All Hail the Shifter King
Title: A Ticket to Ancol Harbour, Part 3
Word Count: 3526
Contrary to what Benjamin said, the matter of what he’d done in Aaron’s house was not discussed the entire way to the airport, despite Aaron’s few attempts to bring it up. In fact, the only real conversation was Anya answering a phone calls, most of which seemed to be about their current location and their pending flight, and Aaron sat as still and quiet as he could so as not to make a nuisance of himself, his heel thumping against the floormat and his fingers tapping the window as the forest lining the highway sped by. And though he was relieved to be away from Joshua, and excited by the mystery of this odd adventure, he was absolutely sick with anxiety. When he accepted the envelope and, by extension, Benjamin’s supposed ‘out’, he hadn’t thought about things like the fact he was supposed to be in school in less than twelve hours, that he should be studying for his exams, that he had his martial arts class and his part time job and wrestling club and -
“You’re agonizing again,” Benjamin commented, startling Aaron from his thoughts. He looked down at his lap and ran a hand sheepishly through his caramel hair.
“Absorbing,” he said.
“Must be absorbing a lot. I’m not used to you being this quiet.”
“I’m just kind of realizing that I up and left my whole life back there,” Aaron said, staring out the window so he wouldn’t have to meet Benjamin’s eyes in the rearview mirror. “It’s weird, you know? Like, I’m supposed to be graduating soon and there’s exams and stuff and all these things that I’m supposed to be worrying about.”
“And are you?”
“Am I what?”
“Worrying about them?”
“I don’t really know. Like, I think I am? I feel kind of sick and I’m wondering what’s going to happen when I come home, because is this just a one week thing? Are you done with me once we fly back, or is there some sort of, I don’t know, like a safety net?”
“It all depends how things go in Ancol Harbour,” Benjamin told him smoothly.
“Okay, that’s all well and good but you gotta appreciate how it seems from this end, Benny. You saw the situation I left there, and you made it sound like I’m gonna be gone forever. Josh has got a long memory, you know, and if I go home in a week he’s gonna tear my arms off and -“
“Josh isn’t going to touch you again,” Benjamin assured.
“You don’t know that. It’s not like you’re gonna always be there to do your… freaky glowy knife trick thing. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind sticking up for myself if I have to, but you set the standard pretty damn high."
They pulled into the airport short-term parking as he spoke, and after taking his ticket from the automated attendant Benjamin secured a stall surprisingly close to the doors. It was silent in the vehicle when he cut the engine, and after a few seconds pause he twisted in his seat to look at Aaron.
“I’ll give you answers,” he assured. “But in the meantime, we have a plane to catch. Can you wait until then?”
“I guess?”
“Good. Let’s go.”
Aaron hadn't been in the airport since before his parents died - on his uncle's limited budget it wasn't like they could plan many family vacations - and the surge of people around them was somewhat overwhelming as they navigated their way through the departures terminal. Anya followed a few feet behind them, talking on her cell in a clipped, somewhat aggravated voice. Aaron turned back to look at her, only to have Benjamin take his shoulder and turn him to face forward again.
"Leave her be," he said. "She's had a busy day."
"Is she always this angry?"
"Only when she has to coordinate travel for several hundred people," Benjamin replied, chuckling. "Difficult people, might I add."
"Are they all going to Ancol Harbor?"
"Mmhm."
"Why?"
"Not right now," was Benjamin's reply, as he directed Aaron toward a small desk, the sign above reading Harper Air in simple, bold letters. "Cora," he said to the young woman behind the counter. "It's good to see you again."
"You as well," the young woman said, pressing a closed left fist to the top of her sternum and bowing her head in what seemed almost like an odd salute. "The others have checked in. They're waiting on you."
"I'm sure Colin is thrilled about that," Benjamin muttered with a wry smile. "So, Rhett tells me you'll be joining us next year." He placed his bag on the belt beside the desk and motioned for Aaron to do the same. Cora, in the meantime, beamed a smile so brilliant Aaron was fairly certain he'd gone momentarily blind.
"With any luck," she said, eyes sparkling. With her close-cropped blonde hair and simple white uniform, she looked almost like a young, modern angel. "He says I've done well these past two years."
"A high compliment, coming from him," Anya said as she joined them, giving the girl what appeared to be a genuine smile as she tossed her small suitcase onto the belt.
"So I've been told, Lady Anya," Cora said, repeating the same salute-bow gesture, then turned to Aaron. "And you're Joshua Banner?"
"Uh, Aaron, actually," he said, and rather than the fist she placed her hand flat on her chest, the tips of her thumb and index finger resting against her collarbones. Aaron's hand fluttered into the air, the movement uncomfortable and uncertain, and after looking at Benjamin for any sort of guidance he cautiously mimicked her gesture - given the smile she beamed at him, and the lack of glow-knives at his throat, he assumed he hadn't committed a cardinal sin in the process.
"Joshua was Aaron's brother," Benjamin said. "There was a last minute change."
"I'll adjust the manifest," she said, nodding, and handed over their boarding passes. "Joyous pilgrimage," she told them, and continued to smile as they walked away.
"What the hell was that all about?" Aaron asked as soon as they were out of earshot, circling around in front of Benjamin and walking backward. When the older man raised an eyebrow at him, Aaron made the flat-palmed salute with a raised eyebrow. "This whole thing? And this pilgrimage crap and calling her a Lady -"
"Anya is a lady," Benjamin interrupted in a matter-of-fact voice, watching as she walked ahead of them, cell phone pinched between her ear and her shoulder as she dug in the laptop bag she carried. "I'd advise not to challenge that."
"Benny, I'm not questioning her damn equipment. But the saluting and the..." He paused, catching the look on the man's face, and sighed noisily. "Wait until the plane?" he asked.
"Wait until the plane," Benjamin confirmed. When Aaron muttered a string of obscenities and fell into step beside him, Benjamin chuckled quietly. "You have got to be the most impatient person I've ever met, Aaron."
"I'm not impatient," Aaron sulked. "Just curious."
"Which I understand. But I would appreciate not having to discuss this in public."
They passed through security with no hassle and walked from their gate straight onto the plane, the attendant checking the tickets at the walkway saluting them in the same manner and waving them on with a smile. Once on the plane, Aaron quickly realized it was like none he'd ever been on before - instead of the cramped seats and narrow aisles, the enormous jet was the epitome of first class, with reclining leather seats along the windows and a central aisle with low armchairs and tables wired for connectivity. His jaw dropped as Benjamin led him down the aisle - Anya peeled off to speak to an enormous white-haired man who looked like he could snap Aaron in half with one hand - and as they settled into their seats in the middle of the plane he entirely expected someone to walk up and tell him he wasn't supposed to be there, that he would have to sit in coach with the screaming babies and snoring, overweight men.
"This is amazing," he breathed. Benjamin smiled as he shrugged out of his light jacket. They sat next to the window and facing each other, enough space between them that their knees weren't even close to touching.
"It ruins you," he said. "I can't even fly normal airlines anymore."
"Seems awfully lavish for a flight up north."
"Mmm. We take our perks where we can get them." He flexed his long arms above his head, his fitted t-shirt stretching across the muscles of his wide chest, then leaned back in his chair with a sigh of contentment. "When you have to make the same flight every year, economy gets old."
"Because it's a pilgrimage?"
"Because it's a pilgrimage."
"You know, don't get me wrong and don't be offended or anything, but you didn't seem like the religious sort."
"Religious?"
"Well, I mean, all the secrecy, the big expensive plane, the secret salute thing, it all seems kind of..."
"Cultish?" Benjamin asked, smiling.
"Okay, for the record, you said it, not me."
"Why would you think we're a cult?"
"Because you recruited my brother and he's too stupid to do any sort of cool secret society thing."
"I didn't recruit your brother. He came to me."
"But how did he find you?"
"He never actually said, and I never asked him."
"Dude, we're really not going to get anywhere with this explaining thing if you don't say anything."
"I would be happy to explain if you let me get a word in edgewise," Benjamin quipped, grinning. Aaron opened his mouth to reply, caught himself, and slowly closed it, instead thrumming his fingers against the padded armrest in agitation. "If you're ready to hear it, of course."
"Of course I'm ready, I've only been asking since the moment you went all..." He paused, catching himself again, then sighed heavily. "Yeah. I'm ready."
"Do you know what this is?" Benjamin asked him, pointing to his bracelet.
"Your glowy-knife battery," Aaron said, mostly serious.
"It's avadium. A semi-precious metal harvested from a single mine north of Ancol Harbor. The first inhabitants of the territory, the Sekani, believed that for each sekai created the Gods wept tears of joy that fell to earth and became this metal." He rubbed the somewhat battered metal ring with an unexpected tenderness, smiling down at it. "When a sekai was born, they were given a piece of avadium that they would wear for the rest of their lives, a reminder of their heritage, their people, and their devotion to their Gods."
"So naturally we went and stole it all to make hipster bracelets," Aaron mentioned. "What's a sekai?"
"Aaron, I'm going to have a very hard time explaining this to you if you won't shut your mouth." He waited a moment to see if Aaron had anything else to say - and Aaron almost did, really, first an apology, followed by a defense, followed by a comment that probably would have netted him a fist in the teeth - then nodded slightly and continued. "The battery comparison is accurate enough. The sekai used the metal as a source of their magics, for ritual or protection or whatever need they had of it." He tugged at the bracelet as he spoke, unwinding the leather strap enough that he could pull the entire bracelet off. "The legend says that people had been trying to settle in the north for generations, but the spiteful Ice Father didn't want to share His land with them and froze them to death in their sleep." The plane gave a subtle lurch as he spoke, turning away from the terminal - Aaron was so enraptured with the smooth tones of Benjamin's voice that he'd forgotten they were even on a plane, surrounded by people. "The people cried out to the gentle Wolf Mother for protection and guidance, and She ventured to the north to bargain with the Ice Father for the lives of Her people." He braced his elbows on his knees as he spoke, staring down at the bracelet clasped in his hands, the long straps of leather dangling over his fingers and toward the floor, his thumbs gently rubbing the metal surface. "The Ice Father agreed on the condition that the Wolf Mother become his mate, and on the eve of their union the ice storms ceased and the land, though still harsh, became habitable."
There was a quiet murmur of appreciation around them, and Aaron looked up to find several people sitting or standing around them - even leaning over the backs of the chairs behind Benjamin - as they listened to him speak.
"The people celebrated with a great feast of fish and game, painted themselves in the blood of their offerings, and danced in honor of their Gods. For seven days and seven nights the festivities continued, with the people sharing all they had with one another and the youth engaging in trials to test themselves against the elements and win the favor of the Ice Father. On one such trial a group of young men and women ventured into a cave not far from the village, thought to be protected by the Ice Father's guardians. In it they found a hotspring, and one youth named Amaruq -" Benjamin paused and pressed his fist to his chest, as did all others around them, "- stripped off his clothes and entered the spring, pledging his love and loyalty to the Ice Father and Wolf Mother for all eternity. The Gods were pleased by his humble offering and blessed Amaruq with immortality so that he could make good on his promise, granting him the speed, strength, and wisdom of the Wolf Mother with the cunning and magics of the Ice Father. Amaruq emerged from the waters a sekai, the first of his kind, a man that could become a wolf at will. And the Gods wept at the beauty of what they'd created."
More quiet murmurs as the plane began to taxi down the runway, and Aaron had to brace his feet against the floor to keep from sliding out of his chair as the plane took off, fumbling for the seatbelt he'd forgotten to put on. He waited for Benjamin to continue, but the older man simply stared out the window, still rubbing the metal ring of his bracelet in that slow, thoughtful manner.
"So, what, this is some sort of pagan revivalist religion or something?" he finally asked, causing Benjamin to blink suddenly and look up at him. "You guys go on this trip every year to light some candles and dance in the snow?" When Benjamin just stared at him, saying nothing, Aaron turned to the others watching him with equally neutral expressions. "You guys actually believe this?" he asked, noticing Anya standing across the aisle, holding onto the back of a chair as the plane continued to ascend. "I mean, come on," he said, laughing as he turned back to Benjamin, "it's not liiiiiiHOLY GOD!" he cried, scrambling back against his chair as he found himself face to face with hundreds of pounds of wolf, the beast standing so close he could see his reflection in its eyes. It gave a low, warning growl as his flailing feet connected with its legs, baring wicked teeth that seemed longer than they should have been, and he raised his trembling hands defensively.
"Looks like you made a friend, Aaron," Anya said, and the others laughed, actually laughed as he sat there wishing he could melt through his chair.
"This isn't funny!" he managed to squeak, which only made them laugh harder - he felt panicked tears well in his eyes, one breaking free as the creature partially unfurled a pair of thickly feathered wings from its back. "What the fuck are you people doing?" he demanded shrilly. "Is this your fucking idea of -" He recoiled as the wolf moved, even though it was only to sit at his feet, its large body wedged in the space between the seats, and a low moan of despair trickled from his throat as it rested its brown-furred head in his lap, soulful blue eyes staring up at him as it huffed an oddly human sigh.
They stared at each other for several seconds before he glanced at Benjamin's noticeably empty seat, then back to the wolf, and repeated this back and forth several times before a certain amount of clarity dawned on him.
"Oh my fuck," he breathed. "Oh my fuck. No, no way, there's no fucking way Benny, this can't be happening, this isn't -" He flinched back again, this time as the wolf's body shimmered and rippled like a watery illusion, form becoming amorphous and misshapen. One moment it was a wolf, the next it was a very human - and very notably naked - Benjamin, before his bracelet shimmered and the outfit he'd been wearing before simply appeared across his broad chest and long limbs. He smiled up at Aaron from his spot, crouched on the floor between their seats.
"To answer your question," he said smoothly, as if the entire preceding span of minutes hadn't transpired, "no, we are not revivalists. We are not a bunch of hipsters with matching bracelets." The others laughed at this. "We are sekai. The protectors of the Sekani people."
"So you're..." Aaron looked between him and the others. "You're not... human?" A few of the closer ones shook their heads. "None of you?"
"There are some like you, who are joining us for the first time," Benjamin told him. "But no, the majority of us are not human." He slid back into his seat and straightened his t-shirt. "We all started our lives that way, but we've converted since."
"Wait, so let me get this straight. This whole 'out' you're giving me, this is it?" Aaron pointed a shaking finger at him. "You want to take me up there and turn me into one of you?"
"This isn't something someone can make you do. It's something you choose."
"But that's the 'out'."
"Yes, that's what I'm offering you." Benjamin leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees. "It's not a guarantee, Aaron. We select candidates but many of them don't make the cut. I'm just giving you a chance to prove yourself."
"And my brother knew about this?"
"Yes."
"So if he'd gone instead of me, and you'd gone ahead and picked him, then I wouldn't have ever seen him again? Like, he would have just left today and that would have been it?"
"Yes."
"Do you have any idea how fucked up that is?" Aaron demanded, his fear and confusion giving way to anger. "Just taking people away from their families like that?"
"You certainly had no objection when I did it for you, today."
"But all of the other -"
"You need to understand that all of our candidates are like you. Like your brother. People in broken homes with no direction and very little options available to them. Quite often this is the only chance they'll ever get."
"Seriously? You're seriously going to feed me that bullshit? What, you think you're some sort of fucking charity? Maybe you've been out of the human game too long to remember but people aren't born with their options, Benny, they make them. My parents didn't have any silver spoons and they sure as hell did something with their lives, and they -"
"Your parents are dead, Aaron."
Benjamin's words were so sudden, and so startling, that Aaron was shocked into speechlessness - he opened and closed his mouth several times before his emotions took over and his eyes filled with tears again.
"F-Fuck you," he spat, his voice trembling. "Fuck you B-Benny, that doesn't have anything -"
"It has everything to do with it," Benjamin said evenly, and pointed up to the slender young man that hung over the back of the seat beside him. "Rhett's parents were political activists, involved in a long-running campaign to end segregation and discrimination against aboriginal people. They were gunned down at a rally. Their murderer got more press and media attention than their life's work ever did. Twenty years later the anti-discrimination laws came into effect and their names didn't even warrant a footnote." He gestured around the cabin at the sad, solemn faces staring back at them. "Yes, people make their own options. They spend their whole lives making them, and almost all of them are forgotten. Just like Rhett's parents, your parents, all of our parents."
Aaron stared down at his hands in his lap, trying to regain control of his emotions, and after a few minutes looked up at Benjamin, sniffing and wiping his eyes with the heels of his hands.
"So how does this make people remember you?" he asked. Benjamin just smiled back at him.
"Nobody needs to remember you," he said gently, "if you live forever."
Word Count: 3526
Contrary to what Benjamin said, the matter of what he’d done in Aaron’s house was not discussed the entire way to the airport, despite Aaron’s few attempts to bring it up. In fact, the only real conversation was Anya answering a phone calls, most of which seemed to be about their current location and their pending flight, and Aaron sat as still and quiet as he could so as not to make a nuisance of himself, his heel thumping against the floormat and his fingers tapping the window as the forest lining the highway sped by. And though he was relieved to be away from Joshua, and excited by the mystery of this odd adventure, he was absolutely sick with anxiety. When he accepted the envelope and, by extension, Benjamin’s supposed ‘out’, he hadn’t thought about things like the fact he was supposed to be in school in less than twelve hours, that he should be studying for his exams, that he had his martial arts class and his part time job and wrestling club and -
“You’re agonizing again,” Benjamin commented, startling Aaron from his thoughts. He looked down at his lap and ran a hand sheepishly through his caramel hair.
“Absorbing,” he said.
“Must be absorbing a lot. I’m not used to you being this quiet.”
“I’m just kind of realizing that I up and left my whole life back there,” Aaron said, staring out the window so he wouldn’t have to meet Benjamin’s eyes in the rearview mirror. “It’s weird, you know? Like, I’m supposed to be graduating soon and there’s exams and stuff and all these things that I’m supposed to be worrying about.”
“And are you?”
“Am I what?”
“Worrying about them?”
“I don’t really know. Like, I think I am? I feel kind of sick and I’m wondering what’s going to happen when I come home, because is this just a one week thing? Are you done with me once we fly back, or is there some sort of, I don’t know, like a safety net?”
“It all depends how things go in Ancol Harbour,” Benjamin told him smoothly.
“Okay, that’s all well and good but you gotta appreciate how it seems from this end, Benny. You saw the situation I left there, and you made it sound like I’m gonna be gone forever. Josh has got a long memory, you know, and if I go home in a week he’s gonna tear my arms off and -“
“Josh isn’t going to touch you again,” Benjamin assured.
“You don’t know that. It’s not like you’re gonna always be there to do your… freaky glowy knife trick thing. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind sticking up for myself if I have to, but you set the standard pretty damn high."
They pulled into the airport short-term parking as he spoke, and after taking his ticket from the automated attendant Benjamin secured a stall surprisingly close to the doors. It was silent in the vehicle when he cut the engine, and after a few seconds pause he twisted in his seat to look at Aaron.
“I’ll give you answers,” he assured. “But in the meantime, we have a plane to catch. Can you wait until then?”
“I guess?”
“Good. Let’s go.”
Aaron hadn't been in the airport since before his parents died - on his uncle's limited budget it wasn't like they could plan many family vacations - and the surge of people around them was somewhat overwhelming as they navigated their way through the departures terminal. Anya followed a few feet behind them, talking on her cell in a clipped, somewhat aggravated voice. Aaron turned back to look at her, only to have Benjamin take his shoulder and turn him to face forward again.
"Leave her be," he said. "She's had a busy day."
"Is she always this angry?"
"Only when she has to coordinate travel for several hundred people," Benjamin replied, chuckling. "Difficult people, might I add."
"Are they all going to Ancol Harbor?"
"Mmhm."
"Why?"
"Not right now," was Benjamin's reply, as he directed Aaron toward a small desk, the sign above reading Harper Air in simple, bold letters. "Cora," he said to the young woman behind the counter. "It's good to see you again."
"You as well," the young woman said, pressing a closed left fist to the top of her sternum and bowing her head in what seemed almost like an odd salute. "The others have checked in. They're waiting on you."
"I'm sure Colin is thrilled about that," Benjamin muttered with a wry smile. "So, Rhett tells me you'll be joining us next year." He placed his bag on the belt beside the desk and motioned for Aaron to do the same. Cora, in the meantime, beamed a smile so brilliant Aaron was fairly certain he'd gone momentarily blind.
"With any luck," she said, eyes sparkling. With her close-cropped blonde hair and simple white uniform, she looked almost like a young, modern angel. "He says I've done well these past two years."
"A high compliment, coming from him," Anya said as she joined them, giving the girl what appeared to be a genuine smile as she tossed her small suitcase onto the belt.
"So I've been told, Lady Anya," Cora said, repeating the same salute-bow gesture, then turned to Aaron. "And you're Joshua Banner?"
"Uh, Aaron, actually," he said, and rather than the fist she placed her hand flat on her chest, the tips of her thumb and index finger resting against her collarbones. Aaron's hand fluttered into the air, the movement uncomfortable and uncertain, and after looking at Benjamin for any sort of guidance he cautiously mimicked her gesture - given the smile she beamed at him, and the lack of glow-knives at his throat, he assumed he hadn't committed a cardinal sin in the process.
"Joshua was Aaron's brother," Benjamin said. "There was a last minute change."
"I'll adjust the manifest," she said, nodding, and handed over their boarding passes. "Joyous pilgrimage," she told them, and continued to smile as they walked away.
"What the hell was that all about?" Aaron asked as soon as they were out of earshot, circling around in front of Benjamin and walking backward. When the older man raised an eyebrow at him, Aaron made the flat-palmed salute with a raised eyebrow. "This whole thing? And this pilgrimage crap and calling her a Lady -"
"Anya is a lady," Benjamin interrupted in a matter-of-fact voice, watching as she walked ahead of them, cell phone pinched between her ear and her shoulder as she dug in the laptop bag she carried. "I'd advise not to challenge that."
"Benny, I'm not questioning her damn equipment. But the saluting and the..." He paused, catching the look on the man's face, and sighed noisily. "Wait until the plane?" he asked.
"Wait until the plane," Benjamin confirmed. When Aaron muttered a string of obscenities and fell into step beside him, Benjamin chuckled quietly. "You have got to be the most impatient person I've ever met, Aaron."
"I'm not impatient," Aaron sulked. "Just curious."
"Which I understand. But I would appreciate not having to discuss this in public."
They passed through security with no hassle and walked from their gate straight onto the plane, the attendant checking the tickets at the walkway saluting them in the same manner and waving them on with a smile. Once on the plane, Aaron quickly realized it was like none he'd ever been on before - instead of the cramped seats and narrow aisles, the enormous jet was the epitome of first class, with reclining leather seats along the windows and a central aisle with low armchairs and tables wired for connectivity. His jaw dropped as Benjamin led him down the aisle - Anya peeled off to speak to an enormous white-haired man who looked like he could snap Aaron in half with one hand - and as they settled into their seats in the middle of the plane he entirely expected someone to walk up and tell him he wasn't supposed to be there, that he would have to sit in coach with the screaming babies and snoring, overweight men.
"This is amazing," he breathed. Benjamin smiled as he shrugged out of his light jacket. They sat next to the window and facing each other, enough space between them that their knees weren't even close to touching.
"It ruins you," he said. "I can't even fly normal airlines anymore."
"Seems awfully lavish for a flight up north."
"Mmm. We take our perks where we can get them." He flexed his long arms above his head, his fitted t-shirt stretching across the muscles of his wide chest, then leaned back in his chair with a sigh of contentment. "When you have to make the same flight every year, economy gets old."
"Because it's a pilgrimage?"
"Because it's a pilgrimage."
"You know, don't get me wrong and don't be offended or anything, but you didn't seem like the religious sort."
"Religious?"
"Well, I mean, all the secrecy, the big expensive plane, the secret salute thing, it all seems kind of..."
"Cultish?" Benjamin asked, smiling.
"Okay, for the record, you said it, not me."
"Why would you think we're a cult?"
"Because you recruited my brother and he's too stupid to do any sort of cool secret society thing."
"I didn't recruit your brother. He came to me."
"But how did he find you?"
"He never actually said, and I never asked him."
"Dude, we're really not going to get anywhere with this explaining thing if you don't say anything."
"I would be happy to explain if you let me get a word in edgewise," Benjamin quipped, grinning. Aaron opened his mouth to reply, caught himself, and slowly closed it, instead thrumming his fingers against the padded armrest in agitation. "If you're ready to hear it, of course."
"Of course I'm ready, I've only been asking since the moment you went all..." He paused, catching himself again, then sighed heavily. "Yeah. I'm ready."
"Do you know what this is?" Benjamin asked him, pointing to his bracelet.
"Your glowy-knife battery," Aaron said, mostly serious.
"It's avadium. A semi-precious metal harvested from a single mine north of Ancol Harbor. The first inhabitants of the territory, the Sekani, believed that for each sekai created the Gods wept tears of joy that fell to earth and became this metal." He rubbed the somewhat battered metal ring with an unexpected tenderness, smiling down at it. "When a sekai was born, they were given a piece of avadium that they would wear for the rest of their lives, a reminder of their heritage, their people, and their devotion to their Gods."
"So naturally we went and stole it all to make hipster bracelets," Aaron mentioned. "What's a sekai?"
"Aaron, I'm going to have a very hard time explaining this to you if you won't shut your mouth." He waited a moment to see if Aaron had anything else to say - and Aaron almost did, really, first an apology, followed by a defense, followed by a comment that probably would have netted him a fist in the teeth - then nodded slightly and continued. "The battery comparison is accurate enough. The sekai used the metal as a source of their magics, for ritual or protection or whatever need they had of it." He tugged at the bracelet as he spoke, unwinding the leather strap enough that he could pull the entire bracelet off. "The legend says that people had been trying to settle in the north for generations, but the spiteful Ice Father didn't want to share His land with them and froze them to death in their sleep." The plane gave a subtle lurch as he spoke, turning away from the terminal - Aaron was so enraptured with the smooth tones of Benjamin's voice that he'd forgotten they were even on a plane, surrounded by people. "The people cried out to the gentle Wolf Mother for protection and guidance, and She ventured to the north to bargain with the Ice Father for the lives of Her people." He braced his elbows on his knees as he spoke, staring down at the bracelet clasped in his hands, the long straps of leather dangling over his fingers and toward the floor, his thumbs gently rubbing the metal surface. "The Ice Father agreed on the condition that the Wolf Mother become his mate, and on the eve of their union the ice storms ceased and the land, though still harsh, became habitable."
There was a quiet murmur of appreciation around them, and Aaron looked up to find several people sitting or standing around them - even leaning over the backs of the chairs behind Benjamin - as they listened to him speak.
"The people celebrated with a great feast of fish and game, painted themselves in the blood of their offerings, and danced in honor of their Gods. For seven days and seven nights the festivities continued, with the people sharing all they had with one another and the youth engaging in trials to test themselves against the elements and win the favor of the Ice Father. On one such trial a group of young men and women ventured into a cave not far from the village, thought to be protected by the Ice Father's guardians. In it they found a hotspring, and one youth named Amaruq -" Benjamin paused and pressed his fist to his chest, as did all others around them, "- stripped off his clothes and entered the spring, pledging his love and loyalty to the Ice Father and Wolf Mother for all eternity. The Gods were pleased by his humble offering and blessed Amaruq with immortality so that he could make good on his promise, granting him the speed, strength, and wisdom of the Wolf Mother with the cunning and magics of the Ice Father. Amaruq emerged from the waters a sekai, the first of his kind, a man that could become a wolf at will. And the Gods wept at the beauty of what they'd created."
More quiet murmurs as the plane began to taxi down the runway, and Aaron had to brace his feet against the floor to keep from sliding out of his chair as the plane took off, fumbling for the seatbelt he'd forgotten to put on. He waited for Benjamin to continue, but the older man simply stared out the window, still rubbing the metal ring of his bracelet in that slow, thoughtful manner.
"So, what, this is some sort of pagan revivalist religion or something?" he finally asked, causing Benjamin to blink suddenly and look up at him. "You guys go on this trip every year to light some candles and dance in the snow?" When Benjamin just stared at him, saying nothing, Aaron turned to the others watching him with equally neutral expressions. "You guys actually believe this?" he asked, noticing Anya standing across the aisle, holding onto the back of a chair as the plane continued to ascend. "I mean, come on," he said, laughing as he turned back to Benjamin, "it's not liiiiiiHOLY GOD!" he cried, scrambling back against his chair as he found himself face to face with hundreds of pounds of wolf, the beast standing so close he could see his reflection in its eyes. It gave a low, warning growl as his flailing feet connected with its legs, baring wicked teeth that seemed longer than they should have been, and he raised his trembling hands defensively.
"Looks like you made a friend, Aaron," Anya said, and the others laughed, actually laughed as he sat there wishing he could melt through his chair.
"This isn't funny!" he managed to squeak, which only made them laugh harder - he felt panicked tears well in his eyes, one breaking free as the creature partially unfurled a pair of thickly feathered wings from its back. "What the fuck are you people doing?" he demanded shrilly. "Is this your fucking idea of -" He recoiled as the wolf moved, even though it was only to sit at his feet, its large body wedged in the space between the seats, and a low moan of despair trickled from his throat as it rested its brown-furred head in his lap, soulful blue eyes staring up at him as it huffed an oddly human sigh.
They stared at each other for several seconds before he glanced at Benjamin's noticeably empty seat, then back to the wolf, and repeated this back and forth several times before a certain amount of clarity dawned on him.
"Oh my fuck," he breathed. "Oh my fuck. No, no way, there's no fucking way Benny, this can't be happening, this isn't -" He flinched back again, this time as the wolf's body shimmered and rippled like a watery illusion, form becoming amorphous and misshapen. One moment it was a wolf, the next it was a very human - and very notably naked - Benjamin, before his bracelet shimmered and the outfit he'd been wearing before simply appeared across his broad chest and long limbs. He smiled up at Aaron from his spot, crouched on the floor between their seats.
"To answer your question," he said smoothly, as if the entire preceding span of minutes hadn't transpired, "no, we are not revivalists. We are not a bunch of hipsters with matching bracelets." The others laughed at this. "We are sekai. The protectors of the Sekani people."
"So you're..." Aaron looked between him and the others. "You're not... human?" A few of the closer ones shook their heads. "None of you?"
"There are some like you, who are joining us for the first time," Benjamin told him. "But no, the majority of us are not human." He slid back into his seat and straightened his t-shirt. "We all started our lives that way, but we've converted since."
"Wait, so let me get this straight. This whole 'out' you're giving me, this is it?" Aaron pointed a shaking finger at him. "You want to take me up there and turn me into one of you?"
"This isn't something someone can make you do. It's something you choose."
"But that's the 'out'."
"Yes, that's what I'm offering you." Benjamin leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees. "It's not a guarantee, Aaron. We select candidates but many of them don't make the cut. I'm just giving you a chance to prove yourself."
"And my brother knew about this?"
"Yes."
"So if he'd gone instead of me, and you'd gone ahead and picked him, then I wouldn't have ever seen him again? Like, he would have just left today and that would have been it?"
"Yes."
"Do you have any idea how fucked up that is?" Aaron demanded, his fear and confusion giving way to anger. "Just taking people away from their families like that?"
"You certainly had no objection when I did it for you, today."
"But all of the other -"
"You need to understand that all of our candidates are like you. Like your brother. People in broken homes with no direction and very little options available to them. Quite often this is the only chance they'll ever get."
"Seriously? You're seriously going to feed me that bullshit? What, you think you're some sort of fucking charity? Maybe you've been out of the human game too long to remember but people aren't born with their options, Benny, they make them. My parents didn't have any silver spoons and they sure as hell did something with their lives, and they -"
"Your parents are dead, Aaron."
Benjamin's words were so sudden, and so startling, that Aaron was shocked into speechlessness - he opened and closed his mouth several times before his emotions took over and his eyes filled with tears again.
"F-Fuck you," he spat, his voice trembling. "Fuck you B-Benny, that doesn't have anything -"
"It has everything to do with it," Benjamin said evenly, and pointed up to the slender young man that hung over the back of the seat beside him. "Rhett's parents were political activists, involved in a long-running campaign to end segregation and discrimination against aboriginal people. They were gunned down at a rally. Their murderer got more press and media attention than their life's work ever did. Twenty years later the anti-discrimination laws came into effect and their names didn't even warrant a footnote." He gestured around the cabin at the sad, solemn faces staring back at them. "Yes, people make their own options. They spend their whole lives making them, and almost all of them are forgotten. Just like Rhett's parents, your parents, all of our parents."
Aaron stared down at his hands in his lap, trying to regain control of his emotions, and after a few minutes looked up at Benjamin, sniffing and wiping his eyes with the heels of his hands.
"So how does this make people remember you?" he asked. Benjamin just smiled back at him.
"Nobody needs to remember you," he said gently, "if you live forever."