In a city where reality has long been forgotten

[texasdreamer01]

Title and Platform: In a city where reality has long been forgotten (AO3) (tumblr)
Recipient: karrenia_rune
Rating: Gen
Fandoms: Original Work
Characters: Original Non-Human Character(s), Original Human Character(s)
Additional
Tags: Inspired by Florence + the Machine, Immortal Being & Their Mortal Friends - Freeform, Case Fic, Animal Transformation, Telepathy, Mythology References, Original Mythology, Spirits, Friendship
Summary:
"She was charged with tracking a wayward spilling of god's blood. So, it was only reasonable to have her long-time friends come along and help out."

The ichor was old, minerality creeping in as it meshed into the mortal realm. She wrinkled her nose at the putrid smell, huffing as the scent faded.

It was a difficult trail to track - hundreds of years could come and go, in this age of mortal travel among the stars, and the eons stretched as the stars did warp under these new means of transport. For those immortal, a sigh could now cover eras rather than generations.

Nevertheless, Tikhuduška was a reputable tracker. Such a challenge would not go under her watchful gaze; even if it did, the spirits Veles loaned her would cover that which she could not see. They lingered even now in her peripheral, not quite in either mortal or immortal realm.

"Ajda," She commanded, moving away from the trail, "Tell me what you see."

The faded smudge of a woman came forward, the motion of walking still instilled in her spirit despite the millennia of a long-lost body. She knelt, peering at the god's blood that glittered to them despite the nighttime lighting on the concrete. "I see life," The spirit eventually said, a wistful tone to her pronouncement, "Their heart beat strongly, here, so vigour is still left in them."

"Hmm." She gestured for the spirit to follow behind her again, trotting off in the direction another of the spirits was confirming her own senses, "Wid, where did they go?"

Wid, for their part, was transfixed on the ephemeral trail before them. Older than Ajda, and some days Tikhuduška felt only present by the affixition of a name, their spirit was tattered by time. They were still gifted at following the lines a soul left, and with a glance at the streets nearing them that led toward this level of the city, she followed after them.

The others would follow, bound to her as Veles had commanded and unbound by the constraints of a corporeal form that would slow them down at the pace Wid drifted. She worried not, more concerned with the puzzling path that their prey had taken.

The high-pitched sound of traffic rattling by pricked her ears, making her grumble as she trod the narrow fire escape that creaked precariously despite her ethereal weight. It's not like the rest of my form carries over in this shape, she thought, trying to keep sight of Wid through the echoing strobes of light serving as a safety feature.

You are lovely, anyway, rippled across her mind, its teasing edge belying Zdravko's honeyed compliment. Had this form eyes easily rolled, she would have done so to the man's cheerfulness - as it were, the sigh seemed enough conveyance, and his laugh echoed across all of them, inciting a burble of laughter in a passing apartment, Tikhuduška, it is nice to stretch my legs.

"You don't even have any," She muttered, slipping through the window cracked open just enough to slink through as a snake. It was far too cold to stay thusly, and reverted to something with more fur to keep herself warm. Immortal or not, a chill was unbecoming to tolerate.

Zdravko merely raised an eyebrow, barely seen through the guise of dimension that kept them to their own realms. And yours varies on your mood.

Ajda stifled a laugh at her sour look, choosing instead to stand beside Wid as they pondered either the colour of the rug on the floor or the greying pallor of blood it was soaking up - none of them were very sure, but Wid amiably ran a hand through her fur as she neared them. The chill was tempered with absent fondness, unmoored by mortal concerns.

It tasted of the same light that so attracted Wid, and tempered the disgust she felt at the imprints left by the ichor. "Branka," she called, circling the liquid that spilled between dusty tile and aged rug, "Could you catalog this?"

The scientist bobbed her head, flickering in and out of view as she produced a small, leather-bound book. It radiated the faint scent of Veles' magic, still carrying the glow of radioactivity that marked its previous life. Tikhuduška curled her tail around her feet, waiting patiently as the other carefully detailed notes about the remnants left by whomever's blood this was - her only guess was that it was unmixed, and lacking the mortal touch of death.

While Branka was sketching out her observations, the other spirits gathered around her - it made Tikhuduška melancholic, to see the friends she had gathered over the millennia that humanity had gathered in these lands all in one place. Certainly, it could not exist without their passage from life to Veles' realm, for altogether their lives had spanned centuries of disparate time.

Were it not for the erstwhile minor deity she was commanded to track down, those conferring over the precise details to commit to memory in Branka's impeccable book would have lingered in perpetuity. Very quietly, so as not not rouse Zdravko's innate hearing, Tikhuduška thought to herself that sometimes it was wearying to see the marks of time being carved into their spirits that would never touch her own.

"I believe," Branka announced, turning her book over for Tikhuduška's inspection, "That this individual has left here."

Here being this realm, was the implicit meaning. She nodded, appreciating as always the keen eye for detail and ability to condense everyone's thoughts into a cohesive whole, "Thank you, Branka."

The conclusion left some difficult ramifications. For one, there were few places the spirits bequeathed to her for this hunt could follow past the mortal realm, for that was where they had come from. For a god, with veins coursing full of ichor, there were many realms they could traverse without such concerns - it opened up the field to Tikhuduška, but it would leave her bereft of her companions.

But that didn't leave them void of all options, of course. "Zdravko," She said aloud, for the benefit of Branka and Ajda, who preferred to still use their voices where possible, "Could you work with Wid to see about the realms we can access?"

The man nodded, turning toward Wid with a gentle touch on their arm. They stood silently for a while, naught but the eddying fluctuation of light reflecting their communication. It reminded her of the waves of the sea, back when humans were first figuring out how to build things to cross them.

She found herself missing the creaking of wood and smell of pitch between the seams, and Zdravko's mind butted against her own in fondness, recognizing when she played ship's cat on his vessel. Always a good luck charm, you were.

Flatterer. Still, it was cheering, in the way the merchant always was. The smile that stole over her face was echoed by the others, settling the mood over them.

A splintered eon later, Wid roused, leaning into Zdravko. Ajda raised a brow in expectation, curious as to the answer and waiting out the silence.

We can… maybe come along. Was the reluctant answer. Wid looked at all of them while Zdravko shrugged, an arm still steadying their friend. It seems like they wandered around, and then the path fades away shortly after where we can't reach it.

"How many realms?" Ajda asked, leaning over Branka's shoulder to peer at the notes again, "This was quite a lot of ichor to lose."

Three? Maybe four. We're not sure.

Tikhuduška hummed, thinking, "That's quite a lot of energy to expend."

And for a pattern that didn't add up to a quick jaunt. Branka frowned, "Who were they avoiding?"

"That's what Veles wanted us to find out," Tikhuduška shrugged, knowing that their leads were few but dwindling, "Whomever could chase them across so many realms likely had the same access."

"Maybe," Ajda pointed out, twisting the edge of her apron, "It's just like the rabbit going to the burrow-"

It must make it there, first. Zdravko finished, nodding, We do not know if the path is completely followed.

She thought about this, wondering about the likelihood as she circled the pool of ichor once more. Wid remained where they were, transfixed again by the sight, and she was careful not to trip them as she paced. "Would we know?" She pondered aloud, "I do not feel like travelling so far just to answer a possibility."

"We could… ask." Branka broached, closing her book quietly and pressing it against her chest.

Tikhuduška's ear flattened back at the idea. They all knew who they would need to go to, and it would take quite a lot of crafty bargaining for it. "I would need to return all of you home, first," She reminded them, bustling herself against Wid's leg as they shifted agitatedly at the idea, "And I don't precisely have anything to bargain with."

"Let's see how far we can go first," Ajda said instead, and that rather nixed the dilemma in the bud.

The portal to the following realm that Wid indicated was close enough by that it settled all of them, not least for how it prolonged Tikhuduška needing to return them to Veles' realm, and they breathed a collective sigh of relief at how the change in frequency changed their equilibrium to something brighter and more defined.

It was an easier thing, now, to trot alongside each other and track the peculiar notes of ichor they were slated to learn the sound of. Tikhuduška had changed into a mare for the occasion, Wid taking prime spot as the others switched around as they pleased.

True to his words, Zdravko kept pace with her as they followed the newest lead on their path, one hand on her mane in companionable quiet. It wasn't quite like ambling along the man's ship, but the spirit of the gesture was there.

Unusually, it became brighter the longer they followed their trail. Wid patted her shoulder in askance to dismount, and curiosity getting the better of her, she knelt to allow them easier passage to the ground. Like a bloodhound, Wid paced for a moment, then set off briskly into the fog of light that refracted in brilliant colours.

Zdravko took their place with swiftness, and Tikhuduška set off at a canter to catch up. While they were a few degrees away from the mundane realm her friends were used to, it was close enough for an energetic worry at what awaited them - it was brighter than their previously-visited realm, but this was unusually so, despite how Ajda shaded her eyes.

Music filtered over to them, acoustic and yet following along to some rhythm that only just registered to them. It sounded whimsical, making Branka tap a foot against her side to the beat despite her unerring stare at a brightness that would have been blinding to mortal eyes.

"And for a moment, we were able to be still…"

Tikhuduška found herself singing along to the dittied notes that interspersed the instruments and words, and a smile worked its way in their direction. Some shifting later, as if a skirt were fluffed and moved out of the way, and she recognized the zvijezda in front of them.

The music faded from their awareness - possibly to the realm where the star was originally from - and Wid led the bow their group made in greeting. "Lady zvijezda," Tikhuduška said, "Your singing is a lovely use of time."

"Thank you," The zvijezda replied, beaming. It was a warm light, and they all basked in it, "But, I must ask - you look too dour to be here for spontaneity. What sours your presence so?"

"We are tracking the source of some ichor," Tikhuduška admitted, "And we were led to you. Do you happen to know about our source?"

The lady hummed, a swinging rhythm that sounded all too mischievous. Her skirts flushed aside, revealing a godling that lounged in the light. Wid drifted forward, and the way they lingered seemed confirmation enough that this was indeed who they were looking for.

"Boško," She said gently, letting her friends slip from her back as she crouched to the deity's level, "It is time to leave, your father is looking for you."

Like a kit grumbling against leaving the nest, they swatted her nose, and instead she shifted to curl around them, hustling them out of the nest the lady zvijezda was kind enough to make.

"What I don't understand," Branka said, peeved, "Was why we were shown so many trails for the ichor."

The zvijezda smiled indulgently, a pleased glimmer edging it, "Our little god-friend was too shy to admit they had stumbled into a woodsman's briar. So I offered to help, while they convalesce."

Branka flipped through her notes, a quick rattle of pages that gusted affront over them as she pondered the new data. "Hah! That explains why it was so faint."

"Quite so!" The lady star sparkled approvingly, ignoring or ignorant of the way the scientist deflated at the solved mystery. As if in consolation, Branka was granted a touch on the shoulder, "You have found us much quicker than I had bet Boško!"

Tikhuduška shook her head at the poorly-held giggles at the exuberant pronouncement, giving a comforting nudge to the godling with her whiskered nose. "Thank you again, good lady."

Ajda took care to wave cheerfully at the star good-bye, a healthy flush to her cheeks that reminded Tikhuduška fondly of the way she used to mill flour for the village, "And cheers, that we may meet again!"

Footnotes:

Character names

• Ajda: from buckwheat in Slovene (x)


• Boško: diminuitive form, from Bodgan, which means "given by God" from the Slavic elements bogu "god" and dan "given"." (x)


• Branka: "Derived from the Slavic element borna "protection" combined with miru meaning "peace, world"." (x)


• Tikhuduška: from tikhu, which means "quiet" (x) and duša, which means spirit or soul (x).


• Wid: from wood or wide (x)


• Zdravko: from "healthy" (x)


• Zvijezda: Croatian for star (x)

Shout-out to Leshy for the reason behind Boško's hiding from Veles. Honorary mentions to "Robin Hood type of character in Urban Fantasy Setting & his or her nemesis (OW)", "Amateur detective & Criminal mastermind who don't know each other's "jobs" (OW)", and "Canon-typical shenanigans". I did my best to include these themes, but they panned out to varying degrees. Accordingly, I put set Florence + The Machine to shuffle - the High as Hope and Ceremonials albums ended up being the main vibes.

The humans that accompany Tikhuduška on this little case all come from Eastern Europe in different eras. How many can you spot?