Chapter 14: Magic Stars

Zatore E. Thrindale was a strange type. He was fierce when it came to hunting down his bounties, yet he had the decorum of a King and the tongue of a diplomat. His arms were strengthened from years of carrying around that large cannon of his, yet they were no more rough or muscular than the average human’s. His temper was sparked easily, but he also had patience and civility like none other. He was not from Earth, nor even that particular dimension, yet seemed to fit in well with his surroundings. He was the kind that could easily attract ladies, and not just with his looks, but was also a deadly killer. He had honor, and duty, and justice, yet for the time being, he wouldn’t go anywhere without Diana.

As for the demi-human, she was anything but strange. In fact, aside from her physical appearance, Diana Jade was perhaps the most normal human out there. She expressed a wide range of emotions, most of them focusing on bitterness, and had her own set of thoughts, ideas, opinions, fears, likes, and dislikes. She had trouble finding money, and didn’t quite understand love, and ate and drank and bled just like everyone else. It was true that she was shunned because of her physical appearance, but it was something she couldn’t prevent, so she had to live with it. Zet quickly found out that Diana was bitter only because the way people treated her, and in reality she was a very kind lady, who would love anyone noble enough to love her first.

But Zet knew better than to “fall in love”, especially with somebody he had assigned himself to protect. Sure, Diana was attractive (even with her dragon-like appendages), and if one treated her with respect, she could be very kind, but Zet was the type to always put business and duty ahead of everything else. At this point in time, Diana was slowly becoming adjusted to the presence of her elfish bodyguard, and although at first he was something of a bemusing annoyance, Diana was slowly starting to enjoy his company.

As they traveled together, both Diana and Zet kept to themselves. They almost never spoke to each other, except when necessary, and only sometimes did they interact with each other. Zet mostly assigned himself to watching over Diana, who seemed to have the responsibility of leading them around. It was Zet’s idea to protect Diana no matter where she went--for all he cared, they could’ve stayed in one spot forever. But Diana became antsy eventually, and decided that it would be more productive to travel than to stay put.

And so here they were, walking down a crowded, smoggy street, with Zet only a step behind Diana. She eventually regarded the elf as her official bodyguard, even though she was physically stronger than he was, and could fly and wield magic as well. But Diana also knew that she had special powers within her--powers that would frighten away even the Magic Stars, and although she could hold her own against a few, it would indeed be better to have somebody else there with her, making sure that she was safe.

Their destination was uncertain, and had it not been for Cattia’s sudden reappearance, Diana and Zet would’ve probably wandered around the solar system for all of time. But, like Dana withers, Zet didn’t trust the Space Cat, and so was determined to stay around until her reasons could be clarified.

Diana had nothing to do with Cattia’s problems, or her missions, and if she really wanted to, she could’ve probably pulled Zet away from all that mess. But ... she had a very kind heart, and could tell that Zet wouldn’t rest until the Space Cat matter was solved. So, even though she still felt uncertain about her self-proclaimed protector, she would allow him to continue his course and watch over Cat.

The two of them continued to walk down the streets in silence, apparently unafraid to show themselves in public. Zet had on a dark-red fuzzy shirt that looked about as comfortable as a warm blanket on a cold night, and similar pants to match. Aside from his pointy elf ears, he could’ve been human (there was also something different about his eyes, and his prints, and his voice, but those were more subtle); he had hair that was as yellow as the sun, slightly spiked out, and greenish-gray eyes too. He was definitely a ladies’ man, but his was a quest of purity and not passion.

Diana absolutely reeked in the stench of demi-humans. Originally, she was a “pure” human, but having been trapped in a cave full of dragon’s crystals left a terrible impression on her genetic structure. Diana was more human than dragon, though her feet and hands had claws instead of nails, and she had wings growing out of her back, plus a tail, and fangs for canines, and her green eyes had slits instead of circles. She had very shaggy red hair, and except for the ripped tank top and shorts she had on, there was nothing else over her body.

In a way, they were both very beautiful, and in a way they were freaks, and deeper still, they were just two normal living beings that had no destination.

Unlike Greg, Diana had nowhere of interest to travel to, nor were there any villainous characters after them. It could be speculated that the two of them were just lucky, or perhaps they had merely stumbled across a part of the world where nothing of interest went on. So they simply decided to situate themselves into a place that was demi-human friendly, so as not to draw any more attention towards themselves. There were places on Earth (and other parts of the Solar System) that welcomed demi-humans, but they were usually rare and not in good condition.