The Outlands

Tess sat down in her seat nervously, glancing around at the rest of her class. She was garnering her fair share of curious looks, but it seemed that they had been given some sort of a talk, because no one, not even Jacob, was coming up to talk to her. Instead they all just sort of awkwardly pretended not to stare while stealing glances at her whilst talking amongst themselves.

And, thanks to her Attributes, she could make out their conversations much clearer than she was really comfortable with.

“Does she look different to you?”

“A little more…fragile, I guess? Must still be recovering from her sickness.”

“She looks about the same as she did when I visited her a few weeks ago.” That last one was Jacob, and it was at that point Tess decided it was time to stop listening in. It was eavesdropping, and beyond the privacy issues, she really didn’t want to listen to everyone talking about her. So, she turned off the Attribute and looked over to Ellie for reassurance.

Ellie smiled, reaching over and giving Tess’s hand a squeeze. “It’ll be fine.” She whispered. “No one’s going to be mean or anything, so relax. It’ll be like how it was before.”

Tess looked around at the other students apprehensively. “You sure?” She asked.

Ellie nodded firmly. “Positive. Trust me, there hasn’t even been one incident. It’s gonna be fine.”

She chatted with Ellie for the remaining time before class started so as to help keep her mind off of things, but she was soon snapped out of the pleasant conversation and back into her anxieties as the bell rang.

“Alright, everyone settle down.” Mr. Wallace said. “Before I start free time, we need to discuss the elephant in the room. Tess, if you would?”

Tess stood up, giving the room one last nervous look before taking a breath and beginning to speak. “Um…hi. I’m…um, finally better. The doctors say they aren’t expecting any complications, so I should be fine for the rest of the year.”

Mr. Wallace smiled encouragingly. “Thank you, you can sit.” Tess sat down gratefully, and Mr. Wallace continued. “Even though the doctors aren’t expecting anything, we’ve decided to err on the side of caution. For the next couple of weeks, Tess won’t be joining you in P.E. so don’t be alarmed if she doesn’t show up. Furthermore, we’ve also been told that she tires more easily than she used to, so please don’t bombard her with questions right away. Give her a bit to settle back into things before that, OK?”

He gave the class a nod then sat down behind his desk. “Alright, it’s free time, you all know the drill.”

There was a somewhat subdued buzz of conversation as Tess’s classmates got to talking amongst their friend groups. It was at this point that Jacob finally walked over to Tess and Ellie’s desks, sitting backwards at the desk in front of them so he was facing them. “So…How’re you feeling?” He asked, somewhat hesitantly. “I mean, you’re…looking fine, I guess, but I can’t help but worry, you know?”

“I’m fine, I guess.” Tess sighed. “It feels a little weird coming back to school, but…it is what it is.”

Jacob gave her a smile. “Don’t worry about it, give it a couple of days for people to realize you’re not going to die if they don’t treat you with care and it’ll be fine.” He looked her up and down, frowning slightly. “Speaking of which, is it just me or are you looking more muscular than before?”

Tess froze, looking down to see that she was indeed more…toned than she used to. Nothing really noticeable unless you were looking for it, but there was a difference. She supposed it must have come from all the freelancing she’d done – it was basically exercising all day, so it probably wasn’t that surprising that she was putting some muscle on.

“It’s just that I was pretty weak when you came to visit.” Tess lied. “I’ve been out and about more so of course I’m looking more muscular.”

Jacob’s frown deepened. “Are you sure? You didn’t look that weak before, so you’ll have to forgive me if I’m a little confused.”

“She had to do these sort of rehab exercises.” Ellie said. “Even if she looked fine before she didn’t really feel fine, so they had to help her get used to things again. Don’t worry about it too much.”

“Alright, if you say so.” Jacob said, obviously unconvinced. “Speaking of appearances, you’re looked more…dressed up than usual, Ellie. You have something important later or…?”

Ellie looked over to Tess, who nodded. “Well…um, to tell you the truth, kind of, yeah.” Ellie said nervously.

“Go ahead.” Jacob prompted, giving an encouraging smile.

“Um…the thing is…I’m sort of a lesbian and kinda going out with Tess right now, and I decided now was the best time to come out.” Ellie blurted out.

Jacob laughed, giving Ellie a slap on the back. “Thought you might be. Uh, might be a lesbian, that is. Wasn’t prepared to hear about you two going out, though, that was a surprise.”

Ellie blushed. “You too? How?”

“Too? I’m assuming someone else figured it out as well?”

“Yeah, Grandpa did too. But, seriously, how did you know?”

“Please. I’ve seen how you look at girls. I’ve seen how you look at Tess. Though, I must say, I’m surprised you two finally got together. I figured Ellie would have gone for it long before now if it was going to happen but shows what I know.”

Ellie shrugged, looking to the side. “I was still in the closet, so…too afraid, you know? But so far it’s been fine, so…maybe I don’t need to be?”

“Who’ve you told so far?”

“Basically just you and Grandpa. I’ve decided that today is the day I’m coming out, I don’t want to have to resist being all intimate with Tess in public.”

“I suppose I wouldn’t want to resist either.” Jacob admitted. “So, um…congratulations? I’m sure you two will be happy together.”

Ellie beamed. “Thanks, I’m sure we will too.”

“But, uh, back to what I was saying earlier, you said you’re feeling fine, but what does that…mean? Like, do you feel as good as normal, is it just better than it has been, what’s going on? I won’t lie, I’ve been pretty worried about you.”

Tess shrugged. “Physically, almost completely back to normal. It’s taken a bit of an emotional toll, though, I feel…awkward, just coming back after all this time. Like I can’t just…jump back into things like that, you know?”

“I’m sure it won’t be a problem, everyone understands.” Jacob assured. “When you feel you’re up to hanging out, though, let me know. The guys and I have been itching to do some laser tag and it just isn’t the same without you.”

Ellie started suddenly, grabbing Tess’s hand and giving it a sudden squeeze.

“Um, everything alright?” Jacob asked. “You’re looking a little…strange.”

“Um, sorry, it just sort of hit me exactly what I’ve done in coming out. Sorry for alarming you.” She squeezed Tess’s hand sharply a couple of times, clearly trying to communicate something, though Tess couldn’t tell what.

“No, I get it.” Jacob said. “I’m sure this sort of thing is really hard, just know that I’m behind you all the way.”

“That’s good to hear.” Ellie said. “But…you were saying something about laser tag?”

“Oh, yeah. I was just saying that the guys and I have been wanting to do laser tag and it just isn’t the same without Tess. You too, Ellie. Whenever you guys are feeling up to it, we’d love to have another round with you.”

“Yeah, we’ll do that, though it’ll probably be a couple of weeks. I don’t think people will be too happy if I start pushing myself so soon.” It wasn’t a complete lie, she couldn’t just…take a day off without letting her tutors know, but she also wasn’t sure her cover would allow her to do such a physically intensive activity so soon.

“We figured as much, so don’t feel rushed or anything. We’d rather you’re safe than you push yourself just to hang out with us.” Jacob said. “But, um, some other people wanted to talk to you, are you feeling up to that?”

Tess nodded. “Might as well. For now, I think I’d just like to…get it over with, you know?”

Jacob nodded. “I’ll let them know.” With that he retreated back to the other side of the room, where he entered into a hushed conversation with some of their classmates, and a couple of them walked over shortly after.

It was a pair of girls, Jenna and Carly. Tess hadn’t really known them particularly well, but they were friendly enough, so it wasn’t too out of character for them to come greet her like this.

“Hey, are you holding up OK?” Jenna asked. “It musta been pretty rough, catching something that bad.”

“It could have been a lot worse.” Tess said. “Gramps and Ellie were there, and I wasn’t too starved for things to do. I was still able to move around the house and all, so…yeah. Wouldn’t want to go through it again, but I’m thankful it’s been just about worked through.”

Jenna nodded, but Carly seemed a little distracted, staring down at Tess and Ellie. Finally, she spoke up. “Um, are you two…holding hands?”

“Yeah, um…I’m a lesbian too, and now the two of us are going out.” Ellie replied. “I didn’t think it would be fair to Tess to date her while still in the closet and to put that pressure on her, so I guess I’m officially coming out, you know?”

Jenna and Carly shared a look. “I guess?” Carly said. “Might want to be careful who you’re intimate around, though. Neither of us care, but a few of our friends are pretty hardcore Life devotees and you know how they can get about homosexual people.”

Ellie made a face. “All too well. But they don’t scare me, we’ve been through much worse than a few bigots.”

Jenna shrugged. “If you say so. Well, I’m glad to hear that you’re doing OK, Tess. We’ll talk to you later.”

The two retreated, and a couple more classmates took their place. That pattern repeated itself for the next few minutes, and then, finally, Tess and Ellie were left alone.

Ellie leaned in close to Tess and began to whisper in her ear. “Death says that, later down the line, she wants us to start introducing more people to the Outlands, and he’s probably first on the list, seeing as how he’s so close to us.”

Tess stared at Ellie. “Seriously?”

Ellie nodded. “Yeah, I was surprised too.”

“When?”

Ellie paused, looking ahead. “A few months to a year. After graduation at the earliest, she was hoping around when you start performing your Appointed duties in earnest.”

“How are we gonna do that? We’re gonna be way ahead of him in training and like…we’re gonna be busy, you know?”

“Apparently we’re not supposed to be in charge of training him, and we’re not going to force him to try and be a freelancer, though we both know he will anyway.”

“And how’s he going to get there? He can’t just come through our house every time, right?”

“They’re going to figure something out.”

“Hey, what are you lovebirds talking about?” Jacob asked, sitting down in front of them again.

“Some private stuff.” Ellie replied. “Sorry, can’t say more.”

Jacob shrugged. “Suppose I shouldn’t pry, then. So…um, what have you two been doing lately? I’m assuming you’re staying cooped up in the house and keeping each other company, since Ellie’s always been busy, but…what’ve you been doing?”

“Games, mostly.” Ellie replied. “Games and helping Tess with homework.”

There was some small talk, and then their thirty minutes of homeroom was up, and it was time for their first class of the day. Ellie and Tess had matching schedules, so fortunately they were able to stay together for the rest of the day. Most of their classes went about the same as homeroom had, albeit with less chatting with their classmates.

There weren’t any real problems until lunch, when Tess and Ellie were approached by a girl. She was short and unassuming-looking, but her eyes said that this was not going to be a pleasant conversation.

“Tess and Ellie, right?” She said, lip curled in distaste.

“That’s us.” Tess replied, pretending she didn’t sense the open hostility the girl was given them. “What can we do for you?”

“First, I suppose I should congratulate you for your good fortune in being enough in Life’s good graces that you made such a swift recovery.”

Tess and Ellie shared a look and then Tess patted Ellie’s hand to forestall her inevitable angry remarks, turning back to the girl. “Yes, I have been very Blessed lately. The gods perhaps have given me more attention than I deserve.”

“Quite.” The girl sneered. “So then, may I ask why you have the gall to spit in His face as you have?”

“I’m not quite sure what you mean.” Tess said in faux innocence. “To the best of my knowledge I have done nothing that would anger him. In fact, the last I checked, I was in his good graces.”

“You know what you’ve done.” She growled, motioning at Ellie. “It is an abomination for you to enter into a relation with someone of the same sex. I’ve tolerated you because you have been content to not act on your urges, but now that you have, I must warn you of your sins.”

A month ago, she might have been more nervous, arguing against someone who clearly had no intention of listening to her and hated her for something that was really outside of her control, but the past while had been a great boost to her confidence. This was far tamer than confronting Ilmir had been, and the fact that it was on a religious matter just made it easier.

Well, at least religious matters insofar as they related to Life, Death, and Fortune. Tess had talked to Life, and never once had he shown a hint of disdain for Tess and Ellie’s relationship. So, she tilted her head in mock confusion and continued to address the girl. “But…nowhere in the scriptures does it mention this being wrong. And I never heard Pastor Faust have any issue with it either, so I don’t know where you’re getting this idea.”

“It doesn’t have to.” The girl hissed. “It goes against everything Life stands for to be capable of bearing a child and then willingly entering into a relationship where you have no hope of ever doing so.”

“But it would be fine if it was with an impotent man?”

“Science and miracles can help with that. There is at least a chance. With this there is none, so don’t try and weasel your way around it.”

“Shut up.” Ellie interrupted. “You have no idea what the gods would actually want. You’re just projecting your own biases onto them and using it as an opportunity to be a bigot. Go actually study religion if you want to argue from that perspective, you’ll find there’s no grounds.”

“Oh, and you’re so knowledgeable about the whims of the gods? Offer proof that what I’m saying is untrue, I guarantee I’m more experienced than you in these matters and can refute it.”

Ellie smiled. “You haven’t offered any, so why should I? But, if you must insist, I believe the Archpriest has officially said that the belief that homosexuality is wrong is a myth? Trust me, I looked into this subject a lot, as it kinda affects me a lot more than it affects you.”

Ellie grabbed Tess, leaning over and giving her a quick kiss. “Now, leave my girlfriend and I alone, or I’m going to go get one of the aides and tell them you’re being disruptive and won’t let us eat our lunch. I don’t want to have this pointless argument any longer.”

The girl, face red with anger, opened her mouth a couple of times as if she wanted to speak, decided against it, then stormed off.

“For the record, Life says he’s totally cool with us.” Ellie said once the other girl was out of earshot. “He says that they weren’t able to weed out that fringe belief. Lots of people think it was a change made to accommodate changes in society, but it was never canon in the first place so…yeah.”

“Well, if you do choose to become their Appointed, if you publicly announce that while in Descent you might well be able to destroy that belief entirely with one move. Not sure if the whole ‘people instinctively know when it’s a god speaking’ thing works over TV, but worth a shot, right?”

Ellie paused, looking off in front of her, presumably reading a window. “Yeah. Death says it does. She also says the announcement thing is a good idea, and that she wouldn’t be against making it publicly known that the Appointed of Life and Death and the Appointed of Fortune are dating. Says we’ll probably ‘debut’ together anyway so might as well get the word out there and see if it helps integrate the planes smoother.”

“Worth a shot, I think.” Tess replied, smiling.

“By the way, I think it’s worth mentioning that your innocent act there was hot. Even hotter because you’re standing up for me.”

Tess blushed. “Well, I mean, she was kinda insulting me too.”

“My point stands.” Ellie said. “But, uh, how are you doing after that? I mean, it’s kinda one of the things you were worried about, right?”

Tess shrugged. “Honestly…it was a lot easier than I thought it’d be. I know for a fact that she’s just spouting nonsense, and dealing with Ilmir was way more stressful, so I think I’m good.”

Ellie gave her a relieved smile. “Good to hear. I was a little worried.”

Tess smiled back. “Well, I think I’m past the point of being anxious about it, so I think we’re in the clear. Now, let’s get back to eating, shall we? I’d like to finish before lunch is over.”