Resting my arms on the railing, still holding my tea, I
looked down on the small lake behind Ted's house (he never
actually uses it, so he lets me stay here, long story) and
watched the reflection of the sun in the slowly shifting
waters.

I stood there for a few minutes, until I felt a light tap on
my shoulder. I glanced back at Oria, who was dressed in a
light, yet baggy, sweatsuit. "Hi," I muttered.

She moved next to me, and glanced up into the pale gold sky,
which was slowly shifting to black as the second sun set.
"What's wrong?"

I sipped my tea, "Nothing... at least, nothing important."

She looked at me, and placed a paw on my shoulder, "Fox, I
know you too well. What's eating at you?"

I shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe the fear, the pain, the
fact that Becky's birthday is the 21st."

Oria slowly nodded, "I see."

I sipped at my tea again, "You know, at times, I'm just a
total fool."

"What makes you think that?"

I shrugged again, turning my head to look at her, "Well when
we first met, I had this whole big thing about 'Save The
Universe,' but doing it my way. If I had just followed the
rules, not pushed my luck, I don't think any of this would
have happened."

Oria looked at me, "I don't understand."

I licked my lips, taking another sip of tea. "It's very
simple; if I had followed the rules, and signed up with the
HammerHeads, or became a Hunter, I would never have done my
freelance shit, never have landed on Catarn, never have
gotten involved. Therefore I would never have been exiled.
Which means that when Becky's Grandfather's cancer started
to go terminal, I would have been able to get hold of some
kind of cure, or something to stall it. Then he would have
lived. Becks never would have gotten that land in England,
so she would never have had to move, and she would be alive
today."

Oria sighed, "Well, you've really found a nice tight way to
blame yourself."

I nodded, rubbing my arm slightly. On Prid (the world where
the Marble Hall and the house are located), it gets cold at
night faster than it does on Earth.

Oria hugged me a bit. "Listen, I know you're hurting, I've
been there. But right now you have more to worry about than
what-ifs."

I set my glass on the railing, the tea gone. "Did you know
that some of the council now are considering Becky's death
an assassination by the same people who tried it on me."

Oria nodded slowly, "Do you believe that?"

"Considering that Earth is a locked verse, no. Anyway, how
could they get there? The only known fold is in my bedroom,"
I grinned a bit.

"Well, that would make it a bit harder," she replied,
smiling back.

We stood on the deck for a few minutes in silence. I was
staring into the lake, thinking about life in general, while
Oria was staring at the nearly empty sky.

"I wonder," Oria said, breaking the quiet, "Are we in the
same universe as my world, or yours?"

I paused for a second, then said, "I don't know. Never did
get the verse number for Prid, though I do know that your
world and mine are only connected through the multi-verse."

"How do you know?"

I glanced at her, "The universe numbers are different, even
though the world numbers are the same."

She looked puzzled.

"It's in the advanced courses, but here's a quick
explanation: a verse number is broken up into three parts.
Number dash number slash letter."

She nodded.

"The number on the front is the actual universe, the second
number is the location in that universe, usually broken down
by solar system."

She paused, "What about the slashes?"

"There is a slash for each usable fold in that system, so if
it's slash b, it's the second fold. They're given letters to
keep from being too confusing."

She smiled, "So, to get back to my House, I use verse number
14-127/g which is universe number 14, system 127, fold 7,
right?"

I patted her on her back, "Right on. Though it's actually
just a database reference. The real number for the fold is
something like thirty digits long."

She grinned widely, "I can see why the verse numbers would
be easier to use."

I nodded, picking up my glass. "I guess; as a natural I
don't use them very often. Let's get inside, it's getting
cold out here."

Oria chuckled, "You need some fur."

"Tell me about it." I muttered, opening the glass door.
Letting Oria go in first, I followed.

"Well," she said, "if you ever meet the right people..." she
trailed off, leaving the 'again' hanging in the air.

I sighed. Her comment referred to one of our misadventures
together, where I ended up saving an overly powerful mage.
In return for my service, I was offered the chance to be
transformed into a male Lidr'ra, as that was something I
wanted at the time.

I spent days thinking back and forth on it, finally deciding
to turn him down. It was a choice I soon came to regret, and
even though I now wish for a different form than that of a
lion morph, I still regret it.

I shook off the memories, and set my cup in the sink. Then I
moved to the railing over the main room.

The house isn't very large, on the whole, but it is wide
open. Two stories tall, the bottom floor is mainly one large
room, with a small wetbar in one corner, and a bathroom off
to one side.

In front is the door to the rest of the world, and the back
opens onto a large patio with a dock. On either side are two
long staircases leading to the second floor.

The second floor extends about halfway over the main room.
On the left and right side of the floor are two master
bedrooms, each with a full bath, and in the center was a
kitchen and dining room setup.

Each room in the place is wired for full sound, and video,
with input jacks in the main room and bedrooms, along with a
master control room in the basement (and many other things,
which I won't go into now).

All in all, the design is a bit different, but it's great
for holding parties.

"Fox," Oria called up from where she was standing, "There is
a new message on the mail system."

"Read through it-- it's probably just a poll or something."
I called back as I was digging through the refrigerator.

There was a pause, "It's from someone named Jenner; he wants
to meet with you as soon as it's convenient for you."

When I heard the name Jenner I pulled my head out fast,
hitting it on the top of the fridge. I jogged down the steps
rubbing where I had hit. "Jenner? Are you sure?"

She nodded, "It says right here... Jenner Ritchersons."

I came up next to her, and read over the message. "What in
the world is going on?" I muttered to myself.

"Who is Jenner?"

"The leader of the HammerHeads."

She looked puzzled again, "That's the second time you've
mentioned the HammerHeads. Who are they?"

I shook my head, "I'll tell you later, but right now I need
to relax." Then I headed upstairs, and into my room (which
was the one on the left).

As I fell onto the bed, I was left wondering, 'Why would the
head of the HammerHeads want to talk to me?'

It was with that thought that I drifted into sleep.

-----

This story is (c) 1999 by Fox Cutter, hardcopy reprints
limited to one per person, all other rights reserved. This
story may not be distributed for a fee except by permission
of the author, and this copyright notice may not be removed.